A persistent ridge of high pressure has had sunny skies overhead since Friday, and staying that way for the foreseeable future--astonishing considering that this time of year usually has constant damp and moss growth behind the ears...
On Sunday, my dad, husband, and I rode around on Vashon Island. It's beautiful riding, mostly quiet roads (some so little trafficked that they are green with moss. I was kinda only sorta kidding about the moss growth behind the ears...) where you're watching for deer as much as for cars. It's also challenging riding, as the island is approximately a 450 foot high plateau, and as the road goes toward and away from the water, you can lose or gain those 450 feet pretty quickly. Though my dad had never ridden on Vashon before, last summer he plotted a challenging route around the island and sent it to me as a "check this out!"--I then went and actually rode his route, and thought many dark thoughts towards him along the way. So on Sunday I made sure to detour to a couple of the *really* special hills that I had encountered on his route. And I made sure to point out that they were his idea.
We had a really fun time!
It also makes me really happy to be able to get out and ride with my dad (and my husband) like this. About three years ago, the arthritis in his knee was getting bad enough that he was having to walk with a cane--which really put a crimp in his lifestyle, since he loves hiking, snowshoeing, skiing, etc. His doctor said that exercise would actually help his kind of arthritis, so he got a little bike machine that he could pedal while sitting in his easy chair. Then he started feeling a little better, so started doing short rides on his bike. And felt better, and started doing longer rides on his bike. Fast forward to last year, and he did a hilly century with us, which was the longest he had ridden his bike since I was a kid. He also rode up some mountain passes with us, and has spent the winter emailing with me about what mountains and other challenging rides are the ones he has to be sure to get done this year. And so I ignore him when we're out riding together and he complains about an upcoming hill "I'm 66 years old, you know!"
And I'm not sure he knows where his cane is. He's also talked about training his hiking up to summit Mt. Rainier (another thing he did when I was a kid). He's said before that when he did that, he was in the best shape of his life--and watching him on the bike the last couple years, I can well believe he's getting there again.
Anyway, it was a beautiful and fun day of cycling, made more special by being out with my dad. And my husband--he's pretty awesome too.