above: Dad — Jason and Ally — Ally, Jen, Elle, Henna, Autumn, Juli — Autumn and Zach

Sometimes, when I quiet my mind, I’m amazed by change over time. Regardless of our choices, our paths, our intentions, our fantasies, our journey moves onward. Perhaps overstated, nonetheless, the words that keep coming to me are epic + journey. I considered this in three microcosms which are touching my life, although somewhat tangentially.

Books.
Well, someday I might just have to write a book. In the meantime, I sure like to read. Autumn and I have the same experience. We just fall in and devour the books we love. Don’t start talking about that OCD stuff, either, we know, we know. Anyhow, at the moment, I’m reading the newest Richard Russo book, Bridge of Sighs. It’s in the ‘epic’ category for me. A total Len-book. Len Fiocca is my dad. A digression, but to understand: he has his masters in literature and did his thesis on Mark Twain. Although he’s 66 and he can’t remember what plans you made with him for today unless he writes it down, you can call him right now and ask him any literary or grammar question (or any rule of golf) and he will nail it. It’s remarkable. He’s also a superb story-teller (mythology or his own). His preferences: Russo, Annie Proulx, Cormac McCarthy (but seriously, we don’t understand why, of all of his books, The Road was decorated – so depressing!), Thomas Harris, Elmore Leonard, Jon Krakauer — you get the picture. In return, I gave him Edgar Sawtelle, a well-told Hamlet knock-off. Oprah now has it as one of her ‘O’ books, but don’t let that thwart you. She does tend to have solid literary taste.
Autumn and I are reading Hatchet together, which consumes my thoughts at times…
Books that are in my epic journey category follow the character through a figurative or literal journey where regardless of our character’s flaws, follies, or fantasies, his/her life progresses. Change. Age. Chapters. Death.

Ally.
My friend, Ally, is on an epic journey of the literal kind. And maybe one of transcendence. She and her friend, Jason, are riding their bikes from Austin to New York. Follow their blog (Autumn and I get a mention in the ‘Ally’s gear’ section, as Autumn got Ally a fashion + function headband):
A2NY –
Facebook — Ally Brandt and Jason Reitz

Bike.
Ankle surgery. Recovery. Blah Blah Blah. So, I’m a few weeks into “you can ride as hard as you want”, which really means as hard as I’m able, as my fitness temporarily skipped out on me. To test my fitness, I rode my favorite IM-training hill-repeat workout. But I only did 5 repeats (not 10) and aero on my TT bike (but no power cranks). It was a fabulous suffer-fest.
To get it back, there is only one way. TOB. Time on bike.

So on Sunday, Coach Chann planned a 4.5 hour ride (the longest ride since Kona/surgery). 80% chance of rain, so I packed my rain jacket and got Zach to agree to ride with me.
As another aside, Zach Fiocca is my brother. In the genetic shake-up, he got most of the height, resourcefulness, and chick-magnetism (not that I wanted exactly that). I’m older and smarter, so na-na-na-na-boo-boo. We argue about who is more athletically and musically gifted, and cite each other. To argue my point, on Saturday, we were out for “ATC”, which is a group ride that somewhat simulates a road race. He’s hardly been out on the road lately, and he hung with the first group on a fixie. Seriously. He only got dropped because he had to unclip and hang on for dear life on the descents. So, when I want my butt kicked, he’s my go-to guy.

At 7:25am, I rolled out and rode downtown. At 8am, Zach bailed on me. At 8:30, I had tried to find group rides – without any success. I went east, I went central, I rode all over the city. Not sure if it was the date or the rain, but no one was showing up. Ended up riding through a thunderstorm, rain+sun, sun, a flat… During my ride, I contemplated my journey.