Biking with Frodo: Introducing The Fellowship with the Miles

“Let's tell the truth to people. When people ask, 'How are you?' have the nerve sometimes to answer truthfully. You must know, however, that people will start avoiding you because, they, too, have knees that pain them and heads that hurt and they don't want to know about yours. But think of it this way: If people avoid you, you will have more time to meditate and do fine research on a cure for whatever truly afflicts you.” ― Maya Angelou, Letter to My Daughter

Today, the girl's school celebrated carnival.

I was excited even though my throat ache and chest cold is not completely gone yet; I knew I could take in the whole experience much better than in previous years in spite of these "Winter woes".

The quiet, slow(er) pace of village life coupled with active life outdoors has truly helped me in coping better with my bipolar disorder.

Looking back to all my blogs, I have a quiet satisfaction because I feel and see "evidence", that I am not only physically present but more and more there, in the now, with all my senses.

The girls started school in Holland in 2009 to learn to speak Dutch for a year; the school was in Hilversum, and the girls were brought there with the school bus.

In 2010, they started attending the school near our village; it was the year our daily bike rides commenced.

In Spring of 2011, I created this blog page  to document our biking beginnings, biking lifestyle and how each one of us (the girls and I) evolve through daily biking.

We had planned biking trips, and did do more than a couple but the grind of daily life got in the way of daily blogging over daily biking!

Frodo - my bike, which will celebrate it's 5th birthday in June, this year! - has mostly been in Wijdemeren, saved from one Summer in 2012 (another blog story for later!) when we toured around 's-Hertogenbosch better known as Den Bosch.

In all those years, I never managed to take time to document my bike mileage.

I don't want to sink my head now in shame but I have to say it how it is - between Spring 2011 until Winter of 2015, I managed to publish "only" 25 blogs.

Fastforward to February, 2015, I feel, I am truly Happy Feet in the Netherlands - I've run, pedaled, travelled with my pair of Happy Feet (my positive spirit!) as much of Holland, as I (and my family) can. :D

Happy Feet in the Netherlands

There is a new blog @ My Daily Mooosings in the Netherlands - Running in Holland & Biking with Frodo: The Fellowship with the Seasons.

It is the blog, which acts as a "Preface" to Frodo Kilometers blog series.

Summer,  2013

Winter 2014

For two weeks now, I have been doing what I was unable to do in the last 4 years!  I have been documenting miles (specifically kilometers; I used miles because it rhymes better :D …), take daily pictures & share a selection from those daily pictures (on my @happyfeetnl Instagram channel, mostly).

I feel so much ease, and lightness with the whole process.  I look forward to the daily rides,  to biking along familiar places.  I look forward to sharing daily biking through different seasons with all of you out there.

Perhaps even to places I have been wanting to go to with my family but never took the time.

What I will keep in mind though each biking day, is I what I've already written @ My Daily Mooosings in the Netherlands, and what has boosted my energy since this year began: until I can do better, I'll do what I can.

Would you like to check out the Frodo Kilometers logs?

Check them out here:

Frodo Kilometers Week 1

Frodo Kilometers Week 2