February | 2016 | Steve Tilford

I normally try to hook up and do local rides whenever I am travelling. I think it is a great way to see old friends and feel the “cycling vibe” of the area. It is kind of strange, but each and every group ride has a personality of its own.

The Swamis ride ,which meets up in Encinitas California, North County, is one of those rides that has been going on forever. Like nearly as long as I’ve been racing I think. For a long time, at least. I think about any professional cyclist that has trained near San Diego has ridden this group ride.

Yesterday I went to the ride to meet up with my old team mate Ned Overend. I thought we could get in some easy miles and then catch up afterwards. I wasn’t expecting nearly a full on race.

I’m not sure if it was because of the weather being unseasonably nice or what, but there was a ton of horsepower out there. It seemed like every pro in the area, plus every ex-pro showed up. So many guys had either stars and stripes or World stripes on their sleeves it was ridiculous.

I didn’t see Ned at the start, but we met up soon after we started. Pretty soon we were cruising up the PCH at 30 + mph. And it didn’t really slow down for a long time. Not until after the church sprint in Escondido. I really wasn’t expecting that intensity. I had done nearly 500 miles in the previous week and was a little pooped.

About 1/2 way through, the group splits into a long ride or short ride. Ned had some time constraints, plus he just doesn’t ride that far, so we went back to the coast and up to Encinitas. The majority of guys went for the long route around Lake Wolford. Ned and I were only in a small group of 6-8, but we were still going super fast back to Solana Beach.

This ride isn’t as hard as the Rocket Ride in Seattle, but it was pretty hard. At least it was for me being tired and not have done any intensity in over a month.

It was truly amazing how many huge groups of riders I saw riding around North County yesterday. At least 10 with over 50 riders, a couple of more than 100 I’d guess. Man, there are a lot of people that ride bikes here.

I’m flying back to the cold Midwest today. Missing the whole Superbowl, I guess. Trudi has been dog sitting her sister’s lab in Chicago, plus the new puppy Tucker, so she has been pretty busy.

The Swamis Ride mets at Nytro Bike Shop in Encinitas at 8:10 on Saturday mornings.

This is Thurlow Rogers, in the blue and Ned, red, riding up the climb in Elfin Forest.

Just one of the huge groups heading down the coast.

A really nice day, tons of surfers.

Ned at the Panikin after the ride.

While watching the Superbowl last night, I noticed how many of the players thanked god almighty for the opportunity to get paid zillions of dollars to play a game. Seems pretty reasonable. They sort of won the lottery, minus the CTE (Chronic traumatic encephalopathy) and other life long injuries most of the players end up with, but they probably do owe someone a prayer. Also, there was the Church of Scientolgy Super Bowl ad.

Anyway, it got me thinking about how I was raised and how I got to my views on religion.

My parents were both Episcopalians. There is a cathedral, Grace Cathedral, in Topeka and that is where I went to church. On Sunday’s, I wasn’t much into church compared to running around, climbing in trees, or riding my bike.

One Sunday morning, maybe when I was around 7 or 8, I think after my parents had a hard partying night, I remember my mom walking out to the front yard where my brother and I were playing and asked if we wanted to go to church anymore. We thought it was a trick question. We said we were fine just playing and that was the end of it. It was like getting a continuous summer vacation.

Flash forward a couple more years and it came time I went to confirmation. There were classes at church, but I didn’t have any interest. I didn’t memorize the Lord’s Pray and was flunking.

So my mom had a chat with the cannon, who happen to live just down the block. It seems that they were taking a long family vacation, like over 2 months, and they needed someone to dog sit their golden retriever, Chandler. So the deal was that we would take care of their dog and I was to be confirmed. I think there was an implication that I would learn everything about confirmation later on.

I was a kind of ambivalent towards religion up to this point. This deal was the tipping point. And throughout life, I realize these “religious deals” happen all the time. Doesn’t seem like god would approve of personal deal making superseding religious “rules”.

I’m pretty okay with my beliefs. I say all this, but wear a St. Christopher medal that my mom gave me. It has the Lord’s Prayer on the back. And when my pets pass, I pray that their spirits are as free after death as they were when they were alive.

I guess we all use some method to meander our ways through life. It might not be an organized or recognized religion or anything more than a thought, but whatever you call it, it helps us navigate through this complicated situation of life.