for most of my childhood i had to listen to my father bitch about his aching back. wah wah wah, my back hurts, rub my back, i can’t get anything done because of my back… aching and groaning and hypochondriac shit out the ass. (more…)
craziest thing, countersteering. if you’ve never heard of it, next time you get on a bicycle or motorcycle, while going at moderate speed give one of the handlebars a definite push. most people assume (as did i when i first heard about it) that it’ll steer the bike in the direction you’re moving the front wheel. i mean, there’s no way the bike would veer toward the same handlebar you pushed! (more…)
coolest female i’ve run into in years, and — this is complete bullshit — she’s moving to the west coast next week. 
just heard tonight. this woman is the best. she gets along great with every guy in the club. kickass cyclist. so easygoing and friendly. gone — just when i got good at not driving my car over my bike after talking to her. (more…)
the new group i’ve been riding with includes one of those rare animals — a hot young girl who doesn’t act like she’s hot. i’m the poster child for loser geeks, and this sweetie talks to me just like anybody else. fairly disconcerting. tonight i showed up late at this bar/restaurant after a ride, and she goes and gets me a chair.
so the first time i met her, we talked after the ride and i went to put my bike in the car. was getting ready to drive off when some helpful dude walking by signaled me that my wheels were still leaning against the outside of my car. doh! (more…)
i’m on blogger already, so i’ll leave a quick post on my ride/race the other night that i was worried about.
had a blast. was hammered on the first climb, as predicted, but not as badly as i figured i’d be. at the end of that bitch i was riding solo between the “A” group and the “B”, having just gotten dropped. a lone dude passed me slowly on the hill, so i hooked onto his wheel and we started grinding. i took a pull for a bit, then he passed me quickly in a mild attack — an odd response since i’d obviously pulled in front of him to give him a break. so i accelerated and we were stuck trying to bridge to the lead group of 3 (out of sight by then on the hilly, curved roads) when… (more…)
with my slow return to physical fitness — using boxing, weights, and stationary cycling — i plan to ride wednesday (thunderstorms permitting) in an informal cycling road race, for the first time since 2002. i already know i’ll be crushed, but the point is to see those wheels up in front of me again, and let that energy kick. i’m never alive like i am planning, successfully or not, to destroy whatever wheel happens to be in sight. that feeling returns just thinking about this ride, though i’m not in racing form yet. if you’ve never raced, you probably think i’m talking bullshit. nope. (more…)
