This loop is a piece of cake if you take John's class...

It was a beautiful day today, sunny and warm (77°F/25°C), and I felt the need to get out there and not waste it, even though we did this 7-mile hike yesterday (with 1400' elevation change, too).

So I got out my trusty old Centurion LeMans, and set out on a 15-mile loop I've done a few times with the ex-teenager. It took me a full 80 minutes, but nothing hurt afterwards.

Now I have to say that this is unusual for me at this time of year. For nothing to hurt I mean (and I didn't even take any ibuprofen before starting out). What's happening, you ask? It's not glucosamine/chondroitin or any other fancy drugs; it's John's cycling (or "spinning") class at the Y-M-C-A, the Sequoia YMCA to be specific. Schedules can be found here. You want the Group Exercise Schedule for the current version, but we meet Mondays at 6:00am. Yes, there are two 6:00s in a day; this is the one before most people go to work.

John will give you quite a workout. He leads us through warm-ups, then we get going. When you come for the first time, please come early so he can adjust the bike for you. Speaking of the first time, if you haven't done this before, you might want to take some ibuprofen before coming to class. I took two tablets before the first class, and my right knee started hurting about half-way through. I took two more after I got to the office, and apparently there was no permanent damage.

For the second class, same drill with the medications but that time there was no pain until we were almost at the end. Ever since then, my knee hasn't bothered me at all in class -- which is probably why it didn't complain to me today. And if you're out of shape and feel you can't keep up with the rest of the class, don't worry; I didn't stand up for the first few months (yes, he does tell us to "come out of the saddle" during class) because I wasn't ready for it, and nobody scolded me or looked at me sideways. It's a great group.

Back to today's bike ride -- I took the route shown at the above link, and shot the photo at right with my phone just after the 280/Sand Hill interchange.

It was a beautiful day and I'm so thankful to be able to get out on the old bicycle and enjoy it like that. Praise God from whom all blessings flow!