The Year of Riding Dangerously

I arrived in Phoenix last year, in August. The day Judy and I unloaded the rental truck and set up my apartment it was 114 degrees. Judy stayed a few days, then flew back to Kansas to keep the house from falling apart while we had it up for sale. She also continued to serve in her position as city council member of the small town we lived in for about 4 years. After a year, we finally accepted an offer on our house that wasn't a big loss. It was contingent on the sale of the buyers house, and the buyer of that house had a contingency on his. It was like a line of dominoes waiting to fall. Finally, the dominoes are falling and with any luck we'll be making the final move in late October.

We've moved several times over the years, and it has usually meant that I lived in an apartment while Judy stayed behind to mop up. This time has been by far the longest time we have spent apart, and we are both looking forward to being together again. Its amazing that she's put up with me for 34 years.

Being a bicyclist since I was about 4, getting out and riding has long been my activity of choice. This year, its been an escape from boredom of living alone. Its great exercise. Its fun, and for me at least, its cheap. Yes I'm a cheapskate. My Klein hardtail, bought used in Kansas City in 2000, is about 12 years old and has taken a beating this year. A few mornings ago, we met a guy on the trail who was riding a titanium Edison that had to cost 6 grand. We asked a few questions about it, and when my buddy Karl asked how much it weighed. When he responded 27.1 lbs, I commented, "That's only about 3 pounds heavier than my bike." The momentary flash across his face was priceless. He glanced at my bike dismissively, and was suddenly befuddled, not able to come up with a way of calling Mr. Klein a piece of shit without insulting the old, fat and slow geezer leaning on it.

Through this year in Phoenix, mountain biking has been almost a life saver. Without the Mountain Preserve a mile away, and a small group of friends to ride with, I would have done little other than work and sleep. Karl has been a regular riding partner for about 6 months. We have been up at 0 dark early about 5 times a week, meeting at the 32nd St trailhead at 5 and riding until 6. Sometimes we've pushed it hard and improved skills and fitness, other times we ride a couple of miles, solve some of the world's problems, ride a couple more, solve more problems, etc. until the hour is gone and we're both looking at being late starting our days. We both resolved that we hate riding in the early morning, but we keep at it because, "It's good for us." Eat your vegetables.

Now that the love of my life and I are going to be together again, biking will take a back seat to the many opportunities the Phoenix area will open up to us. I'll still get out a couple times a week. After all, it is still my exercise of choice, but Judy deserves to be treated like the sweetheart she is.