After

After

Maybe it's the weather sneaking out of the 40s that has me more comfortable but all the time in the saddle is starting to mean something, more. Taking the gloves off to adjust the din and feel fresh air has me looking closer. Mentally making my list of rides I wanna do isn't easy when the question marks outnumber the periods. I am reluctant to call it spring right now, I think it's more after the hear of winter than Spring or even really Mud Season. It's just after, not even before Spring, just After.

Greater Than

"Spiders eating aphids off the roses on the wall"

I was never sure what that meant, I wrote it a long time ago and think about it frequently as I pedal another solo mile. The wind and the din only add noise, the iPod (yeah I'm one them) doesn't do much to cut the sound in my head, it seems like there is more noise and thought and shit coming out than going in. The constant barrage of thoughts and pictures and ideas is the whale to the plankton that is incoming stimuli.

Inside it's getting harder to piece together the Winter work, I know what the simple equation makes, I know where the lines are that I have to cross. Throwing it all up in the air, see where the pieces land. Order in the chaos, comfortable, clean.

Little pieces make the balance sheet equal out,

Pushing outside where the rollers are probably better.

Crisp

I like when the motivation gets in front of the lazy. The clear choice becomes less of a choice and the foregone conclusion takes over, suddenly it's 3 outside and I'm pedaling. Better, cleaner. A bit off to the side, probably left of center.

3.23

Little pictures are posting, looking closer warmer asphalt,

No warm weather visits again this winter,

Just poaching a day here, and again

Snow fades after a few hours, making the day easier.

Viced grip

I am looking for my wagon, unsure if I have fallen off of it, or if it is lost too. Having nearly eliminated a lot of shit without too much hassle I push thru the fresh snow on wheels when I should have been on skis. Picking my vices, half and half? a bit of butter on my bagel/toast? Delicious dark chocolate bacon candy bar that lasted 2 days? All of it qualifies as extra, not needed. Doing 2 hours in 25 degree slushy wet snow must earn a little wiggle room, no? I guess that's my trick for the spring; as I look to summer goals and the barriers to hop in the fall. What stays, what goes, thin out what is making me slower, push thru the lazy, get to my bare essentials.

Dessert

Early on, it was a battle to put up anything resembling a good result. Then the pattern slowly revealed itself, be careful of what you do all year and the racing will be better. A lemon wedge in my water bottles was a clear advantage, spit once on the climb and get the shit out. Not trying to clear a long hanger off your chin while holding a wheel or pushing up to the next rider was a plus. Unacceptable to look like you were suffering as much as you were suffering. A little poker, a bit of a bluff, look smoother and you feel smoother.

Transitions

I'm not ready for the violent efforts, I know they are there for the taking but I'm not there yet. I like to take the miles as they come this time of year, the skis aren't yet away and the bike is always ready but sometimes the engine is slower to get revving, no red lining, or the that spells other issues. Quietly putting in the hours until the picture matches the still life. Maybe mid April or it can be May. But, for now it's slow days allowing the weather and the engine to work as one unit, forcing isn't the proper way, lazy days only spell surfeit, getting in the time is most important, by any means necessary.