The Year of the Sherman

One of my resolutions for 2014 was to write more and so far I haven't done a thing about it. I've thought about it formulated blog posts in my head, but always find 1,000 ways to procrastinate actually putting words to screen. Now I sit with a sinus infection watching the snow fall and I've exhaused all procrastination opportunities other than studying for my upcoming annual recurrent training. Writing seems like a great way to procrastinate studying!

I used to really enjoy writing my blog, then 2012 came along and sucked the life right out of me. The events of that year left me completely uninspired and withdrawn: a breakup combined with losing my dad and paternal grandmother all within a few months, plus some other life dramas.

I think it's healthy to allow a certain amount of time to wallow in self-pity, but then life must go on. I determined that 2013 must be a better year, and indeed it was! It had it's share of heartache for sure, but also more than a fair share of epic adventure, starting right off in January with a 12-hour solo mountain bike race in Arizona, followed by a whirlwind tour of Barcelona, Madrid, and New York; an epic week of riding Utah's Gooseberry Mesa trails with dear friends; a trip down the Yampa River in Colorado, where I unexpectedly met my boyfriend Jay; my first (and possibly last) mountain bike stage race, the Breck Epic, in August; and winding down in September after having the honor of competing on the US Mountain Bike Orienteering team at world champioinships in Estonia. 

You might notice I've changed the name of this blog from the highly uncreative "Susan's Adventures." My friend Vern announced on Facebook last summer that he was "going full Sherman" for the weekend. Someone asked what that meant and he replied, "Susan Sherman is a friend of mine who has more fun and adventure than anyone should be allowed." So "full Sherman" has become a common phrase among our circle of friends, along with jokes about "half Shermans" and "international Shermans." My upcoming move to Anchorage may invoke the "Arctic Sherman."

As active as I am, there are plenty of people who make me look like a couch potato: people who snow bike after work and ice climb and take advantage of every three-day-off-work opportunity to visit Iceland or Hawaii. I recently, from the comfort of my sofa in front of a fire with a glass of wine, watched a video about the Iditiasport Impossible (http://www.alaska.com/2008/10/16/2047/the-long-hard-race-iditasport.html). But my friend Ed recently offered to buy my couch if I ever wanted to sell it because he was confident in it's like-new state. 

Ed has also declared 2014 "The Year of the Sherman,"  although 2013 seemed like The Year of the Sherman to me. But that won't keep me from making the most of all that 2014 brings my way.