Positive Thread

[MattTuck]

In light of what seems to be a steady flow of negative news flow lately, here's a thread to talk about positive stuff.

I've had some great rides the last couple weeks. Did hills that I haven't done in a while, wind in my hair, some nice smooth descents. Asked some folks that were stopped on the side of the road if they were ok. They responded, "Shhhh, there are baby birds over there!" ummm, those are wild turkeys... you folks must be from the city, I thought.

World Championships are in Richmond this year, over a pretty interesting course with some North American cobbles (blasphemy!!??).

http://richmond2015.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Road-Circuit-Elevation-Map.gif


I have a totally irrational desire to go visit the Basque Country of Spain. I think this is partly due to a Rick Steve's episode I watched on PBS, and the fact that there is a bike race there. I have no idea if the riding is good there or not... but I want to go. What are your top 5 cycling destinations?

Rapha is having their sale now. We're in a golden age of chamois creams.

I'm enjoying life.

[bcroslin]

Yes.

Got to ride real-ish mountains in N Georgia last week and did a killer gravel ride with a good buddy that included a nasty climb that averaged 10% over 3 miles.

I did an alley-cat race on Sunday with my buddies and spent 90 min's killing it while riding with a good friend that I never get to ride with anymore because he relocated to Nashville. He came in 1st and I got 2nd.

My daughter starts college in 2 weeks and we'll be dropping her off soon. She's attending UF and only a little over 2+ hours away. We have a ton of friends in Gainesville who are going to look out for her.

Oh, and here's a photo my buddy from Nashville made of me riding my new track bike on Friday. Life is good.

(and I couldn't resist the Rapha sale as well!)

[SlackMan]

It's summer time! I have a healthy, beautiful wife and son, a new (to me) bike, have been having some some great meals with great wine, and there are some interesting things going on at work and personally. All of that is very plain and simple, and yet very positive to me.

[malcolm]

I just recently did ragbrai for the first time and it made me feel good about people. Very few knuckle heads in the mix. Overall for a tremendous mass of humanity all were well behaved and having fun. It's worth doing just for that alone

[572cv]

In light of what seems to be a steady flow of negative news flow lately, here's a thread to talk about positive stuff.

I've had some great rides the last couple weeks. Did hills that I haven't done in a while, wind in my hair, some nice smooth descents. Asked some folks that were stopped on the side of the road if they were ok. They responded, "Shhhh, there are baby birds over there!" ummm, those are wild turkeys... you folks must be from the city, I thought.

World Championships are in Richmond this year, over a pretty interesting course with some North American cobbles (blasphemy!!??).

http://richmond2015.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Road-Circuit-Elevation-Map.gif


I have a totally irrational desire to go visit the Basque Country of Spain. I think this is partly due to a Rick Steve's episode I watched on PBS, and the fact that there is a bike race there. I have no idea if the riding is good there or not... but I want to go. What are your top 5 cycling destinations?

Rapha is having their sale now. We're in a golden age of chamois creams.

I'm enjoying life.

OK, I'll play. Had a great ride last weekend on ridiculously rough roads in central NH. So what, the weather was great, the scenery was lovely, people were smiling, and the drivers were courteous.

Next weekend my niece is getting married, a joyous occasion. My mother and father are still hanging in there, and will be at the wedding.

In mid-September, we get to go back to Nice, France for about ten days of riding with a group of friends. Joy.

Any little age related aches and pains are not significant in the scheme of things. Life is treating me well, and I am very grateful.

[JAllen]

Yes.

Got to ride real-ish mountains in N Georgia last week and did a killer gravel ride with a good buddy that included a nasty climb that averaged 10% over 3 miles.

I did an alley-cat race on Sunday with my buddies and spent 90 min's killing it while riding with a good friend that I never get to ride with anymore because he relocated to Nashville. He came in 1st and I got 2nd.

My daughter starts college in 2 weeks and we'll be dropping her off soon. She's attending UF and only a little over 2+ hours away. We have a ton of friends in Gainesville who are going to look out for her.

Oh, and here's a photo my buddy from Nashville made of me riding my new track bike on Friday. Life is good.

(and I couldn't resist the Rapha sale as well!)

That is a great action shot. Looks like something off of Pedal Consumption. :)

You know, it really is good to step back and look at the positives in life for a moment. I get so caught up with the bad news in cycling because I care so deeply about it.

The good going right now: My wife and I are getting more involved in our church, our marriage/friendship is getting stronger daily, making some new friends and strengthening old friendships, I'm getting back into playing music, work is really coming together, I'm putting in some wonderful commuting miles, I'm excited to be visiting my family in Alabama after too many years away, making nice gains in the gym (which is a big deal for me, I hate the gym for a multitude of reasons), a cute little coffee shop/ café just opened around the corner from our house, and other various things. It's going pretty well. Thanks folks!

If it's not too much to say... I love you guys!!! :banana:

[Joachim]

in light of what seems to be a steady flow of negative news flow lately, here's a thread to talk about positive stuff.

I've had some great rides the last couple weeks. Did hills that i haven't done in a while, wind in my hair, some nice smooth descents. Asked some folks that were stopped on the side of the road if they were ok. They responded, "shhhh, there are baby birds over there!" ummm, those are wild turkeys... You folks must be from the city, i thought.

World championships are in richmond this year, over a pretty interesting course with some north american cobbles (blasphemy!!??).

http://richmond2015.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/road-circuit-elevation-map.gif


i have a totally irrational desire to go visit the basque country of spain. I think this is partly due to a rick steve's episode i watched on pbs, and the fact that there is a bike race there. I have no idea if the riding is good there or not... But i want to go. What are your top 5 cycling destinations?

Rapha is having their sale now. We're in a golden age of chamois creams.

I'm enjoying life.
+1

[john903]

I like positive posts. There is so much negative and ugliness in the world it is so refreshing to "just go for a ride". Like this morning Tuesday is interval day so out the door at 5:30. As I am warming up I passed the cows out in the field, smell the fresh cut hay our neighbor cut last night and the sun rise is hitting Hurricane ridge and it looked like a red curtain unveiling a new day upon the mountain, awesome. Then I cranked out my 1:00 interval session of 3x15"s yes even these can be fun even though they hurt. Came home had breakfast and went to a job I love doing. I am a school bus driver and also the driver trainer and am currently training two wonderful, competent, talented people who are a joy to be around and will be an asset to our school district. Yes I am even looking forward to summer ending so I can get back to driving the kids to and from school.
Life really is great if we would just take a moment to look around us and see the beauty in our life, situations and people.

P.S. I do have bad days and be grumpy too so I don't to give the impression that I put my head in the sand and ignore all the bad, I just try to see the good things in life.

Have a great day.

[sandyrs]

My first cx race of the season is less than a month away. Every time I ride my cross bike (including at lunch today) I get giddy with anticipation.

[4Rings6Stars]

In light of what seems to be a steady flow of negative news flow lately, here's a thread to talk about positive stuff.

...


I have a totally irrational desire to go visit the Basque Country of Spain. I think this is partly due to a Rick Steve's episode I watched on PBS, and the fact that there is a bike race there. I have no idea if the riding is good there or not... but I want to go. What are your top 5 cycling destinations?
...

I'm enjoying life.


I spent some time in the Basque country about 8 years ago when I was 17 and not really in to cycling yet. It is a gorgeous place and from what I remember, the riding should be spectacular. Rolling green hills and farms / sheep covered hillsides that look like something out of a fairytale. I want to go back. Bilbao was a fun city to spend a few days in too.

[MattTuck]

Let me just bring this crazy forum full circle.

I spent some time in the Basque country about 8 years ago when I was 17 and not really in to cycling yet. It is a gorgeous place and from what I remember, the riding should be spectacular. Rolling green hills and farms / sheep covered hillsides that look like something out of a fairytale. I want to go back. Bilbao was a fun city to spend a few days in too.

We are cleaning out and fixing up my grandparent's old farm house after putting them in assisted living. He had a huge scythe that I had the pleasure of swinging around through a field of tall grass last weekend. It was hard work, but it was incredibly rewarding to see the hay get mowed down. Even with an old rusty blade, it seemed pretty efficient.

Anyway, maybe this recent experience and the connection to these old posts (from this thread (http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?p=1594160)) had something to do with my irrational interest in the basque country.

These two posts were from last summer and I just remembered them.


Sega jokoa (scything)

Literally "scythe game", this sport is also known as segalariak (scythers), sega proba (scythe test), sega apustua (scythe bet) or segalaritza (scything). The earliest record of this sport comes from a bertso dating back to 1880 about a competition in Iturriotz.

In this sport competitors (called segalari) either compete to cut the most grass in a given space of time (usually one hour) or they are each given plots of grass of the same size and the competition is to see who can scythe theirs the fastest. Today the competition usually lasts one hour but two-hour competitions also are still held. At the end, the grass is raked, weighed and baled to establish the winner. Traditionally, as with most Basque sports, the competitors would make a profit by betting but monetary prizes have been put up since the 1950s.

There are few actual records in this sport as it very much depends on the terrain and is thus difficult to compare. But a number of segalari have achieved fame nonetheless, for example the legendary Pedro Maria Otaño Ezeitza, commonly known as Santa Ageda from Beizama who was also an aizkolari and competed up until 1915. Another famed event was the competition of 1925 in Iturriotz when, before a crowd of 6000, Pedro Mendizabal from Aia and Jose Arrieta from Urnieta battled each other. Legend has it that more than 150,000 pesetas in bets were placed. Mendizabal won, cutting 4294 kg of grass in two hours against his rival's 3957 kg.

The use of scythes is still widespread today as many pastures are to steep for modern farm machinery so scythes are used to cut grass or bracken. Working scythes have blades between 0.9-0.95m long but competition scythes range from 1.18-1.24m in length. A decent segalari can manage some 5000m2 in a day.

ha!

the basque country seems like a really interesting place to visit.

[AJosiahK]

My first cx race of the season is less than a month away. Every time I ride my cross bike (including at lunch today) I get giddy with anticipation.

Me too. I typically love summer but can't wait for what fall has to bring NE

Cheers and thanks for this thread!

[jmoore]

My new gloves are about to launch. I'm at the tail-end of a 2+ year road with these. All looking good so far.


The wheels Oldpotato built me are bomb proof.


I'm always happy when I throw a leg over my Bedford with my Pacenti built SL23 wheels.

[Wesley37]

Psyched for my first stage race, this weekend!

http://www.tourdemillersburg.com/

The races available in my immediate area after Fathers Day are few and far between, but if 6-7 hours of driving can get me 3 races in a weekend, it might be just the thing I am looking for. Seems to me that there are a number of stage races I can target within 7 hours drive of Ottawa in the NE US.

[tiretrax]

I am just happy to be alive. Simple as that.

Matt, the Basque country should be an outstanding place to ride - it is the epicenter of Spanish cycling (Zuess, Orbea, and BH and the now-defunct Euskatel Euskadi team). I can't recommend any routes, but I'm sure there are online references and historic Vuelta routes. Perhaps Rapha's "Great Rides of the Pyrenees" has some routes on the south side of the range. I'm sure you've heard Phil and Paul say how (name a Basque rider) can ride off the back of the Tourmalet and get to his village.

[choke]

Cino Heroica is 40 days away. :)

[guido]

Vacation coming up starting friday. It's been too long... We get away to a nice little cottage on a CSA farm down near the Cape. MY SO gets to play farmer to her hearts content. I get to cook great meals with the wonderful vegies... We bring a bunch of bikes and I plan to ride the heck out of them and drag her along for a couple nice rides. I found that one of my favorite minor authors (Allen Appel) has released 3 more books in his Pastmaster series and I have them downloaded onto the Kindle -- I plan to read them all while I am away. There is no internet or tv. Paradise.

[doomridesout]

I have enough to eat, a roof over my head, and a supportive, loving girlfriend. On top of that, I get to ride my bike frequently.

Despite a lot of anxieties surrounding starting school, I have a full scholarship to a good law school, and I know I am competent to do it.

I am often a messed up ball of nerves, but it does me good to ground myself and remember the good things that surround me. An older version of me might have scoffed at a thread like this, but I've got to say thanks to the OP for reminding me to count my blessings.

[Avincent52]

I've got an amazing wife, two amazing kids, a dog who loves me, my back feels better if not actually good. And I got a new bike. Sure, we can all find things to complain about, but all in all I'm really the luckiest guy in the world and I try to make sure my people and my dog know that I know that.

[Lanternrouge]

I had fun riding my bike this morning, stopping at the coffee shop to hang out with people I like, and had 2 out of 3 dogs excited to see me when I got home and got to work from home with a dog spending most of the day napping under my desk.

[ceolwulf]

Oh I thought this thread was going to be about someone testing positive :help:

Let's see ... went to the local puddle to SUP just now and there were no motorboats at all :hello: paddling at night on a glass surface is good times.

[paredown]

A small, partial victory for me--I've finally tackled a section of our house project that has been bothering me. We have a roof to roof transition that leaked more than once since the house was built--repaired more than once by the previous owners and I finally started taking it apart to replace water damaged wood.

I've got it all stripped down for the surgery.

Temporary wall goes up tomorrow, and I will be taking out the rotten window header, reframing and then all the outside work. Permanent fix will include gutters to prevent splash back and further damage.

PITA--but sometimes digging in is better than letting something eat at you.

[velomonkey]

Tons to be happy about. Mostly happy, healthy kids who are better than me in every way. My 14 year old daughter who is 5'10" and so nice and just great is spending 4 or 5 nights a week watching movies with me. We're having a blast.

My riding is down, but that's because I started an elite summer lacrosse team for my 10 year old son. The team took bronze in the state championship.

[Louis]

Oh I thought this thread was going to be about someone testing positive :help:

I'm O+

[krhea]

My family is healthy, my 12yr old daughter is wonderful, respectful and very funny, my health is better then it's been in the past 4+yrs, I've finally dialed my margarita recipe this summer after failing countless times over the years and my wife and I just finished an incredible anniversary adventure...we cycled from Astoria Oregon down the coast to Crescent City California. She's only been riding 2yrs and never in a million years did she EVER think she'd do something like this. We rode 2-days on, 1-day off, started by 8:30 every day after watching the tour from our hotel bed and were done by 2 each afternoon. We drank some great wine, ate some amazingly fresh seafood, chilled and enjoyed each other's company. She's pretty amazing, I'm a very lucky and blessed guy.

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3767/19390709264_3a3807d89b_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/vxusiw)P7240511 (https://flic.kr/p/vxusiw) by KRhea FrzFrmFoto (https://www.flickr.com/photos/krheapvpics/), on Flickr
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3672/20020178451_7ff98b0d5a_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/wv7Dyx)IMG_20150723_144807 (https://flic.kr/p/wv7Dyx) by KRhea FrzFrmFoto (https://www.flickr.com/photos/krheapvpics/), on Flickr
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/528/19849921940_e582de996c_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/wf53es)P7180176 (https://flic.kr/p/wf53es) by KRhea FrzFrmFoto (https://www.flickr.com/photos/krheapvpics/), on Flickr

[ofcounsel]

I have enough to eat, a roof over my head, and a supportive, loving girlfriend. On top of that, I get to ride my bike frequently.

Despite a lot of anxieties surrounding starting school, I have a full scholarship to a good law school, and I know I am competent to do it.

I am often a messed up ball of nerves, but it does me good to ground myself and remember the good things that surround me. An older version of me might have scoffed at a thread like this, but I've got to say thanks to the OP for reminding me to count my blessings.

Good luck in school! Cheers!

[Elefantino]

This week marks two years since I started working in a bike shop, and two years and four months since I chucked away a 35-year-career on my own terms and retired. I haven't "worked" a day since, if you know what I mean.

My daughter called today to say she bought tickets to Jon Stewart live in October and could I please, please fly to DC for the weekend. Hello, Virgin America.

I have a new CSI that rides way more beautifully than the old CSI I had that didn't ride so beautifully and I don't know why but I'm not complaining.

I have ridden four times since recovering from my latest back surgery and have no pain. Tomorrow, I climb.

My wife and I will be married 34 years this month.

[rain dogs]

We're healthy and we're happy. Those are most important.

My 5 year plan to start a business, pay off the student loan and give myself employment that I could move around the world (from Vancouver to Spain) is working (although it took 6 years). That to me still doesn't feel totally real. We're close to my wife's family now and living in Asturias, where her father is from. We have family all around.

I wrote this plan out a bit here, I think about 2 years ago.

Open offer to anyone on Paceline. If you're ever thinking of Northern Spain - we're here in Asturias, where the best cycling in Spain is. You have a place (or help finding something more lux.), a riding buddy and a guide.

Matt, the Basque country is beautiful, and we're only 350ish km away in Oviedo.

Hey, and thanks again to this forum, to any and all support for our tiny brand that has made getting steps closer to out dream, possible. :hello:

[malcolm]

Tons to be happy about. Mostly happy, healthy kids who are better than me in every way. My 14 year old daughter who is 5'10" and so nice and just great is spending 4 or 5 nights a week watching movies with me. We're having a blast.

My riding is down, but that's because I started an elite summer lacrosse team for my 10 year old son. The team took bronze in the state championship.

Interesting. My wife and I were talking about our 14 year old daughter who I'll be teaching to drive starting any day now, but I commented to my wife how she was a much better person in almost every way than I ever was. She seems to have a heart and world view that took me 50 years to develop.

She's the lacrosse player in the family and just finished a summer tournament team that made for some sweltering hot but awesome weekends.

[joep2517]

I think this is good/positive news. I've been off my chemo medication for just over three months. And even more importantly the chemo brain has subsided. And I'm hoping to ride this weekend!

[guido]

That sounds like a great trip! Always great to expand horizons and have a blast doing it.

My family is healthy, my 12yr old daughter is wonderful, respectful and very funny, my health is better then it's been in the past 4+yrs, I've finally dialed my margarita recipe this summer after failing countless times over the years and my wife and I just finished an incredible anniversary adventure...we cycled from Astoria Oregon down the coast to Crescent City California. She's only been riding 2yrs and never in a million years did she EVER think she'd do something like this. We rode 2-days on, 1-day off, started by 8:30 every day after watching the tour from our hotel bed and were done by 2 each afternoon. We drank some great wine, ate some amazingly fresh seafood, chilled and enjoyed each other's company. She's pretty amazing, I'm a very lucky and blessed guy.

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3767/19390709264_3a3807d89b_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/vxusiw)P7240511 (https://flic.kr/p/vxusiw) by KRhea FrzFrmFoto (https://www.flickr.com/photos/krheapvpics/), on Flickr
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3672/20020178451_7ff98b0d5a_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/wv7Dyx)IMG_20150723_144807 (https://flic.kr/p/wv7Dyx) by KRhea FrzFrmFoto (https://www.flickr.com/photos/krheapvpics/), on Flickr
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/528/19849921940_e582de996c_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/wf53es)P7180176 (https://flic.kr/p/wf53es) by KRhea FrzFrmFoto (https://www.flickr.com/photos/krheapvpics/), on Flickr

[doomridesout]

Joe P-- now THAT is some good news. Congrats on finishing chemo.

[MattTuck]

Some more good luck.

I was just looking at my sunglasses that I wore on this morning's ride. I wore them for maybe 15 minutes out of the 2+ hour ride. I thought I heard a bug hit them at one point.

Turns out, it wasn't a bug. It was bird poop.

Sorry for poor image. Just glad that I was wearing the glasses at that moment, and that the payload didn't hit somewhere else on my face.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/h3So8SegCVEyplMkx-zKz-rpklotVVpFwEDUKEzZ6Z4=w1280-h721-no

[TimD]

Rode from the Boston suburbs to Montreal over five days with my 22-year-old son, who has just graduated and will be starting A Real Job in a couple of weeks.

Beautiful scenery in NH, VT, and PQ. Below, a section of the Burlington rail trail, complete with ferry across a 200-foot gap, heading toward South Hero.

[roydyates]

...
My wife and I will be married 34 years this month.

Coincidentally: My wife and I will be married 34 years this month. :)

[William]

My family is healthy, my 12yr old daughter is wonderful, respectful and very funny, my health is better then it's been in the past 4+yrs, I've finally dialed my margarita recipe this summer after failing countless times over the years and my wife and I just finished an incredible anniversary adventure...we cycled from Astoria Oregon down the coast to Crescent City California. She's only been riding 2yrs and never in a million years did she EVER think she'd do something like this. We rode 2-days on, 1-day off, started by 8:30 every day after watching the tour from our hotel bed and were done by 2 each afternoon. We drank some great wine, ate some amazingly fresh seafood, chilled and enjoyed each other's company. She's pretty amazing, I'm a very lucky and blessed guy.

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3767/19390709264_3a3807d89b_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/vxusiw)P7240511 (https://flic.kr/p/vxusiw) by KRhea FrzFrmFoto (https://www.flickr.com/photos/krheapvpics/), on Flickr
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3672/20020178451_7ff98b0d5a_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/wv7Dyx)IMG_20150723_144807 (https://flic.kr/p/wv7Dyx) by KRhea FrzFrmFoto (https://www.flickr.com/photos/krheapvpics/), on Flickr
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/528/19849921940_e582de996c_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/wf53es)P7180176 (https://flic.kr/p/wf53es) by KRhea FrzFrmFoto (https://www.flickr.com/photos/krheapvpics/), on Flickr

That's a beautiful ride and way to do it. Traffic can be hectic in places but still worth it.






William

[KJMUNC]

Always good to spread positive juju vs. wasting energy on negativity....thanks for starting the thread:

I rode with a new group on Sunday. 1st group ride in years. Hung on for 35mi, got dropped hard, but one of the guys waited and rode with me the last 15mi to get me back. Felt like crud but was just nice to get out and ride with others.

[d_douglas]

I just came back from 10 days vacation on beaches with fine white sand, warm salty crystal clear water and spectacular views. I tossed my kids around in the ocean for hours (hurt my back doing it!), celebrated my little guy's 4th birthday, and even tossed in some fun MTBing while out there.

It was a great vacation with my favourite people.

Oh, and my buddy Jay whom I rarely see in person is in town for dinner tonight with his wife and little guy - good to see Mr. Kohlboto :)

[Saxon]

I had cloud cover (and some rain!) for most of my ride yesterday which really dropped the temperature down from the heat we've been having here. It was great to have a ride in some cool weather for a change!

[tiretrax]

I think this is good/positive news. I've been off my chemo medication for just over three months. And even more importantly the chemo brain has subsided. And I'm hoping to ride this weekend!

This wins, hands down. Wishing you good health!

[Elefantino]

Coincidentally: My wife and I will be married 34 years this month. :)


1981 was a very good year!

[MattTuck]

1981 was a very good year!

"I have a feelin' eighty one is gonna be a good year, especially if you and me see it in together..."

[rpm]

This year, I celebrated the 20th anniversary of my liver transplant. And I'm riding two hours a day with four or five on Saturday. I never thought I'd make it this far, let alone still be riding.

[malcolm]

This year, I celebrated the 20th anniversary of my liver transplant. And I'm riding two hours a day with four or five on Saturday. I never thought I'd make it this far, let alone still be riding.

Wow and congrats. Liver transplant has come a long way in 20 years

[rpm]

Wow and congrats. Liver transplant has come a long way in 20 years

Thanks! When I got my transplant in 1995, the longest living liver transplant recipient in my state was 14 years out, and he was in bad shape--he died the next year. Because our immune systems are suppressed, we are susceptible to cancer and a lot of bad bugs. I was hoping to get five years so I could get my kids through college. The drugs have gotten a lot better, though, and I not only was able to get my kids through college, but was able to see them get married and have kids of my own.

The medicine has certainly gotten better, but I'm absolutely convinced that riding regularly, even when I've had problems, has been a big part of my success. I've kissed the pavement a few times over the last 20 years, but it's been worth it IMHO.