Michael: Back in the Saddle

The twenty two mile
Descent into Bugaba
Is the cat’s meow.

Sunday, August 2, 2015

For my first ride back after my accident I chose the easy road headed downhill toward the coast. There are no dramatic pitches or turns. Though there often isn’t much of a shoulder, there isn’t much traffic either. Of course, after soft pedaling for almost an hour, to get back to Volcan you’ve got to turn around and head uphill which isn’t so easy, but it’s never very steep. Just a two hour spin for me uphill. And at least your heading away from the heat and humidity of coastal Panama and back into the relatively cool air of the highlands.

There was also a smattering of riders out, which was comforting. Though I only got to ride with one and that was only for a very short distance. And wouldn’t you know it, he was the last rider I rode with before my crash.

He recognized me and asked for my number, but I don’t have it memorized and my phone was in my seat bag, so next time out I’ll have it written on a piece of paper and in my back pocket. He lives in Volcan and is much younger than I am. He’s also the only rider to catch up to me so far, so there’s a good chance he’s also a stronger rider than I am. That would be great as it would force me to work harder. I also like to watch good riders descend in front of me to see if I can pick up any tips. Descending properly is just not a skill that comes easy to me.

Naturally, I felt it was a bit ironic that he would be the first rider I meet after hopping back on the bike after almost two weeks. And I did worry about the omen factor for a bit. But now that I’m back safe and sound, maybe it was a good omen to see him right off the bat.

I’m still going to wait a bit to tackle the more treacherous road that I crashed on. It would really soothe my nerves if I could meet up with the Volcan rider and have him ride in front of me on that one. I‘m keeping my fingers crossed.