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Sixty or so miles over the last few days has, thus far, been high volume for me this year.
On the last two rides there have been 10 timed segments. All of them were well off my pace. But that could be the theme of the year. Well off my pace. Maybe the next ride should be a recovery ride.
I went over this particular route a few weeks ago, but I’m getting smarter …
I turned around before the really hard part!
That let me throw down the fastest time of the year on the last stretch of road before the end of the ride. Still four seconds off last year’s fastest time ever on the same segment. That was in July of last year, so I have a few weeks to improve that particular challenge on a seasonal basis. If I can’t, the only possible conclusion would be that I’m getting slower.
(I already know this to be true.)
A good friend of ours is a US Army officer, a paratrooper. Five years ago, he had the opportunity to jump into France as a part of the 70th anniversary ceremonies commemorating D-Day.
He jumped with this flag, which hangs in my office.
Here’s a video of his jump. He went out the door of a German plane on a beautiful day over Normandy.
That view makes it difficult to imagine jumping into the dark, knowing the enemy you’ve been training for is waiting below.
Ernie Pyle came ashore soon after and helped people back home understand what the men and boys in Europe were up against:
"Pyle’s first column about the D-Day landings, published on June 12, 1944, gave his readers an honest accounting of how daunting the invasion had been…"
Ernie Pyle's desk is one floor below me. His personal effects are two floors away.https://t.co/NAcikTWrMn pic.twitter.com/HD2jienjzK
— Kenny Smith (@kennysmith) June 5, 2019
And then, of course, Ronald Reagan talked about some of those famous exploits at the 40th anniversary:
"We've learned that isolationism never was and never will be an acceptable response to tyrannical governments with an expansionist intent… The strength of America's allies is vital to the United States and the American security guarantee is essential…" https://t.co/8IHYFfryBt
— Kenny Smith (@kennysmith) June 6, 2019
Below there’s a bit of a video from the end of a Saturday morning ride. I got in a good 34-miles before the day really warmed up.
I forgot to shoot video on the good part of this morning’s ride, the part with snappy pace and wide-open views, so you’re treated to the back-in-the-burbs “I’m ready to stop moving” part of the effort.
I spent the rest of Saturday just sitting in the recliner reading. It was great. This will make you think: nothing is probably ever as new as we think it is. This was a part of the state of things turning into the 20th century.
That’s from my office desk book. (As opposed to my bedstand book, my Kindle books, my car book or my office desk books, or the entire, and stuffed full, bookcase of Books-To-Read.) This is the one I read sections of when I need to take a break to read something in short installments. It’s a good book. Check it out.
