Posts tagged ‘cycling’
seventy-four
I don’t know the official high temperature today, but my window thermometer read 74′F … and in the course of a week, nature has exploded into springtime. While I should have been doing other things, I was seduced by the weather …
Just things seen by bike (and apologies for double-posting today).
riding through puddles
The weather continues to mystify me. Heavy rains and severe storms have rolled through the area, and to see tornado destruction in AL and AR in January is mind boggling. I cannot bear the thought of a repeat of last spring – and we’re still in the middle of what is supposed to be winter.
Rain or not, I needed to get out today. It was gusty but warm, and I revisited a road I hadn’t ridden in quite a while. Cows, barns, creeks (overflowing) and plenty of mud. But I still have fun riding through puddles…
same old
Getting out, wandering around, same old, same old … it may be cold, but it sure doesn’t feel like winter.
my struggle with brevity
still waiting for winter to arrive
I tend to fall behind, as you know by now … On my bicycle, as well as in posting to this blog in a timely manner. I try and tell myself that I should just try to make a habit of “quick and simple” – make it brief – rather than trying to wait for a time when I feel I really have something to say, something to write. I should possibly (probably?) treat this more like my messy disjointed journal and be more spontaneous, simple, and concise.
So I tell myself. And of course I never listen.
This time of year tends to be slightly less than crazy with the holidays just around the corner. My boys have all come home (smiles), the music has returned, the boys and their friends gather around the table for epic games of Risk late into the night, the shopping and the wrapping are in progress, and the baking will hopefully begin soon. (And to my friend Myrna, I am sorry but I have yet to try the macaron recipes… sorry.)
Rather than try to write anything more, I’ll leave it to the iPhone pics to tell the story of recent ridings and other sights. Brief. I’m trying to be brief.
cars passing
... and cows
knees and knickers
love match
$0.00 per gallon (and $1.00 for the newspaper)
no snow ... only white fluffy stuff of a different kind
the warm before the storm
December ... in shorts
It is December. And we are riding in shorts.
Do you ever have those days when your responsible self says: I really should stay at home and get (fill in the blank) done, or do this or do that… ? And then of course you completely ignore it. OK, well maybe you don’t.
With the holidays looming, I have a fairly lengthy to-do list – which does not exactly include spending a few hours goofing around on bikes. Oh well. But there is a pretty serious storm and rain event in the forecast, so we decided to take advantage of the calm before the storm. (So if you don’t receive a Christmas card, you’ll know why).
I will also take this opportunity to thank my amazing husband for going out of his way to let me selfishly spend my time this entire weekend doing the things that amuse me (biking, photo-ing, sewing, reading, knitting, movie-watching, napping, etc.), as well as for his unending patience in letting me take his photo – repeatedly – while riding. He’s actually trying to get somewhere, while I’m completely distracted by the lines of the road and a fence, and a field full of cows…
“Can you just go back down the hill and ride back up toward me so I can get a shot from up here?” (Sometimes said not just once, but several times…) Be glad you don’t have to ride with me… ;-)
two moo
in the White Oak Valley
longevity road
Fifty-one ... and beyond
Today is brought to you by the number 51. A little battered and rusty, maybe in need of some new paint, but still fully functional. A little bit like me. Today is my birthday – number 51. :-0
I think the weather was a birthday gift; simply perfect. Cool but not cold, blue skies, abundant sunshine and a nice tailwind. I took some time for a long and peaceful ride up along the ridge and to the river. Contemplating aging, longevity, fate, the ride ahead.
deep blue skies and the long road ahead
today's "stuff"
The fifties have been a little unsettling to me. Not so much out of vanity, or even fitness and health … more of a wariness of fate, I guess. This year, I am on the cusp of having out-lived both my mother and my grandmother. I think it’s always been in the back of my mind: questioning my destiny, wondering if I would outlive them? They each died too young; my mother from an unexpected brain aneurysm during her 51st year, and my grandmother died during childbirth, delivering my mom. She was barely into her twenties.
my mom ... who I still miss every day
my grandmother, Irene
And while I think I lead a reasonably healthy and active lifestyle, I find myself wondering if it will really make a difference in the end or not? Not that I intend to stop doing what I do – I love to cycle, swim, ski, walk, run, hike … they are simply a part of who I am, what I like to do, and the experience enriches my daily life. I really rarely give the fitness/health benefit much consideration (probably because I don’t work all that hard at any of it, lol.), but I’m sure it’s better than not doing any of it.
yesterday at the pool
Are we a fitter generation? I like to think so, but sometimes I am not entirely sure. Obesity statistics, diabetes and heart disease statistics are alarming. My mom was reasonably active, very slim and always maintained a very healthy weight. Although she had been a smoker during her younger years (like many of her generation), she had given it up. She liked to hike, cross-country ski and play golf. She was a fabulous cook – and instilled in me an appreciation of healthy food and fine cuisine.
So while I consciously attempt to make lifestyle choices that are forward-thinking in regard to health and wellness, I know that it is no guarantee. Several years ago, we were all shocked when I was diagnosed with a tumor in my right breast; fortunately it was completely benign – but I will confess that it scared the crap out of me. I had no family history, no obvious risk factors. It made me realize that despite the best prevention efforts, there are no guarantees. You can do everything humanly possible – eat well, maintain a healthy weight, wear a helmet, ride defensively, raise your heart-rate on a regular basis – and ultimately, you just never know … it might be a log truck, it might be genetics.
For now, the road ahead looks likes a long one, a good one. I will keep riding, wearing my helmet, and eating the good foods. I will swim, and read, and take pictures and try to keep my brain and heart in the best condition I can manage. I look forward to the “someday” when I can take a grandchild (no rush on this one, boys) for a ride on the back of my Xtracycle, and put him/her on her first skis up in the snowy mountains. I am filled with the love of my family and friends – which is as good for the heart and the soul as riding a bike. My goal, for now, is to be able to pedal a bicycle on my 90th birthday. And enjoy a cupcake. I’m not so sure I’ll still be blogging about it by then – but who knows? ;-)
three days ago, #CyclingCapTuesday ... when I was still fifty (oh well)
among the Amish
visiting Pennsylvania
Spent last week in northwestern Pennsylvania, visiting my husband’s family. We took our bikes, hoping for some nice riding on the rural roads with leaves turning and crisp temperatures. Sadly, the weather did not want to cooperate. Gusting winds, rain and temps in the 40′s (F) held little enticement for cycling …
Pennsylvania countryside near the Amish community of Atlantic
My in-laws live in a small community in rural PA; there are lots of Amish and Mennonite families in the area. It’s an odd feeling to pedal along and approach (or be passed by) a horse and buggy. Better than being passed by cars any day.
Toward the end of the week when the skies began to clear, we took a ride to the Conneaut Lake Park – an old amusement park that originated in the 1890′s that became a local area attraction in the mid-1900′s. In it’s steel boom hey-day, it was a big draw to families employed by the railroad, as well as a convenient vacation getaway for people from Pittsburgh. When my husband was growing up in the area, he and his brother and sister all had summer jobs at the Park. Sadly, it has become one of those places largely lost to the past … although it still opens in the summer, it is barely able to survive any more. It was kind of fascinating to walk around the largely deserted grounds, covered in falling leaves.
marshland ride-by
(can you spy my bike?)
along the boardwalk, Conneaut Lake Park
Even though we didn’t get to ride as much as we had hoped to, it was a good visit. Nice to see family, good to feel the chill of the North, and great to have a slice (or two) of my mother in-law’s always-amazing pies. :D
A few of the other pictures ….
my mother in-law and her famous Shoo Fly pie
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