It takes a break...

After a few weeks off the bike, doing little more than working and walking my dog, I am once again back in training. The end of the season break came a bit early since I had no races after mid-September. So I "got it out of the way" and have returned to training a little earlier than I have in previous years. The end of the season break is an interesting phenomena. You look forward to it the last month (maybe more) of the season but when you're in it, you long to ride again. I feel once again "at home" while on my bike and find purpose to my life while pumping iron in the weightroom throughout the winter. It feels great to suffer the aches and pains of training, the fatigue of winter training ride, the refreshment of a hot shower and an evening on the couch. My legs are clean shaven and I feel like a bike racer again. Still have plenty of work to do before the team training camp in late January, but I'm ready. I guess it takes a break to truely recognize my love for this sport.