 |
Yuletide Ride with my friends from the
West Texas Cycling Association, or WTCA |
The past month has been a little bit on the odd side, certainly not following the usual patterns. Nope, I'm not talking about the fact that I have spent almost an entire month in town without any travel whatsoever, something that has happened before. It was much more a function of a somewhat forced break from my usual activities, especially when I am at home. The reason was a tenacious UTI that had first reared its ugly head right before my Doha trip, been successfully kicked (or, so I thought) with antibiotics, and then came roaring back less than a week after my return.
 |
| Thanksgiving at the Everetts' |
Now, that sucked, not just for the obvious discomfort but also the uncertainty that any physical deviation from the norm causes. It took another visit to the doc and lots of patience (plus occasional body aches and even some low-grade fevers that would last for an hour or two before mysteriously vanishing) to get to where I am now: feeling great! But the whole ordeal kept me mostly off the bike, out of added caution since sitting on a narrow saddle didn't seem to be the smartest thing to do. And thus, December 2024 will be recorded in my cycling annals as the
Lost Month, with only a few short recycling rides and grocery runs. Two hundred and two miles—apalling.
 |
| Feuerzangenbowle, or as Bob prefers to call it, Farts 'n Burger |
Being off the bike drives home the point that cycling really is an unforgiving time-suck! My days appeared so much longer, even though the winter month rides are 130-minute-or-so affairs. But add the time it takes to get ready and then make yourself presentable once you get back home (including a prolonged soak in the Jacuzzi), and suddenly a good three-and-a-half or even four hours have morphed from future to past. To add insult to inflammation, Lubbock's December was unusually mild and sunny with a number of close-to-ideal days for cycling. I was forced to substitute walks and especially naps in the sun....
There was some good socializing that helped alleviate the tedium. First, of course, there was Thanksgiving at the Everetts' the day after I got back from Doha; next were several Happy Hours that evolved into light dinners with my buddy Bob; Sandy and I had our share of nice meals, sometimes impromptu on a weeknight and at other times more erudite affairs on a weekend; and let's not forget, it was also time for our annual Feuerzangenbowle, a party that had been less than
annual over the past few years. It was so much fun to invite six of my best friends to my house for mulled wine, open flames, and way too much food, UTI be damned!
These four weeks flew buy quickly, and I put the time to good use planning several trips in 2025 (including making flight and Airbnb reservations). I finished my annual wall calendar early enough to get the benefits of the Christmas discounts, I read more than I had in a while, and I just enjoyed dressing up in comfy pajama pants and a soft sweatshirt days at a time. It seemed that every day there were a few little tasks that came off my plate, and that felt good—of course nothing of the magnitude such as going into one of the sheds or, heaven forbid, up into the attic to do some
real damage to the accumulated flotsam of the eons. That'll come one of these days. Maybe.
 |
| Futile attempts at leaf and acorn control |
With all that time on my hands I had a chance to reflect a little bit on the year. From a global standpoint, it must have been one of the worst in many, many decades: wars left and right without an end in sight; a certain near-Eastern country whose people once were decimated many times over now in turn waging what can only be called genocide; natural disasters hitting far and near and everywhere in between in an ever-quickening cycle; religious zealots killing scores of innocents; politicians and short-sighted constituents calling for ever-more pollutants to be set free by drilling, drilling, drilling; and witnessing the tragedy of a despotic, vile, and self-serving felon being elected to the US presidency—it would be easy to despair in light of this smorgasbord.
 |
| Trump's latest cabinet, unvetted but really GREAT, THE BEST! |
As much as all this weighs on my mind (and the older I get, the more it does), I also recognize the beauty and magnificence of the world we live in, if we choose to also look into that direction. I am so fortunate to do the things I get to do in what is, essentially, my daily life. Looking in retrospect at the blog entries for just this year alone it is almost impossible for me to comprehend that I really experienced all of it! Throughout all that, not only maintaining but also developing and nursing new relationships and friendships is at least as satisfying, if not even more so. A little UTI goes a long way to keep us in check so we don't develop hubris and self-conceit lest we might think all our good fortune is assured and guaranteed.
Today is Christmas Eve, and my dad would have turned 93. I'm starting to feel my own age more and more keenly, sometimes in regard to yet another new discomfort, but usually more via a slowly developing patience and wisdom, to use pompous words. I think the old man would have been proud of how this year worked out for his elder son, and those are my sentiments as well.
 |
| Another bottle of extra virgin oil that was oh-so-pleasurable! |
Tomorrow I will set off on a new adventure, one that will take me to a place that I haven't visited in exactly 50 years. If that's not exciting and makes life enticing and fascinating, well, then I don't know what would. Happy Holidays, y'all!
Jürgen
No comments:
Post a Comment