The Boy and the Girl – mid 2000s

The Boy Ironman Worlds – Nice, France –  2023

The Girl – Half Ironman, Musselman, NY – 2025

When the Boy and the Girl were kids on their bikes, and if you gave them a full acre of asphalt, they would have still found a way to smash into each other. Cue the crying and screaming and scraped knees and that was that for the day.

Fast forward a few years or so, I can proudly say that I cannot keep up to either of them on a bike.

What happened? That age thing methinks.

While I very much continue to enjoy cycling, I will say my cycling has changed. Long gone are the days of waking up super early on a weekend to go and do a 100km ride. My cycling is now more like as I say, playing “9-hole golf”. Depending on the climbing and terrain, 30-50 km is more than satisfying. Two hours riding with a stop at a bakery (for it is not a ride without a bakery) is just fine. Maybe a few times a year (like for the Ride to Conquer Cancer) a 100 km day is rewarding, but other than that, again, those days are done.

And I am really quite happy to ride alone or with a few people as opposed to a whole “fellaton” as I call it. I don’t need the pressure of trying to keep up, let alone the pressure of worrying the night before of showing up on time and being ready and the ever present decision of “what will I wear?”

I think that all changed three years ago post a nasty series of detached retina procedures. As I often say and mutter to myself, “I don’t see so good.” And I really don’t see so good riding into the sun and glare. I like to see the road well in front of me. That can get hard with a group, assuming for a moment I am able stay up with the group. (At times I think the group just likes having me around as I would be at the pack as some kind of sacrificial rider should a car approach from behind.)

The last time I was able to beat the Boy up a hill was at maybe 15 years ago. I think he was quite amazed that I was standing there waiting for him as he walked his bike up the last part of the hill. And once when we did the Ride for Heart all those years ago, he cracked near the end. I took him home and put him in a hot bath and left to do some errands. Not perhaps my finest parenting moment.

And fast forward to today and the Boy is an Iron man. I won’t even try to keep up.

And the Girl is no slouch either! She and I last month rode the two day Ride to Conquer Cancer, and of course she was kind for if not, I would not have been able to keep up with her. And yesterday, she completed in very good time a half iron man.

How do I feel about it all? I could not be prouder of them!! That they love the sport and other sports is great. That they excel at them is even better.

And as long as they want to ride with their old Dad and do so at my pace, that is all I can ask for.

And that they wait for me at the top of hills as I once waited for them, well the circle of life and the wheels on the bike keep going round and round.