My Final Excuse for 2013

Today I offer up my final excuse, err, accounting of the year as to why I’m not riding my bicycle as much as I’d like. I could blame it on the weather, you know, days and days of unending rain followed by cold, cold temperatures. How cold was it, you say?

A MAN OF A CERTAIN AGE…

 

(A teaser of things to come…)

I must admit that I’ve been challenged this year to find the motivation to ride and to write. It seems I have let life’s distractions get in the way despite my early season promises to self to be more attentive to my riding schedule. With the exception of the month of April, I just haven’t been faithful to myself or my mini-stable of bikes.. The lack of riding has led to a lack of writing as well and it has been a struggle at times to come up with something new or something …

GREETINGS FROM THE LOW COUNTRY!

The Navigator, Wood-Man, Sherry Shazam , and I are making what has become our annual Rest, Ride, and Recharge (RR&R) trip to Hilton Head Island in the Low Country of South Carolina. A League of American Bicyclists 2011 Silver award winner, HHI provides lots of opportunities to get out and about on two wheels.

(Approaching Spencer Beach, a private community on HHI)

The Wood-Man and I had a nice 16 mile cruise yesterday to shake out the legs and make room for some grilled steaks purchased at the Fresh Market here on the island. I suppose I should have made that Rest, Ride, Recharge, and Eat (RRR&E).

So Far, So Good!

My 30 Days of Biking in April continues to progress with my commitment to riding something some distance every day still intact. We’ve been blessed with some great spring weather this week and that has made it easy to get out and about on 2 wheels!

(A Beaverdam silo against the green grass of spring backdrop)

One of my new routes takes me by some pretty agricultural land including…

COULD IT BE? IT IS REAL?

I’m currently enjoying the view off the deck of my “new to me” home and wondering if spring really did arrive in the mountains of Western North Carolina on April 6th. We had yet another mild winter thanks to global warming (Yes, Virginia, it really does exist!) but then March definitely roared in like…

(Approach to the last short ascent to my new home)

 

SHE’S A THING OF BEAUTY

She’s sleek. If you look at her in just the right light, you can see the shimmer from her skin in the dying light of the day. Her hair is lustrous and smooth as my hand gently runs through the individual strands. I instantly accept that to maintain this level of beauty it will be necessary…

I’VE LOST IT… HAVE YOU SEEN IT?

As I headed home last night from our weekly “new and newly returning” riders group ride, it dawned on me that I’ve lost it. I’m not exactly sure when or where I lost it but, I’m pretty sure it is gone. Small things began to come together that helped me realize it was lost. I mean I’ve had this nagging “just below the surface” irritating pull on my conscious thought for sometime. I just couldn’t name it. I may have named it last night…

THERE’S A PRESENCE IN MY HOME!

June 3, 1944.. From the daily diary kept by S.Sgt. G.C. Watts, while stationed in Italy during WWII… “2 planes go out of squadron. Repaired but 2 come back in. one crash landed – other blew tire. Plenty of work.”

 

I’ve been away. It has been 12 days since my last post. The Navigator and I have purchased her family home following the passing of her father this past New Year’s Day. Getting one home ready for market and one home ready to move in to has left me with limited time to write. Yet, much has been happening on the cycling front. Unfortunately, I’m acutely aware of more recently having been “talking the talk but not walking the walk” when it comes to riding…

A RIDE DOWN MEMORY LANE

March 20, 1944 From the daily diary kept by S.Sgt. G.C. Watts, while stationed in Italy during WWII… “P-38 downed by flack in the battery up on he Adriatic Sea-side on a Spit-Fire field. Mobile unit goes after it. M/Sgt. Seaver and I are going up North tomorrow (Mobile unit No 2 in Southern Italy).”

 

(Fargo at the East Little Fork Trailhead)

Yesterday, while out enjoying mild summer in springtime here in Western North Carolina, I was treated to an unexpected trip down memory lane. We’ve seemingly skipped winter this year as we’ve enjoyed mostly mild temperatures and no more than a dusting of snowfall at my home in southern Haywood County. We’re already experiencing daytime temperatures in the mid to upper 70’s under blue skies with fluffy white clouds. Yesterday was yet another day in a stretch of several very, very nice days. As my riding time has been suffering thus far this year, it was the perfect day to…

EMERGING FROM THE FUNK…

February 29, 1944 From the daily diary kept by S.Sgt. G.C. Watts, while stationed in Italy during WWII… “Yes, there was an entry for Feb 29th, 1944, which must have also been a leap year! Work with 94 squadron (Harkin-Ring) until noon. A mission so I come back to our squadron area. White wash all walls of barn and everyone is painting their rooms up “American” .”

 

It seems like forever since I’ve posted and, in fact, this may well be the longest time I’ve gone without a post since starting this blog some 3 years ago. I’ve found myself in a funk recently – a funk that I can relate to “too many irons in the fire”, a dying pet, housing decisions to make, wet weather, etc., etc., etc. All of which are just excuses for not getting out and riding and finding…

THE “GREATEST GENERATION” DIMINISHED BY ONE…

January 5, 1944 From the daily diary kept by S.Sgt. G.C. Watts while stationed in Naples, Italy during WWII… “Nothing doing today. Rain and snow. Go to town – shave and lunch. For Spagetti and French Fryes it cost 150.00 Lira – In the states it would have cost only 35 cents.”

 

We lost another member of the “Greatest Generation” on New Year’s Day. The Navigator’s father, age 93, “passed on” after a full and rich life. G.C. was a WWII Veteran serving our country in the Army Air Corp. He saw action in Africa and Italy. One of the discovered treasures in his home was a day-by-day journal that he kept of his activities. I find it illuminating to stop today and consider what he was doing on this date time during the war…

(G.C. Watts, Gen. Colin Powell, The Navigator (on left with camera) during the HonorAir Flight to the WWII Monument in Washington, DC)

Cycling Updates:

While the weather here in Western North Carolina has been less than hospitable for most of us, our fellow BicycleHaywoodNC members “Cross Country”Stan and his better half, Shirley, have managed to avoid our winter weather…

ENDINGS AND BEGINNINGS

As 2011 comes to a close, it is tempting to look back and compile a list of accomplishments and a list of failures. This year, I choose not to do so and will simply say, “Hey some really good stuff happened and, yeah, I didn’t pull everything off I intended.” Unlike Janus, the Roman god of beginnings and endings, I’m choosing to focus on the space between yesterday and tomorrow.

(Janus – Roman god of beginnings and ending, openings and closings)

Beginnings and endings have been on my mind quite a bit recently. I’m finding the bleed over from…

PROVEN AGAIN! I’M NO LEVI LEIPHEIMER!

On the day in which Levi Leipheimer was in the process of proving that he was the best rider in the USA Cycling Pro Challenge, I was once again, if to no one other than myself, proving that I am no Levi Leipheimer. For that matter…

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…

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…

BIKE WEEK PLANNING AND NEW COLUMN IN PRINT

The preparation for Bike Week is continuing on my end. Running down the loose ends and “nuts and bolts” stuff for the Ride to Work Day ride has been fairly time consuming. I’m pleased that we have secured sponsorship for the ride…

DONE IN BY “THE DUDE” AND OTHER SHORT STORIES FROM THE LOW COUNTRY…

The Navigator and I continue our week long sojourn to the Low Country of South Carolina with our close friends. The weather early in the week was less than hoped for being mostly cool and blustery. Sunshine was intermittent. However, we’ve been blessed with two extremely nice days in a row now.

(Looking west across the marshlands of Folly Beach)

Tuesday’s intermittent sun gave way to a solo ride around the island enjoying the “back side” of Folly. Away from the beach side, some beautiful homes have outstanding views of the teeming life of the marshland…

HAYWOOD FITNESS CHALLENGE A SUCCESS!

The 2011 version of the Haywood County Fitness Challenge got off to a wonderful start yesterday (March 22nd) with the 5:30 p.m. orientation held at the Waynesville Recreation Center Fitness Center. The orientation session introduced citizens to the many groups and agencies participating in this year’s 8 week event.

BicycleHaywoodNC, our local advocacy group, was there with bells and whistles on as we participated for the first time in this annual event…

(Jennifer Jacobson, BicycleHaywoodNC member, talks cycling with consumer!)

MAKE CAPITALISM WORK FOR YOU!

Well, here’s a cheery little subject that has been running around in my brain for a few days. It seems to be something that is festering in my overly stimulated, cell phone radio wave attacked neurotransmission system of biological messaging. To make matters worse, I’ve just finished reading Bobke II, the second epistle penned by Bob Roll. So, capitalism mashed up with Bob Roll philosophies, what can possibly come of that…

SMACK DAB INTO A TRAINING RIDE!

We have been blessed, spoiled, ruined by a surge of warm spring –like weather here in the mountain of Western North Carolina. This period has been going on almost a week now. Sunny skies and mid 50’s to lower 60’s weather for daytime temperatures. Most of my cycling buds have been taking full advantage of it by getting out and about on the local roads. My plans yesterday (Wednesday, February 16th) were to carpool to work with the Navigator and then get a good ride home post work. While at lunch, I ran into Wolfpen Andy, who was itching to ride and indicated he would join me…