Be the Beast Triathlon Coaching

Life is going really well these days. I am enjoying work, the weather is warming up, and I’ve been catching up with friends. But every once in a while you have a gloomy day. Today I am figuring out that not having a car isn’t a big deal and not having Kennett around isn’t TOO bad, but when you take away both it does make life a little tougher on dreary, snowy days.

The Car

The car is an interesting change in my life because I’ve been attempting to get rid of it for a while. Since 2010, when I bike toured with Lydia, my sister, I have had the idea vaguely in my head that it would be fun to live without a car. Last year my friend Bogie sold his car which was an inspiration. I was also dating Kennett who has never owned a car himself and still got around just fine. When we first began dating in the winter he would ride to my house for dinner and back home at an even later, darker, colder time of night.

Last spring my car broke and I decided not to fix it. It sat outside my house for a few months and then sometime mid or late summer I decided to fix it so we could do camping trips and move. It still sat most of the time but when winter rolled around I will be the first to admit we used it more. Kennett and I would break down the estimated cost of the car per trip we were taking it on. Probably about $10 per trip. (insurance + repairs + registration + gas)/(# of time we use the car/month * 12)

I began thinking of getting rid of the car again after the Gebhardt Automotive Cycling Classic on Feb.22 but alas, it broke down on Rte 66 outside of Lyons a few weeks before hand and needed towed back to the house. To avoid to much hassle with selling a car that doesn’t drive, it went to Goodwill last Monday.

If I get another car, it will be a car meant for road trips. Able to handle bikes, camping gear, more bikes, snowboards, and a dog.

Kennett in Sweden

Kennett left for Sweden last Wednesday. It wasn’t too much of a transition for me because he went to San Dimas and Redlands the week and a half prior. He came home last Monday afternoon and I met him at the bus stop to help him lug two bikes back to the apartment. I am not sure how he manages to do it himself. I wouldn’t even make it downstairs with the bike box alone.

I had Monday afternoon, Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning to spend with him. For the short period of time we had, I have very good memories of every single day but by the time I showed up to work on Wednesday I was severely dehydrated.

I had been fine on Monday since it was a homecoming. Tuesday, however was a different story. I had gone to work early and came home early. I was in a pretty good mood and I figured I’d be able to hold off tears for several hours until I was tired.

Let’s just say I sympathize with dogs when their owners pack for vacation without them. I came home Tuesday,  saw the packing and my stomach got tight. I quickly walked upstairs to get away from it. I started reading to distract myself and I wasn’t sure I’d be able to go back down the rest of the evening. I did go back down and we had a nice evening between tears.

Now Kennett is gone and has been spending next to all of his time in Sweden in a hotel room eating sandwiches from the continental breakfast, reading, writing blogs, watching movies and talking to yours truly on Skype. He got sick and missed out on races. He got sick because his team doesn’t have their act together and made the process way more stressful than it should have been…on both of us. I am a bit less than pleased about the situation and wish Kennett was hanging out with me at home today.

All and all I shouldn’t complain. I have settled in okay since Kennett left. I even cleaned the house and began re-envisioning my next goals in life. This is where the dog comes in.

The Dog

Similar to living without a car, having a dog has been on my list for a long time. I remember telling my mom, “It isn’t just that I want a dog, I need a dog.” I almost moved in the fall of 2012 just so I could get a dog. My eagerness to get a dog waxes and wanes a bit but recently I have been taking dog books out from the library and looking on craigslist. Bad idea. Today I found this cutie. Perhaps my next blog will be about training our new puppy!