Returning to Normal and Motion is Lotion

May 02, 2021

Tammy and I are fully vaccinated and beginning to make our way back into restaurants and other establishments that we either avoided or were closed for the past year due to the pandemic. We took so much for granted. We kicked around Mall of America twice this past week. The first night we went we didn't realize they were closing at 7:00 and that only gave us an hour so we went back on Friday night when they were open until 9:00 and we had more time. The mall looked about normal to me with only a smattering of closed stores. Facemasks are still a requirement here in Minnesota and there are now directional stickers on the floor of the mall that encourage people to walk in a more orderly way to help with social distancing.

I was out walking Charlie a couple of weeks ago on a chilly afternoon when I saw a butterfly in the grass. It seemed odd to see a butterfly so early in the season so when I got home I looked it up using Google Lens. I learned it's a Mourning Cloak and that it hybernates in hollow logs or among loose bark during the winter months. It can freeze solid but returns to normal/awakens once it thaws. Their typical lifespan is around 10 months but a full year isn't uncommon. Fascinating!

I had my semiannual checkup with my doctor last Tuesday. He's been encouraging me to go on a statin for cholesterol for the past few years but I've resisted because of bad reactions to that class of drugs by both my mother and my younger brother. My cholesterol level is in the normal range but with my blood clotting disorder (for those interested), he wants to be more proactive than he would otherwise be with me. My doctor's specialty is in vascular-related issues. It was his mention of diminishing the risk for a stroke that got my attention this time around. He has me on 10 mg of Pravastatin daily which is not a high amount he said. I've been on it for 5 days with no noticeable side effects so far. Perhaps they take longer than 5 days to present themselves.

I've been on my bikes a fair amount lately. I'm still lacking any solid form but that will come in time if I keep at it. I'm nursing an ailing right knee that is slow to adjust to an increase in mileage but should eventually come around. An indoor training ride one week ago with an excessive amount of climbing wasn't helpful. Both of my knees do better with regular riding. It's being sedentary that mostly causes them to ache. As has been said: motion is lotion.

Rather than giving the nod to my gravel bike as has been my standard practice the previous two years during the warmer months, I've been getting out more frequently on both my road and mountain bikes as well. I enjoy the variety of riding they offer.

I was out at Murphy Hanrehan mountain bike park a few days ago when I came upon a crew doing interviews for Salsa Cycles—asking riders how they became interested in mountain biking and other assorted questions. They were gathering audio snippets to be used in an upcoming ad that will begin airing next month. They asked if I'd be willing to answer some questions for them. I was happy to help. One of the questions they asked me is what I think about when I'm riding the trails. I told them that oftentimes I'm thinking of nothing in particular at all; I'm just focusing on the trail and hitting my turns and keeping my speed up as best I can. I thought about it more on the ride home from the park and wished I had compared it to meditation. I've dabbled in meditation in the past where I focus on nothing but my breath while blocking out all other distracting thoughts that my busy mind wants to entertain. Mountain biking can be meditative like that for me much more so than any other kind of riding I do. A split second of inattentiveness can leave you sprawled out on the trail in no time at all. It focuses my mind like nothing else can in my life. I've commented before that I'm never more alive than when I'm riding the trails. I'm working hard and I'm focused on one thing only: my riding.

Here's hoping that those of you who are reluctant to get the coronavirus vaccine will reconsider. If not for yourself, please consider doing it for those you love and care about. We're all in this together.

That's all I've got.