[Sportsandrec] Thanks for the Austin inspiration

[Thornbury, Kelly]

My last single bike ride, the one that convinced me that riding alone wasn't real responsible, was a short jaunt from the house to a nearby RV park where my grandparents were staying during a visit. At the time I had almost enough vision to see the white line next to my front tire, and the 3-4 foot snow drifts on the side of the recently plowed roads. I took the "long route," so I would only have to make right turns, making 4 wrong turns because I couldn't see which one was the right one. At one point I was passed by a pickup that decided I was taking up too much room next to the drift, and ran me right off the road, over the bars, and head first into the snow. I reached my destination and retired from the roads on a single forever. 
You are right that some of my apprehension about "racing" comes from being out of shape and feeling old. Both terms are relative. Even though I feel old, I know there are older racers doing quite well out there, but I'm not 24 anymore, and I feel it after every hard training day. As for being out of shape, I still run a six minute mile, and have a VO2 near 60, but still I'm not as in as good of shape as I was at 24. 
I really took everything you said to heart, and have decided to really start training and seeking out a few tandem races once I can get a few actual road miles under my belt. 
Currently I spend a lot of time in the trainer, at least an hour a day, but I've only been working at about 60-70%. This week I've started to incorporate intervals, jumps, and "pace" training. No plans for anything this season, but I think its time to start the next level for next season. There are a few "more competitive" riders in the cycle club, and I'm hoping to start getting in on a few rides with them. 

"Training isn't a matter of life or death, it is more than that." 
(Unknown Author)