Weekend Washout

A view of  the wet conditions

The weekends are the time when most recreational cyclists can get the bulk of their training miles done, and I'm no exception.  While I may get 50-60 miles in during the week, it's the big rides on Saturday and the recovery ride on Sunday that typically help me meet my goals.  For the second weekend in a row, the weather has not been such that this is a practical, or safe, endeavor for me.  

This weekend was especially bad as the weather was cool, windy, and becoming increasingly wet.  This is a trifecta of conditions that made me second guess getting onto the bike when I woke up Saturday.  While I knew that I really needed to rest my knee, putting in another sub-100 mile week this close to the Assault on Mount Mitchell was going to be a sore spot for me.  With that in mind, what I really don't want to do is injure myself just getting in a workout because of a need to meet a mile quota for the week.  This became even more pronounced with the news of the death of a participant in the 3 states, 3 mountain cycling event.

My heart aches for the family of this cyclist, and what they have to deal with.  I would hate for my wife to have to even contemplate this situation, but it's a risk that I take every time that I get onto the bike.  Whether it's because I'm sharing the road with cars, or just the sake of being on the bike, there is a risk involved.  I have personally clocked speeds over 40mph on a ~20 lb device.  At those speeds, one mistake can be disastrous.  While I fully understand those risks, and I don't want to live in fear, I have to make the best decisions possible each and every time I click in and head out onto the road.

All it took was a wet day in Tennessee to change the lives of a family forever.