the tao of cycling: may 17

Friday, May 18, 2012

may 17

ok, I know, I messed up.
first, I posted on the 15th, forgetting that my new guideline is to only post on prime number days.
second, I didn't post yesterday the 17th, which is a prime number day.

on the 15th I simply forgot my new rule.
on the 17th I plain old ran out of time.

and part of why I ran out of time is that I had to make two trips to the bike shop: to take my rear wheel in for a hub repair, and then later to go pick it up. WHICH is a beautiful thing and has earned the crew at CONTENDER BICYCLES on 9th south in SLC my undying gratitude!
bike shop boys are slammed this time of year, with everyone wanting to get their bikes in shape for riding.
and contender's clientele comprises a lot of serious riders who probably have the same intensity as I do about not wanting to give up a bike for more than half a day.
what, leave it overnight? are you kidding? how can I ride the next morning? I need it!
so I was thrilled when shawn took my wheel, my name, my phone number, and called me three hours later to tell me it was ready to go.

I don't always choose contender: I have a favorite bike shop boy at BINGHAM downtown, and my newest tire came from BEEHIVE on 15th and 15th, but as this wheel came from contender I thought I'd let them fix it. I'm all for loyalty, but there are just too many good shops--and people--around this town.

but the main reason I ran out of time yesterday is that it was my daughters' birthday: my babies are now 16 years old. 16!!! we won't talk about what that makes me.

so, sometimes I forget my guidelines, and sometimes the rest of my life takes priority over posting. work, bike repairs, children, cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping, oh, and actually getting on the bike and riding.
with my newly stabilized hub and rear wheel,
which is ever so nice.
thanks again, shawn.

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the Male Ego

The other day I was coming down a canyon in my drop bars (two years ago I would have said, 'what's a drop bar?'), working hard, when I came up on two guys who were also heading downhill but at a more leisurely pace. I passed them, said hello as I did so, and pulled back into the bike lane. a few minutes later they went flying past me, faces looking dead ahead, not a single bit of acknowledgment that I even existed on this planet let alone was involved in and enjoying the same sport they were.
I have to attribute this to the male ego. what else can it be? now I know we all have egos, myself included. and mine even shows its ridiculous little head once in a while, or perhaps more often. but the difference between mine and say, those of certain men on bicycles, is that I KNOW mine exists and I can LAUGH at mine. I know my ego was quite excited to pass those guys, and I could also smile because I knew if the men had really been working like I was, they would have kicked my butt down the hill.
I think I pissed them off.
and I'm sure I will be sharing with you much more of my thoughts about the male ego . . .

a little history

I was married, and I had a mountain bike which I rarely rode. we separated, I moved out, and four months later someone stole my bike. the next spring, 2005, I bought myself a new mountain bike. I rode occasionally, and in april 2006 I rode in my first century, the Cactus Hugger in St. George, Utah. I made it 54 miles on that mountain bike, and it took me about 6 hours. I think that included the rest stops where I prayed that someone would steal my bike again . . .
in june 2006 I started riding my mountain bike five mornings a week, a 45-55 minute loop that was intended to be all about exercise. and what I found was that I loved the quiet, peaceful morning full of bird chatter and barely breaking sunrises. by that fall I was hooked, and began considering the purchase of a road bike. I rode up emigration canyon for the first time that Labor Day of 2006, panting and plowing along on my trusty (heavy) bike, and a month later I was the proud owner of my own road bike: I had become a two-bike girl!
a 17-week-long "power camp" over the winter and a handful of new friends kept bicycling front and center in my life, and when spring of 2007 rolled around I was ready to hit the pavement. I rode my first century the end of april, when I again went to St. George and completed that Cactus Hugger. it took me about 7 hours, but this time I rode the entire 100 miles with about 9300 feet of vertical gain. woo hoo!
I started riding canyons around our area, emigration and millcreek, city creek, big cottonwood, little mountain and big mountain, and once--yes, only once--little cottonwood.
then in september of 2007, I rode from Logan, Utah, to Jackson, Wyoming, in the slightly infamous LOTOJA race. I rode, I did not race. and I completed the thing, crediting my good training buddies, the incredibly perfect weather, my support team, and an amazing convergence of all things positive in the universe.
I put in about 3500 miles last season, and as of today, july 19, 2008, I have about 1700 in, adding to it every day.
I have again signed on to ride the LOTOJA race, and my goal is to have just somewhere near as great a ride as I did last year. oh, and to have someone fun to talk with along the way as I got incredibly bored last year . . . star valley is still a nightmare scene in my biking memories . . .
and here is a picture of the machine that has helped me reclaim my life.