On Breaking the Holiday Hangover
On behalf of everyone at Contender Bicycles, we hope the holidays have treated everyone well. It's not just a time to get close to family and friends, but a open opportunity to give back. Thanks to you all, we were able to donate your cycling apparel to Kit Up Africa, and bags full of children's gloves, beanies, and socks to Candy Cane Corner. With all the candy we've secretly (and openly) consumed, things like this are some of the sweetest around. Even Ernie got in on the festivities with Ernie's Best Builds! 
That said, there's a pretty substantial gear up to the holiday season, and by the time December 26th rolls around, pretty much everyone, regardless of what holidays you celebrate, is tired or burned out. Holiday hangovers are real folks. There's a number of ways people break holiday hangovers. New Year's cleanses and detoxes both mental and physical abound. Gym membership numbers reliably skyrocket the first week of January. There's even Rapha's Festive 500 challenge, which consists of riding 500 kilometers between Christmas Eve and New Year's Day, and is seen as a way to break out of whatever funk you're in by smashing it to pieces by pure force of will. There's no overarching answer for how to come out of a post-holiday funk. For us, the holidays bring out the best in us, but we're certainly guilty of receding from the charity and altruism that makes the winter holidays so special. This seasons presents everyone an opportunity as a period of reflection. It's a time to look inward just a little bit, and set healthy, realistic goals for the present and future. As for us? You can count on us being on a bike. Few things bring us more joy than two pedal-powered wheels, and we hope you might be able to find similar pleasure this upcoming year. Happy New Year everyone! 
That said, there's a pretty substantial gear up to the holiday season, and by the time December 26th rolls around, pretty much everyone, regardless of what holidays you celebrate, is tired or burned out. Holiday hangovers are real folks. There's a number of ways people break holiday hangovers. New Year's cleanses and detoxes both mental and physical abound. Gym membership numbers reliably skyrocket the first week of January. There's even Rapha's Festive 500 challenge, which consists of riding 500 kilometers between Christmas Eve and New Year's Day, and is seen as a way to break out of whatever funk you're in by smashing it to pieces by pure force of will. There's no overarching answer for how to come out of a post-holiday funk. For us, the holidays bring out the best in us, but we're certainly guilty of receding from the charity and altruism that makes the winter holidays so special. This seasons presents everyone an opportunity as a period of reflection. It's a time to look inward just a little bit, and set healthy, realistic goals for the present and future. As for us? You can count on us being on a bike. Few things bring us more joy than two pedal-powered wheels, and we hope you might be able to find similar pleasure this upcoming year. Happy New Year everyone!