Quickie Bike Ride

I arrived home from work at approximately 8:15pm this evening. After a couple of motion-free moments on the couch, I got back up and prepared for a road ride. I hit the road around 8:40.

The ride was excellent. As I've recently expressed, a lot of enjoyment can be had simply by carefully metering out one's effort while riding a road bike. The bikes are so light and responsive that there is very little "contamination" of one's power as it's transferred into forward motion. So I felt this tonight when I rode up Shaw Mountain Road to the top of Table Rock.

The route involves some gradual to moderate climbing for the first couple of miles. As the paved road passes million dollar homes, it's grade increases dramatically. I'd guess that the road angles up around 13-15% and maintains that grade for 2-4 minutes worth of hard effort. After the steepest section, the road continues to climb for a quarter mile or so. To get to the top of Table Rock (which is the large plateau east of Boise with an imposing, lighted cross on top), you have to travel up a steep and rocky road for another quarter mile. All in all, the route covers 4-5 miles and involves about 900 feet of climbing.

This evening I chose to push a bigger than average gear and maintain a higher than average speed. Which meant that I was breathing hard harder than average and my legs were pretty loaded. But it felt great applying so much power. And my legs, despite the task I gave them, kept rising to the occasion. At no point did they weaken. This is what cyclists refer to as having "good legs". Some days you have them, some days you don't. Today was my day.

The descent is one of the few around that can give me a big thrill. First, I have to negotiate the dirt road, which isn't so consistently rocky that I can't let it rip for a few moments. And when thing are rough and sketchy, it's a lot of fun picking the best lines and letting the bike bounce over the things I don't miss. After the road returns to pavement, there's a sharp left hand turn that requires scrubbing some speed. But the remaining turns are gradual enough that one can ride down the entire 13-15% grade without touching the brakes. By the time I reach the middle of the descent, I'm traveling well over 40 miles an hour. To be honest, I do usually slow down slightly because I know there are deer in the area, and the last thing I want to do is pile into one. There's that, and the fact that the speed limit is 25mph once you get into the houses. I can imagine someone complaining if I sped into their neighborhood at 50mph.

Josh, the fallen leaf

I'm quick, jumping, responsive, and agile. That's sometimes. You'll see it when I'm on my bike or on the job. Other times I'm moving slowly; like this afternoon, cruising across town. Pedaling at what feels like a snail's pace.

Later, I read a book and sipped coffee. Tilted my head and shifted my gaze deliberately, slowly.

Speed and slowness can be perfected. It takes years of training, of heightening one's self awareness to master the art of inner and outer motion. And for peace, the mind and body must constantly adjust their speed to fall in line with the pace of the autonomous spirit. Sometimes the spirit wants to fly and other times it settles like a fallen leaf. Being aware of one's disposition and offering it as little resistance as possible will bring you contentment. Thus sayeth the Zen Master.

Anyway, I've been a fallen leaf lately. Which isn't the best thing at work, where performance is required. The tension created between my peace-seeking disposition and the war-like surrounding of George's Cycles can be unpleasant. But the general calm and slowness that I've been feeling has made for some quality moments while reading, cruising, and hanging out by the pool. I even managed to maintain my mellow at the gym this afternoon as I randomly picked activities to engage in.

I look forward to a road bike ride this evening. Bike rides are always enjoyable because you get to play games with speed. You get to practice turning it on and turning it off. There's no more effective way of transforming your will into pure velocity than riding a road bike. You feel powerful even if you're not in shape. And it can be a lot of fun. Who knows, it may even bring you closer to enlightenment.

July 16, 2008

So I'm going about bettering myself. I'm riding my bike, reading books, working out, working hard. And I'm going around looking for fun, looking for pleasure. Good food, good sex, quality entertainment, moments of bliss.

Things are always a bit more complicated, of course. Fun isn't always had when you plan on it and sometimes it pops up when you're not expecting it. My mood can be set for an entire day by a single interaction or one missed meal. Life can be tricky.

But lately its been rather mellow and pleasant. Calm was only recently interrupted by visiting relatives (Mom and Carla) and a hectic workplace. Mom joined Fern and friends and myself for fun in the park during Fourth of July celebrations. We rode bikes and played smashmitten. The fireworks show was the best (closest) I've seen in many many years. It was good to see Mom so lively and fun loving. And she's as sharp as ever. When Carla came to town, Fern and I took her to The Balcony for drinks and dancing. Mom tried to get us all to a Mormon singles dance but she ended up being the one turning us back when she saw all the unattractive older men there. Carla, Mom and I toured the Old State Penitentary, something that I had never done completely and so thoroughly. The facility truly represents the opposite of freedom, with the tiniest of cells and dungeon-like solitary confinement. On Mom and Carla's last full day here, we drove up to Blue Lake in the mountains west of Cascade, and witnessed some of the most beautiful wilderness in the state. Overall, I think we experienced Boise and Idaho at their best, though just a few degrees warmer.

Work and I continue to kick each other's asses. That's to say I think I provide excellent customer service, sell a lot of bikes, and work overtime to ensure we have the bike inventory we need; but I tend to come home after an eleven or twelve hour day completely beat up, with little or no time for any activity besides vegging out in front of the TV. Days off, like today, can be less than perfect because I don't have a lot of energy for getting chores or excercise done. Rather, sometimes, like today, I'll opt to chill out and read and take it easy most of the day.

At the M this afternoon I had one of the best vanilla lattes of my life and read a very engaging yet disturbing book entitled The Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan. So far, the author has recounted the history of Christianity with a focus on Satan's role in the develpment of the Catholic church. The book certainly captures the fundamentalist American Christian church's view of reality. Its pretty scary actually, which makes it especially entertaining for me.

After my reading marathon (just a couple of hours) at the M, I stopped in at the Lux and Macy's to shop for work shorts. I get hot at work, with all the running around I do, and I think it would help if my work outfit was a tad cooler. I found a couple pairs of acceptable shorts at Macy's and put them on my charge card. Just thought you should know...

Tonight it'll be fun with Fern. Hopefully that'll include getting some good exercise--maybe the gym, a bike ride, or some splish-splashing in the pool. I'm really fond of intense physical activity followed by good food and equally intense leisure time. At least that's the general template I try to follow. We'll see how things go.