This week has been a strange one as far as me “doing stuff.” Sadly, it only allowed me one day of “real” riding: Wednesday’s hour and a half fat bike ride. The rest of the week has been a hodgepodge of trips to the gym and time spent on the trainer. Not the best of weeks, but better than many I’ve had.
I was up early today and had no problem convincing myself to get on the trainer.* The problem I had was actually forcing myself to pedal the bike on the trainer. The first minutes of my warm up were spent cursing the vile winter for forcing me to the trainer again and my belly which was bouncing off my legs like a gelatinous, beer filled, lycra covered sack with each pedal stroke. Cuss me! CUSS ME TO HELL! (or reasonable facsimile).
Thankfully, once again, music saved my workout. This time it was the big metal sounds of Freedom Hawk. Spawned from yesterday’s return visit to my metal days and listening to The Sword’s Age of Winters album, I jumped on Freedom Hawk (yes, I know it sounds like “freedom rock” but not at all like Freedom Rock). More big, crunching, lurching Sabbath-like metal. It was PERFECT for today’s ride and somehow–through the graces of the metal gods– got me motivated enough to keep pedaling
After about ten or fifteen minutes I was sweating and feeling good. I continued on with my planned workout, finding that I was pedaling harder with each new track.
I found myself taking it up a notch and digging even deeper with each new interval set. When the song Flat Tire off of the Holding On album kicked in, things got even better and I pounded out one of the fastest intervals of the winter. I was stoked… a red-faced, sweaty, air sucking, stoked mess. Fucking brilliant. Well, at least as a fucking brilliant as a sweaty, increasingly fatter grown man on bike, pedaling nowhere and spitting all over himself can be I suppose.
For now, I just say thanks to Freedom Hawk for the motivation. I don’t know how long our relationship will last but its been swell so far. Rock on (you can’t see but I am giving Freedom Hawk two big fists of rock in their general direction here).
*Note: today WOULD have been a good day for a ride but warm(er) temps the last two days have turned the dirt roads into a slushy, icy quagmire. I talked to a buddy of mine at B-Man’s basketball game today and he confirmed the roads were indeed a mess and would be considered attempted suicide without studded tires. So, it looks like my decision to ride the trainer this morning was a good one.