The bike ride success

On Sunday, Jeet and I finally did the MS bike ride that we had been training for (and living in dread of) all this time. Delta would have come too, except he fell terribly ill just the day before, and smartly opted to stay home and be pampered instead.

And so it came to be that in the pre-dawn hours on a Sunday, unbelievable though it seem, I dragged myself out of bed, donned myself in multiple layers of clothing, and adorned ol' Blue Lightening with multiple tags and reflectors. As I set off from home, the wind bit into my arms like icy needles, for autumn had fallen (or fall had autumned?) with a whimsical chill.

I had forgotten what it was like to be out and about in the city at dawn - all soothingly quiet and velvety grey. As I breezed through the streets, I let the feeling sink in to me with a welcome calm.

By the time I reached the starting line-up there were already thousands of bikers congregated. I walked to the spot where I was supposed to meet my team, and could not locate them in the crowds. I poked and prodded and peeked and peered, but could not identify anyone with our "Miles for Myelin" team t-shirt. Before giving in to a surge of panic however, I decided to call Jeet.
"Where are you?!" I gasped.
"Just a few feet from you," she said, "write by the lampost. I fought my way through the crowds towards the lampost, and there they all were. I just hadn't been able to see them, for such is the nature of a short person in a tall crowd.

And as I stood there, nestled into the security of our team, I noticed that the sun had risen to unveil one of the most beautiful days this autumn could have possibly granted us. Jeet and I set off then, chattering away the whole way through.

Like tourists experiencing this for the first time, we paused on the FDR to take pictures of ourselves by Brooklyn Bridge. Like rookies biking for the first time, we panted our way up each flyover and let our legs hang limp as we coasted on the way down. Like a child without impulse control, I had to pull over at the side of the FDR to use the bathroom BEHIND A CONSTRUCTION SHEET. Let it be noted, that at this point, Jeet, fairweather friend that she be, almost disowned me. Not that I blame her, I'm just saying is all.

In the end, despite our initial dawdling, Jeet and I stuck to our plodding pace, and ended up finishing the race one of the first in our team. Like the hare and the tortoise, we pulled it off by the end - and - other than our resentment for not actually being the first, we were pretty excited about how easy it was.

Now I can't wait for the 5-Borough Bike ride in May!