This morning’s ride: 50:09 Distance: 10.43 miles Average cadence: 94 RPM
I woke up fifteen minutes before my alarm went off, wondering why we have sporks but no foons.
No, not really. But I did wake up fifteen minutes early. I spent about five of those minutes pretending I was still asleep, but I didn’t fool anyone, so I got up and checked Eyewitness Weather* for current conditions. It didn’t suck enough to not ride, which, for this time of the year, is about the most you can hope for, so I got dressed and hit the road.
Truth be told, sporks were on my mind this morning. According to answers.com, a spork is: A trademark used for a plastic eating utensil having a spoonlike bowl and tines. It’s part spoon, part fork–and as anyone who’s ever had to use one, not really well-suited for either purpose. However, its ineffectiveness doesn’t prevent it from showing up on company picnics.
As I pedaled, I thought about my personal sporkyness. I’m a single parent with a full-time and a couple of part-time jobs. And now I’m also an athlete in training. At least, that’s what I’m attempting. Will this be possible? Will I be able to give any of these parts of my life the attention they deserve? And if not, which elements will I relinquish?
I already knew the answer is ‘no.’ I’m not training nearly hard enough for the race. At least, not yet. And since I don’t plan on giving up the parenting stuff, that means I’m going to have to cut back on the work. At some point in the future, I’m going to need to give up the part-time jobs in order to spend more time on this goal.
This is going to take some major reworking of my life. Either that, or I’ll need an angel. I’m not worrying about it, though. The phrase an acquaintance of mine likes to use is “remain open to the possibilities.” That means figuring out what it is that I want, finding out who might be able to help me attain it, and asking for their help. I have all the tools I need to do this, with the possible exception of fearlessness, but I’m working on that.
Winter’s not the best time to ride. However, it is a good time to recruit. Hopefully, come spring, I’ll be able to separate my spoons and my forks.
I’ve said it more than once: there’s not much to do when you’re on a bicycle other than thinking and pedaling.
*I open the door, and I witness the weather.
