The Tumbleweave Diaries

Maybe it's weave or maybe it's not...

CX is coming...

...or at least that’s what I’ve been told

This season won’t be like last season, that’s for sure.

Health problems, family stuff, finances, fit issues and work have kept me from getting on the bike more than once or twice a week.

Last year, there were only one or two days a week spent off the bike. Now, the tables have turned. I need to be efficient with the time I have, so most days are spent running, strength training and/or on the stair machine at the gym. I still have fitness, just not bike related fitness and that is something which becomes glaringly obvious when I am fighting to not get dropped on a group ride.

Last season, if you told me this is where I would be right now I’d tell you that was an unfathomable thought...but here I am, life happens and I’ve adapted.

I’ll certainly be approaching this season with a different mindset, but one thing that will not change is the tremendous amount of fun I am going to have.

the problem with stuff

I’ve spent the past three years making a conscious effort to declutter my life. I’ve made donations, sold things on eBay and most importantly stopped buying stuff unless it was absolutely necessary. There have been things that I’ve really wanted, but did not need. It’s been difficult exercising restrain at those moments. Discipline has paid off.

It’s been a bumpy road the past few months.

There have been people who I have wanted to reach out to for support, but I haven’t. And I am starting to realize that (just like with material things) there are people I want in my life that I don’t necessarily need in my life.

cold turkey

During the winter months, my caffeine consumption was out of control. My coffee mug holds four cups of coffee. I was drinking two a day, from the french press. During my April appointment with the cardiologist, he asked about my caffeine consumption and mentioned that it could have been the cause of my SVT. 

Something had to change. 

I thought back to the last time I tried to quit my afternoon cup of coffee. The result was a terrible headache. Was I addicted to caffeine? Probably, but I always justified it by saying I could be addicted to something far worse. This time around, I eased myself into it, by starting with half-caf, then de-caf and ultimately no coffee in the afternoon. 

While caffeine addiction pales in comparison to other types of addiction, it is definitely a liberating feeling to no longer be dependent on that afternoon cup of coffee.