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I Rode a Bike
60 Miles on my 60th Birthday
by Beverly Hughes, Greenville
If I had been a seasoned bicyclist I would have oiled the gears,
upgraded the tires, and trained faithfully. If I had been serious
about such a big trip, I may have invited a riding partner. If I
had been smart I would have at least stretched out before hopping on
the bike!
When the idea popped into my head last winter to ride 60 miles on my
60th birthday, June 26, I thought I had plenty of time and discipline
to manage this project wisely. However, life happened and my trip
became a serendipity.
Last week, I did buy a helmet, a $25 bike computer to track my miles
and tell the time. The computer does a half-dozen other things
that I never figured out ( it took me 4 hours of reading and re-reading
just to figure out how to attach the computer thing to the bike!)
I had Bob at the Bike Shop, downtown Greenville help me map 60 miles of
the flatest and safest (no highways) roads around Darke County.
The night before I pumped up my tires ( I don’t know the correct psi,
so I just pinched and filled them until they were rather tight) and I
bought and froze 3 bottles of water. I filled my backpack with
the water, a few healthy snacks, my id (in case I got ran over and
someone needed to identify me), about $5 cash, eye drops,
ibuprophen, and anti-bacterial hand wash. I forgot sunblock
(Well! I already had a good tan from working in my garden – why
would I need sunblock?)
My previous biking experience includes a tricycle, a two-wheeler with
training wheels, a pretty pink girl’s bike that braked by pushing the
pedals backwards and, more recently, 15-minute leisure trips around the
Greenville park a couple times a week. The most strenuous biking
I have ever done was two summers ago, I rode most weekday mornings at 6
AM with a couple friends for
30 minutes...30 minutes without stopping! That was huge for
me! But I backslid since then to my occasional leisure bike trips.
I cannot say what possessed me to think I should make this
trip...alone...in the hot summer...without training. But, it was
a feeling of wanting to do something different and adventurous all by
myself for a whole day...to stretch myself...to see what I could do.
And, to me, bike riding has always been just fun! That’s the way I
wanted to spend and celebrate and remember my 60th birthday.
So I started out at 6:30 last Tuesday morning in shorts, a tee, a
thin jacket, and comfy tennis shoes. The first 5 miles through
town included a couple hills and I thought they were going to do me in
right off the bat. I was glad I hadn’t invited anyone along because I
would have been embarassed. But I made it from the city
park to Sebring-Warner Road east, Myers-Tillman Road south, around
Arcanum and so forth until I came to the Darke-Preble County Line
Road. Everytime I came to an intersection I thought, “This
has to be the county line! I’m sure I’ve ridden more than 4
miles! This computer thingy can’t be right!” But it did show I
had been traveling about 10 mph all morning which seemed reasonable
because I had decided (with really no research) I’d like to be on the
road for under six hours.
I really enjoyed the quiet countryside, the wide green fields, the
occasional farm afar off, and the feel of the rhythm of my legs moving
me steadily forward. I sang a little and prayed, practiced deep
breathing and continuously paid attention to my moving joints to try to
offset any pain. Mentally, I kept pretty alert by watching for my
next intersection listed on my cheat sheet in my pocket. Of
course, to actually read the cheat sheet I had to first take off my
sunglasses and pull out my reading glasses. So...I was busy most
of the morning.
After I crossed the county line, I was excited to get to Verona where,
I was told, I could ride a bike trail (never been on a bike trail in my
life) all the way to Brookville which was my halfway point- 30 miles!
I had stopped momentarily about three times during the morning: to
check my big maps in my backpack, to eat a banana, to lay in the grass
and stretch out every muscle I could visualize might need it – because
none of my muscles were yet screaming at me. I was pleasantly
surprised.
The bike path which is a former train rail seemed closed in and
private; cool from the trees and shrubs along the edges, occasionally
breaking open to hot sun and the far back fields of farms.
But it was lonely. The golden finches didn’t chirp and fly along
with me like they did along country roads. I didn’t hear a
rooster crow or a dog bark. I couldn’t see anyone firing up
his tractor or hanging clothes on the line. Of course, no cars or
trucks came whizzing by me on the bike path, but I probably encountered
only a dozen or so of those on the open country roads the whole
day.
When I exited the bike path and saw the I-70 overpass in the distance,
I knew I was at the gateway of Brookville. Halfway! I could
hardly believe it. Thirty miles in three hours! I had my
phone turned off, but now I checked messages. One son remembered
my plan to ride and was eager to hear how I was and where I was.
My daughter didn’t remember my plan, so when she called to wish me a
happy birthday just as I entered Brookville, I nearly blew her socks
off by telling her where I was and why. It feels pretty awesome
to impress your own children!
I went straight to McDonald’s to treat myself to my favorite coffee,
Hot Mocha. What a sweet coffee break it turned out to be on
this special day! I decided to rest in Brookville awhile, so I
rode to the library and read for an hour or so.
The sun was getting hotter and I was eager to repeat my great morning
experience and be back home middle of the afternoon for a long
nap. I left Brookville by the same bike path but veered east,
then north to enter Darke County at West Grove-Red River Road.
That would have taken me straight north to the Bradford area from where
I would have turned west and returned to Greenville, but...another
serendipity came my way.
I had not met up with anyone all day that I felt I could ask to take a
picture of me, but I loved snapping pics of gardens and little country
cottages that I admired along my bike trip. On WGRR Road, my eye caught
a really colorful garden around a sweet little house and an older
couple was trimming hedge. I rode into the driveway and asked,
“Can I tell you my story?.” I explained my 60-60 adventure and
they smiled, wished me a happy birthday and introduced
themselves. Turns out they are aunt and uncle to a very close
former co-worker of mine. They were landlords of this home and the
garden was their renter’s. They took my picture and bragged about
their own garden and home “up around the corner on Oakes Road.” Well, I
HAD to take a detour to see their home.
My detour back toward Arcanum took me up and down a few hills, which
had me huffing and puffing – no more prayin’ and singin’! Also, a
stiff breeze from the north kept me cool but nearly pushed me
backwards, it seemed. I was riding only 7 mph and getting so
tired. My arms and thighs were quite pink and stinging. My
neck was achey, so I rode for awhile with my head on my arms wrapped
over the handlebars. I watched the white line at the edge of the
road whizzing underneath me. Made me dizzy, so I tried to lift my
chin to the sky now and then to roll out that back neck muscle.
Then, my left knee began clicking. I worried about damaging my
knee so I tried several different ways of pedaling to fully extend my
legs, but it was unnatural and awkward.
Later, my pedal shaft started a loud knocking. I began to
imagine that the pedal could break, or a gear could strip, or a tire
could explode, or the world may come to an end! What made me
think I could do this? Why didn’t I bring some tools?
Well, I hardly know one end of the bike from another, so tools
wouldn’t help anyway. Heck...I didn’t even shift gears, at all
during the whole trip because I don’t know how! I began feeling small
and weak and stupid. I was hot and tired and had learned that
“just 10 or 15 miles further” is really a very, very long way on
a bike. I wanted to give up.
I rode into Arcanum rather than around it and stopped at my friend’s
home for a visit. It was just the rejuvenation I needed; however,
my computer showed that I needed only 8 more miles to hit 60. My
friend said that it is 12 miles from her place to Greenville, but I
stubbornly refused to go even one-quarter of a mile further than
60! I might be brave, foolhardy, impressive...but I am not a
martyr!
So, while riding north on Jaysville-St. John Road, I was pondering what
to do. It was 3:45 PM and I realized my husband would be driving his
truck west on Hogpath from his work in Troy. I called to arrange
a pick-up in Jaysville where the two roads converge. My bike read
57 miles in Jaysville. I got the truck ride home, then jumped
back on the bike to finish my mileage in my accustomed leisurely
fashion by tooling through the Greenville park. 60 miles on a
bike! I did it! I was suddenly euphoric!
While I soaked in an Epson bath that evening, my 11-year-old grandson
ran into the house yelling, “Happy Birthday, Mimi.” When I met
him in the living room in my robe, he begged, “Can I ride 61 miles with
you next year?” I wonder, should we start planning now...or shall
I teach him about serendipity?
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