Every ollie is a gift

I have never been a fast runner. I starting running seriously in high school after joining the cross country team. Cross country races are 5 kilometer races held on courses that, well, cross some country (or in very small countries, all the way across). I loved the training and the racing, but was never good…

Which is the harder race: Tour de France or Vuelta a Espana

Now that the Tour de France is wrapping up, I found this paper on comparing the Tour de France and the Vuelta in terms of (how the authors define) difficulty. I like these types of studies. Here is one arguing the Dawn Wall in Yosemite is the hardest rock climb in the world. I need…

Recreational recreation

I’m finding that as I age I prefer my outdoor recreation to be less about suffering and adventure, and more about recreation. Think a nice, sunny walk in the woods on a developed trail compared to a remote bushwhack in the pouring rain. Living in upstate New York allows for this, as even “wild” places…