Since mid-December we have been busy with the endless tasks of moving to a new city. But finally the end is in sight. At last we have the time to ride our bikes again. In fact, we have very little else to do until the day of the move.
We are moving to Miami. To a very small home in a high rise on the Miami River in the Miami neighborhood known as Brickell. Two adults, one cat, 6 bicycles, and very few possessions. It is refreshing to lighten the load of possessions. They call it simplifying, but I find it more of a clarification of what one wants and loves. Our suitcases and boxes are all prepped and ready, stacked in an amazingly tiny area, waiting for moving day. There are some details being completed with the new Miami home. With luck we could move next week. Or it could be the following week. At this point, I'm happy to ride my bike to my heart's content and sip my espresso on the screen porch.
Our rides this week have given us the chance to establish our baselines for the year. I've made progress in the past year. My strengths in cycling are endurance and tenacity. My weaknesses are the total lack of fast-twitch muscles and wonky weak tendons due to a medical condition. However I've reached at an age where I'm quite comfortable with my limitations, and I've learned how to have a great time on a bike without being able to crank out the power I once had. The older I get the more I understand that one's attitude towards one's limitations is the one factor that controls your happiness. Heck, I understood that I was just average athletically when I was in gym class in elementary school. But it doesn't take great physical talent to have a wicked good time on a bike.
So our training goals for the year are selected. We've already set up our training program. Our new regular training route on the road bikes will be out on the Rickenbacker Causeway to Key Biscayne. It's a beautiful place to train what with the boats on Biscayne Bay and the Miami skyline. That's not the best part. The car will get dusty in it's parking space in the building's garage. We'll be getting about on our bikes!
Life, as they say, is very, very good.
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| The Rickenbacker Causeway to Key Biscayne |
