Define vs. Enrich

Today was absolutely awful. I questioned more than once why I was riding today. It was just above freezing, the absolute worst temperature. It snowed, the roads were wet, and the wind picked up to dangerous speeds. It was tough coasting downhill into the wind. There was not much enthusiasm to do more than usual today. My bike felt great though. The gear situation seems to be all solved. Of course the bike was an absolute mess this afternoon when were to put our names on the bike. (picture coming soon!) The highlight of the day was that I was able to consume 2 lunches. I do love to eat.

Today Lance came in 140th in the prologue of Paris/Nice. Perhaps we should all think about this and ask our self really how hard should we be pushing ourself in early March when we want to be in top form in July? If the master and commander can't muster better than 140th this early then perhaps we should not be too concerned about our placings in the upcoming winter/spring Giros, and use them to help us get in proper form, but don't be too concerned about either our current fitness or out finishing results this early. Not too many people remember who wins these early races. You can't stay in top form forever, and the more gradual you get there, the longer you can stay there. Ok, perhaps I am just convincing myself.

I watched a great movie the other night called "The Italian Job", sort an Oceans 11 type of movie. There was a great line in it, that got me thinking about all sorts of things. Here it is a bit edited for the current context.

There are two kinds of cyclist, those that cycling defines their life and those that cycling enriches their life. I've known both sorts. I guess at 45 cycling now just enriches my life, as it should. Although you won't meet many people who are more passionate about the sport than me.