I have been drawing more lines in my life.

Mid-summer already! I need to spend more quality time with my keyboard. The spring was eventful, and my time hasn’t been wasted. Bird watching is a kind of default, as shown by the interesting bird pictured above. He likes the tree outside my window. I look for birds when I ride as well, and it’s amazing how many different birds I see from the bike, quite apart from the handsome woodpecker that visits me regularly.

I’ve been adding new lines to my life this spring. Fishing lines! I’ve also started to make headway in coping with changes to my activities. The last 19 years of bicycling have been glorious, but many of the people I once counted on to ride with have retired and moved on, and my training has been on my own. I don’t feel the drive to train. I ride for the enjoyment of moving through the landscape by bike, enjoying what I see and feel as I go. I think that’s a natural development. I still ride 3 to 5 times a week, but the mileage has decreased and as I write this, in the heat of the summer, it’s been harder to grind out the same number of miles I once did. 20 years of serious riding doesn’t just go away overnight, but the social aspect of those past cycling seasons has changed, and I’m changing with the circumstances.

I look at it as an evolution. Last year I found myself talking to an old friend who gave me advice for my first century ride 18 years ago. She doesn’t ride those events any more, but she still rides. That feels like my direction. I could sing the blues about aging, but that would be giving up. I will never stop moving, stretching and following my interests. I will simply adapt as I go. I have centuries to ride this year, but next year I may not enter any long events. I like events, but shorter distances and slower paces sound good to me now. All that means is that my riding will enter a new phase. Events will take a more relaxed tone. I doubt anyone will criticize me for it! I’ve ridden events this spring and they feel great – like old times. When I’m back to the familiar, I find myself thinking of past years in autumn when the events were over for the year and I felt strong. I called those cool weeks “riding for the soul”, and I defined it by a lack of training pressure and the pure enjoyment of the autumn scenery around me. The pressure was off, the days were enjoyable, and my soul was nourished. I think in the end, when I don’t have training pressure, this is what I want cycling to become. I want that line in my life to have a more relaxed tension, take a different course, and present itself with a different style. I like the sound of that. Perhaps I’ve been changing for quite a while now, and my consciousness is finally catching up to my circumstances.

When I was a boy, fishing was a way to find some quiet and peace and solitude, and it gave me time to think and experiences to enjoy. Lately I’ve come back to it. I’ve had all the fishing skills I’ve needed since childhood, and I’m connecting to that childhood quiet time again. Even if I catch nothing, I still feel good about fishing. My freshwater ultralight and light weight fishing gear won’t net me anything big, but it makes even small fish fun to catch.

My favorite fishing lure is the simple inline spinner. You can catch anything on one. Including the fish pictured above. They’re good for panfish, bass and trout, and while I have no idea exactly what a spinner is meant to simulate, they can be amazingly effective.

Fishing clears the mind. It requires focus, and it’s a simple pleasure that I’m happy to indulge in from time to time.

To make a long story endless, I’ve been active, healthy and happy, and I’ve been making a few changes. I look forward to exploring new and interesting lines of thought and activity.