2011 Blogs
Have you ever felt like the wind is always at your face? Beginning last February, that’s how I felt most days until today. No matter how much or how little I trained, how fast or how slow, how long or how short, it seemed uphill and headwind in every direction. Maybe the wind was at my back today. Or maybe it’s due to an actual break from training; unlike the path I have followed since I first began racing bikes in 2006. I like the saying “everything in moderation”, but for me it has always been ‘everything in excess or nothing at all’.
I began my break the way any break or off-season should begin: with pizza, Glühwein and chocolate croissants. After a very disappointing cyclocross Worlds race I went straight to a beer tent on course for a Glühwein to drown away my sorrows. That night held very little sleep as I re-played my upsetting race over and over and over again. I was so happy when a hint of light peaked through the shutters of my room because it meant I could move on…move on to a cappuccino and a chocolate croissant, a drive back to Belgium, and my trek back home to Boulder. I had thoughts of changing my flight to somewhere hot and sunny and relaxing for a respite, but what I really needed was my own bed and my season’s pass to shred Breckenridge and A-Basin.
The night I arrived home I went to the grocery and walked out with nothing but a loaf of bread, oil & vinegar, chocolate, wine, and butter. That was dinner. The next couple weeks I had the busiest social calendar I have ever had. I did my off-season right, spending time with friends I had missed throughout the season. I got a good amount of time on skis – way more that I’ve had since I quit ski racing. I ate. A lot. Of good food; this was my main priority. I waited until I was absolutely itching to be back on the bike before I let myself really get back on the bike. Or maybe I just waited until my riding shorts were getting a bit too snug…
The break restored motivation, excitement, desire, curiosity and intent. It feels soooo 2006; when I had just moved to Boulder and began cycling and training for cycling. My brother simply told me to “go ride; and when you are tired and lost look for the Flatirons and follow them home.” Now when I embark on my base-mile rides I feel like a kid set free in a toy store. I am discovering new roads and old roads feel like new roads (because of never-ending road projects of course). Just simple time off has brought a whole new element of excitement back into it. It’s nice to have a tail wind whenever I decide to turn.