Wuss-o-logy

Wussology (from Greek: "Wuss"= ME!!!!, and logy "knowledge"). You can say I'm some what of a "wussologist" because this past week I earned my phD on the matter. After a pretty good ride last Monday, things turned bad. Because of crappy weather and work continues to get in the way of the training. Perfect conditions for me to improve my studies in wussology. When I thought I was breaking the habit of riding 4days and then taking 4 days off (for the reasons already mentioned), the pattern continued and on Friday I graduated with top honors after confirming that I'm indeed a wuss. I woke up early with all the intentions of riding, but a quick look outside and my mind started to wonder why the hell did I want to go and ride. I mean, rain was fast approaching and it was pretty darn cold. So, I wussed out.

Yesterday, well it rained forever and instead I went shopping with the girlfriend. Got that one out of the way before the season starts and the weather imrproves. Late last night Dani called to confirm that I was doing the Bicycle Place ride and I had already committed with Dan, so I was in no matter what the weather channel said about high winds and low wind chills. This morning I got up, but the fire inside wasn't there, and I started to take my time getting ready, sings of a great wussologist. Finally out the door, I didn't feel the wind and the thought that the sun was out started to improved my mood. A stop at the gas station to fill up the car put an end to all hopes of riding, when a nasty gust of wind hit me straight on. The white flag went up and I drove back home, changed and hit the couch. At 8:22AM Dani called to check where I was and I had to tell him that I was wussing out of the ride. I'm sure I will hear that one for a while, the Spanish Mafia is pretty hard on wussys, so I have a few lashings coming my way.

Sinking now into mild depression, because I started to feel like I was coming down with a cold, my thoughts of riding kept getting pushed farther and farther away and it took some soul searching to finally get dressed for a second time for a ride. Checked the weather channel and the wind was WNW at 13 mph, which in reality meant, it was windy as hell. Out the door and I'm thinking how bad this ride is going to be, 5 days off, maybe a cold on the way, the wind and wind chill, good stuff if I want to wuss out. I soldiered on and God bless the Ipod and AC/DC because once the famous Aussie band started to jam in my ears, my legs came to life. Screw the wind, and cold, I was on a mission. At Hains Point I started the first lap and got behind a pick up truck for some motorpacing action. Perfect, the driver kept a steady pace all the way around and let me tucked in behind. "Highway to Hell" comes on and I'm kicking a nice tempo, the laps keep flying by and after about one hour, I decide to push on and do a few more, better ride this wave as long as possible. Everything is working perfectly and despite the wind, I'm enjoying the work. On the way home I pondered on how easy is to be a wuss, and the last five days were confirmation that, with all the right ingridients in place, I can be a good one. However, overcoming wussiness is something that we all most learn, and that is a work in progress for me.