Small Victories

I like to practice my cyclocross "skills" up in Redwood Park about once a week. There is basically one route that I am familiar with, once I tried to explore beyond it and got totally lost and found myself asking a dog-walker what the most bike-friendly route back to the road might be. She looked at me funny and then said "well that way goes down hill, but you have to remember to turn right at some point." So very helpful... ever since then I have stuck to the familiar, and tried to master its combination of roots, scary drop offs, steep little climbs, and one big curb.

And yesterday I finally rode the whole thing! I didn't have to get off the steep climb where I usually topple over sideways! I even passed two mountain biker guys and never saw them again! I was totally shocked. Somehow my practice is paying off I guess. Oh but I kind of lied - I had to unclip one foot to get over the big curb... but I am pretending that doesn't count.

I think the secret was that I listened to my iPod, consciously spaced out, and just kept pedalling. When I focus on the details, such as omg that ROOT looks HUGE and there is a ROCK next to it, I wind up hitting both and then screaming and stopping. After stopping, it is so hard to get momentum going again. I have noticed a recent parallel in my life outside of cycling, I have lapsed into focusing on minor details and making them into big deals, rather than recognizing and addressing a larger issue. Which means it's time to expand my world a little bit, to sit back with a varied soundtrack and actually see and move beyond a pair of shoes, a dirty dish, a parking ticket, and so on. But if I am going to start using my iPod for more than just cycling I am going to need some new songs...