Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Naturals and the mere mortals

The crazy thing about having blog is you have to update it. Finding the time and the right words are the challenge. You can post a lot of air and log a lot of junk words or you can hit with the right mix of words and storyline. Filling time or filling space you sometimes write because you think you have to with no aim or purpose.Finding a balance between wanting to update vs. needing to update. Holding the ropes on thoughts and ideas that go nowhere or gathering energy to say something entertaining, meaningful or worth reading.There are those who blog naturally. Like a painter on canvas, the words sell just by adding a name to a work. The rest of us work hard at it, stumbling on words and tripping on thoughts. Every now and then something clicks in those awkward sentences and a masterpiece is touched upon. The naturals inspiring the mere mortals to be something greater.

The funny thing about racing is you have train. Finding the time and the right focus are the challenge. You can ride a lot of hours and post a lot of junk miles or you can ...Reading into this,I hope you see where I am going with this.

My blog mirroring my training,or vise-versa, I hope I wrote the right words.

Monday, October 5, 2009

The Holy Grail

6 hours riding, 1 hr racing.
6 hrs driving, 1 hr racing.
Looking back at last week's stats, the numbers add up without even trying.

Spending 6hrs in a car for a 1hr race may seem foolish to the average person but to me it seems right. Right because regardless of a hit or miss on the day, the smiles unravel with every mile that is logged. The sore legs and sour races all have away of disappearing when the colourful replays on the way home turn coal into diamonds. The tiniest flashes of brilliance out on the course , how ever small, all fuel the desire to be better, to push further and to go faster when you know you've done your best.

I have raced a lot. I can't even count the number of DNF's or wins. Heck, I have forgotten more races than others have started but with the races has come the wisdom that racing is not about chasing the holy grail or some untouchable goal. It means resting up and turning yourself inside out to get the most out of it you can.

Last week I was not entirely happy with my race. Simply because I knew I didn't get the most out of myself. I am a bike racer not a bike rider.Last week's ride didn't sit well because deep down I knew I didn't race. This past weekend I was determined to race. I dug deep and drilled it and came out happy.

While you may not be able to make a race horse out of a donkey, every donkey gets it's day as long as it chooses to race.