Inane Asylum

Well, we are in the middle of a rare late-March storm. It rained all weekend (we got 4.25” at our town over the weekend), and it’s supposed to rain all week with the exception of tomorrow (Tuesday). I’ve almost given up on doing much bike riding….my fitness is as sad and meager as it’s been since I can’t remember HOW long. And then I go to Jill’s site….Jill Homer, you know, the “Up in Alaska” blog? (even though she now lives right here in Cali, just a few hours north of me). She goes out on her bikes in rain, wind, snow….you name it, doesn’t stop her. She even does those (insane) biking and running (walking, shuffling, or even just barely moving sometimes) races up in Alaska… in the WINTER. And then I feel like such a wuss. It was kind of drizzly on Saturday and I peeked outside and that was it. Not a chance I’m going out. Then Sunday it was raining quite hard almost all day. That one didn’t even require any mental debate. Today: rain. SO…if I don’t ride tomorrow after work I probably won’t be riding anytime soon.

And the REALLY sad part about all this: I don’t care. For whatever reason, right now I’m just not very motivated to go riding. Other years I couldn’t wait to get out on one of the bikes if the weather was at ALL ride-able. Not this year. I just don’t have it. Last week it was windy…so I didn’t ride. What’s next? Cloudy? The temperature not between 65 and 73F? (OK..make that 70 and 73F). I wonder if the pro’s ever get this way. And if so, what do they do to get over it? However, I believe if the choice was either ride or don’t get paid, I’d be out on the bike pronto. That’s just a guess though. Just one more reason I’m not a pro rider.

I have noticed over my life that where I live ends up dictating a lot about how and what I do outside (and when I do it). Growing up it seemed we were ALWAYS outside. Winter or summer. It took some rather severe weather to make us NOT want to go outside. So far in my life I’ve lived in Wyoming, Montana, Virginia, California, Alaska, Hawaii, and now back to California. And it seems I adapt what I do based on the prevailing weather. Up in Alaska I’ve been out fishing in snowstorms. Our saying up there was “If you don’t like the weather, wait 5 minutes and it will change”. I’ve played softball and football in snow and wind so howling mad you’d think it would be impossible. It’s not. It IS much more interesting though. That was the place that I learned NOT to let the weather dictate what you are going to do. And then I moved to Hawaii. I think is where I started to get picky on the weather. It was SO perfect almost all the time that it’s easy to get in a rut where you NEED perfect weather to do things. I lived there for a total of over 10 YEARS. That’s a LOT of perfect weather.

And now I’m here in the Central Coast of Calif. Where the weather is strange. Sure, we have mild winters. Mild isn’t even the right word for it, cuz it’s not really a winter at all. Not compared to the northern states. But we do own more than our share of wind. And our summer is rather chilly compared to just 10 to 15 miles inland. I can start out a summer-time road-bike ride at 9am being below 60, and in an hour and a half of riding (about 25 miles) it can be over 100. And I can come out of that OVER 100 and drop right back into the 60’s as I near home. It’s a strange little pocket we live in, that’s for sure. But there is one saying that comes to mind: “it can always be worse”. Right now I seem to be stuck in the rut of “the weather’s not good enough” for me to go out. Too windy, too chilly, too wet. I sure hope I snap out of this funk soon. Maybe it’s because I don’t have VS and am not seeing ANY bike racing! Hmmmm….there might be something to that. I know in years past I’d watch a race and be all jazzed to go ride, the voices of Phil and Paul and Bobke rolling around in my noggin. This year: nothing. Not-A. Zilch. I go online  most every day to VeloNews and read about it, but that’s not good enough. It’s just words. Might as well be a book.

So….how do you get yourself psyched up to go out and ride, or hike, or walk, or run, or mosey, (or even maybe take a nap in the lawn-hammock)…..whatever it is you do? Are you slaves to the weather, or so you just make a plan and go do it, come hell or high-water? Gosh, I used to be that guy….(hell or high-water). I wonder how I can get him back? Or maybe even just PART of him. Sort of a ‘kinda toasty and a bit of standing water on the road” kind of guy. I’d be happy with that. I just don’t know where he went. Maybe he’s still living in Hawaii (LOVED Hawaii).

Aloha.