Cycling, work, politics and motherhood: it’s just my life

Many bloggers are noticing, like I am, that the blogosphere is changing.  There’s a subtle but perceptible shift occurring in long format blogging caused by the explosion in social media outlets like Twitter.  If you can share what’s important to you and what’s going on in your life in just 140 characters and people will engage with you, why take time to sit down and spend an hour or so writing an interesting blog post?

Well there are myriad answers to that question.  I don’t mean to discuss social media theory here, this introduction is just my lame attempt to interject the thought that there is a good excuse for my lack of blogging lately. Okay, so there are all the wonderful new clients finding their way into my professional life.  And those four pesky kids of mine do still require some interaction from me.  Two of my beloveds are rather launched into their own lives.  And the two at home like to consume groceries on a regular basis, hence the client projects.

There is also a rather lively and unique Twitter community in Austin that keeps me highly engaged in social media pursuits other than blogging.  I’m in love with Twitter and have developed several different small Twitter audiences and communities both for myself and for clients.   So I’ve become a rather lazy blogger.

Of course, even so, like most bloggers I wander throughout my day with partially composed blog posts in my head raging to get out.  Today’s un-birthed blog posts are interestingly divergent.  So I thought, “Why not grab a moment between Turbo Tax and a throwing up child to immortalize a few words?”

It’s no secret that I’m currently heavily engaged in cycling and a personal mission to get fit.  Now mind you, “fit” for an old mother of four and “fit” for a twenty-something athlete are really different things.  “Fit” for me means losing fat and building lean muscle.  Thanks to Austin American Statesman blogger Pam LeBlanc I’ve got great virtual coaching for that in the form of a birthday gift/online contest loot entitled Core Performance Women to help me along my way.

“Fit” for me also means developing endurance and the ability to kick SOMEONE’S ass on the open road on my new carbon road bike.  I don’t care if it’s the old woman in a shoe, or if it’s a teenager.  I like to compete a little.  And it feels really good to pump the old legs into gear and pass a group of fellow cyclists on the road when you’re feeling your power.  It really does.

Yours truly (second from left) in the obligatory bluebonnet shot with some of my cycling buddies on our ride yesterday to support a local children's charity.

I engaged this “full gas” feeling several times yesterday when I rode 36 miles with a group from my Austin Cycling Meetup group in the 11th Annual Pedal Power Wildflower Ride for the Hill Country Children’s Advocacy Center.  Talk about the perfect multi-tasking opportunity:  working in some mileage and contributing to the healing efforts of this outstanding organization serves both my fitness goals and my personal mission to facilitate healing for trauma survivors.

Right at the end of the ride I was lucky enough to have another team’s paceline glide by me about 2 miles from our destination and I picked up their energy and chased them to the finish line.  And then today I woke up to internet chatter about the Paris-Roubaix road race in France and heard this feeling described as by professional cyclist Fabian Cancellara as he pulled off his win.  “Full gas” is exactly what it feels like.  And for this former gimp it’s an exquisite feeling.

So a few moments of full gas for 36 miles for the first time in 20 years yesterday. Not bad for mother of four that hasn’t trained seriously for any kind of sport since her youth.  And sure, the right equipment matters.  I’ve felt my cycling oats a heck of a lot more since locating my roadie of choice.  It’s a Blue Competition Cycles full carbon number that fits just right thanks to my dear friends at VO2 Triathlon and Cycles.  I feel fully vindicated now for showing up to ride with Lance Armstrong last fall with my Trek hybrid commuter!

My spiffy new wheels

So on the divergent side, there’s the blog post I’d LOVE to write about the articulate exchange I just caught on CNN’s Amanpour. Christiane Amanpour was chatting with scholar Tariq Ramadan and other Arab Americans about President Obama’s challenge to both improve understanding of Americans among Arabs and understanding of Arabs among Americans.  It’s a daunting task, not helped by the polarization in both countries between moderates and conservatives.  My love for Arab culture, my Arabian horses, and my many friends in the Middle East make this significant challenge for all of us an ongoing interest in my life.  It’s never far from my mind.

Ahhh, but these thoughts will have to wait for another day.  Taxes, client projects, and a sick child are all calling…

Tagged as: cycling, embracing diversity, empowered femininity, healing trauma, Lance Armstrong, VO2 Triathlon & Cycles