Slacker . . .

Sorry for the lack of recent posts. I'm sure that the three people that read the blog have been concerned over my well being. This is always a tough time of year. The rides on the hamster wheel don't tend to generate post-worthy content and although I've spent many hours in the cold and snow, those rides have also been fairly uneventful. Thankfully racing season is around the corner, the days will be getting longer and I'll get my creative mojo back.

One topic that keeps popping into my head is riding partners. It seems like year around there are always other like minded crazies to ride with. Who you ride with can have a major impact on the enjoyment one derives from a ride. Can the people you're riding with carry an intelligent conversation? Do they speak at a volume that you can actually hear? Do they ride well in traffic or are they constantly giving people in pickup trucks with gun racks the finger? At the end of the day, a 3-4 hour ride can fly by or seem like an eternity.

I couldn't possibly add up the number of miles I've logged with the likes of Drumroll, "Bob", Faso and more recently Timmy O. As fast as life can move these day, some of the most interesting conversations I've had in the last few years have been on the bike. When you have four hours of riding in front of you, you're going to talk. Conversations have spanned from whether mankind is inherently good or evil, what we might do if faced with terminal cancer (sadly last year a local cyclist was), the fragility of life, how to raise children (although I don't have any), politics, and of course more bike centric topics like rehashing past races, SRAM vs. Shimano, dream bikes, dopers, and the occasional gossip and smack talk. Good stuff.

Switching topics, I've been ratcheting up the training this winter. Since my primary focus has always been CX, the road season has always been an afterthought. This year I've decided to get an earlier start and see what happens. My CX season far exceeded my expectations so I figure it's time to give it a real go on the road. There's no question that my body and mind are better suited for CX, but I don't want to look in the rear view mirror someday and feel like I didn't maximize whatever potential I had on the road. Who knows what will happen, but I'm hopeful that I can at least finish most of the races with the lead group. Last season I spent too much time just a few watts behind the lead group. Maybe between the SLC-SL and some additional motivation I can close the gap. If not, there's always the "saving my best stuff for CX season" excuse.

Hopefully with racing season and daylight savings around the corner, I can step up the blog posts and keep my three readers entertained. Worst case scenario I'm on the verge of building up a training bike, so I'll have some pics to post once my frame gets in. Mrs. Skinny was surprisingly understanding when I explained that my new bike was SO nice that I needed to buy a second bike for training and crits. It takes a very special lady to support a bike racer, and by special I mean understanding, not a former passenger on the short bus.