Pass

With what's left plenty to get done. Get closer to the next step, push Always more into focus until you're cross-eyed and drooling.

2 days left

It's not the number of angels on the head of a pin, Or the number of knobs on the tire. Even the number of studs in the tire is irrelevant. It's avoiding friction that offers the clearest path. The keys are in my pocket, in my head is the map, Remember last winter, forget last week.

This wasn't a particularly bad season. Obviously the one crash that broke my shoulder wasn't good but the other, my hips still look like an archipelago of scar tissue. Not all orderly like one of the strings of islands off the coast of Dubai, shaped like a palm tree or the flag of Cypress. Instead I have reminder of missed turns or ill-chosen lines and the idea that my skills aren't always where I would like them.

I like that for some reason, if it was easy would it be as fun? I think about points in races when the lap card reads higher rather than lower, knowing I have a lot more time before it stops. The smile (that at least was inside, maybe outside too) meant that I was able to stay in that place a while longer. The place that now because CX is over I won't be visiting until September.

12.28.09

Different ways to try to get to the same destination. Not really new, just a different vehicle, same place. The hurdles change year after year but the step is the same. Sometimes I feel like I'm swimming, up stream. Other times just lucky to tread water without going under.

RearView

2009 is almost in the rear view mirror, though I keep dwelling on the success' and failures. At this point racing is what gets me out on the bike when it's 15 degrees or gets me on the rollers when it's 0. Recovering from a broken shoulder took a lot more than the 6-8 weeks that was threatened. I'm still working on it. Oddly cross hurt less than cold commutes. 2 hard days of racing on the weekends was nothing compared to a 10 degree commute mid fall. Shitty recovery times at 40. Looking at 2010 I think the focus is going to be some longer training rides, the one long day I did with John was the highlight of the rides I did. Something about rolling along with good company for 6 hours made me want to possibly not do a few races in favor of a 5 hour day on the bike. Easily my longest ride in years; it left an impression. Some great races but not much can compare to 5-6 hours (or whatever it was) on great roads. So, I have a list of rides I need (want) to do next year. It's in pencil right now. Maybe make it a bit more permanent in the next few weeks. Little things to get me through to 2010 CX.

Alma

Alma from Rodrigo Blaas on Vimeo.

Alternative tentacles

Aside from looking at pics and video of the big cross races there is plenty to be read right now. The bloggers are running off at the keyboard espousing thoughts on what failed (oddly more than what worked with the exception of mud and cowbells- who is almost always positive!) Me? I won't bore anyone with race reports, in depth equipment reviews-BTW my Ridley X-Fire killed it this year-and I know already what will be under me next year. The gather and hoarding will begin as soon as I purge the shit that is cluttering up my garage. I too dream of supple casings (no, not sausage) and well put together machines. But, for now other work takes the place of the bike. Too sketchy in a ski town to ride right now aside from the trails that are too soft if you don't have a Pugsley instead rollers and skis, ideally both.

Working around the gluttony that the holidays foster has me balancing the treats with the work and trying to stay a bit hungry, OCDs aside the caloric accountant has a bit of holiday. It's not even January. Plenty of time to do 3 hours on a bowl of oatmeal and a Mojo bar later in the winter. In the meantime I'll dive in and out of the light, try to push home a few efforts that need to appear and avoid the crowds. 9 pm grocery store visits and no crossing of Main St. for 2 weeks.

Simple enough

My last winter in the East I got into winter camping, not out of a love of being cold or to prepare myself for the next however many years of living at almost 10,000 feet but to get out and be alone. The solitude for someone who has ALWAYS been afraid of the dark (for no valid reason, mind you) was like a drug. I'd go off into the woods of a nearby state park or drive a little North to the AT and walk a bit and set up my sleeping bag and pad under a Rhododendron tree. My little trip into the woods happened a few times a month, the woods in the winter at night was far more appealing than sleeping in them in the summer. Having read My Side of the Mountain about 20 times as a kid I understood the appeal of being alone in the woods but I just lacked the fortitude that kid had. Also, having recently read Into the Wild I didn't want end up like that idiot. Short hike to a spot out of the wind, maybe bring a stove maybe not but just really to sleep and get the hell out of the way for 12 hours. Sometimes I'd wake up and make oatmeal while still laying in my bag, quietly starting the day at 20 degrees all around as the stove hissed up to boiling my water. Fully rejuvenated for a little while (at least) I'd get dressed and walk out, hoping that my car wasn't towed or broken into by the road. No iPod or cell phones, just a book usually and some noises in the woods. Simple enough.

Steps

Cleaner in the dark, longer nights can only go so far before the longer days come in. Whatever it is that gets me through the darker days makes the lighter ones better. Just push. Old miscues change today, but keep the machine on the ground.

Clarity

This weekend is going to be easy. So far I have a few hours on the week, nothing serious; just days on ice and snow. It keeps my head calm, just pedal, pretty simple, I think. Maybe start to ski and run a bit but the snow sucks too much to really try to ski and the legs are shredded if I try and run. Simple solution, ride.