13 October 2009 - 1:10Ummm, OK, so, What’s Next?

Well, now that “the 50″ is over, I don’t really have much on the immediate horizon. I have enjoyed my recent sloth, and will continue to do so for the next couple of weeks. The local weather authorities are crying for our first snow tonight!

I so don’t care about that.

This is the toughest part of the bike riding season for a lot of folks. Winter riding requires a special sort of commitment, and while it isn’t winter riding yet, it most certainly isn’t going to get awesome any time soon. Is this the end of summer? Or is it the beginning of next summer?

Mostly, I am a “glass half empty, and where the hell did all my beer go” kind of a guy. I spent most of this summer with a bum knee, and ultimately had to miss a lot of rides. This sort of led to a general lack of confidence in my riding, and ultimately I don’t think I raced my races as well as I could have had I been in a better mental place.

Well, I will have to say it wasn’t a total loss, I managed a ride on the single speed this weekend. The day after the Mahoney-Jones wedding. I was very, very hungover…. and amazingly, managed to climb the climbs and deal with the wet roots and leaf strewn trails. And ZERO knee pain.

This gave me a little mental boost. If I start riding now, imagine how well I’ll be riding next summer! I know that I won’t be Lance Armstrong fast, but maybe I’ll be better prepared. I can work on my weaknesses, work on strengthening my knees. Improve my cardio. I have the power to rebuild me!

da-na-na-na-na-na...

So the next BIG thing on the horizon, besides Disney World with the family, which will be a herculean feat in and of itself, is SSAZ10, which is also SSUSA, which is in Tucson AZ. In February. I’ll need to ride all winter so I can be ready for stuff like this.

Then there is also these rumblings here.

SSWC10 is going to be in New Zealand, but will we make it? Only time will tell…