Every day is a new bike tour

I had a moment earlier this week where I contemplated the difference between what I am doing and what I want to do. It was a day when there wasn't actually any extended rain. What we did have was extremely threatening conditions with the very, very occasional misty, sprinkly kind of deal. I reflected on wise advice that I received earlier this year that reminded me that the reason why I do what I do is for the process, not for the numerical result. I do this to be fit and to feel the way that a fit person feels. On that day I declined a bicycle ride and went ahead and launched my winter fitness campaign by trying a 3 mile walk.

Well. My walking fitness is quite subpar but even so I found it refreshing to be moving around out there at such a reduced speed. Yes, even slower than my reduced bicycling speed.

But today I went ahead and got back on my bicycle even though I was feeling somewhat south of perfectly fine. No complaints though, this is all relative. And sure enough, as I often used to discover when I was a younger person, a little exercise can actually cure minor maladies. I find that to be true only very occasionally at my current level of maturity but today it was true. It felt good. And it reminded me that the fact that I AM fit is the reason exercise today worked to help me recover from being unwell.

I rode through Como Park. There was a big youth soccer tournament going on over there. The SUV traffic seemed way too intense even for a big soccer tournament though. Eventually I discovered the problem. All of the SUVs had to use only one way out of the park (the way I was trying to use to enter the park) because of a road closing.It just seemed so unlikely to me that there would be a bike tour on that particular section of road. I lifted my bicycle over the curb and went ahead and rode down the closed road.

Sure enough, no bike tour. That sign must be left over on that particular piece of street furniture from the big local bicycle classic from a couple of weeks ago when lots of roads were, in fact, closed because of the bike event. I found that the road is closed because it is brand new pavement for a couple of blocks including the new parking lot for the new swimming pool at Como Park. The sign at the other end of the closing just said road closed without any suggestion of bicycles.

In football news FC Nantes has had a remarkable week, one of their best weeks since the first relegation. Of course, it IS ONLY LIGUE 2, but FC Nantes has had a 6 point week. On Tuesday, FC Nantes traveled to Metz, gave up an early goal but came back to win 1-3. A road victory is always a good result but this particular road victory came against a team near the top of the table. Then today home standing FC Nantes held up for a 1 nil victory over Clermont Foot. The two victory week moves FC Nantes up to 9th place in the league table, a huge improvement after a dismal start.