Here we go again

               I’d like to think perseverance is a trait of mine. It takes some level of single-minded/borderline stupidity to do the whole ride-a-bike-really-hard-till-stairs-become-torture thing repeatedly, all in search of that feeling of progress and fleeting race day performance. But even if this perseverance and commitment applies to some aspects of my life, it is definitely not an overarching quality. Take writing for example. In a vain attempt I’ve tried to keep people (not really sure who) up to date on race results, how I felt, what I learned, and how life was going in general. After a few months I realized my repetitive life is not exactly one people would eagerly tune into in order to hear the latest developments. The question “I wonder what Payson’s been up to recently?...” can often be answered by choosing one of a few pre-made answers: riding a bike in little circles, sometimes by himself and sometimes with other people, eating (often ice cream), sleeping, going to work, and every so often traveling to (you guessed it!) ride bikes in circles.

               Long story short, I’ve had multiple documents started with attempts to restart this doomed collection of stories. Each starts off with me trying to be witty and creative in an effort to draw people in to read on about my repetitive life. So I’m going to spare you the cringe-worthy reading and boil down the main points throughout each half-started article into a rapid-fire timeline of the past months. A professor once told me to write in lists as this makes readers get the point faster… so here the point.

·        Upgraded to pro license at the beginning of the season.

·        Got my ass kicked in the first few races.

·        Learned gravel racing techniques (don’t pull the group the whole time).

·        Realized I probably belonged on the mountain bike side of things.

·        Figured out the real pros are incredibly fast and a lot stronger than I.

·        Continued to work my butt off.

·        Graduated college somewhere in there.

·        Figured out how to recover better.

·        Got a few decent results, reckoned I may be in the right category after all.

·        Went home to save money.

·        Danced around the pro podium for the Midwest circuit. (Never saw the top.)

·        Didn’t sleep enough.

·        Results dipped a bit… wasn’t happy with my performances.

·        Got all hippy and introspective: meditation, note-taking, sleep tracking… all that mumbo-jumbo.

·        Came to the grand realization I wasn’t sleeping enough.

·        Started sleeping more.

·        Began to feel better.

·        Results improved.

·        Confidence began to grow.

·        Got a couple wins under my belt.

·        Realized cyclocross racing for only an hour was nice.

·        Continued to dance around the CX podium (mainly in second this time).

·        Had way too much fun riding skinny tires over dirt and barriers.

·        Began to understand why starting in the front row is important.

·        Saw good performances.

·        Saw could’ve-been-better performances.

·        Wound down the season with the feeling that I’ve learned a lot, had great experiences, and hopefully gotten a bit better.

·        Started to get psyched for next season.

·        Ended the season with a bang… actually the sound of cracking carbon and a really sore thumb.

·        (Still finished the race, in third.)

·        Packed up everything I owned and moved to New Zealand.

Phew, that was way easier than writing all about the hardships, successes, failures, friendships, learning experiences, and introspective thinking. Yeah lists are nice.

From here on out the whole perseverance thing is going to try and make a comeback on the writing front. And now because of the last bullet point I have something slightly more interesting to ramble on about… because for some reason living my repetitive life of riding bikes in little circles is way cooler when it’s halfway around the world.