Dining in hell

The last week and a half was restaurant week in Biltmore Village, or more colloquially referred to as "Hell week", by the people working at those restaurants (I made that up but I'm sure my co-workers would agree with me). Working the past week has been like swimming through an endless sea of stress which did in fact eventually come to an end each day to the surprise of my cohorts. I honestly felt like quitting today, it just doesn't seem worth all of the bullshit I put up with. I take pride in the fact that I work at an upper scale restaurant which has complexities involved with the basics of the job that most food service employees never have to deal with but with complexity comes more room for error and when parts of your team aren't pulling their weight then it usually ends up making other people look bad as well. I'm a responsible person, if I foul up I don't mind taking the heat for that, but when I'm called out for other people's mistakes, that really gets on my nerves. I love my co-workers, that's really what makes me love my job at all, but there's always certain people that will always let you down, and unfortunately in my case that person was promoted for some odd-ball reason.

It's lucky for me that after work I'm able to jump on my bike and ride away from all the stress that comes from my job. Discovering biking has been the greatest relief of stress and the largest source of constant joy that I've experienced from anything. It's parallel with having a crush or loving somebody but unlike a relationship, the only ups and downs you experience on a bike is when traversing the path ahead. A bike can take a person anywhere they want to go, all under their own strength and perseverance. Cycling is like an extension of a persons spirit.

Going hard in the saddle

No posts for over seven months... That's impressive even for myself. Well since August a lot of things have changed. Cycling is my new passion at the moment, as pottery was eight to nine months ago. Last Fall I raced cyclo-cross with one of my really good friends who I met near the end of last Summer. Everyone calls him "Noonan", he's one of the finest bicycle mechanics a person might meet and he used to work at the bike shop I frequent. I learned most of what I know from him and we rode together fairly often on training rides when we weren't traveling to races. If anyone is curios as to what cyclo-cross is, it's racing road bikes equipped with knobby tires for traction on dirt, through mud, snow and whatever else might get in your way. It's one of the few kinds of bike racing where you are required to dismount off of your bike to leap over barriers which tend to be about knee height. Some of the more skilled and daring riders will 'bunny hop', jump the barriers while riding which is always exciting to watch. cyclo-cross is an all-out sport, an almost full-on sprint that lasts anywhere from 30 minutes to an entire hour. Each lap usually lasts no more than two to three miles. As I only started riding a few months ago, I never achieved much endurance or speed, not enough to place well in races anyways.
So now 'cross season has ended and the road season has already commenced. I've taken part in my first two road races, it's an entirely different experience from cyclo-cross, much more team oriented, much more focused on being more aerodynamic because of the much higher speeds during a road race and a lot more stuck-up roadies to deal with. 'Roadies' as some like to refer to them as, are road bikers who generally, worry way too much about the weight of their bikes, the smoothness of their shaven legs and overall worrying far too much. I've enjoyed road racing so far, it's faster than cyclo-cross and more boring because of so much straight road but also more strategical which I appreciate, I'm definitely keen on strategy. Cyclo-cross is more entertaining to me because you have to weave through a unique course, created only for that race, and you have to fly through the course while tapping your brakes as little as possible because that's a huge waste of energy. I love cycling period so be it road or 'cross I'm happy to be riding but I'm really hoping that the road season will prepare me physically for huge efforts when the 'cross season rolls back around.
I need to increase my training time but going to school and having two very part-time jobs has sucked up a lot of my time that I might use to train for races. On the school front I'm very ready to be done with it, I guess I just need a break but I'm not even done with my associates degree which is saddening to me. I just want to travel, I feel like that's the most efficient and effective way to learn. I'd also love to tour Europe or Asia on my bike, I think that'd be the ultimate experience. Thanks for reading (assuming anyone still checks this old blog).