ran into Cargo Mike when I stepped out for lunchCargo Mike was breaking for lunch as well
so we grabbed lunch together and caught up
Chipolte on the corner was not only fast and cheap option
but also pretty darn tastee for a McDonald's product
it was far less crowded than it usually is at this time of day
we grabbed some burritos and sat down at a booth
we ate as we talked
we talked as we ate
we talked about bikes... bike people talk about bikes
our converstation covered various topics
nearly all topics bike
if it was not bikes it came back to the bike
there was some talk about the bike that tar was riding when I snapped a shot of him in farragutt square the other day
apparently that bike is from outer space
then there was some talk about snowboarding on saturday
there was talk about my back
there was talk about my back and the bike
it always comes back to the bike
this weekend offers some officiated bicycle related activities
this weekend there are two early season race options
the Snotcycle mountain bike race in Leesburg on Saturday
the CX Your Heart cyclocross race in College Park on Sunday
both sound like very attractive weekend options
either one or both
as racer or as spectator
okay... if I were to go... I would be racing
spectating when not racing
racing when opportunity presents itself
in my talking with Cargo Mike I had to admit to myself that I am not racing this weekend
telling Cargo Mike that I was not going to race this weekend was telling myself that I was not going to race this weekend
just as I need to psych myself up I need to psych myself out
I was psyched for this weekend
Snotcycle was to be my preferred option
now neither race would work for me
my back is not working as it should right now
I am not racing because I should not race this weekend
my back it getting better... but being better by the weekend does not mean that my body would be ready for racing
the body is more complicated than that
this is not giving into my demons this is listening to my body
time to ignore the voices of self doubt
there will be plenty of opportunities to ride or race when my body is ready
it was good to talk to Cargo MikeI got to think out loud and Cargo Mike was able to give me some solid advice
Cargo Mike often has good clear advice
perhaps that is why some people call him Coach
Cargo Mike is not sure if he will be racing this weekend either
still a strong maybe...
the Snotcycle race is held on the same grounds as the Baker's Dozen
I can make up for the laps missed this weekend in a few months
Cargo Mike and I are teamed up with young Thomas Mackay of The Family Bike Shop squad out of Crofton
it should be a fast fun team
not only will I be the old guy but the slow guy
more than likely the three of us will race on our single speeds
there is no single speed class at the Baker's Dozen... there is a Single Speed Class at the Snotcycle event
it is not about the class... I want to race my single speed because I think that the single speed would be the bike of choice for my style of riding on what I understand this course presents
snotcycle is an event that is going to have quite a showing
the numbers for this event are already in the hundreds
most certainly the Proteus cyclocross event will also have some high numbers
it is hard to listen to so many people talking so excitedly about the race options of the weekend approaching
perhaps the best thing to do is to plug my ears and close my eyes when I run into those ecstatic winter racers
the only thing worse than listening to people talking about the approaching races of this weekend will be having to listen to the people talking about these races after the weekend
both these events are gonna be a sloppy good time!
this week's snow machine is gonna make things interesting
I am jealous... I am very jealous
I am pleased that I was able to make the sensible decision so early on
now I can relax without any pre-race jitters and scrambling to get my bike ready to race