Cranky Sunday

I woke up cranky, with a headache. This should not have been a surprise, because I went to bed cranky, with a headache.

Due to a combination of being busy and lazy (same thing, really), I have not been on my bicycle in five weeks. I thought I might head out on an easy club ride this morning, and the sky was clear (and dark) when I woke. I knew that riding would make me feel better (see Spark, by John Ratey), but I surrendered to being cranky and disabled the alarm clock.

Luckily, my regular ride partner sent me a note later in the morning, and I agreed to a short afternoon ride. The thing about riding a bike is, as they say, "It's just like riding a bike." You get on, start pedaling, and it is as though you never took a break. Well, except for the quads that started aching within the first 30 seconds of pedaling uphill.

I started a new year of riding in my spiffy new Plus 3 vest. They awarded this prize to one lucky rider (me!) who logged his or her Low-Key Hillclimbs on the Plus 3 Network site to raise money for charity. I started logging all my rides back in 2008. What could be easier? I ride my bike, a designated sponsor donates money to a charity.

Ah, January in California: the camellias are in bloom. The streams were flowing, the hillsides were green, the sky was brooding, the temperature was comfortable. Along the way, some fine exemplars of the subspecies Young American Male in a passing pick-up truck shouted "Go, Lance!" How clever. How original. I take comfort in the knowledge that they will have difficulty reproducing if they cannot distinguish me from Lance Armstrong. There is yet hope for our species.