Never Surrender

Corey Hart made a great point when he sang the song, "Never Surrender." At least I think it was Corey Hart. Maybe it wasn't. I don't really know. But I do like the song, and I was singing it on the way home. It also seemed appropriate given the time that has passed since my last ride, and the time that has passed since my last post. It appears that I missed an entire month -- of posting, that is. It's only been two weeks since my last ride. That is still far too long since a ride. Fortunately I rectified that situation today. It appears that I'm rectifying both situations today.

I was reminded of the challenges of bike commuting both yesterday and today. I had planned to ride home from work yesterday, and Tuesday before that; but I was thwarted until today. Tuesday it was just easier to have a car back home rather than riding home. So I simply decided to drive both ways. That was just plain laziness.

Yesterday was another set of problems for me. I started getting everything ready for a ride. I got the rack loaded onto the truck to take the bike one way. I got bike clothes ready. I got my shoes and helmet packed up. I made lunches for the rest of the week. Then I realized that I was missing my bike computer, heart rate monitor strap, and gloves. I could have ridden without these, but felt just frustrated enough at not finding them that I left the bike home.

These two days followed up a week when I was out of town and my bikes were being repaired. I picked the bikes up a week ago. Then I had major commitments through the entire weekend and couldn't ride. I spent the Labor Day holiday waterskiing. As a side-note, I was really close to riding my bike to the lake. It's only about a metric century each way. I mean, I could have done it in a few hours; but between a neighborhood breakfast and inviting friends to the lake it just didn't happen. (Both of those events were fun, and well worth giving up a ride for.)

Finally, last night I found the bike computer, HRM strap, gloves, and some other items I misplaced just before the trip. With that I was ready to take the bike to work today and ride home. After such a long break, I couldn't take just the short route home. So, I took one of the longer, but still nearly direct, routes home. I somehow survived the short climbs of the route, managed to avoid rear-ending the car that just had to hit the brakes in front of me, and slid through two yellow (okay, more orange) lights to get home alive. All I forgot to take with me was the keys to the house, and the case for my glasses. But by the time I realized this, I was committed and rode home anyway. Thank goodness I have a combo lock on the garage door.

I realized somewhere during today's ride that I really do need to never surrender. Several years ago I set a goal to be in better shape when I turned 40 than when I was 30. To achieve this, I need to keep working every week and every day to not get complacent. I've managed to hold a level of fitness, but haven't really improved. I have my work cut out for me if I want to see real improvement. I have a few benchmarks to test myself against in 2011. Anyone up for the Showdown at 5-Mile Pass? Desperado Dual? LOTOJA Classic?

As I close, I do want to give a shout out to my friend at So Many Layers who got the really cute, orange Electra Townie last week. The great part is that she's using it frequently. Good for you.