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I love the quote that goes something like: "All the worlds greatest artists are theives and magpies." I do not know who said it, but it applies here and to many blogs for sure. I lifted the above from another of my favorites www.howtoavoidthebummerlife.com. Kick ass site and kick ass clothing.
I was totally tweaked and pissed yesterday upon getting in from my morning commute from the morons that give me about 2 inches of space when they pass me. Granted a miss is as good as a mile, but it sure can be un-nerving. My more angry rebellious side wants to catch up to these a-holes and throw something at them or scathe them with some choice salty discourse. However, I actually realise that is pointless and likely will bring more harm my way, which as a family character that I have become is not such a good idea. I found lotsa good stuff on this site that made me feel better; check it out www.commutebybike.com.
I hope to check out some local noise this weekend at the Taphouse http://www.myspace.com/thetaphouse w/ hometown heroes The Candysnatchers and NY band The Electric Shadows. Maybe do some schmoozing for jack leg too. Ten quidado la mano cornuda!
It is crazy for me to think that this record came out just over 25 years ago. I was a spiky-haired high school creep that loved hardcore punk and skateboarding and these guys were amongst the pantheon of bands that blasted out the soundtrack to my surly world. At that time you were pretty much hated for liking this kind of music; many of my pals back then got hassled and occasionally beat up for going down this path. I had plenty of people talk shit to me, but I was already a pretty big guy so rarely did anyone try to fight me. I could have never have guessed how much influence the music and scene would have on me however I still do my own thing be it musically, vocationally, or with sporting interests.
The title of this album has always rung true for me; nothing lasts forever. I once heard a saying regarding my profession and health care in general that states that any procedure or service performed has only two outcomes. It fails or the patient dies. While that seems morbid, it is so true. It amazing to me how well most medical and dental work does do considering just how harsh an environment (your body) it is subjected to. Routine wear and tear should never be covered by warranties. There are many situations that are way beyond that and somehow they manage to hold up.
This brings me to tonight's point. As long I have been into aggressive sports such as skateboarding and the mountain biking I have taxed the tools of the trade to early failures. I have been on the Clydesdale side of the spectrum since high school so just my weight alone puts more than average fatigue on any given item. I have and always will ride aggressively; now I am not a total flying brick, but I am no ballerina either. I usually do not choose the smoothest of options, lines or landings mostly because its fun; sometimes because I just am sketchy. I broke tons of skateboards and then every bike part under the sun. I was very happy with influx of freeride-based components in mountain biking simply because I was not demolishing parts as rapidly as before. I still manage to burn up plenty of stuff yearly; I consider bottom brackets, and drivetrains disposable. Last year I went through two bottom brackets, two drivetrains (chainrings, chain and cassette), around a dozen sets of brake pads (worn to the metal, thank you), two and a half tire sets, a set of shifter cables, two sets of grips, two saddles, one crankset, one set of blown fork seals, and a pile of tubes. This is pretty normal for me and I have had many years that possessed higher tallies. Now and then I break something that most say is "indestructible" or "the most bullet-proof/bomb-proof". Unfortunately this has happened to me on three occasions with the same company. I am disappointed mostly because I think they are a good company and they make nice "Made-in-the-USA" stuff. Hell, they are from Georgia and I really would otherwise want to run their parts. I speak of L.H.Thomson whose seatposts and stems are in many peoples eyes right up there with Chris King headsets in their design and durability. I of course like everything else found away to destroy their stuff too. I stopped running their seatposts awhile back after cracking two of them and bending a third. They warrantied the first two; I did not bother with the third and just chose to run something else. Today as I was getting ready to ride home I found that my face plate of my Thomson stem had a crack. (see picture)
I am not mad as this stem is probably four years old purchased used and has been seriously thrashed. I will likely procure a replacement and laugh it off. Everything Falls Apart. No kidding!
Richmond today was a BLAST! The weather was ideal riding weather (partly sunny, mid-50's) and the trails were in fantastic shape. I love when it has rained just more than 24 hours prior to a ride. The slop is usually dried up by that point and the traction is perfect. Met up with DJ and his friends D and A. We did the whole shebang at the James River State Park. This has to be one of the best city located rides in the nation; it was featured in Dirt Rag maybe a couple years ago. It is both a good work out with some short, but lung-burning climbs and plenty of technical trail features or "TTF's" as the hipsters say (the PC way of referring to stunts or obstacles that could cause bodily harm). I stopped and snapped this nice shot of DJ blazing down one of the many TTF's to be found. 
The first thing I noticed upon getting out my camera in parking lot was this boxcar perched above on the trestle with this prophetic graffiti. Each item was represented during the ride. Talk amongst yourselves if you think there is any deeper meanings here. Not likely, but you make the call.
The fact that this trail system is in the middle of the city to me is badazz. It just goes to show whats possible when a group that many might think are miscreants, kids, or both get together and make something like this happen. The local chapter of MORE http://www.richmond-more.org/home/ works on this and other trails in the region all the time. They are seriously dedicated to keeping mountain biking on the map. This a dream for me to have a user group like this in southeast Hampton Roads. We have the EVMA, but their focus is across the bay in Hampton Williamsburg and Newport News. Granted we have very little in elevation down here, but that never stopped anyone especially those groups in Florida. I will keep commuting up across the bay to those places and RVa for now. Phew, I am beat.
I have never been one to get many hours of sleep at one time. If I get more than 5 hrs at clip that's usually good. I was up what seemed like every 1.5-2 hrs last night. I dunno why perhaps having to pee, having the hounds walk on me and asking to go out or just not being able to turn off my brain. Today I felt like a zombie/automaton. Everything I did went fine, but I felt disconnected. My band (jack leg-more on this to come) has practice for the first time in what seems like forever. We are gonna try a bass player out as it may allow us to loosen up some. I like being a three-piece, but you really gotta be on or not give a crap to pull it off. I guess we care a little bit despite our monumental slackness. Maybe I will get a wink or two after my ears get destroyed. Going to ride up in RVa on Saturday. Proabably will be sloppy, but fun.
So here it goes. I will write about bikes, music, work whatever. Its my damn blog so there. Feel free to stop by say howdy, send love or hate and anything in between.
I just got in from doing a few rounds over at the only trails on the Toadwater south side collectively known as Ipswitch. Although the actual trails are in Indian River Park they have been known as "Ipswitch" forever since the sign for the surrounding neighborhood subdivision is at the main trail head. I probably first rode the 'Switch nearly twenty years ago sometime around the end of college or just as I finished. The trails have not changed all that much as a whole, however every time I ride there, which is like maybe once a month I find something new added. Read all about it here: http://trails.mtbr.com/cat/united-states-trails/trails-virginia/trail/PRD_170767_4585crx.aspx Today Bobasaki and myself really grooved on several way cool bridge sections that have been added on the west side of the park. These are in the vein of most elevated sections that were made popular originally on the North Shore of Vancouver, BC over ten years ago and have become routine additions on trails world wide. I spoke to the cat who put them up and thanked him profusely for his efforts. Maybe I will make an attempt to help out. This could be interesting as like most of those of my heritage I am not so terrific with tools. We'll see.
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