60 Miles at Almost 60: Unplugged

The day I turned 34, I rode 34 miles around Oxford, Mississippi with friend (and former student) Buck Cooper. That night at dinner with Buck's family and a visiting priest, I announced that would be the start of a birthday tradition, to ride my age in miles. The priest prophesied my obituary: "92 - year - old man dies on birthday...."

Today, with doctor's appointments scheduled during the week of my birthday, I did my 60 mile ride early. Starting at Mile 0 of the Silver Comet Trail, I went to mile 30, just shy of the trail's most spectacular landmark, the vast and acoustically - miraculous Brushy Mountain tunnel.

[Photo: Selfie at mile 30, 30 more to go. The Brushy Mountain tunnel is just around the corner; you can tell, because its vast shaded space cools the air hundreds of yards on either side of the entrances. Sent this to friend Susan, but was too far out for the message to reach her!]

Today I rode the first 40 miles unplugged from media, listening to cicadas, birds, and the cadence of my own pedaling. I'd heard Public Radio comedian Peter Sagal talk about unplugging during long - distance running, echoing Pascal's observation of 400 years ago, "People today are afraid of being left alone with their own thoughts." What did I think about? Mom; the Nicene Creed; blogposts to write; my buddy Jason's visit later this week, Mia's last weeks with cancer, and how I wished I'd brought a second Almond Energy Bar!

60 miles, a little more than three and a half hours, 16.5 m.p.h.