10,000 Miles!

No, not on the motorbike.........on the pedal bike. 

I got this bike for my 68th birthday, so a little more than six years to get this mileage.  For the first year or two after I started riding this bike I was doing 2,000 miles, but I have tapered off a lot in the past few years.  I have become less comfortable with riding on the local two-lane roads with no shoulder, as traffic has increased and my bravery has decreased.  Before this bike, I was riding an old mountain bike that I put road tires on.  I might have done 10,000 miles on that bike also, but I didn't have an odometer on it.  And before that I was commuting three days a week on a different bike that I racked up 26,000 miles on.  Despite all those miles I don't consider myself a dedicated bicyclist........it's just the best way I have for staying fit.  My joints are pretty creaky when it comes to walking or running, but when on the bike I still have the flow. 

Day Ride To Mt. Rainier

Every year we try to do at least one day ride to Mt Rainier, and last Thursday was the day.  It's not a particularly curvy ride, and we often get stuck behind motor homes and travel trailers, but the scenery is worth it.  It was probably just as well it was not too curvy as I had put a new front tire on the bike and it felt like I had power steering. It took me awhile to get used to it, but when I did, I really liked the improved handling. 

At the altitude of the lodge the mountain was in full autumn splendor:

L to R, Leo, Mike, me
Orv is behind the camera

 

I turned 9,000 miles on the bike, which I bought in April.  The end of the real riding season is coming up, but I will probably have over 10K miles before winter.