What Comes Around Goes Around

As many of you know, my Dad and I are pretty tight. We spend a lot of time together and do a lot of playing. I would not trade our relationship for anything. Not many people can say that their father is one of their best friends. It is also rare to have a father that is in phenomenal shape like my Dad. Many people are astounded to find out that he is in his fifties because he sure does not look or act his age. He thinks, looks, and acts like he is still in his thirties.

My Dad and I are both very competitive. Because my Dad is in such good shape, we have a very healthy and fun competitive nature between the two of us. It is fun because it drives us both and we push each other constantly.

Many of you also know that my newest hobby is cycling. I really have become addicted and I am on my bike just about every chance that I get. I good deal of my riding is done with my Dad who is also an avid cyclist. In fact, my Dad is a machine on a bike, especially on hills. He has the perfect size (5'8", 145 pounds) to be a great hill climber. I on the other hand (6', 170 pounds) am not so great on hill climbs. My size is much better suited for maintaining high speed on flat roads.

Yesterday, my Dad and I, along with my good friend Randy Gunn, went for a ride up Provo Canyon. We started from my Dad's house, which is right above the Riverwoods shopping center at the east end of Center Street in Orem. We rode up and down Squaw Peak road twice and then up South Fork Canyon. In total the ride was just over 40 miles with 4770 feet of climbing.

The first time I rode Squaw Peak rode with my Dad was the summer of 2006 and I was fairly new to cycling and I was pretty slow. My Dad had been riding for some time by that point so he was already in very good cycling shape. He seemed to enjoy that fact that I was not in cycling shape and thought it would be humorous to ride up the road ahead of me about a hundred yards and then turn around and come back down to where I was. He proceed to do this several times and came back down to me every time with a big smile on his face telling me to hurry up.

What comes around goes around. Yesterday, for the first time ever, the roles were reversed. Up until yesterday, I have never beaten my Dad up Squaw Peak (except for one time when he was purposefully taking it easy as he was preparing for a 200 mile ride - Lotoja). His best time up Squaw Peak road is just over 29 minutes whereas mine is just over 33 minutes. Yesterday, for the first time ever, I really put a whoopin on my Dad and made him suffer. In fact, on the way up South Fork, I turned around and rode back down the road to where he was to tell him to hurry up.

Now, it would not be quite right if I did not add a little bit or information that my Dad can use as justification. He just got back from a trip to Egypt and has not been on his bicycle for about three weeks. I, on the other hand, have been at gym about 5 days a week lifting weights, attending spin class, and climbing stairs on the stair machine. Never-the-less, it sure felt good to be the first one to the top of the Squaw Peak road (twice!) and it really felt good to be able to turn around and go back down to pick him up. I told him at that moment that he had made my day. He thought that was pretty amusing.

It was a great ride on a very nice fall day. Who knows if I will ever have another day like that. My Dad still has a lot of good years left in him and while he is still riding strong, it is not likely that I will be able to keep up with him on the hills. I will certainly keep working hard though and I am sure that will only push him to work hard as well. Our relationship is wonderful and I am so grateful to have a Dad that I can play with.