daverea.com

Lester Burnham once said, “It’s a great thing when you realize you still have the ability to surprise yourself.” I couldn’t agree more.

Earlier this summer, as the nights inched warmer and the corresponding mornings became more and more comfortable, I managed to squeeze in a few bike rides to and from work. For a few weeks, I was able to temporarily trade in the Saab for my Trek road bike – for at least one day out of five – saving us some coin and burning some appreciable calories as a bonus.

Because work is at a slightly higher elevation than home, my average speeds hovered in the 13 mile-per-hour zone in the mornings, and just below 16 on the return trip. Decent speeds to be sure, but – like so many others – I’m my own worst enemy. Achieving 16.5MPH – after a grueling ride on an 85+ degree day – was a big triumph.

As it happened, summer brought plenty to bear to keep my commute on four wheels. I bought a new mountain bike, which diverted my two-wheeled attention exclusively to the trail for a few weeks. We went out of town a couple times, work got crazy, and mother nature didn’t help by dousing us repeatedly and unpredictably with copious amounts of rain. All this didn’t mean I wasn’t riding – it just meant I wasn’t commuting by bike.

As it happened, this week provided a near-perfect day for a bike commute. Last night, the weather report predicted only a 40% chance of afternoon rain, and with temperatures in the mid-70s and no schedule conflicts, I was able to park the Trek at work once again.

I rode hard, both ways. My 16-ounce water bottle cleared its cage plenty more-than-usual, and I struggled to keep from downshifting out of the top chainring. But dammit – I was determined to hold my now at least eight-week-old pace. You can imagine my surprise when I stepped off the bike at work, pulled the computer off the handlebars, and discovered that I had averaged 14.58MPH! The trip home became a challenge to best myself: could I go on to beat my own past pace after a full day’s work? The answer came under an hour later, when I panted my way into our driveway and clocked in at 17.21MPH.

If you had asked me six weeks, or six months, or six years ago if I’d ever ride 12 miles at a 17+ MPH pace, I would probably have suggested you might have the wrong guy. But it’s amazing how our tastes, our interests, our goals, and perhaps even our vices change with time. It’s not always possible to change for the better, but when you add it all up and take the average across a “life in progress”, I hope I’m at least moving in that direction. From where I’m sittin’, that’s the best stewardship we can offer this life.