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Friday, December 30, 2016

Cycling as a Priority

While training today I found myself tired, sore, cold and wet.  Asking myself the important question: worth it or not worth it?  And the essential corollary: is cycling a priority?

 Ranked in priority:
  1. Wife
  2. Family
  3. Work
  4. Political Activity (Trump is a threat to all that the U.S. Constitution stands for)
  5. Cycling
And, if cycling is last of the list of 5 it is certainly got a big `footprint' in my weekly life:  time, effort and intensity.  

 Living up here in the Arizona mountains and having nothing remotely resembling level ground makes training ... complicated.  I don't like even the `idea' of driving tens of miles to find terrain that is warmer, flatter and drier.  

An hour and a half away (and 4,000 feet lower, and 20F degrees warmer) means I have a 3 hour commute.  Vulture Mine Road  Vulture Mine Road is an excellent training course for several reasons: good road, almost no traffic, a mix of level and hills, no ice or snow.  But it ... is 3 hours away.  

 Nearby (literally right outside my door) is some of the most challenging terrain I know of.  Prescott High Country  Again, the roads are smooth, traffic is minimal, most drivers are regulars (I often get a `wave' as they go by).  But the altitude makes for ice and snow.  And a climbing experience requiring preparation and serious consideration.

 Over the past few weeks I've focused on a `high country' course with good road, wide shoulders and minimal traffic.  But it is a `killer':  Prescott - Kirkland Junction - Out and Back  The return leg is 25 miles and 3,400 feet of climbing, getting steeper (7 - 11% grades) as you reach the top end of the course. I have to dress for freezing wind chill (descending into 35F at up to 50 mph for 13 miles), `warmer' low country, and sweaty climbs back up.  

 But it is GREAT training. 

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4 comments:

  1. TomHDecember 31, 2016 at 6:39 AM

    Ranking stuff like this is somewhat of an illusion because, in reality, priorities are constantly shifting. They are not fixed. If they were fixed you'd never ride because there is always something you *could* be doing in one of the first 4 categories. The list is really sort of a time average. There ARE times when it is appropriate to be selfish.

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    Replies
    1. Dan FallonDecember 31, 2016 at 8:56 AM

      Tom ... Of course I cannot disagree. Sort of like the question: "Do you still beat your wife?" I distinguish between `selfish' and `self-interest'. I can't tell you the eye-popping expression on peoples' faces when I make that statement. I do know that some priorities are more urgent some times and less so other times.

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    2. Dan FallonDecember 31, 2016 at 9:57 AM

      My wife and I are almost complete opposites ... and have been for 40 years of marriage. She's much the extrovert, gets energy from socializing. I'm much the introvert, when not working I get energy from solitary stuff. She does a `No!' and rolls her eyes when asked if she'd like to come to a cycling event. I offer a grimfaced "O.K." when asked to participate in something with other people (even just going to the movies). I love her more and more as time passes.

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  2. TomHDecember 31, 2016 at 9:51 AM

    It has taken quite a while for my wife and I to work out how best to integrate our own individual interests into the context of an overall life together. The details of when and how much have been important, but not as important as mental adjustments and a healthy dose of empathy. Every cyclist who rides long distances knows what I am talking about, or is single, or divorced.

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