Readjusting life

A friend at work just bought a road bike, so he's been peppering me daily with questions about the proper way to do things. After all, I am an expert. Friday, we had a very serious discussion about how long your cycling socks should be. (correct answer: neither too short or too long). 

Overall, him getting a bike has been great for my own routine. If he's going to tell me stories about what he learns on his daily bike ride, I better have a parallel story of what crazy stuff happened on my hardcore ride. This has forced me to get more adventurous on my rides in order to come up with interesting things to talk about. Last year, I had two bike routes and I never deviated from them. It felt safe; It was what I liked; It was really boring. It's just not that exciting to tell your friend that on your ride you saw that Farmer Bill has finally cut his hay field. 

So in the last two weeks,I've inserted some spontaneity. I've gotten lost in the national forest, made a serious bid to ride all the way to West Virginia, unexpectedly climbed a really really big mountain, and descended that really really big mountain. Going down the mountain was by far the most terrifying experience.

I like the change. I hope it lasts. I'll be getting better brakes soon.