there had been some electronic chatter over the dcmtb team list server about a toe freezing ride at rosaryville on sunday morning
there had been some talk about my having to work sunday
but after work on saturday i was told that my services would not be needed until monday
so i started to plot if riding was an option for me
before any consideration about which bike or which gloves there needs to be the consideration of the family
lisa was cool with it
there was no hard plan for sunday with the boys
so we figured lisa and I agreed that I could ride in the am and return by early afternoon
with the permission slip signed i was still not sold
there was part of me... the lazy part of me... that did not want to get cold
this voice started talking to me
there was the debate within myself of whether or not i wanted to ride my bike in the cold
there was a second consideration to the voices of these demons of lethargy
I argued with myself
i quickly injected a reminder of how i felt after my rosaryville ride on new year's day and how the day of riding at wakefield two days later reminded me to take advantage of riding opportunities when they present themselves
so... my mind was almost there
the night prior my family met over at my brother's place to celebrate our mother's birthday
there had been a plan to have people over at our place
but frozen pipes in my basement leaving us with a house without water killed that plan
even though the pipes did thaw the pizza had already been ordered and it was time to head across town by the time our house was operating with running water and ready to entertain again
at my brother's there was some mention of rosaryville
part of me was still looking for an excuse not to ride
the other part of me was needing a push in the right direction
while i was there raul from dcmtb called my brother
I overheard one side of that conversation... it was clear those guys would be carpooling to rosaryville
this was a good thing... lazy me was trying not to have to get up any earlier or do any more driving
picking up my brother would add more driving on both ends of the mountain bike ride
still unsure of my plans for the following day i looked at things
the timing... how my riding effected my family... how my body felt... how tired i am.... the gains outweighed the loses
but there was still hesitancy... those demons were still present and i was still looking for an excuse not to ride
back home from the party of pizza and cake for my mom/my kid's grandma and i went to the basement to start getting ready
a glance at the karate monkey
some lube on the chain and a glance at the brakes
the wheels turned and i was starting to get stoked about riding
the day had been cold
that day and the days leading up to that day had been brutally cold
as stoked as i was... i was apprehensive about the cold
the right gear was to be vital
lake winter mountain bike boots and balaclava were selected long before any other considerations
there was no question what pants i would wear... not sure of the name but lisa bought me some sweet winter tights some years back
those pants were packed along with a the gortex shell that i commute in
the top was a a few layers and i put in a few layers more... just in case
options... options.... packed all sorts of options
by this time the demons of malaise had been beaten back
the energy of it all became a positive energy
the bike was ready... my bags were packed
i was not only ready to ride
i was stoked to ride
more on this later...
there had been some talk about my having to work sunday
but after work on saturday i was told that my services would not be needed until monday
so i started to plot if riding was an option for me
before any consideration about which bike or which gloves there needs to be the consideration of the family
lisa was cool with it
there was no hard plan for sunday with the boys
so we figured lisa and I agreed that I could ride in the am and return by early afternoon
with the permission slip signed i was still not sold
there was part of me... the lazy part of me... that did not want to get cold
this voice started talking to me
there was the debate within myself of whether or not i wanted to ride my bike in the cold
there was a second consideration to the voices of these demons of lethargy
I argued with myself
i quickly injected a reminder of how i felt after my rosaryville ride on new year's day and how the day of riding at wakefield two days later reminded me to take advantage of riding opportunities when they present themselves
so... my mind was almost there
the night prior my family met over at my brother's place to celebrate our mother's birthday
there had been a plan to have people over at our place
but frozen pipes in my basement leaving us with a house without water killed that plan
even though the pipes did thaw the pizza had already been ordered and it was time to head across town by the time our house was operating with running water and ready to entertain again
at my brother's there was some mention of rosaryville
part of me was still looking for an excuse not to ride
the other part of me was needing a push in the right direction
while i was there raul from dcmtb called my brother
I overheard one side of that conversation... it was clear those guys would be carpooling to rosaryville
this was a good thing... lazy me was trying not to have to get up any earlier or do any more driving
picking up my brother would add more driving on both ends of the mountain bike ride
still unsure of my plans for the following day i looked at things
the timing... how my riding effected my family... how my body felt... how tired i am.... the gains outweighed the loses
but there was still hesitancy... those demons were still present and i was still looking for an excuse not to ride
back home from the party of pizza and cake for my mom/my kid's grandma and i went to the basement to start getting ready
a glance at the karate monkey
some lube on the chain and a glance at the brakes
the wheels turned and i was starting to get stoked about riding
the day had been cold
that day and the days leading up to that day had been brutally cold
as stoked as i was... i was apprehensive about the cold
the right gear was to be vital
lake winter mountain bike boots and balaclava were selected long before any other considerations
there was no question what pants i would wear... not sure of the name but lisa bought me some sweet winter tights some years back
those pants were packed along with a the gortex shell that i commute in
the top was a a few layers and i put in a few layers more... just in case
options... options.... packed all sorts of options
by this time the demons of malaise had been beaten back
the energy of it all became a positive energy
the bike was ready... my bags were packed
i was not only ready to ride
i was stoked to ride
more on this later...