Torn

My chair in the office at Test Equipment World Domination Headquarters sits right next to a window. I'm looking outside right now watching the snow fall. The National Weather Service says to expect anywhere from 4 to 7 inches by tomorrow morning. Normally I really like to sit inside and watch the snow fall, especially when I have a cup of coffee in hand. It's one of life's little pleasures up here on the tundra. But this pleasurable experience starts to decrease as the winter drags on - December snows are much more enjoyable than late February or March snows.

Since it's the beginning of February, today qualifies as a nice snowfall, BUT Saturday's Stupor Bowl reminded me of how much I miss riding outside on skinny tires, clear streets and in mild temperatures. Since there were more than 300 of us going to 17 stops, we were bound to run across other racers. Occasionally I'd some young whippersnappers put the hammer down and take off on a sprint. Man I love that feeling of a short burst when your legs feel great. I wasn't feeling it on Saturday. I've missed a lot of riding in the past month or so for various reasons, it's too cold, I'm too sick, it's too dangerous, I'm too busy. This week was shaping up to be a week where I could have biked to work quite a few days. Not any more. If we get as much snow as they are predicting, the streets are going to be gummed up for a while. Sigh.

This weekend, I exchanged one ache for some others. For a few days before the race I'd been waking up with a sore achilles tendon. I have no idea why it was sore. I told Kirk I was hesitating about the race, but he would have none of it. He reminded me of the healing powers of biking. He was right, to a point. Sunday I woke up with my achilles feeling great but my knees were all achey. Today I feel pretty good.

I'm not much of a competitor, but it's funny what a race like this does for me. I suppose it's an endorphine rush, but when Kirk and I were out there riding around I had such a sense of well being - that there was no place I would rather be at that moment. Because I used to work for FedEx I'm sure there was not a street on our route I hadn't been on, but that was in a vehicle. Biking on these streets on Saturday felt like I was on them for the first time. Plus, it wasn't a random, leisurely exploration. It had a purpose and we had to push ourselves. It's hard to explain why I felt so good. I just did.