Do You Jam (When You Jam)?

   I ran over someone's iPod on the Veloway last year. It was one of those "old skool" iPod Shuffles - the kind without any moving parts/display screen so it was in relatively good shape. I posted a note near the entrance, but no one ever responded so I bought an adapter and discovered the iPod had been dead to begin with.  Perhaps that's why the owner never bothered to claim it?

   Anyway... that got me to wondering just how many people listen to portable media players while riding. I see lots of people with "earbuds" in so I assume they are listening to something. I tried it once but didn't like it for two reasons. I got a cheap sports radio so I could listen to things like Eklektikos and Car Talk while riding and kayaking, but I found that wasn't any good for kayaking since a big part of being on the water is the sound of nature. As far as biking goes I realized that being aware of the passing of time (in three minute song increments) made the miles seem much longer than if I just rode along letting my mind wander.  The other big reason is that I sweat. A lot. There is no way I could keep any kind of electronic device safe and dry.

   So, as I sit here waiting for Broder Daniel to finish downloading from Amazon I was curious what devices people use, how do they keep them dry, and more importantly what do they (this means you) listen to during a workout?

Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/meddygarnet/

The New Paradigm is Listing to the Port Side

   Something has happened recently, although I'm not quite sure just what. I seem to be in the middle of one of those fundamental shifts in physiology, and to a lesser extent, psychology. A mid-life Polar Shift, if you will. Everyone says that as you get older your metabolism changes, your eyesight fails, and a whole host of other events occur. I figured that these things would happened gradually, like a ice cube melting. But instead I've noticed they tend to evolve rather quickly - as in two weeks, or even overnight. One day I could read the directions on an aspirin bottle and (literally) the next day I could not.

   This past week I've lost any desire for spicy foods, and just the thought of belching all day quickly reinforces that. The other night I was craving refried beans and tortillas so I bought some Amy's Organic Refried Beans, opened the can, took a whiff, and dropped the whole thing into the trash - too spicy. And by too spicy I don't mean onions, jalapeno's or salsa, I'm talking about salt, pepper and paprika. Another development has been a loss of interest in meat. Yesterday I went through the refrigerator and tossed out all of the chicken, ribs and steak that resided therein. I kept the fish though.

   Of course, nature has its way of balancing out losses with gains and I've noticed a sudden interest in sugary drinks, which I've never really had before unless beer counts as a sugary drink. Sadly though, I've lost most interest beer, which really sucks since I've got a batch of home brew recently bottled and quietly maturing in a cool, dark place. I never thought I'd see the day when I'd feel compelled to swing by the convenience store and buy a Mexican Coke on the way home instead of a Shiner Bock... What is the world coming to?