...what do you tend to do? get down on yourself? find the silver lining? adapt to the situation and carry on? andy and i found ourselves at a similar crossroads this morning.
we had intended to head out on a wandering, northerly (pre-)dawn patrol ride before our respective saturday plans were scheduled to start. as we headed out with only the narrow beams of light from our headlights to slice through the fog and darkness, our senses were heightened. i could hear every little creak of my speedplays reminding me 90 times or so a minute that i needed to lube the cleat-pedal connection points. a small thump-thump-thump in andy's rear wheel was causing him to listen and feel for signs of an impending flat. these small thumps and creaks were amplified by a lack of stimuli, be it light or ambient noise from the environment; even the birds were still sleeping. we eventually settled into the ride and morning conversation, but little did we know that adversity was wheelsucking behind in the darkness where our lights weren't shining.
thirteen miles into the ride, that thump-thump-thump had grown to become a major distraction or concern or maybe both. we stopped, shuffled about to stay warm while we investigated, and once we found the culprit, the ride was called. now at this point, we were a little bummed, but we reversed course and headed home knowing it was probably the right call while laughing off the situation and talking about how we had not dressed for the cold morning and how great coffee sounded at this point. by the time we had soft pedaled back into the city, the sun had started peaking over the horizon and the birds' chirping announced the city was awakening.
Sometimes, the alternate, unplanned outcome ends up being better - WAY better - than the original plan.
We detoured into Gas Works Park to capture the sunrise and i'm so glad we stopped. it was spectacular this morning. The way the light reflected off the water and the buildings downtown left me speechless. reflecting on the scene, i was not at all bummed by that thump-thump-thump because had we kept to our original plan, we would have been still heading north and would have missed this scene altogether. no, this morning would definitely go in the books under the great ride column.
