Flying through the streets

I got a looooooooong-overdue bike tuneup today. It was so long that they had to replace both the chain and the rear cassette. I usually do it once a year in late spring or at the start of summer, but this year, I haven't been able to get my act together. Thus, my annual bike tuneup was 3-4 months late.

One of these days, I will learn to tune up my own bike (like when an REI w/in biking distance decides to offer such a class when I'm free. . .), but in the meantime. . ..

Wow. My old gears must've gone to hell in a handbasket, because the bike I got back felt like a new bike. I flew home today. I couldn't believe the difference. Wow. I'm still marveling over how much-improved my new bike is.

For the past few months, I had been averaging about 10 mph speeds. I'd start out at about 13-14 mph, then half-way in, get tired/winded and pedal about 9-10 mph the rest of the way in, which is ridiculously slow. People old and young all flew past me. I felt like a sloth. Physically, I felt fine, so I couldn't understand why I'd get so tired biking in, and why, no matter how hard I pedaled, I couldn't bike more than 10-12 mph for sustained periods. I mean, I have a straightforward, flat, 6-mile commute each way. A walk in the park. It got to a point where I hated biking into work, b/c of how winded I felt afterwards. (Doing my runs after work, right before biking home didn't help matters one bit.)

Well today, post-tuneup, I averaged about 15-16 mph, with very little effort exerted on my part. The ride home was actually enjoyable. I felt nearly invincible, and for a fleeting moment, I almost felt transported back in time, to my grammar school days when we used to ride through the neighborhood streets, sans helmets, ignoring stop signs, ruling the roads. . ..

That is, until a stupid frenetic squirrel ran right into my path and abruptly brought me out of my nostalgic revelry.