Fun & Fitness over 50

Don't you ever feel that way? I have. At least riding along the Hudson river here in upstate NY. I'll ride out on the bike trail and it'll be several miles of a slight grade. Not too bad but a steady grind of several miles. I'll think "At least it'll be downhill on the way back." But I swear, on the way back, I won't notice that downhill stretch or maybe I'll have been daydreaming and missed it. Now I know it's a physical impossibility for a path to be uphill in both directions unless it's some evil magic like Cruel Caradras in the Lord of the Rings, dumping snow on the hapless Fellowship or Old Man Willow directing the Hobbit's paths where they don't want to go. However, the headwind thing ... I KNOW this happens. I go out on the bike path along the Hudson at lunch time and there is a headwind when I'm going north, then when I turn around the headwind has switched and is now coming from the South. Maybe this is a normal occurrence at midday along the river.
Today, however, was not like that. In fact there was no wind at all and I was very aware of the natural rise and fall of the roadways. All was as it should be. It's good thing too because it was 50 miles! I rode out from my house in Delmar which is the first suburb west of Albany down to the Hudson River front in Albany where I picked up the Corning Bike Trail. This runs about 7 miles north to south along the river. Then you get back on the road for about 3 miles through the streets of Green Island and Cohoes and pick up the Mohawk-Hudson trail which runs east to west, ride out another eight miles and then turn back. I haven't ridden that entire section yet so I don't know how long it is but I have ridden 20 miles of it to the city of Schenectady, north-west of Albany. It starts up again after you get through Schenectady. The whole thing from the Corning Trail in Albany to where it ends in Rotterdam is about 37 miles depending on who you talk to. My goal is to ride the whole thing out and back again in a day. Add another 14 miles to the total if I start from my house. That's 88 miles.
The 50 miles was no problem endurance wise. I could have kept going but it wasn't in my plan to go more today. The problems I run into are chafing in the shorts, numbness beginning in the fingers at about mile 35 and my right shoulder hurts although that wasn't too bad today. When you get a nice long stretch and you get in a rhythm with your cadence and breathing, heart rate at about 75%, it's sweet. Feel like you could go on forever. You're definitely high on endorphins. But it's a total experience. Being enveloped in the fresh air. Mid-spring budding trees filling the air with oxygen. The swish of the wind over your body. The beauty of the greenery and the solitary path. The constant rhythm of the turning pedals. The energy in your muscles. Sipping water. Munching a Clif Bar. Saying hi to everyone you meet and sharing a secret knowing smile with a few.