I miss by bike or Baby, It's cold out there.

Someone just recently asked me if I had ridden much in 2008. I looked back and was surprised to realise that I had not ridden even half as I had in previous years. At first blush, I blamed it on the gas prices, but in retrospect, I just did not have my head in the game. I have learned that if your head is not in the right place - stay off the bike.

So this week I got Baby serviced. She had been abused by lesser mechanics and the one that knows her (and me), and even call her by name (Baby) is in another state, but reachable. By taking the back roads, it is an incredible ride up there, through creek laden vistas, curvy roads and beautiful peaks and valleys. So it seems like a good deal. The day I dropped Baby off, it was 70, the day before I picked her up, it was 80.

Last night, I rode home at the wonderful temperature of 35. This was fun, because it had rained a slight bit and I try to avoid riding if the temperature is below 36 degrees (that is the point at which bridges freeze). Plus, it was starting to get dark, which meant that Bambi as well as all sorts of other nocturnal animals, will start their way out of their homes and into the path of my bike. Not a good idea of taking unlit, very curvey backroads at dusk. Nope... high speed, four lanes, lots of traffic, but lots of lights, was the only answer.

I had my heated gear on, but for some reason, the wind just blew through me anyway. I thought that the short ride from Tennessee back to the house (about an hour) was one of the longest, grueling rides I have made in a long, long time. Now, it is going to be spring break, and I will once again be off the bike for a while as we vacation with the kids.

I lament over the hours lost off of Baby and the freedom and release that it gives me. I began to wonder, am I the only one that looks at last year and sees that the economy, the gas, just life, put us in a funk that just took our head out of the game? For those that ride, did last year affect your riding? If you had to do it again, would you have ridden more? Ridden less?