This post appeared originally, in slightly different form, at Red Kite Prayer. Let’s start with an audacious premise, that just by virtue of the fact that you are reading these words, you are fast. I know. I know. “Bullshit,” you think to yourself. But maybe it’s true. These things can be self-fulfilling, the placebo that... Continue Reading →
Two things I think and write about too much are weather and injuries. In past seasons I've even had readers (primarily at Red Kite Prayer) ask me to stop rattling on and on about cold, ice and snow. That's fair enough. My weather isn't your weather, and no one likes a whiner. Injuries, on the... Continue Reading →
Dirt Soul Search is a personal project, a place to write about my own running and riding and hiking and general outdoor life. I spent a decade working on Red Kite Prayer, once named Outside magazine's #1 cycling blog. What is interesting about that is that, although RKP had a much larger audience than this... Continue Reading →
This post originally appeared at Red Kite Prayer, in slightly altered form. We are here at home, my wife and I, the kids, and we are doing our best. Wait, no that’s not right. We are trying to figure out what is best, how best to organize our days, so that work gets done, and... Continue Reading →
I could tell, about three miles in, that things were not right. Telltale stomach cramps, like the beginnings of heat stroke. "Shit," I thought, "why?" I hadn't consciously hydrated during the day, but I shouldn't have been dehydrated either. There were ten miles to go, and I had a liter of water with me. I... Continue Reading →
I thought I was the Robot, but I was wrong. I was younger then and invested in the idea that I was tougher than most. It turns out, once you start drilling down on that idea of toughness, you find out it's a bottomless well, and there's always someone tougher, someone dumber, someone pushing on... Continue Reading →
I'm probably not in control of my own life really, right? Somewhere between strict determinism and inertia there are forces beyond my control and beyond my ken that have delivered me to a place that I never expected and certainly don't deserve to be. Maybe if I'm grateful then I become, somehow, worthy. I should... Continue Reading →
This post originally appeared at Red Kite Prayer. I typically confuse actions with feelings. I say, “Man, I’d love to go for a ride right now,” or “I really need to sit down and do some writing,” but what I really mean is that there are feelings I want to have, brain states that frighten... Continue Reading →
