Winter Ox & Free

 January 5, 2021

Mon cheri frères et sœurs,

Bonne année!  How has your year been?   I believe you.  And I believe in you !

What have I become!?  Indeed, what has become of me?  Well, I am mostly working from home these days, so I haven’t been out and about on my hobby horse 2-wheeled bastarde stallion nearly as much as usual.  But I did manage to get out today to enjoy some mild ice and snow bumps.  But before I get to that event, let me mention a few recent highlights of my year in review/recap/recollections:

1.   I am proud to report that Snot Jr. is now a relatively proficient 2-wheeler !  This was quite a relief to me since bicycling hither and thither with the occasional yon is one of my primary self-defining activities.  So now if, God-forbid, I should die, at least young Snot Jr. will be able to spin about and wreck (as he likes to say) havoc upon the neighborhood gentry.  You may call me pathetique if you will, but you will soon be ashamed to learn that many people who are good at other things also self-identify as bicyclers.  Here is a list :

a.    Harrison Ford :

b.   (young) Daniel LaRusso (played here by one Ralphord Macchio) :

2.   Since I am not birolling around as much I now have taken up some bipeding around.  Mostly kind of slow, but also up to slow jogging speed.  It has been great !  Although I don’t consider myself a runner, it has been a good way to get some exercise and has also motivated me into planning on some kind of epic trekking-type expedition with my friend Tyler in the not-too-distant future.

3.   Whilst bipeding I am doing some deep nasal breathing !  It is snot as bad as you might think.  I was inspired by reading an excellent and highly recommended book called Breath by one James Nestor.  It really seems like an important subject I’d like to explore and practice to improve my overall health and well-being.  I especially like the idea of breathing exercises now that my shoulder’s been kind of messed up since leaf-bagging season awhile back.  Whenever I try to do push-ups or standing band rows it seems to mess it up again.  Fortunately it is not painful, but I think I will stick to some vigorous breathing and other cardio-based routines for the foreseeable future.  If you are curious, Mr. Nestor was kind enough to put some awesome breathing exercise videos on his website.

4.   As you have probably not noticed, I’ve been attending to my obsolete blogging habit even less-frequently than hithertofore.  I offer no further explanation upon this matter, but I do think that I should get to one of my favorite annual events which I frequently like to bombastically expound upon in a blithefully ignorant manner of presidential magnitude.  The Chinese New Year is just around the corner and we will be celebrating the Year of the Yin Metal Bat Ox!  And yes, I realize it’s not for another month and one week, but I am unlikely to get around to any further blogging prior to its indefatiguable arrival.  Here is more information about the metal ox.  And here is a metal ox of a bicycle :

As I mentioned dying in item 1, I must confess that I was slightly afeared for my life today as the roads and sidewalks contained quite a bit of ice and a bunch of those big furrows pushed up by those plows and then frozen/thawed/frozen, etc.  That is one of the dangerous aspects of wanting to go for a bike ride really bad because you haven’t been out on a bike ride for a long time so you aren’t exactly in the winter bicycling groove.  The parts that were kind of scary for me were when I was riding on streets where the shoulder was too snowy for ye bastarde and me and the sidewalks were also buried.  Of course I am well lit up and survival prevailed and it was great!  But if I get a chance, I will try to avoid riding in similar conditions next time (unless I am immersed in the winter cycling groove).

On the ride home it was nearly 40 degrees and delightful!  Although that was enough, I was also comforted by Mr. and Mrs. Neon Claus perched up in a tall tree looking out upon the residential roads in a protective manner.  

Sorry for the bad night photo.  As with my winter bicycling, my nighttime photoing is also a bit very much on the rusty side of the fence.

Until next year, hard work and deliberate planning are sure to seal yourself an ox of a deal!  And if ya don't believe me then just go ox the seal!

Plodding purposefully onwards!

-BSO