I read a quote in a magazine not so long ago from one of the folks at Independent Fabrication. It rang true to me as someone who enjoys the bike as much as the ride. To paraphrase, riding is just more fun with the right tool for the job.

As my own shop grows, piece by piece, I get to live the reverse of this analogy. When a new tool finds its place, or when I take the time to put down what I'm doing, walk over to the lathe and make something that will yield the same result that I'm looking for every time, work feels like riding with a clean chain, newly worn in cables and the perfect tire pressure. On paper, it should require less of your attention, but the beauty is that you'll actually start pouring it all into having fun and pushing ahead.

That being said, there's nothing like a little grunt work with the files to remind me how much I enjoy a mouthful of grit on a rainy training ride. It can't all be sunshine after all - we need the balance.

It is -20˚F (feels like -20˚F) in Belfast, Maine right now. It is 9˚F (Feels like -5˚) in Novosibirsk, Russia, the largest city in Siberia.





That's the head of the Passagassawakeag River. And yes, it's salt water.

Labels: Winter

We had a good deal of snow yesterday - enough to knock me back to reality after enjoying a few days outside on the bike. Between the shoveling (which has been great therapy for the elbow that I fractured in October), the short days, and the time spent waiting for my hands and head to warm up for work in the shop, everything moves slower.

I don't mind so much, in fact I like the chance to take in what each part of the day offers. It gives me a chance to find the right music for finish filing, to enjoy beating the snow plow to my morning walk with our beagle pup, and to pay a little more attention to what's happening locally - we don't have a lot of chances to get out up here, so it pays to enjoy the ones you get.

I am signed up to race the Tour of the Battenkill for the first time this year. I've wanted to do this race in the past, when I didn't realize that being committed by the end of February wasn't an option. To even enter, you need to have your mind made up by the day registration opens. I raced only twice last year, again quashing my half-hearted goal to move up to Cat 3. This year I won't make that goal, and instead I'll prepare for races. Being signed up for Battenkill right now gives me a time each day when I don't think about anything else.

Even if for only an hour, its as refreshing as any other part of these winter days. I finally feel like I'm training without any stress. I know I will be there on April 18th, and I know exactly how I want to feel on that day. Sure, I'll have to add in the suffering, but I look forward to it for now. I'll probably even sign up for Turtle Pond too, just to get the miles. Look, that's two races right there, and then a summer's worth of gorgeous rides ahead. But for now, I'm enjoying my hour-a-day, and everything that falls in around it.

Labels: Battenkill, Racing, Winter, Yammering