There was a recent time in my biking life when I enjoyed nothing more than jumping on any one of my 4 road bikes and heading out for a nice long jaunt. I could roll directly out of my driveway and immediately be heading anywhere I desired. The road beckoned and I responded. However, since May I think I've been on a road bike a total of 8 or 9 times. More importantly, 7 or 8 of those times I didn't enjoy it in the least bit. If you're reading this and thinking, "Wait, I was riding with Boz. Does that mean he doesn't enjoy my company?" forget about it. My riding companions were most likely the only reason I got on the road bike in the first place!
I'm not sure if it was the fact that I was completely focused on off-road riding or whether or not I was burned out on the roads. It certainly can't be the completely biker-friendly St. Louis driving community (okay, that was a sweeping generalization) that drove me off-road. I simply didn't have the desire to swing a leg over a road bike.
My self-imposed exile from road machines actually spawned the 'fire sale' I had earlier this fall. I sold 2 road bikes and 1 fixed gear bike and I stripped down another bike to part out. As I write this, I have 1 full road bike ready to ride, the Gunnar Sport which was built for my long-distance rides, and 1 road bike, a Lemond Zurich, I plan to race intermittently next year.
Which brings me to the point of my entry, I now have to swing a leg over one of them and begin my base training for 2008. As I brought the machines down from their imprisoned ceiling hooks and placed them into the workstand, I marveled at their slender bodies, their tight lines, and their delicate jewelry. Yes, I'm still writing about my bikes, but it's amazing how they do differ from their burly, stout, testosterone laden off-road bretheren.
I'll let you know if a "road" spark re-ignites the "road" fire. However, the only burning I'm likely to feel in the next few weeks will be in my unstretched muscles. However, I keep telling myself, "That's a good thing, right?"
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