A Humbling Biking Experience

This morning at six I rode 24 miles in Central Park on my new bike. On Sunday, I rode 18 with my son who inherited my old Schwinn.

At the six mile mark, I caught and passed a woman who has riding a very fancy bike with aero bars. I was feeling pretty good about my riding. Then I caught this chunky guy in cargo shorts on a 10 speed that had to be at least 20 years old. I didn't even give him a second thought since there is no thrill in dropping chunky guys in cargo shorts riding ancient bikes.

To my chagrin, this guy kept catching and passing me for the next 12 miles! Every time I thought I finally lost him he would appear in the corner of my eye. My extra 17 gears and Spandex bib shorts didn't seem to be helping.

He finally disappeared after 12 miles and I finished another lap without him at my rear wheel.

For the entire 12 miles I was thinking of good reasons why I couldn't bury the guy. I'm much older. My calfs are half his size. I'm tired from yesterday. But "chunky guy in cargo shorts on a ten speed relic" came popping back into my head.

I finished my 24 miles in 93 minutes, approximately a 15.3 miles per hour pace. I have a lot of work to do before my bike tour.