Legs

For the last month or so I've really been struggling with my legs. I've been sore and exhausted constantly. It's as if, after months and months of riding, I've actually become weaker. It's frustrating.

Last night though I took a route home that had me climbing a good long hill, one I used to climb all the time. My legs were tired, but, "Fuck it!" I thought. I like to climb, and if I woke up with no legs, well, I'd just do what I always do, ride anyway. I thrashed the climb. The air was crisp and it felt good to grind it out.

I woke up this morning and busted out onto the road. WOW, I felt strong.I was fast. Again, good weather, not much wind. Wind might have something to do with it.

The way I ride certainly does.

I tend to hammer all the time. I like to go fast. I have this wrong-headed notion that the more I suffer the stronger I'll get. I don't warm up or cool down. As a result I get a lot of lactic acid buildup. Soreness. And though lactic acid is actually part of the fuel that drives your muscles, there comes a point when you just can't process it all.

And that's where I've been.

I have to believe that more miles at a moderate pace is what I need, but I've got kids. I don't have time to put more miles under my wheels.

Then again, I'm not training for anything. Riding is its own reward for me. I'm only riding to go fast, to hammer, to climb.

So, you know, whatever.