Life and the Inevitability of Death

My mom died after a battle with cancer on this date 10 years ago, only five days from her 68th birthday.

Truthfully, it feels more like 20 years. So many good things have happened to my family since then, and I really wish she could have witnessed it all.

She was a teen mom, barely 19 years old when I was born. So after these ten years, she was only nine years older than I am now when she died. And it makes you think: How much longer do I have? Hopefully more than nine years.

As humans age, most of us tend to place more value on time, specifically the time we have left. I am no different. I won't be going to extremes like some of the tech bro billionaires with their longevity obsessions, but it makes sense to make better choices regarding what I put into my body. My choices are not always great.

I started riding when I was a skinny teenager and for the most part I have stayed that way for well over 40 years. I can eat whatever I want, especially now in retirement, and not have to worry about weight because I ride a lot. But I need to worry at least a little.

I don't want my sons to be writing the "I miss my dad" post for many, many years.

Later.

Midterm

We are at the midpoint of the year and I am at 3,271 miles. At this pace I would eclipse my annual personal best by about 300 miles.

In June I rode 670 miles, which was also a personal best (since I started tracking miles in 1995).

June has generally been a low mileage month for one reason or another. Back when I was a working stiff, I participated in our office May is Bike Month mileage competition. This often resulted in low mileage totals in June. Some examples:

It was difficult to put up big mileage numbers back then. Not only was I working full time, there were other responsibilities like yardwork, coaching baseball, etc. How I managed to ride 825 miles in 2014 I will never know.

When June came I was usually sick of riding and I had to catch up on tasks that were neglected during May. I also got sick a few times. Getting up at 3:30 a.m. to ride 40 miles to work will eventually wear you down.

These days it's very easy to ride five or six hundred miles every month and get plenty of rest. Retirement ain't so bad.

Later.