Green Day Snot

I cannot believe how long the head snot has lasted. I had to bail on the BT Epic, the race that I have been training for for months at the Berryman Trail down in Steelville. After Burnin I was left with a head cold from sleeping (not) in the back of a van. The freaking acorns kept falling from the trees above, about one an hour. Sounded like the sky was falling. I never really heard them hit once I got reasonably close to slumber, rather, I would get jarred out trying to figure out what had just happened, before realizing it was just another nut bomb from the oak trees that I had parked beneath. It was real damned annoying. Plus, I am a pee-er. And on this particular trip I had to get up 2-4 times a night to go. Because of the hydration throughout the day during the race (and a little after), just about every time a nut hit the roof of the van, I got up out of my air mattress, stumbled to the vans door and got out, stepping on twigs and rocks in my socks, trying not to wake up the dudes in the tent next to me. There were four of them sleeping in one tent, btw, weird.

I have a Green Day once a week now in order to back up a little authenticity and position myself accordingly for the occasional onslaught of arrant green initiatives. My green day is when I use the cross bike to get wherever I am going by bicycle and it doesn't matter what or where it is. I choose one day a week without looking at my calender, and go with it.

Last Tuesday I was to meet Racanelli down in Webster, then make my way over to talk with Mike Weiss at Big Shark about the new Pfoodman Team. You see, we have this new kick ass van that is all decorated real cool now. We need to collect stickers in order to do it up right. The new Pfoodman Team will be next years bad ass travel group, doing lots of races all over. Anyway, I felt terrible while on that ride (that weeks green day) and barely made it home. I have been sick ever since with this greasy head cold and snot problem. I had to ride my Ruckas yesterday, in a half ass-ed green sort of compromise. It still got 96 miles to the gallon.

I call arrant green initiatives those that have no strategy, no element or stage-of-change process. Arrant green initiatives are conducted by people with ideas and platitudes that don't quite understand the need to tread lightly amongst a very large audience who are still on the fence. They get in your face with not enough empathy for others current condition to get buy in from those not so interested or not so educated on embarking into a greener lifestyle. Not if it means being criticized or made to feel bad about their own condition. Solutions by arrant green initiatives are based often on unclear or subjective data that can cause more damage towards our world becoming more sustainable than otherwise. They are often radical, button pushing, trouble. Me, I think an authentic, slowly evolve to change process is best, a lead by example thing to better equip those I am trying to convince. I choose to purvey green initiatives with a reality based understanding of the way things can play out, if we just give it a try.

So I park my car once a week and carry out my work day without the burning of fossil fuel. I ride my bike. The only compromise I request from anyone that I encounter is that they put up with the way I look, Lycra, unkempt hair and a brief explanation of my condition. That is good enough.

I will make my why to the cross race today and resume my green day goals this week now that I am feeling a little bit better. Yesterday was the first ride back from 10 days off. I will get my ass handed to me for sure. And the snot will fade.