Life Outside the wheels

Well it has been a while since I posted but there have been more than a few events that have refocused my attention outside of cycling. Just prior to the 2nd Snake Creek TT I was informed of a family emergency in Arizona so shortly after DNFing half way thru that event I was on a plane out to Arizona. Unfortunately while I was out there my wife received a call from her family informing her of a family emergency on her side of the family. I guess these things really do happen in 3 because while I only had one family member with a issue she had two. Well that resulted in a return flight from Arizona followed two days later by a drive up to Michigan. These past weeks events have put life in perspective helping me to put things I get wrapped around the axle about in a different light.
Reapplying myself to my riding this week with a lighter approach for the rest of the season is my goal. I still plan on being competitive but I want to get back to having fun again while I am at it. Seems I have been so busy focusing on "training" that I forgot what got me started in the first place. The first time I went on a mountain bike ride I travelled up a fire road huffing and puffing while the rest of the group I was with rode a parallel single track that ran along the side of the hill we were gradually climbing. When we hit a creek about 4 miles up the road and the trail became rockier and a little steeper I thought "who in their right mind calls this fun?" After what seemed a eternity of rocks and climbing we hit a point where they decided to turn around.Downhill Arizona Style, it took me three tries to make it down this "major" drop

Going back down the road proved just as hard and a tad bit scarier(mind you we were just going over rocks in the trail not major drops). But as we continued down the trail I managed to keep myself upright, eventually ending up back out on the fire road we started going up. Travelling at what seemed like 40mph(I am pretty sure it might have been 15mph now)thinking "great I didn't have a heart attack going up the hill I am going to break my neck going down!" I survived that day and after a couple of more difficult rides and some encouraging by some guys who had been riding alot longer than me I was addicted. I remember the first time I put SPDs on for pedals, I was brilliant figuring "If I do this on the road at least I wont fall into some rocks or cactus or something hard" Shortly thereafter putting peroxide on my road rashed elbows palms and knees from falling on the soft asphalt when I couldn't get my foot unclipped at a stop. However the ride ended whether muddy or bloody, flat tires or broken frames, we always managed to have fun and always ended with a smile on our face(ok well not when we broke a frame). It was as if being 35yrs old and riding like a 16yr old kid made life seem a little less like the hectic grind of the day to day work and bills routine. Better than any day at the office the first ever 24hr event I participated in

That is the mind frame I want to get back to, not how I place but that I finish and have fun. If that produces a result that gets me on the podium then so be it and I will be glad for it. I will still ride to keep in shape and get faster and better, I will continue to go to spin classes and road ride since it is great exercise and I have always worked out in one way or another. When I hit the trails though it will be to enjoy the ride, catch some air, bomb down hills and enjoy the company more than to see how hard I can push it. So that is my renewed approach to riding this season, to approach it with the attitude I had when I first started and remember this is a recreational activity that should be a stress reliever not a stressor. There ends the sermon hopefully I will get out sometime this week for a ride at Thompson so if I do and your out there I Will See You on the Trail!The B E A Utiful effects of flying like superman while everyone else wants to mountain bike how could anyone not love this stuff?