If you told me last fall (when I wrote my last blog entry here), that both the Giro and the Tour de France were not going to be held as scheduled, I really wouldn't know what to think, other than, "No way, you're full of it!" Or maybe I'd think another world war broke out, or a new doping scandal that was so massive and widespread the UCI closed shop. Now that I know why life as we knew it has been canceled, I sometimes have difficulty knowing what else to think. I thought this mess would blow over soon, but unlike the hateful orange manatee we call "president," I would pause to listen to experts in epidemiology and other related fields. But here we are...every day, more people get sick, more people die, and somehow we didn't set up a government that would easily remove someone who is "not right in the head" from such a powerful office.
Optimism kept me from giving up (and growing this mustache/beard) for months into the pandemic. I tossed in the towel July 1st and started letting everything go.
I'm glad I traveled so much in 2019, wrapping up the year (after the European trip mentioned in previous post) with a trip to Chicago and a family trip to Japan over the Christmas holiday, with city tours and snow skiing. I didn't have a ton of travel planned, but they were going to be meaningful trips: Seeing cousins I haven't seen in years, and visiting my parents (who turn 89 this year) in Florida in April and December. They called off the big, extended family gathering in Siesta Key because—despite their advanced age—they feel a strong urge to stay alive. Can you blame them. As I learn more about the lasting damage (heart, brain, muscles) inflicted upon survivors of COVID-19, the more of a recluse I want to become until this is GONE.
For some reason, I'm less inspired to ride during the pandemic. But I want to stay active, so I'm doing a lot of landscaping and improvements around the house...realizing how much energy cycling has diverted from this sort of activity over the years. As it turns out, hardscaping, gardening, cleaning and painting are really good all-body exercises for an old fart like me. And this shift has made my wife Katie very happy with the progress, which I count as one of the many "silver linings" of this big-ass, deadly cloud.
I wish you good health, and hope you're helping to control the spread of this virus. If you're one of those anti-mask morons, please don't tell me, and please reconsider. It's not about you, this is about everyone, and we need to stop this invisible beast. Ω
For some reason, I'm less inspired to ride during the pandemic. But I want to stay active, so I'm doing a lot of landscaping and improvements around the house...realizing how much energy cycling has diverted from this sort of activity over the years. As it turns out, hardscaping, gardening, cleaning and painting are really good all-body exercises for an old fart like me. And this shift has made my wife Katie very happy with the progress, which I count as one of the many "silver linings" of this big-ass, deadly cloud.
I wish you good health, and hope you're helping to control the spread of this virus. If you're one of those anti-mask morons, please don't tell me, and please reconsider. It's not about you, this is about everyone, and we need to stop this invisible beast. Ω
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