Three Small Things Tangentially Related to My Ride
II.
I did my first hill repeats in over 3 months today. Intervals and hill repeats are great. Even when I was a fat kid who played tennis and basketball, I enjoyed killing myself during conditioning drills as others began whining or stopping. I do believe in the BS-reward of pushing your physical limits doing endurance sports training. After June, though, I shut down for any number of reasons and only took long, lazy rides. I guess I learned that an hour or two of self-inflicted suffering is more about your head than your legs and lungs.
If you were a poor Frenchman in the 50's who ate hay for dinner, then maybe training was an escape, a less miserable misery or a form of rainbow chasing. If you're a guy in your mid-20's working at a hedge fund but still living at home, then maybe it's partly self-flagellation and shameful penance. Maybe this summer, worried about my love, my future, my lack of income, I've related more to the average person who *gasp* has real problems, someone who'd look at this and say "fuck that! Why would I put myself through that?" With all that said, I don't think it's unreasonable to think that this ride is a bit of columns A and B for me.
III.
Finally, I have the feeling that over the course of this ride the new Okkervil River album will join The National's Boxer and The States' Path of Least Resistance as my most-listened-to albums of the year. The first track is just super and this track has a particularly creamy lyrical center as others have cared to examine. (That link has good music in it, so go there if you know what's good for you.)
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I guess this is now a proper blog, huh?
I.
My cousin buzzed my head last week. Here are the shorn locks, with my hand on top for a sense of scale.
If you so desired, you'd have a lot to work with if you wanted to hurt me.
People have responded well to the buzzcut, but I find it very unexciting after the initial act. There is an entire industry, scientific and pseudo-scientific, dedicated to keeping and encouraging the growth of hair in men. With that in mind, I don't know why a man with thick and healthy hair (omg i'm so gorgeous!) would voluntarily go nearly bald other than for practicality or "starting over." I do save a few ounces of weight going uphill on my bike now, and my helmet keeps me cooler (and fits worse). But as a dude, it entirely lacks the statement (good or bad) made by women who buzz/shave. A guy who buzzes normally may now respond "I prefer making my statements with my actions and words, not my hair." Fair enough. You are also saving money and time by not having to shampoo. Congratulations! But know that this dull haircut which I now sport is boring enough to put me to sleep before you make your lofty statement.
My cousin buzzed my head last week. Here are the shorn locks, with my hand on top for a sense of scale.
If you so desired, you'd have a lot to work with if you wanted to hurt me.
People have responded well to the buzzcut, but I find it very unexciting after the initial act. There is an entire industry, scientific and pseudo-scientific, dedicated to keeping and encouraging the growth of hair in men. With that in mind, I don't know why a man with thick and healthy hair (omg i'm so gorgeous!) would voluntarily go nearly bald other than for practicality or "starting over." I do save a few ounces of weight going uphill on my bike now, and my helmet keeps me cooler (and fits worse). But as a dude, it entirely lacks the statement (good or bad) made by women who buzz/shave. A guy who buzzes normally may now respond "I prefer making my statements with my actions and words, not my hair." Fair enough. You are also saving money and time by not having to shampoo. Congratulations! But know that this dull haircut which I now sport is boring enough to put me to sleep before you make your lofty statement.
II.
I did my first hill repeats in over 3 months today. Intervals and hill repeats are great. Even when I was a fat kid who played tennis and basketball, I enjoyed killing myself during conditioning drills as others began whining or stopping. I do believe in the BS-reward of pushing your physical limits doing endurance sports training. After June, though, I shut down for any number of reasons and only took long, lazy rides. I guess I learned that an hour or two of self-inflicted suffering is more about your head than your legs and lungs.
If you were a poor Frenchman in the 50's who ate hay for dinner, then maybe training was an escape, a less miserable misery or a form of rainbow chasing. If you're a guy in your mid-20's working at a hedge fund but still living at home, then maybe it's partly self-flagellation and shameful penance. Maybe this summer, worried about my love, my future, my lack of income, I've related more to the average person who *gasp* has real problems, someone who'd look at this and say "fuck that! Why would I put myself through that?" With all that said, I don't think it's unreasonable to think that this ride is a bit of columns A and B for me.
III.
Finally, I have the feeling that over the course of this ride the new Okkervil River album will join The National's Boxer and The States' Path of Least Resistance as my most-listened-to albums of the year. The first track is just super and this track has a particularly creamy lyrical center as others have cared to examine. (That link has good music in it, so go there if you know what's good for you.)
---------------
I guess this is now a proper blog, huh?
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