The Cove Comet

I'll never be mistaken for the Cove Comet, Jim Puckett, the guy who set all sorts of Oregon sprinting marks back in the 1950s. But when I get on the bike some days I feel fast. Of course, when I was in my 20s, I could average 18 mph on a bicycle, and today my best is about 15.5. So it goes. My goal of getting back to being as fast as I was as a 20-something may be unrealistic. But I have achieved my college weight, about 180 pounds, and that is a badge of honor for a 54 year old.

Some days, when my biorhythms are in synch, I feel as if I am flying down the road on the bicycle. I may never catch the Cove Comet. That's OK. Just to feel the wind in my hair — and in my "sails" — is enough.