I’ve written before about my talented longtime friend Tom Burridge. He’s become one of the top age-group 60+ cyclists in the country and continues his exploration of cycling with gravel races where his endurance base serves him well in distances from 100 to 200 miles.

My wife Sue and I stopped to visit Tom and his wife Barb on our way to Chattanooga for the 70.3 Ironman earlier this year. We hung out for an evening sipping drinks (I dispensed with the sour beers that somehow found their way into his fridge) and caught up on times old and new.

It was fifty years ago this fall that I first met Tom when he transferred from Hersey High School, where his cross country team placed in the Top 3 at state. He then moved to Batavia High School, where he led the team to great improvement while achieving All-State status during a highly competitive era in Illinois cross country. Later he went to the University of Kentucky, and won SEC titles in distance events. After college, he contributed to national team titles and even set the American record in the half-marathon. He raced successfully against the likes of American greats Frank Shorter and Bill Rodgers.

Legacy time

Last year he was interviewed by the University of Kentucky for their sports archives. When it was done, he shared the discussion with me to get an opinion on how he sounded. I loved how he was authentic about his experience and assured him that while he came off as competitive, he didn’t come off as being arrogant.

Tom is still competitive in the best ways possible. He loves the challenge of training and racing at the highest levels possible. This past weekend, he invited his middle school coach Dennis Courter to join us at Alter Brewing. Dennis saw the potential in Tom and got him into running. We hung out at a communal table at a fun restaurant with craft beers and an outdoor cafe. We shared formative experiences and compared notes on people from the world of running with whom we’ve collectively crossed paths over the years.

Out on the road

While all that stuff is fun, what meant most to me yesterday was riding twenty miles in the company of Tom and another longtime friend Jack Brandli, who is training well for a 90-mile cycling road race later this summer. Along with one more cyclist, we hummed around the first loop of the Swedish Days Ride, averaging just over 20 mph with some wind mixed in. That’s not hard for Jack or Tom. They rode 87 miles total yesterday averaging 21mph before it was finished.

For me, it was a notch up this summer as I’ve just started rounding into shape. Riding in the draft for much of the way, I rode my sixteen-year-old Felt 4C and kept the pedals spinning. After a pee break, the two faster boys kept going. I rode out solo to do another 20-mile loop and averaged 19.3 for the day after a long pull into the wind before turning around and coming back.

Riding with the faster guys was like a “Burridge over troubled waters.” At one point, he gave a quick show of encouragement with a “Nice pull, Chris,” while at the same time advising, “Maybe not too many pulls. Save your bullets for later.” I knew my state of fitness and had no inkling that I could go 87 miles at 21mph. That was not in the picture, I knew.

But a good day at any length is encouraging and helps one get over the “troubled waters” of self-doubt. In June I did ride a solo 26-mile time-trial at 19.3 fighting a bit of wind for 15 miles so it’s coming around. I raced at Pleasant Prairie where the wind was heavy and averaged just under 19 for the day. My goal is to hit a 20 mph average in the next Olympic triathlon but Wauconda might not be the place because it’s pretty hilly. The Cervelo is faster than the Felt so I’m feeling confident that 20mph is in my future.

Gold star

Tom rode an all-gold Cervelo road bike that glimmered in the sun. It made me happy that I’ve got a similar bike that shifts from gold to purple to green. That symbolizes how my brain’s been working lately––transitioning from one life change to the next.

It also symbolizes how relationships and friendships often change over the years. For much of life, we view relationships based on presumptions about the people we call friends. Some of these may not be accurate. We also share events and histories and can have different interpretations of those as well. Or, we share what we think, but only at the level that we’re comfortable with exposing our true feelings.

As time moves on, we hopefully mature in our understanding and increase our appreciation for events of the past, be they good or bad. Then acceptance moves in to replace any consternation over what other people think of us.

That’s what’s happened with many of my longtime friends. While we all have had troubles of one kind or another “along the road,” the goal, in the end, is to find that bridge from the past to the present that works for us. A bridge over troubled water, is what that is.

When you’re weary
Feeling small
When tears are in your eyes
I’ll dry them all
I’m on your side
Oh, when times get rough
And friends just can’t be found

Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down

When you’re down and out
When you’re on the street
When evening falls so hard
I will comfort you
I’ll take your part
Oh, when darkness comes
And pain is all around

Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down

Sail on silver girl
Sail on by
Your time has come to shine
All your dreams are on their way
See how they shine
Oh, if you need a friend
I’m sailing right behind

Like a bridge over troubled water
I will ease your mind
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will ease your mind

–Paul Simon