Happy Saint Patrick's Day

As the title says to you and yours. Was a pretty uneventful day. My wife and  I worked night shift last night so my son spent the night at my moms. I picked him up on the out of the way home. On the way I decided it might be nice for us to meet my wife for breakfast at Perkin's before lumbering off to bed so that's what we did. So needless to say I did not get much done  today. Staying up that extra 2 hours really kicks you in the rump. I did however get a little time Zwifting today.

The Sky

The sky was remarkable this morning and I couldn't help but pull over to take some photos of the morning sky. Living in PA we don't get a whole lot of clear mornings so I tend to take advantage of what we get when I am able too. Speaking of which 6 years ago today the temperature was in high the 60's and when the header photo was taken. I spent that day riding 45 miles with the dentist. 

Hes and interesting fellow and good company on a ride. Especially on a flat riding behind him is like riding behind a brick wall.

 New Toy

Picked up our new bikes the other day and hope to get out for a spin tomorrow. I'm pretty pleased with the purchase but as always the bike industry always comes up a little short. In this particular case I'm not sure if its the bike campy, FUJI, or the components manufacturer NOTUBES.

After much deliberation I decided to move to the next model in the lineup. This is  secondary bike for me but I've learned you can never go wrong upgrading. In this particular case the upgrades included 105 11 speed, hydraulic brakes and stans wheels. Now the issue is with the wheels. 

Part of the appeal to the upgrade was indeed the tubeless wheel-set. Lighter weight and no tubes means quicker spin-up and less flats. So I as I am getting ready to leave the store I asked Russel if the tubeless valve stems were in a bag somewhere. This is when he broke the news to me that the wheels did not include the valve stems. So I now have a set of tubeless wheels that I cant at this point run tubeless. That is until I come up with valve stems.

Needless to say this is very frustrating. I went to the NOTUBES website and they list the valve stems as being part of the wheel kit. Then later state that the valve stems are not included. Which to me makes zero sense. Why in Gods green earth would I specifically purchase a set of tubeless wheels from the best tubeless wheel manufacturer and not run them tubeless? Which takes me back to FUJI and their inability to place tubeless ready tires on the bike. You can bet your last  dollar I have already sent off emails to both companies looking for an explanation on both fronts.

Perseverance.........

When I purchased this framed poster some 20 years ago I did so because it spoke to me. Not so much as it had cyclists on it but the message below the cyclists. "There Is No Substitute For Hard Work".

There has never been a statement so true, in sports or in life.  And work does not specifically apply to 9-5 it applies to plain old living as well. 

Now don't misunderstand  me. Perseverance does not guarantee success in everything you do in life, but it will propel you through it. It can allow you to achieve that which you thought was unattainable or lead you in the direction you need to go. 

It can even help you to overcome obsticals others see and turn from, or carry you through the toughest times and allow you to become an inspiration to those that see it. It will make you a better Husband , wife, friend, employee or student. It is aplicable in every aspect of life.

Throughout my life I have known many people that are great examples of the benefits Perseverance. So here are a couple examples. 

The first and one of the most recent being my wife. Who despite working full time and helping maintain a household, was able to complete her BSN in the same amount of time most students do with nothing else to do in their lives but study.

Another would be my good friend Scott. Having been injured in a train accident and losing an arm, he decided not to feel sorry for himself but to continue to live his life as if he had both arms. He is currently racing for the Paralyzed Veterans Racing Team.

Of course if you have been keeping up with this site you know I have had my own obsticals to overcome.

I could list many more but I believe I have made my point. So get out there and do something. Live your life to the fullest and when time get tough, or you dont think you can go the distance, put your heart into it and go for it.