It has been a long enough time since I have updated my last
blog that I decided that it was time to start a new one. I believe that a new
blog is also a good idea since my last one was all about graduate school. Now
that I am no longer a graduate student the new blog title and address is more
reflective of my new position in academia.
For those of you who had followed my last blog you may
remember that the intended focus was on my attempt to find a balance between
school, family, and cycling. I think that I did a decent job of finding that
balance while in school. As an assistant professor the task of finding a
balance has become more difficult and I am still attempting for find a way to
achieve the balance.
Cycling is a wonderful metaphor for life in many ways. Learning
how to find balance in life is similar to learning how to ride a bike. My wife
and I gave our son a balance bike for his birthday and he has made some
attempts at learning how to ride it. As he starts to try and ride he has to
balance the fear of failing and falling with the joy of success. As speed
increases the risk and the rewards do as well.
Starting to ride a bike as a kid and learning to take
corners at high speeds in a crit are very similar. Higher speed results in
clearing a corner faster than other riders and getting the gap you need to make
other racers expend the effort to close the gap. BUT, misjudging the corner and
you end up cleaning gravel out of wounds for hours.
Life works much the same way, high risk---high reward. A
little extra effort and time you either get the gap or the gravel.
It is all about finding the balance.
