After six years of faithful service, we sold our old pop up camper last month. Pop-ups occupy the extreme modest end of the RV spectrum. Think of it as an awesome big mobile tent rather than an apartment on wheels and you will have an accurate picture. But for a family on a budget, aContinue reading “In Praise of the Humble Pop-Up Camper”
Author Archives: Chris Smith
Pedernales Falls
The Pedernales (pronounced “Per-din-al-is” to you foreigners) river drains much of the hill country west of Austin. Arising in Kimble County, the Pedernales flows through Fredericksburg, the LBJ Ranch, Johnson City, and ultimately meets the Colorado River in Lake Travis. About an hour west of Austin, the river drops over Pedernales Falls. Over 4,000 acresContinue reading “Pedernales Falls”
Enchanted Rock
A playground in the Hill Country and a jewel of a park.
Biking with the Kids
One of our favorite family activities, particularly in coronavirus time, is the neighborhood bike ride. I have taught all four of my kids to ride big kid bikes. Along the way, I learned that there is a hard way and easy way to do this. This post explains how to get the family riding. Note:Continue reading “Biking with the Kids”
Meditation
A lot has changed in a few weeks. We all have unanswerable questions. What will happen? When will the lock down end? Will we have jobs and be able to support our families in a few months? We don’t know. What we do know is that the world will go on. The sand in theContinue reading “Meditation”
Book Review: A cycling book that runners should read
With a race on the calendar for August, I recently started the process of putting together my yearly training program. I find this is always a good time to review my library of training books and see if there are any other resources out there that may be of aid. A few weeks ago, IContinue reading “Book Review: A cycling book that runners should read”
Inflation Crisis
Short get off my lawn post. My wife bought a display rack to hang all our old race finisher medals. My task was to mount it near the laundry room. For a few years we tried turning old race medals into Christmas ornaments, but each season the branches drooped more and more. Today we hadContinue reading “Inflation Crisis”
Put down the phone and nobody gets hurt
I have a problem. I spend way too much time with my phone. So, nothing I write here is a judgment of anyone. My house is made of glass. What I want to talk about is the problem of distraction and why phones specifically impair training. I discovered this while lifting. My practice had generallyContinue reading “Put down the phone and nobody gets hurt”
Decisions, decisions…
Never half ass two things when you can whole ass one thing. – Ron Swanson Ultrarunning is no longer under the radar. Events that spent decades as the province of just a few dozen crazy people now have thousands of even crazier people trying to get in. The most popular races have lotteries, with qualifyingContinue reading “Decisions, decisions…”
Finding your grasshopper
This week I attended funeral for a family friend who passed away after a 10-month battle with pancreatic cancer. She was 69, had a full family life, owned and ran her own business, was an involved citizen and a devoted member of her church. She dealt with impending death with courage and grace, they wayContinue reading “Finding your grasshopper”
Vamonos Baby! 