In the strange stratosphere in which cyclists dwell, it's critical to focus on the macro. The 30,000 foot life view leaves one paying strict attention to how he or she is eating, sleeping, and training.* Those three are the macro. If a cyclist can get those three aspects of life in (near) perfect order then success is nearly assured -- assuming the requisite legwork has been accomplished prior to make it to the professional ranks in the first place. The point being, there are plenty of other facets of life that can take their toll on recovery or take time away from training time. They're basically all stressors.As it turns out, retirement is busy. I'm busier, in fact, than I ever was as a professional cyclist.Starting a business during my time as a professional wasn't easy. Sure, I wrote stuff, whether here or maintaining a column in various publications. Conveniently, given my line of work, I like to travel. I'd often take in my surroundings like a tourist probably more actively than many other pro cyclists, much to the dismay of sports directors who would prefer me be in bed 16 hours per day rather than strolling foreign city streets. Timmy Duggan and I were two peas in a pod in that regard which was great when we were both teammates and better yet, roommates at races and camps. That all said, it was still the macro -- eat, sleep, ride -- that received the most focus for a decade of my life. I could only do that so much before stir-craziness sets in.I look back at my schedule and it appears that I haven't done anything since the last iamtedking entry which was People For Bikes' Ride on Atlanta. Don't fret loyal readers, I've been nothing but busy. Let's look back.Jim is back in the office, so with everyone else out of the office for the day, he and I took a stroll down the main thoroughfare through Sausalito and partook in our first ever caviar bumps. Why? Because I'm like a mosquito to light when I see a Free Sample sign beckoning us.Above is actually smoked roe. Below is true, sturgeon caviar. Albeit out of focus.I was lucky enough to score tickets with my friends at Adobe for the Giants opening game. As a Red Sox fan, I figure I can have a favorite National League team too, and why not make it my new hometown Giants. Plus I'm partial to orange.A few early morning rides took place so that I could optimize office time later in the day.Hill 88 is particularly worth while since you first earn it with some hard pedaling, there's never any traffic, and upon arrival at the summit you're treated to an apocalyptic scene reminiscent of  Area 51.One particular damp Saturday morning, I discovered that my obligations were light from 9am-3pm, so rather than the standard two hour group ride, Adriano and I turned it into a six hour pilgrimage for cinnamon buns. Don't be deceived by this photo, it was actually pouring down rain the entire day. But we had a blast all the same.And clearly still worth the time in the saddle.But look, truth be told, my life is not just riding bikes and downing cinnamon buns. In addition to maintaining relationships with all my spectacular sponsors, a huge portion of the past month has been prepping for Sea Otter. This was our first foray into the expo world with UnTapped and it was OUTSTANDING. Yup, caps-lock and all. As it turns out you don't just deploy your tent, hang your shingle, and call yourself established. Nay friends, there's paperwork galore, certifications out the wazoo especially when you're sampling food, designing clothing, tents, softgoods, and the like, in addition to coordinating getting it all from points A (Vermont) and B (FedEx receiving station) to C (SFO to pick up our loyal intern Zach) and ultimately to D (outside of Monterey, CA for the show).Buuuut when it all comes together, it's ear to ear grins all around! Here I am hanging with our intern Zach, fresh from VT.Jeff, below, raises an early morning toast to maple and waffles and all things delicious. Coffee too -- especially coffee with any sort of milk in it, ideally a latte -- is complimented deliciously with UnTapped maple syrup. Trust me, it was an enormous hit given our proximity to 10 Speed Coffee at Sea Otter.A variety of our wares, both edible and non:And here I am, hard at work. Four straight days of this, we sampled the delicious and organic Maple Waffles and UnTapped maple packets, discussing the vast nuances of all natural UnTapped versus #FakeMaple, and just helped spread the good news of UnTapped. It was a unanimous hit with plenty of entertaining conversations with our growing following. They don't call me the Pied Piper of Maple for nothing.There was also a SRAM Open The Road day, which featured all the 1x and Hydro disc brake goodness SRAM is offering to the  market which opens up a whole world of riding opportunities. To boot, there was an elegant feast at the finish.Better yet, some very crafty folks discovered that bourbon and UnTapped make a fantastic 1-2 combo. My recommended recipe? Pour 2-3 fingers of your second favorite boubon with 1 packet of UnTapped, neat or on a single rock. Don't stir. If you're young and have no patience, remove the ice cube and shoot it. The heat of the bourbon is quickly quenched by the sweet maple syrup. Or if you're more matured and enjoy sipping, then do so tastefully. Drink responsibly and only if you're 21.Another day I hosted a morning with FitBit. I'm new to the world of FitBit, but now three weeks into using my Surge, I love it. After spending a career over-analyzing data, power, and very specific metrics particular to the world of cycling to squeeze out another 1% of 1% greater performance, I now appreciate the holistic approach to health. Sleep metrics, how generally active I am, an trends in heart rate speak volumes, all measured on FitBit. I love it.Turns out the riding in Monterey is pretty spectacular, especially at dawn.The one and only Brian Worthy is always worthy of a Worthy sighting.And you know that UnTapped is worthy of a Worthy visit, since he came back on many occasions and downed more and more maple. In fact, he went all in with the gallon.  Come on, how could you say no to this? Maple syrup naturally cooked into a waffle to fuel your morning, your ride, your run, your entire day.Also had the pleasure to host popUp rides throughout the week and here is the one and only Jordan Boone Bernstein on the final day's outing. No, not the bear, this is JordanBoonedocks from the internet.We were supposed to wake up to the headline, "Ted King Comes Out of Retirement to Race First Ever eMountain Bike Race!" The swank whip from Cannondale shipped from Germany, but arrived 2 hours after the race. Soooo now I just have an eMTB. Just in case anyone wants to race.I have trips with SRAM to Colorado, inGamba to Italy, and the Dirty Kanza on the near horizon. I head to the Bottega Gran Fondo today for a long weekend with inGamba. And that's just the next few weeks. I think I need to stop using the word retired. I'm going to start referring to it as career 2.0, cycling evangelist. *This expression doesn't actually make sense, because the stratosphere exists 32 miles above the earth, above the troposphere and below the mesosphere; not at "the 30,000 foot view" as I mentioned. Please comment "I DID" if you made it this far into the blog to read this asterisk.