I think some of the local residents of that neck-o-the-woods are used to seeing me.
I love to hear "all right now" or "you got it".
Maybe it was a memory of being on a street on Sunday in LA or any other town across the USA but home.
Maybe it was betting your existence on a Saturday night of escaping on the town and waking up to a cold unfamiliar street without purpose.
Well I woke up Sunday morning with no way to hold my head that didn’t
hurt.
And the beer I had for breakfast wasn’t bad so I had one more for
dessert.
Then I fumbled in my closet through my clothes and found my cleanest
dirty shirt.
Then I washed my face and combed my hair and stumbled down the stairs to
meet the day.
I’d spoke my mind the night before with cigarettes and songs I’d been
pickin’.
But I lit my first and watched a small kid playin’ with a can that he
was kickin’.
Then I walked across the street and caught the Sunday smell of someone
frying chicken.
And Lord it took me back to something that I lost somewhere somehow
along the way.
On a Sunday morning sidewalk I’m wishing Lord that I was stoned.
Cause there’s something in a Sunday, that makes the body feel alone.
And there’s nothing short of dying, that’s half as lonesome as the
sound,
Of the sleeping city sidewalk, and Sunday morning coming down.
In the park I saw a daddy with a laughing little girl that he was
swingin’.
And I stopped beside a Sunday school and listened to the songs they were
singin’.
Then I headed down the street and somewhere far away a lonely bell was
ringin’.
And it echoed through the canyons like a disappearin’ dream of
yesterday.
On a Sunday morning sidewalk I’m wishing Lord that I was stoned.
Cause there’s something in a Sunday, that makes the body feel alone.
And there’s nothing short of dying, that’s half as lonesome as the
sound,
Of the sleeping city sidewalk, and Sunday morning coming down.
Then I drank a "quad espresso" and I had purpose.
The pictures below are actually mistakes. Riders are supposed to be in almost every frame that isn't to depict the scenery.
I left these in because they show huge parts of a gigantic structure and monumental achievement.
Dear Brynda,
The ride today was milder than last week. I only felt like having "the
big one" several times. It was easy enough to hang most of the time.
Only a couple of times did the pace lines rev the pain thermometers up
above excruciating.
I don't want to make it sound too easy though. These rides are not for
the weak. I have no idea how to repeat the courses alone as all I could
do was watch the butt in front of me and hang on.
I may have ridden about 90 miles with the extra 7 and more I rode to and
from the
start at Star Bucks.
At the end of the ride we climbed and descended the Ravenel bridge again before I split toward Hanahan.
I continued on Morrison, Spruil, Buist, and Rhett at a fairly hard pace
and decided I'd ease off near home.
When I eased up I saw how hard the day was. I rode very slowly trying to
keep an easy spin.
It was hard to keep that easy spin. When I stopped for good I had some
difficulty getting my right leg over the seat for my dismount.
I gradually became more and more aware of my fatigue. I actually had a
sensation that one has when needing the ears to pop after changing
elevations as in the mountains.
They never popped and the feeling went away. I was floored for the rest
of the day and just vegetated.
I've had visions of being "put on my bike" and being taken off but
riding great in between. This is how the day was.
Early that morning I almost blew the ride off as I hurt so before the
ride.
The disc and joints were talking to me. I decided to ride my bike to the
start and if I wasn't feeling better after a while I could trudge on
back home.
Had a stress test done on a treadmill on Monday, the day after this
ride. My results were the best for the patients taking it the last
six months.
There was nothing to prove. I quit when I was told that was all they
needed for the test.
I guess that's fine for taking a running test after 90 miles on the bike the day
before and I don't run.
Now- dropping the paceline- would be an achievement.
Alas, it's impossible for me. I can hardly stay in it.
It's fun if you can erase the pain fast enough.
M
PS: I estimated the mileage or maybe the pain to be about 90. I don't
have a speedometer. I do have a bell I refer to as my "manual heart rate
monitor". That's about it for gadgets for now.
I will have to add a speedometer/odometer to log mileages for new
courses. It's been nice doing without it for a while.
