Training wheels

A long time ago, on a bike far, far away, I was in shape.

Pause for laughter to stop.

No really. I used to live at the beach - I mean at the beach - in Santa Monica.

I was bike path adjacent.

I'd ride my bike far and often, sometimes down to Redondo Beach, sometimes up to Malibu.

It wasn't hard to get motivated riding along side the edge of the continent, listening to the waves crashing into the shore. And bikes crashing into pedestrians.

But since I moved away from Santa Monica (don't get me started), I've been somewhat undisciplined about keeping up my biking regimen.

That fact catches up with me every year as I get ready to go for our annual trip to Coronado. We always bring our bikes and ride around the island almost every day. In order to do that, I begin training for it about three weeks before our trip.

I always make sure I have the things I'll need to make the ride more enjoyable and worry free. Helmet. Water bottle. Bike lock.

And this little accessory. Fortunately it has its own wheels so I can take it along for the ride.