Choices

Choices over the last few days have me sitting at home blogging seven minutes before start time for today’s cyclo-cross race. This weekend the biggest cycling events of the year in Colorado are taking place up in Boulder, the annual Boulder Cup Races. Theses events, put on by Chris G at Denver Boulder Couriers are crazy, drawing the top talent in U.S. cyclo-cross and huge numbers of spectators. So why am I missing today’s racing all together and why would I only be planning on watching tomorrow? Well as I said, it comes down to choices.

First I’m taking a couple weeks off “training” so racing while still ok, would be difficult given my limited training and lose of fitness the past two weeks. With one more easy week scheduled a race wouldn’t kill the intent but getting beat to hell isn’t any fun either. Add to the lack of fitness the fact I spent three and a half hours yesterday up in Boulder helping to set-up the course for today and I’m pretty tired. Hours of lifting and moving fences, sandbags and other equipment is tough work. While I spend most of the year racing and taking from promoters it is always nice to give back to racing and help out promoters by lending a hand. Without getting out there and working it is hard to know how much work and effort goes into planning a race. The few hours I put in makes, at best, a minimal difference, but it does help the event actually happens. Helping with a race also puts various situations that arise in other races in perspective. I’ve raced enough to have seen races start late, bad course directions, confusion (utter confusion) with results etc. but after helping put a race site together I tend to look at these issues as a little less important knowing how much time effort and energy goes into a race. Sure it is ideal to have everything happen as planned, but it can’t and doesn’t always happen at a race, just like perfection isn’t possible at home or work. Helping just reminds me of this.

The second choice keeping me from racing is time. I’m out of town all week for work, so this means Adrienne is “on” all week with Seamus and I won’t see either of them. As much as I love racing, knowing I’ll be gone all week means the time spent getting to a race, warming up; racing etc. is time away from them. So instead of racing I’m hanging out with the family, doing fun things together like going to the library, the Museum of Nature and Science and just chilling at home. We’re all going to go up and watch the races tomorrow, but it will be relaxed without the pressure of racing. So in making choices I’ll skip some cool races this weekend, but the choices I’ve made are better for me.

Speaking of choices, make sure you get out and exercise your choice at the voting booth. Tuesday is Election Day, make your voice heard.