cold october fall

i love it when the air begins to thin and sound starts to travel farther and clearer at night. the cold chill of fall makes this happen. i'm sitting in my living room reading amazing blogs with fantastic photos of riding bikes in the mountains of california and i can hear a police siren quite a few blocks away, but it sounds as if it's right outside our door. everything else is still and quiet. i wish our life were still and quiet. this in reference to all the travel thats going on for my new job. it's a mess, but i know it's only temporary. i miss my friends, i miss my bike, i miss the shop, i miss the flint hills. by the way, if i'm hanging out with any of you that might be reading this blog in the near future, and i start to talk about cell phones, or trying to sell you a cell phone. punch me in the face.

i will thank you for it later.

we just turned the heater on last night because it felt like a walk-in-freezer in our house. i love the sound of the furnace kicking on. i can't describe it, but it just makes me feel all warm and cozy. i should for sure be in bed right now. i'm slowly making it that way. if you haven't had a chance to start reading eric benjamin's (adventure monkey's) california bikepacking story, do yourself a favor and head that way right now. it's beautiful, all of it. i'm so glad he got to experience a trip like that, and i pray others will benefit because of his opportunity. i know good things will come from it. even if it is encouraging others to just be more active, it was worth it. and it is always worth it to test yourself to your very core. for some reason we are trained to run in the complete other direction and seek out any and everything that can bring us more convienence, and that is hollow. i seek a simple life, with deep outcomes. not something easy that comes with no effort. i don't live this way everyday, or very often it seems. but reading eric's blog, and just being in the swing of things that i am right now, i realize more than ever that effort, doing something, and simplicity should be at the top of my list. all with love in my bones. where is this motivation when i need it most? stuffed away in a dark place that i refuse to seek out. i say to hell with that. let's live intentionally.

i'm a dad

on aug 31st 2010 @ 7:26 am crystal and i became parents.

it was an unbelievable night/morning/day. we'll never experience it for the first time ever again. we've come so far together and now our love has helped in the creation of a new person. what a thought. what a feeling. we're both blown away. every moment together as a family is precious, and i wish i never had to go back to work and we could all just live, travel, bike, eat, sleep, love and bike some more together.

her name is emory mae wintle...and she's our pumpkin pie. at least thats what i've been calling her recently.

i hope she likes bikes. if not that's okay, but she'll be around them for at least the rest of crystal and i's life together, so she'll have to at least tolerate them. this picture is of emory in her onesie that crystal made for her to come home in. yes that is a handstitched bike, my wife is that cool.

things have just gotten started for us and this new family, and i can't wait to share all our adventures with the world through my little blog.

as for riding, i actually have had a chance to hop back on the bike for some good miles this past week. last sunday i went on a group ride with mr. matt brown, seagato, jed "pimp daddy" sampsel, scott o'mara and the diesel mike wise. i hadn't been on a bike for a long period of time in forever it seemed. especially not on gravel, especially not riding with the likes of these guys. we had a tailwind for the first half of the ride and we were headed to the towers. it's a staple training/fun ride destination for the locals and always apart of the DK200 route. it's gorgeous out there, the flint hills are full of beauty, i don't care what time of year it is. but this day was particularly gorgeous with the temps only hitting 65 and with big poofy white clouds reminiscent of our wedding day. the only thing not pretty was the way my legs started feel at mile 18...cramping and shot. i know that sounds pathetic...and it is. jed told me later in the ride, "if i don't ride, i don't expect to ride well." i can't agree with him more, and as defeated and unmotivated to ride as i was after the explosion in my legs, it has only sparked my desire to ride that much more. it always seems to happen that way for me. i decided to tear off from the group early and jed was kind enough to come and keep me company so i could think about something other than the lactic acid party that was now creeping up through my thighs. we stopped at randy's house (aka cyclist's heaven) and we were surprised to see lelan, randy and anne marie all just getting home from a weekend in topeka doing the MS 150. lelan made me a pb & honey sandwich and i destroyed a pop tart and raisins while hoarding the fridge and pantry in the beautiful log home. jed and i finally made it back to emporia, 46 grueling miles under my belt and a heavy dose of humility on my plate. i'm ready to get back to riding regularly.

i got a new job. i miss the bike shop everyday, but thus is how the bike biz goes, when it gets cold, people get off their bikes. i officially start at verizon wireless on oct. 11th. training begins that day in KC for 4 weeks straight. i'll be back on the weekends and on wed. nights to lead worship at youth group at 12th avenue. crystal and emory will be going with me part of the time which will be amazing, and i'm planning on the bike being there with me everyday. like i said. i gotta get some riding in.

i need some accountability for what i'm going to say next.

i want to ride and finish the Dirty Kanza 200 in 2011.

there. i said it. publicly.

this is the bike i want to accomplish that feat with. the 2011 fisher collection cronus cx. i think we will be a match made in heaven together. i love cross bikes, and i firmly believe they love me back. it's not available until january, but that just gives me a glimmer of hope to look forward to in the dead of winter. and hopefully a jump start in training when mother nature is at her worst in kansas. lets do this. adventure monkey said it best "get off the couch and start living." i intend to do so sir. i too believe nothing is impossible when we put our minds to it.

thank you for reading this. i hope it has put a smile on your face and brightened your soul for just a moment. have a campfire this fall...i'm going to. i'm going to try and make this blogging thing a part of my regular do-ings on the world wide web. love you all.

-bobby