2022 - We're still here

 Hopefully this post finds everyone well. It has of course been a while as has become my normal the last few years. 

Honestly there is not much to post about because not much is happening, or has been happening in some time. I've got some hope that things will change in 2022, but here we are staring down February and things are still a little... well you're aware of how things are I'm sure.

I know I had promised the ultimate cheapskates di2 build part 2, but honestly... there just wasn't much to say, definitely not enough for a blog post. I put everything together and it worked, which was welcome but unexciting. I made a dummy shifter for the other extension (3d printed and then wrapped a layer of carbon over top of it) and other than not reading the manual (I didn't get a manual) and not understanding how to check the battery level, no hiccups.

I used it twice, at the TN State TT and the Oak Ridge Velo in 2021. I would write a race report but again, nothing worthy of it's own post... The long and short of it was, I went in out of shape in general, but VERY out of shape for a 40k effort. I felt pretty good for about 5 minutes, tolerable for about 20 minutes, and then I really suffered the rest of it. It's one of the tougher events I've ever completed... I really wanted to just stop at the turnaround on the first lap, it was that bad. I did manage to stay under 60 minutes, but I think I averaged around 220 watts... far off some of my past performances. Still, just to finish was a personal victory for me. I've come to terms with the fact that I'm likely never going to snag a State TT jersey, so I don't have that burden of disappointment any longer.

Even channeling my Inner Bigham didn't help

The  Oak Ridge Velo TT I was in possibly even worse shape for, having spent a week in the woods in Montana. It was thankfully only about 10k, so although I again did suffer, it wasn't all that long. Fortunately my training the last year or so was more suited to a sub 20 minute effort and I was able to "fake it" a bit more convincingly than I could in the 40k.

The track... I don't even know if I remember how to ride it. Certainly if I ever had a good line around the black, I've lost it. It's almost impossible to believe I was traveling to Rock Hill at least once a month a couple of years ago. Now I'll be thrilled if I get to go to the track at least once for a long weekend this year.

It honestly leaves me in a weird spot mentally. I would blame it on Covid, but really the roots were planted before 2020, although I think it certainly brought it forward at an accelerated rate. I do enjoy track immensely, but the harsh reality is that location at the minimum, among other more global issues, seems to mean I'm not really a trackie. I enjoy time trialling, but again, due to location I'm really limited to a handful of events every year at the maximum.  I've also lost a lot of the "spark" to suffer for long bouts of training... anything over an hour or so and I'm just ready to be done with it. I've really been enjoying lifting with my wife... something I'm not ready to give up again. I've had the urge to run nagging at me more and more the last year or so... something I'm not sure my health will allow, although I'm willing to try again in a healthier way than what I was doing a decade ago. Sadly swimming is mostly off the table (again primarily a location issue) but I suppose if I could get some miles under the legs and keep on the bike a bit, I might be able to survive a few hundred meter pool swim. 

Still that's a lot of if's and my mood seems to change with the weather... so no promises you'll see my name on a 5k or sprint tri start list in the near future... but it's something I'm thinking about again.

Thanks again for reading. I know every post I say I'm going to try to get some structure back to this blog, then a 6-12 month break... but I really am going to make an attempt. I do find it therapeutic to put some of my thoughts into text.