I thought of that while riding my bike.
—Albert Einstein, on the theory of relativity
Several times today, I was reminded of relativity. While rollin’ along with the caravan, G and I chatted about the Giro and how a “slow” pace in the peloton was 23, whereas that’s about the top end for us when we’re commuting “briskly”. The lunch rides average around 25, with attacks jumping upwards of 28.
The forecasts for the next couple days also touch on relativity… tomorrow, it’s supposed to be in the mid-70’s. Friday (Bike to Work Day!), in the mid- to upper-80’s. Given that it was 39 Monday morning (and snowing in the mountains), that’s a bit of a jump. It takes people around two weeks to fully adjust to a new climate, so there should be plenty ‘o sweatin’ going on Friday. Oh, and the forecasters are still oh-so-creative with their copy—Thursday: Warmer; Friday: Warmer with plenty of sunshine; Saturday: Sunshine. Nice, not as warm” Yes, that’s right, it’s “nice” when it’s not as warm. A true Northwest forecast.
This morning’s ride was odd. M popped out a couple blocks ahead of me, only to turn off a few blocks later. I wondered if he’d decided to catch the train instead of riding… yet a few miles later, he rolls up behind me completely out of breath and looking like he was pushing 210+ bpm. Apparently he’d decided to stop and talk to a friend at a coffee place, but then wanted to catch up to me. We split at the hill, which at that point was only a couple hundred yards away. Then, as I crested the climb up from the valley, I noticed a set of bike tire tracks over a dry patch of pavement. Suspecting it was G, I picked up the pace and kept looking for signs of him… which I’d find about every quarter mile or so. It was like chasing a ghost. After the long descent into the next valley, I gave up the hunt… only to come around a corner to see him waiting.
Dunno why, but this song came on at just the right moment and I found myself in a state of complete bliss as I settled into a rhythm and watched the world glide by…
Speaking of rocking, every once and a while, when I have to get out of the saddle to put down some speed, there are these moments of synchronicity where the weight of the bike effortlessly shifts from one side to the other as my legs push and pull and my hands just oh-so-gently grip the hoods… Those moments make everything wonderful and right in the world.
There was a bike thing at a restaurant tonight, where the city wanted input on how to make things more bike-friendly. I’d sent off an email with my thoughts earlier in the week, so it was more of an observational excursion. Out front there were a fair number of bikes, which I spent most of my time checking out. We cyclists sure are a diverse, quirky bunch. This gal, however, knows what’s up:
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