Fluidity

Fluidity. With our first snowfall of the season, Saturday’s conditions were winter-like. The fat bike was happy to come out of hibernation, very eager to play in the snow again. The once familiar landscape felt so fresh covered by it’s new white blanket. I got out as early as I could, trying to take in the magic while it lasted as the temperatures warmed up in the afternoon and the snow slowly started to melt. Sunday’s skinny tire gravel ride was soft, wet and muddy with some snow covered bits. I bypassed certain trail sections where the snow was deepest, but still managed to make it to the café on the other side of town for my latte. After the messy post-ride clean-up, I decided to stick to the road on Remembrance Day Monday. This ride brought my odometer reading for the year just above 5,000 kms. Not a huge distance compared to back when I trained and raced, but the most that I have done since my health issues in 2015 and 2016. I thought about how far I’ve come since then, just as I began to understand that my progress wasn’t about a number. It was about a feeling of elegance in my pedal stroke that I hadn’t felt in a very, very long time. It was about the smooth, graceful circles that my legs were drawing. It was about the spin mantra that my lower limbs were repeating. It was about feeling more and more centered with each consecutive rotation. I wasn’t going fast by any means, but I couldn’t help but smile as I felt that old familiar feeling of riding effortlessness. Fluidity.