I bike almost every day, even in the bad weather. I rarely encounter another cyclist, but when I do, the other cyclists are typically older males, age 60 to 90, riding solo or in small groups. I've always wondered who these older males are, what their lives are like at home.

Today I had to give up my biking time and attend a small memorial for a friend's mother. The mother was my friend also and she died after a very long illness; the death was something she desired so it is ok. It wasn't a memorial with services and eulogies, but just a whole lot of people crammed into a tiny one-bedroom condo and munching on appetizers.

When I got there, Aunt Jean, the sister of the dead lady, exclaims, "Darcy you must still be biking because you have lost so much weight!"

Well yes, thank you for noticing. I've lost 2 inches around my middle, one inch around my bust and one inch around my hips so far this year. I was wearing a new cute outfit that showed off my less fat middle.

Aunt Jean then says her husband refused to come because he was out biking. This couple is in their late 60s. Now I should have been sympathetic and said oh no, how despicable, but instead I was instantly interested and asked how many miles he was biking today. Aunt Jean's face gets all twisted up with grimaces and scowls and she launches into this tirade against her husband. Evidently he is out biking 65 miles today. He bikes everyday and leaves her all alone. He is spending all sorts of money, and says the lady at the bike shop is giving him special deals, and Aunt Jean thinks he is spending too much time at the bike shop and he is having an affair with the lady at the bike shop.

I sort of go ummm. What could I say. I mean my thoughts were opposite of what she wanted me to think. You see, I was thinking, well good for him, he is probably training for a century, and no, he isn't having an affair with the lady at the bike shop because that would take away from his biking time. And I was already totally envious because he had the guts to not show up and continue with his training schedule and I had to revamp my whole week and take today as a day of rest. I will take my dogs for a walk yet today, and that will be my exercise for the day.

Aunt Jean was continuing with her tirade so I interrupted and asked if her cycling husband was signed up for the Monster Cookie Metric Century at the end of April. Aunt Jean exploded and it was all about how much does that cost, and no he didn't say anything, and why is he keeping these things secret from her. She said he owns two bikes, one is a Giant and one is a Specialized, and why does he need two bikes, and it all costs too much.

My husband is an invalid so I said oops, Bill doesn't do well in such crowded conditions so I gotta go, and I got out of there.

Whew!

Darcy