Slowly Rolling

Last night, I flipped my stem over; this essentially dropped my bars by about 2cm. But that’s not the important thing… rather, I did this myself… without breaking anything! I haven’t ridden my bike yet however, so that will be the ultimate test of my (un)mechanical ability. I also adjusted the aerobars, painstakingly, millimetre by millimetre… to try and find the perfect spot for my long-suffering wrist. Why is my left wrist a hotbed of pain, while my right is ok? Has all the jar-lid twisting I’ve done in my life made my right a seething mass of muscle?

I seriously doubt it.

So here I am, fitter than last year and yet… mysteriously… slower. I’ve had multiple bike fits and traded a few parts, and definitely spent a few bucks. I’m about the same weight in mass, but have a bit more muscle. What is slowing me down?

This isn’t so much fun anymore, not as much as it used to be. I used to go on rides with buddies on hybrids and mountain bikes just for fun, sit on the pier and have a snack, go touring and get lost somewhere near the airport and follow the planes home. I used to get funky sunburn lines and not care what I wore. I used to take a break at Timmy’s and walk in there all sweaty and dirty and ask for a bagel and an Iced Cap, then sit on the curb and chat with my friend. I used to sit up and enjoy the scenery or ride no-hands and now I’m always looking at the computer, or the cyclist in front of me, feeling my legs and lungs give out and wondering what the hell is going wrong.

I’ve gone to see sports docs and physiotherapists and massage therapists. I’ve tried to put all the stuff that is non-sport related out of the way. I’ve even tried to defeat the fact that I’m a girl, and no research on the ECP has conclusively proved that athletic performance is hindered in any significant way. And yet I still roll along, slower and sadder.

I need to re-bond with my bike.