A schtick-free recap

Back when I was a child... wait, what? Back when I started this blog, I updated it rather regularly. It looks like my last post was nearly 3 months ago. I don't think I've lost all creativity, just some of my schtick, maybe. And, quite honestly, I've been doing more nature walks than bike rides due to the change of seasons, change in daylight, and having a rather busy fall. 

After our cut-short vacation (and, likely thanks to my August vaccination, my corresponding cut-short bout of COVID), my September was wrapped up with a week of work travel to Atlanta, a really disappointing bike PT appointment ("You've been cycling a long time; you've probably got it all figured out by now." SERIOUSLY!), some Oktoberfest fun, another week of work travel to DC (with some good walks), a trip to the orchard, and a few good bike rides.

This wasn't really an Oktoberfest thing,
but the Irish bar allowed you to get an image
put in your Guinness foam. This would
be a better picture if I hadn't had a sip first. 

I was actually sober, just having fun.

We ate so many helpings of apple crisp!

A ride with Laura,
who kindly gets me out on my bike. She
leads the Thursday night rides I do all summer.

In October, I went to a class with my friend Marcy to learn about wines of Armenia (I really liked a couple of them), a work trip to Denver (with a fair amount of walking and a nice side trip to see the sunrise at Red Rocks), a good Holmes/Poirot play with Marcy, a visit from my great cousin Sarah, and a few more good bike rides with the ladies and, separately, my long-time BBF Matt.

This late season ride with the ladies oddly kicked my butt.
The leaves were so pretty that day (unrelatedly).

It isn't a great picture of me, and Marcy might not like me
sharing this, but I think she looks so cute here. She's
been my solid friend since I moved here in 1992 and 
we remarkably had nearly every class together at the 
University of Minnesota, which you couldn't plan if you tried - - fate! 

Sunrise at Red Rocks in Colorado.
Oddly, this was my first trip to Colorado. 

In November, I went to visit my Mom and Terry (great walks in the woods with the dog(s)), had some interesting all-day work meetings here in Minnesota, went to a matinee movie about bands that played at the 7th Street Entry one week in 1981 (yes, really), went to DC for the release of the Surgeon General's Report on the topic of eliminating tobacco-related health disparities (with a couple of brisk walks thrown in), had a radon mitigation system installed in our house, and ate a bunch of pie, kale salad, and green bean casserole, a decent amount of gravy, stuffing and turkey, a token serving of mashed potatoes, and whatever cranberries I could get. 

It was raining, but White Deer Lake
is one of my favorites to visit, regardless
of the weather.

I took my parents' dog, Alvin, and my dog, Haley,
for a walk down the old logging road which goes to
my favorite spot in the world. Alas, there had been
a forest fire. Kudos to the firefighters for getting it out
relatively quickly, but the landscape is totally
different and jarring. 

Yep, that's me with the SG! He's so smart and nice.
I appreciate having the opportunity to have been
an editor and writer of this report.

Yes, the election season was stressful, and I am worried
about the future. In the meantime, the Washington
Monument is still really pretty at sunset.

"Peace and justice work
continues uninterrupted."

This past week - Thanksgiving week - I was in a decent amount of discomfort due to tweaking my bum hip that wrenched things out of place in my back. I'm feeling better now, after lots of Aleve, heat, Icy Hot, CBD salve, pungent Chinese pain relief patches, stretching, PT, etc., and am looking forward to getting back on my bike in my now radon-free basement! I'm kind of out of shape; long walks with the dog aren't cutting it, although they are enjoyable. Especially the walks that we've done with my parents' dog, my friend Stacy and her dog, and my friend Andrew and his dog. The more interactions we have, the better my dog Haley gets at, well, not being a dick.

Stacy and Xinn on a walk with Haley and me.
The dogs did so well with each other!

oxoxo

And then tonight, I signed up for the weeklong BikeMS Ride here in Minnesota in July: https://events.nationalmssociety.org/participant/GoMaggieGo

I got free registration due to raising close to $6,500 last year (THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU), and they also will let me do a BikeMS Ride anywhere in the country for free without having to do any fundraising. I'm trying to decide where I want to go (if my work vacation schedule matches up okay) - Do that hilly San Fran ride again? Go east? I need to think about what will really motivate me to get out on my bike a lot in 2025. I'm ready for a lot of time in the saddle.