Being alone on my bike
As my IRL friends know, I spend a lot of time on my bike. I look forward to spring and summer so I can get out there and ride, and I stretch fall as much as I can so I can ride. It's my favorite exercise. Lots of times, friends will ask to join me, and much as I love their company, I kind of don't want to ride with anybody. Part of it is that I can't find anybody who's at my level: either they're in better shape than I am and want to go faster or take fewer breaks, or the opposite. And when I go riding, I want to stop when I want to stop, and I want to take that hill at my pace, and I want to tear out when I want to/can tear out. I don't want to feel bad for the other person, or myself if I can't keep up with the other person. "And it's your alone time," a friend pointed out. "I get that." Exactly. It's a time for me to shut out the world, get some thinking done, and clear my head. And to give myself a challenge, for the past
