Dear Future Ryan

An open letter to future Ryan for historical purposes.

Dear Future Ryan,

I hope this letter finds you well. I am hoping you are still awesome in the future. Currently all the girls you know find you fantastic but are too afraid to tell you. Maybe this has changed in the future.

As far as biking goes I wanted to write you to remind you what was going on on this day in history.

Your bike is currently in the shop. You had a bad crash coming back from Cocktail Rock where you went over the bars and landed on your left side. Mainly your left wrist. You thought it was sprained but refused to go to the doctor because you knew she was just going to tell you to ice it and not use it for 4-6 weeks. That is unacceptable.

Anyways the bike is in the shop. That sucks because you need it to ride on Saturday. Hopefully it gets finished before then.

Also you have been pretty tired lately. You aren't sure if it's from a big ride on Saturday or just life in general. Why can't you get enough sleep? Hopefully you are going to bed on time in the future.

Vision Quest is looming large and you feel like you haven't been riding enough. That's ok. You never feel like you've prepared enough. You have been blaming the rain, but despite the rain you actually got a weekly GeoLadders medal last week! Celebrate!

Ok I suppose that's enough. I wonder if in the future you are still writing on your blog. I wonder if you finally found the courage to confess your love for Ricki Lake.

Anyways here is to you future Ryan ... you sly dog.

Cordially,
Ryan

Fighting Fatigue

While I'm waiting for a new schema for the data warehouse at work ...

This time of year is always a little tough with all the miles on the bike. I've learned one of the most important things is to manage my time _off_ of the bike. I find it interesting how six hours on the bike wrecks me for 48 hours afterwards. The real battle is not really the riding ... it's the recovery afterwards.

Despite trying to eat, sleep and drink more I still find myself fatigued after long rides, like the ride I did on Saturday (55 miles, 6:40). It's not too bad dealing with sore muscles, but being mentally tired is something different.

I just don't seem to have enough time in the day to properly recover. Between wondering whether or not I am going to be sent to Florida for work in a few weeks, taking phone calls at 8AM with Israel, preparing Bible studies and just hanging out with friends in general ... I find I struggle to have enough down time.

This week is fairly typical for me. Monday through Thursday I will be out of the house from 9AM to about 9PM on average. That means I am always out somewhere and not able to fully relax. Frustrating.

Looking forward to later in the year when I can accept invitations to do something on a Tuesday or Thursday. Right now I have to turn everything down because I need those nights for training.

I either need to figure out the missing piece of the puzzle or I need to be more disciplined with taking time out for rest.