Fun Friday

I skipped a lot of days this week.  Well, most of them actually.  Who gives a shit.  I've been busy with work, which I guess is a good thing.  I like my job and all that, and I'm pretty good at it.  Sometimes though, I can't handle work responsibilities and trying to squeeze in this blog.

I'm actually doing well with the work thing.  I've been in the same profession for something like twenty six years now (I started young back in my Army days.)  Other than the fact that I may be getting burned out/need a career change/going through a mid-life crisis, I'm handling it quite well.  It's all good I guess.

Maybe we all just need  a little motivation:

I'm not here to complain though, even though I'm probably doing it anyway.  It might be the weekend, but I get to be "on call" for work.  It kinda sucks because I can't really make any plans.  Will I get on my bike over the next few days?  Mebbe.

Hopefully it's not just on this shit though:

It is what it is though.  If that's the only ride I get in, so be it.  I have some other things to do, which mostly involve auto mechanic type stuff.  I'll stay busy, but bike stuff might be at a minimum.  Hopefully I can make it out to the short track for some heckling.  I'll do some work as needed and cram in some fun whenever I can.

That's how we roll around here at B-43.

Oh yeah, it's Fun Friday.  Have a little more funny or some shit like that.

I'll see y'all next week sometime if I have anything fun to talk about.  Or even if I don't

Fun Friday

I almost forgot that today was Friday.  Since I’ve been skipping a few days a week on ye olde blog, I guess that’s easy to do.  Also, I have another “thing” going on that has me a little preoccupied.

I know I’ve mentioned how unhappy I’ve been with a recent career move.  I’ve had enough, and it’s time to move on. 

It’s not me, it’s them.

And that’s all I need to say about it, other than the fact that I’m gonna have a little bit of time off here shortly.  I think a trip down to The Sunshine State is is my future.  Details soon.

So, what are you up to this weekend?  It’s beautiful here, so my plan is to be outside.  Mountain bicycling is definitely on the agenda, and the little lady will join me this time.  I’m sure I’ll have pictures and junk next week.  In the meantime, I’ll stick with my usual Fun Friday theme and post a few photos I have of things that might make you chuckle.

Okay, funny enough.  However, sometimes I like to stay up with current events.  I heard on the news this morning that that formally fat guy that got skinny from eating sandwiches was sentenced to prison.  You know the story.  Well, here’s my take on it.

And that’s it for the “news” segment.  Are you offended?  Who gives a shit.  I’m pretty damn happy right now. 

See y’all Monday.

Don’t You (Forget About Me)

Blogging has come to a screeching halt around here.  I started out missing a day or two; next thing you know it was a little better than sporadic.  Now I’m barely even here.  Some of you have asked me about it, and some could not care less.  Who gives a shit.

I’ve said it before, but this new job is ruining my fun.  I have very little free time, and when I do I’m too tired (or frustrated, unmotivated, etc.) to do anything.  I barely ride my bike anymore, and as each day passes I wonder if I’ll want to again.

I hardly even play guitar either.

I took that photo last week, on the 45^th anniversary of the death of Jimi Hendrix.  As tired and worn out as I was from work, I still managed to play a few licks.  It’s the little things I guess.

Fortunately, I’ve had plenty of time to drink beer.  And lucky for me, Little Miss Sunshine is taking care of me in that department.  She brings me the good shit.

THUN-DAH!

I can’t enjoy bikes or guitars lately, but beer is always there to soothe me.  The little lady recently returned from a trip to damn near Canada, and in a land of shitty beer she managed to grab some good stuff while no one was looking.

Quite honestly, no one there had no idea what it was.  But I do.

Beer is good, but it’s not the answer to my problems.  And before you ask, no, I don’t have a problem with the beer.  I always drink it (and enjoy the good stuff ), but right now it seems to be the only hobby I have time to partake in.  Things will get better, so I’ll try not to bitch about it too much.  I took a step backwards career-wise, and right now I have to deal with it until something else comes along. 

As for now, I don’t know what to do.  I feel like writing some shit here every day is like therapy, and without it I’m turning more and more anti-social.  I’ve been invited to hang out in social settings and rides and I keep saying no.  Eventually, people will stop asking.  Maybe that’s what I want.

And maybe that’s why my better half brought this new doormat home a few days ago.

As much as I want to pull the plug on this blog, I won’t.  When I started writing, I did it like no one was reading it.  Since then, lots of people are reading it but I have no idea why.  If you enjoy it, thanks.  If you don’t, thanks for that too. 

Where am I going with this?  Nowhere as usual.  I’ll be here when I can, and hopefully when things get better it will be a little more on the regular.  By that time though, all blogs will be dead.

Like they pretty much are anyway.

Fun Friday

It’s been one of those kinda weeks…

Work has been pretty lame.  That’s one reason I keep missing blogging days.  It’s sucking my will to live.  No matter hard hard I try, it’s kinda like I’m dealing with people that all have the same problem.

Srsly.

Anyway, the good news is, the weekend is here.  Fun Friday is back, which is my way of trying to put myself (and hopefully you) in a good mood to finish off the week.  I find funny stuff on The Internets and share it here just to get a laugh.  Sometimes I’m the only one laughing, but…

Who gives a shit.

Here’s one that makes me giggle:

So yeah, the weekend forecast work-wise for me looks bleak.  I’m on call, which may or may not mean I get to ride my bike.  I hope I get to ride, and I hope it’s fun.

The way things are going though, I wouldn’t be surprised if something goes wrong there too.

See y’all Monday.  Have a good weekend and all that.

Fun Friday

The weekend is here again.  Time to go out and get rad.

I’m on call for work though, so I’m not sure how rad I can get.  Most likely I’ll be riding inside tomorrow morning at TotalCyclist, and maybe later getting out on some trails close to home. 

It sucks, but that’s the way it is.

Speaking of work, I found something weird on The Internets (yes, really.)  Actually, it was a suggestion on Facetimesuck which dared me to click on it.  I was not disappoint with what I found.

Dress sweatpants?

You know, when you get all fancy for your office job yet want to be active at the same time.

I hate you, The Internets.

The real issue here? People probably actually buy that stuff.  If you make it, there will be a market for it.  Maybe I’m just jelly that I didn’t think of it first.

Pffffttt.

Fancy pants.

See y’all next week with tales of cycling, beer, and relaxing.

Maybe.

Work Work Work…

I skipped yesterday.  I do that from time to time.  I almost skipped today too, and I’m still not sure why I didn’t.  It’s not like I need to be here.

But I am.

I like this blog stuff.  People read it, some tell me they like it (or hate it), and it helps me keep track of what I’ve done or even vent a little.  Besides, I feel like I’m doing a public service by giving people something to read while they sit on the toilet in the morning.  I know that’s my prime blog reading time, so it must be yours, right?

Anyway, this week has been hell with work stuff.  Being on call isn’t usually too bad but for some reason I’ve had just about all I can handle the past few days.  On our Tuesday Social Ride da udda night, we had a pretty big crowd.  We turned on our lights and hit the trail.  The group stayed together pretty well for being so large, and we finished lap one ready for more.  I had to go to work though. 

I left while the rest of the gang kept riding.  My plan was to meet them at a local watering hole after I finished my work.  It was a great plan, since I made it to the restaurant just minutes before the group did.  We ate, shot the shit and all that, and I had to go into work again.

Shit.

This isn’t really a whiny pants fest or anything I guess.  I’ll just be glad when I am free of this after hours stuff (tomorrow morning) and can get back to wasting time on my own in the evenings.  The stress is really getting to me, mostly because it’s cutting into my bike time.  Luckily I’m able to squeeze in another stress reliever though…

Music.

My guitar room (that sounds weird) is centrally located in the house, so it’s easy to take a few minutes a play a little bit.  Our new puppy, Carl, likes to follow me around the house and really likes it when I play music.  It seems to help me relax a little bit, and it definitely helps him.

At least I have something to keep me from going bat shit crazy.

There will be none of that fun shit tonight.  I have to stay really late, possibly putting in a sixteen hour day.  I’m on a project right now that’s nearly over, but it would’ve been over much sooner if I had some help.  Instead, I’m working late into the night because during the day I get to see my coworkers read books, take naps, and be pretty much worthless. 

I can’t wait to hang out with some bike people.  Or Carl again.

One more day…

Work Gets In The Way

Being “on call” for work has cramped my style the last few days.  Yeah, it pays the bills and all that but I hate having to try to squeeze in rides here and there.  I make plans, and a lot of times they fall through.  Sunday was more of the same.  Since I’ve started “training” for next “season”, a Sunday morning long-ish road ride has become the standard.  It’s sorta fun, and it gets me out on the bike for some good mileage before I sit around all day and watch foosball on TV. 

I woke up early Sunday morning, took care of the dogs and cats, and got my shit together to head out on the road.  Suddenly, work calls.  Since I knew I couldn’t fix the issue remotely and had to go on site to one of our facilities, I loaded my road bike on the truck and made a plan to ride when I finished working.  Once I got there, things took a little longer than expected, but I still had time for a ride.  I was near the Huntersville Business Park (you locals know what I’m talking about), and the decision was made to ride a few laps in there to spin my legs.  People around here ride the shit outta that place.  On any given day, it’s full of roadies running pacelines, calling shit out to each other, and trying their best to beat the Strava times of everyone else in the area. 

I did one lap around and I was ready to punch myself in the balls.  I don’t know how they do it.  I think it’s the most painfully boring thing you can do on a bike aside from riding a trainer.  I made the easy decision to head out on the open road, which wouldn’t have me riding in circles.

It was a really beautiful day, and not being stuck in the business park made my ride somewhat enjoyable.  Slightly cool, (mostly) empty roads, and hilly terrain kept me moving along at a nice pace.  I eventually rolled up to a red light, and while I waited I spotted another roadie directly across from me.  He nodded, and when the light turned green he took off in the direction I’d planned to go.  I saw that as a challenge so I took off after him. 

I was gaining on him steadily while he looked back, and eventually I got enough momentum to fly by him.  I waved as I went by and he didn’t seem too pleased.  He tried to keep up, but I pushed it with everything I had to keep him at bay.  I was struggling to get away, but it was working.  My heart rate ramped up to nearly 200 bpm, and after a series of climbs and downhills I no longer saw him behind me.  Big deal.

It was fun, but more importantly it kept me motivated to make the most of my ride.  Sometimes when I ride on the road I tend to slow down and stare off into the fields and trees as I pass by, forgetting that I’m trying to “train.”  Having someone to chase makes it more fun, and the same holds true when I see someone gaining on me. 

Maybe I should start riding with a group, instead of being the Lone Roadie.

Or maybe I should start riding in the woods more on Sunday mornings.

At least I’m riding.

Fun Friday

As if Mini Kiss wasn’t fun enough yesterday, right?

Anyway, I’m on call again for work this weekend.  It sucks, since it’s a holiday and all that but that’s how it goes sometimes. 

You know what the good thing is?  I don’t have to worry about other people’s plans.

Will I get into some adventures this weekend that involve mountain bikes?

Probably.  I usually get to ride even if I end up working a little bit.  I have some tentative riding plans now, so we’ll see if I can stick to them.  I also have sorta solid plans to watch a friend’s band play and even a beer tasting.

That’s an awful lot of shit to do with the threat of work lingering.

I do what I want.  Who gives a shit.

See y’all Tuesday.  You know, because Monday is the holiday and all that.

Don’t You…

Forget about me.

Sorry if you missed me while I was gone.  I know, you didn’t.  But if you did, I didn’t mean to be gone so long.  I had to spend the weekend in a hospital.

It’s not what you think though.  Remember that big project at work that’s been kicking my ass?  Well, it’s almost over.  We switched over to a new phone system at one of our hospitals, and I spent all night Friday and all day Saturday getting things to work.  I was back on site first thing yesterday morning, which gave me no time to blog.  So anyway, I’m back.

What did you miss?

Well, I went on The Ride Formally Known as The Mayor’s Ride on Friday morning.  Different name, same great ride, same great breakfast.

The weather was a little iffy, so the turnout was a bit low.

That didn’t stop Lunchbox from showing up as usual, and this time he got to ride with some other fixie types, namely Dicky and Kurt from Faster Mustache.

The destination was a little different this year though.  Instead of rolling right into the middle of the city, we ended up at the Government Center.

They have some weird shit up there.

As usual, Neal Boyd did all the announcing, and introduced us to many people of importance here in Charlotte that dig us cycling folks.  It was a great way to spend the morning, and I’m always happy to skip out of work to attend.  Lunchbox usually likes to go back to school afterwards, but this time he opted to stay home.  Since I had to work that night for my project, I told him I was gonna take a short nap.  We planned to hang out later, but I ended up sleeping for almost six hours.

Damn, I guess I was tired.  To be honest, I was still recovering from being sick.  I didn’t think I’d get a chance to sleep so much, but I’m glad I did.  Things are finally getting back to normal around here. 

Maybe that means I’ll get back to riding my bike soon.

See you tomorrow.  For sure this time.

I Should Take A Day Off

I’ve been working like a mad man at my real job lately. Putting in long hours, which includes a really long commute each day. I’ve been working down in the nether regions of South Carolina, and driving back and forth each day is wearing me the hell out. I’ve actually dozed off at the wheel a couple of times the last few days. That’s not good, I know.


You know the worst part of it? My commute is halfway to the NC mountains (I usually take I85 south to I26.) Once I cross into SC, I can see those mountains and it pisses me off. It’s like they’re teasing me. I really need to get my ass back out there but every day I have to stop and do work. It pays the bills and all that, but I need to have a little free time.


Extra hours, long drives, and shitty weather has kept me off the bike for a while, and that shit needs to change before something bad happens. Right now, the only stress relief I have is the few minutes every once in a while that I get to play my guitar.

I forgot to mention that on Saturday, Good Guy Greg came over and put new strings on my guitar. I've never done it before, and he offered (he is a good guy, you know.) It was a pretty simple process, and it sounds so much better. Even though I can barely play the damn thing, I am getting better at it. I’ll be starting real lessons soon too. That outta be fun and/or stressful.


Back to riding. I talked to The Dirty Party Cycle da udda day, and we started trying to make some plans for this weekend. For the last couple of months, I’ve been trying to take my “new” Enduro™ for a ride in Pisgah. For some reason or another, the plans keep falling through. This weekend looks promising, but it might be cold as shit. Will I wuss out and stay inside all day Saturday to stay warm? Damn, I hope not. I can only strum the guitar so much.



Bikes are what keeps me sane. Well, riding them anyway. We’ll see if I actually do the next few days.

Busy With Other Stuff

Sorry about not being here yesterday.  I usually let y'all know if I’m taking a day off, but I didn’t really have a chance.  I had to leave for work a little earlier, and when I got there I was kinda busy.

You know, working.

What a mess.  I do like my job though (most of the time.)  Anyway, other than work, I finally got out for another ride on Tuesday and it was fun as usual.  Social pace, minimal mileage, and a few beers made for a good night.  Ah yes, beer.  I had plenty of choices too.

I like beer.  You know this.

It’s still not all about me though.  Since I’m the “bike guy” in my neighborhood,  a guy up the street asked if I could put together some bikes he bought for his kids for Christmas.  He offered to pay me in beer so of course I said yes.

So they’re not really bikes per se, since they came from a local big box store, but they have wheels, pedals, and all that stuff so it’s close enough.  I’m just happy that I’ll see a few more kids riding in the neighborhood.  Even though those bikes are more like toys it’s a start.

We all have to start somewhere.

This time of year is about doing stuff for others so I hear, and I was happy to do my neighbor a solid.  I have some more thoughts on the “holidays”, but I’ll save that for another time.  I have to get to work so I can go for a ride later.

So yeah, now it’s all about me again.

I Still Haven’t Decided

Sorry about yesterday.  I was gone, and I didn’t even tell you I wouldn’t be here.  I’d like to tell you that I was on some super secret training mission in the mountains to help with my decision to race this weekend, but sadly that wasn’t the case.  I was stuck doing my day job, which lasted until well past midnight last night.  To make a long story short and less boring, we had a phone system crash in one of our facilities early yesterday morning.  I spent over sixteen hours getting everything going again.

Not the best way to spend my day, but the money is good.  Now I guess I can start shopping for a crabon Niner fork without any guilt whatsoever.

Anyway, the race.  I don’t know if I want to race on Sunday, and I have lots of reasons.  I’m heading to the mountains tomorrow morning bright and early for a fun ride, but even at a social pace I still plan to do plenty of miles (and climbing.)  If I’m not too worn out when I wake up Sunday morning, I still have to decide if I’m racing or not.

Even then I’ll have to make yet another decision.

Gears or no gears.

The course at the whitewater park is pretty good I guess, but there is no need to have gears or suspension (just ask Eastwood.)  If I race in the single speed class, I’m guaranteed to be nowhere near the podium since I’ll be racing against all those tiny little men.  However, the course is perfect for SS and a rigid fork, and I know I will have a blast.  Sounds good, right?

The other option is to race in the Clydesdale class, which is half the distance but most likely full of sandbaggers.  I used to have fun racing in that class, but it’s become way too serious.  It’s not about trying to get on the podium, rather it’s about racing against guys that have a disadvantage because they weigh a little extra (not “sport” racers that think they can guarantee themselves a top three finish.)  I wouldn’t be competitive in the sport class, so Clydesdale might be my best bet for “friendly competition.”

A quick check of the scale yesterday told me that I’m more than qualified.

That’s right about normal for me I guess.

I know, I blabbed on and didn’t really tell you shit about my decision.  I will most like figure it out when I get there in the morning.  I may just put on my volunteer hat for the whole day, and heckle the riders that want to go out there and race.

I’m sorta retired from cross country racing anyway.

See y’all Monday with some kind of bike riding report.

Work Is For Suckers

And I was an all day one on Friday. After spending the day working way up in Salisbury (about an hour away from home), I was all set to get home and start my weekend. Work had other plans though, and I ended up having to drive all the way back into the city after 5:00. Once I got there it didn’t take long to fix the issue, but I knew that any chance of riding after work was ruined. Luckily, Little Miss Sunshine was nearby so we decided to take part in our other hobby…

Eating and drinking. 

We hit up this little Cajun place in the Hipster District, and I got to have some alligator (and of course a beer.)  It wasn’t as good as riding of course, but it was nice to spend time with the little lady and enjoy some good food.  Of course I grew up eating alligator, so it was nice to get back to my roots.  I also lived in Louisiana for a while back in early 90’s, and pigging out on swamp creatures was a good enough substitute for bike riding.

One of my favorite foods back when I lived in the bayou state were seafood PoBoys, and this place happened to have a crawfish one.

It was friggin’ delicious, and served with a side of cheese grits.  Damn, it’s been a while since I had some good home cookin’.

So yeah, Friday started off sucky because of extra work, but it ended up being a pretty cool.  I ride enough so I don’t feel guilty about getting my grub on, and having great food with great company turned a shitty day into a nice one. 

I even got home just in time to see my neighbor putting on a fireworks show.

Work sucked, but we made the best of it.  Would it continue for the next two days?  Come back tomorrow and I might tell you.

Lost

I travel quite a bit for my job. Most of it is local though, so I usually end up seeing the same old shit. No exotic locations with fancy new trail systems, no sun and sand, nothing special. It’s still nice not to be stuck in an office all the time though. Yesterday I had to head down to the South Carolina backcountry, to a place I’ve never been before. Once in a while I go to these types of locations, and I don’t usually have a problem finding them. After plugging the address into my (not-so) trusty GPS, I was off.


A forty five minute drive turned into two hours. I got hella lost. I ended up on some backwoods country road, and I thought I heard the sound of banjos. I looked up and this is what I saw.



Eventually I ended up on the main drag, and it wasn’t until driving up and down it for a bit did I finally find my destination. The issue I went there to fix took only five minutes, but I wasted half a day because of my stupidity. Luckily they pay me good money to wander around aimlessly looking for shit.


What does this have to do with bicycles? Absolutely nothing. I almost got in a ride yesterday, but I ran out of the house in such a hurry on the way to work that I forgot my bike. Yesterday was pretty much a fail, and I can live with that. There are plenty more days left on the calendar for me to fuck up.


I’m supposed to be getting back into the swing of things after fighting off the 2011 Death Virus. The riding part hasn’t quite panned out like I wanted it to, but I did jump back into another one of my many pleasures: beer.




I finally feel good enough to start drinking the hoppy goodness again, and I started off with a Loose Cannon IPA from Heavy Seas Brewing. It’s one of my favorites, and you would know that if you take the time to read this shit. I’ve mentioned it before, and I’m happy to have it back in the beer fridge.


Yesterday pretty much sucked (aside from the beer.) I guess I get a little pissy when I don’t get to ride my bike. Sorry about that. Things will get better, especially since I have a whole weekend of bicycle stuff planned. Stay tuned…or just hang around.

Too Busy

Mondays kind of suck for me as far as work goes, so it was all I could do to post something up today. I was busy as shit over the weekend, so I’ll probably have quie a bit to talk about this week. Since I’m pressed for time today however, I’ll just throw up some photos from the BIKE! Charlotte ride with the Mayor on Friday. We all met up at Queen City Bicycles to get the day started.







Another local shop owner showed up on a not-so mountain bike.



After a few minutes of milling about, we headed out to meet the rest of the Charlotte cycling population to ride with the mayor. I got a photo along the way, but it didn’t come out so nice.



Anyway, after riding a mile and a half or so, we met up at a local YMCA to get ready for the real ride.









There was a good turnout, and not just from our local club either.



After a short speech by the mayor, we were off to the city.



Little Miss Sunshine was happy to be riding with the group:



Did I mention that Lunchbox skipped a little bit of school to attend?



After a short ride, we made our way into the concrete jungle.



There were a ton of people there, getting everything from free breakfast to free t-shirts. This was all to show our support for cycling here in Charlotte.





I have to also give a big thanks to these guys:



They gave us a bicycle police escort to the ride, and it was greatly appreciated.

The morning ended with Little Miss Sunshine protecting the Chick-Fil-A cow from an attacking dog:



It was a lot of fun. That’s it for the recap though. I’ll be back tomorrow with a race report from the Race To The River down in Harbison State Forest in Columbia, South Carolina. It was an interesting event, so you won’t want to miss that one.