Day 27 - 30 Days of Biking

Day 27 of 30 Days of Biking was busy!  I had a long day at work and I was ready to spend some time alone on my bike after I got home.  As I set out for a little evening pedal, I took some delight in finally having a little bit of serenity away from everything and everyone.  I rode in peace for a while and then noticed that I wasn’t actually alone.  I was being followed…chased.  It was the Dark Horse; someone I’ve seen before on my rides who likes to tag along.  The Dark Horse challenges me to ride faster and push harder and thinks they’re better than I am.  It’s almost a taunting style of riding that this Dark Horse has and it honestly gets under my skin.  I just wanted to ride and enjoy time alone, but now this had turned into a contest of who would quit first after being tested.  It was on like Donkey Kong!  Around one corner I would be ahead looking back to see the Dark Horse right on my wheel, and then I’d fall behind.   My advantage, I began to notice, was powering up the long hill, so kicked out of the saddle each time we got to it hoping to drop the Dark Horse like a bad habit.  No such luck though; I couldn’t get away.  As the sun was close to being down for the night, I knew that one of us would have to call it quits soon, so I gathered what energy I still had in the reserves and pulled out one final lap in hopes of losing the Dark Horse for good.  Coming down the final hill, I now had my headlight on so I could be seen by others.  I looked behind me and didn’t see my opponent….had I really dropped them?  Sure enough, the Dark Horse was gone!  Ha ha!  I smiled, and silently cheered in delight at the fading of my rival and started to ride back home.  I was pretty thrilled that I had outlasted the Dark Horse.  Sometimes your greatest rival while Loving the Bike is your own shadow.