Remembering Paul

Route: Neighborhood Crit, 11 laps

Miles: 21

Time: 1:32

Ave Speed: 13.5 mph

Weather: Sunny and 38, light breeze

2018/19 Indoor Miles: 49.1

2018 Season Outdoor Miles: 1,209

Gotta love the lobster gloves in the cold of December!

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The Story

Only 10 days before Christmas and I ventured back OUTSIDE for a ride today. With sunshine, a meager 38 degrees and roads in my neighborhood about 90% free of ice, I dusted off my Specialized Roubaix road bike that was already in winter storage, piled on the winter riding gear and took on the great outdoors of Wisconsin, USA.

For some of you it isn't a big deal to ride in cold weather, with patches of ice on the road and a layer of snow all around on the ground like it was on my ride today.

But for this hot and humid weather lover trust me, this was a big deal today.

As I turned lap after lap (being extra careful in the corners to avoid any black ice incidents) my thoughts drifted to wondering if this would be my final ride of 2018 outside.

Who knows? Maybe. Maybe not.

In the later laps as I began to lose touch with any feeling in my toes I started to bitch about the cold weather.

Then somehow my thoughts drifted to the late, great Paul Sherwin, taken from us too soon this year. Then the complaining cold-weather pity party went away.

Instead of crabbing about it, I took the cold ride for what it was and actually appreciated the fact that I have the ability to even be on the bike today. I wondered what was Paul's final ride. He had no idea that this year's Tour de France would be the last one he would ever call for us on television. (I still don't know what I'm going to do next summer without hearing him say a thousand times during the Tour coverage, "At the front end of the main field.") RIP Paul.

You never know when it will be your last ride of the year.

You never know when it will be your last ride ever.

So ride that next ride with great enjoyment, knowing that very fact.