Thursday, January 17, 2008

1/17/08 -being a dad and pedaling

The new season is fast approaching as I try to shed a few pounds ( I just ate a doughnut - damn those Tully's cards at work). At least I'm riding more though. I even got in 98 miles this past Saturday - and felt pretty good too. It was a bonus to have a tailwind the last 15 miles or so, I actually felt like I was in shape cruising along at 25-26 mph 4 1/2 hours into my ride.



I sure will be happy when winter is over, or at the very least we get more light. I despise the trainer and will do anything I can to avoid it - including risking my life riding around the roads of Snohomish at night. And I'll ride the Centenniel trail also, although I don't like doing that alone as I have a somewhat unwarranted phobia of cougars and bears. I think I've done 2 "rides" on the trainer so far this year - I guess I do got stuck on it once per week - that's not too bad really.



Between work and being a dad it makes it harder to get the miles in. My son, who is 3, is starting to ask to come on my rides. The other day he asked me to put him in the trailer before I left on a 5+ hour ride. I don't think he would enjoy it after a while, the weather sucks, I'm not going to pull a trailer on the road with a kid in it - and I don't know. I feel bad though - it's like this HUGE dichotmy of being a dad and being a bike racer. So anyway, I try to balance it the best I can but man...it can be hard to make everyone (wife, son, my legs) happy. I learned how to do it for the most part, I just have to skip a couple hours of sleep per night every now and again. That's not a huge price to pay for some happiness. As long as I don't get sick - then no one is happy - then I try to pull it off. Besides, it's not too hard to get 3 or 4 hours of sleep one night per week. And every once in a while I'll just skip a night and get lots of things done (besides pedaling).



Anyway, tonight I hope to get in 60-65 miles, 35 of which will be on the trail. I will avoid trails at all costs in the daylight, I do not believe they are for bike racers, but for families. But at night time I don't think I'll have to worry about the safety of a small child or oet as I pedal down the trail at 20 mph. Nor do I have to worry about cars. Just cougars (unlikely), bears (aren't they hibernating - Yogi never made it to Christmas), coyotes (?), and rabbits (probably the most dangerous as they always dart in front of you.

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