Coming into my third AIDS Lifecycle I no longer feel the same tension as I did in my first or even second year riding. Over the years it’s been replaced by my excitement about doing the ride and spending the week with some amazing individuals, some of whom I’ve been able to spend time with and get to know these past 3 years.
When I trained for my first year, I was more worried about how many miles I was increasing every weekend ride and trying to figure out nutritional and hydration needs during each ride. I was also figuring out my pre- and post-ride routines and how I could manage to stay awake long enough to shower after a long ride.
From an athletic perspective, I still have a lot to figure out and learn. But lately, I have been enjoying the difficulty of climbing hills and riding into a light headwind (let’s not get crazy; I still hate riding into strong winds, will still cry when it rains and definitely will still give a hard pass to riding in snow but y’know – baby steps) and knowing it’s going to be a challenging day almost gives me some relief to know and I can start to focus on and enjoy the company I’m in instead.
I forgot to take a picture, but my chill state was gifted a nice surprise at the halfway point when I ran into another friend who was on a different ride with some other friends. I also helped change someone’s flat and sat with someone for a bit while he recovered from a leg cramp. I was having a pretty fun 80 miles ad really enjoyed getting to spend time with different folks at each rest stop.
I felt so relaxed at the end of the day that I decided to take Sunday off and go on a date. I hope your weekend was equally spectacular!
karizmatic 
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