Hard-core Thoughts

I've often thought it'd be amusing to hear the soundtrack to one's thoughts when doing a training ride alone. My mind wanders from the solution for world peace to whether I set the alarm when I left work to how cool it is that some guy has his kid out there fishing in the park.

Today I had a pretty hard workout, making peace with Ilchester, which is a mere 10mins from my door. I left work early for an appointment and rushed home afterward to get in a workout. It had been relatively dry for hours and I thought I was going to get lucky (with the weather - get your mind out of the gutter).

I step outside and adjust my SRM ... I think I feel some raindrops. I run back inside to grab a plastic bag for my ipod, just in case, and when I get back outside, it's raining pretty hard. I clip in and get on my way. After all, I only have a month to figure out where I left my climbing legs and, hey, it's probably a passing shower, right ?

I'm soaked by the time I get to the park. By the time I get to the base of the hill, I'm giggling a little bit. Cars that pass me have one of two expressions: what is this idiot doing ? and wow, that chick is hard-core. A sampling of my thoughts during the 1.5 hour workout, going up and down Ilchester in the pouring rain:

- I must look totally hard core.

- Good thing my shoes dried out from Sunday. So they could get soaked again.

- Can't turn back now, besides the rain has to stop.

- At what point do I cross that line from hard-core to insanity ?

- wonder if that pile of mulch on the side of the hill is slippery.

- whoaaaa - yep, stay away from that the next time up.

- at least i have white shoes on. and my glasses are on the outside of my helmet straps. According to Nick Mulder, I'm very euro.

- no, no - great song but Coldplay is too slow to keep my cadence up.

- I think it's raining harder...

- never thought I'd say this, but this downhill is too long, I'm getting cold.

and that was just the first lap up the hill. It only got better, with my thoughts wandering to greenbelt races (should start tomorrow but is likely to be rained out), a big meeting tomorrow and what I'm going to wear, the physics that keep my rear wheel from slipping out when I stand up (that'd likely be that bowl of ice cream from last night) and why I am not afraid of cornering in the rain in a race but during this ride, I was terrified of it.

Anyway. I suppose this is a good reason for why we don't have those little cartoon bubbles that show the world our thought process.