Leah, good for you. Congratulations on all those miles! Rivendells have long been billed as versatile bikes. The smile on your face while hoisting your 30ish lb. Platypus and Clem tells me you don't have to just ride 'em to stay fit:-)
Best, Rich in ATL On Monday, December 7, 2020 at 1:52:12 AM UTC-5 Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! wrote: > Drat, the video will not send. Here are some pics instead. Message me if > you want me to email it, or view it on Instagram. > > > > Sent from my iPad > > On Dec 6, 2020, at 10:49 PM, Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! <jonasa...@gmail.com> > wrote: > > My New Year’s resolution was 2,020 miles in 2020. I had no way of knowing > what kind of year 2020 would shape up to be, and because so much of it was > spent at home, I logged a lot of miles on my Clementine. We live in hilly > terrain, in fact, to get to my house it’s quite the climb; we’ve taken to > calling it Killer Hill. The roadies come here to ride it on weekends, so > you get the idea. I started this with Big Bens and stock Clem wheels. I > swapped those out for tubeless Gravel Kings from Analog, and while they > were at it, I had them make me my first dyno kit - that way I could wait > for the cool of night and ride in the dark. It is often triple digits at 8 > pm in the summer here. > > > Now I was really free to go! And go, I did. > > I didn’t know how much it was going to mean to me to be out on my bike > this year. It’s been a rough year for everyone, and I’m no exception. I > suddenly lost my young, healthy dad to a pulmonary embolism in July. He was > only 62. I took 10 days and flew home to join my mom and siblings and plan > Dad’s funeral in COVID times. When I returned, I got back on my Clem, > pointed it towards Killer Hill and my 10-mile circuit, and sobbed for miles > and miles as I pedaled through the desert. Pedaling and sobbing, I kept on. > In the coming months, that Clem would be like balm to my soul, something > familiar and comforting and even empowering. The turning of pedals and the > whirring of wheels was familiar and wonderful in my upside-down world. > > Meanwhile, I grew quads to be reckoned with. My stamina increased. I could > go running or climb Killer HIll on my bike while having a phone > conversation or singing. These are gifts that a heavyweight bike like a > Clem will give you: You learn to muscle through the tough stuff. You’re not > too proud to use the granny gear when it suits you. You know even through > the pain, you’re going to get to the top of that hill, if only you’ll just > keep turning the pedals. > > When we hit the middle of October, I finished my 2,020 miles. I needed > something else to work towards, so I decided I’d try for 3,000 miles before > Christmas. December would be a short month for me, because I’ll be away > from my bike for most of it. With the weather cooling, I decided to try. > But it would be difficult; I’d need to ride 20 miles per day most days, and > I’ve told you about the hills here. > > I learned the hard way about staying hydrated. As the temps dropped, I > drank less water on my rides. Between lingering anxiety over Dad and > dehydration, I ended up throwing my heart into a mild arrhythmia for a few > days. If you’ve never experienced that, I’ll tell you that it will terrify > you to get back on your bike for fear of how your body will take it. > > But I got back in the saddle. My body took it just fine, as if nothing had > happened, and I did a better job taking care of myself after that. > Meanwhile, my long-awaited raspberry Rivendell Platypus arrived. I decided > that what I’d started on my Clem, I’d finish on my Platypus. > > Today, December 6th, astride the beautiful raspberry Platypus, I hit my > 3,000th mile. > > I made a video montage, and I’ll try to post it here in a 2nd post, but at > 1 minute and 36 seconds, it may be too big. You can view it on Instagram or > I will email it you if you ask. > > Warmly, > Leah > > > > > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic in the > Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To unsubscribe from this topic, visit > https://groups.google.com/d/topic/rbw-owners-bunch/-J0tELDtbCY/unsubscribe > . > To unsubscribe from this group and all its topics, send an email to > rbw-owners-bun...@googlegroups.com. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/dd1be2dd-579c-4d8b-8b9e-d9473fbb9814n%40googlegroups.com > > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/dd1be2dd-579c-4d8b-8b9e-d9473fbb9814n%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/d1d31301-a822-476c-9d7c-6cc0f606adccn%40googlegroups.com.
