Browsing My Thoughts

2024 plans.

January1

I am excited for 2024! We’ve got some big changes coming…

We plan to move to Bordeaux (France) once Calico finishes the 2nd grade (in late June). We will be sad to leave Viseu. It is a beautiful place full of amazing people and nature. It will be tough for Calico since this is the only home he knows, and all his friends are here. We are ready for a bigger city, and we know more about what we want from a long-term home.

My big 3 for the year?

  1. Build a home in Bordeaux. This is a big move with a lot of moving parts.
  2. Live a life full of adventure! I am hoping to do another big bike tour this year, but I am waiting to see if that is possible while doing this move. I am planning some smaller long rides in Portugal. I am also planning some weekend camping, biking, and weekend trips for Calico and I. I’d also like to plan a biking trip with my dad, see my brother and his family in July, plan a trip to Ireland with my mom/tony that we keep delaying… but until we get the move done I am not sure if that is feasible in 2024.
  3. Keep working to keep my energy, stress levels, and overall health in a good place (some specifics in this post).

Bonjour 2024!

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2023 in review.

January1

2023 was a great year!

Calico started school, and we started easing into the new “school” routine. That was a big change for us, especially for Lindsey, as she has a lot more time open up and is thinking about what she wants to do next.

Lindsey’s health was a big focus of the year, and we are still working to get that to 100%. We thought it was good, but then it went a bit squirrelly, and we are working to figure that out again.

We spent the year waiting to see if anything would change in Spain. Unfortunately, nothing has changed, and we can’t move there due to the broken tax system 😞.

The Amazing

Lindsey and I have been married for nine fantastic years! We both feel that things are smoother in day-to-day operations (which is a good feeling to have). I want to do something extraordinary for our 10th anniversary 😁.

Calico turned seven this year, which slightly blows my mind. Unfortunately, he is sick for his birthday, but hopefully better by the following weekend as we have a 25+ kid party planned at a jump park. We were up all last night as his fever was hitting above 104, poor guy.

I did my longest bike tour yet… over 1,200km in France. I went from Bordeaux to Paris along some wild trails, and then up to Mont St. Michael on the Veloscenic cycle route. I look forward to these long rides all year; they are incredibly therapeutic.

What fun stuff did we do this year?

  • We started the year with a January trip to Granada and Malaga. We liked Malaga and wish it was an option to move there (although we prefer Valencia if that is ever possible). Unfortunately, the elections in Spain didn’t go how we wanted for purely selfish reasons (we were hoping they would fix the tax system so we could live there… the current broken tax system would tax us at 70% to 100%+).
  • We entered a new world of routine as Calico started 1st grade in February! It was a bit brutal at times as he had to deal with bullying and the realities of the education system. But he is doing fantastic and is fairly fluent in Portuguese (just missing vocabulary).
  • Calico and I surprised Lindsey with a birthday weekend on the Portuguese coast. We rented a cute traditional fishing house with a fireplace overlooking the ocean. It was still cold and rainy, but we had fun.
  • Calico and I did our first bike weekend together! We went up to Ponte De Lima and did two days of riding. He crushed it and rode 22km on day one, followed by another 25km on day two. Plus, we played in the water, explored, and enjoyed our father-son weekend.
  • We met Rose, Steve, and Evie for spring break in Valencia!!! It was a joy to hang out with them and one of the highlights of my year. I hope we can see them again soon. Evie is so adorable! I miss them. I wish Ireland were about 10 degrees warmer and 70% sunnier.
  • In May, I met up with my brother in Cannes, France. I hadn’t seen him in almost 5 years with Covid (he lives in China). It was so much fun to hang out with just the two of us, catch up, and enjoy his success with his short film (which was amazing!). I had a great time, and I hope we can do it again next year. I miss him. I wish we lived in the same city together.
  • I took Calico camping in Spain in June (while Lindsey stayed in a villa). I am trying to make sure we get a lot of adventures together. We had a fair bit of rain but did a lot of exploring, hiking, and grilling. I am not very good at grilling but hope to improve when I take him on a special guys’ weekend in January. This trip reminded us how much we miss Spain and wish we could live there. Lindsey and I had fun on Friday night as we ended up drenched but all eating and drinking at a local bar in town. It was an excellent way to reconnect.
  • I took Calico on his first overnight bike tour in France! We followed a converted rail trail outside of Sarlat, one of the most beautiful trails I’ve ever been on. He covered 36km on day one, and we stayed in a beautiful guest room in the countryside (it even had a pool). Then, on day 2, we rode 21km and met up with Lindsey.
  • With Calico in school, we are more limited on when we can travel. This year, we spent all of July in Issigeac, France, in the Dordogne region. It was very relaxing and just what we needed. My mom and stepdad visited for two weeks, which made it extra special. I hope we can do more of that as I enjoyed us all staying in the same place. We ate delicious food, went on a canoe trip, visited all kinds of markets and history, and otherwise just enjoyed each other’s company. Plus, they helped us try to lighten Calico’s contrarian streak. I also celebrated my 42nd birthday with them, which hasn’t happened in quite some time.
  • Over August, I did my bike tour for the year (while Lindsey and Calico were visiting family in the USA). I went from Bordeaux to Paris along some wild trails and then up to Mont St. Michael on the Veloscenic cycle route. It was fun and my longest yet. I am excited about what I can do in 2024 and 2025. When I picked up Calico and Lindsey from the airport, we spent a few days on the beach before returning home.
  • In August, I became an Uncle!!! Nick and Isidora have a beautiful boy who I hope to meet in person soon.
  • Calico started 2nd grade in September! Mind-blowing! He had a weird brain leap in the middle of the year when he suddenly started reading! That was cool to see.
  • In October, Lindsey organized a Halloween in the park for Calico’s class. That was fun to do, and the Portuguese families loved it!
  • My dad and stepmom are visiting us in Portugal for Christmas, Calico’s birthday, and New Year’s! That has been relaxed and fun. We still have more day trips to do, and I love showing them all the amazing places around us. It has been a good reason to see parts of Portugal I haven’t had a chance to yet.

The Challenges!

My Health
My health is good after some cholesterol concerns toward the start of the year. I changed my diet to eat less meat and add more fish/beans. I am working to improve my eating habits as I tend to overeat. I’ve lost some weight and am doing better about hitting daily protein goals, so my energy stays steady. I need to keep working on my portion sizes and eating speed.

Lindsey’s Health
Lindsey has had a rough year with some of the same post-miscarriage health issues from 2022. We thought we had it fixed, but then some issues came back. She is a bit stressed, and we are working through it.

Shepherd
Shepherd had a pretty tough year. Traffic was entirely flat, and Google knocked us down several times. This is incredibly frustrating. Without more traffic, we don’t have more money, so we can’t build new features as fast (and doing new stuff is what I enjoy). I’ve been working really hard on Shepherd since December 2020, and I plan to take my foot off the gas pedal a bit in 2024. I need to slow down (you can only sprint for so long).

How did I do on my goals for 2023?

I did great on two out of three!

  1. My goal was to get Shepherd to break even on costs and exit beta. We exited beta, but we didn’t get to break even on costs. Mostly because traffic was almost entirely flat year-over-year. That said… I had a lot of fun, and we built some great features for readers/authors. I am considering what I want to do in 2024 with limited financial resources.
  2. My goal is to live a life of adventure and plan fun adventures for Calico. That went great! I took him on his biking weekend and his first overnight biking trip. And we did two camping trips. I also did a month-long bike tour that fed my adventure.
  3. My goal was to keep my energy and health in a good place after the disaster in 2022. That I did well on. I still skated on thin ice and need to keep working on this. The October/November madness with the launch of the fav-3-reads format almost broke me. I’ll need to figure out how to do that better next year.

2024…

We have big changes coming in 2024! We will move to Bordeaux, France (after Calico finishes 2nd grade).

We are ready for a bigger city. We will be sad to leave Viseu as it is a beautiful place full of amazing people and nature. It will be tough for Calico since this is the only place he knows, and all his friends are here.

A longer 2024 post is coming soon…

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9 years married!!!!! Wohoo!!! 🥹

December21

Congrats to us on making it to 9 years!!! We both feel that things are much smoother in day-to-day operations (which is a good feeling to have).

We are going out to eat at our favorite restaurant shortly, and with grandparents in town, we have some free babysitters, which is nice! We are hoping to do something extraordinary for our 10th anniversary.

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Spring break trip to Valencia + Rose, Steve, and Evie!

April30

It has been a big adjustment to have Calico in school, as we can only travel when he is on break :).

So for his spring break, we drove to Valencia on April 1st for two weeks (about 7.5 hours away)!

Calico got sick before we left, so much so that we delayed our drive a few days. He was having high fever and nightmares at night. We were both pretty tired from the long nights. This first year with him in school has been challenging with what he brings home.

I started feeling low energy and got sick for a day, but then I felt better. I did a full workout on Monday but then went and got a massage on Tuesday morning, which broke me. I think being face down for 45 min just destroyed my sinuses. I was sick for nine days with sinus crap; it sucked (somehow, it got in my right eye). And even after that, it took me a few more days to shake it thoroughly. I need to see a specialist about my sinuses as something is wrong with them (it is almost the only thing I ever get sick from). I have also been working too much and shot. I need to rebalance, but it is hard as Shepherd is in a critical phase.

Luckily Calico and Lindsey were fine and visited with our friends there.

And luckily, I was improved by the time Rose, Steve, and Evie came to visit. It was so much fun to have them stay with us, and I hope we can do it again soon. Evie is adorable, and we had a blast showing them our favorite city in the world. Calico adores Evie, and it is a happiness to see them both interact (he is also pretty fond of Rose and Steve, he made about a million things for them before they arrived, even a cardboard bar nook so he could serve Steve beer, lol). Lindsey enjoys entertaining, and it felt like we had several Viking feasts.

Many of these photos are credited to Steve, as he knows WTF he is doing with a camera :)

 

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2023 plans.

January2

This is how I feel about 2023.

I am excited about my life and the progress I’ve made as a human. There are so many amazing things going on, and I am excited to see them shake out. 2023 is going to be fun :)

As a family, we are figuring out where we will live for the next stage of our lives. That is exciting, asI doesn’t enjoy the current limbo state.

My big 3 for the year?

  1. Get Shepherd to a break-even point on costs and exit beta 🥳. I am having so much fun with this project! So many cool features coming this year…
  2. Live a life full of adventure! I am hoping to do another big bike tour this year, but I am waiting to see where we land as a family first. I am also hoping that Lindsey can do a solo vacation soon. And I am planning some camping trips for Calico and me (and maybe a bike trip).
  3. Let it go. Short hand for the continued work to keep my energy and health in a good place. I redlined in 2022 multiple times and I aim to do better this year.

Onward to 2023!

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2022 in review.

January1

2022 was a hard year… but we also had a lot of fun.

The year had a rough start.

We found out Lindsey was pregnant in January, but a few weeks later, we found out it was not viable (followed by a miscarriage ~6 weeks later). We’ve been trying to get pregnant for a while, and this was emotionally hard. It took me a while to process it as we were so busy. Lindsey’s health hasn’t been great since the miscarriage, which has been stressful for us. We are making progress there and are hopeful she will be back at 100% soon.

We spent the first six months of the year on the road with an epic road trip around Europe. We wanted to look at places that might make a more permanent home as Calico gets closer to starting school. Road trips are great as we spend so much time with each other. We had a lot of fun adventures. But it also wore me down since I worked insanely hard to get Shepherd.com to a good place. We haven’t reached a conclusion to this search for a home yet, but we hope to make a decision soon.

The Amazing

Lindsey and I have been married for eight wonderful years! She is a great PIC🙃. Calico turned six this year, and we had so much fun this year. I am thankful that I have a flexible schedule so I can get a lot of time with him. 

I did an epic 999km bike tour along the Via Francigena route in Italy. It was a mind-blowing experience, and these rides make my soul sing. I am looking forward to my next one…

What fun stuff did we do this year?

  • We started the year with a massive road trip to explore places we might want to make a more permanent home (pictures here). We started in Montpellier, France, and then headed to Karlsruhe, Germany, Düsseldorf, Berlin, Dresden, Prague, and finally, Graz, Austria. After that, we were exhausted and took a long stay in Istria, Croatia (we love Croatia). Then we spent some time in France in Aix-en-Provence, and some short stays in Lyon and Bordeaux. It was good to get home after all that.
  • While we were in Croatia, I did a 3-day ride over an old rail trail. Lindsey and Calico tagged along in the car, and it was a really fun experience. We also did our first tasting menu at an amazing hotel/restaurant in Slovenia.
  • We took Calico on his first camping trip! Calico and I slept in a tent while Lindsey got a wonderful little cabin. We had a blast, and I am planning another one soon.
  • I did an epic 999km bike tour along Italy’s Via Francigena pilgrimage route in October. It started in the foothills of the alps and ended in Rome. Here is a summary, and here are a ton of pictures. I did a much better job training for this one (which I am proud of as I wasn’t prepared for the previous one). The food was amazing, and I had a lot of treats.
  • We visited dear friends in Dublin for Thanksgiving. It was so good to see Rose, Steve, and their new family member Evie. I got a cold that got in my sinuses which wasn’t fun, but I managed to rally for the second half of the trip. We hadn’t seen them since 2017, and I’ve missed them.
  • My mom and stepdad visited us for Christmas! I wish they could have stayed longer as it went by too quickly. Calico loved having them here. I was frustrated as I hit some health bumps, which took time away from everything (trying to be kind to myself as it happens).
  • I turned 41 years old with my lovely family!

The Challenges!

Health
As mentioned above, Lindsey has struggled for most of 2022 with post-miscarriage health issues. We think we are on a good path now and will know more soon (stress is lower). I was doing well health-wise, but December has been a mess. I think I am just exhausted at this point. I finally went to the hospital last week to get checked out (I was worried it might be Chron’s). They said everything looked good, and I most likely had really bad food poisoning and need to rest. I hope to be back at 100% soon.

Calico knocked a tooth out…
Calico started 2022 by knocking out a tooth at the playground. He handled it well, as it was pretty intense. He fell on a climbing structure, and it perfectly knocked out one tooth. Luckily the root and everything else were fine.

Energy
I ran into a wall several times this year. Between the miscarriage, travel, and work intensity, my energy management didn’t go well. It was a good learning experience; and I am sure I will do better in 2023. Running your own business is always hard, and the starting phase 100x harder than any other.

How did I do on my goals for 2022?

Fantastic on two out of three!

  1. Shepherd is doing fantastic and growing like a weed. I’ll do a separate post with more details. We didn’t quite exit beta, but that is coming toward Feb/Mar. I am having so much fun with it 🙂.
  2. We had a ton of adventures in Europe! And I managed one short bike tour and one long one.
  3. I didn’t do well on energy, and I am paying for that now (and during the year). Lindsey and I probably need a real vacation where we go to a beach or mountain cabin and do nothing but rest (I’d love to find one with childcare/activities).

2023…

I am super excited about 2023! I have big plans for Shepherd! I am most excited about shipping genres and age groups soon. I’ve wanted that since the start, and we are finally in a place to do that (starting work next week and should have it ready to show by late March).

We will figure out where our more permanent home will be. Calico starts schooling in September, and we want to find a home for our family. We are feeling some stress over this decision (I especially don’t like being in limbo).

Longer 2023 post coming soon…

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2022 workout/health summary.

January1

For 2022:

How do I feel about this year?

I think this year was a minor miracle.

We went on a slightly insane journey in the first six months of the year, and I managed to keep my workout routine. I am proud of that, as that shit isn’t easy. I am much better at maintaining workout routines than I was ten years ago.

On the less proud front, I will start with this quote…

“Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming, “Wow what a ride!” – Hunter S. Thompson

This describes my December as I didn’t end the year well.

It has been a rough month. I got hit with a weird depression (super unlike me), followed by exhaustion and brain fog. Then I got nasty food poisoning and immense fatigue. I ended up at the hospital last week (I wanted to make sure it wasn’t Chron’s). The doctors think it was a nasty bacterial food infection, which is “good” news. I am feeling better now, but my energy is still low. I am hoping it recovers after some more rest.

As the chief mechanic of Ben, I probably need a vacation where I do nothing for a few weeks. I need adventure in my life and bike trips to deliver that. But they are also intense, and when combined with work, there isn’t much “rest” happening. And eventually, my body says, “fuck you,” and my motorcycle tips over, and I slide through a wall… then all the king’s men have to put Humpty Dumpty back together again.

I work best when I can balance intense creative work, adventures (biking trips), and vacations (resting on a beach or mountain cabin). But when you add life to the mix, that is hard to achieve. I’ve seen similar patterns with my wife, family, and friends. I am going to get better at this…

Biking

I am most proud of the training I did for my big bike tour this year. Unlike previous years I was prepared for the ride. I hope to keep that up for the next one. I also did well, considering how busy Shepherd and life were.

Sick / Not 100%
I was sick, injured, or not at a hundred percent for ~11% of the year. That is about the same as last year. The main impact was this December mess, a cold/sinus thing in November in Dublin, and some flu thing in Croatia in May (I never tested positive for Covid). The interesting thing is those all came after feelings of being overwhelmed and exhausted. I need to listen better.

Sleep
This year 75% of my sleep was rated as good sleep and 60% as “enough” sleep (7.5+ hours). That is similar to last year.

Strength / Rehab / Back
My back felt great 93% of the time this year. That is awesome!

Fun stats:

  • I set a new ride ascent record with a 1,249m gain one day.
  • My longest ride was 94km (per Garmin)
  • I ascended a total of 34,759 meters this year.
  • I biked 57+ hours in October on my big bike tour.
  • I did 122 strength training sessions this year for 92 hours. That hits my goal of 3 a week, but my average session was 45 minutes when I aim for 60.

What are my health/workout goals for 2023?

  1. Maintain a good base on my bike so I can do long bike tours.
  2. Do ST 3x a week for 60 minutes to keep my back happy.
  3. Continue to improve energy management so that I don’t red line. This is hugely important as I want to do a better job with health/stress in 2023.
  4. I want to shift some food habits by about 20 degrees. Specifically I want to shed some extra weight I am carrying, eat less meat, and change some bad habits around screens + food.

I am also adding in speed workouts, but still playing with that.

Past years: 20142015201620172018, 2019, 2020, and 2021 workout summary.

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Calico turns 6!!!

December30

I feel so lucky to be able to spend such high-quality time with Calico. He is a great kid with so much personality!

This year was hard at times, as I was working a lot, we were traveling a lot to find a new home, and it was hard to find high-quality time for the two of us. I still did pretty well and hope I can improve in 2023. Spending time with him and Lindsey brings me happiness.

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8 years married! :)

December21

Lindsey and I have been married for 8 years, woohoo!

She is truly my PIC for life, and I love her dearly. She is a great mom, “human”, and future companion on our 700+ year journey around the galaxy in our nano space ship filled with VR.

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Day 1 of the Via Francigena (55km)

October8

55km / 3 hours 8 minutes / 565m gain

I dropped my backpack off at the car, and I was off. It was an amazing ride. It was 90% dedicated bike path through the valleys as I left the alps. On my left was a rushing mountain river, and the trees were turning different colors everywhere I looked. I stopped at a 14th-century castle and climbed through the ruins near the midpoint. I saw a lot of castle ruins overlooking this historic route (following an old Roman road).

I ended the day with a glass of wine and a multi-course tasting menu at a local restaurant (near my B&B). I finished the latest book in the Bobiverse series, which is some fantastic science fiction.

 

 

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41 Years old :)

July20

I turned 41 years old this year (in Viseu). Lindsey and I had a long lunch at one of our favorite restaurants. Then when my son was back from summer camp we did cake and presents (I got a new rainproof jacket!). Calico made me some fantastic artwork, and his summer camp even helped with some additional decorations.

I have this habit of rereading the Wheel of Time every decade. I first read them in college. I reread them when I was 30 when the final book was out (on anamazing trip). And, I reread them when I turned 40. I am always amazed how books are such great mirrors. Every time I read that series I see new things about myself, the story, and the characters.

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Sold our home in Boulder.

July10

We officially sold our house in Boulder this Friday. We bought the house in March 2016 after looking at it on a whim (we had been looking at some rentals in the area). I loved its bone and location. Lindsey was pregnant when we bought it and it became Calico’s home for the first 3.5 years of his life. I am glad it has a new owner who will hopefully love it as much as we did. It was a good house and the first place I really felt was a “home”. 

It was a really hard decision emotionally to sell it. Although an easy one logically.

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Graz Austria, last city on the fast trip…

April24

We had a wonderful stay in Graz Austria. It was nice to be in a smaller town and we were a little out of the city so we had a little yard. It was amazing to wake up to the sound of birds. I got a few bike rides in and we had an awesome easter hike. It was especially nice to stay in a place that had a real office chair (my back was super happy).

Whats next? Some much needed downtime in rural Croatia for at least a. month to recharge.

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Berlin is an amazing city!

March27

We had a great time in Berlin and a huge thank you to Marton and Vero for showing us around.

Berlin was the first real international trip I did. I went as part of an exchange in high school and it was a life-changing trip. I was back years later for a work event, but I was so busy I didn’t see anything but the hotel. And, I got a cold during the event so I just stayed at an Airbnb afterward as I was exhausted. This time was better, we saw several neighborhoods, I got two bike rides in, and we ate a lot of delicious Asian food. Work has been intense so I didn’t get to see much more than that. Calico and Lindsey saw a ton of museums and I hope to join them when I get a little more time at future stops.

Lindsey celebrated her 40th birthday while we were in Berlin! I got her a really nice hotel room for two nights so she could have some alone time, relax, do whatever she wanted. The hotel room had a hammock in each room (which I think is amazing). We plan a lot more little celebrations for her as we continue our trip :).

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Montpellier bike ride!

February22

Montpellier is a beautiful town, I hope to come back when it is a bit warmer. We’ve had a nice stay here this week, and it has been nice to have some bread treats here. It was also cool to see real flamingos out in the water!

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This is bwb’s personal blog, so he can share his thoughts with the world, however scary or silly they might be. Plus family and friends can track what I am up to, and where I am in the world.

I am pretty simple. I love Mangos. I love the ocean (although mostly at sunset, as I’m a ginger). I love to travel, eat exotic food, do long bike rides, read, and use my imagination. At some point, I decided it was better to be a pirate captain than an admiral. I am a globalist and see the entire world as my responsibility and playground. And I am married to an amazing woman who makes life even more fun :)! And we are now the proud parents of Calico Jack :).


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