Today was a good day of riding - about 60 miles through the peninsula, with a majority being on bike paths. We rode for a good while on Highway 101, which, yes, is the same 101 that goes through the Bay Area.
One thing I thought of this morning, and it’s not the first time I’ve had this thought, was how nice my morning routine is when on these rides. When I get up and am getting ready in the morning, my process is just to look at one individual thing at a time and say “yes, I need to do that.” I look at my socks: yes, I need to put them on. No matter what else is going on in my morning, in my life, in the universe, I will be closer to completion, and happiness, if I put on my socks. Next I see my jersey; it would be better if I took off my t-shirt and put that on. It would be better if I deflated my sleeping pad. And I may as well do it right now. In mathematics we call this “local optimization”; the idea that, if I make a locally optimal decision, and put enough of those together, it will also be the best solution, period. Unfortunately, in both real life and in computer science, this doesn’t always work. If I always make a turn that gets me closer to my destination, I might end up in a dead end road and have to turn around. But on a bike ride, this strategy is usually enough. Just put one foot in front of the other, and eventually, life works out.
The weather has been cloudy and grey, which is honestly great for biking. And it’s been fun to reconnect with folks like Tony and Kurt. I got to meet Kurt’s dad Jeff, who is a nice dude. Other old-time alumni are here, like a gentleman Kevin who rode in 2013. And there’s a couple of new folks too. The Olympic Peninsula reminds me - not surprisingly - of the Oregon coast and also maybe Upstate New York.
Oh, and I tried to swim. But it’s too cold!!
https://www.biketheusforms.org/olympic-peninsula-bike-tour/
