Because the alternative was for it to stay the same. For some reason this expression has been tagged with a negative association, but shouldn't it be a good thing? At least it can be. The same could be said for being unyielding and stubborn, I guess. Anyway, about what? Nothing in particular, and a lot of things in general. One example would be boredom. Normally I don't like to believe in boredom. To me it means you need to be entertained, and are too lazy (or something) to focus inwards and do some thinking without external stimuli (science word, call Daria). But I must admit at this time of year I start to get "bored" with my usual training routes. It didn't used to happen, and I'm realizing that was probably because my old routine involved less riding around Sharon by myself and more Wompatucks, group rides, time trials, and other weeknight "events." Lo and behold, there are reasons all those things exist.
I miss the old Wednesday Worlds, aka the "Hagen ride" which used to meet in Wellesley. The ride was invitation only, at least at first, and was harder than any race most weeks. I think it grew a bit and then maybe died off when Mark got older, but I'm guessing it morphed into something else. Anybody know? While I have an aversion to out-of-control training rides out in the public eye, and I'm significantly older and slower myself these days, I think I need to find out where the action is just in case I'm up for it. I have three options on Tuesdays, but nothing close and appealing on Wednesdays.
Another related change was branching out and finding some new-to-me roads. There is a local group of enthusiast riders (aka gumbies, be nice) who meet a few times a week and ride a ragged "paceline" around the area. I tried it and while it's not for me (pretty terrifying doing a group ride with riders who don't know what they're doing), they do maintain maps online. I checked them out and read their forum posts which discussed this hill or that hill and I was like WTF are they talking about. So I started to investigate and explore a bit on my longer rides. After taking a break in early June I've been in a sort of "Base 2" in Friel-speak, piling on some mileage and just pretending it's January again. Without goals other than saddle time, I can afford to explore a little. I honestly though that I pretty much knew every decent road within an hour of here, but I was wrong. Turns out I've been riding right past a few that are quiet, scenic, and in some cases offer challenging terrain. This past weekend I took the process a step further and figured out a way to get from Sheldonville (my main hilly training area) to Rehoboth (my flat area) without dealing with too much commerce (i.e. Route 1 and 1A sprawl). As luck would have it, gumbies to the rescue again. I noticed that the PanMass Challenge route is now all marked out with permanent signage from Mass Highway. Well, it happens to cross that area, and as one might expect (duh) it's a very quiet and rideable route. There is a light where you cross route 1, but other than that all the highways are crossed where there's no interchange, and everything is rural or suburban at worst. Very cool, as now I can go to Sheldonville-Tower Hill-the reservoir as a loop rather than an out and back.
I know, riveting. In other news, there are only about fifty spots left in D2R2, so sign up now if you don't want to miss it. Don't be afraid. Other plugs: the Rehoboth TT is going on Thursday nights. The turnout has been down a bit this year, only around a dozen riders each week, so a little support might be in order for a great event. Also, pre-registration for the Attleboro crit on Saturday closes tonight, so you might want to sign up for that. This is a pretty nice local crit, one of the few survivors. We can't just race at Ninigret you know. Pre-reg numbers are not looking that great, so hopefully there will be a run on it today. And of course, the 24th Annual Workingmans Stage Race is in two weeks. If you can possibly make it to our event, please sign up. You won't be disappointed. Tired and sleepy yes, disappointed no. The only night time stage race in the world, with the points race going off around 9PM on Thursday, the most fun you'll have all year.
There was more but I can't remember what it was. Sorry that I don't have any pretty pictures. Maybe tomorrow. Thanks for reading.
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