begin again

Tonight, I have been writing. Putting together the plan for the spring and the summer, scribbling in the calendar, filling entries, doing sums.

Hit the North 1.5.
Downhill races in Wales and Scotland.
110km audax (two tea stops).
Yorkshire summer 'cross series.
Bristol Bike Fest.
Brighton Big Dog.
Megavalanche and Passportes de Soleil.

Yup, I think that's all the niches covered.

(I'm going to need a lot of shorts.)


But, truth be told, it's been a little hard to focus on all of that. Because I've been reading, too.

It's been a slow start to the year. Last year was slow, too. Plugs dead. Spark gone. Happy to potter. Lately though, I've noticed it coming back. The desire to get to the top of the hill first, when you're riding on your own. The determination to be smoother and neater, to leave trails that switch and carve. The pleasure to be found in riding in the rain and the wind, knowing it makes you stronger, the pleasure in the pain.

The onemorehillism.

It's back. I'm happy. But I'm taking my time.

j.