Wrapped up in more ways than one

My project for last night was getting my V13 100% back to normal which meant reattaching the Clark Pad fairing kit. After a few minor difficulties I had the wheel back to it’s original state which felt good. In total the project took over two weeks which was much longer than anticipated. I’m looking forward to getting out on a longer test ride this weekend although I will have to bundle up to do so.

Speaking of bundling up the arctic air is fully settled in which left my house in a chilly state with temperatures inside somewhere in the mid 60’s while outside the air temp was in the upper 40s. Thus far I have resisted the urge to flip the thermostat to the heat mode instead relying on a hoodie to keep me comfortable indoors. I did notice a chill in bed last night however. I have a single bedspread that is not very substantial at all when it comes to providing warmth. It is proving to be inadequate at these temperatures. Adjustments will be made.

Yesterday Facebook popped up an image from 9 years ago of the finish line arch I had made when I decided to branch out on my own to do independent race timing as opposed to doing it exclusively for the running club. It was an odd decision in retrospect.

Timing races was a demanding, high pressure, and stressful responsibility that really did not pay me anywhere near what it should have. Despite this combination of the reward not meeting the effort required I continued to do the work for years not because I enjoyed it but because I felt responsible and obligated to do it and felt I couldn’t trust anyone else to shoulder that responsibility.

It took a long time but eventually I reached the point where I said enough is enough and stepped away from timing races for the club because of some interpersonal relationships that frustrated and angered me, repeatedly. The idea of doing timing on my own I think might have had a good bit of “f u” involved but within a year I realized it was more hassle than it was worth. This was one of the early moments in the last 10 years where I started to put more value in my quality of life, an effort which has continued.

Despite timing my last race in 2016 I have kept the Green Machine Timing website online to this very day for no solid reason other than nostalgia I guess. There have been a number of examples in my life where I walked away from something that I invested a ton of time and energy into. In every example I can think of I have zero regret for doing so in the end. Race timing is clearly one of them.