Category: Adventure

NOT A HOBBY

I posted one of those “I’m too tired from work to do my hobbies so when I get back to work I’m mad I didn’t do my hobbies” memes on Instagram, and meant it mostly for the music / creative side of things.

Which made me realize that biking and running have stopped being a “hobby,” and turned into who I am. I’ve been biking for 30+ years. This July I’ll have been running for six years.

I have so many running clothes, and bike tools, and fuck, I have three bikes again. A Zwift subscription. A gym membership. An Apple Watch. A Garmin for longer runs.

So those hobbies haven’t fallen off. And since January they’ve actually ramped up, as evidenced by my falling resting heart rate (hooray).

But getting in a five hour run takes more than the hour or so it takes me to run it. There’s stretching, cool down, fueling afterwards, getting to bed early to aid with recovery.

So with that, yeah, there’s not much time after a full day of work and an hour long run or bike ride for other stuff.

And right now that’s plenty okay.

FEELING STUCK

Via @NXHLVS

I don’t know how I had the energy to make daily loops in early 2021, or weekly Goodnight, Metal Friend mixes, or live audio streams a few nights a week.

It takes all the energy I can muster to get out for a run or a bike ride most evenings. Creating or making things is absolultey the hardest thing right now. Fuck, even trying to keep writing blog posts is hard, like this one.

But right now those runs and bike rides are enough. I’m not “creating content” like I used to, for other people to enjoy. I’m getting my butt outside, and off the computer, and just staying in the present moment enough to get the blood flowing.

Everything is hard right now, so I’m just trying my best to keep a bit of softness in my life, and not try to beat myself up for not being the most creative, or productive person right now.

BUY THAT BIKE

I said this last month:

But honestly – I turn 46 next month. Luck runs out someday, right? So in the meantime, fuck it. I’m going to spend the money on shit that makes me smile, shit I use, and shit I want, because someday the oceans will boil and shit. Today is it.

And well, I said fuck it again, and bought a mountain bike.

To be 46 and own three bikes again, well, whatever. Life is short. I’ve seen too much death in recent years. COVID has shown us all how fragile everything is. Modern society in here in America has shown us how “on our own” we truly are, so fuck it… if I want to ride on the road, or some easy rails-to-trails, I got my gravel bike.

And now, if I discover miles of single track, I have a bike that can handle it. Fuck it.

I don’t want to be on my death bed and think, “shit, I shoulda just got that bike,” or “I shoulda just went to that trail but never did.”

MORE TIME OUTSIDE

I started posting on Flickr again (here).

I bought a 1Up bike rack, making it 1000x easier to get out and get moving during the week.

Been heading for the woods on the weekends for runs and bike rides.

Highly recommended.

MORE GOOD STUFF

It’s been a week of movement. Of steady forward motion. Not sure if it’s the weather, or the kick in the pants from a recent doctors visit, but I am not standing still.

More running, more walking, more biking.

I got a hitch mount installed on my Chevy Sonic. First time ever buying an “after-market” item like that. Ordered a 1UP Bike Rack, which should be showing up soon. All an investment in my overall happiness and joy in life. If it makes it easier to get out with the bike and smile, hell yeah, I’m gonna do it.

More solid running. I’m not trying to make it all about weight, but for me being lighter makes running more joyous. I know I’m supposed to love my body, and throw out the scale and all that, but I also have a family history with this stuff, and a blood pressure that’s creeping up. So fuck it. And honestly, being more sensible and not eating a row of Oreo cookies before noon as a way to cope with day job stuff is way more unhealthy for me than stepping on a scale every day.

I keep being flippant with the ‘ole “I could get hit by a bus tomorrow.” I mean, a local college student got hit by a distracted drive this past week, and days later is still in critical condition (here’s a GoFundMe link if you’d like to help out).

But honestly – I turn 46 next month. Luck runs out someday, right? So in the meantime, fuck it. I’m going to spend the money on shit that makes me smile, shit I use, and shit I want, because someday the oceans will boil and shit. Today is it.

A bit dark, sure. But hey, it’s Saturday morning and I’m up earlier than I am during the week. The upstairs neighbor is vacuuming and I’m planning on getting into the woods today. Make it great.

I SPIED ANOTHER PLACE TO RUN FROM THE ROAD

Spotted a section of paved path while driving with a friend today. On our way back I made sure to watch via Google Maps, and find out if it was a park, and sure enough it is.

Graphic design aside, the above map is from their website (hooray for websites in 2022), and it shows that the outer loop is just over a mile. And from the looks of things I could switch up some of the turns here, make loops within loops, and get some nice mileage in without going nuts, or being too far from my car.

GOT INTO THE WOODS

The start of the run was a slog, it was cold, windy, and raining just a bit, too. But then I found a trail I never checked out before, and the next mile was between giant trees on fluffy pine needles, and then a bit of raised walkway over a bog.

Many runs lately have felt hard, so I walk a bit, get the heart rate down, and get back to it. A slow run just means more time outdoors.

Afterwards I stopped at Target, and I thought my car looked tiny compared to the truck parked in the nearby space. I don’t want to know how much it cost to fill up the gas tank on that thing.

THE HOLY ERRAND

My friend is out west, and posted some amazing pics from the desert. The Grand Canyon. She desribed this adventyre as a holy errand, and that’s the first time I ever heard those two words together.

Holy errand.

I was out on my run tonight, on an old route. It’s always easy to to gauge the “success” of the run by the pace, the speed, the heart rate. Can I run to that tree without stopping? To the top of the hill?

Tonight was a holy errand. I heard crickets for the first time this year. Saw this amazing sky.

Pace? Distance? Eh. I was able to get to the top of some hills. Maybe not as fast as I would like, but I made it. And tomorrow I’ll do it again.

It’s a holy errand.

A LONG DRIVE

Sometimes something comes unblocked, and you just have to be intentionally grateful. This has happened to me over the years from being broke as fuck, to finally today earning a decent living.

Like, “not having a bank account,” broke. Grateful for a friend to PayPal me $20 so I can get food sort of broke. Tough times!

But then I financed a car in 2018 all on my own, without a co-signer. A 2015 Chevy Sonic. It’s paid off now, too. The first song I played in the car was ‘Outro’ by Vulfpek (above).

The weather is amazing now, and I went for a long drive to nowhere in particualr. Just needed to get out, working from home and all. Windows down, sun setting, listening to Kowloon Walled City.

Looking forward to some more adventures this year.

SPRING IS 28 DAYS AWAY

That means there are only 28 days remaining of winter, which honestly have been pretty rough. I’ve fought many bouts of the grumps which I’ve only handled by eating lots of cookies and taking advantage of all the food places within walking distance – pizza, Mexican food, cheese steaks, thai rice bowls, and DONUTS.

I finally put together back to back weeks of 14 miles running. I mean, I was in the single digits. Barely 10. But I kept running here and there. And now on Sunday I ran my first five miler in… forever. Took a solid hour, but whatever.

I’m never one to put too much stock in numbers and all that, but fuck it… we’re heading into our second spring during a fucking pandemic, so why not? As of Sunday, spring is 28 days away. About a month of the last few gasps of winter, of cold and darkness and wind. Onward to making some good things happen over the next 28 days.