Must be the weather

Holy shiz-nit, it's been a while since I really let my fingers do the talking...I've just been too phuggin' busy with a lot of good stuff!  Spring 2012 has me all kinds of whacked out, and 94.73% in a good way.  So much going on, so much to do, work toward, enjoy and reflect on.  Yeah, something sure has "sprung".

April has just about blown through, but it's been packed with a lotta "firsts" (or "damn-near-firsts", and/or "first-in-a-really-freakin'-long-time"'s).  I started the month by taking my first-ever, solo "stay-cation".  It was "take a week off work to avoid quitting or getting fired" motivated, but what I actually got to do with the time made it worth a whole lot more.  I even created some goals, like:  ride a bicycle for 20 hours, do all of the school drop-offs/pick-ups of Da Boyz, knock out a buncha chores around the house, and...well, nap.  The idea behind those 9 days off really focused on giving attention to all (and only) the stuff I wanted to give attention to.  Mission accomplished in more ways than one, for sure.

The "20 hours in 7 days" idea launched on Sunday with my first-ever "gravel-grinder"...and "just" 82 miles of it.  A gravel-grinder is a clever way of saying "bicycle ride on gravel roads", and such rides were my motivation to recently purchase a cyclocross bike.  I jumped in with some hardcore dudes, but at the end of the day I was feeling proud, accomplished...and tired...and sunburned.  The normally-a-work-week kicked off with mowing, lawn chemicals, irrigation fine-tuning, and errands before another spin on the road bike.  Next day was several hours on the mountain bike capped on both ends with some fun with my sons.  Mid-way point of the week was very intense - very NAP intense.  Hey, I did say that napping was one of the goals!  83+ paved miles then on Thursday that started in mid-40 degree mist/rain and ended in 60 degree sun.  Friday included laundry, errands and a weird phone interview followed by some 'cross bike exploring and the usual Friday Family Movie Night.

Saturday was both a "first" and a "first-in-a-really-freakin'-long-time":  I took part in my first 3 hour mountain bike race, which was my first race since the calendar year started with a "2"!  As if I wasn't re-hooked on bikes enough this year, that 3h 3m of sufferin' sunk the barb even deeper (8th outa 24 results didn't hurt, either!).  It also allowed me to reach my stay-cation goal:  20h 02m, 279 miles composed of three different disciplines of pedal-power in seven calendar days. 

Needless to say (but I'm gonna say it anyway?) - for 9 days I was absolutely, positively living the dream.  I was a "kept man", a "stay-at-home, part-time Dad", a "spoiled rotten middle-aged kid" - call it what you want, but I'll bet you $1.00 of your money that you're envious!  Could I do that full time?  Hmmmm....oh HELL yes!!  Do I continue to contemplate doing just that and review the family budget and cash flow to see if it's actually possible?  For damn sure, I do!  But there's gotta be a middle ground there....somewhere...don't you think?  I gotta find it if there is.  Anyway, I've since returned to work, have gone two weeks without getting fired or quitting, and seem to somehow be enjoying my bike riding, my chores/responsibilities, and most of all my family just a little bit more than ever.  Seems the stay-cation did what I'd hoped, and then some...a lotta "some", actually.

A couplefew other things seem to have come into season along with the uber-green grass and 'bout-perfect weather.  First and foremost - my kids.  What the...???  Maybe all parents experience it, and if not I sure hope they get to, but my 5.5 & 6.5 year old boys somewhere in the last 20-30 days have turned some kinda corner.  They've always been great kids, but they've taken it to another level - with their growing affection for each other, their exponential growth in knowledge, reading, humor, and their ever-increasing size, strength and physical abilities.  My sons are just cooler than ever to hang out with!  I've loved 'em all along, I've even liked 'em almost all the time, but I find myself now nearly in awe.  This is exciting shit!  They're working their magic on evolving from little boys into little men and doing a fantastic job.  Being a Dad is cool...

So...1/3 of the way through Spring 2012 and everything I'd hoped to sprout is growing far better than I could've imagined (OK, including my apparent employment allergy....?!? Eh-hemmm).  My focus on bicycles is proving rather rewarding as I've now competed in 2 mountain bike races - the second being a 6 hour solo ride to 4th in class - and enjoying a level of fitness I've not known since my "I want to go to the '92 Olympics" era of the mid '80's!  I've registered for a 75 mile off-road race in May and feeling more and more confident in my chances of finishing (and growing conviction to "finish respectfully") the Silver Rush 50 in Leadville, CO in July.  I find myself being known now-a-days as "one of the fast guys" by the KC area bike folks - something I've never been before.  Oh, I've often been the "well, he does have some skills" guy, and for many years was known as the "pretty fast for a big guy" fella, but now at 41.8 years old, it seems I have finally arrived...ha ha.  Funny to say it that way...but I don't really care.

OK, well, that's about as much babble about nothing inparticular that I've got in me.  All that to simply say - working or not, I am living the dream and it seems to just keep getting better.

***  Special thanks to Big Worm and Big Jim for they're part in helping kick my latest bicycle era into high(er) gear as well as their continued input and advice on how to make the most of it  ***