One of the many things I like about taking a long ride, run or hike is that it purges my mind of life’s daily distractions — bills, deadlines, squirrels. The resulting void clears vital space for creative thinking, for random thoughts, ideas and whatnot to bubble up from the subconscious and get some air time. Usually, this is good thing. Sometimes it is not. During my hour-long trail run at…

It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s … what the heck is it? Oh, yeah, I remember now: the Sun. After an extended vacation, during which we were sat by our dour Aunt Ida (what was with all those slobbery kisses?). After nearly a week, Ida has finally packed her bags and left, ol’ Sol has returned and it’s safe to go back outside. And just in time for the…

I needed a water bottle. I wound up contemplating the price of paradise. Packing for a week of backpacking last night, I could only put my hands on one Nalgene bottle. My MSR water filter screws into Nalgene water bottles, making an otherwise annoying task – pumping water from a stream – slightly less annoying. Since I was leaving town early this morning, I’d have to pick one up on…

When you hear someone say that working out keeps them sane, they could mean one of two things. They could mean that their daily workout is what they need to keep their juices flowing, that their workout jump-starts their system just enough to make it possible for them to sit at a desk and stare at a computer screen eight hours a day. They might also mean that maintaining a…