I am not sure that there really is such a thing as a work-life balance, but I try hard to find it. The last 4 years, I have found myself working 50-60 plus hours a week. Fitting in a life outside of work has proved to be difficult at times. I’ve become fond of the saying, “Work hard, play harder.” If I didn’t play harder, I’d never really play at all. I also have to work hard to relax. It’s just how I am wired.
On Monday, I rode my new bike with Marty just over 21 miles. Somewhere 7 miles or so near the end, I stopped for an hour long Zoom work meeting. That’s work-life balance, right? <laughter> Honestly, being able to join meetings anywhere I have cell service is one of the bonuses of my current my job being [partially] remote. I have remote meetings with colleagues all over the United States, who seem to find it quite funny that I ride my spin bike during meeting, hike or ride, etc. I’ve also travelled with this company and the last–I’ve had some amazing opportunities to cycle rail trails and hike in some really amazing places! I haven’t missed a day of work since COVID began– I am truly blessed.
I made sure to use every moment possible these last few weeks to get out on my new bike. It’s been nice to have a light schedule. I’ve ridden it 95.6 miles that would be possible if I was working a lot of overtime. 95 miles is pretty good considering I am not a “seasoned” cyclist. The first day, I picked up the Specialized bike at the shop and headed straight to Marty’s so that we could get it set up and go for a ride. The following day, I met him at Pilot mountain for another ride. Pilot Mountain is on elf my favorite places to hike and I’m hoping one day I’ll be good enough to ride up and back down its winding roads. Sunday, we did a short ride in downtown Winston-Salem. We did get 10 miles in,I learned quite a bit. I got my first flat! Thankfully, Marty was with me and had everything he needed to repair it!
Yesterday, we rode 26 miles and I survived a torrential downpour and another dog. When we finished the ride, I looked like a drowned rat and Marty looked as fresh as a daisy. Look at the picture on the right and I am sure you will agree.
Dogs make me very nervous when they chase me! We’ve been chased by a few this week, much to my horror. Of course, Marty gets on the side of the dogs and blocks them from getting to me so I can pedal my heart out to get away. Because riding on the road is so new to me, after yesterday’s dog chase, I decided to read up a little on what to do if a dog chases you while you are riding. It will be a very long time before I’ll ever be brave enough to go out on a ride (on the road) by myself. With a little luck and lots of practice, I think I will get there. Unless I keep encountering dogs.
Life seems to fly by so quickly, doesn’t it? I’ve already had my new bike for over a week and feel blessed that I have been able to ride it so many times. The views are so beautiful that it just makes me want to ride more. I want to get more pictures!I keep wondering when I can retire?. <smile> <<— that won’t happen for a very long time, so I’ll just have to keep working on my work-life balance!
My Little Red Bike 