Road Ride

joh talked me into an early morning road ride today and in retaliation, i suggested we do big hill instead of the rosman loop. i woke up four minutes before go time so i set off with an empty stomach but there was a warm apricot brioche tucked safely in my jersey pocket protecting me from hunger. it was cool and clammy as we pedaled our lazy way through the fog. going up walnut hollow, we both agreed, was only a few degrees less painful than giving birth. as "retired professional athletes" she and i are mellowing into a lifestyle of less fitness...for now, anyway. my game plan is to roar back onto the scene at around age thirty, which is when women become effortlessly fast (or so it seems).

questioning our mental stability, we continued on east fork and puffed up the rollers and switchbacks. somewhere in the middle of nowhere i remembered once again that i. love. climbing. climbing is the only reason i ride a road bike. no matter how out of shape i am, i would much rather dig into the pain cave than spin around on boring flats.

we arrived back in town with sweaty smiles and contented limbs, and plenty of time before work. i think i like morning exercise, although i always spend the first fifteen minutes feeling like i'm going to vom.

the kids are going back to school in less than two weeks and i'm not sure how i feel about it (besides smug). will i miss the routine and occasional mental stimulation? will i long for the heat of collegiate battle? will i browse through exorbitantly expensive textbooks and think, "if only..."? will i become so desperate for scholastic status quo that i start applying to grad schools and studying for the GRE?

ugh. not likely.