The Train

I've been talking to my wife for the last few months about wanting to blog, but I've never been able to find something that I wanted to write about. At one time it was doing alcohol reviews. That ended when I realized that I may have a drinking problem. I also thought about doing something about the downturn of society. I ended that when I figured that I'd most likely be complaining about the same stuff over and over again since the same stuff irritates me, and nobody changes it. Not like anyone would listen to me anyway.

Over the weekend, I came to the conclusion that I wanted to write about myself. My life. What I want to do. Who I want to be. Not that I live an overly interesting life, but I think I can make it interesting.

So how did I settle on the name, "The Matt Train." Well, for starters, my name is Matt. That was easy. My brother started calling me Mattrain or something of the sort during/after I graduated from college. I can't remember exactly. I always kinda liked the nickname. I'm not really sure how he come up with it to be honest. Over the last few years, I've learned to adapt the name and embrace what it means... to me at least. Matt Train.

In 2008, I started riding a bike again for the first time since I was in middle school, probably. I trained and rode in the 2008 City to Shore bike ride with a friend of mine... 75 miles from Cherry Hill, NJ to Ocean City, NJ. Since that ride, I have gotten my brother and wife into cycling, purchased a new bike, and trained much much more. I'm a more accomplished cyclist, but not good by any means. I embodied the nickname, Matt Train in 2009 when we all rode together the City to Shore Century. That's 100 miles for you non-cyclists. For a long stretch I rode in the front of our pace line, pulling along about a dozen cyclists. With all 3 of my teammates right behind me, I acted as the engine of the train. I loved it, because I felt strong and powerful.

Since I realized the connection, I have begun to embody the name more and more. I'll be trying to make myself into the engine that I know I can be to lead my pack not only in cycling, but be a strong role model for friends and family. This is my story of that journey.

More to come. Until then... ALL ABOARD!