there was a recent article on io9.com that living alone leads to an early grave. i won’t go into the detail of the article since you can read it for yourself, but as a single man who lives alone i am happy most of the time.

first off, i can do what i want when i want to do it and not worry about hurting my significant other. granted i may let my apt slip into a messy state, but it’s never dirty plates in the living room or glasses by the bed. for example, if i should clean my apt on tuesday, i let it go to thursday.

last week, i went to see prometheus on wednesday and mib 3 on thursday by myself. i didnt have to confirm plans with anyone or explain scenes from each of them.

today, i planned to see Beasts of the Southern Wild, but it was sold out. now if i was with someone, i’d have to call and tell them, then decide on new plans. instead i came home and went for a 2 hour bike ride with a dinner break in between. i had as much fun on my solo ride as i did with brian and kim this past weekend.

after i wrote this article, i rejoined match.com

during my outing with Brian and Kim at Cunningham Park, i fell off my bike. i wasn’t discouraged for the rest of the ride and kept going. during a rest break, Kim and i were talking about it and i mentioned that i have to learn how to ride a bike all over again.

i can keep my balance, that was the easiest part. i have noticed trouble when i first start pedaling, but that’s cause i’m rusty and not used to my bike yet. also when i’m making tight turns, on any surface.

i haven’t ridden a bike in 25 years and i want to throw myself into it like i’m 13 again (when my parents got me my 10 speed bike). my brother, friends and i would ride everywhere and we never gave a second thought to the paths we took. Brian and i told Kim about the trails behind our house where kids would ride their dirt bikes and bmx bikes. our dad got us a dirt bike, a kawasaki 100; boy was our mom pissed.

i should find a nearby park that has all levels of difficulty and practice, practice, practice. during the ride at cunningham, i went on a technical, but it was more luck than skill that kept me on my bike.

actually, the first rule of bike club is that you will fall and get hurt

i had a great time at the fat tire festival at the blue mountain reservation yesterday. 2 meet up groups i belong to were there as well; Brooklyn Mountain Biking and Fairfield, Westchester and Beyond Mountain Biking

i arrived just in time to register and join a “beginner” ride. it was a beginner ride in the sense that the participants were beginners, but the trails ranged from beginner to advanced. that didn’t stop me from trying as much as i could or felt confident enough to attempt. the ride took about an hour and went i got back to the festival, brian and kim were there. they registered and the three of us hung around the brooklyn mountain biking tent. people thought we were selling stuff :)

after lunch and a drink break, there was another beginner ride going out which brian, kim and i went on. as they called it, the out of shape ride. we went on the same path as before, so i got to try the technicals that i passed on the earlier run. i was tired this time around, so i skipped some as well.

the weather was hot and humid, which makes for a hot and sweaty ride. it does open up the lungs, at one point i had to take a coughing break.

once the ride was over, i decided to relax and enjoy hanging out with the other meet up members, the weather and the day.

when the festival was closing, they had a raffle. even though i didnt enter, i did “win” biking shorts. brian one them, but he was nice and gave them to me. he also gave me his old camelbak pack and hard drive. i only need a tube and water pack :)

i didn’t realize how tired i was till i started falling asleep at 8pm, nodding off here and there. i went to bed at 9 and watched a bit of netflix before calling it at 9:30.

as i write this, i get this sense of i have to go back to work and yesterday being a illusionary memory. i did go to the fest, ride, meet people, etc. i just get this feeling of fight club that if i talk about it to co-workers, they won’t understand it.

also having to switch gears (pun intended) from a day of riding to a day of work is weird.

i am tempted to ride tonight, weather and body permitting :)

a pic of me from my day with Brian and Kim mountain biking

j/k

can’t wait for the weekends