New Stuff I'm Doing This Summer

Coach Patrick

So, 2020 is the season that wasn't....for racing. But for everything else a brand new door has been opened. Some of you have been braver than others. Some of you have been more fortunate, some less so. I'm really curious to hear what you've been able to do this Summer that you would have otherwise missed out on?

I'm a firm believer that all things happen for a reason, so we can't get too upset about it.

So, fess up...what's new?! Here's my short list:

New books...I am crushing through several new books like The Daily Stoic, Scale, How to be an AntiRacist, Antifragile, Meditations (Marcus Aurelius), and the random Jack Carr thriller. So good.

New chill time...friends are distant, but I've reclaimed a few nights a week from my evil laptop to sit by a fire pit and just hang out with my family. Such good times.

New projects...no idea why I was given something to sit on, because I just don't like to use it. Current project is adding "waterfall" steps to our deck. Digging alone for the pavers has taken two days! I might not be tri ready, but lower back strength is strong!

Okay...your turn!!!

~ Coach P

Janyne Kizer

Gravel riding to waterfalls

Finding tiny turtles (don't worry! I moved him off the road!)

More hiking

Al Truscott

1. Swimming thrice weekly @ friends' newly-built house-on-a-lake is a double bonus - spending more time with them (outside, 2 m apart) than in the past five years combined + swimming enough to get fit.
2. Late Fall into winter, I began to fantasize about writing a novel. After putting the finishing touches on my 5th book, "I Really Wanna Go To Kona" on Wed, March 4, I sat down the next day and said, "Maybe I can write 500 words a day?" One week later, all hell starts breaking loose in Europe and WA state, and then the rest of the US. Now, five months on, I'm 145,000 words and 8 chapters (with one more to go) into the first draft. Never thought I could do this, follow and sustain a story, characters, etc, but the shutdowns, cancellations, and enforced cocooning gave me the space and motivation to persist. I hope a vaccine will wait until I can finishing the editing process...
3. In the 70's, I had hair down to my shoulders. Then, a desire to appear respectable in the professional and business worlds, followed by 20+ years as a triathlete, kept my locks in check. Now, I'm working once again on that pony-tail I always wanted.

Paul Hough

Reflecting on this question has me thinking of what a boring person I must be because truth-be-told, I haven't done much new. I continue to train as before except there are no "A" races on the schedule at the moment. Scratching my brain, I can only come up with the following:

1) I had a months-long affair with my "co-worker" but sadly she had to report back to the office this past Friday while I will likely continue to work from home for the rest of the year. It's actually the most time I've spent with my wife in the past 25 years and it was fantastic.

2) Instead of vacationing in Europe, I ended up taking two separate All-American road trips in July. The first was to drive the Natchez Trace Parkway end to end and take in all the historical sites along the way, and finally saw Rock City on the way home! I doubt I would have ever done that had it not been for COVID. The second was to the mountains of North Carolina as a tourist instead of a cyclist. My co-worker and I really enjoyed these.

Dave Tallo

@Al Truscott - when one of the most accomplished people I know lists "grow his hair" as a goal, I know the world is different. I hope this isn't what breaks your frustrated underachiever streak, Al.

Me:

-Learn more about the Great War.

-Aerotest every equipment tweak i can imagine to leave no stone unturned for 2021.

-Get rid of a good half of the stuff i own. too much waste.

scott dinhofer

Gravel riding and exploring my VT backyard. Working with landscaper on beautifying our new home in rockland county NY, and finishing the pain cave build out

Finding good pics for Tucker’s Instagram

https:instagram.com/tuckered.out

Larry Peters

Spending lots of quality time with my girlfriend Paige Boldt. 😄🙏❤️ (She likes to train as much or more than I do 😂🤷🏻‍♂️).

Larry Peters

@Paul Hough , did you visit detroit?!?! (“Rock city” in the words of KISS).

Paul Hough

https://endurancenation.vanillacommunities.com/discussion/comment/286351#Comment_286351

Ha, ha. We went to THE rock city on Lookout Mountain as in seerockcity.com. I've been seeing signs for that place since the 60s.

robin sarner

bike stupiding ::: outside Everesting.          gravel bushwacking.    etc.

paddling more.           outrigger.     SUP board.     etc.

getting some sun.   

hiking.

dating.      

Mark Maurer

I retired at the end of May so there's been a lot to get used to this summer. COVID cancelled trips to Colorado and New Hampshire so we have been using our new Happier Camper more than we thought we would.

Drove to Colorado instead of flying, camping along the way and exploring with our gravel bikes.

Other camping trips to the coast and to Lake Coeur D'Alene including one 5 day camping trip with 5 days of gravel riding.

Working around the house getting a lot of deferred maintenance done and building a raised bed to grow vegetables. The bed is the first step in building a greenhouse.