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Up Like The Sun

Bob Seger says “Up with the sun.” Related, people say “up like the sun” to refer to waking up as early and as quickly as the sunrise. Standing here in AZ watching the sun literally “pop up” over the horizon, I realize we need to be more specific in that statement. Do you wake up like an AZ sunrise, or like an AK sunrise?

Physics corner: the earth spins with constant angular velocity. But the linear velocity on the earth’s surface is variable, depending on distance from the equator. So in Arizona, you’re zipping along relative to the sun, compared to Alaska.

Being from the very-northern Pacific Northwest, watching the sunrise in Arizona feels like I’m watching on time lapse.

I’m an AZ riser, unless I had too many shots of JD the night before, in which case I become an AK riser.

Sunscreen in November | Ride | Strava

Humboldt with Jeff | Ride | Strava

Keep the Rubber Side Down

I don’t believe in “jinxing” myself. That is why I will proudly and publicly announce my biking milestone of my “Days Since Last Crash” counter passing the 700 mark.

My previous record was 449 days. I’m hoping my current streak just keeps going. 🙂

Crash history:

Date Days Ride (and Accident)
2019/12/21393Screw, Sogginess, Slide Stopped Seventh Straight Solstice Short
Slipped in slick parking lot
2018/11/23179PRin’ the GR
Slipped on slick Duthie park wood bridge
2018/05/28197Social Hills of Kirkland
Rubbed alongside curb and tipped over
2017/11/12449449 Days
Separated shoulder from drifting off Burke Gilman trail
2016/08/20Crash and Learn
My scariest wreck ever, prompting my Crash Counter to keep me more aware

2022/03/06 update: just passed 800. Still going strong.

Imagine

“Take a sad song and make it better”

“In my life I’ve loved them all”

“You may say I’m a dreamer, but i’m not the only one”

Be the Imagine you want to see in the world.

Non-Martian

There are those that when they discover how much food they have left on their expedition, they ration themselves so as to make it last as long as possible. And then there are those that throw a party and have one great night to remember …

On the model of electronic shifter I have, it is one battery driving both front and rear shifters. When the battery is running low, the front derailleur shifts to the low gear and allows no more shifting to conserve battery. This is your warning signal. This is when you’re supposed to be very judicious with the shifter that does still work.

Not me. I couldn’t find a shift I didn’t like. Mark Watney probably could have made it another 5 hours. I made it another 5 minutes.

Gear Highlander | Ride | Strava

Next!

Not far from the shallow now … here’s a fun idea for an ad …

There are those nights when you pour yourself a glass of wine, sink into your most comfortable chair, spread your future clearly out in front of you, open the most inspiring dating site in existence, and spend hours thoughtfully working through bios trying to find your soulmate.

And then there are those nights when two shot glasses and a fifth of bourbon are sitting next to you on a motel nightstand, a forty minute tryst has ended with a final passionate kiss, and before your lover even exits the room, you’ve already grabbed your phone and flipped to your Contacts, where a quick flick scrolls face face face face until you tap to stop on one, as a sly smile appears on your face.

Save the wine for match.com; and bring the hard alcohol to the new “Next!” app.

Then roll Montell Jordan:

Or Maybe Prince:

Based on What I’m Packing

Before I go on a trip, I lay out everything I’m packing. This obviously helps with the logistics, giving me an opportunity to see everything in one place and make sure I’m not forgetting anything. But it also helps to set the mood, and I find myself getting excited at the events coming hinted at by the items I see in front of me.

Tonight I packed for a week-long trip, flying solo to VA & SC. And based on what I’m looking at, it’s going to be a fun one …

Sister Sue, I’ll see you Tuesday morning.

Capital Trail, I’ll see you Tuesday afternoon.

VT Crew, I’ll see you Tuesday evening.

Brothers, I’ll see you Wednesday !!

Trash Negative

There is the (rare) occasion when I reach home after a ride and discover that one of my used gu packets isn’t in my pocket. And I instantly feel bad for contributing to the litter of the world. I found the solution to this sadness several years ago: the next ride out, i would pick up trash from the side of the road to offset the amount I had inadvertently contributed on the previous ride.

… And then I rode with Ralph and realized I have been aiming way too low. On our ride Ralph said, “Sorry I was late, I was moving a bumper off of the road. I had dropped my wrapper last week so I felt obligated to do some clean-up today.”

Thanks for the inspiration, Ralph! I vow to be Trash Negative in my riding going forward.

Garmin, you PoS! Errr, nevermind. | Ride | Strava

Outdo Me

I’m the parent that didn’t let my kids beat me. I focused instead on teaching them everything I knew with the end goal of them outperforming me. So that when the day finally did come that they beat me, they knew it was a genuine victory coming from them taking their learnings to the next level.

This last week was my family’s third Backroads biking trip. And I’m very happy to say that for the first time ever, for five days straight of biking, they outdid me. Watching them fade into the distance in front of me was an incredibly rewarding feeling.

Capability, competence, and capacity are beautiful to observe.

Day 1:Entering Glacier National Park | Ride | Strava

Day 2:Going to the Fog Road | Ride | Strava

Day 3, part 1:Mother Nature: 2; Jeff & Charu: 0 | Ride | Strava

Day 3, part 2:Two-way Trip to Two Medicine on Two Bikes | Ride | Strava

Day 4, part 1:Riding Flathead Whitewater | Canoe | Strava

Day 4, part 2:Cruising Back into Whitefish | Ride | Strava

Day 5:200% Polyester | Ride | Strava

Total Explorer Tiles Collected: 134 (broke 6K, ending at 6,094)

To our Glacier Backroads team and riders, I’ll echo Abby’s key word: community. Thank you so much for a true team effort this last week. I predict more trips together with you all in the years to come!