Let's Go, Jane!

Nothing makes me feel more like a kid than hopping on my bicycle and peddling my heart out, with the sun on my back and the wind in my face. I recently rediscovered cycling, one more part of my past life that I’m reclaiming in my 50s. I cycled a fair amount in my 20s, on a Trek mountain bike that I rode for fun. The farthest I ever went was 25 miles for a charity ride through the south shore of Boston. I remember it being a big deal for me and my then boyfriend to ride that far.

Somehow, when I got into my 30s, I stopped riding. Not entirely, I had a cruiser bike that I followed the kids around on in the neighborhood when they were little. But I didn’t go often or far, and once the kids stopped wanting to ride I pretty much stopped entirely.

Last fall, when my younger son and I moved into a city apartment, my Dad gifted us an old Gary Fisher bike from the early 90s. Gary Fisher basically invented the mountain bike, and his eponymous bike company was later purchased by Trek. The bike definitely turned a few heads from those who’d been riding long enough to recognize it.

At the beginning of the summer, my boyfriend mentioned wanting to get back into riding. He’d bought a road bike just before COVID hit and hadn’t really gotten much use out of it. I dusted off the old Gary Fisher and we started going for rides, and right away I was hooked. After 150 miles I decided to splurge and get myself a new road bike from Giant. 

I can’t say enough great things about this bike! I’ve now put over 500 miles on it. I’m furiously researching how to extend the riding season as temperatures start to drop. Two or three times a week I go out for a 20-30 mile ride, sometimes with my boyfriend, and sometimes by myself. I absolutely love it. Cycling has taken the place of hiking, my activity of choice for the last decade.

This past weekend, we decided to push ourselves and sign up for the Twin Lights Ride, an organized ride through the Jersey shore that offers 15, 30, 55, 75, and 100 mile routes. Carey and I opted to do 55 miles.

As the weekend was approaching, we watched the weather forecast with concern. The chance of rain hovered around 40-60% for Sunday morning, but the ride was listed as “rain or shine.” We decided that we were going to ride no matter what. At 6:30 am, we hopped in the car and headed for Highlands, NJ in the pouring rain. It rained for most of the time it took us to complete the route. Even when it wasn’t raining, the roads were so wet that our wheels kicked up a constant spray of water.

Despite the rain, we had an absolute blast. Once you’re soaked through, you can’t get any wetter. The temperature was in the mid 60s so we weren’t too cold. We stopped at a rest station after 37 miles and were delighted to find generous slices of apple pie and an actual chocolate fountain. We stuffed our faces and then hopped back on the bikes for the last hour and a half of riding. Fueled by pie, we finished the ride in 3 hours and 59 minutes. This was the farthest I’d ever ridden, with a final distance of 57 miles.

It took a long time to get warm afterwards, and even longer to feel dry again. We changed our clothes and cranked up the heat in the car. After a dinner stop at a delicious Cuban restaurant for ropa vieja with black beans, rice, and sweet plantains, we headed back toward home. Tired and full and thoroughly satisfied, we now had another adventure in the bag!