This week started sort of crap, with one day of slack (Monday), and one day of opting not to lumber due to a bit of mental (I had brain poo) and creative burnout. Then, come Wednesday and Thursday, I was back in the woods for some miles.
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PART II
Finally, Friday came, and I felt like I needed to shake things up. So, I gathered my gear, aired up my tires, and headed to one of my Dirt Road Launching Pads to do a short 15-mile gravel ride to ease back into the saddle.
I rode in the woods a couple of weeks ago and had a blast, but I was sort of nervously eager to get back on dirt roads for the first time in a year, with more hills to climb and occasional cars to worry about.
My theory was two-fold:
The ride will make me miss riding dirt and gravel roads and provide a more high-intensity activity to mix in with my lumbering and trail rides, AND still be able to take some pics as I used to back in my heavy gravel phase (2010 – 2020). NOT to be confused with the years that I was super into disco (1976-1980)1.
Or, at very least, it will remind me of the reasons why I don’t ride my bike but a handful of times a year these days, and I can delve even deeper into my nearly four-year-old love of foot-powered travel with camera in hand.
What happened was a mix bag.
First, I should have done a different loop. Starting the ride with three decent (Mid-Michigan) climbs was a bad choice for someone of my current hulking stature who has only ridden his bike once since last year. But I made up the climbs fine, but was thankful to be spinning up the climbs on the Stache (with sub-3″ tires), instead of my Gravel™ bike, Mr. Burgundy.
But I soon found myself rolling along, almost forcing myself to find joy. Sure, getting a shot of an Amish farm cat ready to pounce on some unsuspecting critter in the weeds below was super cool, but not long after, I was already thinking that 16 miles was a dumb idea. I was also pissed off every time I saw a bird that I wanted to get a shot of but missed because by the time I stopped, opened by bar bag, and focused, the bird was long gone.
So, at about 6.5 miles, I hung right, cut out 4 miles, and made my way back to Escape II (Electric Boogaloo), parked at a nearby county fishing area.
I was happy to have done the ride, and mix things up a bit, but as I made my way down the last hill at 30 MPH, I was more happy that it was done.
The good thing was that I’ve done shit rides before and have beaten myself up for them being so bad, and not like the “good ol’ days.” This time it was different. It was as if my brain had been reprogrammed, and I was like, “That was OK, but I kind of think I would have gotten more out of doing a 10.5-mile gravel tramp.”
I’m not mad or sad about it; people change, and I like to think that, whilst my 54-year-old body isn’t what it was like 20 years ago, effectively changing for the worst, so many other aspects of my life are infinitely better.
I may have said this before, but I’ve learned to think of cycling the way I look at drawing. From ages 4 through 21, I was always drawing and, of course, ended up going to art school. But as I got more into graphic design and photography, drawing just went away. I don’t hate to draw anymore, I just like photography better. I like where it takes me, the things I capture, and what I learn about the process AND about nature.
I’m sure I will be out on the roads again this summer, and I KNOW I will be back on my mountain bike in the woods now and then, but accepting change and knowing that it’s actually pretty good if I look at it from a creative’s perspective. Where once I got something out of completing a long ride or race, I now get that same something out of getting a shot of an eagle, hawk, or even another (or the same) damn raccoon, and I still get to be active and get miles in.
Moving on…
IT OTHER NEWS NOT ABOUT ME AND BETTER FOR IT:
After my ride today, I came home, changed, and then decided to go to Sylvan Solace to do some macro photography.
I was about 5 miles from home when I got a text from B on our family group text asking if we were both at home; he wanted to talk to us both.
I had a feeling what it was about, given the number of job interviews he’s done in recent weeks, but as a father, I also recognized that it could be something bad. So I voice texted saying I’ll call as soon as I get to the parking lot and we can get a three person call going.
So, after we were all finally on the line, he shared that he had just accepted a position with the Cleveland Browns as a Social Media Coordinator! To quote part of the job description, his duties will require him to “Concept, shoot, and edit high-quality vertical video content daily for TikTok, Instagram/Facebook Reels, and YouTube Shorts.”
HIS FIRST BIG BOY JOB WITH A 401K AND HEALTH BENEFITS!
To say we are stoked for him is an understatement. After a post-graduation year of creative side hustles doing freelance editing work for various MSU departments and the Lansing PBS station, as well as a short stint stocking shelves at Meijer, his work and dedication have paid off. Not to mention, of all the places he could have moved to, being only four hours away from us is awesome!
I know, I know, as former Yinzers we are required to hate the Browns, but since I haven’t watched an NFL game from start to finish in roughly 40 years or more, I ran out of (American football) rivalry fucks to give ages ago, ha! All I know is that we’re stoked for him.
Oh, and as far at that Macro Photo Creep, I really couldn’t concentrate, took a few pic and came home to hug Wifey and celebrate our boy!
Later.