Activation Energy

Activation energy, in chemistry, is the energy required for a reaction to initiate. It is unique because there is a little bump of energy, if you look on a graph, that is a bit higher than the energy needed to propel the reaction (or to level the graph line). So for a reaction to run steadily it needs less energy than it needed to get it started. Preparing for race season is virtually identical, and I chose to overcome that bump today, in the rain, in the mud. I did just that with the help of my old bike, my patchwork of old parts that used to be my regular "do it all" bike. The simplicity of the aged parts made the ride unique to the past year spent focused on finish standings, points, the best and newest equipment, etc. Not to say that the year was anything short of amazing, but so often we forget about the basics, or the roots - the things that got you started, or first lit your fire. There are a lot of different things you could place this analogy on, but for cycling, a trip back to the beginning, it turns out, will often reinvent that feeling of what cycling was when you hadn't yet become desensitized to it. A lot of riders complain about older bikes for a lot of the reasons that make them amazing to ride. Lack of suspension does definitely make the ride bumpier, but when was the last time you decided to really feel those bumps. If you pay enough attention you can actually read the terrain without seeing very much and it ends up being fun! V-brakes and skinny tires are a challenge, no doubt, but the challenge is to see if YOU can change, not the bike, and once you do, your having FUN again! There's no wonder in my mind as to the resurgence of riders ditching gears and suspension for the bikes "of old", simply put, the make you feel like you did the first day of riding, and they make you FEEL riding.
My old bike isn't the "of old" that I'm thinking of, but for me it is just old enough to remind me of what I was like when I was riding 8 or 9 years ago when I bought this thing, and to be honest it was damn fun. I mean more fun that I've had on a bike in a while and it was just what i needed to propel me over that bump of energy and fuel the drive to initiate another season of riding and racing. I'm sure there will be all kinds of events and all kinds of new exciting equipment, but I hope this old one is still waiting in the wings for another day in the mud.