Private Eyes

As we were heading out the door this afternoon for my daughter's soccer tryouts, she saw the seat was down in my car and asked me if I was going mountain biking.

"Good idea!" I responded, throwing my mountain bike in the car. Her tryouts were just a couple of miles from Quarry Ridge, but I hadn't thought about going until she asked because I've recently taken a few weeks off to see if my knee would get better. It's been bothering me less lately, though, so I decided I could get back out there.

It didn't feel like I lost much over the break -- I was maybe not quite as good at the climbs but I could still do them (it just took another try at times). As I went to tackle the last in the series of three climbs to get up to the top, all was going well until I realized I had spectators and then lost my game.

"Oh you totally had that and then we messed it up for you!" one of the dudes said. "That's ok," I said, "I just kinda tend to lose it when people are watching."

As I finished the remainder of the climb, I thought about why this is. I'm not exactly sure, but it seems like it comes down to both having confidence in my abilities and being ok with people seeing me either when I succeed or when I fail. I'm glad I have mountain biking to explore this further.

And of course, I'm grateful to Hall and Oates for providing the soundtrack for the rest of my ride:

I see you, you see me
Watch you blowin' the lines
When you're making a scene
Oh girl, you've got to know
What my head overlooks
The senses will show to my heart
When it's watching for lies
You can't escape my

Private Eyes
They're watching you
They see your every move
Private Eyes
They're watching you
Private Eyes
They're watching you
Watching you
Watching you
Watching you

You play with words
You play with love
You can twist it around, baby
That ain't enough
'Cos girl
I'm gonna know
If you're letting me in
Or letting me go
Don't lie
When you're hurting inside
'Cos you can't escape my

Private Eyes
They're watching you
They see your every move
Private Eyes
They're watching you
Private Eyes
They're watching you
Watching you
Watching you
Watching you

Why you try to put up a front for me
I'm a spy but on your side, you see
Slip on into any disguise
I'll still know you
Look into my Private Eyes
They're watching you
They see your every move
Oh, babe, Private Eyes
They're watching you
Private Eyes
They're watching you, yeah
They see your every move
They see it
Ooooh, they're watching you
Private Eyes
They're watching you...