It has been unseasonably warm here where I live, and I finally got the chance to go out and go on a bike ride. Two miles from my home there is a trail system that goes around the entire city I live in. I call it my Sanctuary. Sometimes I go all the way around, which is twenty miles, but usually I ride the southern route and pull off to what is now a large soccer complex. I pull off there, take my shoes and socks off and meditate, stretch, and maybe perform a few core movements. Then I will turn right back around and make my way back home. The challenge really begins when I exit the trails because going back home is entirely uphill. Namely one long and relatively steep, and then a second, shorter hill but very steep.
Today I forced myself out there because I have not yet had the chance to get out there and did not want to miss out again on these warm late afternoons. When I pulled off to the soccer fields today, I did not feel right at all. I was weak, forgot to take my a.m. medication too which did not help. What was I thinking forcing myself out here like this! I reluctantly took my shoes and socks off and commenced with my stretching and yoga, the entire time wondering how I am going to make it back home. I began to remember how I did not eat like I wanted to the day before, and I cursed myself for fasting today. I thought for certain I would have to call for a ride. This caused me feelings of anxiety and dread at a time when I am supposed to feel absolutely fantastic.
So, I begin my trek back home certain I would not make it, carefully pacing myself so I can at least try to climb the hills. I mean, there have been countless times where I have had to push through pain, discomfort, fatigue and on no calories, etc., but today just felt different and I really cannot explain it for sure. I have a theory and it involves certain emotions that run through me on Wednesdays, but that story will be for another time.
Anyway, I cross the busy street and begin my trek up the hill on my Cannondale Quick 4. I briefly considered changing my music to something heavy to try and “get me going” but I continue with my Yacht Rock playlist which I have custom made with my favorites titled; “Ultimate Yacht.” I get to the really intense part and I am pedaling off the seat and my bad knee actually feels ok, and I huff and puff my way up the hill to where it smooths out just a little bit but trust me it’s still a hearty gradient. I make it through while listening to James Taylor’s “How Sweet it is (to be loved by you)” and am approaching the second, “beast” of a hill and I think to myself; “am I feeling stronger?” This thought quickly goes away as I begin ascending and the voice in my head says; “why is it taking so long usually I don’t have to pedal standing until it gets really steep” then I say to myself; It’s because you are pedaling like a weenie” so I push harder and embrace the familiar, dull pain in my left knee and get “nasty” about this as the song changes to the second of three James Taylor songs on my playlist with “Shower the People”.
I approach the intense portion of the hill and I am standing and dominating quite frankly this hill. As I get to the top I sit back down and check my pulse, 180, not bad for an old guy. From that point on I was in a heavenly bliss. Endorphins were flying around everywhere inside me, the blood rushing, my waistline tingling as some of the body fat vaporized (hopefully), I felt absolutely fantastic! I cross the somewhat busy street that I grew up on and continue eastward towards home. As I rode into my neighborhood James Taylor’s iconic classic “Fire and Rain” was pulsating through my veins and man, just for that brief moment, I felt 100% total at ease with everything. I thanked James Taylor and thought to myself; If I could somehow bottle this feeling and share it with everyone who wanted it, man, we would all be so much happier.
Love,
Cody 2-21-24