End of the Month

While I have not done as good a job updating my blog as I would like I have been very busy here. In the last month (since I have been back from NC) I have ridden 896.4 miles, Written 1st drafts of two paper (which should be sent to journals soon) and I have stopped drinking as much Dr. Pepper as I had been. While I had been drinking 2 per day I am not down to 3 per week. Not bad. So I have gotten a good number of miles in, only 100 short of my goal for the month, and I have gotten a good amount of work done on papers. I have plenty of new goals for the second half of the summer as well as my first race in a year and a half coming up soon but for now I am focusing on my trip to NC. I leave tomorrow and I will be in NC seeing my wife, family, and friends and I can't wait! If any of my NC friends want to catch up for a ride or coffee let me know and I will see you soon.

So while I am really really excited about going to NC tomorrow everything seemed to go very badly today. I had one of those days that makes you question everything about what you are doing. I was in a really bad mood and not trusting any choices that I had made (except getting married to my amazing wife). Maybe it was being in TX with my wife in NC for 4.5 weeks and not having her here to talk to but today was headed to being one of the worst days I have had for a few years. Until I decided to go for the recovery ride that I really did not feel like going on. I was ready to take a nap on the couch and then pack for my flight tomorrow. I decided that getting on my bike had never been a bad decision and so I would go. As usual riding today turned today into a pretty good day. The time on the bike simply chatting with friends about my NC trip or the up coming Tour or just stuff made me feel so much better. It is amazing that a few hours on the bike talking with people who you know about anything is great. I don't know if it is the rhythm of the motion, or talking with people that you spend early morning weekend hours with, or hot days or freezing in the winter, or maybe it is because you learn to trust these people riding so close at such high speeds but sometimes the folks that you ride with who may not know what you do for a living seem to know you better than anyone else. Riding friends have become some of my closest friends both in TX and in NC. That is one reason why I miss my NC riding friends and why I look forward to spending time with them when I am back in NC.

Well it is late and I need to finish packing and getting ready to leave. I have to get up early tomorrow and the beer is tasty but probably not helping but at least it is tasty. Well I hope to see some of you in NC over the next week and at the Spin Cycle 4th of July Ride. I have been going to that ride since I started road biking and I am so excited that I get to make it again this year! My first 4th of July Spin Cycle ride was July 4th 2003 so this will be my 6th time of the ride. I am really glad that they are keeping the ride going.



Ok time to go to sleep. See y'all in NC tomorrow!!!