Back in the saddle

14. March 2011 · 1 comment · Categories: cycling, daily life, good things · Tags: , ,

A record time, probably means I’m riding with a tail winds. Makes sense. I should know this.

Still, when I got into town yesterday in record time, I was completely oblivious to the fact that I’d been riding with the wind the whole way down from Severna Park to Annapolis. Sure the wind was fierce on the Naval Academy Bridge, but it is March. Even so, I felt great about how quickly I crested the bridge and that I never dropped down to my small chain ring in the front. This should have been a sign.

Take your pick, windy or rainy, that’s what you get in March in Maryland.

As you might have guessed by now, I had a strong headwind to contend with on the way home. The weather was nice enough, in the high fifties or low sixties depending on what source I consulted, but the wind, well it cut through on the way home. I’d opted not to wear my shoe covers when I left, and by the time I got home, I was sorry.

Even with the wind, yesterday’s ride was a success. In fact the weekend was a weekend of great riding. I joined the SPP ride on Saturday at 7:30. It was clear to me that my months of hibernation in the winter had taken a toll on my abilities, when I found myself alone going through Round Bay (not dropped, just slow). But it was great to be out on the ride with the group again.

The tally for the weekend is about 45 miles, which isn’t too shabby considering I’ve been off my bike effectively since November.

Update on 2011 Goals — New Developments

07. March 2011 · 2 comments · Categories: cycling, daily life, exercise, family, fatherhood, fitness, good things, mr. grey, weight loss · Tags:

Earlier this year, I wrote about setting realistic goals for myself. The three goals I listed were:

  • Loose about 30 pounds. Yes, 30.
  • Choose three cycling events for the year. At least one must be a century.
  • Take Mr. Grey to a park once a week and spend an hour playing with him.

I’m happy to report that I’ve managed to choose three cycling events for the year, and one is a century. I’ll be riding on May 7th at the Six Pillars Century on the Eastern Shore. I will not be doing the century however, just the 56 mile ride. I also plan to ride in the MS ride in Gettysburg, PA in July (another 60 miler) and the Seagull Century on the eastern shore in October.

I have not managed to take Mr. Grey to a park once a week, but I have managed to spend quality time with him on a weekly basis, which is really what that goal was all about.

Where I’ve fallen down is on the weight goal. I haven’t done anything to move forward on that goal, until this past weekend.

As I was cycling on Saturday (the first time since my first ride of the year in January) I made the decision that I would indeed dedicate myself to losing weight and getting fit. I was thinking primarily about re-dedicating myself to hitting the gym. I was thinking about making time to go to the gym and maybe even looking into a personal trainer. I really wasn’t thinking about losing weight as much as thinking about getting fit.

Then, I had one of those epiphany type moments later that day in REI.

I had gone to REI to try on some cycling jackets. In particular, I was looking for something that was a bit more Hi-Viz than what I have today. There has been a Gore brand jacket I’ve been lusting over for some time that conveniently converts into a vest and has all the pockets in all the right places.

I thought my barrier to entry with this jacket would be the price. I was wrong.

The XL doesn’t fit. I’m too fat.

So, I started to re-evaluate why I was thinking about getting more fit. I looked back at my goals. I joined Weight Watchers again.

I’m pretty excited about the prospect of Weight Watchers. They have re-vamped the program with a stronger emphasis on carbs rather than calories and fat. I get a ton more “points” per week than the last time I did this and I was able to eat pretty much all the things that I wanted to over the weekend. I haven’t found any crazy substitutions in recipes (like black beans as an ingredient to brownies – YUCK). I even had a few beers and didn’t have to sacrifice and make them “light” beers.

In addition, they have made online and mobile tools available to members who go to meetings. This makes tracking my food intake a breeze. No more carrying around a crazy slide rule and little book filled with points values of foods I don’t eat.

I can already feel a difference after just two days – not necessarily in weight but in attitude and mood. I’m uplifted. I woke this morning at 6:38 when Mr. Grey threw his pig at me and actually felt good. I can’t remember the last time I felt good in the morning.

Real Work

21. February 2011 · 4 comments · Categories: daily life, good things, home, homeowner hell, incongruities, thoughts, work · Tags:

Stevens Hardware, Annapolis, MDReal work requires effort. Real work is made of pitchforks and wheelbarrows. Axes and hammers. Real work is physical.

Or, is it?

I spent the morning laboring with a pitchfork and lawn and leaf bags. The work was physical, somewhat onerous, repetitive, slow and methodical. I was picking up leaves from the gutter that have been sitting there since October. Despite the fact that I’d been lazy about getting around to the task, I was very alive. The crisp, damp air reminded me of my physicality. The sharp pain in my lower back reminded me that I was not young and limber. The earthy smell of the decaying leaves reminded me that I would someday become dirt. I was alive and keenly in touch with my primordial existence.

This afternoon I presented on a network access solution to a well-known university in Washington, DC. The work was mental, somewhat onerous, somewhat repetitive, fast paced and far from methodical. I was peppered with questions. I was thinking on my feet. I was very alive and yet it didn’t feel like work. It wasn’t physical, I wasn’t aware of the temperature of the room, nothing hurt.

Was this really work?

Of course it was work. I was not presenting on the solution out of a genuine love of the customer — indeed, I’d never met the customer before. I was presenting because it was the task at hand. I was going to get paid for it.

Does getting paid for performing a task make it work? Or, more directly, if you don’t get paid is it still work?

The answer to both questions is maybe. Sometimes, getting paid for performing a task constitutes work, other times, I believe, we get paid for things that really, when it comes down to it, are not worthy of cash.

So, what is real work?

At the end of the day, defining work is difficult. What I did this afternoon, was certainly work, but it was far from strenuous even though it was rewarding. What I did this morning was certainly work, it was strenuous, rewarding in some respects, but I certainly won’t get paid for clearing the gutters.

Though, I’m pretty sure the neighbors will appreciate it.

There is nothing like a real Joint

25. January 2011 · 5 comments · Categories: Baltimore, daily life, family, food, good things, home, nostalgia · Tags: ,

No not the kind you smoke, the kind you eat at.  A dive, a hole in the wall, a place that is not quite clean, but hasn’t been shut down by the health department.  Yeah, that kind of Joint.

There are a lot of Joints in the Baltimore area.  Duda’s in Fells Point, Davis Pub in Annapolis, and my personal favorite Attman’s Deli on Lombard Street.  Recently, I had the opportunity to take some friends to Attmans and share a real Baltimore experience with them.

I’ve been going to Attmans since I was knee high to a grasshopper.  There are only two things on the menu that I’ve ever ordered — hot dogs and corned beef on rye with mustard.  That’s it, why try anything else, when these two items are perfection?  (Oh, there are about 200 options on the menu for those who don’t like my choice.)

The kibbitz room is basically the same as it was when I was a boy.  Not quite clean, but not dirty, and walls filled with picture frames.  Although, some of the more — ahem — questionable material is no longer on the walls.  Somehow it feels like coming home every time I go in.

And that is the definition of a Joint — a place that is unpretentious where you feel like you’re at home.

 

It’s the Little Things

07. January 2011 · 3 comments · Categories: coffee, daily life, family, fatherhood, good things, mr. grey, smiles · Tags:

The little things in life really do make life worth living.  Since I took my new job, I’ve been able to spend time with my son almost every morning.  It’s not much time, perhaps an hour or so right after we get up.  I should say, right after he gets me up.  He’s not coming in to the room and waking me up, that would be far too civilized for a three-year old.  He calls to me from his bed.  I wake up every day to, “DAADDEEEE…”

After going to his room, I stumble down the hall after him bleery eyed.  I get him a cup of milk and I start my coffee ritual.  I’m always mildly annoyed that his morning drink of choice takes 45 seconds to make and mine takes minutes, but that’s not his fault.  Then we chill out and watch Curious George together.  After that, we have a little breakfast.

This routine developed rather quickly after I left my last job and I’ve got to say, I really do love it.  At the last gig, I was up and out of the house by 6:00 AM.  The only mornings Mr. Grey and I had were on the weekends.

I know our little routine will fade away at some point, as he gets bigger, but for now I won’t trade it for anything — not even a few more minutes of sleep on those days when he wakes before the sun is up.

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