Saturday, January 2, 2010

boldly into the new year

the new calendar year represents a time for transition.


maybe it's transition from an old bike to a new one. or one with a certain type of gears to one with a different number of gears. or one with a certain type of suspension to one with a different type of suspension.

maybe it's a change in training. train more. train more scientifically with lower intensity. train less scientifically with higher volume. train high volume and high intensity all the time. train wild squirrels to do your bidding.

maybe some people will start shaving their legs. maybe other people will stop shaving their legs. bold new trends in facial hair may also accompany the new year.

and while we contemplate these important transitions, we are also reminded of people making much more difficult decisions. a fellow Durhamite and soccer playing friend of the Pirate and me has just begun a pivotal battle in his war against a brain tumor. Niko is chronicling his story here and, in addition to being a fantastic guy, he's also an entertaining writer. as the blog details, his fight against cancer is tough, but to make the challenge even more difficult, his medical expenses are expected to be very high. there is information on how to make donations and hopefully Bull City Cycling will be able to put together a fundraising ride in the upcoming weeks. so, in the meantime, maybe think about forgoing your third pint one night this weekend, stash that $5 in your jersey pocket, and save it to help a friend out.

best wishes for health and happiness to everyone in 2010.

2 comments:

LinusOG said...

Brain tumors are no joke. Superhigh intensity rigid-fork-rear-suspension-only/SS MTB training with squirrels in your pants, however, is.

DukePirate said...

Thanks for posting this Chris. Niko's been battling this for a long time now -- five years? -- and it's hard to see him have to go under the knife, but I'm sure that he'll be able to fight through this as he has so many other setbacks. He also has a great, quirky sense of humor, which should make his blog worth reading even if you don't know him.

Our thoughts are with you Niko.