Time Out of the Saddle

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Vacation, much needed.  A week long vacation is a very rare thing for me.  It has been three years since I took more than a long weekend away from work as a vacation.  Yes, I have had a few days here and there, but always associated with a work trip.  Last week, I packed up with the family and went to the beach.

Eight days.  

While I took my laptop and my iPad, and I did some work, it was not under the pressure of being 'in the office'.  I built sand castles with the daughter, rode my bicycle, shopped, ran and did touristy type things.  Basically stuff I never really do.

It was perfect.  I found a relaxed space that I desperately needed.  An emotional and mental reboot if you will.  The one downside, was that since we took the whole family, no scooter or motorcycle went with me.  It has been nearly a year since I have been out of the saddle for more than one day, much less eight.  

This morning getting back in the saddle after a week driving the family SUV was a bit startling.  I felt "rusty".  It took a few minutes in the saddle to get the feel of the bike underneath me.  Even then, I felt the need to slow down, and let things slip back to natural.  Perhaps I am more sensitive to the atrophy in my desire to 'be the best rider I can be', but it reminds me of just how quickly skills fade when they are left unused.

It worries me to think of all the riders that haven't ridden in 4-5 months that are pulling bikes out of the garage and heading out into the pretty spring weather.  How much skill atrophy have they seen?  Are they even aware of the drop off in sensitivity from the week they stored the bike until today? There is not much I can do about it, but it is a concern, particularly with the news of so many motorcycle accidents in the last few weeks.

It is great to be back though.  Home is such a wonderful place to be.  There is nothing quite like climbing into your own bed after a week away.   Nothing like the comforts of your stomping grounds.  And for me, nothing quite like getting back to the mode of travel I love the most.  You know it is bad when you are driving along and looking that the roads you are traveling and wishing you were on two wheels and not inside, trapped on four.


Content by dru_satori, edited on a Mac using SandVox (because I'm lazy)