Life On Two Wheels

Along the river and toward the mountains a morning shadow shimmers across the road. The rays of the first light jet through the trees and across a figure gliding upon the road. His breath trails in short spurts, petrified as it hits the icy air. All is quiet except the slight sound of the athlete as he summons himself for yet another days work. Soon the rest of the world will bustle with life as well and the brief simplicity of cyclist and nature will disappear into the everyday struggle of life in full motion; the errands and intervals, the appointments and intersections, and the deadlines and finish lines OutPaceTheRace

Monday, May 15, 2006

Summer in Spain

Girona, ESP
Monday, May 15, 2006

Since I was here last one significant factor has changed: the weather. I went out on a ride when I got here yesterday, and it was so nice. It was like 3:00 and I went out with a vest, shorts, and a jersey- and ended up doing the whole thing with the vest unzipped & ran out of water in the first hour. Must’ve been ~85 degrees, which is a fresh alternative to the racing in a thermal jacket that was happening when I was here in February. Other than that, I haven’t noticed much of a difference, although I’ve vowed to cope with the new lifestyle this time. I began yesterday after my ride by riding around the town, trying to actually get bearings on where the town is. I found this to be key, ‘cause otherwise you’re never quite there. I discovered more about the place yesterday afternoon than I did the entire two weeks I was here previously. Now all I’ve got to do is learn Spanish, or Spainglish, which they speak here. I checked at the Universitat de Girona (which is right behind us), and its 128 Euros for a class (like ESL, except SSL). I couldn’t take a class though ‘cause I wouldn’t be here enough.

posted by Tom Peterson @ 2:24 AM