Rain

Nothing is more unpleasant on a bike than a driving rain storm on the road. Water squishes between your toes while your feet feel like they just gained 20lbs each. The wind in your face turns cold and you actually hope for a hill to go slow and generate heat to renew your spirit to ride. So was the ride today. We like to call these rides "character builders", and every cyclist needs a few to toughen up the soul.

Todays ride was a 60 miler approaching race pace for 70% of the ride. It brought back memories of long training rides watching every heart rate and monitoring every piece of availabl e information to measure fitness. I don't miss it quite honestly. But I did enjoy the satisfaction of a good effort. It is funny how in our drive to one up ourselves, we begin to squeeze out the enjoyment of the activity. I could easily see today's ride going in that direction. The next ride I need to go a little faster for a little farther....and so on. Then one day you wake up and realize you really don't enjoy the activity any longer.

So, hold me accountable. This training is not about getting to the Masters National Championships. It is about getting back to healthy level of fitness to enjoy what God has in store for me ride in June, and hopefully many more rides to follow. But today, I could feel that same old competitive spirit beginning to swell.

The Traveler's Gift

I spent the weekend in the mountains visiting with my Mom and Dad. My wife Karen bought me a book tape to enjoy on my trip. The book is entitled "The Traveler's Gift", by Andy Andrews. I must confess my envy in wishing I had written such wonderful book. The book investigates the 7 decisions that every successful person make, but does so in the context of a well conceived plot. Honestly, this is a book I need to read every six months.

The weekend was a memory maker. First, I really enjoyed spending some quality time with my parents in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. Saturday I got in an epic ride which included an 11 mile climb to the top of Waterrock Knob......I'm still gasping for air. And finally, we capped off a great day at the Balsam Mountain Inn enjoying wonderful dinner and soaking in the fresh Spring mountain air. As if that wasn't enough, the Balsmam Mountain Inn was hosting one of its famous Songwriters in the Round evenings, from which the whole concept of Psalmwriters was born. www. psalmwriters.org.

I often tell Meredith that great men and women see the significance of moments while they occur. I'll leave history to judge my greatness, but this weekend was one clearly recognizable as a memory maker that I will cherish for the rest of my life. Indeed, this traveler was given a gift of a different sort, one of quality parent time with elder ailing parents....a gift of no less significance than that discussed by Mr. Andrews. But like the central charactor, my eyes were opened to so much for which I should be grateful.