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Our knobby tires rolled along the single track, each pedal stroke was accompanied by a quiet whir from the electric assist. Cody lead the way, intermittently glancing down at his phone on a handlebar mount. He was following a gps course laid out by previous riders. Aki trailed behind him and I followed along in sweep.  We had started riding before dawn and now the sun was just starting to creep over the horizon, lighting up the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. I pulled in behind Aki and heard the distinct sound of his dry chain running through the derailer. You know I had chain lube back at base you could have used. He didn’t look back, he just said, I’ve got some with me. And you’re saving it for just the right moment? I asked. Is it bothering you? It’s just noisy. It’s not as noisy as you hassling me about it. He had a point. I backed off of his wheel and left some more space. It was fun giving him grief, it reminded me of the rides we used to do together before all this shit. I...

I’m watching a guy get fat. He’s in his early thirties and he’s at a point in his life when he’s ready to move into the body of a larger man. It’s not a secret, he jokes about it himself. He grabs his belly and shakes it with pride.  I’ve seen plenty of old friends get big, but never as it’s happening. Usually I run into someone I haven’t seen in years and I realize they are much larger. But this guy I see every workday. And six months ago he was many pounds lighter. When I met him last fall he had the kind of frame that could go either way.  I heard he used to x-country ski and asked him about it, he proudly claimed how he was a nordic ski racer in high school. I’m not saying this just to fat shame some guy. I know life is stressful, and finding time for a healthy lifestyle isn’t for everyone. I guess I’m only on this topic as another way to explain the weird dichotomy of my life. I have my feet squarely planted in two separate worlds. I scroll through my Strava and see frien...

 You know when you start a streak? Maybe you start clearing a section without any flaw. Maybe each time you ride the park you do one new thing you haven't done before. My friend Matt will bang out six, ten, twelve days in a row at Left Hand. Streaks are fun. I'm on a streak, it started in Arkansas and followed me home. Each time I ride I meet someone cool. I'm engaging just as many people as I normally do.  I just keep meeting more bangers than duds. It's totally random, sometimes I just fall into pace with someone on the climb, other times it's waiting to drop-in on slopestyle. Interactions can go lots of ways, but it's nice when it results in some positive back and forth for a quick moment in time. Like Tyler Durden describes it, a "Single Serving Friend" for a few laps. Experts tell me today's young people are in distress. I hear they are afraid to face challenges, they don't know how to interact socially and they have no drive. I think the ...