death in the Family 2

This weekend I went to a funeral for a friend. Yes this was my friends
father, but in life he was a friend to me as well. He was paralyzed from
the neck down for 14 years. It must have been a living hell for him to see
life moving beyond his own body. I'm glad that he is no longer suffering in
his physical life. I'll tell you- I miss him. I don't know if I would have
had the strength to stay alive. When I was in my own illness I had days
when I felt like taking my own life. My son keeps him in his nightly
prayers.
I have wrote before that I'm in that age group when you are starting to
see your parents and friends parents come full circle. The mid age; we're
not having kids, we're just making sure that our own kids do well. It is
starting to wear more and more heavily on my as I get closer to 40. I can
feel the weight of age creep in to my bones. I'm starting to take Advil or
Tylenol before I go to sleep just to quiet the dull ache. I'm lucky enough
to not be on any regular medicines as some of my friends are. Its the slow
tick to-ck of the clock that is beating me down. I feel some days if I
close my eyes that days, weeks and months wiz by with out me noticing. I'm
having a hard time remembering my kids as babies. I feel like just
yesterday my parents both had dark hair and held me before I fell asleep.
I'm sorry - its just being at the funeral make be wish that I could
peel back 20 years of my life and just take my time in enjoying life. Folks
I've said it before take ten munutes and tell the person you love that you
do love them, it just may be the last time you do. Yes it sounds morbid but
it is the truth..... Peace.

cadence.....

Well - I've been semi obsessed with Bicycle lights for the last few days.
By law they are required in Illinois if you ride at night. A white light
for the front and a red for the rear. I dug out a couple of Halogen lights
for the front and a red led strip for the back. I also went out and bought
some reflective red tape for the back frame. I also wear a semi dorky
construction vest so I can be seen very well at night.
A few nights ago I was on the Illinois prairie path at about 7:30 at
night. It was dusk and there is heavy foliage that block the light on the
trail. You would be surprised to see how many people use NO lights. No led
blinkies , no lamps absolutely nothing. With the low light I only saw them
when they were about 5-7 feet from me. I would have been a pretty bad
accident if I would have smashed someone at full tilt. Again we live in the
cult of self importance. I'm suppose to know where you are.... Aaaagggg.
Any ways I'm down from 300 to 285-288 (depends on the day). I feel better
about my ride and my self. It's not a race any more. I think that the hard
part is knowing where to go. As a kid I always had to be somewhere, now I
really don't. I kind point the bike and just start peddling away. The
cadence soon develops and my mind stats to wander. I'm still very aware of
my surroundings but I'm free to be mentally elsewhere.
I saw two new style of under frame lights. One is a cold cathode tube
and the other is an led strip. Its very goofy but it will assure that there
is no problem in seeing me after dark. They both are about $20 bucks +
batteries. I enjoy the night as traffic dies down and it gets easier on
the street. It can also bring out the drunk and bad night driver. ....
Anyways -- peace...

Daily ride

LINKY

Great feature on Gmaps or google maps if you bike or run. It's about 5.3 miles and I can do it in about 30 minutes riding at a relaxed pace. So about 10 miles an hour. I still have to get used to shifting and the lack of noise that allows my mind to just be me. Its rare that I get that time to be quiet with out being ready to fall asleep. My body is occupied and my mind is free to just be. I'll keep doing this or a rout close to this as long as the weather keeps up.
I can feel my legs getting stronger as I ride this every day. I do have to start stretching afterward instead of hopping in to a shower. I'm feeling better in my self by doing this.....
Peace

WTF??

Somehow my templete got all fouled up.... I went with this one for now ... Ahhhh life in the digital age....