Cycling is such a great sport!

If you think about it, cycling offers something for everyone – you can ride when you’re young and you can ride when you’re old.  There’s BMX, touring, road riding/racing and within that there’s road races, criteriums, time trials, track. Then there’s mountain biking that has cross country, downhill, short track.  I’m leaving a lot of variations out, but the point I want to make is that it’s so great to be part of a sport that accommodates different strengths, interests, ages, and stages of life.

I guess it’s on my mind because at this point in my life I’m only able to manage doing criteriums. It’s not that I’ll never do another stage race, it’s just that’s all I have the time and energy for at this point in my life.  (Ok, let me be completely honest here, it’s mostly the energy part that’s lacking.  My child is supercharged and I’m not.)   I don’t even really fret about it any more because the really cool thing is that I can still race AND I’m getting to share my favorite sport with my son.

He started BMX this year and it has been a blast. He still can’t make it over the big jumps on the track, so we have to run along with him and help him get over them. It’s not easy to do running sprints for 2 hours after an afternoon training ride, but it sure is fun! He has a little full-face helmet, BMX bike, and little BMX friends.  It is so much fun to watch him begin to experience all of the positive things that we’ve experienced through cycling.

So, while it isn’t quite what it used to be and it’s undoubtedly harder to make it all work, it is truly a whole lot better. So the next time we race together and you see me suffering, just know that, yep, I’m frustrated because my fitness is not what it once was, but I’m damn happy with my life in general.  And don’t get too comfortable thinking I suck, because school is just a year off and then it’s ME TIME from 8:00 a.m to 2:00 p.m.  You can probably guess what I’ll be doing!

Owen and I out for a late-day “mountain bike” ride.  I’m wearing the Zeal Optics Slingshots too!