The day after a big ride can sometimes leave you without your mojo. Gym rats don’t get it. Tell a gym rat you were cooked after a hard 75 mile ride and they will ask, “are you sore?”  These guys don’t understand. An endurance athlete doles out the effort over four to five hours, exhausting energy stores of glycogen, draining his will, depleting his very soul.

No I am not sore, I am wasted.

Almost like a hangover, you pull yourself out of bed moving slow and deliberate. The mind in a haze, simple tasks take your entire focus. You slide your tongue across the roof of your dry sticky mouth to confirm the headache you feel is caused by dehydration. This is the kind of dehydration that takes an entire day to cure. After a few hours you give in and take some NSAIDS for relief. Staring off into the distance you keep telling yourself, “I have to ride. Just 30-40 miles will be good. Just go easy”. Then nothing, you don’t move an inch. Almost paralyzed you keep staring while feelings of guilt however strong cannot motivate you to ride. Your body knows what it needs and it is taking control.

Last night I spent an hour in the gym with Thomas providing direction. Today, I am a little sore…but I am not wasted.