distractions

august bumps along and is taking the summer with it. i will admit i never have really liked the fall. people at work are quite excited about the college football season coming around in a couple of weeks. i don’t want to hear of it. i don’t want the summer to end. eating dinner out on the deck, drinking cold beer after a long bike ride or a run and sleeping with just a top sheet are small pleasures that evaporate when september rolls up.

rainy days will be here soon. we need the rain after this very dry summer but sometimes the rains last a week.

and of course barb died in early september and i’m not sure that month will ever be the same for me.

i’ve found that life’s rough bits are best tempered by a good dose of distractions. i’m not avoiding the painful realities but i am finding some balance by two things; good company and quality distractions.

i’ve got some good friends to join for an adult beverage, watch movies, eat in restaurants and just sit and talk. someone wrote that “no man is an island” and this is very true. i need people in my life to bounce off of or i risk going nutty.

earlier this year i wrote about joining a bicycling club. i’ve had a great time both improving my cycling skills and socializing. i also may have found a solution to my autumn melancholia-cyclocross.

team members have raved about “cross” all summer. it’s a fall/winter sport typically where one rides a modified road bike over off-road, rough terrain, sometimes carrying the bike to go up over over obstacles, with great amounts of mud everywhere and on most everything.

i went to my first clinic last night to learn some basics and came away completely hooked on the sport. i have learned over the years that people who know how to do things well generally love to teach others about that thing, especially if you admit your ignorance and show great interest. last night most in attendance were veterans of cyclocross. they were really helpful and supportive to those of us who are beginners and it was a great introduction to the world of cyclocross.

i don’t have any photos to post yet unless i sit here and learn how to export from facebook to wordpress. i won’t be doing that tonight. i need sleep. i have a long club ride in the morning and a 5k footrace in the evening.

there are some good things that come of fall. the birds return to the yard, NHL training camps open and the streets are empty on saturday afternoons for cycling and running.

and fine scotches and ports are tasty at day’s end.

wren says digging big holes in the lawn is much easier in the soft soils of autumn.

stay tuned…