Bike riding is supposed to be fun.....

These words, spoken by my wife as I grumbled and groaned getting ready to ride on Saturday, really hit home. They’re true and riding should be fun.
Afterall, it’s not like I make my living riding the bike. I don’t race or even ride competitively. I don’t even ride with the Saturday morning bike shop group where I need to be at the top of my game or suffer the humiliation of getting destroyed like some people do.
I ride because it’s a good workout, I get to be outside and I enjoy it. Usually……

Lately though, it’s not fun and it hasn’t been fun for a month or so now. It’s been work.
It all started when I committed to doing the Death Ride. At that point, my “riding” changed to “training” and with that subtle shift, the whole dynamic changed.
It was no longer about wanting to get out on my bike, it was about needing to get out and get miles and feet of elevation. It became “work”

Now, I’m a fairly busy guy and I actually prefer it that way. I never have been good at just sitting still. Biking for me has always been fun. I enjoy exercise and setting goals and it’s a great way to blow off steam after a crappy day at work. But when it becomes more than that, when it becomes one more source of stress…..then something needs to change.

So, Saturday, after deciding I wasn’t going to do the Death Ride, I worked in my yard all day and had a great day. Last night I took the single speed around lake Chabot and enjoyed it without worrying that it wasn’t a long enough ride and today I’m doing a nice, flat, 20 miles with my Tour de Cure team and again….I won’t worry about how many miles or how much climbing. It will be FUN