Thoughts and observations from two long days in the saddle

This past weekend, my wife and I did another MS Bike tour, this one 200 miles over 2 windy days.  It was a great opportunity to spend some quality time together, as well as a bit of a physical challenge.  It was a good couple of days, both physically and spiritually, and in some ways, the lessons crossed in both directions.

We tend to think of the physical and the spiritual as two things, thanks to the legacy of Greek philosophers like Plato.  I am seeing this as less and less the case.  As human beings, we are both physical and spiritual entities, and it seems foolish to subdivide our nature.

Anyway, this is a fistful of observations, lessons and humor from the weekend.

• Sunscreen does little to help with windburn.  Also, windburn + shaving + old razor blade = YOWTCH!
• Don't let anyone fool you.  The real drama in pro cycling is not who won the stage, or who is in the Mailliot Jaune (the Yellow Jersey worn by the overall leader in the Tour de France).  The real drama is in the Lanterne Rouge (the Red Latern) the guy who just turned himself inside out getting a teammate into a position to win, and is now struggling at the back of the pack, praying to make the time cut so he can do it all over again tomorrow.  In the same way, I'm not impressed by the guy who zipped past us on a multi-thousand-dollar carbon-fiber and titanium road rocket on Day 1, and was never seen again.  My hat is off to:
• My wife, who didn't quite believe she could do it, but did it anyway.
• The young couple who struggled in behind us at the end of their first double-century, together.
• The lone guy who we met at the last rest area on day two, looking a little glassy-eyed, trying to get it together to finish, and who got in before the route closed.
• The toughest thing in cycling isn't hills.  Hills are a challenge, but you push past them, and pick up speed on the other side.  The toughest thing in cycling is the wind.  It never stops, a usable tailwind almost never happens, and so it is a constant companion that you're battling to make progress.  Hills can be conquered alone, but you need a steady partner to deal with the constant battle against the wind.  Someone who can keep an even pace when you're struggling, whose draft you can follow, who you can trust to keep an eye peeled for hazards, who will keep you talking, listening and trying to figure out what that gorgeous bird was, and who will gladly accept a break from the wind when you're feeling stronger and can take the brunt for a little while.
  
• Lack of hills can be more of a problem than hills.  Hills get you out of the saddle and make you work different muscles.  Too many miles of flat makes you hurt just as much as too many hills, you just hurt in different places.
• Early on Day 2, my cycle computer/speedometer quit.  This was a bit of a problem, because I counted on it to keep a steady pace when I was the lead in our 2-person peloton (see the part about "keep a steady pace" above.)  I finally figured out that I could stay steady by running a very high gear (limiting my ability to accelerate) and pedaling a slow cadence.  I could keep a steady cadence by having the right song playing in my head.  The two best choices seemed to be; (a) "Staying Alive" by the BeeGees and (b) "Against the Wind" by Bob Seeger.  Both seemed amusingly appropriate, but the second made me laugh out loud.  Moral of the story: A "problem" can become an issue, or it can be an entertaining puzzle to solve.  You get to choose.
• On those rare times when you do get a tailwind, enjoy it!
• When trying to fix a problem, make sure you're adjusting the right thing.  Adjusting the front derailler didn't do a thing to help the shifting issue on my rear derailler.
• When you're getting frustrated by a problem, think about something else for a while.
• Take the time to look at the scenery, and the birds, and the clouds, and the houses, and the people, and the yards, and the farms.  They're way more interesting than the road, and they're all beautiful.
• Can someone please tell me what the black bird with the shockingly yellow triangles at the base of the tail and on the tail are?  They're gorgeous!
• See the person in the uniform standing out there directing traffic all morning/afternoon so you can go straight through the intersection?  Thank him or her.  Thank the drivers who are waiting for you too, if you can.
• Don't judge people by appearance, activities or hobbies.  An old lesson, but worthy of repeating/relearning.  We had some pretty gnarly looking motorcyclists cruising the course for all 200 miles.  Some odd, weird, and even nasty looking customers.  They were the ones making sure that each and every one of the 1,500 or so bicyclists were safe.  They were the first ones out on the course, and the last ones in at the end of the day.  They ran messages when the batteries died on radios, and then ran out spare batteries that had been forgotten.  They also helped arrange for, donated, lent, pay for, and set up the rest areas, and did a lot of the course marking.
• There's something really pleasant about riding a bike in the country and noticing that a Swift or Barn Swallow is pacing you.
• If you are ever in Port Clinton, Ohio, go to the Jolly Rodger on Perry Street (across from the Super 8 and by the Quality Inn).  Stand in line.  Order the Perch dinner.  Get the Onion Rings instead of the fries.  Thank me later.
• Old chip-seal roads are smoother than new chip seal roads, especially where they're darkest.  That's where the car and truck tires have polished the chips smooth.
• When you're volunteering for something, being thanked when you don't expect it is way better than waiting to be thanked.
• Good music, good weather and good company can make almost anything a pleasant experience, but good company is the best.  If you only can pick one, make it the good company.