The Rider

A boy told me
if he roller-skated fast enough
his loneliness couldn't catch up to him,
the best reason I ever heard
for trying to be a champion.
What I wonder tonight
pedaling hard down King William Street
is if it translates to bicycles.
A victory! To leave your loneliness
panting behind you on some street corner
while you float free into a cloud of sudden azaleas,
pink petals that have never felt loneliness,
no matter how slowly they fell.

I guess my loneliness caught up to me yesterday.
It was a physically and emotionally draining week.
After not getting enough sleep, and skipping out on breakfast, I got to the meet up spot, and started riding. I felt fine up until about mile 28(ish)
At that point, I was out of energy, hungry, dehydrated (I believe because I was still getting used to using the water bottles I recently purchased), all around feeling craptacular. I made it to the end of the ride, but wasn't really up for the equipment clinic, or lunch.

It took me all day to recover (actually, I'm still kind of dehydrated), but I'll definitely be ready for next week!

Today, I'm going out to get some road slicks, and this week will be dedicated to staying hydrated, and well rested! Next weekend's ride will go better, for sure.

Fund raising isn't picking up, which is unfortunate. Hopefully, I can figure out some interesting ways to get donations, but if it comes down to it, I guess I'll hit a few liquor stores or something.