On May 3, Dad and I rode the Silver Comet Trail from the trailhead all the way out to Coots Lake near Rockmart, then turned around and came home. All told, it was a 66.55 mile ride, shattering my previous record for longest ride ever by more than 20 miles. In fact, had we not turned back and done all 66 miles heading west, we would have crossed over the state line into Alabama!
The trail is mostly flat, which you'd think gives the rider an easier ride than road riding...but that's not exactly true. Because it's so flat, you really never stop pedaling. Add to that the fact that there are some longish uphill climbs, and you've got yourself a decent training ride.
I'm really proud of what Dad and I are accomplishing. We push, we sweat, we rest, and we just keep going. For me the best part of all this is getting to spend time with my dad. 66 miles took just over 6 hours to complete. I can't remember ever in my life having 6 hours to spend with alone with my dad. We talk about stuff...faith, politics, education, life, family. I told him about a man I had visited in the hospital the day before our ride who, very tragically and sadly, lost his battle to cancer. He was in the process of recovering from his bone marrow transplant just two or three doors down the hall from where dad himself recovered from his back in 2010. As a priest, I was there to intercede for the deceased and to be there for the family; as a man, my heart broke for this family whose hopes for their dad's healing were unfulfilled. I have no answers for why some people win their battle with cancer and some people lose. I'll leave that to the doctors and to the Lord who knows the day and hour we will go home to meet Him. But it made me appreciate the fact that the people who are here in our lives now should be loved now, cherished now, not later. Every moment really is a gift.
These are the kinds of things we get to talk about...when we're not gasping for breath on those long, gradual inclines.
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