Training Day

Jason, my 27 year old neighbor, just got back into biking.  He bought a Cannondale road bike last week and can’t stop riding.  He goes for a daily ride with me for three or four hours, than goes out again in the evening.

It was time to take him on a hammerfest.  A 32 mile ride to Wareham from Faihaven, MA on the back roads was in order.  We did it in two hours ten minutes, which for him was a feat. For me it was a long struggle to get back into hammerhead riding. It felt really good.

The ride wasn’t without drama.  First, on the return leg,  Jason yelled that he dropped his water bottle a ways back.  I said “go get it”and he responded”, no big deal, I’ll get another one”.  I turned back to retrieve the bottle which was a few hundred feet back.  Here is when I explained to him that when your on your bike, we turn back a lot for a variety of reasons.  You have to adjust your attitude.  After all, if your in a hurry, you really don’t belong on a bicycle. He then noticed that he didn’t have his new Iphone 6.  “Where did you use it last”, I asked.  “At the farm on our way to Wareham”, he said.  I told him that’s where it is.  Sure enough. 

We need to get Jason to quit smoking.  He had quite a few on this ride and when the rains came and it was time to kick it into high gear for the last 10 miles, he lagged far behind. When he quits, he is going to be a monster rider. I expected to ride at an 8-10 mile pace because of his smoking and his newness to road riding.  Without training, he kept a 15 MPH average pace for two hours which is very impressive. Look out Austin, TX driveway series.

During the ride I got a call from wifey saying we were invited to dinner.  The host are players in the local fishing industry so I knew dinner would be off the hook.  Scallops and lobster were the main dish and it was well worth the push home in the rain to make it on time.

Tomorrow, Wednesday, is a recovery day so to speak.  I’m leading the Wednesday night ramble which is a casual 21 mile ride through the back roads of Mattapoisett and Rochester MA. We will end at Hungry Heroes sub shop for a 6 PM start.  Everyone is welcome.  Ending the ride at a good foodie place is rule number 1 of the Wednesday night rides.  Before helmet, directions, mileage and routes are mentioned. People want to know, how is the food at the end of the ride.