Riverwalk
After expressing all my self pity and whining over the last few posts, I got out for a ride today after watching the end of the Tour. On that topic I'll wax profound later, but my ride seemed to have 2 halves. The first was quite enjoyable. Needing no mechanicals I took the LHT and hauled its and my own bulk through Seneca and towards Indian Hills and the river. I had the good fortune to run across Tom H. I passed him on St. Matthews Ave., but he followed closely as we were both poking along. We struck up a nice conversation through Indian Hills and along River Rd. He works from home but does some time doing the errand/commuting thing. Today he rode a flat-barred Trek hybrid with double panniers, so I knew he "drank the kool-aid". He seems to ride in variety of contexts and with a variety of groups, which is great. He was very good company and one I hope to come across again. Once on R.R. our speed increased until we were chugging along at a 17-18mph clip, which is a workout on the LHT. I hadn't really been on the bike for 2 weeks, so it felt good to breath hard again. He peeled off downtown and I got on the Riverwalk. There were so many cyclists out today, I'm sure all inspired by Carlos Sastre's dominant TdF ride. What I enjoyed seeing was the variety- roadies, greenies, families and the like.
My ride changed slightly at the portion of the Riverwalk exiting the Locks. I heard a ding behind and and turned to see a couple cyclists. It was an inopportune place to pass, but I went down a wheelchair ramp and they just jumped the curb and sort of flopped on pass. It was hary-scary and indicative of a 2 guys were made me feel more like a cyclists vs. a motorist instead of an interchange more de placer. One of the rides went in a different direction but the other I would follow for the of the RW. I had seen him under a tree resting at a previous park. He must've worked hard to catch me, b/c our paces were pretty similar. He seemed like a very fit dude who hadn't spent much time developing cycling skills. He went fast and slow. He sat and stood and sat up. He weaved all over the place. Frankly, he seemed like an ass with his matching outfit on his hybrid. I guess I'm a snob, but regular cyclists know you develop skills over time. Tom H and I had to communicate earlier in the ride to know each other's intentions. This guy was just full bore.
No matter, I rounded Chicasaw and Shawnee and headed home. I felt myself flagging towards downtown. I stopped in front of the Romano Mazzoli Federal Building to find a bench with some shade and abruptly startled a bum on another bench. We didn't exchange emails. From there it was just slow, sleady and slogging the rest of the way home. I felt more tired today doing 32 than I did 2 weeks ago after 62. Strange.
My ride changed slightly at the portion of the Riverwalk exiting the Locks. I heard a ding behind and and turned to see a couple cyclists. It was an inopportune place to pass, but I went down a wheelchair ramp and they just jumped the curb and sort of flopped on pass. It was hary-scary and indicative of a 2 guys were made me feel more like a cyclists vs. a motorist instead of an interchange more de placer. One of the rides went in a different direction but the other I would follow for the of the RW. I had seen him under a tree resting at a previous park. He must've worked hard to catch me, b/c our paces were pretty similar. He seemed like a very fit dude who hadn't spent much time developing cycling skills. He went fast and slow. He sat and stood and sat up. He weaved all over the place. Frankly, he seemed like an ass with his matching outfit on his hybrid. I guess I'm a snob, but regular cyclists know you develop skills over time. Tom H and I had to communicate earlier in the ride to know each other's intentions. This guy was just full bore.
No matter, I rounded Chicasaw and Shawnee and headed home. I felt myself flagging towards downtown. I stopped in front of the Romano Mazzoli Federal Building to find a bench with some shade and abruptly startled a bum on another bench. We didn't exchange emails. From there it was just slow, sleady and slogging the rest of the way home. I felt more tired today doing 32 than I did 2 weeks ago after 62. Strange.
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