When the Peanut’s character Snoopy dons his barnstormer hat
and goggles, you know he’s about to go on an adventure in his WWI Sopwith Camel
battling the cursed Red Barron. When I don my bike helmet and my blister shoes,
I’m on my way to another kind of adventure.
I tried a 45 minute ride the other day. I must preface this
by explaining that it’s been about 20 years since I rode more than 20 minutes
without pain. Not only did my knees scream at me when going uphill, but my rear
end… I don’t know how to describe the sensation. Somewhere between numb and
goosed. After doing more time on the bike, I figured I could try 45 minutes. I
rode to the park in my neighborhood that has a bike path that winds its way
around soccer fields, baseball diamonds, and a playground. I haven’t clocked
it, but I think it’s about 1K. It was about 6 AM and, except for a few folks
walking their dogs, I had the place to myself.
The first lap went fairly well. I average between 10 and 12
MPH. I spend some time adjusting the gears so that I can maintain my speed. I’ve
finally gotten used to the quirky shimano gear system where one set of controls
goes from 1-3 and the other goes from 1-7 thus giving me 21 gears. Jonathan
will cringe when I say that I don’t. He enjoys “driving.” That is to say he
likes to change gears a lot. I still remember my 0 gear bike – on the other
hand, I had no hills to climb, and I was a lot lighter as a kid. Okay – back to my ride. A man was walking his
dog off the leash. For the most part, in this park and all by themselves, I
have no objection to this. If he has a dog that behaves off leash, more power
to him and let the dog roam. Well, it’s a different matter when I whiz by. This
dog wanted to be very dog-like and bark and run. I wasn’t quite sure what to
do. Do I stop? Will the dog act like a bee and give up once I’m out of its
territory? I opted to slow down and let the owner gain control of the hound.
When I later passed him, the dog was leashed. I kind of felt sorry for it.
I checked my watch and it seems I’m making better time than
the last time. I would have to do considerably more laps. How, will I make this
interesting? I’ve already played with the gears, I’ve already settled the dog
problem, and there’s not much more to do but to keep pedaling. Then I found the
answer. A labyrinth. Labyrinths, when used for meditation and prayer, can be a
very enriching experience. I apply Labyrinth principles to my laps. First lap –
pray for the world; second the nation; third my friends; fourth my distant family;
fifth, sixth, seventh, my immediate family; eighth myself. Before I knew it my time
was completed. It wasn’t until I got off the bike that I felt just how much my
legs burned. I still have that numb butt and my knees are tender, but I think I
just added an unexpected dimension to my ride that I can look forward to.
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