The Blog Page

News, commentary and humor about bicycling and other topics of the day

 

On turning 45

Today is my 45th birthday. Some people consider 45 a milestone, the sure sign that a person is in middle age. But I only think of birthdays such as 40 or 50 as milestones.

Because I have to work today, my family celebrated my birthday yesterday by having lunch at Red Lobster in Alton and a small gathering at my sister's house. I got the book "Three Nights in August" and DVDs of the first season of the "The Andy Griffith Show." Griffith's classic TV show is a few months older than I am, but it's amazing how well the show has aged!

I also found out that my niece, Ani, made the pages of the Belleville News-Democrat's Sunday magazine. The Sunday magazine has a man-on-the-street feature each week, and this week's question was, "What makes you smile?" If you want to find out what makes my niece smile, you can find out here.

After the party, there was plenty of time to get out on my bike. With a record-setting high of 70 degrees, it would have been a crime not to be out on the bike. Unfortunately, unseasonably high temperatures in January also bring a lot of wind from the south or west, so I picked a route to minimize the effect of the wind. I took the Watershed Trail from Wanda to Edwardsville, took Main Street down to the Madison County Nature Trail, took that road to Old Chain of Rocks Road, turn north on Sand Road to Old Poag Road, then took Wanda Road back to the trailhead. Riding through downtown Edwardsville and riding the tree-lined Madison County Nature Trail down to the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville campus helped minimize the headwind.

I did find out that I have a LOT of work to do to be ready for the 2006 cycling season. I need to spend a lot more time at the new YMCA facility in downtown Belleville, and I have no excuses not to go, given it is across the street from the News-Democrat. I would like my 45th year to be healthy one, and now is the time to start!

Roger 2 comments 11:58 AM

Comments:

From a fellow cyclist in NYS. best wishes for a happy and healthy birthday.

# posted by  Anonymous : 1:32 PM

 

Happy belated B'day Roger...hope it was a good one--sounded like it was. I'll be there in 18 months.

# posted by  Bike : 1:42 PM

 

Post a Comment