Skip to main content

A better ending to a not so good week

Although Sunday started out nice, the rest of the week did not fair as well.

On top of the seemingly relentless rain and cold, which only allowed me to get out on the road Wednesday of this week (Monday and Friday I did spinning classes), hassles at work due to unreasonable customer requirements, and a long time friend and tandem/triple riding partner passing away yesterday, I would not call this a particularly good week.

But even in the midst of a hurricane, if you so happen to be in the eye, there always seems to be that one glimmer of optimism to be found [even for the consummate contrarian/pessimist that I am]. And today was such a day.

If you've read my "Current Mood" plug-in on the right, you'll note this day didn't start out that good either, but after forcing myself out on the bike (something that often perks me up) things started to turn around.

First off, Rene and Amy (part of the old gang) were on the ride today. That doesn't happen too often anymore, as Amy moved up north, and it's hard to get Rene motivated, to ride 17 miles south, when she's not around. But since Amy had a race tomorrow in LA, she made the 400 mile trip yesterday.

The ride was also relatively tame today (I guess no one wanted to push too hard since a lot of the guys were also racing tomorrow), enabling me to sit in with the first group. Something else that doesn't happen too often anymore.

Afterwards, we headed off for coffee and tea, and talked about all the goings on, and even reminiscing about the "good ole days".

All that would have been enough, but what really made the day was the view of the mountains as we rode home.snowcaps.gif

Although the picture from my bathroom window doesn't do the view justice [I gotta start carrying a camera with me when I ride], it's amazing for me when I think, while I live only 4 miles from the ocean, I can still look out my upstairs bathroom window, or walk about a mile to get an even more spectacular view, and see the snow covered mountains of Mount Baldy and Wilson.

I guess that's just one more reason making living in southern California so great, and it did manage to cap off the end of an otherwise bad week on a good note.

Comments

Becky said…
Yep. The view in California couldn't have been better than today. It was clear and sunny in our area today so while driving on the 101 to go knit to my left was a beautiful view of the islands and to my right were the mountains covered in snow. I haven't seen that much or snow that low in years.

Popular posts from this blog

The green tea phenomenon

Despite being a heavy drinker of green tea since my diagnosis, mainly for its cancer prevention, and hopefully cancer curing qualities, I recently have developed a new found enthusiasm for green tea. Now whether it has been the green tea I have been drinking for the past 6+ years, my heavy exercise routine, or just pure chance that has kept my MCL stable, or at least [very] slow progressing, for the past 7+ years is certainly open to debate, but based on past research, I have chosen to believe green tea has at least helped to some degree. So what has given me this new found enthusiasm? Well, a friend of mine, and cycling buddy, was recently diagnosed with bladder cancer, and knowing my daily regimen called to ask my advice on green tea. He had already done a lot of research on the subject, so when I told him my obsession with green tea consisted principally of drinking the least expensive, decaffeinated green tea available (Trader Joe's brand of 18 tea bags for $3, and more recentl...

When is enough, enough?

Today I learned, Lance Armstrong, the most drug tested athlete in the history of sport, is being accused of doping, again . This time by the US Anti Doping Agency (USADA), who claim they have collected blood samples from him in 2009 and 2010 that were “fully consistent with blood manipulation including EPO use and/or blood transfusions.” Really! What took them so long? The French have been trying to make allegations of drug doping stick for years, ever since he won his first Tour d'France, but to no avail. And now the USADA claims to have evidence to support that claim, and they've waited almost 3 years before releasing this evidence. Needless to say, I am skeptical. Then there's this from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO): Increasing the federal excise tax on cigarettes by 50 cents per pack eventually would increase Medicare and Social Security spending, slightly. Eventually? What is the CBO suggesting here? That we should encourage smoking, because if we don't, in...

Oxycodon Withdrawal

If there's one thing I've gained from this entire ordeal, it's a much greater appreciation for the trials and tribulations of drug addicts. For me it's been just over 4 days since my last Oxycodon, after only being on it for around 2 months, but the desire to take another pill still exists. While the severity of the symptoms of Oxycodon withdrawal I've been experiencing, i.e. abdominal cramps, chills, body aches, runny nose, etc. have subsided some, they have not gone away yet. And while some of that may be psychosomatic, it's still not hard for me to imagine how difficult it must be for someone addicted for a much longer period of time, or on a greater quantity to kick the habit. I even have a new found sympathy for Rush Limbaugh. It's not that the Oxycodon was so instrumental in relieving the tightness and discomfort in my chest, because it wasn't. [Although I'm starting to have some doubts.] It was because the Oxycodon provided a feeling of well ...