I had a lot of time to think on my ride today. I am currently taking a week off of work to spend time with my father in Fond du Lac. My mother is currently traveling with my sister Kari to Park City, UT. My mom doesn't get to travel very often anymore so it's a fun opportunity for her. Although she's not on a complete vacation - Kari just had twins, so I'm sure there is some childcare work in there - but that's what Grandma's are for.
With that I find myself in Fond du Lac. My parents have lived here (two different houses) for probably 10 years. It never felt like home to me so I've never really taken any time getting to know the place. But now that I have a week here I decided to bring a bike.
A little recent history here. It's the triathlon off season for me. I injured my left ankle early this year and my running had been very limited. I've built myself a run training program which was intended to address this. My goal was to hit the trails and build back into ultrarunner mode. Well as soon I got all the details figured out, something stupid happened to me. I sprained my ankle. Again! This time playing goalkeeper; which was a compromise in hopes of preventing such injuries. Oh well.
Well it wasn't the same ankle and it isn't as bad this time. I'm 3 days post injury and can walk around fairly well. And I can comfortably ride my bike - depending on the shoes. I have some commuter bike shoes that are stretchy and account for my sausage shaped foot quite nicely - these shoes are for my commuter bike (which is spd-platform). So I decided to ride my commuter.
A little history on my commuter. It's sweet. It's an 80's Apollo Gran Tour. Got it 2nd hand in Vancouver in like new condition. It's a road bike, chromoly frame, downtube shifters, 6 spd freewheel. I've added a classy looking pair of full wrap fenders, a rear grocery basket (which I'm hoping to replace with something custom made and nice) Functional bike, but still something that I can work out on.
So that was my steed for the day. Low tech, humble. Felt like the good old days when I just got into riding. There is definitely an exhilaration to heading into unknown territory alone. Now to the route itself.
Headed east into a headwind. Nothing too special, but the scenery was nice. Fall colors are at peak. Eventually I worked my way into the Kettle Moraine Forest towards the town of Glen Beulah. I turned back to the west and found some amazing smooth roads, nice rolling hills, and a nice tailwind. I reach a point where I was just relaxed and happy to be on a bike. Passed through the town of Mt. Calvary. That lead to later research in the difference between "calvary" and "cavalry" - totally different thing (thank you wikipedia). Strange what can be learned as a result of a ride.
Other than random thoughts, there were no thoughts of training, no discomfort in my ankle, no worries about life. Just me in the moment. I wish others could find this state of mind - I can't really describe it - but I need it.
No comments:
Post a Comment