Bikes 02 Aug 2007 01:48 pm
Ride for Fremont: the day after
Josh has a roundup of photos and other coverage from yesterday’s Ride for Fremont.
I was a doofus: I was so concerned about my wonky joints, but it was the chronic fatigue syndrome that did me in. I conk out hard if my heart rate goes above about 135-140 for more than a few seconds. (”Post-exertional malaise” they call it. I’m still a bit muzzy.) But I wasn’t wearing a heart monitor; it’s been many months since it’s been a real problem, and I plain forgot. Then I pushed it harder than I should have up the hill — there were those twenty-somethings pulling away from us, the tandem’s slow and heavy… and, in truth, the lone counterprotester with his rather snazzy “Bikes are Bullies!” sign made me feel like a million bucks. (Grr! Scary me! Hee, right.) This post-exertional stuff is a pain in the neck, because there’s a delay before it kicks in, so I generally only know I’ve overdone it after it’s done. Anyway, Josh and I rode up, around, and down before the conk-out kicked me in the head. Then we sat around watching the bikes go by. And by, and by, and by…
Conk-out and all, I had a lot of fun. I even met up with an old friend I hadn’t seen in years. (Hi, Jennie!)
Next time, I wear the heart monitor. And no heroics. Like Grouchy Chris said in a similar situation, “You know, Cam, sometimes you can be really dumb.” No more the dumb!
Next up: a round of email. I wrote this morning to Feet First, the pedestrian advocacy group. I’m a member, as it happens. (If you ever leave the house under your own power, consider joining up! It’s cheap.) I asked them if they’d taken a position on the Stone Way road diet and expressed my hope that they’re working with the bike community for a safer Stone Way. I think it’d make a lot of sense for Feet First to be out front and active on that issue. There’s a Pedestrian Master Plan in the works right now; we want the city to be sticking to its alternative-transportation promises.
I also wrote to Joe Szwaja to thank him for showing up. (If there were any other political candidates out there, I sure didn’t see them.) It didn’t escape me that Joe took our concerns seriously.
I’m planning to write a note of thanks to the folks at the Episcopal Bookstore. It warmed my heart to see the the staff out there clapping for us. My needs for Episcopalian supplies are very low indeed, but I could probably buy some gifts for my aunt there, and I have been meaning to read more Thomas Merton.