IN SEARCH OF BALANCE

Let me be upfront. I’m not sure where this is going today. Like an unmapped ribbon of road laid out in front of me or, perhaps, like a fine single track previously undiscovered or travelled lightly, I’m pretty much just forging ahead  looking for direction or clarity or maybe just release. I’ve had this “bug in my head” for some time now and sometimes I think I have it nailed down and then, just as I start to put finger to keyboard, it flies away like a beautiful Maple leaf with its fall colors as a breeze just keeps easing it out of my reach.

I know it has to do with balance. Some of my professional training recently would lean me toward Mindfulness. There is also an element of personal accountability mixed into this stew of thoughts making electrical connections in my brain. An image that continues to come to the forefront in times of quiet respite is a see-saw.

(The cycle as a see-saw)

I know this particular period of contemplation coincided with or just prior to…

SUMMER IS HEATING UP!

The latest summer heat wave has made its presence known here in the mountains of Western North Carolina. I was bemoaning the heat and humidity at lunch at Smoky Mountain Café on Main St. today and a tourist nearby remarked that he was from Atlanta, GA and this was a breath of fresh air for him. Last week’s cooler temps were certainly more attractive to this old mountain man!

(Members of BicycleHaywoodNC avoiding late day heat!)

Yesterday’s monthly meeting of BicycleHaywoodNC did provide the opportunity to escape the late day heat…

SMART PHONES MAKE ME NERVOUS

Given the headline I’ve chosen, you may have jumped to a conclusion that this post is going to be a rant about drivers and cell phone use. I can understand why you would think that and, a minor element of today’s post just might go somewhere along those lines of thought. But, I think I’m mostly going in a different direction…

DOES ABSENCE REALLY MAKE THE HEART GROW FONDER?

I’ve been absent. I haven’t written in a week due to various and sundry circumstances. I haven’t, in the words of Phil Liggett, “turned a pedal in anger” in about the same time – maybe slightly longer. But, I haven’t been away from cycling…

(Waiting for the crowd of curious patrons at the Red, White, and Boom festival)

I’M A “GREASER” AND OTHER ASSORTED STUFF…

Recently, I became aware of a sale through Twin Six whereby they were donating a certain amount of money of their gross daily sales to the LiveStong Foundation. I thought this was a fine way to be partially responsible for donating to the fight against cancer so…

(When I ride, I declare my “greaser” status!)

STORY OF REHAB TO GET YOU THROUGH THE WEEKEND!

Time and space, or bits and bytes, have recently intersected in my Inbox about two stories of injury and rehabilitation. One story combines a downhill descent of an experienced rider crashing out due to what is still some 10 months later explained at best by a hypothesis of what might have happened. The second story is about a bicycle crash that occurred in a mundane setting doing something that had been done thousands of times before. This time, however, it resulted in serious injury and long recovery…

CAMPING AND CYCLING IN THE HGH COUNTRY

During our recent “Hide but Do Not Seek” sojourn to the mountains, the Navigator and I enjoyed the relative peace and quiet of being camped at a little over 5,000’ elevation in our favorite National Park Service campground. We were blessed with beautiful mornings, followed by lazy afternoons, which were punctuated by late afternoon storms full of rain, thunder, and lightening. The storms provided great reading a napping time. The storms also passed nicely away allowing for us to enjoy cooking and eating outside around our campfire.

Cycling is never far from my consciousness and, even thought I didn’t cart any bikes with us this trip, I had some opportunity to chat with cyclists we met during our all too brief stay on the mountain…

HIDE AND DO NOT SEEK!

It has been quiet here at Zeke’s Great Smokies Two Wheeled Adventures. No posting, no comments, no replies since last week. There’s a reason for that. The Navigator and I went into hiding Thursday evening last and didn’t emerge until Sunday afternoon. We went into the woods where there was no data connection and no cell phones. There were no landlines and no other means of incoming communications. I imagine we could’ve read some smoke signals if times really required it. In a word, it was pretty much heaven..

(5280’ feet in elevation brought colors in abundance!)

Still the world didn’t stop and when I plugged in and logged on last night I had word from…

REPORTS FROM THE FIELD

Our friend and riding companion John Bryan is currently participating in the 2011 version of Bicycle Ride Across Georgia (BRAG). John does most of his training in his home state of Florida, which has helped him more than acclimate to the warm temperatures of Georgia. In fact, he may be getting to cool down somewhat as he ventures across Georgia. John has been kind enough to send along some images of the ride thus far.

THOSE STORIES THAT HAPPEN TO OTHERS

You’ve read them, you’ve seen them, you’ve maybe even experienced them. The stories that deal with the dominoes affect when problems occur. Sometimes folks will say bad things happen in 3’s. Well, Sunday was my day in the fun barrel…