Back in VA for an early Christmas, I'm toodling around with my old trusty Scott road bike in the neighborhood, trying out the new aerobars I installed myself last night (all by myself, shock!), and the weather, though gray and gloomy, seemed to be holding up, so I convinced by sister to drop me off at the trailhead for the W&OD Trail, that runs from Arlington to Purcellville. She dropped me off at the closest drop-off point near our home, which is in Falls Church, and I road out past Herndon, then all the way back past Falls Church and through the Custis Trail detour to Big Wheel Bikes in Arlington, where Sam was waiting for me after ordering a pizza at the delicious "The Italian Store" at the shopping center near by.
It was one of the longer rides I've done continuously in aero, and while I felt a touch awkward, since my road bike isn't to spec measurement like my Cervelo, the Scott is not nearly as light/twitchy/fast, so I still feel more comfortable on it overall, I am ashamed to admit. The W&O trail sure is great though, and while I love my Central Park loops and the 9W, it is really nice to mix it up and it is gloriously UN-crowded (at least on a gloomy Monday mid-day when most normal people are at work!).
Since I wasn't focused on dodging or passing people like I usually am in NYC, and I wasn't shooting for anything more than just putting in 2:30/3hours on the bike at a solid cruise, my mind was doing a good bit of wandering, and it kept coming back to the horrific Newtown school shooting from this past Friday.
I know I am not the only out there thinking about this, nor was I in any way personally affected. My heart breaks and I am almost sick to my stomach just thinking about those children, those teachers, and the families. How did we as a nation ever let it come to this. This is not a blog for politics, and those who know my sister and I personally already know where we stand on those sorts of issues. But what I think is worth saying is that these shooters, whether it is Columbine or Aurora or Arizona or Newtown, are somehow the ones whose name everyone remembers. They are the people everyone wants to "know" about. Can anyone remember the name of a student from Columbine? Or a theater go-er at Aurora? I hope that that will change, among other things.
Who were these children? Those teachers? The names have now been released, and as one person asked on Twitter, "How do you write an obituary for a six-year-old? How do you then write 19 more?" How indeed?
There is one little boy whose name is already going around the triathlon community: Chase Kowalski, who had entered a few youth triathlons and was apparently quite the spunky dynamo at multisport. Imagining him on his bike, or enjoying summertime at the pool with his team brings tears to my eyes, and the #raceforchase is certainly something I always hope I remember.
It was one of the longer rides I've done continuously in aero, and while I felt a touch awkward, since my road bike isn't to spec measurement like my Cervelo, the Scott is not nearly as light/twitchy/fast, so I still feel more comfortable on it overall, I am ashamed to admit. The W&O trail sure is great though, and while I love my Central Park loops and the 9W, it is really nice to mix it up and it is gloriously UN-crowded (at least on a gloomy Monday mid-day when most normal people are at work!).
Since I wasn't focused on dodging or passing people like I usually am in NYC, and I wasn't shooting for anything more than just putting in 2:30/3hours on the bike at a solid cruise, my mind was doing a good bit of wandering, and it kept coming back to the horrific Newtown school shooting from this past Friday.
I know I am not the only out there thinking about this, nor was I in any way personally affected. My heart breaks and I am almost sick to my stomach just thinking about those children, those teachers, and the families. How did we as a nation ever let it come to this. This is not a blog for politics, and those who know my sister and I personally already know where we stand on those sorts of issues. But what I think is worth saying is that these shooters, whether it is Columbine or Aurora or Arizona or Newtown, are somehow the ones whose name everyone remembers. They are the people everyone wants to "know" about. Can anyone remember the name of a student from Columbine? Or a theater go-er at Aurora? I hope that that will change, among other things.
Who were these children? Those teachers? The names have now been released, and as one person asked on Twitter, "How do you write an obituary for a six-year-old? How do you then write 19 more?" How indeed?
There is one little boy whose name is already going around the triathlon community: Chase Kowalski, who had entered a few youth triathlons and was apparently quite the spunky dynamo at multisport. Imagining him on his bike, or enjoying summertime at the pool with his team brings tears to my eyes, and the #raceforchase is certainly something I always hope I remember.
Very poignant point about the names of the deceased never being remembered or mentioned in the press...kudos to you for reminding us to think about the people involved versus the sensationalism. One thing that I like about solo training is that you mind has the chance to think about this kind of stuff. Thanks for reminding me of one reason why I run!
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