Chain Ring Cowboy

Since June 12, the last time I posted on this site a lot has happened. It seems funny to me that when things are so busy there isn't time to spend writing in the blog. And that's usually when I should be writing the most. The move from Austin to El Paso and getting the job in Las Cruces New Mexico has been a whirlwind of activity. I will attempt to fill the gap of these past couple of weeks mainly because many thoughts and ideas have come up. But for now suffice it to be that I actually got back in touch with the Internet world. I did retire though, this picture of me and Andrew (my old boss) is supposed to be proof that I worked at the Texas General Land Office. This is at the goodbye luncheon. I received a very nice framed map of Texas, a letter from the Commissioner and a signed book that will be special momentous to me. There are people here who ride bicycles, my new boss being one of them. That's pretty cool. I am having to work out the problem of long driving commutes

I am down to maybe one or two boxes left to ship in my great move to El Paso. I am thinking of riding the empty trailer to the UPS Store, dismantling it, then ship it as the last shipped item. The bike will ride in the car with Marcy and me when we make our departure trip, or should I say our arrival trip, depending if you want to think of it as coming or going. Let it be known to the world though that cycling in Austin has been a whole lot of fun. More than that. It has been a wonderful way of life. It's no secrete that there are some cities in the USA that are more bike friendly, I think Austin is one of those. However there is always competition for space on the road no matter what city or what form of transportation. Cars, trucks, motorcycles, and yes, even bicycles jockey for space when the asphalt footprint gets crowded. This news clip from California gives good reference to this situation. Let's all get along and Share The Road

Lindsey Pereira is someone very special who will be riding across the USA on a bicycle while devoting her time to a worthy cause. You can scroll down the page to see her picture and profile link near the bottom of the page, left hand column. I plan on following Lindsey for the summer. Click on route status map and you can see that she is just over a week into this ride. Oh what fun this must be. Go Lindsey go.

I am sitting on the threshold of a new and exciting life, going back to my home town, which by the way, one time some 28 years ago, I said I was not going back to. "Never say never" is a saying that is coming back to bite me now. Each day, hour and minute, my thoughts are consumed with all the details that will make this move organized and efficient. With this consumption my heart beats a little faster at times. The future I face is a total departure from the routine I've lived here in Austin. Change, they say, is most always for the better. There is one element of change that I feel a little apprehensive about. Over the past few years I have built up quite a few carbon credits in my account. My carbon footprint has been minimal, which has been a source of satisfaction and fulfillment for me. I am now faced with the necessity to begin cashing in and carbon credits I've earned over the years and ext ending my carbon footprint because my new job is about 50 miles from

It was forty years ago today that Senator Robert Kennedy was shot, then some two days later died. If he were be alive today, he would be in his early eighties, some ten months younger than my dad. I was nineteen years old on that fateful day for Bobby, soon to be twenty. Times were rough for the country back then with the established society being picked apart with cultural and racial tensions and a strong call for change. First Martin Luther King, then Robert Kennedy and finally Bobby, taken away by some dark force that only the universal mind knows. On this side, the earthly conscious side of life on this planet it seems there are many points of view on any situation at hand, and it was very much that way forty years ago also. The country was being divided causing many gaps with families, groups,and individuals that lasted for years. With this anniversary I am reminded why I don't think that my country is pure of heart, always ethical in its ways, and that I have a pervasive mist

The first time I heard Little Feat's song "Willin" I knew it was going to be a tune I would like for a long long time. It wasn't until I was a big truck driver and crossed the the Louisiana/Texas line way up in the piney woods that I understood the line "driven the back roads so I wouldn't get weighed". You see back then, carrying used railroad ties was a short margin business, so loading on more weight than was legal was one of the only ways in which to make a profit. But in the long run, it wasn't worth it because wear and tear on the truck and trailer caught up with any extra dollars made. About three weeks ago I reserved a Penske truck to move all my stuff to El Paso. I started doing some math and figured out that I can move my belongings in boxes shipped by UPS at about a third the cost of renting that truck and paying for the gasoline. Besides, I have a car here, and the cost of towing it behind the truck is outrageously expensive in my mind. S

I woke up Last Saturday morning early, before the alarm which is set to public radio. I woke up in Austin which has been unusual for me this last year and a half. My weekend commutes to El Paso took me away from an established routine, then started another routine which will change again in the very near future. Change is good, they say, and if anyone has gone through several changes, well I guess I have. Waking up in Austin on a Saturday morning caused me to feel like I was back in old times so I did that day what I did in old times. I made some coffee, piddled around for awhile, then got on my bicycle and rode into the downtown area. Previously,I packed up some books that I decided I can live without and dropped them off at Half Price Books. I then went to Whole Foods Market, to hang around, browse, drink coffee, and shop a little. When I left there I went by the Farmers Market and came upon a festival of sorts at the adgacent park. At that point I remembered why I liked to get up ea