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I usually go it alone.  I tend to be the solitary sort, I suppose.  Sometimes it’s just that I’ve gotten used to doing what I wanna do even if nobody else seems inclined to come along for the ride.  Just as often, it’s that I’d prefer not to have an audience and the implied judgement that sometimes comes with it while I work things out at my own pace, whatever that may be.  I’m happy sweating by myself.  I do some of my best thinking with my blood pumping hard and when the freedom exists to change my plan on  a whim.  I relish this private time and see it for the treasure it is.  I usually run alone. I usually bike alone. And so it’s with great surprise that I’m just beginning to discover that maybe, just maybe, a little company might not be a bad thing every once in a while.

The half marathon was a transformative experience that way.  Far from being a nuisance, the crush of runners was invigorating.  Rather than provoking me to irritation, the cheering crowds encouraged me.  Surprise of surprises, I actually LIKED running with other folks around!  I still haven’t been able to bring myself to train with other runners, though, not yet.  One step at a time, pardon the pun.  Except, of course for the Hash House Harriers, but they’re a very special case indeed.  I’ll run with ‘em, but I’m not too sure the word “training” can be properly be applied to that scene…

And now, all in the same summer, I come to find out that I kinda like biking with company, too.  Who knew?  My friend had gotten a mountain bike last year but hadn’t yet gotten much use from it.  I spent last summer biking an obscene amount and while I’d loved it, I’d be lying if I didn’t confess to having been a bit burned out on it, too, before all was said and done.  Miles and miles and miles and miles, just me and my podcasts and the roads and the wind… Anyway, my friend and I play hockey together on a team where a full two lines is a good day indeed.   A little extra conditioning wasn’t going to hurt anybody.  We schemed and plotted.  A plan was hatched.  Perhaps not a great plan, or perhaps such a great plan that we wouldn’t allow ourselves to be thwarted.  However you care to cast it, our first foray into the world of biking with buddies launched us on our bicycles into the maw of an oncoming thunderstorm.  We knew the forecast, we’d seen the radar, but we soooo wanted to go that we ignored our better judgement.  Pelted by marble sized raindrops and awed by the lightning growing ever closer, we finally turned back before reaching our destination.  We raced the business end of that storm home.  Bedraggled we were, but invigorated, too.  Who doesn’t feel tough after biking through a storm?  We were hooked and a terrific little tradition was born.  Our little adventure led to a standing appointment between us for a bike ride for breakfast once a week.

I surprise myself.  With age and experience, I’m learning that I’m less a loner than I thought.  Not that I’m not a team player, but I’d always thought running and biking were different.  Companionship is an altogether different motivator for these things than I’m accustomed to, but it’s a valid one and I’m glad to have found it.  I’m glad to find new ways to love the things I already did and new people with whom to share my previously solitary pleasures.  Not that I’m giving up my solo bike rides anytime soon or inviting anybody along on my runs just yet, but this just might be the beginning of something beautiful.    ~DG