I started this blog in the fall of 2012. Within a week or two of posting the first piece, I noticed a woman riding up the block where I lived in Batavia at the time. She wore a visor, no helmet, a sweatshirt and some 3/4 length pants. Her bike was a simple mint green affair. She wore no clips on her shoes and pedaled at a steady, even rate.
Over a couple week period I noticed her passing the house several times, then realized she lived a block away.
One day I stepped out on the street and waved. She stopped. We talked. I learned that she rides up to 25 miles a day on that bike.
As the weather changed that fall and got colder, I kept waiting to see how she’d change with the season. But seriously, she kept her routine almost religiously. Down my street she’d go, pedaling with that same efficient method. Not fast. Not slow. She’d just go.
It got colder. She kept riding. Then it got really cold, and I was shocked to see her now pedaling that bike in conditions that would put me into full protective gear. Gloves, shoe covers, the like. She may have had some boots on. She wore an earcover. But she kept on pedaling.
Then the snows came and the streets were covered with slush. But when they melted in a few weeks, there she went again. Tempatures were in the low thirties. The wind was harsh. Yet she pedaled on by in a warmer coat and pants that covered her whole legs.
She told me later that spring that it was a tough winter for riding. You think? “I cut it down to ten miles some days,” she admitted.
Yesterday at twilight when I was walking out of Kiss the Sky Records in downtown Batavia, there she came up the street. No lights on her bike. No helmet either. She’s both unconventional and conservative at the same time. I didn’t bother her as she rode past. Instead snapped these two quiet photos and smiled at her as she rode past. She smiled back.
Sometimes that’s all the inspiration you need.
As fans of the Austin Powers series well know, the character Dr. Evil was very fond of his Mini-Me dressed in a little gray matching outfit. Perhaps it had something to do with his controverted ego and his creepily suppressed sexual desires, whatever those were. It was hard to tell given his association with characters such as Goldmember, whose apparently shiny tool and propensity for eating flakes of his own skin were so distracting it made Dr. Evil seem normal.
Which could be the game plan for a certain golden-haired politician, if you think about it. We haven’t yet seen him eating his own skin, but perhaps that is what got in the way of his fingers while typing ‘coverage’ so that it came out ‘cofveve.’ You have to admit there’s a striking similarity between The Donald and Goldmember. Think about it.
But it’s a fact that every character in the Austin Powers series seems to be grappling with some sort of deep inner conflict, usually sexual. Even Austin Powers lost his Mojo and couldn’t shag anymore. And those Fembots with the machine gun nipples? The NRA would love them. So would Fox News.
And if all that fails, you can simply follow the model of Dr. Evil himself, who sums up his life history and philosophy in this highly compelling quote:
The last morning in May 2017 delivered a sunny day with a fresh northerly breeze. A four-mile run sounded good to me. Just enough time to think things through about the summer.
For those of us with a 30-year gap in our swimming resume, the process of building up to a strong, reliable swim stroke is a step-by-step exercise in humility. From those first manic learning laps in the 25-meter pool to the daunting task, the venture into open water swimming would be epic if it weren’t so common and mundane to the entire sport of triathlon.
Genetically, all living things are evolved to respond in either fight or flight mode. But when we try to run away from something we bring upon ourselves, such as choosing to swim in open water, real internal conflicts can arise.
The blades sent by Harry’s typically cost about half as much ($7.99) as a similar three or four pack of blades from companies such as Schick or Gillette. Those blades are so expensive stores such as Walgreen’s and CVS package them in security so heavy you’d think they’re selling plutonium slices.
If you pay retail prices long enough your mind sort of goes numb. That’s why I have what amounts to a razor graveyard in my bathroom. It happened like this. Years ago I bought a razor handle for a three-blade razor. I think that was from Gillette. So I went back to the store for a three-pack blade set and those were discontinued or all out of stock. So I mistakenly bought a four-blade pack, and the little neck thingy did not work with the three blade-razor.
I don’t know the perverse logic behind this scheme. It has made me a cynical razor user by every measure. This is compounded by the fact that when I use razors to shave any part of my head other than the top of my scalp, I tend to hack away skin and come out looking like a torture victim from that movie about a Dragon Tattoo.
Of all the mysterious forces in the universe, the light side, the dark side, the power of hope and the drag of fear, there is no greater force than love.
It’s nice to wake up every morning feeling like we have a reason to live. Perhaps you are lucky enough some mornings to roll over, find a partner under the sheets and have at it. There are few things better than seriously good sex. It resolves some of our drives.
It has also been demonstrated that female cardinals willingly entertain additional male cardinal guests, who copulate with her in secret. This is a level of insurance against infertility in the male she’s chosen as her actual mate. The breeding process is a numbers game, plain and simple.
Getting laid would not seem to be the reason that drives most endurance athletes. Given the fact that endurance sports have massively diversified the last 10 years, that is less the case than ever. In fact, it is likely that many women athletes engage in sports for the feeling of control that it gives them over their own bodies. While they may appreciate how it makes them look in the long run, the immediate, daily benefits are much more practical. With all the impositions of being a woman in this world from makeup to hair and nails and accessories, engaging in something as simple and direct as endurance sports is a genuine source of freedom. In other words, they don’t go out there to be chased around by a bunch of male ducks.
I’ve experienced more than a few kinds of drive in life. Been conflicted by the demands of caregiving while failing to take care of myself. Been torn by the desire to parent well yet not try to control their lives. Been aching for time out in nature while sitting in the office trying to make a living. And been wondering what my role as an athlete is these days and whether it is a battle with fitness or with age in which I’m engaged.
By their nature, endurance sports are not easy. That’s because the algorithm is limitless. The fitter you get, the harder you go. So it never really feels like any of this gets easier.
There are few more pleasurable things than a 5:00 bike ride in mid to late May. Last night the Venge called and I answered. Ten miles into the ride I was warmed up and ready to climb the ‘mountain’ we call Campton. Basically it’s nothing more than a glacial moraine. That’s a fancy way of describing a pile of gravel dumped by the Ice Age 10,000 years ago and since covered over with dirt, trees and houses.
