Month: December 2018

As I pedal and chew on the thoughts that consume me, there’s one thought that gnaws at me most. It underlies all others and is the one thought I’m certain nobody can answer.

Whether I’m on my bike, in my studio, walking in the woods with my mammal, drinking coffee or taking a shower, at least a half-dozen times each day I ask myself…

Do I we get another life beyond this one…? When I ride, that thought is always present.

And though I have my suspicion, it’s the not knowing that makes me question most of my behaviors and intentions.

Straight up, I do believe there’s a life beyond this one. What that entails, I have no idea, nor does anyone else. I also believe that the quality of that next life is directly proportionate to my intentions and my actions in this life. I believe that to my core.

So I try hard to live a good life — to give more than I take, to love more than I am loved, and to work and create on behalf of others before I do so for myself. I attempt to live this every day of my life.

Every so often though, it crosses my mind that this life might be the only one — one and done. That shortly after I draw my final breath, the maggots begin the infestation my skin and brain and all of my efforts on behalf of others will have been time wasted.

Of course, I don’t really feel that way, but I do get a little curious sometimes. Actually, I am very curious most of the time. I would really love to know what happens next — where I go from here and whether or not it will be an upgrade. The knowledge of what comes next, if I had it, might truly influence just how close I stick to the inside of the bike lanes each day.

Don’t let that last statement bother you. I have every intention of riding this out and enjoying every day possible. My life, for the most part, has been a pretty bitchin’ deal. But I’m a curious tike — a tike on a bike.

However, when one rides a bike in traffic every day, or for anyone who lives a closer to the risk zone each day, we probably think about this a little bit more than most. In that sense, my belief that there is a life beyond this life, and that the quality of that life is directly proportionate to my intentions and behaviors in this life, my daily riding pushes me to be a better person every day — in every possible way, because I do spend time close to the edge each day… Jhciacb

This week by the Numbers…

Bikes ridden: 3
Miles: 171
Climbing: 10,002’
Calories: 11,600
Mph avg: 15.5
Time In Saddle: 10 hours 55 minutes

Whether you ride a bike or not, thank you for taking the time to ride along with me this week. If you haven’t already, please scroll up and subscribe. Oh, and there is this from Spooky Tooth. Enjoy…!

 

 

 

 

My Three Songs. More on that later…

Excellent ride today. Taking this particular week off and living in this region was good timing on my part. Perfect weather. Low 60s. No wind. Sunny. Gorgeous sights along the way and full of energy from all the holiday extras, including an entire jar of cashews that I ate before bed last night.

Spent much of today’s ride thinking about music.

One of the better aspects of social media is that it’s a great platform for sharing:

– Information
– Ideas
– Art

Music is all of the above.

One thing that I committed to years ago in my social media life, and that I still practice most days, is to select 3 songs that other people have posted and to give them a listen all the way through.

Only a few loose rules here:

First, one has the carve out roughly 15 minutes from otherwise busy days, assuming that each song is in the 5-minute range. Of course these do not have to be listened to in one sitting, and with me they rarely are.

When I have 5-minutes here or 5-minutes there though, in the scope of a day, I’ll pick a song and give it a whirl — often while I am cooking, cleaning, or getting ready for bed.

Once I select a song and push play, I listen to it all the way through the end, even if it makes me cringe.

I try not to be exclusive to musical genres. That is, and as hard as this might be, I regularly select songs outside my comfort zone. Examples of these might be Swedish death metal, traditional classical music, or modern rap music. None of which I have an affinity for, and there have been few instances where I’ve selected songs from these or other foreign genres, and become a convert. Still, as a believer in diversity, I think this is a good way to be.

When it comes to selecting the genres I do like, this little game has introduced me to a lot of new music I would not have a found by other means, and it’s been a great alternative to radio which, by all accounts, will be dead in just a couple more years.

In my social media life, as well as in my analog life, I surround myself with musical friends.

Anyway, playing Pick Three is a great use of social media. There is little to lose other than 15-minutes or so, and over time, the potential return on the investment will be much greater than 15-minutes otherwise wasted on a political argument which is certain to bring all participants down… Jhciacb

Today’s Ride…

Bike: Bella
26 miles
1,250’ climbing
16.1 mph avg
1,700 calories

Whether you ride a bike or not, thank you for taking the time to ride along with me this week.  If you haven’t already, please scroll up and subscribe. Oh, and there is this from the Fun Lovin’ Criminals. Enjoy…!

For as much as any reason, I pedal first to escape the chaos in the headlines. Still, the top news stories of the day usually occupy the first 5-10 minutes of every ride. It takes a few miles to outride them. Breaking news pedals fast.

Eventually I’ll slip into a rhythm, leave the news cycle behind me, and welcome thoughts of more pleasant things as they coat the walls of my mind with more peaceful images, if only for a couple of hours.

I remember playing my first game of Pong in the mid-70s. Once the fascination wore off, the game got boring quickly, even at the most advanced level. I was more likely to walk away from Pong due to boredom than to end a game in a crash due to the increasing pace of the game.

But video games advanced…

Soon there was Pac-Man, Frogger, Super Mario, Centipede, and all the classic games of the 1980s.  The speed and the complexity of the games increased as the levels advanced, and for most players, they would crash before they would get bored and walk away. Pong, by comparison, became obsolete.  It was just too slow to be entertaining or stimulating

And that’s where we are with the current news cycle…

Though I may yearn for the slower news days and the broadcast journalism speed of the 1960s and for the monotone delivery of Harry Reasoner or Howard K Smith, I would be as bored with them and as unstimulated as I would be playing Pong after an all-night Call Of Duty bender.

The term slow news day will never be appropriate again. We will never have another slow news day.  That’s what increasing social complexity brings us.

But the idea of them — the idea of a slow news day is a romance thing, like the idea of once again playing Pong. I may yearn for it, but I would be bored, unstimulated, and unentertained. And for most people most of the time, the news isn’t really about being informed anyway. It’s about being entertained and stimulated, just like a video game.

The ride completed, I carry my bike across the threshold, reach for a workout towel and soak up the sweat from my forehead while I  simultaneously close out my riding app.  Next…? I click my Reuters app and checkout the news — to see what I missed while I was escaping the headlines. Doh… Jhciacb.

This week in numbers…

Bikes ridden: 2

Miles: 147

Climbing: 9,200’

Average Speed: 16.1mph

Time in the saddle: 9 hours 09 minutes

Calories: 9,970

Whether you ride a bike or not, thank you for taking the time to ride along with me this week.  If you haven’t already, please scroll up and subscribe. Oh, and there is this from the Marcus King Band . Enjoy…!

 

Post Office…

Fun ride today. One of those days when the conditions were just perfect. No wind. Temperature in the mid 60s. And it took place mid-morning, so my energy was high.

Of the many things I think about when I ride, hands down, social media posts are chief among them. My posts — past, present, and future. Other people’s posts — past, present, and future. I won’t say it’s to the point of obsession, but I do think about it often.

That’s the dirty part of social media for me, and something I struggle with quite a bit — that I spend so much time thinking about social media when I’m not actually on social media.

My blogs. My Facebook. My Instagram. My YouTube.

What to say…
What not to say…
How is this going to be interpreted it…
Who will I offend…
Who might I reel in…
Will the picture look just right…
I should have deleted that…

In truth, I just try and be me on all my social media outlets, truly. But I constantly worry about how the world views me.

Also, time and thoughts spent in Worryland, take away from time and thoughts better invested in the more important aspects of my life such as work, family, and friendships.

Still, there I find myself — deep in the rhythm of the ride, staring at the pretty trees and flowers, smelling the air, avoiding the close cutting cars, and wondering incessantly what to post next or if what I posted most recently was good enough.

At my deepest level, I’m a creature of expression, but am also a creature of doubt. When I ride, I am both — simultaneously.

Oh, and did I mention how much I worry about having too many notifications to handle once I get off my bike and check my phone…? Yeah that, and worrying that there’s none at all. It’s a struggle… Jhciacb

Today’s Ride..

Bike: Vasudeva
24 miles
1,100’ climbing
16.8 mph avg
1:26 in the saddle

Whether you ride a bike or not, thank you for taking time to ride along with me on this blog. If you haven’t already, please scroll up and subscribe. Oh, and there is this from the late Mark Sandman and Treat Her Right. Enjoy…!