Cycling

I feel like I lost time this summer. The entire month of July feels like it was lost. Most of August as well. It was hot, and humid, as it always is in Maryland over the summer. I stayed mostly indoors.  ...

A new cycling jacket that I ordered showed up today and I got to test it out on a ride this afternoon. I’m always grateful for a bike ride because they make me feel free. There is something very mediative about turning the pedals over and over. ...

I am grateful for bicycles. I have loved my bikes as long as I can remember — the baby blue banana seat Raleigh, the red Huffy BMX, the red Huffy Ten Speed, the white Haro Freestyler tricked out with pink mag wheels and white tires, the green Bridgestone MB6 hard tail mountain bike, the orange Specialized MTB with a suspension fork, my blue Cannondale road bike, and my finally my Turquoise Yeti full suspension MTB. I have loved them all. ...

Within the sport of cycling, a contingent of people seem to glorify suffering. This glorification of suffering stems from a toxic masculinity that pervades the sport. It is true that much has been done to welcome women to the sport, and it is also true that there are many seriously bad ass women in the sport, but by and large it is dominated by men. And they like to tell each other how much they suffer in the saddle. ...

Losing weight was not my goal when I decided to get sober, but I sure wasn’t opposed to the idea. Indeed, in the first month and a half of sobriety I was dropping weight like a bad habit. I dropped 17 pounds in about 6-8 weeks. But it was totally unsustainable. ...