New Beginning

This all re-started when my oldest son graduated from U of I. He raced on their road racing team. When he moved back home, he asked me to go for a little ride with him. I hadn't ridden in about 12 years. The last race I was in was a TT, about 20 years ago. The last season I had actually raced was over 25 years ago. But, he said that it would just be a short 12 mile ride. It sounded like a fun loop down to the River Road and back up State Street Hill. I used to go out every night after work and sprint State Street Hill 10 times in a row and not even breath hard. The problem was, I apparently forgot how to ride a bike. I couldn't keep my balance. I felt like we were riding 50 mph. I'm sure my heart rate was about 300. When we got to the end of our street, I had to try to get my water bottle without crashing. But I couldn't drink because I was breathing too hard. When I tried to return the bottle to it's cage, I dropped it. I nearly crashed when it bounced off of the rear wheel. Of course, I couldn't make it up State Street Hill. I couldn't breath, I couldn't get a drink, my heart was about to break ribs, and I was actually starting to cramp. I still had about 3 miles to go, mostly up hill.