All
-
Training for Balance
Balance depends on three sensory systems: vision, the vestibular system of the inner ear, and proprioceptors throughout the body (especially in the feet and legs) that sense position and movement. Your brain takes in these signals and chooses a strategy to keep you upright.
-
Attitude and Age
Featured photo: Fall riding in Baker Park It is a beautiful October day for a bike ride in Minnesota. The afternoon sun sets off brilliant autumn colors lining the bike path. Cool, dry air, and light wind make for easy riding. My right knee, which has bothered me since my ski accident last winter, feels…
-
Adventure and Serenity: Off-Trail in the Northern Wind River Range
Featured Image: Somewhere high in the Northern Wind River Range, two days from the nearest maintained trail. August 2026 Standing alone on a 12,000 foot pass above Baker Lake it is decision time. Clouds shroud the high peaks of the Northern Wind River Range in Wyoming. It’s August 2026 and the air is heavy with…
-
Progress Not Perfection: Recovering from Injury
Each pedal stroke brings a shot of pain¬—behind the kneecap, medial side and back of my knee. It is March 2026 in Minnesota, a cruel month for cycling made worse by a February skiing injury.
-
Get Ready: Pre-Season Training for Nordic Skiing
Photo: Ready to put the training to use on freshly groomed corduroy. Baker Park. Minnesota January 2021 It is early November in Minnesota. Winter is coming. In a few weeks, the county parks will begin making snow on the cross-country ski trails. Maybe we will get lucky and have some natural snow this year. I…
-
Into the Badlands: An Uncomfortable Adventure
Featured Photo: Bonneville Lake with Bonneville Peak in the background. Wind River Range, Wyoming 2025 Colorful rock outcrops surrounding my truck radiate with the light of the setting sun. This is Badlands National Park in South Dakota. It is August 2025 and I am on my way from Minnesota to the Wind River Range of…
-
This is Not Normal: The 2025 National Senior Games
Featured Photo: cyclist waiting to start the 10K time trial in the women’s 90+ age group. Waiting my turn, I size up my competitors: the 70 to 74 year olds. This is July 30 and the first day of the 2025 National Senior Games Cycling Championships in Des Moines, Iowa. We are competing in the…
-
Tapering for Nationals: a Metaphor for Life
Photo: An easy recovery hike during my ten day taper for the 2025 National Senior Games cycling championships. Hyland Park, Minnesota, July 2025 It is Sunday morning 7:30 am. The sun is partially obscured by mist, the morning air cool—thick with the smell of lush growth and humidity—Minnesota late July. No one is on the…
-
Staying Fit as We Age: Lessons from One of the World’s Best
Photo: Staying fit to keep up with my daughter who is 40 years younger. Big Sandy Opening trailhead after a 7 day 50 mile back pack in the Wind River Range, Wyoming. 2023. The title of the article in the Washington Post caught my eye: At 77, she’s as fit as a 25-year-old. What her…
-
The Road to Nationals: Training for Events
Photo: March cycling in Minnesota The sky is overcast and the temperature is in the mid-40s. Bucking a headwind, I lower my head and focus on maintaining a smooth tempo. Trees are bare, lakes frozen and piles of snow line the roads. This is March in Minnesota. You’d think after Nordic skiing all winter I…