Today I did my usual 10 miles in 43 minutes. I did this on a bike path, and an average speed of just under 14 miles an hour doesn't seem fast, but I do all of this in what amounts to 8th gear. I hardly ever shift over to the other chainring when I'm on the path.
When I get an open straight section I like to sprint, and today I did a great one accelerating almost instantaneously from 15 mph to 23.8. Still in 8th gear. Sure, not Tour de France ready, but I've discovered I can sustain this pace. Out on the road and in warmer weather I'm looking forward to discovering how fast I can be.
Anyway, today was notable also because it was the first day I could go out in shorts and a jersey without bundling up. It felt great. Liberating.
At the end of the ride I felt great. I felt really strong and ready for more. I really feel I'm in my element on the bike. I have fully transferred that feeling of freedom and fun I had riding the scooter and motorcycle to the bicycle. It is very satisfying arriving at a destination and having gotten there under your own power.
Most people don't realize that before Lewis and Clark, an Englishman had traveled all the way across the continent and viewed the Pacific Ocean from the mountains of what is now British Columbia. He inscribed on a rock "Alex MacKenzie from Canada by land 22d July 1793." Those words in part inspired Lewis and Clark and I think they inspire us all. Whether its completing the Katy Trail, a gran fondo or riding across Iowa, Kansas or even the United States, we mentally inscribe words to that effect on our souls.
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