A little R and R

Hello:

I took today and tomorrow off work. Not doing anything special, just catching up on the day to day bric-a-brac that never seems to get done. I'm planning to ride my first century this weekend (that's 100 miles), but I broke a spoke on my bike last Tuesday. Bike shops are notorious for their backlogs but occasionally they'll do a quick fix like a spoke while you wait. I went to Maplewood Cyclery today where I've been taking my business because I've been planning to buy a new bike from them in the Spring. Their "wrench" (bike mechanic) told me I'd be lucky to get it by Monday or Tuesday. I explained that I was looking forward to my first Century this weekend and that I was planning on spending several thousand dollars with them in the Spring (yes - my new bike will cost more than my first car). He said something like "Well we all have to miss rides we want to do". I took my wheel to South Side Cyclery which is pretty close to my house (in the Bevo district of South St. Louis) and they'll have it ready for me tomorrow night. Though I'm grateful to South Side for this, they don't really carry the level of bike I am planning to buy next Spring. There is however BigShark and I think now that I should seriously consider them.

My cycling hobby started about 4 years ago and the annual MS150 (pledge to stop Multiple Sclerosis) was the pinnacle of my rides. The first year that I was biking I might have logged 500 miles including the 150 miles from the MS ride. I finished last year with about 800 miles including the MS150. This year, I have all ready completed 1,004 miles. I plan on doing a century this Saturday and the MS150 is a few weeks away. Obviously, for me this will be a very good year miles wise. Serious cyclists can book 7,000 plus miles in a year (I know people that do this). I doubt that I will ever get to that level, but I still hope to improve a little each year.

Greg LeMond (a three time Tour De France winner) once said "It never gets easier, you just go faster". The more I ponder this statement the more meaningful it becomes. One thing about cycling is that no matter how many people you ride with (like Team Lion's Choice) you have ample time to be alone inside your head. I'm not certain if philosophers seek out cycling or if cycling turns people into philosophers, but I do know that all cyclists are philosophers. You'd be amazed at the wisdoms great and small that you can be routinely exposed to if you hang around cyclists.

Philosophy and Spirituality frequently intersect. As one of the largest Catholic Publishers in the world, Liguori Publications can lay claim to authors that represent some of the greatest modern minds in both philosophy and spirituality. Though I have to admit that I have not read many of his works, Liguori is quite proud to carry several titles by the recently deceased Abbot M. Basil Pennington, O.C.S.O. One of his works that I have spent enough time with to recognize the value of and feel confident in recommending is The Abbey Prayer Book. This is a simple but beautiful work that lightens the burdens of daily life in subtle but significant ways. I believe this book has value to the Catholic, the Christian or generally Spiritual alike.

I keep telling myself that I'll develop the knack of shortening these posts. I'm beginning to think that that just isn't going to happen. They seem to have found a natural length that is surprisingly consistent in word count and the time taken to write. Since my own satisfaction is a significant motivator in my writing these posts, I think I'll keep them "as is" for now. I'd like to thank Christine for her kind comment to yesterday's post. I sincerely hope that this BLOG will cross the radars of many more people like her.

Peace,

P. Del Ricci