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Tuesday, January 17, 2017

It's so great to find that one special person you want to annoy for the rest of your life. (Rita Rudner)

We pedalled to the Rickenbacker Causeway, a convenient two miles from our home. Someone once asked me what I do to train for the type of cycling we do. "That's easy," I told them, "I just chase Al down the road."

It's true. At least on Tuesdays. That's when we go to the Rickenbacker and do a metric century's worth of loops up and down the causeway, Virginia Key, and Key Biscayne. Other days we ride together. But on Tuesdays, we have "meet-up" points. He gets to ride as fast as he wants. I chase. I can almost hang on to him during the first part of the ride. Then, bit by bit, he disappears into the distance.

Today I was giving chase when I had to slow briefly as I came up behind two middle-aged guys on their road bikes. "Good morning, gentlemen. Passing on your left. Chasing the bunny in the white jersey up ahead!" As often happens when a woman passes a couple of guys, they quickened their pace. A couple miles down the road they passed me when I slowed, breathing very hard, still trying to pedal-pedal-pedal, but now slumping over my handlebars. "We decided to chase your bunny, too!" they said as they passed me.

We did the last 15 miles at a comfortable speed, enjoying the best part of the ride. Somewhere around 40 miles into a ride or so, we slide into a zone. This is where the "ride" begins for us: muscles moving smoothly, breathing deeply, the road stretching pleasantly into the distance ahead.

Pedal, pedal, pedal.