…and we’re back in five… four… three..
Greetings, hot rodders and race fans! It’s a joy and a delight to be back at the… um… Eye Jar? What the hell is an Eye Jar? Anyway, I just flew into the Internet and boy, are my arms tired! Thank you, thank you very much!
First up, for friends and family who’ve been watching the news: the good news is that I was not on or anywhere near the tragic Red Line crash last night. It’s a terrible accident, I’m grateful of course that I wasn’t on that train, and my thoughts are with the families of the dead, and the injured.
The bad news is that I am still putting in 50-100 miles a week on the streets of DC, and the folks I share the road with are eating, rocking out, smoking, talking or texting on their phones, and doing whatever they can to entertain and pleasure themselves rather than piloting their cars and trucks. Sometimes they drive a little bit liquored, sometimes a lot. So statistically, I’m actually I’m in a lot more danger than a Metro commuter. Sorry about that.
Summer’s entrance has been dramatic and wet, full of thunder, lightning, a little hail, and the odd downed tree, but it’s held off the kind of heat that makes us sleep above the sheets, fingers and toes spread, with the ceiling fans on full. Strawberries have been in season, and a couple weeks ago we came into about 4 flats that were just a few days from overripe, so we’ve been enjoying cold, weak daiquiris on a nightly basis since then. But happy funtime’s over, it’s time to get to work.
When I signed up last year to join Team Fatty for the Livestrong Challenge, I had lots going on, but I figured I could keep those plates spinning until about two months before the Philadelphia ride, at which point I’d need to get serious and busy about fundraising and training. The Philly ride is on August 23rd, exactly two months away, so it looks like today’s the day. Over the next couple months, I’ll be putting in a lot of miles, but I’ll also be asking for your help, raffling off things I love and value, maybe even hosting some kind of fundraising barbeque. I’m still working out the details. If all else fails, I’ll be selling my body on the street, raising the remainder the hard way… fifty cents at a time.
Hopefully, with your help, it won’t come to that.
Let’s see, what else has been happening. Oh! Well, when last we spoke, Clovis had been abducted. I hope somehow he escapes his captors, finds a boy (perhaps named “Timmy”), and enjoys his new life running through forests, meadows, and singletrack in the country somewhere. I also hope the bastard that stole him falls into a fissure in the earth and goes straight to Hell.
Since then there’s been some happy additions to the family! Time to break out the pictures…
Shortly after Clovis was stolen, I put in a bid on eBay for a Soma 4one5 singlespeed mountain bike. It was practically new, built up with good components, and I thought about making it into a sexy Xtracycle with an Alfine hub. But since it showed up, I’ve been riding it every chance I get, and it’s been like one of those horrible touching movies where an adult and a kid are thrown together and have to make the best of it but instead of the adult teaching the kid to be more grown-up the kid teaches the adult something about him or herself. There’s no way this bike’s ever going to haul cargo, it’s a light, springy race horse. However, I seem to have picked up a new love, and I predict I’m going to be making my way off the road and onto the dirt a lot more often.

Then, last weekend on Father’s Day, The Wife and I packed up the kids and headed down to First and R St to get coffee and breakfast at Big Bear Cafe, and perhaps pick up some goodies at the Bloomingdale Farmers’ Market. While we had coffee and chased our children, a gentleman we’d met previously came over and excitedly told me he was glad to see us. He and I had talked about bikes and messengering when we’d chatted before, I’d ridden for Elliot Bay in Seattle in the early 90’s, he’d been with Bucky’s. He was leaving in a few days for India, on assignment for the Dept. of Agriculture, and hadn’t found a home for his bike. Rebbie and I had both ridden our haulers, and I figured I could easily tow a bike back home, so we headed over to his house to have a look.

That, dear friends, is an aluminum, epoxy-bonded, 105 equipped 1989 Trek 1400. It weighs nothing. It has very, very skinny tires for someone accustomed to deciding between Big Apples and Fat Franks. It feels very fast. It needs some lovin’, but it’s in fine shape. Naturally I agreed to give it a good home and get it healthy.
Meanwhile, another bike came out of the shed, a somewhat worn, but still quite lovely, Schwinn Le Tour III. Of course I had to ask about what was going to happen to it, of course they said they were going to leave it on the street and someone would take it. I just couldn’t let that happen, because I’m a sucker like that, and I have a little thing for mixtes, so we towed that one back too. She needs some work too, but man, she’s a beaut.
There’s a lesson here, and the lesson is: if anyone’s going to the animal shelter to adopt a pet, it absolutely can not be me, or we’ll end up with 20 dogs and 40 cats.
So that’s what’s on tap for the summer, and likely into fall: some fundraising, lots of riding (by road, trail, and singletrack), and a whole lot of wrenching. And before all that overhauling can take place, the bike room needs dramatic improvements, which will involve some rudimentary carpentry. Good thing too, that’s about the only kind of carpentry I know. Looks like I have my work cut out for me.
Have I mentioned that it’s good to see you again?
PS: I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention how awesome my Father’s Day was besides just adopting two new bikes. Did you get hipster cysts, new gloves, and an awesome new bike-tire wallet for Father’s Day from your family? No? Did they cook you up a delmonico steak and put some brie on top for you? They didn’t?
You gotta remember, people: if you succeed in lowering their standards, they’ll love you that much more. Work on ‘em, and better luck next year.