You Know What's Weird?

Answer:  daily blog updates.  It just occurred to me that it isn't weird at all that I've not updated this thing since the beginning of the "off" season for us (otherwise known as Summer, but we have two 3 1/2 year olds, so...you know).  Yes, I have plenty about which to complain every day, but whether that would be a good thing is a different matter.

I have a friend that looks at BikeSnob's blog at least a few days a week.  I'm a fan of the same blog, so don't misunderstand, but I think too much attention to such ramblings can exacerbate existing feelings about our clientele that are less than positive.  As I've come to relate to a few customers of late, our business is one that rarely suffers from a lack of people through the door.  This might sound like a good scenario;  it is...in a world in which one is afforded an abundance of uninterrupted minutes with which to engage every person we encounter.  However, we, like many, are overworked.  We are not overworked in a normal way.  We are not expected to get 15 tune-ups done each day or anything like that.  Our workload is engorged by the overwhelming urge so many have to continue to vocally excrete themselves.  I suppose some of this has to do with justifying the fact that they just got in a car and drove a few miles to dump a better form of transportation on us that they will barely use even after we work our magic and make a pile of rubbish into something useful.  It's kind of like how I feel about why people are on their phones and in their screens so much.  They think they need to use them to justify spending the $100 a month.

Anyway, the point is that too much negativity just spawns more of the same, and, while I appreciate the BikeSnob's contributions (I really do), I also appreciate that reading that stuff at work just elevates my already above-average anger level at the communication skills of the average person in this country.  You honestly cannot appreciate the level of condescension and interruption that occurs in such an environment, but just knowing that we have several islands full of American Taliban in our midst that think $1500 in property tax on a $300K home is grounds for physical violence (of the "hurt you from a distance with my weapon sort") might help get you closer.

It is now a couple of months since I began this post, but I see an intrepid friend has made a comment, and that makes me happy to saddle up, since I'm regaining a little of my time, lately.  I'm on a 4 x 10 schedule, now, at the shop, so things are looking up.

Election, huh?  I don't even know where to start.  Neither of these clowns has my actual (as opposed to my symbolic) support, but I'm sure I'll be voting for Obama.  I enjoyed the recent comparison I heard about electing a president or a boss (I think it was a columnist/author for the New Yorker, but I could be mistaken) after one of the debates.  Though there is nearly nothing as banal as post-debate commentary, I was just too lazy to change the channel, I suppose.  The really sad part of all of this crap is that no matter how poor the next administration is at getting real things done, we've officially entered the era of blaming it on the last/other guy.  The last four years has turned obstructionism and finger-pointing into an art, so there is no reason to expect anything different in the next four.  No wonder Romney started the debates by promising the world!  He can just point to the congress and say, "Take it up with them."  If Obama STILL doesn't make anything universally beneficial happen, he can say the same.  What a golden age for those that say they want a reduction of the very system that is their livelihood...fucking idiots.  How many times must a Kucinich present himself to you morons before you all get that there are still REAL people in this world that actually want what is best for the most?!?

Speaking of what is best for others, I feel I must comment on something I heard at the gym, today.  The lady that does the kid fitness thing asked if it would be okay if the girls had a donut.  Let alone the fact that somebody at a gym is offering a donut to a 4 year old (not a typical gesture), but focus on the comment a bystander made..."Oh, just let 'em have one."  This was offered after I said I guess it'd be fine if they split one.  Does this person think the girls are mistreated if they don't get to eat such garbage?  Doesn't the comment imply that I am stingy about rewards with my children?  It just seems indicative of how other people can't resist implanting themselves in the lives/cultures of other people, and I guess I'm still surprised by such things.

Which reminds me of a funny story...I'm at the bank the other day, and some lady is having trouble with an ATM withdrawal at the bank, which is not where she has an account, mind you.  She's acting as she's been affronted and put out.  The prelude to this exhibit was the Romney/Ryan sticker on the car in the parking lot I rode by on the way to the front door...yeah, the same one with the Tibetan flag on the front license plate.  So, the red dwarf is pulsing with heat energy when her bratwurst of a beau hits the front door, asking of the problem.  He notes that he watched them "count it three times," whatever "it" was and that HE knows how everything should be going down.  If only he ran that bank, right?  In fact, if only Romney/Ryan ran this country...which is why I noted on my ride out of the parking lot that once those guys are in charge, there will be no such worries, because they'll take care of everything and life will be free of such frustrations.  I just got a confused look that almost certainly morphed into rage once I was a few hundred meters away.

Enjoy the latest Neely amusement (latest for me, anyway...I don't have the time to drop in on this stuff all the time...I just pull something up every now and then):

Professor Brothers-Date

Went to see Maps and Atlases in Asheville the other night.  Absolutely one of the best bands I've ever had the good fortune to run across.  Please, all, let us take up our hymn books and sing the praise of
Israeli Caves
Solid Ground
Living Decoration

White Denim are a bunch of really talented guys, but, unfortunately for them, the world doesn't even need one Widespread Panic or Dave Matthews.  These two tunes don't, however, fit into that slime mold and rock pretty freaking solidly
Shake Shake Shake
I Start to Run

Oh, and Suttree by McCarthy...yet another indication that he is not Faulkner, but that the latter was a time traveler that took what little he learned of this giant and brought it back to his era for the purposes of getting laid and seeming confusing, hence talented, to masses of wealthy rednecks.  Thanks for the reference on that one, Adam, and thanks for the McCarthy line, in general, Bobby Fin.

Love you all...now feast your eyes on what is, officially, on the way...

Icon

...carbon be damned.

A Ride is a Ride

So, the plan was to drive to Ocala, get a hotel, and get to the race by 8am to confirm our registration. None of that happened. The girls were sick this week, with Tillie getting to a 102.5 fever one day and Delia coughing and waking me up for the past 4 or 5 nights in a row. Matt, my teammate, and the shop owner, was running late on Friday, so I knew we wouldn't make it to ride the course before the race, but I thought we might just pull it off in the last minute. We did not, but we did run up to FATS for a 4 hour run this morning, so I don't feel as worthless as I would have, otherwise.

As always, I wrote that first paragraph months ago.  Between work and my family, I just don't find the time to update this thing very frequently.  I've come to accept this, however, and I've lost the guilt that I used to feel when I didn't stay up with it.  It comes down to my aversion to "connectedness," I suspect.  Ironically, I feel like the more I see the majority of the population trying to minimize the awkward pauses in their life conversations, the more I want to run away from it.

I did just that and finally went to see Adam in Costa Rica.  He lives up the mountains from San Jose, so we were close enough to walk up into some nicely forested areas and even get lost one night while wandering around listening for goatsuckers and owls.  The location also put us comfortably distant from the terrible air quality of that whole San Jose metro area.  Thankfully, Adam is still into our "thing" (meandering...silently, for the most part...usually getting lost in the process), and we had some really good centering times among the flora and fauna of the wet mountain forests of the central mountains and the Caribbean coast at Cahuita.  Here are some photographs from the trip:

There were so many things that were new to me down there that it isn't even worth trying to post more than this.  I wouldn't do it justice, even with the 100 or so pics I snapped on Adam's camera.  Life is everywhere there (bromeliads commonly seen growing upon power/telephone lines), which makes it all the more depressing to witness the black runoff in the streets and the palpable smog that seems perpetual in the skies above most of that area.  I did see more bicycles than one would think, especially considering the total lack of street names and the Tron-like traffic buzzing about the horribly-maintained roads.  Almost all of them were MTB's, but I did spy a few "off" roadies.  There was even one Blue, which seemed a sore thumb among all the Trek-bikes and Specialized rigs.

Which reminds me of a recent oddity from the shop...Nearly every Trek-bike owner lets us know that they have just that in the car and would like us to take a look or repair.  It makes me wonder if Trek is known for toasters in Thailand or recliners in Russia.  To all Trek owners that may stumble here...I have nothing against your brand, but drop the "bike" part in your shop...they know you're not bringing them a television for service.

So, I also just completed my first triathlon and nabbed 4th in my age class.  I must say that if I'd prepared for it a little more, I'm sure I could've won, but that wasn't my intention.  The shop owner sponsored the series, so we got free slots for each one.  He wanted us to participate, and I'm glad I did.  I had a good time with it, chatting up the people I was passing (making jokes, commending those on less-than-feather-weight rigs, etc.), and it was a nice change from my comfort zone of commute and group ride regularity.  I think it did a little to help me understand those peculiar critters that are triathletes, too.  I can see how one would get hung on such a sport.  It really is kind of fun, but I just don't have the inclination to trade what little free time I have for even more physical exertion.  I already feel dead by the time 10pm rolls around each night.  Besides, I've seen what happens with the children of competitive triathletes, and they don't seem very happy or normal.

This last item brings to mind Grant Petersen's new book, "Just Ride."  He makes some really great points in it, and it is completely worth your time to read what he's gleaned after all these years.  My only gripe is the dualistic racer vs. non-racer thing he presents, since I fall squarely in the middle of it most of the time.  In fact, I went back to toe cages and straps for the sprint partly because of his influence (though, it just seemed dumb to me to change shoes twice in such a short event).  Full disclosure:  I put the clipless back on for last night's ride and felt way better...placebo or not.

The girls are in a pretty big rut, lately.  There's way too much whining, possessiveness, and associated aggravating behavior, but I have to blame that on their classmates (they are, after all, carrying the burden of being December babies, so their "peers" are younger).  I also get the impression that many of their cohorts have parents that communicate "at" them, rather than communicating "with" them (with consequent backsliding and compromising on disciplinary positions from the looks of it).  On the other hand, the girls are making pretty big strides in vocabulary and speech, in general.  They're also riding their balance bikes with great skill, at this point, so it's nearly time for some helmets and pedals.  We're taking this activity slowly, since I really don't want to force my perspective on them.  I'd rather let them ease into it and be riding with me well into my old age.

We also "caught" (picked up might be another way of putting this) a black swallowtail a couple of weeks ago, so there's a chrysalis on the kitchen counter, right now, that'll soon be a beautiful butterfly that they can then release in the backyard.  Between insect pets and the many citrus seedlings for which they are responsible, we're hoping the puppy thing can wait.

I haven't seen much on the video front, lately, but there are a couple of things that are worth putting on here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNKe0idF7EM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YI7Oq8y-jXA

My goodness...how time evaporates.  It is now nearly July, and I feel like I wrote the rest of what is above months ago...oh, that's because I did.  

Lots to say, but think I should probably get this post up and think about starting a new one, since things are going to be changing for the next few months with Andree home.