Bainbridge Island

Yesterday we went on a 40+ mile bike ride. We took a ferry from Seattle to the island then did a rough clockwise loop around the island. It was very hilly and very fun! The weather was perfect and the views were brilliant.



I made several ergonomic adjustments to my bike last Thursday, and I absolutely noticed an improvement in my riding yesterday -- especially going uphill. Mainly, I raised my saddle about 2 and a half inches, which allows me to use more power from my legs.

I'd like to try a Vashon Island loop one of the next weekends. The ferry dock at Fauntleroy is about 14 miles from where we live, so I think the whole ride would be around 60-70 miles. My ischial tuberosities have toughened and I think I can handle that length of ride now.

I AM THEIR PATRON SAINT

I am mediocre at many sports. There is almost no sport that I have not tried at one time or another. No sport have I mastered, and at no sport am I really, truly bad.

As a child and adolescent, I tried soccer, baseball, basketball, track & field, badminton, roller skating, ice skating, downhill skiing, pickle ball, football, kickball, jump rope, and even boxing. I never really got good at any one sport, in spite of brief exhibitions of precociousness in at least a couple of them. I never had the discipline or maturity as a youngster to persist in the repetitive practice required to get good at anything -- especially sports. Too much work involved. I was often told that I had a great deal of "potential". Much later in life, I would learn that "having potential" is a nice way of saying that you haven't done anything yet.

As an adult, after acquiring a fair amount of discipline and maturity (acquired as a consequence of life's lessons learned), I have attempted several new sports: volleyball, nordic skiing, tennis, raquetball, sailing, golf, windsurfing, rock climbing, long distance running, and even swimming. I have enjoyed most of these sports but have not really become proficient at any of them. As a runner, for example, I have dedicated myself wholeheartedly to a training regimen over the past 2 years and yet I continue to be a middle-of-the-packer. In my recent inaugural marathon in Vancouver, I finished 1,951st place out of 3,100 runners. I'm not sure that even counts as being in the MIDDLE of the pack!

And I'm OK with that. My prolific mediocrity bothered me a great deal when I was younger. As I grow older, I learn to appreciate the moments more. I enjoy the learning process. I enjoy that initial learning curve where I go from knowing nothing to knowing something. Getting to the middle of that bell curve is a fun ride.

Speaking of ride: my newest sport??? Take a look:



The 2008 Tour de France is only a few weeks away and I'm feeling inspired. Stay tuned for my report of me entering a bike race and finishing somewhere near the bottom of the pack.

The provenance of the bike pictured above is interesting. The Iron Horse frame, fork and headset I bought from my friend Erik. The used seat post, saddle, Shimano cranks, chainrings, cassettes, derailleurs and brake calipers I bought from Robin. My friend Ryan had an extra aluminum handlebar and Shimano wheelset. I bought the SRAM chain, Shimano shifters, pedals, and cables new. I brought the bits and pieces over to Robin's basement bike shop and set to work. I knew nothing about bicycles, but my friend Robin knows a thing or two. Our intent was to build the bike from the ground up, and this way I'd learn about all the bike components and functionality, with an aim towards being able to fix things later if there was a problem.

After all was said and done, my direct contribution to the project amounted to the following: I mounted the water bottle cages and the pedals. Robin installed the other bazillion things. Thank god for Robin.

Lorinda and I rode about 25 miles on Sunday and it was a lot of fun! I look forward to a summer full of riding. I'm not feeling a huge urge to excel at this new sport. I'm mostly just looking for an alternate form of exercise -- another hobby. I, too, can be mediocre at cycling. Guaranteed.