Knowing when to quit

I rarely abandon a ride. It goes against my stated philosophy. Time and time again I am rewarded when I push myself to ride a few miles until I get into it.

But you do need to know when to quit. Today was one such day.

First of all, it was deceptively cold due to the stiff winds. This alone is not a reason to stop riding. I'm constantly amazed at how warm you can get just by burning calories.

But, I'd worked all weekend and my legs were just stiff and tight. I could not work it out. In fact, the more I rode, the more they ached. The cold certainly didn't help. After a few miles I began to think riding any more was just risking a few aches and pains turning into a lingering injury that might keep me off the bike for a few weeks.

So, I abandoned.

For the next few hours I wondered if my reasoning was just that - justification for my laziness. Ultimately I decided it's okay to quit once in a while. I'll live to ride another day. Two, three times in a row - that's an issue, but once in a while is just listening to that voice from somewhere inside that says "something is just not right today."

I am sure that there are more than a few pilots whose last thought before they hit the ground was "I should have listened to that voice inside me that said 'don't fly today.'"