The joy of (not) cycling

Sunday was another gorgeous day in Wine Country. The kind of day where you absolutely have to get out and ride. Highs in the 70s, no wind and a clear blue sky all beckoned to pull out the bike and go. The original plan was to take the single speed out for the first time with another rider. So at this point, I am jazzed about riding and looking forward to the day.

Well, my friend bailed on me. No worries, I am going out anyway. But as I sat drinking coffee that morning and waiting for sunrise, I started thinking about cycling and how hell bent I've been this year on putting in the miles. I started reliving the hours and miles of solo riding with no one to talk to. So I had to ask myself - Do I really want go out for another solo ride?

I then started thinking about the awesome Riviera Revolution Ride #2 on Saturday. In November, we had about 12 riders for the inaugural event. Saturday we had over 30. It was a great day and great ride. We ended up with 51 miles, over 3,200 feet of climbing and a brisk pace. So to be honest, I was feeling the efforts in the legs. Still, I simply can't pass up the weather so I am sticking to the plan and hitting the open road. Besides, a nice spin will make my legs feel better anyway.

I check FaceBook and see that my newest cycling buddy Jeff is logged on. He plans on riding with his group 2 Wheel Racing. That would be cool except their not leaving until 8:30 and they are riding Pine Flat. Pine Flat is a monster climb in our area. Once again the thoughts return about my hell bent cycling nature this year. So again I ask myself - Do I really want to climb Pine Flat today? I mean I wanted to go for a ride but I didn't want to flog myself. I also didn't want to be gone all day. So I pass on the ride and refill my coffee cup.

Sherry is now up and has offered to make chocolate croissants. Any riding thoughts were melted into the croissants at this point. So Sherry and I enjoy a breakfast of croissants and café au laits. As I was enjoying breakfast I decided to rearrange the garage. You see, a lot of the stuff that went out there as part of the kitchen remodel is not coming back into the house. So I get everything set up so I can get to the weight bench and trainer. After all, winter will get here eventually and I will be back to strength training, core workouts and Chris Carmichael kicking my butt as I try to keep up with one of DVDs.

Then we decide instead of me going for a 2-hour ride, we should go out for a 2-hour lunch. This is turning into a great day. So it's off to one of our favorite places - Kenwood Restaurant. We both had the Bouillibaise, with some fries on the side, and a bottle of La Bretonniere Cabernet de Saumur Rosé. Of course, we were sitting outside and enjoying the views of the vineyards. Now this is the way to spend a day in Wine Country.

In case you haven't guessed by now, the ride never happened. And I'm ok with that. I've ridden enough this year that missing one Sunday won't kill me. Plus I got some things accomplished around the house and had a great lunch with my wife.

What more could you ask for on a beautiful autumn day?

Ciao!