new york century

86 miles
10.+ miles per hour
8+ hours on the bicycle
perfect weather

I guess it’s the 3rd time we’ve done this ride – what is it with the 75 mile route? It’s always more than 80…

Notes:
automatic camaraderie of riding, automatic impulse to watch out for each other
old man curbside going “whoosh, whoosh” whooshing the bicycles on their way
man with grey-black dreads and an awesomely spiffy suit greeting cyclists near the end of the ride
two little twin boys in blue t-shirts and their dad from the ballfield, nervous about cutting in the line for the bathroom until I waved them in
following the seagull shadow for a few sweet seconds
more pain in my upper body – wrists and neck and upper back – than in my legs
chanting to assist with centering & balance while riding over bridges on narrow walkways with fear of heights
awesome kites in the wind at Rockaway Beach, and how lonely it seems there with the closed up buildings
gentleman who carried my bike up the stairs for me entering the Tri-boro pedestrian walkway
consciousness of tipping the balance from aversion to compassion and how much difference that makes