Friday, January 7, 2011

Reflection


Feeling sentimental tonight...

It's Friday and I am enjoying doing nothing. Really, when I say nothing, I mean nothing. There is nothing left on the internet, I ran out of podcasts, TV has rotted my brain, and I am about to start a new book. Fun, eh?

Sometimes people think the life of a professional cyclist is always exciting. And, frankly, the fact that I get to sit here and do nothing is actually really exciting for me. It means I am doing my job; my job today was to rest so I can be ready to kill it this weekend in workouts.

But, the downtime here in LA has given me the capacity to reflect on how exactly I am sitting here in a rented bedroom in Huntington Beach.

It was 5 years ago (actually June of 2006) that I decided to actually try this track bike thingy. Greg and I got married in the summer of 2005 and in the fall of that year I did my first real bike race, a stage race in Taos, NM. Greg convinced me that I would love the velodrome and to sign up for a beginner clinic in the spring. It's a long story but the short version ends with... by the end of June I was taking part in a National Team Sprint Camp at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs and way in over my head.

Here I was.... working 60 hours a week, traveling 3-4 days a week for work, running on the treadmill in various hotels across the country, and hurrying home every Friday night so we could be weekend warrior athletes. Then, I rode a track bike and my life drastically changed. The only constant has been the support of the husband and the dog :)

From designer suits to dirty sweats... it has been a hell of a ride the last 5 years.

My evening ride here in Huntington Beach.

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