More Training

I resumed training in earnest on December 4th in Sarasota. I bike four days a week with the Sarasota Manatee Bike Club and at least two other days solo or with Tony. I’ve been averaging about 150 miles/week, hitting a high of 204 miles last week. The Club’s “B” and “C” riders have been incredibly supportive and I pace myself for either speed or endurance depending on my energy level. I do know that I am a much stronger rider today than I was when I arrived just 11 weeks ago.

On February 8, 30 Club members rode the Withlacoochee Trail, north of Tampa, with most cyclists covering about 50 miles. To commemorate El Parent’s 71st birthday, he, Charlie Morris, and I rode 71 miles, joining the rest of the group at the lunch stop. It was 39 degrees at the 8 am start, warming to the mid-70’s by the afternoon. A perfect day—

Carol, El, and Charlie on the Withlacoochee

A highlight of training has been meeting and riding with several of the women with whom I will share the XC journey. WomanTours mailed out the initial roster last June, updating it periodically as riders joined or dropped out. To my surprise, two riders, Peggy Kehew and Nancy Kelley, hail from Vermont not more than 30 miles from my New Hampshire home in Meriden (turns out that Peggy’s daughter and my daughter know each other from secondary school—small world). We made contact and agreed to meet for a Friday ride. We ended up riding almost every Friday from July through October, alternating responsibility for choosing an interesting route.

Carol, Nancy, and Peggy in Lyme, NH

One of the routes took us by Charles Bronson’s gravesite where we sat on the wrought iron bench, munched our granola bars, and read the verse etched into the stone, Mary Frye’s haunting poem “Do Not Stand at my Grave and Weep” (also sung by the Angel Band). I digress, but digression is part of the beauty of cycling. It is just so easy to hit the brakes to take in a beautiful view or to check out the wildflowers.

Brownsville Cemetery, VT

In October Peggy, Nancy, and I met Robin Sewell, another XC rider from Massachusetts, for a ride in southern New Hampshire through the gorgeous towns of Hancock, Peterborough, and Harrisville. Weather was not on our side with the temperature hovering around 45 degrees in pelting rain. We were undeterred and particularly enjoyed our lunch break at the Harrisville General Store. My theory is, when you get the first inkling that you are about to utter a complaint, just have another bite of hot chili and everything seems right in the world. I digress again—

Another XC rider, Lois Schneider, lives in Sarasota and we have biked together several times since December. Our best trip was a circumnavigation of Myakka State Park where we saw wild pigs, a fox, a variety of bird life and, of course, alligators.

Lois is an accomplished cyclist who did the Underground Railroad ride for 30 days with WomanTours last year, and whose training regimen puts me to shame. We have had a great time reveling in discussions of the political landscape and sharing our thoughts on the abundance of good films bombarding theatres here during the past couple of months.

Training is starting to wind down now. My bike ships out next week, after which I will borrow Tony’s bike for a few rides to stay limber. I know he is not pleased at the prospect. He is convinced I’ll be making snide comments because his rig is a step down for me now. He’s right, but I’ll try to remain tight-lipped just to surprise him.