Author: dickenslj

By Jim Dickens

Last post I mentioned that this winter the Ridgeline Tour was focusing on fitness and included 3 endurance cross country ski races. And, the next post was sure to have some debacle. This is that promised post and my wife and I spent a good time outside our comfort zones.

Lori, my wife, and I have successfully completed the first race, the Boulder Mountain Tour in Sun Valley, Idaho. It was 34K and we finished middle of the pack. We rewarded ourselves by sitting in the largest hot tub I know and drinking a cold beer. So now you know it ended well. However, there were many uncomfortable instances and debacle along the way. I’ll share a few.

A few weeks ago, Lori and I headed north to train at the Kettle Moraine Southern Unit Nordic Trails. Long and well maintained, they are perfect for getting comfortable skiing long distances. We decided to ski the longest loop, 10 miles. While changing into our clothes in the warming hut a fellow skier told us the trails were in good shape but that some weren’t groomed today as the grooming machine had broken down. We ended up at mile 6.5 far from the hut in completely ungroomed snow so chunky and hilly that we had to take off our skis and start post holing it. The sun was starting to set and the temperature fell from 20 to the single digits. We had burned through our water and were now under dressed and well out of our comfort zone. Fortunately, at mile 8, the trail became groomed and we completed the loop safely.

As you probably know, a polar vortex gripped the midwest a couple of weeks ago producing record cold. 36 hours before our flight to the Idaho race, we were notified our flight was cancelled. All potential future flights that would get us there in time were full or cancelled. Searching southward we found a flight out of St. Louis and booked it. We found renting a car to be difficult as they were being used by everyone stuck in Chicago. Eventually we succeeded and started driving through severe cold in white out conditions while making a hotel reservation on the way. New plans, strange places, horrible cold and darkness made things quite uncomfortable. However, the new flight connected through San Diego and we got to spend 20 minutes in warm palm tree filled sunshine. It melted our angst and discomfort.

I should also mention a small debacle discovered as we traveled to Idaho, I reserved accommodations for the wrong date with no excuse. So during all the rerouting to get to Idaho, I had to get a refund and rebook. It wasn’t easy. I didn’t get a full refund and Lori saw once again what an idiot I can be.

The race itself had challenges beyond the usual physical discomfort of aching muscles and burning lungs. There was little information on what where and when so we had to constantly ask people what was going on and how everything worked. Uncertainty is a mind killer. The race day was foreboding with clouds clinging low down the mountains producing a dim light and a steady shower of snow. Standing at the starting line, we noticed very few as old as we were. Everyone looked elite with well proportioned aerobic bodies covered in spandex. They were all warming up doing the skating technique which is much faster than the classic technique we ski. The first heat of elite racers took off at 20 miles per hour. Several heats later we plodded out in our baggy clothes at about 6 to 7 miles per hour. I was impressed we even had the courage to start. After 5 miles on the trail, we looked around and we were alone.

We decided to stick together which helped us soldier on. The food and drink stations stayed open and had encouraging kind volunteers. Out of 900 skiers there were 20 or so doing the classic technique, a few finished ahead and a few behind and a few DNF’ed. So Lori and I decided to tell people we finished middle of the pack. I was too proud to say virtually last.

It was a great physical and mental challenge for us and getting out of our comfort zone makes the success so much better. I like the analogy, that the discomfort of thirst makes a simple glass of water taste better than an unthirsty glass of the finest wine. Finally, I’d say that under Lori’s kind warm preschool teaching exterior lies a good amount of toughness and courage.

Next up is the longest toughest race, the American Birkebeiner February 23rd in Hayward, WI which I will do with my friend Carlos. He has more willpower than anyone I know and I know some pretty tough people.

By Jim Dickens

We were home for the holidays and hosted 8 events and attended several others between December 5 and January 6. In the midst of this, we have some home renovations underway. Our kitchen above was intact until January 7 and now looks like this. I think celebrations around the solstice are very fun as people relax and have interesting traditions. I’ll share 4 favorites from this year.

Steak Night

Seven years ago I offered, for what ever reason, to host my oldest son then a college sophomore and his local friends to “Steak Night”. The tradition has continued. Lori and I cook and serve dinner like a restaurant. My son and his friends eat, drink, tell stories, have humorous toasts and generally catch up. They are now far-flung from New York to Seattle with careers and a couple of marriages. It has been fun to let the inmates run the asylum for an evening and inspiring to see them move from college to independence.

Flaming Punch

We host a Christmas Eve party for 30 to 50 of Lori’s extended family. With a majority of Italian ancestry, it is a warm, noisy event with lots of laughter. Near the end of the evening, 81 year old Uncle Bob makes a steaming hot whiskey punch with cloves in it. Then with great ceremony the kids from 4 to 26 use long matches to light the punch on fire. Uncle Bob then adds some apple juice dousing the flames. This all happens in the middle of the kitchen with mothers wringing their hands as they watch. Given the cloves and whiskey, children only try and sneak a taste of the punch once. We have yet to have the fire get out of control.

Sweat Pants Day

Our immediate family has turned Christmas day into a day without obligation, Sweat Pants Day. After hosting Steak Night, Christmas Eve, different sets of friends and Lori’s school staff, Sweat Pants Day is a welcome change. While our home is open and various people do stop by, don’t expect us hang up your coat and offer you something to eat or drink. It is all self serve. You can hang out in sweat pants, have a beer at 10 in the morning, eat cookies for lunch, shower at 5 PM and watch movies all day. Or you can do the opposite. It is a day with out decorum or tradition and that is the tradition. Accordingly there are no pictures. Many people feel Sweat Pants Day is the best.

Goose Day

My 87 year old mom says her best present is to have family together, the more the better. And, she likes to serve the traditional english goose for dinner and have a gift exchange. It takes her weeks to get ready. Geese are hard to find in grocery stores and take courage and patience to cook.

She also hands out a pull-crack party favors that everyone pulls at once and then we wear the crowns, read the riddles and play with the toys inside while dinner is served by my 89 year old dad. We treasure each Goose Day as the next one is not promised.

After months of fishing golfing tailgating and solstice celebrations, the Tour hits its fitness segment January through March. I have entered three endurance classic style cross country ski races in Sun Valley, ID, Hayward, WI and Biwabik, MN. Look for the next update to include tales of debacle from the cold and snowy parts of the world.

By Guest Blogger Chris Dickens

After spending my first 24 Thanksgivings in a suburb of Chicago, we made a small adjustment of plans by convening in Healdsburg, Northern California, for this stop of the Ridgeline Tour.  Braving smoke filled air, some heavy rain, and a 2,000 mile flight my sister Emily, my mom, my dad, and my Aunt Susie  joined the native residents (my brother, Jack, and I).  And while we certainly saw some of the best of what California had to offer, the foggy Golden Gate Bridge, towering redwoods, and sun soaked vineyards, there is something distinctly different that I took away.

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There is great joy to be had in embracing unexpected experiences. The fact that all parties involved did this was, in my mind, the highlight of the vacation. To showcase this, I would like to provide a few examples. My motion sick prone mom and Aunt Susie encouraged us to drive steep winding roads in a downpour to visit the Muir Woods. On the spur of the moment, my mom’s larger than life cousin, Uncle Jeff, drove a great distance to spend time with us. Previous blog guest Pete Mathieson and his wonderful girlfriend Gayda, unexpectedly treated us with fantastic local experiences. Uncle Jeff did not plan on driving across California, Pete and Gayda did not expect to be hosting but collectively as a group we really made a great vacation out of a blank slate.

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If you asked me what my favorite part of the vacation was, I would probably have to say it was the impromptu bocce ball contest. The teams were unclear, the rules were inconsistent, but you would be pressed to find a minute without laughter. As I saw with the rest of the trip, enjoying the company of friends and family is everything.

So for those of you in the path of the future Ridgeline Tour or on other journey’s and want advice from a naïve guy in his 20s, the most beautiful vacation you could ever plan is only as good as the friends and family you have with you and their willingness to embrace the experience.

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By Jim Dickens

Have you had the,” I wish you could come earlier.” or, “Stay another day.” offer like most of us?  Usually with work, family commitments and an already defined plan, there is huge resistance to change.  However, with a little practice, you can leverage retirement flexibility to find out the sincerity of the offer and have even more fun.

Now the speed of the Ridgeline Tour has slowed, I have answered yes to several “stay later”, “come early” offers and had a little extra fun on the side.  First, you must be open to unexpected changes in plan.  Second, you need to persuade those affected by the change it is a great idea. (Remember to be honest when persuading to preserve trust for the next change.) Third and finally, be ready to go with the flow and trust others it will be fun.  Just say yes and don’t try and control it.

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Over the past four weeks,  I have had three on the side experiences.  I played an extra day of golf in Florida with Roger and had to persuade the airlines and Lori it was a good change without the need for extra fees.   I extended Thanksgiving in California to fish with Bill for a couple of days persuading the car rental company, the airline, and family members.   And finally,  I played in a charity golf event, Santa Scramble, on my wife’s birthday, no explanation needed.

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A quick note on Bill. We have known each other through business for 26 years. I fished with him one other time 10 years ago. Both times he caught a nice rainbow trout on his first cast as pictured above.  I’m looking forward to fishing with Bill sooner that ten years from now.  It’s too fun.  More on Northern California in the next blog.

By Jim Dickens

I have mentioned several times that I have been going too fast.   I have been gone every weekend and usually once during the week since before Labor Day usually spending only one night before packing, traveling and unpacking again.  So just before Thanksgiving it was nice to spend an extra long weekend in Naples, FL with good friends, Pete, Patty, Roger and Katie.  Lori and I unpacked in one place for 4 nights and avoided crappy Chicago weather for a little longer.  It was a good cadence.

It’s really good not to rush and have to do extensive travel logistics.  We did one or two things each day and enjoyed getting enough sleep, exercise and good food.

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When in Naples, I suggest you take advantage of how old the average person is there to feel young again.  Seven thirty dinner reservations are much easier.  For Seinfeld fans, I know Naples must have a complex somewhere named Del Boca Vista.

As you may know, the Ridgeline Tour was in Florida for last Memorial day during Tropical Depression Albert.  However, this time the Tour found Chamber of Commerce weather.  And no the Honda Ridgeline was not driven here and yes it still counts as the Ridgeline Tour and no it is not in a body shop due to my poor driving (although it does have a rear bumper hit from the last time parked in Cleveland).  As guest bloggers have realized the Ridgeline Tour is a state of mind not a truck drive.

Many thanks to our good friends for helping us find a good cadence as we headed into Thanksgiving in wine country.  Another chance to feel young again as we hang around young people.  Look for the next blog coming out of Northern California soon.

By German, Brazilian, American Guest Blogger Andreas Hecht

OK, I must be one of the most uninspired writers out there, so when Jim asked me (told me?!) to contribute to the Ridgeline blog on the occasion of yesterday’s dinner, I knew I was in for a lengthy exercise. Anyhow, I digress…

We have made it a recurring thing to get the heads of the CCC verticals together with their better halves to find some time away from all the day-to-day craziness for some fun and to relish in Jim’s post-retirement adventures. I thought that this was going to become a short-lived exercise (or at least the retirement portion of it) when I saw Jim’s recent blog discussing his thoughts around coming back to CCC. Anyhow, false alarm, Jim’s doing just fine without the day-to-day work-life and finding time for things like the free flu-shot queue at his grocery store…nevertheless, his heart is still a bit in it and he was curious about the latest developments

We got together for a wonderful dinner at Devon Seafood and Steak at Oakbrook Terrace (see pic). I will point out that Jim apparently did not make this an official stop along the Ridgeline Tour as they took Lori’s car 😦  … bummer, I would have love to have inspected the ‘safe repair’ done on his car, ADAS sensors and all!

Jim is in great spirits but I guess if you’re an avid reader of the Tour you already know that. He’s keeping in shape and has signed up for 3 cross-country ski-tours after the new year.

I promised Jim I’d add a bit of German stuff into this post, so here it goes. I found this one very fitting (as an aside, Wilhelm Busch was the author of one of the most famous Germany children books – “Max und Moritz”, one I grew up with and can recite to this day)

Viel zu spät begreifen viele
die versäumten Lebensziele:
Freuden, Schönheit und Natur,
Gesundheit, Reisen und Kultur.
Drum, Mensch, sei zeitig weise!
Höchste Zeit ist’s! Reise, reise!

(Wilhelm Busch)

…and here’s what it means:

Way too late many realize

the lost goals in life

Joy, beauty and nature

Health, travel and culture

So therefore, man!, be wise and timely!

It’s about time … travel travel!

 

Cheers – had a great time!

Andreas

 

By Jim Dickens

Lori and I went to lunch with my awesome ex boss and his family a month ago.  We were reminiscing and my ex boss’s wife asked a simple but deep question, “Do you miss it?”   I did not have a simple but deep answer and have thought about it since.

The last kid has played her last game and I retired more than 6 months ago.  The question, “Do you miss it?”, has been asked often in many forms.  Aren’t you bored?  So what do you do to fill all that time?  You just need a break and then you go back to work!  You’ve played since you were eight.  Aren’t you sad its over?

Right before I retired an Uber driver told me he retired 6 months ago after selling his business.  He found himself sitting on the couch and watching a lot of TV.  He started driving Uber for something to do and to have more human interaction.  He then said he was getting back into his old business.  He like others thought that after 6 months I like him would be back at it.  Two friends who retired had jobs within 60 days of leaving their old companies.

As further context, my wife and I have thoroughly enjoyed watching our kids play sports for 21 years and November 3rd was the last game.  We traveled twice a week from Labor Day on going to every game.  Luckily, our kid stayed healthy, played extensively and thoroughly enjoyed her last season.   In the process our relationship with her deepened and we had some great moments.  We also connected with old friends across the country like Pittsburgh below.  But it ended for her and us and tears were shed.

So how do avoid ending up like the ex high school football player, Uncle Rico in Napoleon Dynamite or watching Oprah every afternoon scratching your belly wearing out the couch?  How do you avoid just staying in your comfort zone and going back work again? I think there are lots of ways to successfully enter a next stage of life. For my kid and I it was planning an immediate next thing or set of things to do, she has a part time internship and I am getting involved with non profits.  They fill the gaps that the end of soccer and work have left.

You can’t go back to your old school and do it again.  Being a fisherman, I like the analogy of life being like a river.   You can’t fish same water twice because new water is always arriving and the river is ever-changing.  The season is over, I’m not going back to work,  and the Ridgeline Tour rolls on.

Well we are going to visit friends in Naples, FL, and head to California wine country for Thanksgiving.   I have entered three cross country skiing endurance races in  Wisconsin, Idaho and Minnesota so training and planning is underway.  Finally, I am becoming more active in three non profits, The Alliance for the Great Lakes, Junior Achievement and Trout Unlimited.  The time is well filled. Lots of blog post content is upcoming.

Finally, the answer to the question,  “Do you miss it?” is immensely but there is no going back.  I’ll end with a quote my boss’s daughter eloquently shared from the fictitious character, Winnie the Pooh, “How lucky I am that I have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.”

 

 

By unpaid guest blogger Chris Milhous

Jim’s Ridgeline Tour made its second appearance in the South this past weekend and I quickly informed him that I wanted to be the next guest blogger. As my former roommate Mark Glenn rather inarticulately, but accurately cited in the last blog entry, the Ridgeline Tour is not about a truck.  It is about a state of mind.

Having ridden in, and even driven, Jim’s Ridgeline back in the spring as we traveled from Atlanta to Lewisburg, I certainly can attest to the magnificence of this vehicle. However, what I want to write about is Jim’s magnificent state of mind.  Jim shared his initial insights for the Ridgeline Tour as he challenged his family to help him define what the second half of his life was going to look like. Jim did not retire, but rather graduated from full-time employment into a stage of full-time relationships.  And there is no one better suited for this vocation than Jim.

My adventures with Jim date back to 1979.  We first met in the shabby Freshman locker room at Christy Mathewson stadium and became friends as brothers at the FIJI house at Bucknell.  Then life happened and we didn’t speak for many years.  One Christmas, Jim called me at work to wish me a Merry Christmas and to invite me to the annual Red Stackloaf golf event in Hilton Head.  I’m happy to say that nearly 20 years later, I am reconnected with so many great friends because of Jim.

So, I’m a firm believer and supporter of the Ridgeline Tour and its unique ability to bring people together.  This past weekend, we finally got to meet Jim’s amazing wife Lori and to watch his daughter Emily play her second to last college soccer game.  We also got to meet some of Jim and Lori’s friends Christina and John Born. I can tell you that just watching their interactions with Emily that they are amazing parents.

Jim and Lori have each been through quite a bit.  They survived Jim’s rather inarticulate 10^thanniversary comment (have to ask Jim or Lori for more details) and they have each survived their own personal health scares. Yet they both stand tall (figuratively for Lori), they both have infectiously positive attitudes and they both inspire those around them to carry on the Ridgeline Tour spirit.

I’m looking forward to the Ridgeline’s final tailgating episode in Pittsburgh and to follow it wherever else the path leads.  And there is one thing you may be sure of…wherever the Ridgeline goes, there will be copious amounts of laughter, good will and adventure.

Thanks for the ride Jim. I am eternally grateful.

By Guest Blogger -Mark Glenn

 

Jim had given me a heads up the Ridgeline Tour was coming to Boston.  Sue and I were very excited to see Lori who we were told would be on the trip.

 

It was great to see them and of course we had the usual laughs and fun.  Lori looked awesome and saucy.  She is also really nice and very funny. Top 1% in both categories.  Also great to see their daughter Emily play soccer.  

 

Sue and I were very disappointed that the Dickens did not arrive in the Ridgeline Truck.  We had seen so many pictures and videos about the Ridgeline Truck.  However Jim did find a hidden Treasure.  The long lost ski pole which is very valuable.  So I guess the Tour is also about Treasure Hunting.  See picture below.

 

 

But without the actual Truck I started to dispute how this visit could be part of the Ridgeline Tour.

 

After a few weeks I think I figured it out.  The Ridgeline Tour is not just Jim driving around to see people in the Ridgeline Truck.  You could even say it is not even about a Truck. – it seems to me it is also a state of mind.  

 

Here’s to everyone finding their own Ridgeline Tour.

By Jim Dickens

The picture above is of my daughter and her friends some still sweat soaked from the soccer match.  In today’s environment of pervasive social media they happily, quickly and expertly posed for the picture above. They are Millennials and I have gotten to know them a little. I think our aging country has stereo typed Millenials wrongly and I’m calling us old guys out as curmudgeons.  I don’t think they feel entitled, have low motivation or fail to take responsibility.

Over the last six weeks, I have connected with lots of friends new and old and the conversation turns often to kids.  All the kids they talk about no matter the path in life are trying to figure out how to be independent, build their own identity and be or do something important.  All the kids I meet have some vision for their future.  Sure they snapchat, instagram, and tweet all the time but that’s just the newest and best communication technology.  As that old band, The Who, said, “The kids are all right!”  Of course they were singing about us to our curmudgeon parents.

We went to Pittsburgh and had a fantastic dinner with some great old friends, Andy & Allie Kimball, Ian and Terry Ferguson, Ken Moir and Pete Mathieson.  Marine Colonel Ferguson once saw my daughter ask for help buying Cubs tickets on line.  On the spot he nicknamed her Cubs Tickets as an entitled Millenial who can’t do things for herself.  It was funny to hear Cubs Tickets being yelled during the game.

In addition to Pittburgh, we went to Boston and many Ohio locations.  Many thanks to Sue and Mark Glenn for a great stay and an education on the Red Sox.  Our daughter through 11 games remains healthy, playing the best soccer of her life and growing as a team leader.  It’s making the transition to fall outstanding.

I have continued to say yes to fun opportunity from golf with old friend John Fauth in Ohio to play off games in Chicago with Roger.  I remain convinced doing cool things with great friends is the best.

Also the Ridgeline has proven to be a great choice facilitating 5 tailgates and taking us down dirt roads to national parks and the worlds first oil well (not to be confused with the biggest ball of yarn).  I get why today’s country singers write songs about their trucks.  It’s like a cowboy’s horse which old country singers used to write about, i.e. Old Paint.

The Super Fan Part Two schedule is now posted on the side web pages.  More Ohio, New York and Georgia next.  The Tour rolls on.