To say I was physically unprepared is actually not entirely correct. I was thankful for the workout schedule Amy and I have been pretty religious about. The problem, as any bike rider will sympathize with, was that I simply hadn't sat on my bike for that long in many months;meaning I lacked a certain type of preparation. [DISTURBING TERM AHEAD] My friends and I refer to the type of preparation as the "A$$ Callous". For the first few rides of the year your rear end will cause you to question your interest in the sport of bicycle ridery. After that, it gets better. Sometimes it stops ailing you all-together (every time I say that I think of "Airplane!" and a group of people repeating my sentence). There is no explainable reason for the pain going away, but the phenomena has been dubbed the "A$$ Callous".
Recap of day 1:
- Wow, this is beautiful
- Cool, a hill
- Nice, a pit stop
- Wow, this is beautiful
- Man, my wife is looking good
- Great, another pit stop
- Ouch, my rear
- Wow, this is pretty, but Ouch, my rear
- Alright!, all finished, lets drink a beer
Recap of Day 2:
- Ouch, my rear
- Optimism, this will probably go away soon
- OK, I can tough this out
- Calculating distance back to camp
- Yahoo, A$$ Callous achieved!
- Armstrong-ing this hill
- Amy is an animal, going over steep grades like speed-bumps
- Wow, this is beautiful country
- Success!, lets drink a beer and toast the trip!
The area around Monmouth is spectacular and the roads are so smooth. We will be back for more next year, hopefully somewhere new to us in Oregon!
That was a really terrific time! I enjoyed the actual cycling part of it a lot more this year than last. Although, I must admit that I did miss the wine tasting this year. We were pretty pooped after the first day though; even though some of us may have drafted much of the time. Thanks for "pulling" me by the way!
ReplyDeleteDrafting: the only time it is gentlemanly to break wind in front of your lady.
ReplyDeleteThat is hilarious! We had a great time too... a lot of the same internal dialogue as well.
ReplyDeleteI have forgotten most of my thoughts about mortality and many pertaining to the pain....successful blocking out of the panting and the heat....will this hill kill me? BUT...
ReplyDeleteJack, you mustn't forget to acknowledge the flowers. That part I do remember. Lusting after a frosty Tanqueray 10 (ratio 3:1) and tonic made the miles slip away into a dreamlike pistoning of pedals...until next year. (Wish you could taste what's left of my American Wheat. I call it "helle hefe.") Cheers. (bill)
I wish I could taste the American Wheat as well. Never fret, the flowers are acknowledged. Thanks for sharing! Cheers.
ReplyDelete