Unorganized Chaos

I am, above almost all things, an orderly person. Call me "A-Type". Call me "anal". Call me a "neat-freak". They'd probably all be true, though I might protest on semantics. I like things to have a place, and for things to reside in their places when not in use. Knowing where things are puts me at ease.

This past week I've been moving. My stuff out of my house and into a new home. My two new roommates stuff out of their (massive) house and into our new home. Or, in "A-Type" speak, this past week I've been "taking things out of their place and putting them into a random pile of unorganized chaos." Friends who helped us move on Saturday may claim the random pile of unorganized chaos in my bedroom was about as chaotic as the numbers on a telephone, but in my head it was the furthest thing from it. The pile of furniture, kitchen goodies, plants, books, records and lamps in the living room, however, could truthfully be called 'random' by a seasoned physicist trained to find algorithms in everything.

Five days later, my room is almost orchestrated into a new normal. Many things still don't have a place, but I'm dealing with it. The living room is habitable, with profuse thanks to the gals who helped sort it out on Saturday afternoon. The kitchen is a work in progress, but thankfully work took me out of town and I haven't had to cook in it yet (save for mixing a bowl of cereal). It too, will eventually end up as an organized, well-equipped space, but Clement and I have a few more hours to spend on it before it makes sense.

The first week or two of the tour, I am expecting this same level of chaos as routines are established and I figure out how to pack gear, organize clean & dirty clothes, shower and eat - alongside a hundred other riders. It is probably this stretch that has me most concerned. However, like my house, I'm sure it will all be sorted in due time and after a little effort.

Because of the move (and also because of the snow!) I went nearly a week without riding. Intentions of riding after work in Banff this week were stymied by a blizzard. Tuesday night, after returning to Calgary, I bundled up and braved the +2C weather and rode for a solid hour. Oddly enough this was the first ride this year I didn't feel cold!

I joined another group of riders from the Speed Theory cycling club on Wednesday night for another ride. We did nearly 60km in 2.5 hours. These folks were really friendly, and being members of the same club they knew eachother well enough to know they ride at about the same speed. From the first hill out of the parking lot it became pretty clear I was used to a quicker pace, but I decided to stick with them anyway. Things went great until the next climb into the headwind at about kilometer 20. I ended up at the front of the pace line, and unintentionally created a gap to the girl behind. She gave a holler and I sat up, waiting for the group to catch again. It would have been fine had it only happened once... I blame new-to-me cycling partners and I was riding without a computer, so I had no idea what speed we were going at. Oops. They weren't too put-out about it because I would wait up, but they did suggest on the final leg of the ride that I might have more fun riding with a faster group. Maybe a fair comment. And kind of a back-handed compliment. They did encourage me to join their club and come out for a few races. Depending where God takes me in the next 12 months, I'd be stoked to join a group where the riders are as friendly as these folks last night were.

Tomorrow evening, the local do-it-yourself bike shop affiliated with my church, Lifecycle, is hosting their first night ride of the season. This is a pretty fun event - I joined them once last year. We ride from the shop in Bowness at 8:30pm down to 17th Ave (where the action is) to eat some burgers or poutine, then ride home. People deck out their bikes with all sorts of lights and we form a posse to take over the streets. The weather is looking good, so it should be another great evening. Definitely come out to join us if you're feeling hungry as the sun goes down!