ramping up...

out the door and rolling north through rock creek park before 6:30 - normally i'm still asleep ocasionally thrashing about looking for the snooze button on my alarm clock - still dark enough to stash my sunglasses in a pocket and click on the blinky light on the seatpost of my road bike. droping down towards the creek at pierce mill the air was cold and damp and for a momemt i thought about arm warmer but once i was away from the water and the dense cold air in the valley those thoughts drifted away. my legs started slowly, aching a little from the lactic acid still lingering from last nights ride, but as i rode on and blood flowed through my legs the toxins cleared from my legs and the sleep cleared from my head... half way through the ride i turn around and reverse course heading south on beach drive, my slightly uphill ride becoming slightly downhill... a few diversions onto the back roads to avoid the worst of the commuter traffic starting to build up in the park and then up the last hill to home, careful not to ride too hard at the end and flood my legs lactic acid right at the end of the ride. last night emotion outweighed logic and i rode hard just trying to hold the wheel in front of me caught up in the chase and the group and the euphoria of riding on dirt. this morning logic returned and i rode to the heart rate monitor paying back my body for last night and helping to rebuild it...