Heft on Wheels

I went riding the other day on the Silver Comet Trail. For anyone who doesn't know what the Silver Comet Trail is, it's a Rails to Trails project that runs from Marietta, Georgia to Birmingham, Alabama (I didn't ride that far, I rode 14 miles). I had decided to ride 10 miles after work (I am trying to keep my workouts fresh so I don't get burnt out and stop (remember I'm a fat guy, I don't need much of a reason to stop)).

The ride was good, I rode from the Cooper Lake trail head to Anderson Mill Rd and back. I was riding great, my heart rate was good, I wasn't tired or sore (I hadn't been on my bike for months). I was on back to Cooper Lake when I became demoralized. It wasn't that I was tired, sore, or that I thought I went to far on my first foray back on a bike. It was that I go passed by a 60-70 year old man on a cruiser.

I could not let this happen, so I sped up. I waited till we got to a road crossing to pass him (this way I wouldn't look like a tool (fat tool) for passing him(he had to stop at the road crossing for the light, and I timed it right)). I layed on the pedals, putting distance between us. I thought "he won't be able to catch me now", and that is when the alarm on my heart rate monitor went off. The alarm is set to warn me when I am pushing to hard (I don't want to break loose any of the large amounts of cholesterol coating my arteries, and have it float up to brain and cause aneurysm (although some of my friends would say becoming a drooling idiot would be an improvement to my personality)), so I slowed down till my heart rate returned to normal. About a mile away from the car it happened again, I got passed by the old man on the cruiser.

I would like to assign blame for why I got dropped by a old guy; my brakes were rubbing, the old guy was on steroids , contrary to popular belief a cruiser bike is more aerodynamic than a road racing bike, etc..., but the truth is this old guy didn't let himself become fat like me, he probably maintained a healthy life style and even at 60 - 70 years old he was in better shape than me. I am heft on wheels.