Riding the same routes too many times can turn any chance for exploration into the routine. If you’ve memorized the number of traffic signals on your favorite loop, it’s time to rethink “the program.” Roads less traveled are the perfect elixir for cycling rejuvenation. Do you need new paths, training circuits or new ways of enjoying the bike? I do.
After logging more than 4,500 miles this year and nearly 350,000 feet of vertical gains, nearly everything feels the same. How can this happen in San Diego? Easy.
(A) I’ve completed my ride objectives with the survival of Climb to Kaiser at the end of June
(B) I’ve had far too many flats in the past week
(C) It’s been hot, and I lost some fitness while watching the Tour de France
Hey, there’s also general life and its demands. Chores. The office. Personal time that feels more fleeting as days begin to shorten. We’re plowing toward fall (even in sunny San Diego) during the dog days of summer.
This weekend, I’m off to Bend, Oregon with my family. Although I’ve got vivid memories of the Cascade Lakes Highway and other backroads near Sunriver from four trips past, it will feel brand new. There are more roads in that area than I will be able to cover in a week. But I’ll try. And that’s a really good thing. I’ve no choice but to pedal in new places and even in colder climes (in the morning). It will pique my imagination. The mind can start reinforcing the body with intrinsic rewards. Like the sight of a perfect stream with a flyfisherman casting. Water of a lake so blue it can only be described by a photograph. Asphalt that is smooth as fine Italian marble. Unmelted snow atop Mount Bachelor.
When I get back to San Diego, I’ve got to find a new “Bend” in the road, in my head, in my outlook. The places I’ve yet to cover in all my years of riding the known cycling loops, training hotspots and beautiful opportunities to explore in San Diego. There are more. I know. Time to find them.
This year, when I rode the Solvang Double Century, Breathless Agony and the Mulholland Challenge for the first time, I felt a strong sense of renewal and revival. Seeing new things for the first time does that. It feeds our sense of progress. Our desire to stay fresh. To keep learning and growing. It’s why new roads are today’s crave.
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