Ode to the Fender

For as long as I recall I thought it was dumb
To have a bike with a fender and look like a bum.
But after some training in Boulder, Colorado,
"A clean and dry backside" is my brand new motto.
Puddles, streams, and even a lake,
I'll ride through it all... for my fender can take
The abuse, the dirt, the spray, and the spew,
After every wet ride my ass says thank you.

Yes the detachable fender was a piece of equipment I acquired in Boulder and I'm putting it to good use here in Michigan. The snow's a melting and the puddles are prospering. Other than the poor weather MI, it's good to be home and sleeping in my own bed rather than a futon in someone's living room. Don't misunderstand me, I loved being in Boulder and I hope to return but it was time to move on. Right now I'm focusing on the begining of the racing season. It's been quite some time since I last rolled to the start line of a race and I'm getting that early spring itch to get going once again. I am especially eager to get back to Belgium... cold, wet, and gray Belgium. It's a sick addiction I think: the desire to race in those conditions, or maybe it's more of compromise I make to be able to race those long, hard, prestigious races. I'll deal with the conditions to be able to race those Top Comps, those stage races, even those kermis races. I feel like every spring I have the chance to rise to a new level. The winter months of training are nearing an end and no one, not even myself, knows exactly what I'm capable of this season. That's exciting to me.

Got outside for a long ride yesterday and realized that I've been riding indoors way too much in the last week:
I put on shorts and a baselayer and thought I was ready to go.
While dressing I was thinking about what to watch on TV while I ride.
While riding I was surpised to see pavement rather than basement tiles.
I briefly forgot how to turn.
And remembered what coasting feels like.