Mindsmith

With the warmth of spring continuing to tease us here in Nebraska, the cycling season has gotten off to a bit of a sputtering start. The last month has seen dual flats, tire damage, a three-bike crash that totaled my Roubaix, and the return of chronic pain around the knee.

I know I haven’t been as dedicated since January on such things like working out, stretching, knee-strengthening exercises, foam rolling, etc. There is always a nagging worry in the back of the mind that the pain is permanent, chronic, and unavoidable. With 2 and a half hours of stretching and strengthening exercises to do per day, it’s difficult to devote the time, still work out and go cycling.

As with a great many things, it’s all mental. Devotion to the task at hand. The frame of mind of training. Even the pain is in the head.

This year’s Spring Fling is April 26th. That’s just over three weeks away. The distance? A metric century (62.5 miles). My longest distance on the bike so far this season? 24 miles.

Training and pain, eh? Bring it on.