I'm probably riding better than I ever have lately, having improved greatly in the past year. However, my joy in riding well is being tainted by the fact that my riding buddy seems to have escalated in her riding considerably all of a sudden. I know I'm not supposed to compare myself to others, but sometimes that's easier said than done. We have pretty much been at the same level on the flat from the beginning and I think we still are. She has always climbed faster, though, and I have worked hard to improve my climbing so I can maybe some day keep up with her, yet it seems her climbing has skyrocketed lately while me, not so much. Way better than a year ago, but every time I improve, she improves more.

She is shorter than me and, though we are both thin, she's a little thinner and weighs about 20 pounds less, which is a big reason why she climbs faster. We just did the Cool Breeze century. I was so mentally frustrated every time she so rapidly lost me on even an easy hill, that it's possible my frustration is going to help me lose weight. I'm 5'9 and have been hovering around 147-148. Just before Cool Breeze, I crept up to 150, yet lost 2 pounds doing the century and have been able to keep it off this week and lose one more. I declared after the century that I was going to lose 10 pounds in five weeks and told my friend she can take the credit for inspiring me if I succeed.

I did a club ride with her yesterday and she did it again. Killed the climb and got a super fast time, then dropped me on the way back as she barely hung on to a fast rider's wheel on a slight upgrade in headwind. Again, all very mentally depressing ... and yet motivating for weight loss. I have worked off and on this year at losing those ten pounds, but I think I'm depressed enough to maybe actually do it now. Or just stop riding!

My depression sunk in deeper tonight, however, when our bike shop owner dropped off my husband's bike, which miraculously appeared with a beautiful new Cannondale SuperSix frame. I wanted that frame. Can't afford that frame. Can't afford much of anything these days and was all excited about the $3 coupon I found for dog food earlier. Yet, somehow he gets this great new frame, a step up from his already greater than mine frame. He had the SystemSix, the predecessor to the SuperSix and I have a Caad9. I have a great frame, but being the weight weanie I am, with the difficulty I have climbing, I want the lightest bike I can get.

So, how is it he got this new frame? Well, he crashed on Cool Breeze and dented his frame. He immediately started talking about getting the SuperSix, which he knew our bike shop had a crazy great deal on and only had a couple left. I kept telling him to find out if his dent was cosmetic or not and then I thought, "We'd talk about it". Well, he totally thought I knew he was doing this and now it's done. He said the LBS said his dent was "questionable". Could cause problems down the road. So, I'm left to feel both mad and jealous, even though it was probably smart for him to replace his frame. Yet when "other" people are having financial hardship, they just don't "get" to have the best of the best, even if it's on sale. Yet, if I was the one with the bent frame, I'd probably be trying to do the same thing.

BLEH!!! Okay, so this is me venting and now I'm done.