Cycling is, for me, therapy. It is exercise for my body, obviously, but it is also an opportunity for my brain to crunch through the flotsam of my work weeks, nearly unmanageable tasklists and frazzled out staff and faculties.
When I lapse into a bad mood and catch myself wondering what the hell has gotten me all riled up and crazy, I immediately think back to when I rode my bike last, how far I rode and how the ride was.
I won't try to shine you when I say that I've fallen off the training wagon since completing the Sea Otter Classic and Avia Wildflower Mountain Bike Triathlon. I have and its showing some. My weight's climbed back up into the mid-170's and it can be hard to seize the opportunity to ride when I do come across a window.
And when I do get up off my butt and go get on my bike, I'm reminded of how pleasurable something as simple as a bike ride can be. It is important, for me at least, to remember that not every ride has to be a barn burner, that it is sometimes permissible and even welcome to slow down, enjoy the scenery and just ride.
