Getting out

Dumbbells and indoor trainers have their place, but there’s no substitute for riding outside. Even if it’s dark and cold.

Especially if it’s dark and cold.

Yesterday: Another sleepless night followed by a long work day caught by freezing temps.

I will not be deterred!

I clip into the S-Works Tricross, click on the helmet light, roll down the driveway and climb into the night.

Out here in numbing dark, there is no work, no power meter, no particular goals. Just right now:

Forces tying hands to shoulders to torso to hips. The driving hips, the pushing knees, the flicking ankles. The pressure underfoot, the forward squirt of the bike, the gentle buzz of ground filtered through machine.

Pressure easing at the crest, chain climbing through the gears. Hips back, shoulders down, hands hovering in the drops, freezing air funneling down the jersey. Swooping down, down, down. Tires grabbing dirt, slipping on ice, skimming across chunks, all in turn, all at once — every unseen jostle translated into a lively hum.

Flying through blackness.

No time, no place.

Just right now.