Biking!

It is Saturday morning and I've had my coffee and breakfast. There is a window of time that I have between now and my next task. Food needs to digest, certain bodily functions need to happen, need to get my clothes ready, gear ready, figure out my route, etc. etc. It is what I do most Saturdays and Sundays - ride my bike. Looking at some of my blog posts, I realize that I haven't really devoted too much to biking.

It is the "off" season, I guess. I spend a lot of hours on my trainer looking like this:

 Note - I don't pull my shorts up that high and I don't read while I'm on the trainer. I watch sappy movies and re-runs of "What Not to Wear". It is my key to staying on the trainer for 2.5 hours at a time.

It is the time of year that you put in a lot of base miles and build your base for the upcoming season. My cycling/race season is quite long. It begins in February and goes until December. Mountain bike races seem to start first, then road races begin and my year ends with cyclocross. I'm going to take breaks along the way and I'm vowing not to race every weekend.

I really enjoy mountain biking. Brian and I have had a lot of fun adventures riding our mountain bikes. Sometimes the ride can be brutal and miserable. Other times it can be so fun that I squeal out loud and laugh hysterically while I'm riding. When I think about it, my favorite rides are the ones that combine both of these feelings. Pain and fun!

I'm looking forward to mountain biking in new places this year. I'd like to ride the Devil's Gulch in Wenatchee and the Plains of Abraham near St. Helens.

I'm also looking forward to going back to Bend OR to ride. Bend is the most magnificent place that I've been to ride my mountain bike. We've been there several times and I can't wait to go back.

It was such a major accomplishment for me to get over this damn log. 

Bend's trails are smooth and sandy. A stark contrast to the trails I ride in the Capitol Forest (rocks, mud, roots, attacking birds, bees). Bend has trails designed specifically for mountain biking. OMG they are glorious. Definitely worth three high kicks and a deep lunge.

The landscape is sort of "scrubby" and dry. We normally go in May or September/October. This photo was taken in October. Look how smooth the trails are!

There is even "art" on the trail!

I've got to get back to Bend to go biking. I suppose it is covered in snow right now and I won't get a chance to visit until May. I think I will retire there someday.

I sometimes question why I am a slave to the trainer on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights and spend both days of the weekend riding in the rain. I've not figured out why I do what I do.  I'm hoping to figure that out this season. Last season was pretty rough for me. I didn't have a lot of fun and I was tired and emotional quite a bit. I don't like to be emotional. I like "happy Ann" and not "anxiety-filled Ann".

But, for now, it is back to base miles so that I can make it through this long season of biking and racing.