Due Process

One of maybe three things I might be sure of is the process, enjoying the days in the rain and snow and the constant upkeep of an aging machine. Without all of that would a good result (whatever that is) feel as good? Would you want it if it was easy, or, it came without effort? Some days you get the sun and other days you get inches of standing water looking to derail your efforts. Better that way, I think, to know that work was getting done, dishes to be broken but that it didn't have to be in the rain or snow or shit both days.

Consistently trying to get and stay out of the way,

whatever it takes to quietly plow my furrow,

not always head down-then you miss things like this-but always remembering the pleasure in the work.

The lines to avoid are getting broader and then finer,

Pick the tangents and the intersections wisely,

Look back and see you were 70% successful.

F.O.I.L.

Listing out the things that need to get done is bad. Maybe what needs to be done today. Or this week, whatever it is I know the order or operations, it comes down to simple F.O.I.L.-first, outer, inner, last. What was that, 7th grade? Maintenance is hard right now, every ride a new adjustment needs attention, another overhaul, more work. Math, take care of everything you can so the remainder is just that, left over.

Outside

If I stayed inside every time it seemed proper I might have a spot of form for about 10 minutes in late September. Other than that pushing on a day like today makes the warm sunny days that much more like delicious gravy. Mmmmmm gravy.

Locked

Opening and closing doors all day, sometimes weather, sometimes time, all adding up and subtracting from the first race. I wonder if I will hit bottom this Spring. I have no time to take off to escape and be warm, no real plan to pedal in the sun. I think I'm the eskimo cyclist.

Each

More solo time after getting to ride little ribbons Sunday. Dry, becomes relative this time of year, sometimes it's frozen other times it's just less sloppy.

Not yet assimilated

Pushing away from the garage and getting that first blast of cross wind nearly put me in the gutter, this, the first 2 minutes of the ride. After a few miles though the rhythm and cold air moving thru my lungs had me oddly settled, I don't dance, I can barely walk from here to there without an ache or a pain, the body I'm left with set up for one activity. One trick pony? Nah, I'm customized, not assimilated to a proper multi sport, weekend warrior, "Hey, what's on the schedule this weekend?" No. The little niche I have carved out does one thing-reasonably well; the idea of focusing on more than one sport wakes me up in a cold sweat-fools me into thinking I might be a real athlete. Plenty of other shit falls by the side in favor. If I sucked much more I probably would attempt "other" sports, 5k? Sure. 1/2 Marathon, sign me up. How comforting to get lost in a crowd of soccer moms and post angioplasty new lease on lifers.

Tempo doesn't warm feet

Jumping in between squalls that very easily could have become storms made me sneak out. In the first 5 minutes as I roll across what I thought was ice, punched thru standing icy water all over my shoe cover-less foot, somehow tempo doesn't warm your feet. What helps is pushing and clawing uphill into a headwind with a studded wire bead cx tire. Yeah, at least that got done today. About the only success on the day. That subtle tailwind hand on the small of my back pushed me halfway home in half the time. I felt guilty for that, it's not supposed to be easy.