Falling in love again

I have been at these bike racing shenanigans since March. It all started with Wells Ave and my spiffy new white Sidis (got them on sale). The season was mine to own. After some major ups and downs that occurred on and off the bike, I arrived at the GMSR.

GMSR how I love to hate thee. In my second appearance, I definitely put my best foot forward. With the exception of day 2, where my drive train acted up, it was some of my best riding to date, even if the results don't really show it. But GMSR was just the last stop on the road circuit while the cyclocross circuit lay in waiting.

Amesbury wasn't fun for me. Neither was the Maine weekend or Gloucester. A few things were at play; racing at a new level, the heat of early fall and, dare I say it, burnout. Could it be? The sport I love was becoming less than fun. Ever since those early races, training and racing has been a struggle. And even when good results came in Plymouth and NJ, it has still been hard.

That's where Thanksgiving comes in. I decided to give thanks to the gods of cycling with a couple of masters 55+ riders. I struck out early, around 8 AM. It was foggy and cool, perfect cross weather. Despite that, I took out the skinny tires knowing I was in for a long ride.

Now, it's been awhile since I have done any serious distance on a bike. On this day, I was revisiting roads I haven't seen since late August. The scenes had changed due to the changing seasons. I could see deep into the woods with all of the leaves on the ground. The reservoir I ride through was low, exposing features I had never seen. Some homes had struck up fires in their homes, filling the air with that wonderful aroma. The smell of fall was in the air.

I met up with my ride partners and spent 2 hours riding with them. We talked about how long the season was and our plans for next, family, margaritas, and our favorite off season booze.

As we parted ways, the sun started to come out. Instead of making a straight shot home, I opted for a longer route. Why? Because I had fallen back in love with my bike. Through all the training, racing, results, disappointments, getting out and riding my bike is simply awesome. If my body allowed, I could go on forever listening to the wind rush by and my tires sing across the pavement. The thrill of conquering a hill, no matter how small, is rewarding. Traveling at speed, knowing you're the engine is inspiring. Flying down a decent is thrilling. Instead of whipping past homes and fields as one would in a car, you can see the bees being kept just under the stand of trees in a field and the multi-colored stone walking path leading up to a front door. It's no wonder that these masters have been doing it for so long. They're in love with it, and so am I.