Photo: SnowyMountain Photography
I miss racing, but that’s not the only reason I ride. I ride because I love to. And I ride hard when I want to remember what it’s like to physically suffer, to hear my heart beating rapidly in my ears and the sound of my breath wheezing in and out.
I just love to ride, and so amidst this pandemic, I won’t ever stop.
It took me a few months, maybe even years, to figure this out. It took me burning out and having a mental breakdown in Tucson to realize that I ride my bike for the love of it.
Being a cyclist is more than just riding, of course – I will miss the group rides, the races, and shootin’ the sh*t with my friends. But I know that this is only temporary, and we’ll all be able to laugh about 2020 at some point.
I love to train because I love the feeling of being fit, strong, and healthy. I don’t just train to race – racing is really just a bonus.
I love racing because it is competitive, it makes me nervous, and sometimes it even goes well. But I also love racing when it doesn’t do well. If not in the moment, I always learn something valuable from the experience, about my fitness and my tactical decisions; but most importantly, I learn something about myself.