Mountain Bike Mike
Well-Known Member
Apparently, it’s the season to start a blog / thread.... I might as well join the club!
Wifey's (Stef) out for the night and all the kids are in bed. Time for myself... This time, I'm choosing to start this blog.
So, here we go… This is the first (very long winded) installment aka Intro.
Next week I turn 37. I just wrapped up one of the best years of my life! Why? Because after 10+ years of self sacrifice, I finally reconnected with me and I did something I truly enjoyed.
I know that may sound strange but I am far from normal, so it works… Let me explain, here’s my story – Before I was Al Bundy, I was a lunatic party animal and I am surprised I’m not dead or in jail! Once I got married, something clicked and I became a law abiding citizen with morals and values – strange how that happens.. (Cough… Stef did it)
Post marriage, I cleaned up my act and decided to take things seriously (well maybe too serious), I put everyone else first - Career, Wife, House, Kids... We had goals and damn it, I was going to achieve them! (By the way, I never do anything in moderation – it’s all or nothing! ) When I take on a responsibility and make a commitment, I lock in and I don't let go and most of the time I take it way too serious to the point that I lose contact with who I truly am. I come up with tons of justifications for my actions and I'm as determined, stubborn and hard headed as any one person can be. I get lost in the obsession of whatever it is I am focused on.
For years my motivation was being a selfless Husband / Father doing whatever he can to build a solid foundation and great life for his family at his own expense. A few years ago I realized that I didn't like the big side effect that came with it - A middle aged, overweight, out of shape, unhealthy stressed out piece of dog shit. People didn't see me the way I see me and it puzzled me. I would tell stories of the past and people thought I was crazy because the story didn't match what they saw. I would stare in the mirror and wonder WTF happened to me?
True to form, I decided to take action. I went on a mission to figure out what went wrong. I did some serious introspection and soul searching. I would question my motives and justifications. I would engage in deep conversations with the people to help me get a better understanding of how they saw me and my actions. I was finding, I did not like what I was doing and it didn’t match who I truly was. I’m a fucking mess!
I started making changes, major life changing changes...I was on a mission to find happy and that meant I needed to start taking time for me. I began eating better; I started working out again. I started working normal hours at work instead of sixty hour weeks and removing stress at work. I stopped being a control freak and started to let go. As I was making these changes, I noticed a positive ripple affect with the people around me. I was changing fast! Some people even thought I was sick and dying or going through some sort of mid life crisis. I know Stef was nervous, scared and entertained because I was unraveling. I was hooked and she was along for the ride.
I realized I needed to find something that I loved to do where I could escape, clear my mind and burn up all this busy energy. I was driving people nuts around me. I needed a hobby! I needed something positive and productive and healthy. I tried Golf – Bla… I couldn’t race motorcycles or dirt bikes anymore – too dangerous and not practical. I even tried online car racing video games – that was fun but pathetic. I didn’t want your usual mid life crisis with drugs, whores / sex, scandal, divorce and drama because I couldn’t bear the thought of losing everything I sacrificed my life for. I love my wife and kids way too much.
Then one day, in the spring of 2013, Rob convinced me to meet up with him for a ride at Mercer and it reignited a passion inside me. I immediately remembered how much I loved riding. As a kid, that is what I did to escape and cope with the problems I inherited from my parents. Riding was my thing! I came home that day after that ride and was floating on a cloud… That is when I realized I need to get back into this… For the remainder of that year, Rob and I met once a month to ride. That was all I could justify for “me time” but the more we rode, the more I wanted to get in better shape and then my obsession with cycling began. I started working out harder, tuning my diet… Obsessing on health and fitness and as my focus shifted, I became happier and things around me got better. Stef recognized how important it was for me and was very supportive (Actually, I think she thought it was another thing I would try and get sick of). She didn’t giving me a hard time for disappearing for a couple hours on the weekends while she handles things at home (at first). I started visiting the local bike shops and drooling over the new bikes – I wanted a XC bike.
Christmas was fast approaching and I had my sights set on a bike in the local bike shop… It was in the window calling me every time I drove past (like the Red Rider BB Gun)… I couldn’t stop talking about it. Then one day, I think Stef was sick of hearing me talk about it and said I should get it. So, we went down to the local bike shop, I explained it’s more of a race bike than a weekender (she couldn’t care less)…. I ended up buying it that night and as we were walking out, Stef said something that I know she regrets today – “Since you bought a race bike, you better race it!”. That is all I needed to hear – with some motivation from Rob, I was committed to racing in 2014.
So to recap 2014 -I raced and became more intrigued and obsessed. I bought more bikes, I did trail maintenance, I wear Mandex and am actually proud to be labeled a MAMIL.
And now here I am with my own blog about it… I think my one year anniversary for being a member of this forum is approaching. Talk about going from 0 to 100 in a blink.
Stay tuned for the next installment where I go into way toooooooooo much detail about what I’m doing now to prepare for and my plans for playing with myself in 2015.
Thanks for reading. I can’t believe you read the whole thing.
Wifey's (Stef) out for the night and all the kids are in bed. Time for myself... This time, I'm choosing to start this blog.
So, here we go… This is the first (very long winded) installment aka Intro.
Next week I turn 37. I just wrapped up one of the best years of my life! Why? Because after 10+ years of self sacrifice, I finally reconnected with me and I did something I truly enjoyed.
I know that may sound strange but I am far from normal, so it works… Let me explain, here’s my story – Before I was Al Bundy, I was a lunatic party animal and I am surprised I’m not dead or in jail! Once I got married, something clicked and I became a law abiding citizen with morals and values – strange how that happens.. (Cough… Stef did it)
Post marriage, I cleaned up my act and decided to take things seriously (well maybe too serious), I put everyone else first - Career, Wife, House, Kids... We had goals and damn it, I was going to achieve them! (By the way, I never do anything in moderation – it’s all or nothing! ) When I take on a responsibility and make a commitment, I lock in and I don't let go and most of the time I take it way too serious to the point that I lose contact with who I truly am. I come up with tons of justifications for my actions and I'm as determined, stubborn and hard headed as any one person can be. I get lost in the obsession of whatever it is I am focused on.
For years my motivation was being a selfless Husband / Father doing whatever he can to build a solid foundation and great life for his family at his own expense. A few years ago I realized that I didn't like the big side effect that came with it - A middle aged, overweight, out of shape, unhealthy stressed out piece of dog shit. People didn't see me the way I see me and it puzzled me. I would tell stories of the past and people thought I was crazy because the story didn't match what they saw. I would stare in the mirror and wonder WTF happened to me?
True to form, I decided to take action. I went on a mission to figure out what went wrong. I did some serious introspection and soul searching. I would question my motives and justifications. I would engage in deep conversations with the people to help me get a better understanding of how they saw me and my actions. I was finding, I did not like what I was doing and it didn’t match who I truly was. I’m a fucking mess!
I started making changes, major life changing changes...I was on a mission to find happy and that meant I needed to start taking time for me. I began eating better; I started working out again. I started working normal hours at work instead of sixty hour weeks and removing stress at work. I stopped being a control freak and started to let go. As I was making these changes, I noticed a positive ripple affect with the people around me. I was changing fast! Some people even thought I was sick and dying or going through some sort of mid life crisis. I know Stef was nervous, scared and entertained because I was unraveling. I was hooked and she was along for the ride.
I realized I needed to find something that I loved to do where I could escape, clear my mind and burn up all this busy energy. I was driving people nuts around me. I needed a hobby! I needed something positive and productive and healthy. I tried Golf – Bla… I couldn’t race motorcycles or dirt bikes anymore – too dangerous and not practical. I even tried online car racing video games – that was fun but pathetic. I didn’t want your usual mid life crisis with drugs, whores / sex, scandal, divorce and drama because I couldn’t bear the thought of losing everything I sacrificed my life for. I love my wife and kids way too much.
Then one day, in the spring of 2013, Rob convinced me to meet up with him for a ride at Mercer and it reignited a passion inside me. I immediately remembered how much I loved riding. As a kid, that is what I did to escape and cope with the problems I inherited from my parents. Riding was my thing! I came home that day after that ride and was floating on a cloud… That is when I realized I need to get back into this… For the remainder of that year, Rob and I met once a month to ride. That was all I could justify for “me time” but the more we rode, the more I wanted to get in better shape and then my obsession with cycling began. I started working out harder, tuning my diet… Obsessing on health and fitness and as my focus shifted, I became happier and things around me got better. Stef recognized how important it was for me and was very supportive (Actually, I think she thought it was another thing I would try and get sick of). She didn’t giving me a hard time for disappearing for a couple hours on the weekends while she handles things at home (at first). I started visiting the local bike shops and drooling over the new bikes – I wanted a XC bike.
Christmas was fast approaching and I had my sights set on a bike in the local bike shop… It was in the window calling me every time I drove past (like the Red Rider BB Gun)… I couldn’t stop talking about it. Then one day, I think Stef was sick of hearing me talk about it and said I should get it. So, we went down to the local bike shop, I explained it’s more of a race bike than a weekender (she couldn’t care less)…. I ended up buying it that night and as we were walking out, Stef said something that I know she regrets today – “Since you bought a race bike, you better race it!”. That is all I needed to hear – with some motivation from Rob, I was committed to racing in 2014.
So to recap 2014 -I raced and became more intrigued and obsessed. I bought more bikes, I did trail maintenance, I wear Mandex and am actually proud to be labeled a MAMIL.
And now here I am with my own blog about it… I think my one year anniversary for being a member of this forum is approaching. Talk about going from 0 to 100 in a blink.
Stay tuned for the next installment where I go into way toooooooooo much detail about what I’m doing now to prepare for and my plans for playing with myself in 2015.
Thanks for reading. I can’t believe you read the whole thing.
