Here's an attempt to capture some images and thoughts from the past couple of weeks. Gotta do this fast--I feel my immune system has been a bit compromised and with an upcoming trip and a go-go-go schedule, there's no way I can fall victim to this.
Will work backwards here. Last night was a big bike block party in Davis Square. I was skeptical when I first arrived, but then, by the end of the evening, it was clear that it was a good party as it was totally packed and it wasn't just the young hipster population--there were people of all ages and backgrounds. I found some friends to hang out with and it was a work event, too, so there was always the comfort zone of the table and tent.
This past weekend were good rides, Sunday was a particularly great one. It ranks in the top 5 of fun rides of my life...yes, that's pretty high considering there have been lots of terrific rides. It was a good composite group of people that pushed a decent pace the whole distance - to Mt. Wachusett and back to Concord: 102 miles, average speed of 17 mph.
Breakfast was carb-rich and excellent to keep me satisfied for the better part of the ride.
Into the ride, we were rolling along...
And we finally made it to the 2,000 ft climb to Mt. Wachusett--a bit steeper than Colorado mountains...ouch! I will never, ever be a climber. (Not complaining, there are rollers all over here and I like those.)
Everyone was all smiles just after we hit the 100 mark. Really, we should have kept on going! No, no...the point of this was to train for a 148 miler coming up soon. Wouldn't want to be too toast after a training ride. 2 weeks and counting down...
I still want to post about the Burlington trip over Memorial Day weekend, it was really cool to go there and spend most of it being rained on. Meeting up with friends for a marathon that they were participating in was relaxing and good.
Also had a BBQ at my place, it was super fun to entertain and hang out with friends in street clothes. Entertaining is something that has been a bit of a challenge for me for....hmmm....now that I think about it, my entire life. I've never actually been in a situation where I could entertain very well. (Now I do remember packing in bodies in my wee-little loft for a couple of gatherings, but to be able to sit outside and fire up a grill...doesn't get better than that.) Pics and stories will have to wait for another day.
To complete the post, a couple of interesting things to mention before I forget. The first is that I met a really nice woman who's been reading my blog ever since I did the Gelato Diet flick. She read the stories of my life, packing up and moving to Italy & everything that ensued there. It was wild to meet her yesterday & she knew me from those stories. I wonder what kind of image she had in mind, as she's learned who I am from what I've written. Cool, eh? Thanks to her and you all for reading. And I know these posts are long, I know I need to cut down on the length significantly. And I'd like to shift the focus. There are some cool things to be writing about and my day-to-day stuff can take a back seat. Really, though, I will say this: it is really eye-opening to go back and read old entries. I suggest everyone keep a journal or blog of some kind. I really surprised myself at some of the things I said YEARS ago that, if it weren't dated, could have been said last week.
I might have changed my situation by moving, doing the Italy thing, etc, etc, but I didn't change who I am. Nor was I trying to do that. Yes, I wanted to learn and discover more outside of my world, but I wasn't looking to turn into someone else.
Here's an excerpt that I found from the last post of 2008.
What's up for 2009? Once again, I can't foresee the future and that's okay. I'm comfortable not knowing what surprises are in store. If this year is anything like the last four, it will be anything but boring...I hope to race a lot more, help the company I work for thrive, have many adventures in Colorado and abroad with my friends, (finally) travel to Europe, squander time less and make every moment matter more, stay positive and optimistic and have fun every day.
I guess I could say almost the same today as I did back then. Of course, I'd change a few items: get rid of the racing part and the Europe part can go away, too. Looks like I'll likely be guiding in Italy this fall, but if that were to fall through for some reason, I would be happy to stay right where I am. There are too many days I've had here when I wish time would stand still because I don't need anything more than what I already have. Sure, there are still unfulfilled goals that I yearn to reach...those will be completed in proper time. Finally, though, I think I'm coming to find here what I've been looking for my entire life.
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