it's quite obvious that i've carried on a love/hate relationship with bikes for quite a while. love them: riding them with or without friends, looking at them, thinking about them, physical benefits, etc. hate them: being financially dependent on them. the later will certainly affect the former quite a bit. for the past few years i would go through periods of loving bikes [increased blogging] and hating bikes [decreased blogging] and obviously i have been in slump for more than a few months now. i've just burned out on them for a while... the thought of starting from scratch and having to build from the bottom again does not appeal to me. the sore ass for a few days after the first long ride. spending 20 minutes looking at the weather forecast trying to figure out of i should wear knickers or just knee warmers. not to mention, do i even have enough daylight to get a ride in? what seems to be the result of this slump? running.
ugh, i know, i know... running. it beats me up as much, if not more, than the next cyclist but at least i'm willing to do it. i, for the most part, do it because i need to for employment opportunities, but i have to say, i actually like to run. it causes me indescribable types of pain that would never happen on a bike but there's something about it that still appeals to me.
i'm not a fan of running on the road so i stick to the trails. many of the trails are the very same that i've been biking on for the past 15 years. i must say, when you're traveling at 6mph rather than 12-15mph, the trail looks completely different, new, even. no longer do you hear the slap of the chain on the chainstay, the grind of a mudded-up drive trail or the squeal of the breaks approaching an unfamiliar obstacle. as when riding my bike i prefer to run without an iPod... i feel like i'm missing out on something if i bring too much media into the woods. i want to hear the dirt, the leaves, the chipmunks and birds. i want to hear the woods.
often by the end of my appallingly short run my face has contorted into a grimace of pain and suffering but i still enjoyed myself for that 13 minutes and can't wait until my broken feet will allow me to run again. as i write this two of my bikes lean on each other next to me looking quite forgotten... don't worry you two, i'll be back at some point, and it will be like i never left.
