What is my theme of the year?

Fun & wonder!

2024 has been tremendously frustrating with Shepherd as Google has swept our legs out from under us. We would be break-even on costs if it wasn’t for their chaos. That is life, and we are going to adapt. I am intently focused on getting to break-even on costs so we can keep working to help authors and readers. Why? Because books build better people, better civilizations, and inspire us to dream bigger. They are among the greatest net positives in the world.

Apart from that frustration, life is good.

My big 3 goals for the year?

1. Keep working to build something special with Shepherd; the goal is to reach profitability and grow actively engaged users (now that we have user accounts in place). I am working on the roadmap and trying to find the best beachhead from which to start.
2. Live a life full of adventure! I am planning a big bike tour for 2025 and many small trip plans with Calico, Lindsey, family, and friends.
3. Support my wife in any way possible with some health challenges she is facing.

Otherwise, I continue to watch world politics like the other peasants…

2024 was fantastic but also a bit insane (which is its own type of fun).

We moved on July 1st from Viseu, Portugal, to Bordeaux, France.

We’ve been in Viseu for the last 3.5 years, and it has been a fantastic home for our family. It is the only home Calico remembers, and it was especially tough for him to leave his world and dear friends.

Moving is always chaos, and we added to this by deciding to buy a house in Bordeaux  (which we randomly visited during Spring break). It all worked out, but it was a crazy spring and summer as we prepared. We added to the crazy by arriving in Bordeaux and promptly leaving to visit my nephew Viktor, Isadora, and my brother Nick! Then, a few weeks later, we flew to the USA for a month to close out a storage unit in Colorado, visit Colorado friends, and visit ALL the family in Arkansas. Once we got home, Calico started school in France, and luckily, the school is outstanding! He has been so happy and made a lot of friends.

Lindsey and I spent the rest of the year getting settled in France, and I think we only accomplished this in mid-December. We still have a lot of things to figure out, but we are delighted with our house, neighborhood, and new city. Bordeaux and its people are wonderful. The paperwork side of moving to the EU is pretty crazy; the EU has a lot of work to do to improve these processes. France has been easier than I thought, especially for starting a new business entity and paying taxes from it (all online).

The Amazing

Lindsey and I celebrated our tenth anniversary! We are in a good place. That is a wonderful feeling—much better than the early years of our marriage when we were still trying to figure things out. Lindsey is an amazing person I look forward to many more decades together!

Calico turned eight years old! He is such a sweet kid, and seeing him grow and develop is a gift. Now that he is old enough to do a lot more, we are putting some extra thought into what we want to do in the summers as a family. I am planning some camping trips, biking trips, and a trip to play in the snow.

I did an epic 1,000+ km bike tour across Spain and into the French Pyrenees. It was one of the most beautiful routes I’ve done. I am so glad I found bike tours; after I lost the ability to run, I was worried that I wouldn’t find anything that would get me into such a zone of zen.

What fun stuff did we do this year?

• Calico and I did a father/son windmill adventure weekend! We hiked, grilled, watched movies, carved sticks, played games, went to the beach, and made fire. It’s always a blast!
• Calico and I did a bike day on this awesome route in Portugal. We climbed some rocks and tried to do some moderately dangerous things that wouldn’t result in our deaths.
• We spent our Spring break in Bordeaux, France, and bought a house! It was a pretty busy trip as we were vetting neighborhoods, but we ate a lot of delicious treats and had a really fun day at the beach. The only bummer was that I got a cold and didn’t get to cycle much.
• Calico and I went on a boy’s biking weekend in Northern Portugal! It was a good weekend with bike rides, ice cream, a road trip along the coast, and soccer. We were both exhausted, and Calico had a nasty cough, so we did pretty short rides.
• I did the full Ecopista do Dão! It is my local daily ride but I never did the whole thing. It is a beautiful 101km round-trip ride that I highly recommend. I miss this route as Bordeaux doesn’t have the same views.
• In May, I cycled for three weeks across Spain. It was one of the prettiest rides I’ve done. I did as much gravel as possible and can’t wait to revisit Spain and the French Pyrenees (Catalonia especially).
• Over June, we packed up and prepared to move from Portugal to France. We drove to our new home on July 1st and we are excited to be in a bigger city with a lot more activity.
• We all flew to Serbia in July to meet my new nephew Viktor!!! We also got to meet Isadora’s family who are very kind (and Mom and Tony flew in as well). It was a fantastic trip, especially as it coincided with the Euro Cup, and we watched many games together.
• We spent August in the USA! We spent 10 days in Colorado, and it was amazing to see friends and spend quality time with them. I miss them! Arkansas was equally great, and it was great to see family. We took Calico to the state fair and Silver Dollar City, which was a blast. He even did Fire In The Hole (a roller coaster), which he thought was extremely scary.
• I did a quick one-week bike trip to get my new gravel bike and take it home. The mountains were incredible, and I rode through one gorge that I still think about. The last few days were canal paths, which were good for thinking!
• We had a fantastic Family Fall break in the mountains! We scored an amazing Airbnb, built some fires, read in the hammock, hiked, and cooked. It was much needed. I love the French school calendar; it was nice to get 2 weeks off in one go.
• We had a quiet family Christmas in our new home. It was a perfect end to the year 😀.
• Lindsey and I had a ton of long lunch dates throughout the year. With Calico in school, that is an incredibly nice time for us, and we hope to keep going.

The Challenges!

No Family Vacation 😐
Because of the move, we didn’t get a family vacation this year, and I missed it immensely. Spending four weeks chilling is so good for Lindsey and me as a couple. Plus, it gives Calico and me a lot of open time to play and hang out. The Colorado/Arkansas trip was great, but it was non-stop action.

Lindsey’s Health
This year was worse than 2023, which is incredibly frustrating and demoralizing. It feels like the medical establishment is just starting to study women and doesn’t know how much work (it seems like health care barely understands the human body; we have a long way to go). We are optimistic that 2025 will bring insights and improvements. I am doing whatever I can to support her.

The long chaos after moving…
I always forget the hardest part comes at the end as you try to get everything sorted once you arrive amidst all your normal todos. I don’t think we really got to a good place until mid-December, and it was very exhausting at times. It was a struggle to find time for everything.

My Health
My health has been great. The only negative is that in December, I had a slightly high number of intestine inflammation. It could have been a virus or due to increased workouts. Regardless, I am back on a strict diet, and I will test in January to check again. The strict diet is tough.

Shepherd
2023 was rough for Shepherd, but 2024 has been ten times worse. Google pooped the bed and destroyed large segments of the independent web. We lost ~60% of our traffic from Google, and they have lost control of their search engine. They have at least admitted the problem, and we will see in 2025 if they have the will to fix it. I am not sure they care, and with the coming AI wave, we are entering a new world where large segments of the web will die. It has been an incredibly demoralizing experience because we do everything Google recommends, and our user engagement scores are off the chart. Luckily, we are not dependent on Google, and our traffic from every other source is up. Our long-term goal is to become an app and bypass Google’s monopoly for discovery on the web (I hope the DOJ takes them apart; their search engine should be split from their properties and AI). Otherwise, Shepherd has been immensely fun, and I have a lot planned for 2025 and 2026!

How did I do on my goals for 2024?

I had 3 goals for 2024, and I would say that I accomplished 2.5 of them.

1. My first goal was to build a home in Bordeaux. We have done that!
2. My second goal was to do a big bike tour and a lot of trips with Calico, Lindsey, and family. I crushed this one. The only one missing is the Ireland trip with my mom and Tony (but we will do that in the Spring this year). I am also working on a bike trip with my dad.
3. My third goal was to improve my energy management. I am giving myself half a mark here. I did better, but I still redlined several times this year. I am struggling to find the headspace and physical habits needed to replenish my energy between work, family, and physical activity. It is like I am missing a layer in my sandwich but not sure what it should taste like.

2025…

A longer 2025 post is coming soon…

For 2024:

• I did 408+ hours of tracked workouts (2nd best year on record👏).
• I worked out on 235 days in some form (not even in my top 5…)

How do I feel about this year?

The move was very disruptive, and I am proud of how well I managed, given the chaos. Even with the impact on my time, I kept working out, which kept me pain-free and happy.

The post-move period was harder. There were large chunks of time when I didn’t have my bike or workout gear, and that was hard. The long flights, time in cars, and working from kitchen tables weren’t great for my back.

Overall, my back felt great for 94% of the year (tied for the best year ever), but that hides two bad months:

• For July, my back only felt good 74% of the time.
• For August, my back only felt good 81% of the time.

But a lot of good came out of this.

I did a 10-pack of Zoom training sessions with Jeff from Boulder. He helped me rethink what I was doing (as my workouts had stagnated). Between Jeff, what I know about my back injury, and ChatGPT I redesigned my rehab sessions and how I track them.

Starting November 18th, I rebooted them and have a better plan. They now take ~85 minutes, and I do them three times a week. They have been harder, but my back is very happy. Plus, I have a better tracking program, so I can incrementally increase the load as I get stronger.

I will see how the pace holds up once Winter ends and cycling becomes the #1 priority.

Biking

• I rode 265+ hours on my bike (my 3rd best year on record👏).
• I biked 166 days of the year (my best year on record 🥳).
• I covered km 4,921km (my worst year in 5 years, but not by much).

What biking records did I set in 2024?

I’m not a fast biker, so these are just for me personally, as I get a kick out of them.

• 1st and 3rd fastest 100k
• 1st and 3rd fastest 20k
• 2nd longest ride ever (117km in 6 hours 26 min)
• 2nd and 3rd biggest climb ever (652m and 633m)
• 3rd most elevation gain (1,077m in a day)
• Most 5-sec power (845W)
• Most 30-sec power (575W)
• Most 1 min power (419W)
• Most 5 min power (333W)
• Most 8 min power (308W)
• 3rd most 20 min power (279W)
• 2nd most 30 min power (274W)

The most important thing is my big ride of the year was fantastic. In May, I cycled a 1,051km route from Salamanca, Spain, to Ille Sure Tet, France. I rode for 17 days and rested for 4. I had some big climbing days, with two over 1,000m and another 3 days over 900m (a lot for me).

I didn’t have a lot of time to train as I kept getting sick last Winter. Making every 5th day a rest day really helps ease into the tour. Fun times!

Strength Training (Rehab)

• I did 103+ hours of strength training over 111 days this year (45 days shy of my goal of 3 a week).
• I averaged 56 minutes per workout (I was aiming for 60 min, but sometimes cut them short if I am not feeling it).

As mentioned above, I totally rebooted this in mid-November 2024. I am hoping I can hit my 3x-a-week goal in 2025 and get my back in an even better place.

What else?

Sick
I was sick for 7% of the year. That isn’t as good as last year, and I have an entire set of things I am trying to do when my sinuses feel off. I was sick 29% of the time in January, 17% in February, 17% in April, and 13% in May. Calico brought some stuff home from school, and I am extra susceptible when I red-line my energy. I will see how this year goes…

Not 100%

I was “not 100%” 19% of the year (versus 13% in 2023). This is a vague metric, but its helping me track down some energy issues. This year was high partially due to energy. I’ve been working to build better eating habits, and figuring that out is hard to do in a way that doesn’t sap all your energy.

Sleep
This year, 76% of my sleep was rated as good sleep versus 76% last year. And I got “enough sleep” 70% of the time versus 67% last year. I’d like to break 80% on both measures. I had many months where I hit 80%+ in both categories, so I know it is possible.

Back
My back felt great 94% of the time this year.

How did I do on my 2024 goals?

What goals did I dump?

• I dumped the yoga goal, it didn’t work for me right now.
• I had to dump my dips goal. I love them, but I don’t have enough strength to do them with the right posture yet. Jeff helped me understand that a bit better. One day, but not yet…
• My daily biking goal didn’t work; I dumped that early on.

What goals did I do well on?

• I maintained a good base on my bike so I could do long bike tours.
• I did “ok” maintaining my rehab/ST sessions 3x a week.
• I did a great job shifting some eating/food habits. I lost 6.6kg (14.5lb), and that feels good.

What are my goals for 2025?

1. Maintain a good base on my bike so I can do long bike tours.
2. Do my rehab 3x a week for ~85 minutes (keeps back happy + it’s fun).
3. I will continue to work on bad habits around food. I’d like to get closer to a 21% fat ratio and see how that feels. I also want to stop eating when I am tired as that is a bad habit.
4. I will continue to improve my energy/stress management so that I don’t redline. I think I will be working on this every year for the rest of my life.

Past years: 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 workout summary.

Since 2010, I’ve participated in a yearly challenge to read 100 books.

This year, I met my goal and read 116 books. My goal was to read more books outside my comfort zone, and I did that. I tried a lot of new authors and read more nonfiction than usual.

For 2025, I am trying to apply a little more intent to what I read. I want to think about why I am reading each book and how I met it. I tend to lose track of how I met books in my TBR pile and want to change that. I want to know who recommended it and why it clicked for me.

(Note: You will notice this is different from my favorite reads of 2024 on Shepherd; that is because the Shepherd book year runs from October 1st of the previous year to September 30th of the current year.)

If you only read 3 books this year, I recommend the following…

1. The Cold Cold Ground By Adrian McKinty (Sean Duffy Series)

This is one of the best detective series I’ve read since Bosch.

There is something about Detective Sean Duffy that I find utterly fascinating. He has a personal sense of justice (like Bosch), and he has an intense desire to see it applied no matter the cost. And as a Catholic policeman in a Protestant system, the tension of being this one-man island is heavy.

The entire series is set during “The Troubles” in Northern Ireland, which makes for an exciting backdrop. I always like books that mix in history like this. I had fun jumping into Wikipedia as I encountered unfamiliar historical events.

The writing is fantastic, and I blew through all seven books in the series in just two weeks.

2. The Aggressor series by FX Holden

Have you ever had a book that felt so real that you couldn’t quite remember if you were reading the news or a book in the days after finishing it?

That is how Aggressor felt.

I kept forgetting if the Chinese blockade of Tawain was real or not. Luckily, it was a book, and I hope it stays purely as a book. I do not want the world to experience World War 3, as the author paints a terrifying picture of the future of warfare.

F.X. Holden is a true heir to Tom Clancy. The picture he paints of of drone warfare, AI, robotics, and the speed of war in 2038 is insane. It feels so real, and it is incredible to see how he sees some of these emerging technologies play out. The only thing missing were the characters as they felt a bit light (except for Bunny who I adored).

3. The Comfort Crisis By Michael Easter

This book is so good, and it should be required reading in high school (along with robust discussion). We live in a sheltered, unchallenging world, and I think this is killing us. Our minds are creating challenges that fail to satisfy fully, and mental illness is eating large segments of the population. This book feels similar and lays out a scientific and emotional case on why. The format is great, as he alternates between his own story, interviews, and data from scientists and leaders in the field.

I highly recommend you read this book. The audiobook is great and I am very thankful for this introducing me to rucking (which I love). I stole so many ideas from this book.

Rereads?

I reread the Wheel of Time series which is one of my all-time favorites. This is my 4th reading (first read in my 20s, then when I was 30, at 40, and this year as I needed some comfort food). They are so good and I love the characters so much. Every time I read them I see something new about the story and myself.

What books do I want to highlight?

Nonfiction

• In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts by Gabor Mate

I had a hard time picking between The Comfort Crisis and this book.

This is a stunning book about addiction and recovery. I wish I had been taught this book in high school. It should be required reading along with other texts on the subject to help prepare people when they are young for this danger (and to instill the empathy and understanding of why this is such a seductive path for so many of us). I read it with my dad and brother as part of our book club, and we had awesome discussions about it afterward (our best yet).

• Wounded Tigris by Leon McCarron

This book is not something you can read and forget.

Leon and his small team travel down the entire Tigris River. They start in Turkey, go through all of Iraq, and end in the marshes. I picked it up, thinking it would be an interesting adventure with a heavy dose of history. Instead, I got an utterly fascinating account of the river, its ecosystem, the heavy impact of pollution and water management, and the cultural impact of all these changes on the people who live alongside it.

Leon weaves individual stories against the backdrop of this river in an incredible way. There are beautiful moments as well as stories that will haunt you. Different stories about the barbarity of ISIS and the disgusting raw pollution being dumped into a river are something I will always think about.

It is hard to imagine this region in 50 years as climate change and bad governance wear it down even further. One estimate is that water flow might be reduced by 30% to 50% by 2100. I can’t imagine that the people who rely on this river would be able to survive that. The optimistic part of me hopes that water management, diplomatic negotiation, and pollution clean-up will win the day. I wonder if I will be alive to find out.

• The Man Who Loved China by Simon Winchester

My brother picked this one for our book club and it was fantastic. It is the story of Joseph Needham, a genius eccentric who fell in love with China and helped elevate the West’s understanding of its massive role in world history. It is well written and incredibly hard to put down.

• Dark Wire by Joseph Cox

I heard an interview with the author somewhere and picked it as part of our book club. The premise is this, the FBI starts an encrypted phone company that only global crime rings use. It is well written and an unbeleiveable story that sheds a bright light on global crime syndicates and how ill-prepared the world is to fight them. Great read!

Fantasy

• The Empire Of the Wolf Series by Richard Swan – I finished this series this year (books 1 and 2 another year). This is an incredible series that I would recommend to any Fantasy fan.
• Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch – This is urban fantasy as it’s finest and a must read if you are a fan. The main character is wonderful and hilarious. I am on book 8 now and going to finish it this year.
• Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City by KJ Parker– A hilarious fantasy war book that made me laugh so much. It isn’t big on world building, but it is an amazing focus on one character’s head. The sequels are equally great and the same character focused style. 

Science Fiction

• Artifact Space & Deep Black – These are big space sci-fi by one of my all-time favorite authors. Book #2 enlarged the world massively and I can’t wait to see where Miles goes. They are not my favorite books by Miles Cameron, but they are very good. 
• Titanium Noir by Nick Harkaway – A fantastic sci-fi noir about a detective in an era where drugs have emerged that allow you to live effectively forever but grow you in size. I really enjoyed this one and I am looking forward to reading the next one by the author.
• Theft of Fire by Devon Eriksen—This was a fun science fiction heist book, and I will definitely read the second. The author is hilarious and I loved the characters. 
• The Space Wolves Series – This is Warhammer so really fantasy science-fiction. They are just fun crazy Warhammer books and I loved all of them.

Random

• All The Sinners Bleed by SA Cosby – This was so GOOD! Gruesome but good. The dialogue is so sharp and I wish he wrote movies (although I think they are making it into a movie shortly). 
• The Moon Is Down by John Steinbeck. A fantastic book about occupation (I love Steinbeck).
• The Raven Viking series (Blood Eye, Sons of Thunder, and Odin’s Wolves) – I enjoyed this one, a bit of historical fiction with a heavy dose of adventure. Very entertaining Viking books!

In 2024, 88% of the books I read were fun, and 12% were serious.

If you want some reading ideas from past years, check them out here: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024.

Happy birthday my son!

This year was a busy one for Calico. In July, we moved from the only home he really remembers in Viseu, Portugal to Bordeaux, France. He has amazing friends in Viseu, and that was really tough on him. I am very thankful that his new school is fantastic and he has made more friends. Plus, the dual French/English model is one he feels very comfortable in (and his teachers are great). His favorite subject is math.

What else?

Calico read his first “big” books this year. Over the summer, he read Harry Potter 1 through 3! He even planned out how many pages he had to do each day (I was so proud!!!). As a reward, he got a Kindle, and he proceeded to read Harry Potter 5 this autumn. It’s magical to see my son reading.

I am so lucky that I get to spend so much time with him. This year, we had a lot of fun: windmill weekend, bike day, Spring break in France, father/son bike weekend, Castle weekend, Serbia trip to meet my nephew!, a big summer trip to Colorado and Arkansas, and a Fall mountain trip.

We have a lot of adventures planned for 2025! Lindsey and I are trying to take extra care to plan a lot of family fun between the ages of 8 to 12. We are guessing that as he gets closer to his teens, things will get busier at school and in his own social life.

We had a quiet family Christmas this year. It was a nice way to celebrate it in our new home in Bordeaux. Our couch arrived two weeks before Christmas, which was much needed. It feels a lot more homey now.

Sandy got us some amazing tickets to Harry Potter 4, where they had a full symphony playing while watching the movie. Calico loved it! It was a magical night.

Lindsey and I celebrated our 10-year anniversary today!

I am proud of us ❤️. She is my PIC, and I look forward to our next 10 years on this wild planet! We had a long lunch out just the two of us, and we are hoping to do a couples-only trip down the road (maybe this summer if Calico does a summer camp).

Apple Music published a cool end-of-year stats breakdown.

Top artists?

Top songs?

Whew, it is an intense morning wake-up in Europe.

I like this quote today…

“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo.

“So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

I’ve been listening to a little “Hello, darkness, my old friend” this morning…

The magic of democracy at work. 

The people of the USA are about to get what they think they voted for 🤣.

Nobody wants to wake up in 1920s Italy or Germany, but now we get to see where this goes and how bad it gets (hopefully not as bad as either of those). If he does what he says he will do (and everyone around him says they will do), it is going to be bad. We shall see…

It is a sad day, but it is also darkly hilarious. I will be laughing as these poor people start realizing that “the leopard ate my face” in the coming years. So many people are easily swayed by the easy message of fear, hate, and easy fixes to complex problems.

Europe has a lot to process this morning.

I would like to say they have adequately prepared for this, but I don’t think they have.

France is in a bad political state, Germany is in utter chaos, and Russia is at the door. What will they do?

• Will the USA leave NATO?
• Will the USA cut off all Ukraine aid? How much aid can Biden push through before January?
• Will the EU send troops to Ukraine to stop Russia?
• Will Poland unilaterally enter the war with Ukraine without the EU? Will other members of the Eastern Block rally without the EU?
• Will Russia invade Georgia? Latvia? Estonia?

Interesting times. Hopefully this pushes them to make some deep improvements to the EU and get their shit together.

As a peasant, I continue to watch this terrible movie.

Calico gets two weeks off in the Fall, and we drove up to the Pyrenees mountains for a week of rest.

We love the French school tempo, as you get two weeks off in the Fall, early Winter, and Spring. With half the day off on Wednesday, it is amazing to see the change in Calico’s mood (plus, the school is very good, and he likes it).

We found this amazing home nestled in the mountains. It had an amazing view, fireplace, hammock, and boules (Pétanque) court. We went on two stunning hikes, and I managed one big bike ride before my seatpost broke (I’m working to fix it). We made smores, grilled, and made lots of fires to keep us warm. The only downside was I had a weird allergy to something in the house, probably dust mites, but after a few days, it lessened.

And Calico read a ton, he finished Harry Potter 3!

It was a short 6-day tour, but I saw some really beautiful parts of France. The first two days were especially beautiful as the gorge and mountains were stunning.

I didn’t get enough training, but somehow, I managed to throw up some great numbers, and my body felt great! The only mishap I had was a fall yesterday. I took a wooden rail a little fast, and at an angle that was too narrow, so I slid my back wheel out. Me and the bike are ok; I was impressed that the tailfin bag system wasn’t even phased.

Totals?

• 483km
• ~24 hours of riding
• 3,326m of altitude gain
• 6 days of riding (1 rest day)
• Average km/h of 20
• The average daily ride distance was 81km
• The average daily ride length was 4 hours and 1 minute
• Two big climbing days with 1,059m and 990m in elevation gain.

The new bike is so much faster than my other bike!

My average speed on this trip was 20km an hour, whereas, in previous tours, it was 17.9, 18.5, 17.4, and 14.9. Part of that is the bike is much lighter, tires much faster, and I was carrying a little less weight in the panniers.

Ditto on ride time, as I pushed a little harder since it was a short trip. On my last tour, I averaged 3.5-hour riding days versus 4 hours this trip.

My notes for my next bike tour:

• I might need to mount my water bottles on the outside of the front tire or buy two 5L mounts to put extra gear there, as the new 22L bags are much smaller than the last ones.
• I had to dump my lightweight shoes, and I can’t do that on the next trip. They are crucial as walking around in wet biking shoes sucks.
• I need to pack lights as when it is stormy and gray, I would benefit from some flashers.
• Add my new pedals to my old bike as I like them so much better, and the grip is much improved.

116km / 5 hours 29 min / 645m gain

And a very long ride for my last day to Bordeaux. The last few hours were tough, but it was good to get home. It is my second-longest ride in Strava, which is cool.

Beautiful scenery, and it is a lot wetter in this half of France. I noticed a real change about two days ago as I crossed more and more to the wetter side of France (as opposed to the Med / Perpignan area).

86km / 3 hours 55 min / 175m gain

Today was a longish ride but pretty.

It started off chilly, and then the sun came out. I was glad to avoid more rain. The canal route got a lot more “foresty,” which was nice to look at. I just hummed along and split the time between silence and an audiobook called The Comfort Crisis By Michael Easter (which has been very interesting so far).

According to Strava, I set my second fastest 50-mile/80-km time today (3 hours 50 minutes).

I barely made lunch at a restaurant near my B&B. It was delicious! I am staying away from stuff, so I’ll eat pretty basic for dinner (a can of peas and some trail mix). Tomorrow I’ve got a very long ride to home and I’ll need to find some food along the way.

70km / 3 hours 24 min / 90m gain

It started off gray with a light rain for the first 20km. Then, it rained cats and dogs in the middle. I threw on my rain jacket, and I was golden (but soaked).

I was very glad to have my waterproof gloves this time. There are no pictures from the ride due to the rain. But when I got into town, the sun came out, and I visited a famous church and monastery (and wearing my fashionable waterproof socks since my shoes are soacked)!

What was for dinner? One can of chickpeas, some bread, and some steamed carrots that were going bad. I didn’t make it to the grocery store in time (Sunday), so I just had my emergency stock. I ate my sardines, rice crackers, and banana chips under a bridge. Fun times!!!

80km / 3 hours 42 min / 367m gain

It was crazy windy today!

My weather app says 60km gusts. Luckily, they are mostly going in the same direction I am. I would head to be pedaling into this headwind…

After a few km, I made it to the Canal du Midi! From here on out, I’ll be on the canal route all the way to Bordeaux (pretty much). I like it as it is beautiful and green (although I miss the stunning mountains and climbs I was doing).

I biked a bit farther today to make it to Toulouse. I haven’t been here before, and I’ve wanted to visit for a long time. It is a beautiful city, and I visited a church and museum with a Cather exhibit and wandered the city for a while. I am staying in the “literature room” at a cool hotel focused on art. As I was pulling up, so was one of the employees at the hotel, and he ended up riding his bike with me to the parking garage and locking up my bike. Super nice dude!

There was some rain in the late afternoon as I was grabbing some groceries and walking back to my hotel. Tomorrow might be a wet ride, though… :)