just ride

Redlands finished off what I consider “Phase I” of my racing season. That was the phase with all of the stage races (two is a lot for a critter like me) and the road races, the races that don’t play as much to my strengths as, say, crits. That was the phase that left me with the desire to go out and throw my cards on the table, all-in.

I want to win. I want to rip some legs off. That’s Phase II.

But you can’t really have phases without transitions between them, which is what the last two weekends have been. One weekend down in San Diego for the wedding of a dear friend; not very restful but good for the soul. Another weekend — this weekend — to just ride. It’s funny to me how quickly a person can forget how much fun you can have on a bike. I’m the kind of type-A who focuses so much on the training part that I lose sight of the “passion” part of the sport if I’m not careful. Luckily I have someone else keeping me on the right track, and so this weekend my “training” was to spend two sunny afternoons on my bike.

I forgot how just riding can be so much more than just riding.

And because I was too busy checking out the scenery to take any photos, here’s a picture of matching my nail polish-sweater combo. It was completely unintentional, but my subconscious must be trying to start a trend since I have managed to do it twice in the last three days. Both times I didn’t notice until it was too late to go home and change.

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