Herman

Sara did two, I did one

I love circles. With each turn of the wheel I move 7.6 feed forward and the next turn begins. The turns are continuous, impossible to tell where one turn ends and the other turn begins. The wheels spin and the miles roll by. Downhills are powered entirely by gravity. For uphills the circular motion of my feet turns circles which turn other circles and those turning circles move the bike forward over the ground. Spinning circles. Continuous and fluid, floating.

Without the circles, I am Herman Munster. Herman throws himself forward violently to pile-drive his leg into the pavement with maximum force. Then he does the same thing with the other leg. Again and again he does this, over and over. Pile driving each leg into the ground. Downhills are no different but increase in the crushing force of each impact. There are no circles. There is no fluidity. No floating.

Today I went without circles, helping Sara out with a 5K relay. She was scheduled to run one of three legs, but her team unraveled and so she recruited her creaky old Dad to race with her, without the benefit of circles.

There will be a lot of Advil tomorrow, but we had a blast as father and daughter team. And I have a renewed appreciation for circles. And for my daughter who propels herself for miles almost very day, without the benefit of circles.

Chris


"Life Begins At The End Of Your Comfort Zone"

     -- Unknown

Clean Getaway

I saw an awesome indie movie called Clean Getaway last night. It was screened at The Note in West Chester and featured some local Downingtown sites and personalities. Best of all included a hair-raising urban bicycle chase scene.

I suggest you follow the write/director (Jesse Piersol of The Rhetorical Purpose). Judging by the screening and the audience response last night, I expect we'll see more from this fresh local talent in the near future (once Jesse's bank account recovers).

Chris

Pictures Don't Lie

I've never seen him crash, ever, and I missed this one by about 10 minutes (so the streak is technically alive) but it was pretty obvious from the crack in Mike's helmet that he had gone OTB and the lump on his shoulder suggested some structural damage.

Pictures don't lie. It's a "popped" acromioclavicular (AC) joint. Mike is just bouncing back from knee surgery, but he is a gamer and our fingers crossed he gets good news from the ortho today.

Crash counter reset.

Chris

Culling the Herd

Four casualties of the culling

Trails today were pure perfection. Super buff with no gravy and no dust. I wish I could say the same for myself.

Sure I always expect some cobwebs after a long winter. Every spring is the same. I know intellectually I will have lost ground and will have work to do. But there is nothing quite like the feeling when you reach down deep for a steep climb. I think I am ready and I look forward to the familiar pain but...nothing really happens. No acceleration, and no pain. Just...nothing.

Yes, I've got work to do but with each ride there is a little progress. And that progress is energizing, and that energy makes me want to ride more. And that beautiful cycle of renewal begins.

The cycle of renewal was at work at The Beer Tree as well. Mike and I noticed a few repeats so we did some necessary culling (four if you are counting). To strengthen the heard and because "art must have integrity." Jess joined us with another one of her vegan masterpieces, and we even had a ride through visit (no beers) from Jim, Tom, Martin, Jessica, and Martin's young son.

This was Martin's first ride since knee surgery. It seems that renewal is happening all around us.

Chris

"Art must have integrity"
     -- Mike Riley