judas priest — Blog

Most people hate cycling in cold weather. The frigid and dry winter air bites with sharper teeth when you’re on a bicycle. Fingertips go numb quickly if they aren’t well-insulated. There’s an art to dressing for a winter bike ride.

I find winter cycling to be pretty awesome. The cold gives you something to fight against—an element to conquer and a challenge to navigate. We need challenges in life to overcome. They verify that we’re alive.

Outside of cycling, I have laser focus on rehabilitating my right foot. Getting the foot to 100% health is proving to be a trying process; I have essentially re-learned to walk again over the past few months, and now I have to strengthen a lot of very weak ligaments.

Currently I am regaining stability in the foot by practicing balancing on it, walking on the ball of it, and standing on toes. The foot stability left me on that fateful 36th birthday weekend. But like the seasons, sometimes parts of us die only to later be reborn, albeit reborn with a different set of leaves.

I am seeking a physical therapist to help me with this portion of my recovery. There’s a slight chance I’ll be able to manage a brief jog later this week.

What I’m listening to: “Revelations” by Judas Priest. This is, in my opinion, one of their most overlooked gems. It’s a swirling epic about Nostradamus and his prophesies. The band tries a lot of synths and strings on this album; though it isn’t one of their strongest albums, it has some standout tracks such as this one.

What I’m reading: Crossroads by Jonathan Franzen. Whoa, this is a long book. There’s another powerful section about an aunt who dreams of acting (but fails to “make it big”), lives in New York City, and shuns the suburban family life. She dies of cancer at a young age and with few friends, a real-life Eleanor Rigby. There seems to be a message that our aspirations don’t define us, nor do they ultimately matter much.

What I’m watching: Clint’s Reptiles on YouTube. Reptiles get an unfairly bad reputation when in fact most of them are a tiny fraction as dangerous as dogs (I don’t believe most species of reptiles pose any danger whatsoever unless threatened… but why would you threaten them?). I really enjoyed the video this week on the best “uncommon” pet reptiles. The emerald tree skinks look especially fun.

What I’m doing: I’m standing on one foot, my bad foot, and trying to strengthen it. The road to “100%” is a long one, and it will likely require external help. Sometimes we have to suck it up and ask for help. It ain’t worth attempting the journey alone.

What I’m thinking: I’m thinking of Shenandoah, when I was sleeping in a tent more than 4000 feet up in the Blue Ridge Mountains. In the dead of night I was awakened by a sudden clang. Something was trying to break into my steel food box outside of my tent, and it was more than likely a black bear (admittedly it could have been a very strong raccoon, though black bears were prevalent in the area).

At the end of the day, we all want the same thing. You, me, the Blue Ridge mountain black bears, and the spiders that hang in the corners of our window frames.