Back on the bike now after the annual harvest hiatus. Work pressures every September and October force me to take an extended break from serious cycling every year. This has been so since 1979 when I first began making wine. Since I didn't really start taking cycling that seriously until I began bike racing in 1985, I guess you could say that the annual break preceeded the organized training. It may be one of the reasons that cycling has stayed fresh for me. There's nothing like a long break to make you appreciate something. How does that old country song go? "How can I miss you when you won't go away?"
However, getting this somewhat creaky 60 year old body back in the groove after an eight week break is an art form. I've learned to take the first 6-8 weeks back on the bike very very easy. Even if I'm feeling good on a given day I don't give it the gas - no extended climbing, no hard efforts at all really. Just cruising with the intent of reawakening the muscles and reminding the connective tissue to toughen up. The hardest part is mental. I get off the bike at the end of summer in great shape normally. This year I did a hillclimb race just before harvest - so the form was there. When you get back on the bike the brain remembers being fit and fast, but the legs have forgotten what this even means. My quads for the first few weeks are going "WTF?" and my brain is saying back "Anyone home down there?" Oh, well it's the life I lead and also the life I love. It's a great time of year for fantasizing about the fitness to come and all the great days on the bike that springtime will bring.