Puerto Rico Adventures

Negative to Positive

Yesterday’s post is filled with negative words-- off, difficult, sad, tough, without, missed out. And it’s really not all bad. Yes, I fell down and that had a negative impact on my life. But I got up, I made a full recovery, I have a tiny scar to prove how brave I am, and I am back on my bike and enjoying moving through these beautiful autumnal days. Thinking about life in general, DH and I will be celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary next month, we have 2 great kids, we have a beautiful home, we both have careers and jobs that challenge us and remind us to be good people, and next week we will be in Puerto Rico for a business meeting extended into a vacation. Life is GOOD. I want it to be a little better, but it’s easy to get caught in a downward spiral. It helps to focus on all the positives, all the bright moments on the journey.

On Saturday I went for a bike ride up in lower Dutchess County. The 5 of us rode down beautiful roads to Sprout Creek Farm, where they produce fabulous artisanal cheese. We were able to taste all the cheeses and they were deeeelicious! When we got back, the chicken and hotdogs were already on the barbeque. On Sunday DH and I both led rides that started at the middle school, about a mile from our home. Most of our cycling friends are not familiar with the beautiful roads in our northwest corner of the county, so we like to lead a few rides to share them. DH commented that Bob called and he was coming. It never crossed my mind to ask which Bob. What a great surprise when Bob showed up, an old friend that I haven’t seen in at least 10 years! We didn’t really have much time to get caught up, but we promised each other that we will get together soon. My ride flowed down to the reservoir, across the Croton Dam, and made a stop at Thompson’s Cider Mill. There we shared a quart of just-pressed cider and some yummy muffins and donuts. We continued on our journey up and down many hills, including a beautiful road along the Hudson River. What great bicycle adventures with friends old and new on these bright autumn days. Yes, life is good, very good.

Flip Flop Seasons

Although I may not have realized it at the time, my crash back in June initiated my off-season. I did nothing or almost nothing related to fitness for 5 weeks. Over the last 2 months I have been consistently inconsistent. That has made it very difficult to get anywhere other than where I am, which is fat and slow. I now understand why it is important to build that mileage base-- it becomes the fuel or a reserve tank that you can draw upon when you need to push yourself to go further or harder. Without that base, I am finding it difficult to keep up with my cycling friends on rides longer than 30 miles. Sad, considering last year I rode the RI Century in September.

Without a specific goal, I often find it difficult to motivate myself to stay with "the program." I'm also having a tough time on identifying a goal other than getting back to where I was and keep moving forward. I do know I have to turn it up a notch, and so my seasons have flip-flopped. October 1 marked the beginning of my off-season in-season. For the next 8 weeks, I am going to focus on getting back to those good basic habits. I also hope to stay outside as much as possible, stretching the cycling season, especially since I missed out on a big chunk of it. Its what I enjoy the most, even though I feel really slow. Somebody has to be last, and lately that is me.