Chain Ring Cowboy

It's a new world today, but it's a new world every day. The first day is the one that counts, or starts counting. You all have a first day, with subsequent new days from that point on. Happy New World Day to you. I think our president is repudiating a bunch of stuff. C'mon, really? Nuff said, I don't want to start an intelligent debate about politics because I will lose. But I do know what repudiating is and it didn't just get started last week. I am glad I made a map book of my trip from Austin to El Paso. I always thought it would take 10 days to make the trip taking a rest day in Fort Davis and 2 contingency days (in case something goes wrong with the plan). With the book, it looks as if it is an 11 day ride, 1 rest day and 1 contingency day. The red line is the official decided upon route, that is until I change it. Again. But it's pretty etched in paper now, but can be changed anytime. Ok, that's important to me, but more so is that my family reunion is...

Rag Tag and don't know a durn thing, but we're in rehearsal. Someone loaned me a camera, maybe I can take pictures of something other than my bicycles. But I don't know if I can do that or not. Ruby is next.

The widow lady who bore the weight of the world on her shoulders had escaped to a brief moment of absolute freedom. The guy who was watching the widow look out the window with that look on her face, how her body was relaxed, how extremely free she was felt like he was a part of her freedom because it was so close to him. The sight was proof that if someone were truly feeling freedom, it emanates with absoluteness, cannot be concealed or disgused just as when one has that the burdens of life holding them down, cannot conceal the pain that lives within them. Both are costly, both have value, both to be lived. Sitting up high, wind in her hair, spring in the air, going down the road, passing the world, there's nothing like moving. The widow was free for a day. I hope she is doing ok.

A very good message from Charlie. Well, actually Ken, but by way of Terry. Well, truthfully it came from Mark Twain, but like so many messages, especially the best messages comes from a network of people. You know, one of the purposes this whole existance thing is about, people dealing with people. Networking. Enjoy Every Day, y'all. Charles lost his life, and it was pretty sudden by what I can tell. I didn't know Charlie, but you don't have to know someone to be in their network. I only hope he had fun. Are you having fun? Here's what Ken said that Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) said that Terry shared because Charlie was celebrated for his life: "Tweny years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines, Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream" Adieu Charlie.

Someone told me that today is the 187th birthday of the bicycle. Hmmmm. If it's true, let me know for sure Shawneen says that the time for the family reunion is creeping up fast . Ain't that the truth. Can't wait to see everyone. I just love that term. Oxymoronic at its very best.

50 miles today, 75% loaded with panniers. And boy what a workout, shows I have some preparation work to do in the next couple of months. I whupped, but boy was it fun. Lots of riders showed up this morning, trying to stay up with the main group for the first 25 miles is what done me in. And then when I jumped into the San Marcos River and cooled the core, it made want to take a nap. But as you know I couldn't do that because I had to make the 25 mile return trip. A delightful hard riding day was had by all I am also working on retarding the advancement of my state of retardation. I know there is an equation out there someplace that can help me figure this out. I think it is at least 100 degrees today, don't leave home without your water bottle.

Miles this week: 150 It's raining today, just like last Saturday, this forces me to concede to rest. I know I need it, I don't want to do it. I could ride in the rain, but don't want to risk it since I my mileage is going good already. If the sun comes out there will be more time to rack up some miles, the logbook week starts on Sunday and ends on Saturday. Tomorrow is a new day, I mean new week. My boss is open about his expectations that the more I do for him, the more he expects of me. That's alright with me, at least so far, because it's fun to meet timelines and challenges to a certain degree. But like stacking a house of cards, does a destructive crash loom ahead? I find that my personal expectations bike riding mileage is the same for me. That is, the more miles I ride each week, the more I expect myself to do. I remember the days I rode a bike to work in El Paso, to the refinery back in the early 70's on North Loop road. Not a bike friendly era or road a...

Blue Velvet Backdrop, such a pretty shade of blue. Silver sliver piece of moon gently curled shining. Up and right a diamond Venus set, a jewler would die to be able to display his gems in such a fashion. If you were up that early this morning to see that priceless scene, you're as crazy as I am. Buggsy The bugs sure did like me lights this morning ...... I thought that only happens to cars. It must have been a beetle that hit me in the chest, boy that dude hit hard. I bet he was glad I wasn't a windshield. Question For You Is there really something going on with this global warming? I really want to know what you think. Does the human race and its techno advances, planes, trains and automobiles have an affect on the tender balance that keeps this flying ball so alive? Was the earth like this before? Say, a thousand years ago? You know 1 degree warmer? Hint History repeating itself is nothing new, the Dark Prince in the backset is dooming you, and you smile with pleasure. Do ...

This morning's 10 miles to work........ Make that 10.1, (but whose being precise?) went by very fast. It was like being stationary, all I was doing was moving my legs up and down and this scenery, a movie set just went by me. There were some good scenes and one not so good. Well, I wouldn't trade the entire scene for anything. You know? Take the good with the bad and the ratio heavily tips to the good. I think bus 1M has a new driver this morning, and doesn't know he is crowding left making it tight for that one cyclist I saw this morning. Me. I thought about calling the bus company, but maybe if his/her crowding persists, I will talk the driver myself. "Look buddy, we both have to use this road, so let's just get along". I can be pretty diplomatic you know? The best scene this morning though, you know, it goes by me and not me by it, was the one were the lady with the long flowing dress and the long flowing hair is standing right in the middle of the Congress...

Longest day of 2006 folks, more riding time. That is if you are not getting hammered with torrential rain. This area, San Antone to Waco is only under a flash flood watch, so I rode in, took the risk. Got to work dry, we'll see what happens on the return. Now Houston is another story. They are getting washed to the sea. This is a great time of the year, I will take the dog days over winter anytime. Although it is nice to know that in what is now down to 20 days left before heading up to the Black Hills of South Dakota where the temps will be a little cooler. I am looking forward to a week of highs in the 80s, with lows in the 50s. Bicycle Miles So Far This Month: 649 It's feasable to break 800 this month, oh yeah!

Nobody showed up on Sunday, maybe because it was Father's Day. Or maybe because the earlier rain seemed ominous enough to last all day. The rain went away, cleansed the path and provided a riding day that was out of the norm, and great. Dave and I road together for the first time. I met Dave in February of 97' in a job interview. Multiple corporate umbrellas permitted that Dave was one of my managers. I got the job and worked under Dave, both directly and indirectly for almost five years. Then I went away to work in geography. As happenstance would have it, Dave an my paths have crossed occasionally over the last four point five years. Dave is cool, one of the rare people that I could consider a friend and a boss a the same time. We met Sunday at the library in Buda, he on his Trek Soho, and me with my Trek 520. I decided to leave Ruby in the garage and load the touring bike down, panniers full, three water bottles hanging in their cages, and wearing casual shorts and shirt, al...

I met the first Fonzie in 1965, nine years before the show; Happy Days started playing on TV. It was somewhere on the East side of Cleveland, Ohio, maybe Denison Blvd or Harvard Ave. We’re talking 41 years ago, and my memory for details isn’t that good, but my memory for hair raising experiences like the night I met the Fonze and his follow dogs of East Cleveland are pretty good. I’m not sure why I had wanderlust so early in my life; perhaps it was a genetic predisposition, you know, like what caused the human race to scatter throughout the globe. I mean, maybe one of my ancestors fell out of the Tower of Babel, hit his/her head too hard, then started some sort of journey, a non navigational path to, well, right here and now. But my trip to Cleveland was my third trip to some place else other than home and I was barely 17 years old. I won’t go into the my fundraising efforts of getting my dad to pay for the airfare for me to be able to make this trip to Cleveland, while unbeknownst to ...

I have ridden for so many consecutive days I figured that someday, the right day, I would have to take a rest. Jeff says you have to rest as hard as you work so the legs will come back. As a commuter, I can't adhere to that, but I could take weekends off, if I only would. When I woke up this morning I looked out to the East in the pre-dawn light think the sun should rise in less than half an hour. I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me because in the ambient light that living on the edge of a city provides, there seemed to be a haze in the distance. I looked down just outside the window to see water gushing like crazy from the rain gutter. A sure enough and badly needed rain was falling on the Central Texas parched floor. Needless to say, the rest comes today. It is now about noon here, (don't pay attention to the time the entry says on the sheet, I haven't corrected that yet) and it looks like no miles today on the bicycle. But I did manage to get about three miles wa...

Around here, if you have dentures, they should be in your head because with all that smiling going on, you want to look good. I'm not sure why on Friday, I and those around me seem to be a little happier. That reminds me, I need to get my false teeth made one of these days. It's still about 22 days until I will be in South Dakota with my family doing the bi-annual reunion. Since I want to travel light, I have already started packing so I can see what will fit and what won't in my not so usual travel plans this year. The only thing that worries me about packing this early and having a handle on things, it may give the impression that I am organized. I'm not. Another thing that concerns me is that When the time comes to Really be ready, I will have overshot my mark and do something crazy like forget my luggage or something. Time Line, let it shine I will be arriving by Greyhound Bus on the 11th of July at 5:05PM according to their schedule. Sunset is 8:36 according USATod...

Someone please design for me a large plastic bladder that will fit into a Bob Yak Trailer just so. The bladder may have to be made so that it is double walled, or more like a bladder in a bladder so that air pressure can be put into the outer bladder and water in the inner bladder. That way a constant pressure will force drinking water through a tube to the outlet, which will be where the cyclist, in this case me, can have enough water to last for the 700 mile ride across the vast Texas desert. If nobody can come up with this design by the middle of September, I may have to invest in a regular camel back. Just a thought Six more days until the longest day of the year gets here. Hip Hoorah. Well, I suppose that all the days are the same length, but the longest day of daylight is coming.

If you climb through a barbed wire fence, you probably know that it should be worth it because the work it takes spreading the wire and avoiding the barbs can be a little risky. In short, care has to be taken, and a little time too. Climbing over the barb wire fence is even more difficult. Have you ever seen anyone standing on a barb wire fence? I haven't. Now where I'm from almost all the fences are made of rock. No way, absolutely cannot climb through one of those, you've got to go over or find a gate. But standing on a rock fence is easy, even if it has a gabled top. It's almost a foot wide and sturdy as the earth it's planted in. There are all kinds of fences in this world, each with its own degree of ease/difficulty of climbing through, over, or just standing on it. Perhaps there are as many styles of fences as there are beliefs and convictions we each live with day to day throughout our lives. I know I've had to climb a few, go through, and yep, I'm st...

Like a gentle big light over my left shoulder, the moon escorted me on my northward journey in to heart of this urban star. Like stars in the galaxie, the urban glitter spreads out over the face of the earth. These urban settings, these places for you and me to derive our survival, shine towards the sky, some small, some large, and those in between. When I arrived at my destination I took one more turn of the head over my left shoulder and thanked the moon for the accompaniment on this fine morning. Then, into the big box I went for the day, with the image but a memory. A sweet memory that made my day. The noose is tightening around the Legal Dose

I'm tripping out because I just accomplished a new weekly mileage high of 202. I did that once because I commuted for most of the week and then did the MS 150. But this time it was with just riding, riding for transportation, riding for business, and riding for fun. And yesterday I did get in my car and drive it about 15 miles. Hey, I can rationalize that I need to drive the car about once a week to shake out the cob webs, right? I picked up my Bog Yak trailer Saturday and pulled it around for a few miles. I bought a $14.00 sleeping bag, and plan to borrow some other camping gear. So things are heading in the right direction getting ready for the 10 day journey through the beautiful West Texas Desert.....

No, the ozone isn't acting up again, it's depleting. In theory you are the one who is in action because you are doing something about it, like say riding a bus to work. Heaven forbid I mention the 'B' word, because I already know you either like or don't like riding the beautiful spinner steed to work and back. More people are starting to ride the bus here, work, and they are finding it pretty nice. Yes, the same folks I would hear trash talking about how unpleasant riding a city bus to get around are indeed having a good time with it. One guy the other day had to drive his pickup truck because of an appointment was actually bemoaning the fact that had to drive. So, I say, give it a try, you might like it. I know the environment will like it in the long run. Tomorrow I will probably pick up my BOB Yak trailer, thanks to Jesse A. If I really give it a try tomorrow I can surpass 200 miles for the week. I've only done that once so far this year. Hell, Once ever tha...

Did you know that we have been dating carbon for quite a while now and the relationship is about to make a major change? Carbon dating is loosing intimacy with us and we may just have to be friends, maybe even distant friends. When other beings fly by the earth, if they stay far enough out, no matter at what angle the earth is about the prettiest gem in the universe, so I've been told. Lately though in the last hundred years or so, observers prefer to keep a distance for a couple of reasons. When getting a closer view of our planet there appears to be some kind of rash, or skin problem, I have even heard the term mange. If seen from far enough out, the skin disorder is almost impossible to detect. So, not only do the observers maintain distance to enjoy the better view, but minimizes their chance of contracting the disorder and taking it back home with them. But you see the dermatosis is us and we don't know it. We see the cities, roads, factories, puffing smoke, global warming...

When NPR starts talking about American Soldiers murdering innocent people in Iraq, I don't know what to think. One thought is that NPR may need something to journal about, can't find worthy news, or another thought, there is something going on that we need to pay attention to. Can't everyone just fight a Clean war. Give me a break!! I wonder if all the sleepless nights soldiers have during their lives after their war experience can compare with the sleepless nights the ministers of war have? Exclusive Route If anyone would have told me 30 years ago that when I get to be standing at the doorstep of elder-hood, I would be cycling to work, 10 miles each way, and loving it, I would have said they were nuts. If anyone would have said 30 years ago that gasoline would be so expensive that a month's worth of it for some would amount to half the mortgage payment, I would have said, "no surprise here, I In fact, expected it". I was working in a refinery in 1972 when th...

That is, to say, I don't know why the turn of the crank becomes so important in my life. I just know that it is. The ride in this morning was terrific. Summer is here with of forecast 98 degrees by this afternoon. You don't have to remind this boy from the desert to keep plenty of water in the bottles. Last Month's Total Mileage: 654 A good goal for me this month would be to go past 700. Next month I am traveling, mileage will diminish. That unless I decide to ride to South Dakota. What a dreamer. But I am seriously thinking about boxing up the touring bike and using it in the Black Hills of South Dakota. I need to find someone who will teach me to box a bike for travel, the right way. A Conversation With George Hincapie . Let's root for George. This is a good interview

Teeth clenched just slightly I grumbled "Burn Ole Iodine, Burn". The young lady who just inserted the needle to start the process of me giving blood to the blood bank looked at me like I just went a little nuts. I think she was thinking whether or not she should be afraid of me. Part of the preparation for giving blood is to be smeared all around the vein which will receive the letting needle. When I was a little boy and would play outside, which was a lot because kids played outside a lot back then, and would get a skinned knee or a cut finger or some kind of boo boo, which back then I never heard the term boo boo, I would come in to see my mom some ER work. Usually back then I would be whimpering or sniffling or even crying. Mom would reach for the iodine, the fix for all emergencies. I knew it was going to burn, sometimes not able to sit still for the application to begin, and when it finally got on the "boo boo", boy I am glad that term wasn't used on me whe...

For a while this morning, I got a bit worrried. Worried that there isn't anything to worry about. When I got almost half way to work, I realized that I had didn't make sure my wallet was in one of the panniers. "Ya see?" I says to myself, "if you were driving, you could just turn around and go get it". I thought about going back on the bike, I would only loosel a half hour or so. But the traffic gets a little crazier and I didn't want to come in late today. Besides, I rationalized that keeping money out of my pockets for one day could probably be for the best. Another thought came to me this morning. Just one more reason I like riding, I get to think of all kinds of things. I think of things while in cars also, but the thoughts never stick. They just glance off like a skipping stone on still water. With the family reunion now just over a month away, I suppose it is time to check with all the siblings to see how their plans are going. I am sure the activ...

When I woke up at 3:00AM to the rythmic sound of rain water dripping on on tin, I knew then that I would probably not ride the new, as of yet unnamed, green Trek today. Windows raised, temperatures nice, payday here, and so much to think about, I lay in bed with the soft drip concert playing background as I mentally prepared my day, which is earlier than the norm. And I am an early bird to begin with. So I drove today.......... But my legs could use the break anyway. The month of May totalled 654 bicycle miles and 265 car miles. I think that works out to about 60%/40% for the total of 919 miles. Geez, it's hard to get the car miles down. And today, starting out the month driving? Hoy Ve! Did you see where Lance was exonerated from Doping?... Again. Let it rain. We need it. No mud on me today.