Reflections

Been thinking a lot lately. Have to say that's a lot easier to do when you're not in a concussion-induced fog. Much of the thinking has surrounded deciding what to make of the tail end of "the bike season". I'm usually full on for CX now. Couple of races under the tires. Not this year. I'd really worked to get back the lost fitness from the broken ribs earlier this year. This last 'incident' put the brakes on in a slightly different way.

Concussion

A single word. The ramifications of mutilple head impacts to the ground...not good.
This last 'crash' wasn't really even a crash. Nothing fast, simple stuff really. The easy kind that happen when you just bobble on a trail. But the result from this impact was worse, quite possibly due to the frequency with which my head has met the ground over the past 20 months. As i've said to a number of you, it is like all the possible injuries I've avoided or been fortunate to avoid over the past 15 years of cycling have all caught up with me.

After living through a couple of fairly scary weeks and sleeping more than I ever knew I could things started to head back to normal. A hint of the usual energy, a bit less tired, things got me kinda excited again. Wanted to get back on the bike, get training, barrier practice for CX. Then another simple bump let me know my head wasn't ready for any jarring.

This past weekend was my first real ride, a nice LONG road ride. I hurt like crazy the next day. But what a great day! The sun was out, the wind was still a summer's wind. Soon enough it will stay cold. Thanks to a small group of you for the company mid-ride too.

I started this post out writing I'd been thinking a lot. Much of centered about biking. What really is most important to me about biking? The freedom that comes from doing it. The clarity of mind, the rush of the ride. It is the experience of riding. Focus. Stress relief. Life balance. The racing is a nice plus but it isn't the reason I ride. So it'll just be a couple of cross races toward the end of the season this year. For now....I'm VERY happy that I can get back to riding. And even more happy my head has cleared up and things seem to be 'heading' back on track.

Thanks for reading.

Laugh often!
anne