Journal Entry (Sunday March 5, 2023)
Whenever I need to find peace and confidence, cycling gives me what I need. Cycling is my Zen. I love it as much as life.
Love and wonder don’t cease at the boundaries of who we know and what we have accomplished in this life. Every day brings new connections, new loves, and new joys to join all the ones we carry with us.
Journal Entry (Sunday March 5, 2023)
Simply being in the outdoors is as much as anyone can ask for. I’m so grateful to nature for being there to sustain me and to lift me up.
Love and wonder don’t cease at the boundaries of who we know and what we have accomplished in this life. Every day brings new connections, new loves, and new joys to join all the ones we carry with us.
Journal Entry (Sunday March 5, 2023)
I am grateful to all my friends and family. I marvel daily at how fortunate I am to have all of you in my life.
Love and wonder don’t cease at the boundaries of who we know and what we have accomplished in this life. Every day brings new connections, new loves, and new joys to join all the ones we carry with us.
Journal Entry (Sunday March 5, 2023)
I am grateful for my cat. Pure happiness is the reward for loving a cat. I hope I have given you as much love as you have given me.
Love and wonder don’t cease at the boundaries of who we know and what we have accomplished in this life. Every day brings new connections, new loves, and new joys to join all the ones we carry with us.
Journal Entry (Sunday March 5, 2023)
Love and wonder don’t cease at the boundaries of who we know and what we have accomplished in this life. Every day brings new connections, new loves, and new joys to join all the ones we carry with us.
Journal Entry (Tuesday February 21, 2023)
I recently received a letter from our Homeowner’s Association stating that I am out of compliance with Section 3, Sub-Section 7, of the HOA’s “Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions.” When I first glanced at the letter all I saw was “CCR” and I immediately thought I was going to be reading a story about Creedence Clearwater Revival, no such luck. It turns out they were writing to complain about you! I did not realize that “black and white cats” are forbidden from being seen on any property within the HOA. I view this as discriminatory, and even predatory, but the plain truth is, I don’t have much of a leg to stand on. You see, HOAs are allowed to regulate just about anything they want to. Heaven forbid you should choose to lounge on top of my Toyota Tacoma, that would be double jeopardy, since “recreational vehicles” are not allowed to be seen inside of the HOA either. (I’m not sure how a passenger licensed vehicle can be considered “recreational,” but it is. It may have something to do with the hi-lift jack and spare wheel on the back, but I’ve seen spare wheels mounted on the back of RAV 4s, so it can’t possibly be that.) Anyway, I digress. I solved MY problem by parking my Tacoma outside the main gate, so EVERYONE has to drive by it and look at it on their way into the HOA! But back to you my furry friend. As a sign of how much I love you, I am NOT going to make you go outside the HOA just to sun yourself. I’m going to let you sit on the back patio where you are mostly concealed from view, it’s not as sunny I’ll admit, but your just going to have to deal with it, as I have…
Journal Entry (Monday February 20, 2023)
There are those that say you can’t have too many toys, but there is a practical limit for most people. The question is how to discover where the boundary on that limit lies. I may have reached it. When I go to my storage unit to look for outdoor gear (I have a storage unit for gear, that’s a clue) I don’t know where everything is. That’s not just an organization issue, it’s also a sign you may have too much “stuff.”
The trick is, not to die with too much stuff.
Ya. You don’t want to make your kids deal with all your shit. Alleviating this problem is also known as “Swedish Death Cleaning.” I don’t really think it can be said this is exclusively a “Swedish” practice. It makes a lot of sense regardless of where you might be from. The basic concept is to give all your stuff away before there is a need for your children to deal with it. Not only will they thank you (probably not posthumously, just to be clear) but death cleaning allows the recipients of your shit to make use of the gifted items sooner. My Sweetheart often chides me, “why do you have two of those?” Her intent is to point out to me the redundant nature of my purchasing habits. What she is REALLY doing is pointing out my purchasing DEFICIENCY. You see, I have three children… TWO of everything is not enough to make ALL my children feel appreciated when the time to distribute all my precious acquisitions.
For the record, I haven’t completed my “cleaning”. I still have a lot of shit that hasn’t been dealt with. I’m going to assume this is a good sign when it comes to my personal chances for longevity. Nevertheless, It’s probably not too soon to start thinking about where all my shit will eventually end up residing…
Journal Entry (Sunday February 19, 2023)
When I decide to do a solo bicycle tour, I ask myself, why? What is it I plan to accomplish? For me, the main reason comes down to the satisfaction derived from completing an epic adventure. The word “adventure” isn’t exactly right because I don’t think of it as an adventure in the sense that most people probably do. I would consider a true cycling adventure to be pedaling somewhere like Patagonia, or Turkey, or the Far East. It seems to me that a cycle tour of the U.S. (which is my plan) is certainly an adventure of a lesser degree. For sure, I view it as an accomplishment, an epic accomplishment. There are other reasons for doing this besides the feeling of accomplishment.
There is the experience itself. The riding. When you approach an undertaking like this with the right mindset, it can be a zen experience. For someone that would like to practice medication, but doesn’t know how (I’m trying) this is the easiest way to get into a zen state of mind. I find going solo for a period of time is refreshing and renewing. I’m the sort of person that is dedicated to the people I love, but I need time to rest and reflect and renew in order to be the best partner, father, friend, that I can be.
There is another reason to do a bicycle tour, to give me time to write. I love to write, but don’t confuse that with being a writer, or even wanting to be a writer. Being on a tour gives you built-in time ever day to write. It doesn’t hurt that each day presents no shortage of things to write about. When I finish the tour and have a collection of stories chronicling the journey, the stories become another accomplishment. An accomplishment almost as rewarding as the tour itself.
There is one more reason. I want to try and paint along the way. I’m not a painter. Don’t know how really. The idea of helping to tell the story through paintings just seems like it would be another epic accomplishment… It goes without saying that I will take lots of photos along the way. Of course photos can easily be used to supplement the written stories, but I like to think that hand paintings would be an even more intimate way of doing so.
There are other reasons to do an adventure like this, it’s different for everyone. These are just kind of my things.
Journal Entry (Saturday February 18, 2023)
There once was a man from Seattle.
He loved the city.
One day, he went into the mountains
For no particular reason.
It was a long time before he emerged.
When he did, he was changed.
He spoke to me in a way
I have never heard before.
The more he spoke to me
The more infatuated I became.
It wasn’t long before I found myself
In love with him.
The more we conversed
The deeper the love became.
I don’t think I can live without him…
A poem by Bing Chat
Journal Entry (Friday February 17, 2023)
Most people wont understand what I am about to say. The hardest part of taking three months out of my life to ride a bike across the country is missing the most important people in my life. It comes down to two, my sweetheart and my cat. (There are others, but for the sake of this story, we’ll keep it to two.) Which one I will miss more is not open to discussion, of course it will be my sweetheart. The problem that keeps haunting me is she understands what I’m doing, she is even going to meet me a couple of places along the way and at the end. My cat has no way of knowing that once I leave I will be coming back, and the longer I’m away, the more he will miss me.
Ah, I can hear you say “what makes you think he’ll miss you?” The answer is simple, he will. He waits at the door for me to return whenever I go out of the house. When I take a shower he lays by the shower door on my towel waiting for me to finish. He sleeps on the bed at my feet and occasionally he will even snuggle by my head. (That is unusual for a cat, even one as devoted as he is.)
I am thinking seriously about taking him with me, but he is an older cat (like me). I’m not sure he would have a good time and I’m not sure I can handle the extra weight. I’d have to pull him in a bike trailer. That combined with the panniers is probably just too much weight for me. Still, it makes me sad to think I’ll be away from him for such an extended period of time.
What does my sweetheart think about all this? She thinks I’m crazy. I can’t blame her. I will say in my defense, and to her credit, she brings him into the bed with us more often than I do, which I find charming as hell. That said, I’m sure she still thinks I’m a bit obsessed.
Deciding to go on this trip would be easy if it weren’t for the damn cat… But I love him and I’m seriously conflicted about all this.
Journal Entry (Thursday February 9, 2023)
I’ve been dealing with some disappointment these last few days. I have realized that starting the TransAm on the West to East route in mid-April may not be the best plan. Everything I’ve been reading says don’t start before May 1. Even then, you can run into some late storms in Colorado… but as one person said, if that’s the hand you’re dealt, you won’t be the first person to take on the W-to-E challenge that early…
To get some additional data points, I drove from Redmond to the bike shop in Prineville to chat with the folks there. Prineville is a major stop on the TransAm. The folks there were awesome. I asked them about TransAm visitors and we talked at length. They showed me their guest book, people that have passed through TransAm over the last nine years. The earliest I could find going through Prineville West to East was May 10th… I guess I better wait until the first of May to start my journey from the West coast. This visit turned out to provide some very good empirical data.
That’s it then, I’m going to start on the West coast in Florence Oregon on May 1st. May Day. It will certainly be memorable to say I started on May Day!
That reminds me of 1976. I was cycling the West Coast and I stopped on a Saturday night in Florence Oregon. The Ranger at the State Park was a college intern, my same age. She checked me into the campground and in the course of our conversation, discovering I was Catholic, invited me to Mass at the local Catholic Church the next morning. I accepted. I was a different person back then, maybe not better, but more orthodox for sure. She was a beautiful young woman, so of course I went to Mass. The next morning, with en eye out for her I met her Father. He offered me a job on his fishing boat. (I have trouble to this day understanding that.) Life is strange. I was tempted to accept, but a part of me wanted to finish the journey I had started, so I continued South. I entertained the notion of returning to Florence to meet my Park Ranger again, but life is terribly unpredictable, that was not in the cards…
Much has transpired since then. A lifetime in fact. That said, I could not be happier. The woman that currently shares my life is the perfect expression of whom I want to dedicate myself to. She is my everything. I love her, I am fortunate to have found her.
A note about writing. Writing is not easy. I have been working on this post for two hours. I’m no Hemingway. Please don’t judge me too harshly.
Journal Entry (Sunday February 5, 2023)
We Welcome…
All Races
All Religions
All Countries of origin
All Sexual orientations
All Genders
All Abilities
We stand with you. You are safe here.
That was a sign in the window of my favorite bike shop in Seattle. When I went inside recently, I asked the person helping me if he was Bill. I was informed I was talking to Hannah. I apologized and we went on to have a great conversation about bike packing gear.
I don’t care if I was talking to Bill or Hannah, or anyone else for that matter, as long as they had good advice for me about bike packing gear.
I can’t help but think what a beautiful world we would all be living in if the words on that sign were words that everyone lived by on a daily basis…
Journal Entry (Saturday February 4, 2023)
I saw an interesting piece in “The Atlantic” about digital media. The premise is that today’s media has made performance artists out of all of us.
An interesting proposition.
The article was referring specifically to Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, et al., but it certainly raises an interesting question for me. Is this blog “performance art,” or is this genuine writing.
I have to admit I use the phrase “genuine writing” a bit tongue-in-cheek. It is my intention to be genuine, and to write as well as I am able, about subjects that I think are important, nevertheless, is this a form of “performance?”
I suppose I’m not the ultimate judge of that, but is it enough to say I don’t intend this writing to be performative…
Since no one reads this anyway, I suppose all of this is rather moot…
Journal Entry (Friday February 3, 2023)
I’m not breaking my promise to avoid political references… (see yesterday’s post) the following is much more than a political statement, it is a proposal for how we should all live our lives.
The genius of Marcus Aurelius is that not only as a leader, but also as an individual, he dispensed knowledge that all of us should consider taking to heart. I hope to incorporate the following into my daily practice.
“First thing every morning tell yourself: today I am going to meet a busybody, an ingrate, a bully, a liar, a schemer, and a boor. Ignorance of good and evil has made them what they are. But I know that the good is by nature beautiful and the bad ugly, and I know that these evil-doers are by nature my brothers, not by blood or breeding, but by being similarly endowed with reason and sharing in the divine. None of them can harm me, for none can force me to do wrong against my will, and I cannot be angry with a brother or resent him, for we were born into this world to work together like the feet, hands, eyelids, and upper and lower rows of teeth. To work against one another is contrary to nature, and what could be more like working against someone than resenting or abandoning him?”
Journal Entry (Thursday February 2, 2023)
I made a promise that I would not take up matters related to politics here, and I have every intention of keeping that promise, but let it be said in relation to that, if I were to renege, there would be no shortage of subjects and people to talk about. Some of those might be interesting, but a great number of them would be either idiotic or down right frightening. There is no shortage of either. I am currently reading a new translation of Marcus Aurelius’s “Meditations” by Scot Hicks and David Hicks. It is a brilliant book. Even though Marcus was one of Rome’s greatest Emperors, it is not a political book. It is about living your best possible life. The thing that is so truly impressive about him is what a good man he was.
Trying to decide who is the best person in history, or even who is the best person in a given century or decade is an impossible task, there are too many. If you look at those today who claim to be our leaders, you can easily pick out those that would never be mistaken for Marcus Aurelius. For my part, I will be happy to be identified simply as a person who carries no ill will for anyone.
Journal Entry (Wednesday February 1, 2023)
Then again, rather than try to explain what my daily practice of writing has done for me (yesterday’s post) I could have quoted Marcus Aurelius. His words are more eloquent, and also more succinct.
“Know that in time those things toward which we move come to be.”
“Bear in mind that the measure of a man is the worth of the things he cares about.”
“Leave the wrong with the person who did it.”
The message here, put very simply, is that actions follow thought.
Journal Entry (Tuesday January 31, 2023)
I am frequently amazed at the things that don’t bother me… It seems just a few short years ago this was not the case. I won’t list the things that used to bother me here, they are not important except as the inspiration for this reflection. The reason fewer things seem to bother me could be connected to the process of aging (which I prefer to think of instead as the process of maturing) but that is only part of the story. I think there is another reason, a more important reason. The more important reason I’m referring to is the change brought about by the practice of writing.
I’ve been writing almost daily now for over three years. I think the primary benefit has been in becoming more self-aware. I believe the practice of writing can change us. If you don’t write, you may not agree with that, I get it, but let me try to explain. When I started writing my first journal back in the fall of 2019, I realized it was fun and satisfying. That was a travel journal. It took about two months to complete. Once it was complete I just kept on writing. It wasn’t long before I was reaching down and starting to write about myself, that’s when the change began to occur, when self-awareness started to grow. But what does it mean to become more self-aware?
If you make yourself the topic of your own writing long enough, you begin to gain a conscious understanding of your character, your values, your beliefs, and your emotions. Keep writing, and at some point you start to become comfortable with these things. That’s when the magic occurs. As you begin to understand these things and become comfortable with them you begin to make better choices. So to return to my original point about fewer things bothering me, being self-aware has allowed me to make better choices. As the Stoic Marcus Aurelius said “choose not to be harmed - and you won’t feel harmed. Don’t feel harmed - and you haven’t been.” Self-awareness is is an excellent path to making better choices possible. If writing isn’t your thing, I’m sure there are other paths to that goal…
…perhaps long-distance cycling?
Journal Entry (Monday January 30, 2023)
My Sweetheart skiing with Lindsey Vonn.
Journal Entry (Sunday January 29, 2023)
I’ve been reading ”Do I Make Myself Clear” by Harold Evans. The following is from his book, explaining the difference between four words that we frequently confuse.
”Inchoate/Incoherent: Inchoate describes something not ready to be judged incoherent, or “lacking clarity.” The inchoate idea or thing is embryonic, in the early stages of being formed.”
In other words, you can’t judge an inchoate idea as incoherent. Simply put, there isn’t enough thought behind an inchoate idea it to even say it is incoherent.
Keep in mind, it takes a logophile to truly appreciate the English language, but those who don’t frequently suffer logorrhea…
Journal Entry (Saturday January 28, 2023)
When things are going well, I look to the future and think about what is next. I’m doing just that right now. I suppose before I share what’s next, I should say a bit about why things are going well…
Recently I’ve made some positive dietary changes and I’ve created an exercise routine that uses yoga and rowing to get into shape. I’m feeling better than I have in a quite awhile. This will also prepare me for another cross-country cycling adventure. That is exciting in itself, but even better than all of this is the fact that I have someone in my life that is supportive and cares about me. I get that feeling from her every day. I’m very lucky.
Here’s what the future holds: Cycling across the U.S. again. (Not just one more time, hopefully more than one more time.) Learning watercolor painting. Improving my writing skill, not just here but in my personal journal, and by way of documenting my cross-country adventures. Perhaps eventually learning to play a few notes on the guitar. That’s a lot to look forward to, and I do.
Journal Entry (Friday January 27, 2023)
My goal is to write here every day. To what end I’m not always sure. The important thing for me is the idea that I am leaving behind something tangible, something that is a part of me that can be shared with the world. (If not the world, then at least the people in my life that I care about.) When I say leaving something that is a part of me, I mean something personal. I’m not talking about political thoughts. I have no desire to persuade, it wouldn’t be hard for you to discern what my political thoughts are anyway. What I write here, I write for me. It’s difficult to explain. I can probably best describe it as a need rather than a want. Doing this fulfills me in a real way. That is not the only reason, but it is reason enough.
Journal Entry (Thursday January 26, 2023)
I have literally been trying to get organized my entire life. I have found it a frustrating endeavor because I have never been satisfied with any method I have come up with. Perhaps I am slightly OCD, there is little doubt in my mind actually, but I will let you be the judge of that after you have read what follows — if you can force yourself to wade through this. Please keep one thing in mind, I have been working on trying to get to this place my entire life, I’m actually very happy with where I am.
The approach I have come up with consists of three daily carry notebooks. You’re probably thinking that I must be crazed, hang in there, they are not large. Each notebook is 5” x 8” and only 64 pages total, so quite thin. I carry them together in a waxed canvas field journal (Lochby). Besides holding the three notebooks, the field journal also carries my debit card, credit card, library cards and identification. Everything in one place, very convenient, and it goes everywhere.
Now that we are over that hurdle, we can talk specifically about the three notebooks. Each one has a purpose. The first notebook is the “Daily Log/Plan”. When I sit down first thing in the morning and think about my day, I can make notes in this book about what needs to be accomplished. Pretty straightforward. The nice thing though is if I don’t complete everything that day, I can look back the next day, or even the next week, and pick up missed items (assuming they are still important). The second notebook is the “System Tracking and Goals” notebook. This is the heart of my tracking and recording. This notebook is organized by week. Each week has a double-page spread for daily routine tasks, allowing these to be checked off at the end of the day, There is also a double-page spread for projects that I want to work on during that week. I also have pages in this notebook to record payments, spending, and upcoming events. The third notebook is simply for capturing thoughts and ideas while on the go, these often become prompts for my long-form writing.
The nice thing about making these notebooks carry items is that it allows me to write more freely in my long-form journal, A Leuchtturm 1917 notebook. I don’t clutter the long-form journal with tasks or lists, this notebook is strictly for free-form writing on whatever topic happens to be of interest to me at the moment. When I pick up the long form journal and begin writing, I can clear my mind of the daily detail because I have all of that handled in the three field journal notebooks. As a result of this organization, my long-form writing is a much more satisfying endeavor.
There you have it. I know this is very personal stuff and probably of use to no one but myself. It feels good to write about this because doing so makes me even more satisfied and confident. These techniques help give me a sense of purpose, which I might not otherwise have if I were just living moment to moment with no thought about what I should be doing. That’s just me. If you find this interesting or even useful, so much the better. It has been satisfying and reinforcing for me to share these on this page.
Just to clarify, “slightly OCD” is probably an understatement…
Journal Entry (Wednesday January 25, 2023)
I have started preliminary preparation for a second crossing of the U.S. by bicycle. I did this once before in 2019. That time I took the southern route. There are three established cycling routes across the U.S., the Southern Tier, the TransAm and the Northern Tier. In just a couple of months from now I plan to take on the TransAm route. How does one prepare for such as this, especially in the winter? I’ll be doing some yoga and some rowing, as the weather improves I will of course also be on the bike. I plan about 2-1/2 months of preparation. If all goes according to plan, I should be starting from Florence Oregon in mid-April and reach Williamsburg Virginia about 90 days later.
When I crossed the U.S. on the Southern Tier I started with a group but about half-way through the journey (in Austin Texas) I dropped them. It’s not that I’m anti-social, there were some difficulties with the make-up of the group, none of whom I had met before we started the trip in San Diego. I did not mind doing the second half of that trip solo at all. In fact, it turned out to be a great experience. In many ways I now prefer traveling alone when traveling by bicycle. It’s a rewarding experience to know you have only yourself to depend on. It would have to be a very small group of close friends to make me want to do this trip any way other than solo. There is one clear exception to my “solo” rule, I would love to have my sweetheart join me, perhaps someday the two of us will make the journey together. There will be other opportunities, after all, there are four bicycle routes across the U.S. in total, the three previously mentioned and the TransAm Rail Trail still under construction, about 50% complete as of this writing.
I will be recording the journey here on the blog, just as I did my Southern Tier crossing. I hope you come back when the journey begins to enjoy the ride along with me!
Journal Entry (Monday January 23, 2023)
Writing. One of my favorite things. I wish I did it well. I’m trying.
The key to good writing is clarity. I have a tendency to use too many words. The first paragraph above is an attempt to convey a message in as few words as possible. I think it succeeds, but the point here is that it is not easy to do. Without editing what you have written, all is lost. The chief ingredient in good editing is removing as many unnecessary words as possible. That is harder than it seems. You can easily spend more time editing than you do putting down your initial thoughts.
I never used to edit. I’m learning to spend time doing that, and I’m beginning to see the value. So there is no confusion, I have no intention of ever becoming published — other than this blog. Anyone can have a blog, so having one certainly does not count as published.
If I keep writing (which I plan to do) it will be fun to look back and see if my skill improves over time. I hope it does. In the mean time, I will keep an eye open for examples of good writing (and speaking) one of my favorites being this little piece that played no small part in history…
”We shall not fail or falter; we shall not weaken or tire. Neither sudden shock of battle, nor the long-drawn trials of vigilance and exertion will wear us down. Give us the tools and we will finish the job!”
- Winston Churchill
Journal Entry (Sunday January 22, 2023)
In George Orwell’s essay Politics and the English Language, he warns us:
“Political language — and with variations this is true of all political parties, from Conservative to anarchist — is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.”
This is as true today as it was in 1946. All people need to be aware of this propensity of politics, but there is even more to be aware of. With the increasing use of AI in all forms of human communication, this problem is only going to get worse. The species needs to be careful when it comes to speech in all forms, else we become little more than slaves to communication, rather than masters of it.