Filling in the temporary silence

Pictures instead of words while I finish my dissertation

I’ve been away from the substack as I’m furiously writing/rewriting (more of the latter than the former, thankfully) my PhD dissertation to be done with it and move on. Since snow is in the news, here are four relevant pictures from four years ago when we were still residing in Switzerland. For balance, there are two running pics and two cycling pics (on my gravel bike).

My running partner below is Paisley, our rescue from Romania. DNA testing says he is 100% “East European Village Dog” and some modern breeds, notably German Shepherds, are descended from his line. The Romanian shelter named him Paisley, not for the pattern, but because he paces around when excited or nervous. The proper pronunciation, therefore, is Pace-ly (or “Pas”-ly). He loved running with me, and I often took him on 8-10mi hilly runs. (I don’t take him on runs here in the US because he’s now 13 and my running mileage fell to basically nil 3yrs ago to focus on the bike, which I also barely do here in the US.) On this day, however, he wasn’t exactly having fun. This was a 5mi run and we (I) generally sought out forest paths not yet taken in the fresh snow. From my notes that day: “This was not a quick run :) Paisley was happy to be pointed in the direction home except when the trails we took were clear of use, IOW no track was cut. With snow up to mid-calf to knees, he wasn’t thrilled. My shins are remarkable cold. Feet are fine but my shins...”

A different day, over a week before, was also enjoyable. Around this time, I was outside 3-4 times a week, on the rollers inside 1-2 week, and running 2-3 times a week. This was just an 18.5mi ride (2250’ of ascent). I miss riding and running in these forests.

Stay well and safe. More to come soon.

Thanks for reading.