The summer of 2011 was a very strange time for me. I had started a new job that I hated, I was dating a girl I didn't much care for, I was gaining weight like a gross pig and in general my life was just filled with all sorts of first world problems.
One day I was looking in the mirror and I finally got disgusted. I threw down my razor and went into the living room and popped in the P90 video and did it all the way through. I can assure you that I was dying at the end. I then hopped in the shower and went about my day feeling really good about myself. So I kept doing P90 and I got to a certain point where I could not progress any more. I couldn't figure out why, more or less I didn't want to know. In order to progress I had to quit smoking, something I had been dreading doing for a long time.
I had tried to quit smoking three times in the past and they were all horrible experiences. I am not superstitious but it seemed that every time I tried to quit smoking something awful happened. The first time I tried to quit my ex wife overdosed on sleeping pills, which brought me right back to the butts. The second time I tried to quit while I was deployed in Iraq. I had actually made it two and a half months, then my grandpa died. I couldn't handle the stress of being there away from everyone I know and not smoking, so I went back to the dark side. Then there was the third time. I went a whole three months without smoking and things seemed like they were going well. As soon as that thought entered my head is the same time that my daughter's mother ended up cheating on me, with two guys, at the same time. Not only did I start smoking again but it caused me to move three thousand miles away back to my home of Minnesota.
So as you can see I was a little apprehensive about quiting smoking. Things were already not that great for me all I could think about is how much worse things could get if I quit smoking and something happened. Then one day in May, I got some horrible news.
There was a woman who worked with my father that died of lung cancer. Her story is really very sad. She smoked for a short time in her life, maybe about five years and quit when she found out she was pregnent with her first child. She went about her life in a very normal fashion, taking better care of herself to be around for her children. One day in May she came to work and had labored breathing. She went to her doctor and he couldn't figure out what was going on so he asked her to come back the next day for some tests. Upon getting her cat scan results they noticed a lump in her lung, they needed to do a biopsy. So the next day they performed the biopsy, but there was a complication, every time they tried to revive her she went into cardiac arrest. They had no choice but to keep her in the hospital in a drug induced coma. Two days later she passed away from what the doctors figured out was a very nasty case of stage 4 lung cancer. In one week she went from perfect health to death. Never getting a chance to even say goodbye to her husband or two children.
This story shook me to my core. As a parent I continually worry about my daughter. I know that driving a bike, a car, walking down the street, or even just sitting in this computer chair an act of god could happen at any time and I could die. However, if I could have control over one more facet of my existence then I should and need to do it. With a new found vigor I quit smoking within 2 weeks. It was a hard road but I made it. The next thing I knew, P90 was too easy.
I graduated to the next video almost immediately. Then I went on to P90x. I ended up loosing quite a bit of weight, which was okay, I had plenty to spare. Then I started looking towards the future. I wanted to find an activity that I could do outside and year round. Something that wouldn't break the bank either.
After a few weeks I started looking at bicycles. I am in school for construction management, my focus for this career path is in sustainable energy and green building projects. I have always felt connected with nature for as long as I can remember. I just like the feeling of being way out in the woods far away from everything. I also love animals and they are infinitely interesting to me. So I was obviously really drawn to the bicycle because you don't have to drive anywhere to do it. You can ride to your destinations, all of them. Then once I found out about studded bicycle tires and that winter riding was not only possible but practical, I made the leap.
I bought a nice inexpensive bike off of bikesdirect.com, a Dawes lightningcross 2011. From the time I received the bike in the mail on August 1 until this current date I have logged over 1500 miles, there are much more out there that I have not logged. I use my bicycle for commuting and fun. I also got interested in single-track near the end of the year. I will be participating in my first race ever tomorrow the Lake Minnetonka Ice Race. I am super stoked.
The future is bright for me and cycling and I have had a lot of really cool experiences while on a bicycle that I think are worth sharing, so that is what this blog will be. A collection of ride reports, pictures, stories, and fun information that I find.
As of right now there are a lot of things coming up for me. I have finally volunteered for the Midtown Greenway trail watch after a woman was knocked off her bicycle and robbed on the Greenway. My girlfriend is going to give bicycling a try this summer and if this happened to her I wouldn't know what to do with myself. So instead of just sitting and being appalled at this crap I have to decided to try and do something about it. Also I will be moving in with my girlfriend within the next couple weeks, so I will be in Minneapolis instead of Maple Grove, which is worlds apart. I love Minneapolis but I suspect I will miss Elm Creek Park Reserve.
So that is all for the first post. The updated in the future won't be as wordy so I will close with some pictures I've taken on rides since I've started biking to get things up to speed.
