can't wait to ride, dude

Yesterday I heard myself mumble these words, "I can't wait to ride, Dude." Interestingly enough, I was in the act, so to speak, of riding a bike (Mindful Mule) at the time these words came out from somewhere within. But there are rides and there are rides. And somehow riding The Mule loaded with supplies to Tujunga doesn't have the same feel as, say, riding Purple People Eater, unencumbered, to Tujunga. But I think what I was trying to tell myself was that, even in that moment, it felt great to be riding, and I was ready, peaked, you might say, and just in time for Solvang (that wino ride). I haven't been on a program or schedule or anything - I think you all must know that by now - The Mule does what feels right. But I just feel ready for anything right now - in running, too - but especially cycling - Will Cycle for the Opportunity to Cycle. I saw a gal running on this same ride mentioned above. She was wearing a t-shirt that said: Run2BeGreat - and I loved it - I love that - that's it - that's all I need - running makes you great - riding makes you great… and if there's a bit of the dude in my vernacular then take it for what you will, man. 

afraid of water, steel

Over the last year or so I've become very focused on taking in electrolytes during a run. It's even overflown into my biking. (And my gardening!) Always there must be salts in the water bottle. And it does help. Or, I should say, they do - the salts. I'm just sick of bonking. And there's a lot of activity going on in my life. I just don't have the time anymore for sacrifice zones. So there are always salts.

But what happens when there aren't? When you head out for an unplanned run with no electrolyte mix and, heaven forbid, no snacks! I was lured into a situation like this just a few days ago. It was one of those "3 hour tour" scenarios. "Don't worry, Darling, we'll just go out for a quick jaunt." But, Honey, wouldn't you like me to put some EmergenC in the water?" "Um, no thanks." My heart and stomach and soul drop. But I carry on - convincing myself to believe this story of "we'll be fine." 

And we were. We were fine. We went out for a playful 90 minutes. No big deal. No speed. Even a long break at the playground. Probably a good practice - to break away from our attachments once in a while - but oh, my concern - what do you mean no salts! What, are we supposed to drink just pure water - Neat - like monkeys?!

On are related bit of anxious fixation… I've got that once a year all day group ride through wine country coming up in two weeks and I'm really temped, in fact leaning toward riding Totally 80's - the 1988 Steel Road Bike - Centurion Prestige. She's a real nice bike, and smooth - oooh, so smooth. So why is it that it's such a big deal - that people will comment on the fact that I need to upgrade - that I'm concerned about the possible increase in effort it may take to complete the route - the extra 5% added to my finish time - that I might not be the first one to arrive back at the house/bar… when a) it's not a race; and b) the idea is to have the Opportunity to ride All Day; and c) it's only 161kms…

But one thing is damn sure: I'll be loading up with snacks and salts for the ride… 

Note the "pink water" - Totally 80's

the bicycle shall inherit the roadway...

Ride to the Pacific

Pedal Wrench in My Pocket

Last weekend's ride: It started out cool and crisp. But I wasn't thinking much about the temperature - for once! My mind was focused on the ride, the task. One of the riders I was meeting needed to swap out his pedals before the ride. And I have a pedal wrench! Suddenly I wasn't just riding to another regular Sunday morning Brunch Ride but I had a deeper purpose - I was a team member - a mechanic. I could feel that thin flat wrench in the back third of my jersey pockets as I rode to our meeting point - the pub!, of course. And somehow that knowledge, that sensation set a wonderful, magical chain of events in progress. I couldn't feel no cold. I wasn't thinking about the ride to which I was riding to. I was riding. I was cycling. I was cycling with a pedal wrench in my left rear jersey pocket. And what is more an indicator of arrival? - I can't possibly imagine. To add to all this, I was on the steel road bike, Totally 80's, and for some reason that morning everything was coming together, so to speak, just right. There were no thoughts of comfort or geometry - just ride-pedal-smooth-cruise-glide… These are the moments that we, that I ride for… these are the moments…  

almost went running today

Trail Runner magazine sends out emails with links to their available online articles pretty frequently - seems like a least twice a week. I'm not sure why they send them to me as I haven't subscribed to the magazine for some time now. But I'm not complaining. It's nice to read an article once in a while. Sometimes they can even be inspiring. Like today. I read an article that made me want to go running even though there was some light rain passing through. I got all dressed up in running clothes and was ready to hit the street. But it had started raining just a little heavier now. So I though well I'll just wait it out a bit and maybe it will clear up - I'm just waiting for my set, I thought - any moment now. I left my running clothes on but I got a little side tracked by another task. And it kept raining. My window of available time was closing too. And it was getting dark. And it was raining. I put my house clothes back on. Maybe tomorrow…