Life in the way...

It has been quite awhile since I posted anything here, but I swear I have had a pretty busy schedule and have not just been a slack motherfucker.



Everyone is aware of the economic shithole America is in, however oddly my work has been busy or busier than ever. Dentistry was one of only two professions in 2008 that remained profitable. Our staff decreased in size, but our work load really has not. No complaints, but it means many long hours.

When I am not at work 5.5 days a week 9-10+hours a day, I try to spend some QT with my lil' guy who is now over 7 mos old. No, neither my wife or I have gotten much sleep since his arrival; yes, we are nutz about him and yes, we like being parents, but don't always like doing it. The PC-minions out there would likely feel such a statement means that we are bad parents b/c we aren't overjoyed by every aspect of having a new child. My wife and I have careers and want to work as well as many pastimes we are passionate about. I have never given a rat's ass about being PC, so a big fuck U to anyone who wants to point fingers. Usually, by the time we have gotten Sam off to sleep, fed ourselves, walked and fed the dogs and tried to clean up the place its getting into the 10-11 PM range. Sam wakes up b/t 5-6 AM and we have to get up to get ready for work around then too. Unfortunately Sam still occasionally wakes in the middle of the night and is not always easily coaxed back to sleep. I am not bitching here; just stating facts.

The above conditions have put our spare time at a minimum. I still try to at least get in one solid multi-hour trail ride each weekend and I ride to work 2-4 days a week, but the days of several weekend rides and after work rides seem a distant memory. My music endeavors went on hiatus as Sam's arrival loomed last year. I am looking into new possibilities now, but it is slow going. I did purchase a nice gizmo for cataloging the noises in my head, but I have yet to hunker down to really use it yet. I am trying to be optimistic, but that is a challenge being a generally cynical character.

There are somethings I have been pleased with regarding my avocations. As you can see I updated title photo and for the observant ones out you'll notice that all of the bikes are sporting Rock Shox forks. This is quite a change for me as less than 6 years ago I would not have run any Rock Shox fork if you paid me. However, I now believe that they make the best forks out there with the most reliable and efficient tuning system available. Rock Shox put out some real crap prior to bike mega-corp SRAM purchasing them, but the have turned around 180 degrees becoming industry leaders with top racers/riders the world over rocking their products. SRAM has something besides money that is huge...great customer service and this has allowed even a few miss steps to be overlooked.

Speaking of service, I used do my own fork repair and rebuild work, however the aforementioned time constraints have made me seek out a 3rd party to do this as I would rather ride than tinker. I came across Suspension EXperts out of Asheville, NC a few months back and cannot recommend them more highly. They know their stuff, they work on every brand of fork or shock out there and their customer service is fantastic. I had them do rebuilds and some minor tweaks on my Rock Shox Lyrik and Recon (on my Nomad and Spot respectively) and the ride is terrific. Check 'em out. Keep the rubber down and try not to let life get in the way.