Priorities again

"If I don't see them by the time I get to Tuckerman, I'm turning around and riding in the park" I said to myself Saturday morning as I motored past the meeting point, Conn Ave, Cedar Lane, Grosvenor, all the usual catch spots.  I had, as has been the usual pattern, a late start.  A late night and the requisite reluctance to leave the warm bed contributed, but I rolled out anyway, knowing that if I didn't ride in the AM it would be curtains for riding the whole weekend, since I was off to Pittsburgh in the late AM.

Sure enough, the group was ahead of me toward the top of Tuckerman and I put in a solid interval to make the catch.  Not bad, I thought, this was something I wasn't able to do much last year, as my miles were so inconsistent.  The Glen rollers were quite manageable as well and I made it to the store with more people behind me than in front of me, so that was good too.  The standard chatter with Eric, Kay, Kathy, Karim, Luis, Scott A, Mark, Phil, Paul, and others who I see but don't always remember but still enjoy talking too while waiting for the re-group and then we were all off again.  While the rest headed to Poolesville and the standard route, I headed back via Glen since I needed to get back for the trip.

Every once in a while it's a healthy change to ride backwards on a familiar route, as you see it differently (obviously).  The view from the Glen rollers going south (or is it east?) really reveals the partial ridgeline that we ride on and the descent to the creek we cross on the one lane bridge.  The DC Velo ride was heading toward the store as I headed away, about 20 of them in a tight pack.  Instead of following Glen, I rode up to Democracy via South Glen, another insiduous little climb that punched things up a bit.  A quick roll home and I had a decent 2 hour ride with good intensity to start the weekend.

Got home, packed up, dad picked me up, and to Verona Pa we went.  Easy drive up.  Great dinner at the Cafe Naples with Grandma.  Even got in a nap before dinner.  Sunday morning after church we met my relatives for brunch where I had a capacole omelette (where have YOU been all my life?).  I will be making this at home on a regular basis.  Another hour of visiting and then we headed back.  It was so windy at the Somerset rest stop that the door nearly came off the hinges when I opened it.  Spending some mellow time with my dad was just what I needed, too.  He tried out a speech on me that he's giving downtown on Monday, for timing and cadence, and it was good to exchange feedback.  We caught up on family stuff too.  

My dad had said to me last weekend "Wanna come with me to see your grandmother before I leave?"  To which I replied, "Well, no."  Then I thought she's 94, my dad and mom are off on a 6 week trip to the other side of the world, I do worry about my Dad driving 4 hours by himself, and all I care about is "training" for "bicycle racing" since my life is oh so incomplete if I can't fulfill this ridiculously obsessive pastime that fuels strange behaviors so patiently tolerated by my family.  I reconsidered as the week wore on.  I thought about how incredibly selfish this was, how the time we have can never be recouped, and that it's important to seize these opportunities when they arise.  I called him up.  "Sure, I'll go.  But can we go at 11?  I wanna get a ride in..."