Korea Dad Diary, Wednesday 17th January, 2024

Sometimes you need to be there

Dad Work Day Pic: Mt. Bulgok on a warm summer morning, you can almost hear the cicadas’ deafening chorus

Sometimes it all works out. You wake up, ready to roll, but then the small human that lives in your house, a bit like an Oompa Loompa, but louder—like seriously man, much louder—requires attention. Lots of it. Sometimes you just have to be a dad, to be there while your offspring clings to you like an agitated little monkey, and so I was. There for him, that is, providing comfort. That’s also how I jerked awake at 7:40 am, sans blanket, next to a small form now encased in said blanket, thankfully asleep and finally silent, myself not having ridden a bicycle or done anything remotely resembling exercise. There is a slight nagging guilt you feel, that mostly gets squashed by dad reality and basic decency. Comforting small children needs to take precedence over everything else.

But things work out, you know? You realize it’s weigh in day, which for me, is once a week. I refuse to weigh daily, on the grounds of preserving mental health. That said, my weekly weigh in is positive, and I imagine my incredibly intense Korean doctor giving me a grudging nod of mild approval. With reservations, you understand. I have been very stable for about a year now, not losing weight, but crucially, not really gaining any either. Coming off a big loss of weight like I was, it is meaningful, locking in your new form like that, making the weight loss stick, not falling back into old habits and maintaining the new you.

Now, though, it is time for a newer me, and I am onboard with this idea. This also has to do with bikes. See, guys will obsess over losing hundreds of grams from their bicycle. Reducing bike weight gets wild, especially in places like the UK hill climb scene. But then, you start to see what a boost in performance losing weight from the bicycle’s engine might be. Losing 11 kilos (22 lbs?) from the engine is like losing the entire bicycle, and if you maintain muscle mass, or even increase it? You just boosted your performance significantly. It’s not something you really think about, until you see pro cyclists obsessing about body weight and you realize why.

I will do some dead bugs at lunchtime I think, to get that core working for me, as the snow falls outside. Snow, wintery mix, sleet, freezing rain, all that good stuff is on the way, to render the paths unsafe once more. Still, like I have said, next week looks clear after this bout of precipitation, so here’s hoping for a decent bike ride sooner, rather than later.

Please feel free to spread the word by sharing this newsletter using the buttons in the text above or subscribing. I will be writing not only about toddler blanket theft in Korea Ride Diary, but also my bike rides, walks, hikes and other activities, and I would love to have you along for them.