Cyclocross weather. Not just in my head, either.
So last night I dreamed that I was racing the cyclocross national championships, and since I was the only competitor I felt I had a strong chance to podium.
But somehow I was managing to fuck it up.
Everybody’s looking for something.
I was missing some important bits, among them a helmet, a race number, and the faintest idea of what the actual hell was going on. Nobody in the dream seemed any wiser.
And at one point I was having a helluva time making the bike move at all, which is a familiar feeling to anyone who’s ever raced ’cross, but this bordered on the ridiculous, like I was trying to cycle through wet concrete with two flats and a dropped chain while the Klingons had a tractor beam on me.
It seemed increasingly likely that the officials would call the race due to there being no actual racing taking place, and I was looking at a DNF in a one-man nationals, when I saw a shooting star in my peripheral vision and abruptly woke up.
There was more to the dream, and I should’ve written it all down while it was still fresh in my mind, but Mia had somehow slipped into the bedroom and was yowling for my attention and grub, not necessarily in that order. Women were hatching schemes in the kitchen. The day was thrust upon me. Coffee was indicated.
I probably should’ve ridden a cyclocross bike but no. After last night it was the road for me, thanks all the same. And I barely made it home before the rain came. No medals or prizes were awarded.
Tags: cyclocross, Eurythmics, rain
Mad Blog Media 
July 25, 2021 at 6:18 pm |
Is that the kind of dreams we have in our dotage? As I approach retirement, I have recurrent dreams that I never finished my degree or that I forgot to take the Astronomy 101 exam and never got my B.S., etc. Something about the change of life to no longer being employed, i.e., marginally relevant?
Is there a shrink in the house?
July 25, 2021 at 6:54 pm |
I need to make more of an effort to jot mine down. I’ve been having some real weirdos. Maybe it’s the midday iced coffee. Could be acid flashbacks.
July 25, 2021 at 6:55 pm |
Khal: and PO’G: Yes …. I am the shrink in the house … and being a mech engineering science major, and one with absolutely zero psychology formal training (I believe many call it behavioral science now … and any major that says science in it is woofing you on the science side), I’ll share with you from 74-plus years of real life striving/achieving/dreams that are both revealing and intellectually challenging … you both are near-perfectly normal and can now sleep well tonight.
Dreams that embody reminiscing and nostalgia are both very common and signs of intellectual/spiritual/physical well-being in people of, shall we say, the “senior citizen” age.
In fact, your ability to remember them, much less ponder their meaning and relevance, indicates a moderately if not far right side positioning on the IQ Bell Curve for the homo sapiens species.
And shows great insight and self-awareness often lacking in cyclists, blog originators, and idiots like me who indulge in such literary and physical frivolities.
The plus side of all this is that we recognize our intellectual and physical shortcomings; but continue into our “dotage” to challenge and appreciate them.
🙂
July 25, 2021 at 7:09 pm |
It’s a shame we can’t download our dreams onto a thumb drive and review them in the morning. Not the one where I show up nekkid to the last day of class for the big test without having cracked a book or even attended the class, though. That one I know by heart.
July 25, 2021 at 7:58 pm |
Rain is sweet. Dreams are quickly forgotten. Khal, I thought you were already retired, and you are certainly relevant. So, when you going to go full Herb and Pat and pull that trigger? You can have enough money, but you can’t buy any time.
July 26, 2021 at 4:13 pm |
I tells you going full Herb is a dangerous veal cutlet to quote Tom Waits. I might need another job to get some fekking downtime. But it is nice to totally pick and choose your battles. “Should I fix that faucet downstairs or head for the lake? Update the music files or head out for a short ride? Aw hell…the Pinot Noir is calling….”
As for the POG dreams I have my share of bizarro world dreams that are all over the map. Some leave tracer trails and others are gone like fireflies
July 26, 2021 at 5:09 pm |
Has anyone beside(s) me (anonymity in larger groups) noticed that they’re having more and more “later stage of life” dreams?
As I accelerate down the backside of the “Circle of Life”, all of a sudden I’m dreaming about way-past life episodes, the people involved, the circumstances, etc.
Speaking of the Circle of Life …. what a great song from The Lion King, eh?
Remember please, as Mark Twain so eloquently and intellectually accurately said: ” History doesn’t repeat itself; but it often rhymes.”
Iambic pentameter has been with us for quite a while! 🙂
July 25, 2021 at 11:26 pm |
Patrick, everybody has that same dream, so don’t fret. What matters is that you were out there, riding, and braving all the hell and high water thrown at you. Remember, it doesn’t matter if you win or lose — it is that you tried and braved it all — that’s what counts.
July 26, 2021 at 5:34 pm |
and of course the tasty cool brew upon your safe return.
July 26, 2021 at 10:42 pm |
! yes
July 27, 2021 at 12:54 pm |
My dream is running up a sand dune as an enormous wave hits the beach. I am going nowhere as the sand rolls down under my feet. The wave never catches me and I wake up sweaty.