So far, so RAD!

Is it STILL JANUARY!?!?!
It started with a costumed ride on New Years Day, and has already progressed so fast!  My 43rd Birfday is right around the corner and Felice and I are already dreaming up weekend adventures in warmer climates.

Last week I had a GEM of an opportunity to take a leadership class structured around Bicycle Touring.  The examples were very specific to being on bikes far from home but the concepts and the overarching ethos of the programme struck such a chord with me - it was RAD to meet so many people from all over the country that share the kinds of passions I do.  These were my People.

As the class was in Florida I also got to take a minute to have a quick visit with my Dad.  Hints here and there about the lifestyle choices he has made since we last crossed paths had me pretty upset, a little worried about him, and feeling distant again.  I had a sense of doom leaving him to go to the class, like I wont see him for some time, or he is going to get himself into the kind of trouble I just cant bail him out of.  And then the class started, and the basic tenant of "allowing people to dignity of their own suffering" was proposed, a concept that sounds like tough-love or harsh coldness on the surface but started to make sense applied to bike touring.  By the end of the week my thought on the choices other people make came full circle back to where it was when I was touring solo all the time in winter months.

not my chair - not my problem

to allow people the dignity of their own suffering - to me - means not getting involved, to voice my opinion if Im asked, and to allow people the absolute right to fuck up royally.  Think about all the lessons learnt from fucking up...especially the BIG ONES!  Relationships I wish I could take words back, arguments in which I was the fool, wrong turns, mistakes of all shapes and sizes that have shaped the man that I am today.  My Dad is clearly still on a path of growth, pushing himself to do things differently, and while I dont believe he is being as creative or healthy about his choices, he is still trying new things and thus will learn lessons of growth through the process.

And so am I.  The previous post about "settling" has as much to do with continuing to challenge yourself to grow as does this concept of allowing folks to suffer.   Ive jotted down my annual list of goals for the 2018 year, and Im going to continue to push myself as always, to continue the refinement process, as long as I can.  My Dad, in his 70s is doing the same, his own way, based on the course of his life, and for that I can salute him.

All in All it was a good trip, got to ride a big familiar ride, hang with the Fam, meet new peeps, and enjoy some upper 70s and lower 80s!

kidnapper van rental by chance made it easy!

love catching these two in their natural habits!

...as promised.

neighbor's dog remembered Im a sucker for a tiny dog!

sometimes I wonder where they go when its NOT sunny and warm out!

he's still a good cook!

this will reappear painted on a skate deck soon...

NO PUEDES NADAR!

super noisy neighbors!

this guy might still be wrapped up in my tent...?

At the end of the week it was GREAT to see a familiar face!  (Is that a new shirt!?)  Zachinator was in the neighborhood for his Dad's wedding and brought me a coffee and we road tripped all the way back to Boonetown.  It was a great time to catch up, talk about our dads, and families, and work and all the things going on. 

I surprised Felice coming home a day early and we got to have a WHOLE WEEKEND together!  Running Errands never was so much fun...

cause shes not driving...

 Went for a hike that I have done a couple times before but Feli had not.  Fun to share these places with her, weather be dammned - and always nice to feel like a bad ass hiking from an empty parking lot!

cause you only live RHODO!

...untill on the hurry back to the car, feeling very hungry and like I shoulda been more prepared for a 7 mile hike, day dreaming of food and a cold beer I neglected a low overhanging tree branch and the inch long cut branches, one of which impaled me through the hat sending a nice steady of curses through the air, and blood down my face...

No food just yet, first a shower and three staples at the e-clinic after a 2 hour wait! UGH!

stoked to have a full head of hair in my 40s though..."bright sides"