Hibernation

Fall is here, and in New England it means cooler weather, beautiful foliage, and a hint of what's to come — the dreaded New England winter. Unfortunately, for me fall also means the beginning of the end of the riding season.

Go ahead and say I'm not hardcore, and I'll be the first to agree with you. Back in my insane youth when I first stared riding, we ("we" being Brian, Jon and myself) would ride every single day; if that meant riding in my tiny basement or outside in 15 degree weather, so be it. But in my old age I've come to appreciate other things in life — like staying warm — and I just don't get the urge anymore to pile on clothes, get on my bike and try riding on sand- covered parking lots while the arctic cold freezes snot to my face.

One of my main problems is my dislike of riding by myself. I think college is where my tradition of completely taking the winter off began. When fall rolled around and I was at school, I was the only rider at UMass-Dartmouth and I rode only once in a while — usually when I went home and rode with the other Attleboro boys. (Senior year was better because Brian was a freshman there, so I actually had someone to ride with.) When I graduated, Brian and Jon were the ones going off to college, leaving me to ride alone in Attleboro.

So now the leaves are changing, the air is cooler and crisper, the nearest rider is 45 minutes away (I guess I should be thankful that there are riders that close!), and I'm getting burnt out after a summer of riding. For some reason, come fall I start to really suck — losing not only the new stuff I learned over the summer, but also tricks I've been doing for years. It's probably for the best that I hibernate over the winter months; it keeps me from getting too frustrated and quitting altogether. Besides, when March rolls around, it's feels that much better when I start the cycle all over again.