pins and needles

Despite all the pins and needles scattered around my desk and floor, it's my knee that's feeling it today.
But it was so worth it.
Yesterday was gorgeously beautiful; a clear summer day with radiant blue skies and the kinds of clouds you want to chase on a bicycle. Summer had arrived in Boston at last. And that kind of weather necessitates a post-work bike ride, even if you've been battling the urge to pass out at your desk since 3.00pm.

And what perfect timing, too. Projects have entered that lull in the storm where waiting becomes the primary task. Restless waiting. The kind that just seems to take longer when you've been cooped inside for extended periods of time. Besides, one look at my desk and it's obvious that I've been doing too much of one thing and not enough of another.
I love Rapha [clearly] and le Tour, but watching, looking, seeing others ride had me itching to get back on the bike. And yesterday, for the first time in weeks, I rolled around slow and happy, with only dinner and a crumpled shirt in need of ironing waiting at home. No five hour stretches of eye-searing, temple-hammering work, post-real work. No to do list that never got completely checked off. No stressful mess of hats that had to be completed by whatever date.

Not that I don't enjoy that kind of work. I'm a workaholic, after all. Just that sometimes, when I manage to give in to that small tiny voice that tells me to relax a little bit, I need my rides to be long stretches of mental numbness concerning the uncertain future. Just me and my bicycle, here, now, in the present.
A friend - a runner who sometimes cycles - complained to me the other day about how long it took to go on rides.
"It takes hours. I can just go and do an hour of running."
True. But that's what I love about cycling. Hours and hours of solitary quality time with some steel/aluminum/carbon fiber tubing. The ability to get away from it all. The inexplicable feeling of getting lost but forgetting all about going home because this grassy field you've just discovered is fucking awesome.
I need to do more of that. A lot more.
Now if only this knee will hold up.

oral fixation

Yesterday, I almost couldn't wait to dump my face into food after a mere 30 miles. And I did.
Because I took a friend, Matt, on my recently discovered 40 mile route. We met early to throw down a few miles; he on a geared bike, kitted out, and looking every part the serious roadie [minus the shorn legs]. Me on the Bianchi, messenger bag strapped to my back, but jersey-fied and sporting a new CB hat. We made an odd combo and I almost cringed at how I must look - the novice female friend with ill-equipped bike, sans kit, struggling to keep up with the more seasoned male cyclist [despite the fact that Matt's more runner than cyclist].
And was I struggling. The first time I've ridden that route with another person, I was throwing all kinds of things into my mouth.

Matt set a quick pace and while we alternated drafting, he predictably dropped me at almost every climb. 10 miles in and I knew my knee wasn't going to hold up. So before the mile-long thigh juicer of a climb, I stopped to pop an Aleve [don't hate], and then watched as Matt became a small white speck, the "Boston College" emblazoned on his ass mocking my pathetic efforts.
We climbed, rode, swerved around potholes, and bumped into two members of the Harvard Cycling Club. I held on for about 3 whole minutes before getting dropped [again]. But with 2 miles to Arlington, I caught sight of a couple that had passed us a few minutes ago. Getting my second wind, I decided I was going to catch up and cling on. Nose nearly on my stem, curled up in my drops, I stubbornly refused to let them shake me. They probably thought I was completely insane. But hey, Matt and I ended up making it to Arlington in record time.

We stretched a little and then headed back to Waltham to refuel. And finding Wilson's Diner, we gulped down cups of coffee and calories in the form of blueberry pancakes [for me], and eggs, hash, and homefries [for Matt].

We rolled home, me mostly drained of energy. I spent the next few hours sitting at my desk, trying to regain the feeling in my legs. And between eating a few more things, I passed out on my bed, screened, and stitched.
And today, it's breakfast on the run, lunch in the office, and dinner between a run and more stitching. My summer job starts today. Not that that's going to get in the way of my munching, pedaling, or sweatshopping.
...Especially the munching.