Takin' Time Off...

I know I said my next post was going to be about the shenanigans on our recent Mickelson ride, but recently there's been a lot of chatter around the guys I ride with about the #ahhffseason or the lack thereof for some guys and I couldn't let it go (I'll get to the Mick ride soon).  A couple guys are still out hitting up 5+ hour rides and some of us say this aggression will NOT stand!

C'mon guys...let's have an off season!

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm all for going out when the sun is shining and it is a beautiful autumn day and hitting up your local trails for a FUN ride, but this heart-rate-monitor-wearing-power-meter-watts-tracking-Strava-KOM-points-collecting stuff is no buenos.  The off season is a time to rejuvenate, to take some time off the bike so you can see your family again, you remember those people that you saw sleeping in their beds as you slipped out the door at 5 am to go on a training ride before work, those people that you waved goodbye to as you headed out on a weekend to go on a 50 mile mountain bike ride, those people that supported you at your races all summer long?  Yeah, recconnect with those people.  

Ahh, rollers, the road to nowhere.

Off season is a time to watch football, to get chores you've neglected around the house done, to rediscover Sunday afternoon naps, to drink all the great fall beers that are available, to, well, do all the crap you haven't done since April 'cause you were too damn busy riding your bike.  Will your fitness wane?  Probably, but only if you don't do anything.  Will your biking ability fall off?  Most likely. 

And actually, that's what I'm hoping for.  I need every advantage when spring rolls around and if more guys I rode with would take more time off, I'd have more advantages.  So, please, take some time off...get slow and out of shape.  I'll keep riding rollers, swimming, lifting weights all winter so once spring comes around, if only for one or two fleeting moments, I can see what the front of the pack looks like.