More Favorite Fifteens

I know I haven't written for a bit; it's been busy. I'll share a few of my Favorite Fifteens with you though.

On my last ride in Lake Placid, there's a 6 mile descent after you've climbed seemingly endlessly out of town. It then drops 1200 feet in a series of 3 hills. My cycling computer was dead, so I have no idea how fast I was going, but I was pretty sure that if I crashed out that I would be dead. It did occur to me though, that if I had to die in a cycling accident, that this would be where I wanted it to happen (as opposed to, for example, a 4-way stop in Narberth). Needless to say, I (1) did not crash or die, and (2) was exhilarated beyond belief. That makes it an easy Favorite Fifteen moment.

I should note that you spend the last 15 miles of this route regaining all of this elevation, but it's easier than doing it in the other direction, which I've done a couple of times. It's amazing how steep a 5% grade seems when you're going up it for 2 miles straight, times 3.

Since I got home, I've had some other favorite moments, ranging from picking up our very happy dog, to sitting with my 16 year-old twin niece and nephew for nearly an hour, just talking, to having an old friend from high school whom I'd not seen in 25 years drop by for an afternoon, to spending a couple of hours with a much-missed former colleague.

It's easy to pick out the peak moments when you're doing something exciting, but it's equally important to savor what you get every day. On today's bike ride, I felt like everything was flowing perfectly and I just enjoyed the sensation of being strong and smooth, and then a jump in the pool to cool off was wonderful.