I have been challenged. The gauntlet has been thrown down. I was talking to my mother the other day and she said that my father invited me to go bike riding with him on Friday morning when I am at home. That surprised me because my father is a runner not a biker. I asked why he was biking. She said that he was still recovering from a recent leg problem. I happily said, “Oh, because he’s old and doesn’t heal well!”
Mom: No, it is not because he’s old. (making sure Dad could hear her end of the conversation). He says he wants to know if you can keep up with such an old man. Friday morning. Presque Isle.
Me: I could do it if I had a decent bike this time.
Mom: He says he’ll rent you a bike.
Crap. Presque Isle has a 13 mile bike path. I rode it with my parents once before. It was pre-Spirit so I was under 12. It was also before I got a halfway acceptable bike so I couldn’t have been more than 10. It was our only major fitness challenge ever. I only vaguely remember it. But I remember that it was hard, especially on a little kid’s bike with no gears. Now that I consider it I’m hanging on to the fact that it is flat. I’ve done 9 flat miles on the bike path here with no problems. 13 shouldn’t be much worse. I tend to be a meanderer on my bike. I don’t like excessive speed. The “keep up with an old man” part of the challenge may be a problem.
I may take my bike up there just because it has a big butt seat on it. If I’m riding a rented bike the limiting factor will be how long I can handle those painful little seats, not my aerobic capabilities.
I have a feeling I’m a dead woman. A couch potato like me should not challenge a hard core runner in a test of endurance.
