I’ll call it a success. The mountain bike season ended last weekend with an outdoor pizza party on a chilly night. I can’t recall the last time I felt so cold. Maybe last March? Spring was pretty warm, plus during the lockdown I was always indoors. So yes, not cold since March. I didn’t like … Continue reading Coach Jeff
Mountain Biking
Pumped Up
I dreamed about ‘the woods’ last night. The woods were a sprawling swath of undeveloped land separating my neighborhood from Interstate 270. During my grade school years, my friends and I spent our afternoons and weekends searching for salamanders and crayfish under rocks in the rainwater stream bisecting the woods. We roamed well-worn paths and … Continue reading Pumped Up
The American Way
I’m tired. Really tired. Worn out. I’ll make my case, and you can roll your eyes and tell me to buck up. People have infants, or children with special needs, or two jobs, or three jobs, or an active social life. People are busy. People are used to being busy. I’m not. The week that … Continue reading The American Way
Cliffhanger No. 3
Cliffhanger. Do people know this word? My generation does, and those generations before me. It’s old fashion-y, like nickelodeons and world’s fairs. Nickelodeons—I just stumbled on this word while I looked up the etymology of cliffhanger. The first cinemas were called nickelodeons—back around the turn of the century (the prior one, old fashion-y, remember). People … Continue reading Cliffhanger No. 3
Abagunda
I have nothing left to say. Do you ever feel this way? I started blogging in 2013. Since then I’ve published at least one story per month, and one month, during a brief period of unemployment, fifteen. I’ve used up all my material, I’ve told every story there is to tell. For years, I did … Continue reading Abagunda
Dead Woman Hollow
It’s my home away from home, my staycation, my stomping grounds, at least for Memorial Day weekend. Dead Woman Hollow is a narrow, wooded valley sandwiched between two smallish Appalachian mountains in southern Pennsylvania. And as it turns out, for this weekend, it’s my principal destination. Thirty-two years and a couple of weeks ago, two … Continue reading Dead Woman Hollow
My posture is spoiling my livelihood.
Sigh. My posture sucks. Fifty-some years of walking around with my head down, shoulders curled in, has permanently altered my body. At times I want to fix it. Sixteen years ago, shopping at a pharmacy with Susan and Sophie, my life changed. Sophie, under two, walked up the aisles, grabbing pill bottles off the shelf, … Continue reading My posture is spoiling my livelihood.
Me Time
A few years ago, I managed an employee. The YWCA where I worked had a complex daily cash reconciliation process and a bazillion weekly bills. Unable to plow through the work on my own, I hired Ken for twenty hours per week. He made the deposits and kept on top of accounts payable. We were … Continue reading Me Time
GAIA GPS
Is this a product review? I dunno, maybe. It’s a tribute, an ode, accolades, praise. And just like that, I’m a BadAss again. BadAss: Back when my blog was specifically about running, I sought to become a BABWTR (Babywater), a BadAss Back Woods Trail Runner. The sort of dude who can run off into the … Continue reading GAIA GPS
Outside my Comfort Zone
Just like that, I’m a spin instructor again. Do you know about spin? It’s an exercise class. Stationary bikes semi-circled around a leader (that’s me). I select the music, choreograph the workout, think of motivating things to say. The part I like most about spin is that anyone—at any fitness level—can participate. A seventy-five-year-old can … Continue reading Outside my Comfort Zone
Life is Good
A Facebook private message to me: It’s Eric’s birthday. We’re going to Appalachian Brewing Company after spin. This was waiting yesterday morning when I woke up. I messaged Lisa the night before looking for Eric’s cell number. As one of my first actions as a mountain bike coach, I’m setting up a spin class as … Continue reading Life is Good
In Search Of…
Halloween. Seventy-some degrees, tornado warning, driving sheets of rain. When Susan picked me up from work, she told me they cancelled Halloween. No, I don’t know who ‘they’ are. And I don’t know how they can cancel an international holiday. “Great,” I said, “are they going to cancel Christmas if it snows?” Suddenly I have … Continue reading In Search Of…
Providence
Do your ever wonder “So what happened next?” I would. My blog is full of cliff-hangers. I write pondering posts questioning whether I should take some action in my life. Some are written just as I take on a new and positive activity. At the crest of a life-change. And then I never mention it … Continue reading Providence
So many reasons to say yes
We arrived before the party even started. It didn’t make sense. Why show up early when I wanted to spend as little time there as possible? I guess we did it for Eli. Saturday was his season-end shindig. A cookout, a camp out, a chance to hang out with his coaches and teammates and not … Continue reading So many reasons to say yes
