2020 has mercifully come to an end. I ended up with 4,492 miles ridden for the year. It was the first year since 2004 that I rode less than 5,000 miles (I started riding in September, 2004). Until mid October, I was on a pace to get the usual 5,200 miles that I’ve ridden annually in recent years, but COVID19 had other plans. 1,305 of those miles were trainer virtual miles, with the remainder being actual on the road miles.

My recovery had been going fairly well, and I rode 80 miles the third week of December, but I had a major setback on December 24th. I inhaled a pill. In all my years on earth, I’d never done that before. It was a magnesium supplement tablet. I put it in my mouth and took a drink of water, thinking I’d swallowed it. But I hadn’t. When I took a breath of air, it sucked the tablet into my left lung. That day ended up being the worst day of coughing of my life. The next day, I was sore all over from so much coughing. I hacked up grit the entire day. And, I became short of breath and got a terrible wheeze. When I tried to ride the next day, I gave up after 10 miles, then took four days off the bike.

By this week, I noticed my shortness of breath was getting better. I’m stil wheezing, but it’s not as bad as it was. So I did 20 mile rides on Wednesday, Thursday, and today. I still haven’t gotten back to where I was before I inhaled that pill, but I’m improving. Here’s to hoping for a better 2021.

My last ride of the year.