2017 In review from Strava

https://2017.strava.com/en-us/videos/1b273db663c4162230f5e4d19cbade2f2aaeb423/

Milestone Ride.

A new PR marked today with my longest bike ride so far. Also the most miles in a monthly average. In August I  logged 104.1 miles, down from my record July total of 224. In September I logged 166.9 miles total. October total was 153.1 miles.
As of today, I have logged 234.5 miles for November.
I am trying to increase my monthly average mileage,.
What happened today was not on  purpose. As of this morning  I had 195 miles, which meant that I had already beat last month and the previous also. But not wanting to stay home and knowing that the weather was perfect for a good ride I set out to log some 8 or 10 miles, knowing that doing more than that it would only make it harder on myself to beat that number in December . But as often happens, once I get in rhythm and the body and joints warmed up, I just keep pedaling.
I love the feeling of the cool wind on my face and in my lungs. I even stop where my truck was right after I realized I had 30 miles and  even got ready  to go home, but then something made me get my bike back out of the truck and after resting some 5 minutes, took off again for another 8 and a half miles.

Today's ride.

This is from November 22, 2017

Mind you, when I was getting ready to leave the park, I was already hurting on my left knee, it felt like internally swollen and painful, but I thought that was not severe enough to keep me from riding a few more miles to Lady Bird Johnson Park. By the way, when I got there I pick en empty spot in a clearing with short grass that look so inviting so I put my bike down and I laid down to rest for a while, and just about a minute later I heard man yelling "Hey, are you okay?", I looked up and it was a policer officer patrolling the area a few yards from me. So I answered "yes, I'm just resting here, taking a break, I'm okay!"
He gave me the thumbs up signal and left. I  then lifted my legs in the air, and bending them and flexing them one at a time trying to relieve the pain from both knees.
By the time I got back to my truck again, I had a total of 38.3 miles, my new personal record for a single outing.

Old photo found from trip to the Big Easy back in 2011.

Monday Ride. Brack to Brack and beyond. No fly

This is from a previous ride. An old windmill in Walker Ranch Park

I know I wrote the wrong numbers but here's an update. I started from the middle of Breckenridge Park with about 66 ℉ cool degrees and finished at 77 ℉ still cool and slightly breeze.
I started going in front of the Zoo and at start of St. Mary's Strip with a detour on the approach to I H 35 by following Euclid and then McCollough, retaking St. Mary's St and following it all the way to Nueva where I enter The Riverwalk bike trail.
I stayed on it until it reached Espada Dam, where I exit and went on Military Drive for a few yards by walking, (there's no bike path nor sidewalk).
Once I got to Presa St., I turned north and headed back. I followed it to Alamo, then Broadway and back to Brack.

Another ride

Brack to Cassiano Park

23 miles Ride. from Breckenridge Park to Cassiano Park, in city's west side.

About stoicism

I would like to learn about stoicism and I am going to at least try to read as much about this philosophy. From the little that I have read I can deduce that Marcus Aurelius , as well as Seneca and Epictetus agreed with two other great contemporary philosophers; Timon and Pumbaa when they practiced their own Swahili phrase "Hakuna Matata" that can be interpreted as "no worries".

1.PRACTICE MISFORTUNE

“It is in times of security that the spirit should be preparing itself for difficult times; while fortune is bestowing favors on it is then is the time for it to be strengthened against her rebuffs.” -Seneca

Seneca, who enjoyed great wealth as the adviser of Nero, suggested that we ought to set aside a certain number of days each month to practice poverty. Take a little food, wear your worst clothes, get away from the comfort of your home and bed. Put yourself face to face with want, he said, you’ll ask yourself “Is this what I used to dread?”

It’s important to remember that this is an exercise and not a rhetorical device. He doesn’t mean “think about” misfortune, he means live it. Comfort is the worst kind of slavery because you’re always afraid that something or someone will take it away. But if you can not just anticipate but practice misfortune, then chance loses its ability to disrupt your life.

Montaigne was fond of an ancient drinking game where the members took turns holding up a painting of a corpse inside a coffin and cheered “Drink and be merry for when you’re dead you will look like this.”

Emotions like anxiety and fear have their roots in uncertainty and rarely in experience. Anyone who has made a big bet on themselves knows how much energy both states can consume. The solution is to do something about that ignorance. Make yourself familiar with the things, the worst-case scenarios, that you’re afraid of.

Practice what you fear, whether a simulation in your mind or in real life. The downside is almost always reversible or transient.

Tsundoku

Tsundoku, not to be confused with Sudoku, the puzzle game. Tsundoku, according to the Oxford Dictionary website, is a japanese word that although it does not have an english synonym, it means "the act of leaving a book unread after buying it, typically piling it together with other books similarly unread".
Well, this may or may not apply entirely to me, because I still get to read my books, rather slowly.
I like the fact that unlike before, I can now track my reading progress in my Goodreads account. I have read many of my 500 plus books that I own, (can't tell exactly how many) but I have never keep track of such feat.


I went to Goodwill, Two of them, and found me a total of five books. But, and I know I am saying this as a way of softening the guilt; I paid less than 99 cents each because in both stores, I was offered a senior discount of 15%. Ok, now, I feel a little better.
I do plan on reading them eventually. I just finished my pledge of 12 books for this year in Goodreads, and still have half a year left. I am reading more than last year.
Anyway, here are the new titles:

The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck. Winner of the 1932 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (Novel).




The Strange Case of Dr. Jekill and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson.




Dark Matter; The Private Life of Sir Isaac Newton. (A Novel) by Philip Kerr



Voices of Freedom 3rd Edition Volume 2: A documentary History. Eric Foner



Masas y Poder (Crowds and Power) by Elias Canetti



So, these are the latest literary treasures I've just added to my collection.
Until I found more, so long.

More books

Today was one of those days when I use one of my many flaws and go on a book-buying spree.

This morning,  ( I just realized that I am writing this in the web hours of Thursday June 22, 2017, so I should have started with;  " Yesterday") I had a bad tooth (Num. 5) pulled out at the dentist. It has been years since I have gone to a dentist (It's their fault) for any reason. But I'm happy to report that Dr. Robert Castro DDS did helped me in more than one way. I am a very impatient person, I get very anxious, nervous and distressed when it comes to see a dentist.
H
Dr. Castro's staff is very helpful, polite and respectful. From the recepcionista to the dental assistant, they put me at ease, which unbeknownst to them is not an easy task. Even while I was in the dentist chair, mental, I was looking for a way out, any reason or excuse to say, nevermind, let me think about it and I'll come back later.
The assistant applied an orange numbing gel to my gum, above the decaying tooth and in about a minute and a half, Dr. Castro walks in and tells me that he is about to inject the actual or stronger anesthetic agent, he does so, followed by another shot. While this is happenning, my heart is racing and I feel like the inevitable is about to overwhelm me, but the he says,"breath through your nose" and pokes my gum with some sharp tool and asks "do you feel this" and I know that not even three minutes have passed since the injections and say no.
I think that this is when I start to calm down again. The Doctor starts the procedure, using only two or three tools, one is the cutting grill, I can smell the burning bone, then he switches to the pulling tool, and tells me that I'm going to feel some pressure but no pain, then in what seemed to me like another three minutes, he says "got it" and I hear the clinking of the bad tooth being placed in the metal tray.
At this point I feel relieve that it's over and embarrassed that I was starting to panic for no reason earlier.
With my right side of my face numb and a piece of gauze to contain the bleeding, not sounding very clear, I thank Dr Castro for his quick and nimble work and told him that I was very pleased with the entire visit.
Still in awe of what had just transpired, I trove to a Goodwill store nearby to hunt for books, but could not find any that piqued my interest.
I then went to a Salvation Army ThriftStore that I have not visited in a long time on West Ave. and there I found me a trove of gems (to me, anyways) and bought ten (10) books. This is what I call a book-shopping spree, which I rarely do.
These are the titles that will keep me busy for the next few weeks (maybe even months):

The Invention of Hugo Cabret, by Brian Selznick
The Fifht Miracle, by Paul Davies.
Tracking the jackal by David Yallop
The Science Of Mind by Ernest Holmes (#5Th Anniversary Edition)
Fighting Terrorism by Ben Netanyahu
Crossing Over by Ruben Martinez
The Man who mistook his wife for a hat, by Oliver Sacks
Way of the Peaeful Warrior by Dan Millman
Kindred by Octavia E. Butler (25Th Anniversary Edition)
Quiet; The Power of introverts . . . by Susan Cain

Si no leo, me aburro!

First time using Strava. @4 + miles On North Salado Creek Greenway.

Started in Tobin Trail head on Loop 410 and Ira Lee Rd.

Medina River Natural Habitat Bike Ride

87^F Degrees. On mile 12.34 (return) I had a short episode of a panic attack. When I exerted myself climbing up one mid size "switchback" without getting off of my bike. As soon as I got to the top of the climb, I immediately regretted, when I gasped for air and right away I felt as if I was going to pass out in the middle of nowhere and nobody around. I started the process of calming myself down by trying to slow down my breathing and remembering to breath to my nose and exhaling thru the mouth, at the same time that I change the music that I was listening to, it didn't matter what , but usually changing the tempo, it resets something in my brain and in minutes (loooooong, it seems) everything goes back to normal. Warm and humid but a little breeze blowing, which makes the ride tolerable and even enjoyable. Encountered three snakes crossing my path. Must be the perfect weather for an outing even for our crawling friends .

What I believe and what I think , makes me who I am.

"As a man thinkers in his heart so is he"

A man is literally what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of all his thoughts.
As the plant springs from the seed, every act of a man is the result of the seeds of thought.
        Excerpt from As a man thinketh -James Allen

                                                                      ⥢⟴⥤

Bike way to heaven

I came across this profound and true to life essay in the man's realization of himself.  Reading it is an eye-opener but also a punch to the gut for those of us who behave and act one way, when in reality our true identity is hidden under layers of fears, insecurities, and pain.
We go through life personifying a man the we strive to be, one that can never (or almost never) realize his lifelong utmost desires and dreams. One that is very afraid of the hearsay, or being seen as "too soft". One that refuses to acknowledge a truth that could end up hurting others.
Reasons vary as to why we do it. Our behaviors are so rooted in the years of lies and misrepresentations that we have presented as our way of introducing ourselves to the world. We tell ourselves over and over again that, we are going to change for the better, that we are going to face our phobias and conquer all our fears and doubts of our outer personality. Only to miserably fail and continue living a fake life.
I will continue this, (hopefully) later.

The Magnetic Fields - From a Sinking Boat

From a sinking boat.

In the middle of the night with a sickening sound
This little boat ran aground
The mast is twisted, the hull is breached
One high tide and it'll be beached

If I could walk, I'd walk away
But I haven't slept since yesterday
The ink is sinking, the page is blurred
And I can't read a single word

But I know I love you
Know that I wrote
My last words to you
From a sinking boat

I love this melody and song.

Blood at the root

‘Weekend Warriors’ Show Survival Benefits

This was published today in the New York Times:

Working out only on the weekends or otherwise compressing your total physical activity into one or two prolonged runs or a single vigorous basketball or soccer game each week could lessen your risks of dying prematurely almost as effectively as more frequent, shorter workouts spread throughout the week, according to an interesting new study of the so-called weekend warrior phenomenon.

As most of us have heard by now, the standard recommendation about how much exercise we should complete each week for health purposes is 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous physical activity. Moderate exercise consists of activities like brisk walking or easy cycling that raise heart rates while still allowing us to talk to training partners, and vigorous activities are those like running, fast-paced cycling, and many team sports, including basketball and soccer, that raise heart rates into a zone where speaking is difficult.

Meeting these guidelines is associated with a substantially reduced risk of developing a wide range of diseases and dying too young.

The guidelines also suggest that, for practical purposes, people consider breaking the 150 minutes into five moderate 30-minute sessions each week or a comparable number of shorter, more vigorous workouts.

But many people apparently do not have the time or inclination to exercise five times per week. About a third of American adults engage in zero weekly exercise and others pack their workouts into one or two sessions on Saturday or Sunday, when they have more free time.

There has been little information, though, about whether the weekend warrior pattern of exercise lowers the risk for premature death as effectively as more frequent and generally shorter workouts.

So for the new study, which was published on Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine, researchers at Loughborough University in England and other institutions decided to delve into the exercise routines of tens of thousands of men and women already participating in the Health Survey for England and the Scottish Health Survey.

The researchers zeroed in on data from 63,591 middle-aged men and women who had provided detailed descriptions of their workout patterns when they first entered the study at least 15 years before, telling the survey questioners how many minutes they had exercised each week during the past month, what kinds of exercise they had undertaken, and how many times per week they had worked out.

The researchers used that data to categorize the men and women into a variety of groups. Those who never exercised were defined, unsurprisingly, as inactive, while those who worked out but did not meet the standard guidelines were considered insufficiently active. Those who did exercise for the full 150 gentle or 75 vigorous weekly minutes were labeled sufficiently active.

This last group was then subdivided into those who spread their physical activity over at least three sessions and those who jammed it into one or two workouts, presumably on weekends (although the actual days were not specified).

Interestingly, these weekend warriors were mostly male, almost half exercised only once per week, and an overwhelming majority, almost 90 percent, reported that their exercise occurred during vigorous sports like competitive running and cycling or team sports like soccer.

Finally, the researchers crosschecked their participants against death registries, to determine mortality in the intervening years since each person had joined the original survey.

It turned out that exercise, in any amount, had substantially lessened the risk that someone would die from any cause, including heart disease and cancer. Men and women who exercised, even if they did not meet the guideline recommendations, were about 29 percent less likely to die prematurely than people who never worked out.

Those who met the recommendations gained a slight edge in longevity, being about 30 percent less likely to have died than people who never exercised.

This advantage remained about the same whether people worked out three or more times during the week or jammed all of their activity into a session or two.

“Reductions in risk were similar in the weekend warriors and the regularly active,” says Gary O’Donovan, a research associate at Loughborough University who led the study.

Of course, this study was observational so it can’t tell us whether exercise actually caused people to live longer but only that the two are associated.

It also raises questions it cannot answer, including whether weekend warriors might be missing out on other potential health gains from exercise.

Frequent exercise is generally thought to be better than fewer workouts at, for instance, preventing and controlling Type 2 diabetes, says Hannah Arem, an epidemiologist at George Washington University who wrote a commentary to accompany the new study.

Weekend warriors also could be losing aerobic fitness between workouts, since endurance capacity typically declines after a four- or five-day layoff. So weekend warriors might be rebuilding and maintaining but not augmenting their baseline fitness from one week to the next. 

And they are likely to face a higher risk of sports-related injuries than people who exercise more often.

But even with those caveats, the good news from this study, Dr. O’Donovan says, is that whatever type of activity you can fit into your schedule appears to be better for your longevity than no activity at all.

This is one of those articles that sort of redeems my motto about doing something as inconsequential as it might be, is better than not doing anything. Makes me feel good about myself and it encourages me to go further into improving my health by riding my bike twice a week and in long stretches, when possible. I am averaging about 120 miles in a month, and I'm setting my next goal to double that in about six months.

Happy New Year!

Well, another year gone, another one begins. Was it a good or a bad year? It was just another year, It is what we make of it that at the end defines it as good or bad.
It could be said that it was not so good for the ones that remain behind after another dies, but we could also accept the idea that some of those that passed away and did so in the hope of ending their suffering. Even the living can rejoice in the fact the ones passing (whether young or old) are not in the throes of facing an uncertain future.
An optimist will see the glass half-full and happy to be alive. while the pessimist's thoughts are like those somebody with anxiety and/or panic attacks issues.

Anyways, a new year is here and it is time for new beginnings, new challenges or  new endeavors.
I plan to increase my bike cycling in duration, mileage, distance and endurance  in the hopes that it would improve my health.
Whether you're a pessimist or an optimist Happy New Year 2017 and I may all your wishes come true, as long as those wishes bring goodness, health and wellbeing.

I just signed up to learn to speak Italian, I thought that if I succeed in it i'll take French afterward.
I also signed up for a new Reading books challenge and for 2017 my goal is to read 12 books, double the challenge  from last year when I had a goal of 5 books and ended up exceeding it when finished 6.
Today, started the year reading The Revenant, and want to do it before I watch the movie, if I ever get to.