Why??

Great morning, sun and blue sky, little chilly, but not too bad. 1 hour into the day I stop and peel off clothing, and am down to T shirt and cycling shorts----boy, does that feel good. Another hill---a big one---let's see, chose a gear that I can sustain---nope, not that one---there we go, 5.5 MPH, not fast, but this is a long steep puppy. Whoa, now that I see all the way to the top, it is close to 2 miles . . . just keep pedaling, 1234, 1234, 1234, counting helps concentrate sometimes . . . the brain, not the body wants to slow down, but no, I can hold this pace. A few hundred more yards, now the legs start to chime in---keep it up, almost there, at last, the top, and I held the pace! Now it looks like a long gentle grade for as far as I can see, and a slight tailwind. Feels really really good. 24, now 26, now 28 MPH! Big ring bliss! All I can hear is a little wind in my ears and the hum of my tires on the chip-seal. This is bicycle Nirvana, and for this moment, however briefly, all is well in the world.