Fun times - a local "metric century" ride for the special birthday ride

Again, It’s a bike thing, so non-cyclists may not get it. I rode what is known as a metric century – that’s 100, but kilometers, not miles.  A metric century is 62.125 miles. My 2021 event total was 62.53 miles taking me north from Palmetto Bay into Pinecrest, Coral Gables, South Miami with a return back south through Cutler Bay, into unincorporated Miami-Dade (Black Point Park) before returning home. It was a 4 hour plus ride.

As I posted Friday, a common cyclist birthday ritual is to ride one’s age in miles. This is easy, a waste of time actually, in one’s twenties and thirties. The ritual really doesn’t begin until the age begins to represent a challenging ride. Many cyclists older than me regularly ride 60, 70, even 100 mile rides.

The rules for the birthday bike ride: The rules? There are no firm rules other than get out and ride. Gravel or road. Ultra distance, chill ride or in between. Group or solo. In civilization or out in nature. But I draw the line at special bike decorations for a birthday ride. No way! My streak of undecorated bike stands for at least another year.

Me < 62.  Obviously I am not 62, not yet – at least for a few more years. The alligators jaws still point away from my age and open to 62. 

Maybe next year I will travel to ride a new route, another bicycle tourism event. I look forward to it.