I had mentioned before that I met this lovely 65-year-old guy named Bill, and that he works at the local beer/wine store. He rides the Pan Mass challenge every year. Every day, he rides 50+ miles with a few other guys his own age. He was the one who told me that one of the guys he rides with saw me on the rail trail and deemed that I “move.”
The other night, I went to get a bottle of wine, and when Bill saw me, he smiled, and said, “Oh, I got an email about you today!” I was like, “Oh, damn. They’ve all seen me in the bubble bath in that *&^%$#@ book, Cats and Their Women!” But, no, that wasn’t it.
Bill said, “Jeff saw you on the rail trail today.” I was really beginning to wonder whether these 55+ guys were stalking me on the rail trail or if they were making me into some kind of urban cycling myth.
At that point, I tried to remember my ride. As I told my friend, Jeff (not to be confused with the cycling Jeff), a few Tuesday lunches ago, riding 25 miles now is like nothing to me. (Sorry, Suze, but it is!) I gather all my needed biking things, I get on my bike, I head to the rail trail, and when I return home, I often have to ask myself, “Err, how did I end up here?”
So, when Bill mentioned Jeff saw me, I had to think – really hard – about where I might have seen Jeff. I did remember an older gentleman who I passed to and fro, who smiled at me. And, it wasn’t the normal “nice to see you” smile; it was more like an “Oh, I so know you’re the girl who moves” smile.
I then asked Bill, “I think I might remember him.”And Bill said, “He rides almost in a sitting position.” When I thought back to the “Oh, I so know you’re the girl who moves” guy, I did recall that he was sitting straight up in the saddle when he passed me. I said to Bill, “You know, I think I do remember passing him now.” Bill said, “Well, Jeff sent me an email saying he thinks you’re ‘catchable’ now!” I said, “Oh, really? What makes him think that?" Bill said, “I don’t know!”
Bill went on to tell me that Jeff is a 59-year-old guy who is a good cyclist but rides "crappy" bikes. He doesn’t do any bike maintenance, so when his bike dies, he just gets a new crappy bike. I told Bill that I don’t “do” bike maintenance either. I just ride the thing, which I am good at, and I get someone else to fix it. Apparently, Jeff won’t do that, and Bill thinks he could be a stellar cyclist, well, for a 59-year-old guy, if he had a decent bike.
Bill then mentioned again that Jeff thought I was “catchable.” And I said, “Bill, I think Jeff is in la-la-land. I am not. I will send you email tonight, and I want you to forward it to Jeff.” Bill said, “You do that!” It was almost as if the “old” boy cycling club needed an infusion of “moving” cycling chick to spice up their rides. And then I asked Bill, “Are you guys riding this weekend?” He said that he was going to be in the Vineyard and that Jeff was going to be in the Poconos with his wife, BUT I should send the email.
And, I did, and this is what I sent to Bill:
Hi Bill,
It’s me, Jean.
So, Jeff thinks I’m “catchable,” yeah, well, all I have to say to that is a big…………………………….NOT! :-)
Nice to see you tonight as always.
-Jean
Then Bill sent this email:
Hey Jeff,
I don't know but this sounds like a challenge to me. Maybe when I get back from the Vineyard and you get back from Pennsylvania, we can all get together for a friendly bike ride and maybe learn some tricks from each other on how to be faster.
BF :)
It’s funny, because I never thought by cycling on the rail trail by myself that I’d form a fan club, but somehow I have. And, actually, it’s wonderful. I responded to Bill’s email with:
So, Monday…what time and where?
-J
Anyway, I remain, as always, not catchable by any man on the rail trail, well, except for Mr. Bounce Tropical Breeze. And, if and when I do become catchable by a man, it will only be by my choosing; and, he'll have to have biked long and hard to have caught me. <3
Rainy Day Shadow and Wet and Soggy Dirty Biking Legs and Socks Always Get me Down Note:
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