On Friday morning I got up & rode over to the Burger King restaurant where I meet my friends to go riding.  'Twas a sunny morning, & we rode for about 32 miles.  Then I went home & loaded my trike into my van, & headed for Palm Springs.  I have a goal, to someday, make the 56 mile ride, on my trike.  I have tried twice, & both times I've run out of legal roads to ride on.  There is a 1 mile stretch where you must ride on I-10, & the last time I looked it was posted for "no bicycles".  Since then, I found that I can legally ride on that section of I-10.  Anyway, I arrived at the high school to p/u my packet, & headed for Craig & Vicky's home in Rancho Mirage.  On the way, I stopped to check in, at the motel where we were staying on Friday night.  We were lucky,  because Manny arrived at the motel at the same time I did.  That was good because he didn't know where Craig's house was.  Everything was working fine.  We found Craig's residence, & we were even, on time.  Every year Craig & Vicky put on a "carbo-load" (pasta) dinner.  The 1st year that I was invited, they had shrimp spaghetti.  This year we had 3 variations of lasagna.  After dinner, we had a much needed "show & tell" session.  We all, brought out our toys (trikes), & showed them off.  Kinda felt like Tim Taylor from "Tool Time".  We left early, to get some, much needed sleep.  Woke up Saturday morning, & headed for Palm Springs High School.  Only 8000 cyclists, shared out between 3 rides.  A 100 mile, a 55 mile, & a 27 mile ride.  In the past I have ridden the 55 miler, but this year I chose to ride the shorter one. My good friend Manny (above), went with me to ride in the rally.  Manny rides regularly, but only for short distances.  So, I thought it best not to stretch him out to far on his 1st distance ride.  The short ride was set up quite well, for the average rider.  We left Palm Springs High school & worked our way through the city, & headed north on a, slight, uphill climb that kept everybody breathing hard for 13 miles.  Then we turned east for about a mile & arrived at our "promised" sag stop.  They had refreshments, & those all-important, port-a-potties.  After we took a short break, it was downhill all the way back to the high school, where we started.  Cycling is good for me.  It is good for my body, because it gets my blood pumping, & that means more blood is getting to my brain.  Cycling also gives me back the dignity that the disease has taken away.  I can ride my trike at a speed that would gain the respect of any cyclist, young or old.  It's not a cure-all, but it's the best medication that I know of.

Parky