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Showing posts from March, 2015

Give Me Something Simple in My Mid-Life Crisis

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Life is complicated. Simply put. I don't yearn for the days of a simple lifestyle as I get older because I like the rewards of having an complicated lifestyle... Its hard to put that into words, but for some things I do wish for less complicated things to keep me happy.   Take cycling for example; I ride both road and mountain bikes - I like riding on the road, its simple, my mind can drift off and I can enjoy the view (when not on a busy road).  I like when its done, it's clean, clothes aren't muddy and bike is put away dry and as new as the day I got it.  But riding on the road is boring, and if I didn't have music, I would be falling asleep at 50 km into the ride. I also like mountain biking, the trails keeps me concentrated on my balance, my skills and on the flow.  But my mind can't drift and to be set into auto pilot to solve work or life problems.  50km into a mountain bike ride, I AM EXHAUSTED. My bikes are complicated - Double tap, carbon frame, hydro for

There's Trails in Those Santa Monica Mountains!

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Driving up Topanga Creek Canyon For the past month or so I've been building trails and bridges on the Sunshine Coast and it wasn't til I flew into LA, I didn't know if riding a bike was on the agenda.  Really, I didn't know what I was going to do, but I brought my road biking gear figuring that  I may rent a road bike and go for a tour.  It didn't take me long to realize that LA does an awesome job in managing the flow of the daily commute of 12 million cars...12 MILLION CARS!  However, riding bikes on these roads would have been a quick trip to the hospital. (Actually during my time down there, instead of hitting a tourist attractions, my son and I drove the Freeways (101, 405 and Hollywood freeway) for shits and giggles.  There is nothing like driving 65 miles/hour in bumper to bumper traffic 8 lanes wide).  Great roads for a car but not for a road cyclist - perhaps the seasoned LA cyclist but not for this country bumpkin! So, I decided to see if there was mou