Can you feel it? The shorter days, the later sunrise, the carpool lines in the morning? It's happening again - we're tilting away from the Sun. There's something about this time of year. I went out just before dawn this morning to ride, since I had to get to work early for some meetings. Leaving the house in the dark, I looked up at the stars just starting to fade ahead of the dawn and it made me think of winter. The only reliable time I have for training is in the early morning, and in the winter that means hitting the road in the dark, when it's still really cold. This morning it was certainly not cold, but it still made me think of the coming Winter. With only a few races left this season, at least races that I am likely to be able to race in, it's getting harder to concentrate on training. I always want to ride easy and look at the scenery this time of year. In fact, I look forward to it. The morning group was on its way out as I was on my way back, and since I still had a few minutes to spare, I turned around and rode with them for a few miles before heading back home. Riding down Carrollton Avenue there were little groups of schoolkids on the corners waiting for their busses - today was the first day of class for the public schools. The Superintendent is hoping to set a new record by having 90% of the students actually show up for the first day of class. Pretty sad.
I felt good riding today, though. I wish I was looking forward to some big races, but the reality is that things are winding down and besides I can't really afford to be taking any big road trips or paying any $60 entry fees anyway. I'll try and stay in reasonable shape for the rumored Baton Rouge criterium and our traditional end-of-season Rocktoberfest race on the lakefront, but I'm sure that by the time it's October I will have already lost some fitness. Another month or so and I'll be wrapping up my 33rd racing season. Damn. 33 years and I'm still tying to get it right!
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