Every year, I say let this be the year that I tour my Congressional district. This year, no exception. The election of Donald Trump is such a wholly preposterous outcome, that I'm eager to know why my neighbors would choose such a man. Why they would choose Tom Garrett to be their voice in Washington. Such sentiments are strange to me. People with such sentiments, strangers.
I could choose many ways to explore our differences, and indeed already do. Why bike or pedestrian travel? Why a Congressional district the size of New Jersey? Pedaling because it is good for my health and well being, and a nice way to experience unfamiliar places. The Fifth because I've written my Congressman since the impeachment of Clinton alienated me from my Republican roots and inclinations. Subsequent behavior of the party and its leaders have only caused the growth of this alienation. I live in an enclave within the 5th, desperately needing to get outside this bubble.
So, in this year of no senate contest, but 100 separate contests for Virginia's House of Delegates, I'm doing some preliminary work on my personal fitness and readiness to make several rides, focusing on Delegate contests, where there are contests, important heritage sites like Booker T Washington's birthplace, Civil War sites, and Civil Rights sites, and trails to follow, such as the High Bridge Trail and Tobacco Heritage Trail.
Personal fitness is my current concern. I have a medical referral to a local gym and am working on my wind, balance, and flexibility. I've allowed my resting pulse to rise to around 85 and my blood pressure to around 135/80. I am working to get those numbers down and to walk/ride level ground at a moderately forced pace with pulse under 110 and moderate climbs with pulse under 130. I'm counting on noticeable progress toward that goal during the month of March.
