Haunted by a limited pallette
Iain’s comment prompted this post
I had it all figured out, dear reader.
My next big ride is coming soon - Easter.
100 miles of riding. Sixty percent of it is off road bullshit.
My hands, back and shoulders are already dreading the cobblestone trail along the gas line. It hurts no matter what.
I did this ride last year.
It kicked my arse.
And this year?
I’m afraid it might be worse.
Last year I trained too much and was, according to my handy little wrist watch, under a lot of strain.
This year, I’ve undertrained.
I must admit dear reader, when it comes to under training, I’m a Viking. There are few who could crash on the sofa and engage in passive recovery as well as I can.
Sure, I’ve ridden the distance before, but right now?
Now I’m nervous.
Zeke and I went out to get 80k of rail trail riding in before the snow comes (again!).
Preparations went well enough. I was only a half hour late.
The air felt cold and the drop bar bike felt awkward and fast at the same time.
Maybe I was a bit stiff.
I wanted to have my new / old bike project complete and rolling for a few hundred miles before seeing the road again with Zeke.
The project is a single speed. I wanted to play with the simplicity of single speed riding to see how it could impact how I approach a trail.
It’s a kind of limited pallette experiment but with hemorrhoids.
Also?
Riding a crappy old single speed on hard trails leading up to the ride will make the bike I’m riding that day feel so much more comfortable.
It seems as though I didn’t have to wait to enjoy / endure the cycling equivalent of a limited pallet exercise.
Whether my the size of my shed, or the limits of my drawknife, this limited pallet experience - as pointed out by Iain in the comments on yesterday’s post, I see the limited pallet experience / experiment as a great way to life.
What is life but a series of restrictions.
Time. Money. Relationships. Projects.
They all come with restrictions.
Pick some restrictions.
Fitness them.
Work simply with what works.
That’s how I like to roll.
Hell, that’s how the world rolls me along as well.
Whether I want it to show up or not, the limited pallette experience shows up.
Today, I rode my gravel bike. It has E-lek-tronic shifting.
This R2D2 shifting is amazing.
Well up until meow, it’s worked flawlessly.
Today?
Not so much.
The button for the ‘easier gear’ worked as needed.
The button for making it harder to pedal did not.
I could fix it manually.
But for the most part, I was stuck with one gear.
It’s a firmware error. This thing is a brick. You’ll need to file a warranty claim.
Facing the first big ride of the year, I was ready to just let the ride go. I’d go home, go inside and drink too much coffee.
Zeke wasn’t having it.
I guess you’re riding single speed today bud.
My hopes of an easy day were crushed.
Instead?
I engaged in yet another ‘limited pallet experiment’.
This was in fact, a version of something that I wanted to create for myself anyway.
The point, dear reader, can be summed up simply:
Run what you brung - or work with what you’ve got.
And most importantly?
Be careful what you wish for
Keep spinning, you fools!