The Party’s Over…

[ornoth_cycling]

It might not be the end of the calendar year, but the cycling season has definitely slipped away from me.

There are no more organized rides on the calendar, and all the roadies have gone stupid about cyclocross season. It’s too cold to enjoy riding in the morning, and if you wait until midday for it to warm up, you don’t have much time to ride before evening sunbeams shine dangerously straight into the eyes of westward-driving motorists.

And if the approach of winter wasn’t enough, my body has once again stepped in to limit my riding, this time in the form of a balky gall bladder. The abdominal pain makes riding uncomfortable, and I shouldn’t do any really long rides while I’m trying to overcome the accompanying weight loss. While my upcoming gall bladder surgery is supposedly a fairly benign procedure, the recovery period will blow a big hole in these precious last weeks before the temperatures plummet and snow flies.

Although to be fair, I’m glad it’s happening now, at the very tail end of the cycling season, rather than smack in the middle of my training.

It’s been a very mixed year overall. I’ve laid down the most miles since 2010, spent some rare time in the saddle with my old riding buddies, and realized some satisfying achievements, including a record nine rides over 100 miles. I’ve also had the time to explore many new routes and ride for pleasure, rather than always focusing on training.

At the same time, there have been some big, painful challenges. Just like my upcoming surgery, my crash back in June (with accompanying concussion and hospital-induced hematoma) also made it medically necessary for me to be off the bike for weeks. And my new bike was out of commission for three months while both front and rear wheels (in separate incidents) needed to be sent back to France for warranty replacement.

2014 has been filled with memorable events, even if half of them were really good and the other half really bad. While I desperately hate to see summer’s warm days go, at the same time I’m getting tired of this year’s lengthy roller coaster ride and am quite ready to close the door on 2014 and its travails.

It’s time to go hibernate!