Return of the Ladies & Gents Ride

"Eric," I heard my name called and looked over to see my buddy eating lunch. I walk over and and... "holy crap, you're Eddy Merckx." He's eating lunch with Eddy Merckx. At Julienne in San Marino, no less (the San Marino in the San Gabriel Valley, by the way). Now, I am not going to say the story (retold here in abbreviated form) was the highlight of the Thursday evening's resurrected Ladies & Gents Ride, but I am glad not to have missed it.

While the Thirsty Thursday ride continues to be the go-to for speed work, the return of the L&G Ride, offers a mellower paced spin out to Covina and back. Same route, different pace. 

Speaking of Thirsty Thursday, people often ask me when I am going to start racing again. "You're like a young buzzard," they say, "circling those 55+ers, just waiting to swoop down and pick their bones clean, leave them laid out and bleaching around the race course." Every once in a while I say yeah, yeah, specks of glory shining in the far-away stare of my eyes.

Oh, but...

The TT's had passed us up earlier, but we came upon them again, standing alongside the street, sizable chunks of rock, and broken bits of plastic, or something littering the pavement, one rider down on the grassy verge. Specks of glory quickly faded; damn, there is always that. Never like to see that, and hope that the rider(s) only needs a little R&R before they are back to it.

Maybe it is alright those days are past. Maybe.

Maybe.

 the gathering

the waiting

smiling faces and thumbs up so far

Bicycle Friends

Not sure why I had this song in my head tonight, don't know that it is relevant in any way, but I have always liked it:

"Long ago in days untold

Were ruled by lords of greed

Maidens fared with gold they dared

To bare their wombs that bleed

Kings and queens and guillotines

Taking lives denied

Starch and parchment laid the laws

When bishops took the ride

Only to deceive..."