today

got out for a couple of walks this week 

weather be damned

i also got out for a quick 7 single speed miles today

things are starting to look up

ready for the snow to clear so i can get out for more

mother nature is a real motha

i took my road bike in for a tune-up. just got my new handlebars on and wrapped 'em. got the stumphumper all built up. and old yeller is ready to go with a basket for the dog and/or library runs. 

the stable's ready and all i can do is hang out in the garage and look at 'em.

it's not that i mind winter riding. i actually enjoy it...   somewhat. it's just been too cold for me and there's way too much snow. and there's more on the way. (!?)

is this some kind of joke?

i'm ready to ride! ugh!

oh well. just a few more weeks i suppose. and i'll have plenty of good weather to ride off the weight i've accumulated while waiting.

here's to milder weather!

happy birthday to me

this is the big one

my 4th decade...   gone

my wife and girls got me some bike parts

just what i wanted...   how'd they know

i tried to take the stumphumper out 

but trails were in no shape to ride          i'll have to give it a few weeks for the snow to be gone

good-bye old friend

i found trashbike, as you guess, in the trash

my neighbor was cleaning out his garage

and decided he wasn't going to ride it anymore

so he put it in the trash

i had been mountain biking once before and hated it

i was on a loner from a friend that didn't fit me

i was about 250 pounds of lazy, smoking man

it wasn't fun

so when i found trashbike and i was in much better shape

i thought i might retry this mountain biking thing

it had no seat, no grips, and the rear wheel was bent

so bad that i took off the rear brakes for the first few rides

so I fixed up and really fell in love with biking

to trashbike i owe, to degree, my health

some really good friendships

and a lot of fun times

but from the beginning i new i'd want a new frame

and a few weeks ago i bought one and built it up yesterday

let the next adventure begin 

just a short ride

i got out on a bike for the first time in a long time

my saturday ride time has been given to other things

and my road bike is temporarily out of commission

so i got out the old spalding mountain bike "old yeller"

this bike was taking up space in a friends garage

and i think his wife started counting his bikes

so he handed it over

which made my wife happy

it's a single speed conversion and i wasn't sure if i liked it much...

'till the other day

it was just a short ride

the roads were wet and i got soaked

but it felt great

i've neglected my love for riding bikes for too long

and i hope to remedy that

 

 

a great weekend

-thursday: took the kids 'trick or treating'
instituted the 'daddy tax' and scored some peanut butter cups

-friday: went mountain bike camping with the 'wojo crew'
had a blast in michaux state forest
a little riding, a lot of good food, some booze, and lots of laughs

-saturday:  had to get home for 1:00 band practice
after that the family went to a roller derby bout in Lancaster
one of my wife's coaches was playing...   a lot of fun!

-sunday: the band played our first show at actionchurch
it was great, I haven't been on stage in a very long time
it was cool that it was in front of a lot of good friends
then I watched as my Eagles killed it
and the family did a Doctor Who marathon

a really great weekend!

more rollin'

I've gotten out for a ride everyday this week
the most in a long time
today I had a pretty close call
as I rolled into an alley that is usually empty
I almost became a hood ornament for an SUV
i'm sure I would have looked nice
but i'm glad I didn't find out

now i'm getting prepped for the
mountain bike camping trip to michaux state forest
with the 'wojo crew'
joy!!

dear bike

thank you for a nice ride this morning
I had a lovely time
I enjoyed the sunshine and cool weather
I also enjoyed all of the sights and sounds
as we journeyed together down the back roads of this little town
i'm sorry we don't get out together as much as we used to
I can really tell that I need to ride you more
'cause my pants feel a bit tighter and i'm not as happy
as when we're rolling together regularly
please know that it's not because of you
I've just had a lot going on and I haven't made the time to get out
but that will change
we will go out more often from now on
I promise

the forth turned into the fifth turned into the...

I was fully prepared to go mountain biking this morn'
but then ,while hanging out at my neighbors' house
settling in for a calm beer sipping evening
while setting off some low-grade explosives
another neighbor showed up with a cooler full of labatt blue
and said he couldn't take it home with him
and begged us to help him empty it...   the cooler
now, being the upstanding citizen that I am, almost an American hero, really
I had to help!!
it was my neighborly duty
it was my American duty

so, with one drunken, late-night email to my bros
I bowed out of the ride
luckily there's another ride in the works for tomorrow
as long as i'm not called into action this evening
I will be there
but I've gotta do what I gotta do
you know?

it's been a long time...

 

...since me and trashbike rock 'n' rolled

 

i got out with my friend dan this morning for a ride at rocky ridge

 

what a great morning; kinda cool, pretty cloudy

it's rained here for the last couple of days

so the trails were sloppy and slick...   just how i like 'em

i wondered why we didn't see more bikes out

it wasn't 'till we were leaving the park that we noticed

that the trails were closed to bikes (no wonder that park worker was giving us the stink eye)

oh well, we're outlaws, that's how we roll

 

it felt good to be out again

what, with work and home improvements and mens' group and life

i haven't done much dirt on saturday mornings, lately

that will have to change...   'cause i liked it!

 

post ride recovery drink



a couple of days of riding

i had two really nice rides this week
one was business (the library had a book i'd requested)
and one was pleasure...      well, both were pleasure
i met this really cool older guy who was out for a walk;
20-25 years older than me and still in great shape and enjoying life,
i saw a water snake while relaxing next to a creek,
i was closer to an eagle than i've ever been,
and i found a fun gravel road really close to home
'twas a good week for those who like to pedal

at my sittin' spot

the dover eagle

HAY, YOU!!

i needed more time to explore fully

an 'action' packed weekend

saturday morning the 'men of action' took action
and started work on an actionchurch family member's house
we power-washed, scraped paint, drank coffee and gave each other a hard time
good times

ricky- glazing

aaron- scraping

then i had band practice with our actionchurch house band
(working name: johnny likes cupcakes)
we've only had two practices but we've learned 3 songs...
...we're pretty awesome

JLC- rocking

 

 

then sunday we had our first 'action's angels' motorcycle ride

we rode out after the church was packed into the truck

we had a nice scenic ride with just a bit of rain
then we stopped for ice cream (johnny loves ice cream)



the angels- chillin'

yard work(out)

first:
you strap this to your back with a, 20-ish pound, dumbell in it
and push this:

around the yard
then:

you add some monkey bars
and a dash of:



up and over the fence a bunch of times

finish with 50 push ups
and you've got yourself a workout
savage race here i come

blogging again

I've done this once before
and I've taken a break
and now, I have had the urge to do it again...
...blogging
it was therapeutic for a bit
then it was a hassle
and now, I have had the urge to do it again...
...blogging
I started a new site because
I don't feel like paying for my domain if I ain't gonna do it...
...blogging
since I've been gone I've done a tough mudder
and some major-ish home improvement projects,
we surprised our kids with a disney world trip and
not a whole lot more that's much to speak of

this year I've got a savage race coming up,
i'm hoping to get some camping done,
i'd like to ride my bikes more...   i'd like to ride my age on my 40th b-day
and i'm contemplating doing the march for the fallen

that's it...   i'm glad to be back
man, I hope somebody reads this

a memorial day to remember... get it?



 

got up whenever this morning

and decided to go for a ride to where ever

ended up at pichot

the place was abuzz...    people everywhere

lots of people camping, kayaking, fishing

and just hanging out grillin' 'n' chillin'

 

it's good to see so many enjoying nature

though, a little annoying if your looking for

peace and quiet sitting in the woods by yourself

 

got home and grilled up some veggie burgers and taters

then the family went to see star trek...   awesome!

now i'm gonna have some homemade ice cream

what a day