OK, the 2024 Lumber Through Hell Tour is temporarily on hold while I let my foot heal from whatever is wrong with it.
I’m not happy about that, but as luck and hard work with the O.G. Mindbender would have it, I know I have choices and options, and one of those options is riding my gahdamn bike
Dear readers, this post contains a LOT of my personal opinions on where I am currently at with cycling. I do not intend to talk trash about the sport, make you feel bad for loving it, or any such thing. I have dedicated a huge part of my life to cycling, and I love it. It’s a classic case of “it’s not you, it’s me.”
— Management
As I write this, it’s a dark, cold, icy Saturday morning in mid-Michigan, and I can’t make up my mind if I want to go for a photo walk in the icy woods, go to the gym to lumber nowhere fast on the Dreadmill or go back to the Bed of Torment for a second sleep; the world is my mother friggin’ oyster as they say.
Somewhere between morning bowel discharges, too much coffee, and my 3 egg white omelet with veggie sausages, I was made aware via a variety of Instagram posts that today is the Barry-Roubaix gravel race near Grand Rapids.
“The more things stay the same, the more nothing changes.” – Me (I think)
Not much has changed in life since my last post here. The whole bank card fraud thing is still hanging out there as the bank conducts its investigation, and in the meantime, we’ve been given the money back as “provisional credit.” I will sleep much better when it’s officially our money again. But I’ll save that for my other blog, Consumer Banking Today.
I love summer, but I have to admit that I was glad to see the end of August and all of its swamp-ass heat and humidity. In addition to the stifling heat, each week of the month seemingly had some new problem to face that was out of my control. And in my opinion, there is no worse feeling than being faced with an issue in which you can’t control the outcome.
The bank fraud-induced fog of worry and fret that I’ve been walking around in for two weeks is finally starting to lift. Just in time, too, because I was really starting to lose it, AND I have a million things to do this week!
I’ll deal with this week when the shit comes, but as for the past week, there were more rage/sad hikes, followed by finally getting back out for a ride in the hot, humid morning air on Saturday morning.
After adulting most of the day on Tuesday, I was anxious to re-enter the world of underemployed slack on Wednesday with a Standard Gravel™ Ride from the Cul-De-Sac-Shack.
The ride was a short 22.5-mile loop and was pretty “meh.” It wasn’t bad in any way; it was just as the name implies, “standard.” And these days, as I look to regain some shred of fitness, I’ll take feeling good after a quick dirt road ride all day long.
July ended with increasing miles on the bike and decreasing numbers on the scale. Still, my plan for Sunday was to take the day off from workouts or rides and just goof off.
That was the plan, then about an hour after I wrote a blog post and started said plan for goofing off, I headed to the Not So Stankment to get on the Dreadmill. In other words, the plan failed.
I got out Thursday morning for a ride, but it soon became apparent that I didn’t have it in me. I was riding right into a steady wind that combined with overnight rain and morning sun to make things an un-fun, sticky mess. I did 15 miles, and that would have to scratch my workout itch for the day.
I felt pretty good about my fitness after Saturday’s ride, so I was eager to get back out on Sunday.
I waffled back and forth about whether I wanted to ride from the Cul-De-Sac Shack or ride from a Soiled Chamois Approved Dirt Road Ride Launching Pad south of town. In the end, I decided to try and save time and beat the heat and shadeless sun by leaving from the house. I also hoped to add another mile or two to my Better Than The Trainer Ride™ along the way and help it lose said moniker.
