I think with the recent run of bad luck, i've had some pent up aggression. I've been couped up indoors for a couple of days too so think I was going a little stir crazy.
In this kind of situation it's best to get out for a while rather than take out my moods on the rest of the family. I wrapped up warm and put my lights on my bike for my first night ride of the year. When i'm in one of those kind of moods, there's no forward planning, just a flat out ride to wherever I feel like it. There was a fair bit of traffic on the road and with the cool air and sensation of speed that night riding brings, it all just added to the exhilaration.
I went for every gap and powered up every climb like a man possessed and then it happened, it started to rain. You'd think that my mood would get worse but a funny thing happened, I started to laugh. I was enjoying the harsh conditions, I was enjoying the suffering.
It finally dawned on me the difference between riding a bike and being a cyclist.
A bike rider will make do with the job in hand but a cyclist will embrace the conditions as if they're part and parcel of the experience.
In a way, it was a glimpse into the world of the classics rider. A world where harsh conditions and suffering go hand in hand and the real men amongst the peloton summon the strength to excel. I guess that's the difference - i'm content with being out there in it for an hour, they're not content unless they're out there for 7 hours, on cobbles.
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