Reflections

Well, it's been 3 days since I came home from BAK.  I'm not sorry for my choice to come home.  The next day the BAK riders had to to deal with massive amounts of rain and wind.  The organizers had to get a bus to transport people due to the dangerous conditions.  We got a call from Jason's boss, who had originally called to tell him that I was crazy for being out there, but then told us how he was seeing cyclist crash on the highway.  I had tried to call my Mom the night before with no luck, so when she called that night she'd worried all day that I was out there.  She was very happy that I had decided not to continue.  The rest of the Cycling 6 all rode through it, in the rain, all the miles.  They are made of tougher stuff than I or are more willing to take the abuse.  Probably both.

Something that I didn't mention in my last entry was the pain in the back of my ankle the last 10 miles or so of my ride to Spearville.  I'd really tried to ignore it, but by the time we'd gotten home, I could barely walk.  I iced it and of course looked up common bicycling injuries on the internet.  Achilles Tendinitis is what I'm pretty sure it was, it either hurt or felt weird when I moved it.  Weird as in feels like your ankle had sand in it.  Even if I had been enjoying BAK up to that point, my ankle wouldn't have allowed me to continue.  As it was it took 2 days for it to quit hurting when I walked.  This is something that I am going to have to be more aware of.

I've already signed up for another ride, it's in about a week.  It's a 60 mile ride, it's local and I hope it will be fun.  I've also decided on some new goals.  I'm going to try and do a smaller tour next summer.  I really feel that I just picked the wrong year for BAK and/or too much too soon.  So I'm going to try the Kandango tour that is 3 days long and about 200 miles or so.  It is usually scheduled the end of May.  I'd also like to start gravel riding.  I want to ride dirt roads and possibly take my good camera along, enjoy the scenery around me.  I think part of my issue from BAK was that I was too focused on the end of the ride, getting to the destination.  I'm not sure if that was due to the weather or my perception of what the tour was about or both.  Jason feels that my lack of enjoyment might have been his fault, that in the evenings I just hung out with him instead of finding new people at the schools.  I have mixed feelings about this.  One I didn't really want to deal with the gym and the communal showers.  I really needed his support the first long day and I genuinely enjoy hanging out with my husband.  However, I understand his point about meeting people, even though I find that somewhat uncomfortable.  He thinks that if I'd found people to ride with during the day that maybe it would have been better.  I agree with this point, riding 60 to 70 miles basically by yourself isn't fun.  I think in a few years I might try it again, I don't know.  I would like to mention that once the tour left my hometown, after the rain, they seemed to have had beautiful weather and wonderful rides.  The pictures that have been posted look like a completely different tour than how it started.

I'm a firm believer in reflecting on your experiences.  And although I didn't finish the BAK tour, I really learned a lot from it.

• I can do at least 73 miles in a day, in unfavorable conditions 
• Eat on long rides, even when you don't feel like it.
• Attitude is everything
• Remember the small victories