Cycling

Dave Rogers and I are having a conversation about cycling.

I’ve been a cyclist all my life really, but in my mid 60’s am now in my most intense period every. I can’t be sure whether I’m faster now than ever before or more fit than ever before since age becomes such a huge factor at this point. In the last few years its become a much bigger focus. I was riding when I had my paper route for the Hudson Dispatch in Fort Lee, New Jersey. In high school I had a Sears 3 speed which I frequently rode over the George Washington Bridge into Manhattan to circle around the Cloisters. I picked up riding again in Medical School when I bought a classic Raleigh Gran Prix which I rode out to the now rather infamous Stone Mountain. During my years here in Baltimore, I’ve ridden on our local roads pretty consistently when family and work responsibilities allowed.

About 3 years ago, when my internist suggested I get a bit more regular cardiovascular exercise to supplement my weight training, I began this latest phase of seeing just how well I could perform on the bike. After starting out with some training plans from Zwift for use on a smart trainer, I ended up with a local coach, Mike Birner and a serious commitment to riding.

This morning, the schedule was for 3 hour ride. I rode with a small group from our local bike club on the flatter terrain west of where I live.

I mentioned having finished the Foundation Trilogy yesterday. For some reason, I’ve been re-reading a few of the classics. This year I read the Hobbit and the Lord of the RIngs trilogy and the original Dune trilogy. They all hold up very well. We don’t seem to read Heinlein anymore. I wonder how Larry Nivea’s Ringworld books would hold up. I was a big fan of Phillip Jose Farmer’s Riverworld books. Some streaming platform will probably try to adapt them at some point I suppose.

I don’t see making a series out of the Foundation books. There’s no villain and no conflict except history itself.

I’m hoping for a Mac Mini from Apple tomorrow that supports my two monitor setup. I really need a replacement for my current mini with a bigger internal hard drive, but the first Apple Silicon version was too limited in monitor support to use.

Last night I had some sad dreams. Old friends and mentors acting totally out of character. Lost items which disappear in greater numbers the harder you look until nothing is left. Interestingly, the few prospective studies of the emotional content of dreams have shown about equal positive and negative emotional valence, but this is biased by recall of dreams from just before awakening. The functions of dreams and sleep continue to be guessed at but seem central to preparing the brain for another round of activity in the waking state.

Dreams are passive creations of the imagination. Awake we have a drive to create things separate from ourselves. Blogs, bookcases and fancy cakes. Is this a way of creating a legacy? Something to outlast ourselves, independent from ourselves? In the end, becoming better versions of ourselves has to be our most important act and our greatest legacy.