Not what I had in mind...

Finish the sentence. My words would have been “training week”.

 

It’s funny how cyclists - those of our shared lifestyle – are apparently much different from the general population.

 

It’s Day 15 post-Haute Route. A 36-hour week in the bag, and I still feel it: losing weight in spite of literally eating the all the food I can stomach, my calves still cramping in my sleep, and generally just feeling flat. We came home into Cyclocross season with 2 days’ notice, and that is just too fun to pass up, so rest days have been few in the time between.

 

Reflecting back on the week, I have had the opportunity to tell and retell the story many times. Here is my now-canned answer of highlights:

-          3 days in Nice. The best way to start anything. Instant relaxation in a place that’s impossible not to like.

-          Perspective. You just can’t appreciate the Alps and how they relate to cycling from a second-hand perspective.

-          Meeting new friends from around the world. All with the same thing in common.

-          There is still no better way to relax then to ride all day, exhausting the body, to free the mind.

-          Bread will never be the same.

 

Will I go back? Of course. Maybe not next year, and maybe there will be other new places to ride first. But it would take a long time to get bored of this one.