I love a group ride as much as anyone and make Critical Mass a monthly priority, and I certainly remember the adrenalin rush of doing Hagg Lake, Hood to Coast and those other Triathlons, but exploring and enjoying the scenery is always better than going fast with my head down. I enjoy a good aero downhill as much as anyone, but not 21km of it.
I’m reminded of my days training for triathlons. I would do my route in my aero position as fast as I could. I couldn’t even tell you the stuff along the roads I was riding. I was so focused on form and posture and speed. I was stupid. In fact, the thought of doing triathlons now makes me a little nauseous. So much time wasted in those chlorinated pools drowning myself so that I could get really fit and beat my PR. It was the open-water swimming that was the fun part, they rhythm and connection with the lake, not 100 flip turns over and over. I do love the zen nature of swimming and how it allows zoning out in a meditative state. Swimming in that way can be a form of meditation just like running, but few people do it for that. I know I didn’t. I did it because I wanted to be faster and was constantly stressed about all the technical details of improving my horrendeous swim stroke.
Life isn’t about being fast, it’s about absorbing what is around you, connecting with the land and surroundings. Rather than spend my time obsessing about power, and times, and peaking I spend my time obsessing about discovering new routes and wondering just how long I can go in a single day. Could I bike all the way to Asheville in a single day?
It’s not that I have a full-on “touring” mindset. I do appreciate the idea of taking everything with me. It’s just that loading up a bike with all the gear makes day trips to Ashville (124 miles away according to Google) just not as possible. And you know after I do it once, I will probably not be as inclined to do it again, unless I take a different route to compare. For me it really is about the exploration.