The Road Not Traveled

Check out these awesome photos from what was probably the Lincoln Abrahams’ last major training ride before Gravel Roads 2016. Addison’s missing in these photos because he took them. I’m missing because I wasn’t there. (Ouch!)

Our group training rides are so much fun, it’s painful to miss even one. (I admit I like them even more than race days, where the slamming window through which you either reach or miss your goals can stress a guy out.)

I missed this foggy 90-miler to attend a family reunion in Missouri. Sugaring the pill was the fact that my wife’s family is big and energetic and kind and welcoming and fun. I admit I sulked a little, but it was easy to bounce back with barefoot basketball, golf and time on the lake with aunts, uncles and cousins this friendly.

Riding a bike is in itself a balancing act. So is being happy on and off the bike. I’m committed to the work necessary to become just a little stronger, a little faster, than I used to be. But not at the expense of my wife, my kids, my job—my balance.

If I PR and my wife is upset, what have I accomplished? If climbing a little better means missing my daughter’s concert or my son’s game, sorry, but I’ll just climb a little worse. If passing a guy requires a dick move, then that guy’s staying in front of me.

Pretty as these pictures are, things get ugly quick once you lose your balance. Know what I mean?