Change of pace

The last couple of weeks have seen a gradual transition to a new way of life. A life of reality and responsibility. It dawned on me sometime in July that I was broke, so I have gone back to working at the Oval and at Pedalhead. In some ways its nice, but overall the other life is far better. I must say I did miss Pedalhead somewhat. There is something magical about the back of a bike store. Spending your days with an apron on, turning clappers into roadsters is very rewarding and the people make each day unique and entertaining.
I was seriously contemplating taking another racing trip to Vermont to do the Green Mountain Stage race at the beginning of September. It is a relatively big race with 4 stages and incredible altitude. I didn't want to go unless I seriously thought I could get a result there and at this point ramping it up again is not going to fit with my head state and having to work. Maxing out the MasterCard and another week on the road isn't appealing at this point. I am struggling with my choice to skip a great race, but I think I will thank myself when September rolls around.
Next year I will spend the entire season in Europe and not have to worry about all this travel and financial strain. I am counting the days....