Slump riding

Today was definitely one of those "under the weather" days. The temperature today, however, was a bit warmer, and a lot less wind. It took forever to get going. Putzing around on the web, brooding, and drinking coffee just took away too much momentum. I declined an offer to go crank out insane mileage in some far away mountain range.

Then you look outside, and start feeling guilty, a voice goes off in your head "are you a cyclist or not?"

So you stumble around, can't remember where your shorts are...

I should have taken a faster bike today, but that would have meant I'd have to pump up the tires, and unscrew the blinky light mount off the Raliegh and transfer it. This was just way too much to think about.

I started to cheer up a bit once on the road, hearing some birds starting to sound spring-like. The roads are clear of sand and salt, having been purged in the recent downpours. The air was suprisingly stable, just an endless omen of depresso-overcast the whole way.

Then I hit pay dirt. A twenty dollar bill in the gutter, woo-hoo! So I figured it would be a good day after all.

I have a confession to make. I am hopelessly addicted to picking up tools and crap in the gutter. Today was especially productive. A pair of sunglasses, and a brand new Husky Pro ratchet screwdriver.

Always let me ride in the rear of the group so I can pick up all the "road swag" without causing the entire peloton to slow down. I'll catch up later, promise. I have been known to slam on the brakes for full rolls of duct tape, which seems to have a habit of rolling out the bay doors of vans when nobody is looking.

If you live in West Hartford and ride the Bloomfield loop, watch out for the "Bud Light guy". Apparently there's a guy who drives down the road, guzzling cans of Bud Light, one can approximately every forty five seconds. At almost exactly every half mile, there was a blue Bud Light can in the shoulder. This has to be the same guy. The wierd thing was the cans followed my entire route. Or maybe there's a new Bud Light cult or something.

So I crawled like an old man today, but it's ok, because I know not to be too hard on myself. Any time spent in the saddle is a plus. It was encouraging to see green grass again, hopefully we will be cut a break this March.

I really need to finish painting the fenders on an old Raleigh cruiser. Or maybe just take a nap or something.