This weekend didn't turn out exactly as planned as I had some family issues, namely money arguments that I'm sure most married couples have on occasion. I won't delve too much in to it but basically the gist of it is that cycling is tough for those that are even considered middle class if you want to have a good bike and keep necessary components on hand. Think about the things you need to have and replenish almost every year - Energy drink @ 20-30 bucks a jar that lasts about a month or maybe two, Energy bars and gels @ 20-25 dollars a box and again that's about a month or two supply, training tires at 20-30 dollars each that last about 3 months if you do 7000-8000 miles a year, so you need to buy two sets at least, racing tires at 50-75 dollars a piece that if you only use for racing can maybe last a season, but you always need a spare set, you need to replace your chain every year, I replace mine twice a year @ 45 dollars each, then you need bottles of chain lube, heavy grease, brake and shift cables stretch so you need to replace them every year or two, clothing is a big expense, race entry fees, traveling to races, especially the gas cost now a days. Last year I estimate that cycling cost me $1600 between team clothes, energy drinks, bars, and gels, tires, parts, entry fees, travel costs, tools and lubes, and a few other minor miscellaneous things. Those are just the things that I needed, not luxury items, in order to ride and race last year. Now, for me that $1600 was absolutely worth it for the entertainment value and that is probably no different than people who go out to concerts or the theater or other vacations. So anyways, I'm getting off course here a bit, but sometimes cycling can bring up money issues and lead to arguments and then it becomes time to prioritize things a bit, so instead of cycling on Saturday, that is what I did with my wife, cleared the air a bit so to speak. So basically in spite of the fact that my wife is working only part time as she is in her last year of nursing school and we are short on money, she really pushed me to keep up the biking and said we'll find a way to make it all work. I'm not sure how, but at least now I don't have to get another job, which was my plan, so that's a bonus. It's great to have her support in spite of our rough times so I'm very thankful for that. My blog is titled "My year as a bicycle racer" and certainly these kinds of things are a part of being a racer - money, family, time, priorities - so I had to include that in this posting.
Aside from that, after we figured out our money problems on Saturday, I did get in a ride on Sunday and I also did 2 hours on the trainer yesterday on my normal day off to make up for missing Saturday's ride. I did weights last night as well after work and I'm feeling better than I have in a long while on the bike. The weather looks like crap for the next few weekends, super cold and definitely not riding weather so it appears there will be a lot of trainer riding. Well, that's it for now, more to follow tonight when I do my weekly review of one of my cycling products. Until next time.....
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