14 Days

Two weeks....it's been two weeks since I've really been on my bike.  Seriously...14 days--336 hours....20,160 minutes...1,209,600 seconds since the last time I swung my leg over the top tube, clipped my feet into the pedals, and rolled out onto a favorite ride route or indoors on my rollers.  Had this been mid-cycling season and I needed to take a break, that would be one thing or to have had an injury requiring an interim recovery period, that would be another; to have been on an extended family vacation committing time with my loved ones or to have intentionally been away on a ministry-service trip would be an admirably responsible reason to have been off and away from my bike---I have none of these offerings...

The end of the calendar year not only ushers in the Holiday Season but affords opportunity for personal reflection---what has been accomplished, what has been learned, what moments were experienced, what openings were missed.  It also opens the vaults of memory to Season's past, of cherished reflections and treasured recollections, of flashbacks to events and ventures filled with joy, even some with tears.  I may have been off my bike for two weeks now, but during that time--particularly in light of the Holidays--I am gratefully mindful of the delightful elation riding a bike brings me and the library of treasured memories it holds.  Renown cycling author Bill Strickland once wrote, "There is no finer sport, few that are so close to the many moods of the human heart."  Indeed, riding a bike can be blur-your-eyes-speed partnered to casual recreational spin pendulum experiences; a contrast of the Mardi Gras rolling caravans of the Tour De France and an early morning Saturday training ride across whisper quiet roads through the Blue Ridge Mountain foothills of northern Virginia.  I recall with great fondness the many commuting rides with my dearest friend from Bolling AFB through Washington DC to the Pentagon where we were stationed nearly 20 years ago and how those rides shaped not only our physical and mental natures but also deepened our friendship and brotherhood...great recollection gifts this Holiday Season!

Fourteen days...the same amount of time sociologists and psychologists across the globe have declared and documented it takes to form life-long habits and disciplines; the same amount of time it takes for our weakend immune systems to successfully battle and overcome the common cold virus; the same amount of time it takes to---well, think about what takes YOU two weeks to accomplish?  In just a few days the calendar date will turn to the year 2020 (enter applicable Barbara Walters joke here) and with it the traditional formulation of "resolutions" as proverbial personal guidelines for the next 12 months. May I encourage you, Reader, to make ONE resolution---commit yourself to 14 days of life-shaping engagements in your world.  For 14 days, be intentionally kind & serving...for two weeks, give your co-workers and supervisors your B-E-S-T (Believe in them, Encourage them, Support them, Trust them)...for a fortnight, laugh deeply with friends and family---who knows what will happen in those 14 days! One thing's for sure; the first two weeks of 2020 holds life-long opportunity---here's to yours and to the journey ahead!

#LifeShapings  #NowNotTomorrow

Winding Down

The name of the month on the calendar took me aback---November. Really, it's November? As in the 11th month of 2019? As in we just finished Halloween, shortly we'll be carving the turkey, cranberry brisket, and pecan pie, and then posting Christmas decorations throughout the house November? Wow---I do enjoy the fall foliage, though...

I'd like to say I was able to sustain a regular training routine in my cycling activities during this past year, but I cannot---no excuses, though I could claim several...I simply didn't keep the focus to do what I needed to as an athlete.  Life events make that decision path easy; string several of those decisions together over the course of a season...or a career...or a relationship...or a lifetime...and you end up facing the shadowy figure of regret.  For many, this past year may have easily gone that way; graciously and thankfully for most of us (hopefully) it did not...

As 2019 begins its initial descent into the final quarter of the year, I am grateful for the opportunities this cycling season to ride with my fellow Pacers teammates, albeit limited; though my personal cycling fitness has been far from the desired performance level, the encouragement & fellowship of these dear Friends have been a solacing inspiration to my spirit again--a true and genuine treasure, indeed. :-) And though my cycling adventures this season have be minimal, the opportunities afforded to have coached other athletes in their pursuits of excellence and health and to rebuild a bike for a friend has brought their own measure of fulfillment and gratitude--again, treasures indeed...

Yeah, I'm already thinking about the 2020 cycling season ahead, but there's a few good rides still left in 2019...tighten up the Boa's & let's go!

Starting Over

There's a line from the movie "Forrest Gump" where the title character & his cohort, Lt Dan, are celebrating New Year's Eve with lady friends, one of whom remarks "It's like everyone gets another chance to start over"...

It goes without saying that life is full of the unexpected and the unexplained; I might  experience failure and personal struggle, may come across circumstances where I have to let something or some relationship go, albeit reluctantly, or be denied an achievement for which I have fervently and committedly striven.  As those seemingly dark moments draw to a close---and they will, I remind myself---I long to "start over" and get to "new arenas" and new ventures...

For our family, the dawn of 2019 is indeed a milestone opportunity to "start over"; our house of 12 years damaged by a lightning strike fire last year has finally been restored and returned to beautiful condition, my widowed father (Mom passed in late 2017) has found his "niche" with new friends and with a church fellowship who have warmly embraced him into their activities (rather appropriate for a retired pastor), and the adoption process for our daughter & son-in-law's foster child is closing in on the final stages of a very long process---bottom line, "starting over" brings a whole new meaning to our family more than just a New Year...

I'd like to say I was able to sustain a regular training routine in my cycling activities during this past year, but I cannot---no excuses, though I could claim several...I simply didn't keep the focus to do what I needed to as an athlete.  Life events make that decision path easy; string several of those decisions together over the course of a season...or a career...or a relationship...or a lifetime...and you end up facing the shadowy figure of regret.  Our family's 2018 could have easily gone that way; graciously and thankfully it did not...

2019 is, indeed, an opportunity to start over, particularly for me as an athlete and coach. I was fortunate to attend the annual National Cycling Coaches Summit in Colorado Springs, was asked again to coach a dear friend to achieve her second 162 kilometer charity bike ride (100 miles for those metrically challenged :-) ), and have returned to my own personal training schedule in the evenings using my stationary trainer & rollers.  Though I am far from the performance level desired, the encouragement & momentum is a solacing inspiration to my spirit, one I have missed for quite some time--nice to breathe in its presence again...

I get another chance to start over in 2019, and it will indeed be a good one...what are you going to do with your second chance?

#LifeShapings  #NowNotTomorrow  #BeBetter