A long-time wish finally came true with a session around the Kawasaki Velodrome, and though I notched times that were the slowest of anyone on the day, my timing has been pretty fortunate over the past few months.
All seemed lost and forlorn at the start of summer, but I was determined to hang on to my career for dear life to ensure that Mrs. Kangaeroo could fulfill one of her dreams.
And the fates were on my side, with a new opening presenting itself at an absolutely perfect moment.
And it has ushered in a halcyonic few weeks.
On top of amazing conditions, even better has been the wonderful group of people I get to work with.
My colleagues are supportive, patient and kind, as well as being people whose company is just a delight.
Working with smiles and laughs is a priceless gift.
Work now is a mixture of heading into the office and working from home.
Commuting is never much fun, but the chance to phyiscally interact with colleagues has been a welcome return to humanity after a few hermetic years.
I’d feared that the commute would put paid to my cycling.
It has, to some extent, but I have managed to sneak in some rides.
And I hope to be able to ride more consistently while adjusting to the new lifestyle. Other adjustments are also needed. The dinosaur has, despite all my fears of her becoming lonely and aggressive, handled the change with aplomb.
Our garden somewhat less so, as it crumbled under the heat of another sweltering summer. The fierce heat of July and August has continued unabated into mid-September. Heat has ravaged our lawn and the tree fern.
Having experienced the same phenomena last year, it’s a little less worrisome than it was 12 months ago, but waiting for the garden to recover is grating. Last week, I gave into the urge for green grass and laid sod comprised of koraishiba, a Japanese grass that thrives in summer, but yellows over winter.
It’s still too hot for the sod to take root, but I will re-lay the lawn next spring in anticipation of another stniker of a summer, so it doesn’t really matter.
It’s all up to timing.
And, like my career luck, where I fell into getting a job that seemed impossible only weeks ago, I’ve also been fortunate on the fun front. Over summer, a couple of long-time cycling friends got to ride on the aforementioned velodrome track. I mentioned at the time that I’d been keen to have a go myself, if possible, then forgot about it.
But my mate got back in touch and we arranged to meet up on track. I’d always fancied myself on the track as heavier, more powerful riders tend to thrive in the flatter environment than you find on the road. It wasn’t the case, though, as I turned out to be the slowest rider on the day. But I just loved it, and kept riding for as long as I could in the hot, gusty conditions.
It was an unexpected opportunity, and Cycle Active Ring, the NPO that runs the velodrome sessions, had planned to stop doing so because of a dearth of volunteers.
But the announcment of the intended end of the event sparked a spate of offers for help, and I was lucky enough that it not only continued this month, but will go on monthly for the rest of the year, too.
After yesterday’s ride I was pretty exhausted, but managed to drag myself out of bed for a morning ride. I did so because of the threat of muscle pain lingering all week that I was keen on avoiding. My reward was to be presented with biblical skies over the Tama River albeit those that lasted only a fleeting instant.
Timing has never been a great skill, but everything has slipped perfectly into place in all sorts of ways since we began to heat up earlier this year. I’m very grateful and hope it goes on.
