Sometimes...

...I'm just too hard on myself. Is that a surprise to anyone but me? No, I didn't think so!

What started this? Well, it was last week's rides. I managed two days of commuting to work, one short after-work ride, and two weekend rides, 28 miles on Saturday and 30 on Sunday. That was a total of 155 miles, which is respectable mileage given that it is still really early in the riding season. But - I finished my ride on Sunday wondering why I didn't have the desire to take a longer ride. Thirty miles seemed right for the day, but shouldn't 40 or 50 feel right? Apparently not yet...

Yes, I am talking to myself here...
Hey Denise - it's just nearing mid-May. It's still early; you can't emerge from winter and this year's slow return to warmth and dry pavement with 40 to 60 mile weekend rides on top of increased commuting mileage. You really need to accept the fact that it takes a while to work up to your summer mileage.
OK, end of self-lecture!

My bicycles jump into my life often, for multiple purposes (but you already knew that, didn't you?). I ride year-round for exercise, shorter rides in the colder weather, leading to longer rides in the comfortable spring to summer to fall months. But another "e" word comes into play here too - enjoyment. I truly enjoy riding, moving quietly, looking around me, absorbing the beauty, laughing at animals, rolling down the road.

From spring until the end of summer - while longer days supply full daylight - I try to commute to work by bike several days a week. My bike is my transportation, and the switch from motorized to self-propelled transit is enough to keep me from getting bored by my repeating ride, covering the same territory over and over again.

Touring, using my bike to go places (for longer than a day), wandering, looking to see, looking to play with my camera - that's another important use of my bicycle. And my biggest problem with my touring habit is picking the places to visit. That's really not a problem; instead it's a process of dreaming, tossing ideas up in the air, and finally catching one of those ideas as a destination.

It's the short rides around home that are getting to me. I know that I need to accept that it is early in the riding season. The longer rides will come, supported by my always improving fitness level as well as the desire to wander further from home. Oh, and that 4-wheeled motorized vehicle hanging out in the garage tells me that she is ready to give me and my bike a lift to new riding territory to help prevent boredom.

Now I just need to get moving on planning a biking and camera vacation. Having a trip to look forward to helps keep me happily looking forward.

Oh, you want to know why I am writing at 6 in the morning? Well, I believed the weather forecast posted last night that showed that today would be a good day to ride to work. Oops! The forecast changed, and there are water droplets coming from the sky... musing time.