Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Musings

Most of my recent posts have been about what a nice group ride I had last weekend, and while that is still true, you have heard it all before and probably don't care about the gritty details (especially as I keep failing to photographically document anything).

It's been great that the weekends have been so nice for riding outside. Hopefully soon I'll start to feel like I can train outside after work during the week, but for now I'm still going to spin classes at the gym. I'm not going to be doing any trainer workouts, because the desire for riding outside is too strong and the motivation to train indoors in my home is too weak. Spin class is a nice compromise, because I'm surrounded by other people who I feel "competitive" against, with someone telling me what to do and when to do it, while playing great music that makes me want to get up and pedal with abandon.

Before we changed to daylight savings time and those more hardy than I decided to head for the hills during the week, there was a regular group doing trainer sessions at Cathy's house. This was nice because it was a time to chat (in-between intervals of course) and watch DVDs. One week (which I unfortunately missed) someone brought the movie Dirty Dancing, which led to finding a review of the current musical, which lead to purchasing tickets, which resulted in dinner in the city and a night out on the town.

It was a fun evening and we all had a great time, but it wasn't the best show I've ever seen. However, it certainly was enjoyable, and it's always fun to see what cyclists look like all dressed up in real clothes. Everyone looks so different - it's a treat.

I have to say, I'm really grateful to be part of an extended group of female cyclists (teammates, non-teammates, racers and non-racers) who are also good friends beyond the cycling scene. I've had my share of ups and downs recently, and it's been reassuring to know that these folks are there for me if I need them. They seem to just accept me for who I am and are happy to ride with me or go to movies with me or do yoga with me or chat equally about trivialities or life issues, whether on IM or over coffee.

Thanks, guys, for being there. It's wonderful to know that I don't have to ride by myself unless that's what I want. There are certainly rewards for riding alone - it's a great opportunity to clear you head and get your priorities back in sync (not to mention the requisite intervals). But for times when the motivation just isn't there and the will-power needs a little boost, the ability to rely on friends for companionship, support, and friendly competition is edifying.

No comments: