I’ve been on a cycling kick for the past few months. Having access to a great road bicycle, dedicated bike lanes, flat surfaces, a patient trainer, a partner willing to try it and rides with me as well as finding a local group of other cyclists contribute to this.

Right now I am cycling every other day on an average of five miles. Group rides are ten miles and are encouraging. Weekly, I’d like to see myself at 35-40 miles and build from there.

An annoying setback, literally, is my lower back. I am doing a lot of pain management with ibuprofen and jacuzzi time. I am hoping that like any muscle after a good training session, that I can power through it to the point it is no longer an issue.

Psychologically, the rides are therapeutic in that I can relax and not think about anything other than taking in the sights and sounds as I breeze by them. I’ll ride by all sorts of flora and fauna then smile.

In the meantime, here is a half video of my most recent group ride in Naples as recorded in the Strava fitness app.