Spectacular

It was late afternoon. Mason was off somewhere with Milly. I got an itch and took off on a bike ride. The weather was ideal, the kind of weather that necessitates jeans and long sleeve shirt, but no coat and this is the kind of weather which begs a bike ride in the middle of the day. So I succumbed to the begging. As I peddled away I didn't know where I was going, didn't know how long I would be gone for.. in mom language... this is unheard of. It felt like a sin, like skiing powder instead of going to work, the kind of wrong that couldn't feel more right.

As I rode along it occurred to me that this was the first ride in a long time in which I wasn't training for a race and while I love pushing for time and mileage the idea that I could ride for the enjoyment of riding was intoxicating. It was then I decided to do the Benson loop, dad I must take you on the Benson loop.

As I rode from one small town to the next there were miles of untouched land, miles and miles of no traffic, no people and for me, no worries. As I turned a corner and saw Benson marina I looked down at my computer and I was effortlessly going 25 mph. It's as if when I can get my heart rate going, mixed with some sweat and hard breathing my brain finally begins to see things clearly. It was clear to me that enjoyment and pleasure may present more success than straining and pushing and although my jeans a still too tight and the scale has been a real bitch lately I can still feel good, I can still feel great because of what this body allows me to do and that my friends is nothing less than spectacular.