Retired? or just tired.

OH...so you finally noticed I wasn't at the races this year. I ran into major trouble in the spring. As happens every year, I developed a real case of allergies that prevented me from trying to make up for the 6 colds I got one after another all winter long. By the time the first race in the new race schedule* rolled around I had a total of 30 minutes on the bike and that resulted in a coughing fit and every other allergic reaction imaginable short of anaphylaxia. I decided I'd hold off rather than go and be in everyone's way and risk hurting myself and others. One thing led to another and I pretty much decided to only do my local race at Waid park which also didn't happen. I found a new problem when I took my road bike out to try to train on the road. The roads had gotten so bad that my bike hunted badly in the ruts. I tried larger tires and it helped a little but I still lacked the control I needed to feel comfortable on the road. I even tried riding my mtb on the road and showed I could still pull pretty good by riding it to Woolwine and back(18 miles 10 cat 3-4 climbs) one evening almost on a whim but grinding out road miles on a 30lb mtb isn't fun. As time rolled on into the summer and I found myself involved in other things besides riding. Mostly hiking in the evening to try to keep some form. Without the regular rigors of daily training rides I gained weight as expected. My skills grew lax but my legs felt okay when I did ride which was about once a week or so as I felt the urge. The Waid park race came and went and I wrestled with the idea of going but decided not to.
I also pursued my shooting hobby which stemmed from the hunting I talked about during the last days of the season last year but I feel that's best left for another blog. I did some mushroom hunting during my hikes but while it was a great year for variety and amounts of shrooms there was a shortage of the edible kind I was after.
It's hard to get racing and cycling completely out of my mind though. I had decided I was retired after I had alot of trouble riding and training last year due to my wrist injury of the previous year. I wasn't really well prepared to ride in the sport clydesdale class I was signed up for and I managed to finish them all but wasn't competitive. My wrist didn't fully recover and my hand and wrist swell when I ride off road. This is the single biggest obstacle I have faced and is still a problem. It's my left hand and I'm left handed. I also enjoy guitar. I was hoping some time off the bike would help which is why I started hiking more, using a walking stick to both excersice my hand and wrist and provide extra balance on trails I used to bomb on my bike. I reversed the course for intensity, hence I hike up the downhill.

Now it's hunting season and I'm wrecking my Achilles trying to sound like a deer by pointing my toes down and tip toeing everywhere. I also get to do quite a bit of isometrics as I hide nearly motionless for hours at a time while trying to keep blood circulating in my feet. I've found the best solution to this is a chair. I have several stationed at key points in my woods.

The road has been "repaved" which means a mostly solid coating of pea gravel and tar has been more or less evenly swept over the myriad of patches that were causing my rutting problems.

Excuses...check.
Medical...check.
New hobbies...check

Am I coming back?... I'm not sure. I am sure there are a few people I miss a bit from those days. If you read this and you think you might be one of those people leave me a reply.

Till next we meet.

Ray


*The new schedule adds a race for a total of 6 and splits the schedule up between spring and fall races in order to attempt to avoid the heat that plagued last years events.