Tuesday, January 29, 2019

This might be it.

Things are always changing.

I've held on to this blog for a really long time. I don't think I have it in me to keep it up anymore.

I've found that being able to write one post and share it across different media works better for me.

Blogger doesn't really give a good option for that.

I can't say that I will never blog again, but I've found that I enjoy being able to write up quick summaries (about various topics) works better for me.

I don't have time....er....I don't want to take the time to write blog posts anymore.


Thanks for reading for all those years.



Monday, January 7, 2019

Heading in the right direction






This was not a sunrise run, but it WAS the earliest I've been running in a very long time. 

Today, this week, however you want to look at it, is the beginning of my next phase. I didn't plan it that way. It just happened, which means, I am ready to move on. I don't really like calling it "the next phase". For lack of a better word, that's what it is.

The first phase (Nov and Dec) was all about emotional recovery. I did what I wanted when I wanted. I slept more, skipped days and ate my share of baked goods. I realized that I had no desire to swim, so I didn't. I ran a little bit. I found myself riding more than I ever have, sometimes just easy and sometimes using harder effort Trainerroad workouts. I started strength training a lot. 

Now that the holiday season is over, and I feel like I'm in a good place mentally, I'm committed to adding more veggies back into my diet and running a bit more (3x per week). I'm signed up for the NCC through USA Triathlon, so any running mileage helps the team. 

The holiday is season is a blur of chaos, probably more for us small business owners who are also in retail. 

NONE of this has been planned. None of this is intentional. But, taking time off Nov and Dec was the best thing for me. 

I have never believed in forcing things. I do things on my own time. 

Saturday, January 5, 2019

My positive influences

With this being a gap year for me, I was thinking how cool it would be for me to talk about the people in my life who had positive influences on me. These aren't in order of importance.

I got this idea when I was cleaning out my closet of riding gear. I came across this cap.




It's only appropriate that I start with the Ranch Riders. 

Many years ago, there was a group of riders based in London. But, they were known to 

ride around the world. They would write up ride/race reports that were so entertaining. 

These were back in the good ole days of MySpace and blogs. I have no idea how we came 

to know each other. I can tell you that the Ranch Riders are one of the reasons I put so 

much work into the bike. When I first started riding, I knew NOTHING about riding. I 

knew a bike had 2 wheels and a chain.... but that was the extent of my knowledge. Being

a new cyclist and seeing the way those guys and gal could ride, blew me away. They

always seemed like they were having so much fun. I wanted that too. I watched YouTube 

video after video learning how to care for my bike. I remember when Jman and I spent 

HOURS and probably 5 tubes, learning how to fix a flat. I went to empty parking lots, so I 

could learn how to corner. Over the years, I lost contact with all of them, except 

one. They probably never realized the positive influence they had over this dork, 

newbie rider. I'm still a dork, but at least I can change a flat now. #windbeneathmywings