The Plot Thickens

 

Elaborate dreams

Mystify

Why

Should I awake

When

Living on my side

Is so

So satisfying?

 Friday, August 6, 2021

 I work with a few people who for various reasons have not gotten the vaccine. One of those person’s reasoning is that Bill Gates and his cadre of evil masterminds wants to substantially reduce the human population.

 But I don’t believe they’ve thought this all the way through to fully appreciate what an evil genius Mr. Gates is.

 I believe that Mr. Gates in cahoots with the Chinese government created the virus.

 He also understood that in the unlikely case an effective vaccine was produced, he would be associated with it because of his speaking out about this type of pandemic years ago. And that association would cause many wackos to forego getting the vaccine.

 This in turn would allow the virus to mutate and spread and further his diabolical aims of reducing the population.

 It’s an evil genius/conspiracy wacko catch 22. That damned evil bastard.

Minimizing Risks

 Eyes flicker; legs twitch.

She is moving through a dream

Of hunting her prey.

Minimizing Risks: Friday, July 30, 2021

 After a four-month hiatus from cycling I am perhaps a week away from getting back in the saddle.

 This is both compelling and worrisome. Compelling because I’ve always enjoyed riding. Worrisome because in the past 5 years I’ve had three accidents, two hospital visits, 33 stitches in my face and surgery to repair my right clavicle.

 There’s an itch of doubt that I’m getting too old for this.

 So what changes can I make to try to remain competitive and minimize the risks of another injury?

 For one, I’m going to limit my exposure by only riding once a week outside. I’ll do that on Tuesdays avoiding the weekend cars and crowds on PCH.

 I’ll also start from Michael Landon Park as opposed to riding from home like I use to; a short but decent drive from some of the busier sections of PCH.

 For now I’m also going to avoid the fantastic canyons of the Santa Monicas and stick to out and back rides on PCH. I’m training for duathlons and as much as I enjoy the hills, my bike isn’t set up for them and I’m not sure I have the nerve for it at the moment. Once I build up some confidence I’ll fix up my damaged Cervelo and give it a go.

 Until then the plan is one indoor/one outdoor ride per week. Will two rides be enough? I’ll find out in February when I hope to compete in Powerman Arizona.

Limbo

The zzz of a fly

Moves in and out of focus

As my life stands still.

 July 24, 2021

 Almost four months have passed since my clavicle was broken and to this day I have no idea what the final economic or legal ramifications will be.

 Medically, I have received a few inconsequential bills. My surgery, which was supposedly covered by Trinity Healthshare, went well. But I have neither received a bill, an itemization of the costs, or a claim for my deductible.

 Two weeks ago Trinity sent an email stating that they were no longer operating in California. A week after that they sent out a notice that they were filing for bankruptcy protection.

 Not sure where that leaves me, but maybe someday it’ll all shake out.

 Similarly, after receiving a small claims court date, but with the wrong defendant listed, I have, for more than a month now, been waiting for a correction from the court.

 I’m dubious I’ll receive my day in court, or that given a positive outcome I’ll be able to collect from the skateboarder that caused my injuries.

 Is this the best of all possible worlds? Clearly not. A little closer to the The Trial and Metamorphosis if you ask me. Kafka, turns out, was not a literary genius, but merely a journalist slightly ahead of his time.  

The Memo on the M.O.

The tambourine leaves

Shaking in the willow’s hands;

A sunny folk song.

 Thursday, July 15, 2021

The weather’s been a hot topic lately (That’s a pun.). It’s also been a subject of linguistic humor as well.

 My wife is bi-lingual having been raised in Taiwan by an American father and educated at an international school. But she does occasionally misuse American colloquialisms.

 For instance, a couple of days ago we woke up to an unexpected light rain.

My wife claimed that the weather people must not have sent us the M.O.

 That confused me.

 I said, “Did you mean memo?”

 Given that they sound quite a bit alike, her swapping of phrases was understandable.

And also very amusing, at least to me.

Validation

 The desert willow

Angelic white pink flowers

Grace the dry landscape.

 Tuesday, July 6, 2021

 Turns out I was right all along. Well, truly more luckily ignorant.

 I’ve never been much of a practitioner of LSD training, not even when I was convinced it was the right way to go. Like most people holding a Monday-Friday; 9-5 type job, getting more than one multi-hour run per week is a tough ask.

 So I tried work arounds by doing a long run/ride on weekends with tempo and brick training during the week. I followed that pattern for a good 20 years before stopping the brick workouts all together about 10 years ago as there just weren’t many duathlons to train for. Though I am planning to compete in multi-sport events again soon and may throw an occasional short brick workout in here and there.

Currently I’ve modified my workouts slightly based on recent readings and watchings that advocate short sprint work. Along with that workout, I’m doing one two/three hour run per week along with an interval session of 5- three minute hard efforts followed by a ten/twenty minute tempo run.

 Yesterday was my first 5k race in a year and a half. I finished fourth overall and first in my age. Pretty much what I was doing before the pandemic.  My goal is to go under 20, but at this event I recorded a 20:50. The course was a shade long though and rolling, so I still believe my 5k time goal is within reach.

 It’s difficult to assess whether my tweaks in training have made much of a difference as I’ve never made the big leap from LSD to higher intensity training. But given my consistent results over many years I’m confident my anecdotal evidence along with current studies is all the proof I need that my fortuitously ignorant training plan was and is the right way to go.

Off Road

 

A remarkable

Recovery from surgery.

Now it’s time to move.

Friday, June 25, 2021

 In a box in our yard sits a new Argon 18 119 tri-bike I purchased a few weeks ago from The Pros Closet. I sold them a titanium frame and a set of wheels for $2500.00. The Argon cost $4,500.00. So for a very tidy sum of $2k I have a top notch brand spanking new tri-bike.

 When I’ll ride it I’m not sure. Even after I get it set up I’ll stay on the indoor trainer through July.

 Although my broken clavicle is fully healed, I’m hesitant to get out on the roads in SoCal during this flex time between post-covid and normalcy. Heck, even during the best of times the coast in summer is hectic.

 To mix my training up and keep my interest while I’m indoors I’m going to train with power for the first time and see what the hoopla’s all about. Up until now I’ve trained on feel alone, but I don’t want to be one of those ornery old dudes that isn’t willing to have an open perspective on what new training equipment can bring to the table.

 
Along that same train of thought, I’m going to peruse Joe Friel’s Fast Over 50 for some guidance. Though at 63 I’ll be pissed if I discover I’ve been holding myself back for these past 13 years.

The Wheels Going Round

 

Early morning songs

Whistle through the coastal fog

As a ghost chorus.

 Tuesday, June 1, 2021

 It’s been a month since I started riding a Can Am Spyder trike and two months since I’ve ridden a bicycle. Now I feel I’m in that scary limbo world of feeling confident enough to feel I know how to ride the trike and healed enough to consider training on a bike again.

 The Spyder handling has gone from wondering how I’m going to approach and come out of every turn to actually feeling fun without the thought of, “this is fun!.., uh…? Am I going to make it through this turn?”.

 And that’s the mindset I’m worried about. I know my skills aren’t what they should be after only a months of weekend riding, so I don’t want to be over-confident. But that’s always the problem with driving, that twi-light learning curve zone where you’re a newbie but don’t feel like it.

 On the other set of wheels… I’m determined to start bike training again and will start indoors through the summer on a new tri-bike (that’s a triathlon bicycle; not a tricycle – those test poorly in the wind tunnel.); a bike that I’ll eventually get back out on the road with and compete on.

 But my scars, and still healing bone and skin, have me much more trepidatious and far less excited about getting back outside. I’ll do it. I’m sure I’ll enjoy it. But that worried feeling of going down is going to make it difficult to relax enough to both enjoy the experience and to handle the bike correctly when problems arise.

 
I gave up motorcycle riding because I didn’t feel I could relax enough to be safe. I’m hoping that’s not true of cycling. But that decision will be put off until the end of summer. I’m hoping my conditioning and my goofy drive to compete will give me the confidence to get back out there.