Bike big ouchie...

Saturday afternoon in southern California was warm and sunny and serene. It was ideal weather for a bike ride. Vicky was out so I thought, "What better time than now to get back on the trail?"

And, off I went fortified, I thought, by plenty of stationary bike riding at the gym. My tires were flat. My iPod's needed charging. I forgot how to reset my odometer. But, before too long, I was out there in the sunshine with a cool breeze, just pedaling like it was nothing up the Santa Ana River Trail. I passed joggers and other cyclists - ah, it felt great. But then, after a couple of blocks, that all ended. I was towing a fat, fat ass that hadn't ridden in three months but I told myself I would just take the short ride I used to take every morning. That wouldn't be too bad. After all, I used to take it every morning... right?

As other cyclists passed me, I thought, "Well, you know Ken, it has been a while. You're out of practice. Don't judge yourself too harshly." As casual bikers passed me, I thought, "Don't worry. You'll soon be back to that place where nobody passes you and you're just zipping along and -" Then, children passed me... but, fortunately, I was almost at the turning back point, a rest stop in Yorba Linda. Getting there required going uphilll a bit, embarrassingly small hills... not even hills, really, just inclines... but I put my nose to the handlebars (cause I was too tired to pick my head up) and kept pushing until I got to the rest stop.

Whew! Tired! Out of breath! Exhausted! And only halfway there, I still had to go back! But I took a break and tried to relax - that didn't last long because that cool breeze was turning ice cold and making my sweat feel like ice packs, which I had to lug around on top of my immensity. Dammit.

Back, I went. Sweating, freezing, wheezing, panting, and pedaling. It was a beautiful day... too bad I was too beat to pay any attention...

When I got home, I realized I had only covered 15 miles. 15 miles.

My last ride, back on Thanksgiving weekend, had been 65 miles.

Son of a bitch. Winter can really fuck with you.

And the worst part is winter isn't over. It'll get cold again and I'll still have to wait before I can start riding regularly... and I'm hoping I keep this in mind...