A new year

A painful blue sky backdrops the red stone formations of the Garden of the Gods.  White then gray then dark mist coalesce into clouds riding the north wind south.  It’s likely snowing just a few miles away on Woodmen Avenue.  Here the sun penetrates the freezing wind and my left side is warm climbing Mesa’s two mile rise.  My legs feel great; I’m sneaking a ride in before a predicted snow storm; every turn of the crank feels like a bonus, a reprieve from another session on the rollers.

It’s a new year, full of the possible, the improbable, the likely.  Cycling-wise, I’ve joined a new team and have had the opportunity to ride with some good guys, good at cycling and good in the Aristotelian sense as well. 

A new year also means a new training cycle.  This week is my first week of Base 1 (Base 123, Build 123, etc) and I’ve had the chance to supplement a bit with xc skiing at 10000 feet in Breckenridge.  Nothing like a good lungbuster workout with a better skier to push a limit. 

Plans for 2010?  Cycling: use my new TT bike to get better at the TT events up in Denver, develop a rapport with my team and work on winning races together, drop a few pounds and continue progressing in my fitness: increase my total hours to 600 this year.  Build a bicycle frame.

Off the bike: Develop more friendships with adults, something that seemed to get harder as I got older.  Spend good time with the family, continue keeping time to ride and be with Janet alone, hike a few 14 teeners, find time to write more.

All good things.