Tuesday afternoon I decided to ride my mountain bike to my doctor’s office so they could scan my new insurance card. The map on my phone says it’s 13 mile to his office. I had done it once before a few years ago, so I thought it would not be too great a challenge. The difference was that back then I was riding a good bit, including up and down the mountain, and now I’m not. It has been around a year and a half since I got on either of my bikes, and at least a couple of months since I used our now-defunct stationary bike. The stationary bike is a poor substitute for actual riding anyway.

But still, I thought it would be a fun ride and would give me a chance to get some real exercise. It turned out to be that, and more.

The first mile and a half is down Fouche Gap Road to the bottom of the mountain. I flew. The next eight or so miles was on Huffaker Road and Technology Parkway, which have gentle ups and downs. That was not bad. I was rolling along pretty well in top gear most of the time.

The end of Technology Parkway is about a half mile from Summerville Park, where I grew up. I avoided my old street, which is now four lanes and fairly busy with hospital traffic, but I got a good look at houses I have seen only from a car for decades, except for that one previous bike ride to my doctor’s office. I took a sidewalk along Martha Berry Boulevard to avoid heavy traffic for about another half mile, and then turned into Fourth Ward, where my father grew up. I rode down to the levee, and then crossed the river into downtown.

I rode a few blocks down Broad Street, where it was easy to keep up with traffic. I turned down First Avenue, which has almost no traffic, and then it was a short hop to my doctor’s office.

I was sweaty but felt pretty good when I got there. It took about a minute for them to scan my insurance card, and then I went out to start back.

When I got back to Broad Street, I crossed the river on an old railroad bridge that has been turned into a walking and bike trail. It’s narrower than I expected.

Some Romans have started putting love locks on the handrails. We don’t take the sad, little excuse for a local newspaper, so I haven’t heard whether city officials discourage it. If they do, it hasn’t worked.

Some people were rafting. That was a surprise, but I guess the rivers are clean these days.

You can still see the color difference between the Oostanaula and the Etowah rivers. The Etowah River used to run red with clay from an upstream mine, but today it’s just another shade of green, like the Oostanaula.

I have seen blue herons around here, but never on the river.

I crossed the river, then went up the walking trail that runs along the levee.

Things were going pretty well when I got back to Summerville Park. I decided to take a look at the steep hill we dreaded when we rode from our house diagonally across the neighborhood to the little city park at the opposite corner. I rode down the hill, and then turned around to ride back up. The mountain has turned into a barely-noticeable bump in the road. It’s not the same one that I still have in my memory.

Back on Technology Parkway my recent lack of riding was catching up to me. With a little headwind, a slight climb, and temperatures in the upper 80’s, I was beginning to struggle. A couple of light showers helped, but I still had to climb Lavender Mountain to get back home.

That was the real struggle. Even in the lowest gear I was having trouble. I wasn’t out of breath, but my legs were really fatigued. I admit it – I had to stop several times to let my legs rest.

I finally made it back home, where I hobbled around with sore quadriceps. I was also dehydrated. A couple of ibuprofens, an ice-cold beer, some orange juice and a bowl of ice cream helped. As did a good night’s sleep.

Wednesday I was fine – not even a sore muscle. I did learn a couple of things. First, I’m not as young as I used to be, and second, I need more time on the bike before I do that again.