The rest of the country is buried in a winter storm of epic proportions - here in Portlandistan, it's sunny and cold and people are managing to complain about the slight chill. So it goes, I suppose. (Me, I'm pretty elated - if slightly confused - to wake up to blue skies.)
But - even without a life-threatening wind chill factor - it's winter. Water is often falling from the sky, the sun sets early, and the weekends are a bit too chilly to make spandex seem like a smart choice.
Of course, Serious People are Seriously Training. There's all sorts of Preparing For The Spring Road Season. There's Tapering For Upcoming Events and Setting Of Goals For Peak Performance. There's some amount of Prepping For Road To Prep For The Summer Which Is All A Build-Up To Cyclocross.
For my part - I'm trying to help get us ready for the dirt season. SLOW is getting organized, jerseys and sponsors and meetings. So I've put some time into seeking out community support, in the form of socks and body restoration, also baked goods and beer (links forthcoming upon sponsor confirm). Also non-profits we love and want to highlight - check the list @ the bottom of the page for a full list.
And, there's things that have nothing to do with bikes - gasp! Ben and I have been brewing quite a bit - bottled a mole stout last weekend; the rosepetal mead should be done this week or next. (A molasses porter and a "rye-PA" are next up.) We're contemplating how to best tear apart and reassemble his kitchen. There's art to play with, letters to write, grand/mothers to call, pies to bake, books to read.
And yes, yes. Bikes to fix up for "the season," whatever that means. A wheelset to swap in, a cranky drivetrain to soothe back into functioning. A mountain bike to seriously clean. A track bike to finish putting back together.
And there's Training. Yes. If I'm going to stop struggling for penultimate, girl's got to put in some serious concerted effort. I know. (I'll save you the full rant on body, food, ability - but let me just say this ain't uncomplicated.)
So there's some gym-going, and some gym-forgiving on account of upper respiratory infections or over-long workdays. There's some walk-taking, with a hat-tip to a gimpy hip and also a hat-tip to how much nicer it is to stroll up Mt. Tabor with your partner than sweat on a human hamster wheel at the gym.
There's a continued struggle with a reality of ancestors that were butchers and farmers, built big and broad and to withstand cold temperatures and hard times, and not coming from a race of light and lithe sprites who were built to be fast.
This weekend should bring a bit of busy - OBRA officials training on Saturday, a mileage day with some SLOW folks on Sunday. But also a birthday party Saturday night, and a putative superbowl party on Sunday.
Maybe I'll go to the gym nine times and carefully calculate my caloric input/output; maybe I'll train myself away from bacon and beer so I can be not just "okay, fine, average" but instead drop the toddler or two I've been carrying on each hip-saddlebag....
...but I find it slightly more likely that I'll start and finish Beowulf before Monday.
Expect updates on team sponsors, tales of wow-I-haven't-ridden-distances-in-months bike rides, good food and fun people and some attempt at balance. And no podium-futures, it's true. So be it.
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