Month: June 2022

1. Ever heard of Cape Verde? Me neither, but I talked to someone this week who is from there and it is pretty amazing. It is a small chain of islands off the West coast of Africa. Of course it comes with some not great history, including colonization by Portugal, but it looks great.

2. Do things to help your future self.

3. It’s Impossible, Said Price
It’s Risky, Said Experience
It’s Pointless, Said Reason
Give it a try, Whispered the Heart

4. Xander Budnick is delightful. He’s a Canadian that likes to camp and hike and film it and he’s funny, quirky and definitely not what you would expect from an “outdoorsman”. He goes on a 13-day camping and canoe trip with a friend (the friend forgets his dehydrated food) and they figure it out. This is part 1 and there are to be multiple parts.

5. I don’t even know if you will be able to read this piece from Outside Online’s Alex Perry because it is absolutely insane, “I’m Still Alive but Sh*t Is Getting Wild”: Inside the Siege of the Amarula”. When we talk about the price of oil and gas or really extracting anything, well, this would be part of it. And if you are curious if this is a real thing, yes it is.

When vast gas reserves were discovered off the idyllic coast of northern Mozambique, a crew of roughnecks flew in from around the world to make their fortunes. But in March 2021, Islamist rebels attacked, and the foreigners and thousands of Mozambicans were abandoned. Two hundred holed up at the Amarula Lodge, where the expats faced a choice: save themselves, or risk it all to save everyone. As oil and gas fuel a new war in Europe, Alex Perry pieces together, shot by shot, a stunning morality tale for the global economy.

1. Ever heard of Eibsee? It’s a lake in Germany and it is 9,680 feet above sea level as well as being privately owned.

Photo by Alana Harris on Unsplash

2. I loved this short video about riding bikes. I’ve got a new bicycle thanks to my brother who built me a beauty. If you were to ask me about specs or brakes or seat I’d be pretty clueless and I sort of like it that way. It’s a bike and I’m sure it’s a great bike. It also just goes forward and I sort of love that about it. I’ve got a 12.5 mile loop that I can get onto from my house that follows some country roads that have no cars on them (or very few). I usually only have time to ride on Sunday morning so it’s worked into an awesome routine that I look forward to every Sunday. Previous Sundays I’d be very casual and not necessarily ride hard. Mainly because I was enjoying myself. It was fun just being out. After watching this video, I decided to drop the hammer a bit, work hard on the uphills and I went from averaging about 12 to 13 mph to 14.5. I definitely worked harder, but it was also a more fun ride. I also love how a bike can take you many places the same way that running can.

3. Need something fun? Danny MacAskill returns riding a wheelie.

4. Mike Snowden writes about the mountain range at the bottom of the ocean and if you’ve never thought about how vast that is, then you probably should. In fact only 5% of the world’s oceans have been mapped so to see the map about halfway down this link is really neat because I’ve never considered the mountain ranges beneath the sea.

5. Yes. I’d also add. “14. Practice radical gratefulness.”

6) Sleep at least 7 hrs
7) Practice self-discipline AND self-compassion
8) Read more books
9) In a world that loves speed, stay patient
10) Focus on pursuing your values—not too rigidly, not too flexibly
11) Be consistent
12) Build community
13) Protect time for deep-focus work

— Brad Stulberg (@BStulberg) June 15, 2022

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1. I can’t say that you don’t know where Moonlight Beach is, but that’s Moonlight Beach in Encinitas, California around 8 in the morning. My absence here has been about practices and running and once I get going on a Saturday morning, I’m typically not back at my computer for the rest of the day. I definitely miss this, but I also understand that in delegating my time between things this gets left off the table.

2. I’ve been saving these quotes, both of these quotes describe my boys and maybe even me to an extent and thought they were good, so I’m here to share.

“They laugh at me because I’m different; I laugh at them because they’re all the same.”

“All of this pretending and performing—these coping mechanisms that you’ve developed to protect yourself from feeling inadequate and getting hurt—has to go. Your armor is preventing you from growing into your gifts. I understand that you needed these protections when you were small. I understand that you believed your armor could help you secure all of the things you needed to feel worthy and lovable, but you’re still searching and you’re more lost than ever. Time is growing short. There are unexplored adventures ahead of you. You can’t live the rest of your life worried about what other people think. You were born worthy of love and belonging. Courage and daring are coursing through your veins. You were made to live and love with your whole heart. It’s time to show up and be seen.”

3. This video of Harmen Hoek hiking the Drakensberg in South Africa is nothing short of beautiful.

4. Via Hyperallergic, Ukrainian soldiers discovered Greek amphorae (I didn’t know what this word meant and it means tall ancient Greek or Roman jar with two handles and a narrow neck) while digging trenches in Odesa, probably at least 2,00 years old. Via Smithsonian Magazine, a 5,000 year old drum was found near Yorkshire, being buried near three children, a clay ball and a bone pin. The drum is only one of four that are known. Even 5,000 years ago, people wanted to be symmetrical which is amazing.

5. I’m on Strava (I’m not exciting on Strava, it’s mostly treadmill runs), but probably don’t use it like most people. It’s just a way for me to track miles on my shoes and I can keep track of what my siblings are doing, which are the only people I follow. I don’t know why you would follow a famous person, but I can attest to not understanding a lot of things. This story from Cycling tips’ Iain Treloar uncovering a fake pro cyclist, a man who claimed to be a professional cyclist, an entire life started to unravel because of unrealistic fastest known segments. This is ridiculously long, so sit down with a good drink.