I Don't Want a Pickle.....

Here's what I'm feeling right now!

Been Crazy Busy at the Office!

Haven't ridden anything on 2 wheels for at least a week now.

Well the 15th is Monday.
One day shortly thereafter is reserved for a long(ish) bicycle ride.
Another day shortly thereafter is reserved for a long(ish) scooter ride.

Enjoy the Tunes!



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvLtNBm1yyA



Ride On and Carpe Diem my Friends!
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A Much Needed Mental Health Ride

I had lunch with a friend yesterday who used to ride a lot, but doesn't anymore. He has a very fine old BMW  motorcycle (1970's vintage) just sitting in his garage gathering dust. I've coveted that bike a bit, but it would be a "project".

At any rate, he asked me if I had been riding much. He knew I hadn't ridden much for a year or so after my heart problems developed last year. I said I had been riding some, but not much, and not near as much as I would like to, but...

We've been really friggin' busy lately, both at work and at home. I hadn't even been commuting on Max to work very often. Last week the weather didn't cooperate on some days, but there were other days I just needed the car for one reason or another.

But the point is, I needed to ride. Bad! And today was the day. Ne need for the car. No big appointments with clients. Hell. I might even take the afternoon off! And go for a ride! No fixed destination! Just Ride! Go ahead and burn some gasoline!

I tell friends that riding is a form of mental therapy for me. It renews me. It makes me forget about problems. It is hugely meaningful to me. And when I don't get enough of it, well, things just sometimes don't go right. I get cranky! Bitchy! I throw things! I curse!

But when I turn the key and hear that engine come to life, well, you know, you get a little smile on your face, and you start thinking about more fun things. Things like just noticing the weather a little bit. 47 degrees this morning. Thought about switching to a heavier glove, but just thought about it and didn't pull the heavier ones out from storage. (Now just where did I put them?).

The vents were still open on my helmet. At 40 mph the breeze on portions of my chin and head were noticeably "cool". The denim jacket was plenty warm, no problem there. Feet and hands just fine. But I really like riding in this kind of temperature. It is just cool enough to be invigorating and keep you awake. But you don't sweat.

But best of all....
I didn't think about the tasks that awaited me at work,
I didn't think about the do it yourself projects we have going on at the house,
I didn't think about changes in tax laws,
I didn't think about the problems with my heart, (even though I'm doing much better, physically),
I didn't think about the upcoming elections (One of those silly dudes is going to win, unfortunately!?),
I didn't think about global warming (One of my neighbors thinks it is some sort of commie plot),
I didn't think about the fact that my neighbor is a moron (Okay, maybe I did),

I just rode!
And I watched the traffic!
And I followed a dude on a Vespa for a mile or so!
And I pulled up to a stoplight next to another dude on a Harley (Did his motor have to be so friggin' loud),
And I had to make a rather quick stop at another light when it turned yellow on me rather abruptly,
And I had to keep an eye on what was behind me when I made that quick stop,
And I heard some birds,
And I noticed some kids on a school bus,
And I noticed the sunlight reflecting on some of the downtown buildings,
And I noticed a building being remodeled and wondered what the new purpose of the building was,

You get the drift!

And you know what else?

There'll be more mental health benefits this afternoon!

Ride On, and Carpe Diem, my friends!
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Just One of Many Little Commutes

The Sometimes Frustrating Left Turn

As soon as I leave the driveway I need to make a left turn onto a fairly busy street. Some mornings the traffic seems to just form a big hole, like the parting of the Red Sea in the bible story, allowing me to quickly enter the flow of traffic. Other days? Not so much. Today? One of those Not So Much days.

Seemed like I was there forever. Don't want to get impatient. Can't afford to make a mistake. The collision of a motorcycle with a car or truck is a simple exercise in physics, the vehicle with more mass will always win. So I wait.
And I wait some more.
Okay, the right side of the street is opening up, maybe I can make a move. I look back left..... Well, Crap!
Wait some more.
To pass the time I adjust the mirrors a bit, even though they really didn't need it.
Geez, now it looks like just a slow steady stream of cars in both directions.
And I wait,, (thinking, what am I going to do today at work)
Okay, now it looks a little better, there's a hole in traffic developing to my left
And a hole developing to my right,
But then i  realize that the holes will not get here to my street at the same time.
Don't the traffic engineers of this city know I am trying to make this little left turn on a lot of mornings? Can't they somehow re-program the street lights a half mile away in either direction to make my life easier?
Come On? It's most every day just before or maybe a little after 8:00 am. Why? Why? Why?

Oh you get the drift

I err on the side of caution usually. I try not to be in a hurry.

As usual, eventually, I am able to enter the street and start making my way downtown.

Whew!

The Frequently Annoying Foggy Visor

We had a touch of rain overnight last night. Just a touch. Officially 2/10 of an inch. Big Damn deal. I'm not complaining. We badly need the rain. And it will still be a good day to ride to work today. No rain predicted during the day today.

But the upshot was that it was pretty muggy this morning. Every time I breathed into the helmet, yeah, you guessed it, Foggy Visor. In fact a good part of the time I was waiting to make that left turn previously mentioned, I had to leave my visor partially opened. Not all the way open, but partially. And as soon as I would close it, the fog would return. At just about every intersection I encountered today where I had to stop, I had to open up the visor a bit. Not bad, just a bit annoying. Oh well, there are worse things in life.

The Surprising Water Puddle

There was a lot of traffic today. Some days are like that. I left the house this morning a little after 8:00 am. Lots of cars. I had to wait a little bit just to make a right turn at Central and Woodlawn. Usually I get right through there. At this time of year, the sun is low in the morning sky. Not a problem for me, I ride westerly in the morning, but I am cautious about drivers going the other way being able to see me sometimes. Don't take everything for granted, you know. But people seemed to be careful this morning, just lots of people.

At one intersection there was a pretty good size puddle of water from last night's rain. The streets were otherwise dry as a bone, but this one puddle was creating splashes as cars went through it. This also cause the pavement to be wet for awhile after the puddle as the cars dropped the splashes back on to the street. There was enough traffic this morning that I wasn't able to see the water puddle until just before I encountered it. No real problem, just sort of a surprise. As I rode past I wondered how long it had been since Max's tires had been wet. It's been awhile, I'm sure. Just not sure how long. But, long it had to be.

The Aggressive(?) Lane Change

The ride downtown was largely uneventful, just lots of traffic this morning. I usually just maintain my space in the flow, keeping an eye out for what is around me, front, back, left or right of me. As I approach the downtown area, it is necessary to make another left turn and ride south a few blocks to get to where I park. I can make this turn at about 3 different intersections, just depending on my whim, but I do have a favorite place to make the turn.

But this morning there was a steady stream of cars in the lane left of me and I could tell I was going to have a little difficulty just changing lanes in order to be able to make the left turn. Now this has happened before, and on rare occasions, I just let the flow of traffic take me along even if I go past my favorite street to turn on. It's no problem to go back a bit. But I could see that it was pretty tight in the lane next to me and I didn't want to move into too small of a space and freak out the other drivers, much less me.

But then a red light appeared ahead. I was going to be first in line (in the right lane), and all those other cars were in a long line in the left lane. So I decided to gun it a little when the light turned green, hopefully get far enough ahead  of the car to the left of me to enable the lane change. Now, I knew this wouldn't work if the guy to the left of me at the light was going to also take out a little fast from the red light. But he didn't. And I easily got well in front and was able to change lanes. I hope I impressed the hell out of them! Oh, not really, but it worked out safely and fine.

The Smelly Parking Garage

Last week Max and I went together almost every day to work. On Thursday last week though, we arrived at the parking garage to a strong and distinct smell of a skunk. Yeah, you know what I'm talking about. Well, with the Labor Day weekend just past, I was hoping that the smell would have abated to just a distant memory, but alas, a faint smell of skunk still lingers in the garage. We narrowed the smell down to a pickup truck that we think is the culprit, but given the nature of the smell, our investigation didn't last long. We just wanted to get out of there and away from the smell. We have considered leaving a note on the windshield, but didn't think it would do any good, and we're not completely sure it was that truck.

In Summary

So today's ride was 1) Sometimes Frustrating, 2) Frequently Annoying, 3) Surprising, 4) Aggressive (?), and 5) Smelly.

Oh and I forgot to mention that the temperature was about 68F, sunny skies, almost no wind, and with clean crisp air after last night's rain. Just about perfect conditions with the possible exception of numbers 1 thru 5 above.

In short, it was a great ride!
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Ride On and Carpe Diem, my Friends,

Jimbo
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Bound and Determined

The sun was shining brightly. Not a cloud in the sky. Temperature in the 50's. It would be a shame not to get in some sort of a ride today, even if it was just a few miles. was bound and determined to experience something that I hadn't had the pleasure of for a very long time.

Almost a year.

Two weekends ago a winter storm was threatening the area. There were hopes for a white Christmas. Ahhh.... Didn't happen where I live! About 100 miles northwest of us they received over a foot of snow, but there was just a light dusting here.

The weather has been nice ever since. Mostly sunny skies, reasonable temperatures. I noticed a lot more motorcycles out on the streets in the last couple of days. The warm weather brought out a lot of riders. Maybe it was the holidays, too.

I didn't want to ride very far. I am still not supposed to be riding. But I thought a short ride wouldn't hurt. It was a beautiful day. And I was hoping that some other motorcyclists would be out riding. Because, if they were, maybe I could experience......

The Wave!

Seems like a little thing, but it has been a long time.So I left the house with a particular destination in mind. I just wanted to ride by a building owned by one of my clients. No real important reason, just someplace to go. It would result in about a ten mile round trip. Thought there would be a good chance that I would see another motorcyclist and perhaps get a wave.

On the way to my client's building I didn't see a single motorcyclist. Not One! I turned back toward home. About 3 miles from home I saw a pickup truck pulling a trailer with 2 dirt bikes strapped on it. The person in the cab saw me, and sort of acknowledged my existence in the 2 wheeled world, but there was no wave and I thought to myself "This Won't Do!"

Less than a mile from home I was beginning to lose hope, but eventually spied another rider going in the opposite direction. I wasn't positive he saw me, but I ventured out a wave with my left arm...

And He Waved Back!!!!!

It was one of those manly sorts of waves, just a simple extension of the left arm without even a pointed finger. But it worked.

Big Grin!

Huge Friggin' Grin!

Taking things a little less for granted

On Thursday, a week ago, the recorded low temperature was a record of -17 (F) degrees. The high temperature yesterday, Thursday a week later, was 78 (F) degrees, a 95 degree difference. On Tuesday this week I sat on the back porch of the house with one of our cats. The temperature was in the 60's. There was still snow on the ground, but it was melting fast and I could hear steady drops of water in the downspouts around the house as the snow melted. The dogs were generally lounging around barking occasionally at the neighbor's dog, but enjoying the fact that they could stay outside and enjoy the weather. I sat and listened to the birds and other animals make various noises during their busy day. It was thoroughly enjoyable to sit in the warmth and enjoy the outside weather. I had a book I was reading, but mostly I just sat there and enjoyed the scenery and warmth, the sights and sounds. I had gotten out of the hospital (the second time) last week during the brutally cold weather. I remember the family and the nurses bundling me up before they would take me out to the car and get me back home. I had spent a total of 8 days in the hospital in January and February recovering from a heart attack and some related complications. I now have a stent in one of the arteries to my heart and an implant that serves as a heart monitor and defibrillator should I need it. I had to be revived twice by CPR and "paddles" during my second stay, and it's pretty safe to say that it is lucky I am still around. That's part of the reason I was enjoying the outside weather so much as I lounged on the back porch taking in the sights and sounds of the back yard. Part of me said I should be at the office, there was lots going on there. Another part of knew I am not yet strong enough to go back to work and I should just sit back and relax a bit. That's not easy for me, but I resigned myself to the fact that I really wasn't in any shape to go back to work yet. At age 54, I thought I was a bit young for this to have happened. It's not fair! I had done some things recently to lessen my risk. Thoughts of "Why Me?" occurred to me. Then again, I decided, it's not really worth dwelling upon. Not much I can really do about it now, just deal with it. Eveerybody, including the doctors, say I need a lot of rest. I am not supposed to drive for another week or so. I am not supposed to go back to work for a couple of weeks. Deep down I know they are right. And I know that after writing even this blog post, I will be tired and want to maybe take a nap. I have been sleeping a lot, apparently my body needs it. I was really enjoying my time on the back porch. It was warm. Many thoughts passed through my mind. Many sensations were experienced. None of them earth shattering, but at the same time, very pleasant and rewarding. I sat and listened to some of the cars go by on a busy street not too far from our home. The main streets were clear of snow but many side streets still had some snow. I even heard a motorcycle go by. I was thinking that it had been over a month since my last ride, almost that long since I had last driven a car. I know it will be a little while before I feel strong enough to ride, but the warmer weather has been making me think about it. It may be a couple of weeks yet, and that's okay. I just know that the first ride will be pretty special. I'll really want to drink in the sensations of the ride. In fact, in some way, I think all the of the rides from here on may take on a little added significance. Maybe I will take each ride a little less for granted, and enjoy each opportunity as it comes.

Just a Wonderful Little Holiday Story

My wife looked like she might have had some tears in her eyes when she came to work today. Cathy and I were wondering what was up. We sometimes donate goods to a local Disabled American Veterans Thrift store near our home. They have a drive-thru dropoff dock at the back of the store. We had this old cuckoo clock that we retired from use in our home recently and Jayna wanted to drop it by the store on her way to work this morning. She had a busy morning with a couple of extra errands and was anxious to get to the office. When she arrived at the store, she realized it was a few minutes before 9:00 and she would have to wait a bit for the store to open and drop off the clock. Not only that, but in front of her in the lineup of cars was a pickup truck with a topper that had smoked glass that you couldn't see through. Feeling some impatience, she was feeling a bit frustrated at having to wait, especially because the truck in front of her looked like it might take awhile to unload. Eventually someone came out of the store and they opened up the back of the pickup truck in front of her. It was full of presents. Jam packed from top to bottom. Balls, bats, games and everything imaginable for kids. Some Santa had just done a very wonderful thing. The people at the store were very excited to receive the gifts, that they knew would fly off the shelves and make for a wonderful Christmas for somebody somewhere. Jayna watched all of this as she sat in the car and shed a few tears as she thought to herself, "And all I have is this silly old cuckoo clock". Her feelngs of impatience disappeared immediately. There was something much more important going on here. Ahhh......... It's the Season ! Stuff like this happens all over the place this time of year. It's really special when you can be on hand to see some of it happen.

Near Panic on the 4th of July

But after much stress, it turned out to be a wonderful day!

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It appeared that the entire weekend would be a wash out. On Friday I got in a short ride to go to the gas station and fill up the gas can for the lawn mower. That was the extent of the riding for the weekend unfortunately. I did get the lawn mowed Friday morning. Then it started to rain.

And rain.

And rain some more. Not heavy or with lots of thunder and lightning, just real steady and absolutely boring. On the 4th, people were going to come over to help grill some hamburgers and maybe shoot off some illegal fireworks after dark. But the forecast was crappy at best.

It rained all day Saturday. Sunday morning, too, and part of Sunday afternoon. But eventually that Sunday afternoon, the radar started to look like this.

The storms were all north and east of Wichita and moving away. There was hope that the evening festivities could still occur as planned.

We started the cooker and hoped that the weather would hold.

The kitchen was a beehive of activity. A cake was being baked for dessert. Potato salad finished up and beer consumed. Burgers were formed into patties for grilling and baked beans were heated up in the oven.

The burgers eventually made it onto the grill. More beer was consumed. Conversations were lively and the night looked like it was going to be a major success.

As I was getting ready to turn the burgers over on the grill, I heard that my daughter, who is getting married in November, could not find her engagement ring.

My initial thought was that she had just set it down someplace and it would quickly turn up. As I supervised and observed the cooking of the burgers, I could hear people inside the house asking questions like "Where did you last remember having it on?"

Pretty soon thereafter I saw my wife and daughter painstakingly looking through the trash in the kitchen. To no avail.

Later I observed people on the floor looking into every nook and cranny such as behind the refrigerator and other places where the ring could have escaped to.

The situation was starting to get really serious. My daughter had been responsible for making the burger patties, so the thought occurred that I might actually be cooking the ring. I looked rather closely as I turned the burgers over on the grill, but did not see any evidence. She had also been working on the baked beans so I spooned through the bowl a bit, again to no avail.

She was crying, Tyler was very supportive. But we were all starting to get a bit worried.

No! A lot worried.

But then again, it isn't the magic ring of power from Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" It can't have a mind of its own. Or could it.

We decided to start eating and maybe somebody would chew into it and find it. Well, I'm kidding about that. Sort of.

After we had been eating for just a minute or two, my son went back into the kitchen to get something from the fridge and heard a little tinkling sound on the floor as he retrieved whatever it was he was getting out of the fridge.

Yeah, the darn ring was in the refrigerator on top of a packege of aragula. Darn good place to hide.

My son, the hero of the day, getting hugged by may daughter after locating the missing ring.

The ring back in its proper place. Sauron is defeated. The power of good triumphs over evil once again. People thought I was crazy to get a picture here, but this is actually a fantastic picture of our 2 kids. To me it shows in a way how close they are to each other.

It was time to move on to other parts of the agenda for the evening.

SMORES!

The toasting of the "mallow" is a fine science developed by much experimentation through the centuries. We had two kinds of chocolate, dark and milk chocolate, and the cheapest graham crackers we could find. Tyler here is demonstrating the ability to put numerous marshmallows in his mouth at the same time. Check out his shirt.

More heating of the "mallows"

Some people prefer to burn the mallow a bit. Others try for a light browning. Each has their own tastes and desires.

Above is my rendition of what I consider to be perfection in the art of making Smores. Note there is no burning, just light browning. Mmmmmm! The perfect combination (to me) of graham cracker, chocolate and mallow

Then it became time to make some noise. The scene was set. The weapons lined up for display.

Fireworks!

Sedgwick County, this year, relaxed some of the fireworks ordinances, but they are still more restrictive than the neighboring counties. No bottle rockets or roman candles or big mortars are allowed. But lots of people ignore this anyway. It's only a 10 minute drive to the next county where you can get almost anything you might want.

Now, you might consider this a bit crazy, but a tradition has developed in our family recently to "blow up " cake on the 4th of July. Yes, cake.

The cake has taken various forms over the years, this year in a pan. Cupcakes have been used in the past.

The firecrackers are ready to be lit.

Tyler is making this year's first attmept at cake destruction.

You may ask why. There is no reasonable answer. It's just fun!

The results of the first explosion. Some damage, but not as impressive as we were hoping for.

It became time to get a little more serious. An old cooking pan that was to be thrown away became part of the methodology of destruction.

Loading the pan.

The placement of the pan on the cake with about a bazillion firecrackers underneath.

Woa, Nelly!

The resulting destruction. The cake is in smithereens.

The it was time to break out some sparklers. One of the neighbor kids joined us.

Sparklers for all!

After the sparklers, an appetite was developed and we went back inside to actually eat some cake. Laura made pound cake topped with blackberries and frosting. Delicious!!

Then we were back outside. Pretty dark now and a good time for some fountains.

I usually have a terrible time trying to take pictures of fireworks.

But some of these didn't turn out too badly.

We shot off what we had. Some of our neighbors shot off a few and we sat outside and watched the sky for awhile. We stayed out until about 10:30 or so.

What a great day it turned out to be.

About midnight that night, it started to rain again.

We didn't care!

A Lost Glove

Sometimes it is good to be lucky. This last Tuesday I was very lucky. The Saturday before I wasn't too smart, I did something sort of absent minded. The lost glove was one of my favorites. An Aerostich Hot Weather Vegan. Okay, I know, it's just a glove. I'm lucky I didn't lose something more valuable. But this glove is the greatest invention in the history of glovekind. I kid you not! On Saturday I had stopped to take a couple of pictures near the town of Sedgwick, KS. Because it was a cool morning, I was riding with my winter gloves. My summer gloves (the Aerostich Hot Weather Vegans) were in the top case. After I took a couple of pictures, I put the camera away in the top case and drove off. I didn't realize it at the time, but I apparently forgot to completely close the top case. Somewhere in about a 10 mile stretch of county road, one of my Aerostich Hot Weather Vegan gloves flew out of my top case. I did not realize it was gone until I got home. I was not happy. They are my favorite gloves. I wanted it back! On Monday I decided that I was going to try and go back the next morning to that same road and see if I could find it. Odds were probably not good, hell the odds were ridiculously low, but it was a good excuse for another ride. The glove could be anywhere on that 8 to 10 mile stretch of road. But I did have hope. Maybe more like blind faith. Have you ever ridden off and forgotten to close up something. I suspect that maybe some of you have. The gloves are not irreplaceable. A short trip to the Aerostich website and another pair could be shipped to me quickly. But they are by far my favorites. And I really didn't want to spend another $47 plus shipping, even if I consider it a good buy. I am so cheap! Tuesday morning I had an eye doctor appointment at 9:00am. I wanted to look for the glove before I saw the doctor, so I left the house well before 8:00am. (Canadian and USA time). I boogeyed out of town and reached the town of Sedgwick a little before 8:30am. This gave me plenty of time to carefully peruse and scan the side of the road as I rode back to Wichita to the doctor's office. Sedgwick KS is connected to Wichita by Ridge Road. It is a straight shot because Ridge Road is a Section line road as are many of the county roads in Kansas. I knew that it was a mile or two south of Sedgwick where I had stopped briefly to take a picture and I looked first for the place where I had stopped. I found it quickly and hoped that my task would be easy and the glove would be right there where I had stopped three days before. No such luck. I rode on, carefully scanning the side of the road on my right and occasionally glancing over to the left side of the road just in case. The glove is black and the ground was very green and I thought there was at least some chance that I would see it. But there were about 9 miles to cover and my hopes were becoming a bit dimmer. I rode a little slower than normal, but not slow enough to impede the flow of traffic. But on a road like this there is usually little traffic so that was not much of a concern. After a couple of more miles my thoughts turned to expressions of frustration at the apparent futility of my quest. How the heck can I ever find a little black glove in all this area. I imagined Darth Vader encouraging me to give in to the Dark Side of the Force and give up my quest. Images of Frodo and Sam on their way to Mordor and the obvious improbability of accomplishing their quest also crossed my mind. Ahhh, who am I kidding! I was mostly just thinking that I was a complete dummy for even being out here and doing this. Jimbo, you are never going to find that glove. A couple of miles later I saw something. About 2 feet from the right side of the road. I was riding fast enough that I rode on past about 50 more yards before I was able to safely turn around and go back to get a closer look. A faint glimmer of hope swelled within me. But as I approached it became apparent that it was just a small piece of a shredded tire. It wasn't my "precious" glove. I rode on, feeling frustrated a bit, but not yet ready to give up. I recalled how Yoda would encourage Luke Skywalker and how Galadriel and Gandalf would encourage Frodo in their battles of good vs evil. I persevered. I rode on some more. I started to realize that there were only about 3 more miles to go. If I was going to find it, it had to be soon. Traffic had increased a bit as I got closer to Wichita. It might be harder to find. I approached an area of road construction and a little while later I saw something again. This time it was a small black object in the gutter at the side of the road. Again, I had to ride past the object before I could safely turn around again to go back. Could it be my "precious"? I remember thinking that I should not get my hopes up.

But as I rode back past it again, this time more slowly, I became even more excited. This could be it! I wasn't positive until I parked and walked over to it.

It was the famous Aerostich glove. My "Precious" had been returned to its Master. I laughed out loud as I realized I had found it.

A workman working on the roadway nearby looked at me like I was crazy. He may be right. He looked even a bit more surprised whan I got my camera out and took a couple of pictures.

I picked up the glove, put it with its mate in the top case along with my camera, made damn sure the top case was closed properly, and rode on to my appointment with the eye doctor. I was 2 minutes late for my appointment.

Pure Dumb Luck? .................Maybe

I prefer to think that it was destiny and that all good things will eventually return to those people that are righteous, pure in heart, and who never give up in the face of overwhelming odds.

Ahhh, Whatever!

Sure was nice to wear those Aerostich Hot Weather Vegan gloves on the way home later that day.

Pure Sport

I love the Olympic Games. The athletes are living out a dream that few people ever get a chance to experience. The stories of their lives are fascinating. The sacrifices they make are immense. Their efforts are almost unbelievable. They don't do it for the money. Yes, some receive endorsements, but most do not. I guarantee you that the thrill of the competition is the motivation. Many professional sports, in my opinion, have been ruined by the money involved. I prefer watching amateur sports because generally the participants do it for the love of the sport, not the money. Okay, I know they now have professionals in the Olympics, but what is coveted is that gold medal. You can have your Super Bowl rings and other baubles from other sports. In my opinion there is nothing like an Olympic medal. Nothing! As I am writing this, I am watching Lindsay Vonn literally crying with joy after her gold medal in the downhill. She overcame injuries and unbelievable sacrifices to pursue her goal. They showed 3 women having spectacular crashes in the Women's downhill. Big time wipe outs. Nobody seriously hurt, luckily. But speeding downhill at 70 mph could be considered a bit crazy. Hate to even mention the Georgian bobsledder, what a god-awful shame. Why the hell do they do it? My guess, and I think I have a little experience here, is that it's absolutely thrilling! Dangerous? Sure! Scary? Absolutely! Insane? Maybe (to some people) But what a friggin RUSH! Somehow, I think we can all relate to this. Nobody can deny that motorcycling/scootering is at times a bit dangerous. Perhaps that danger is part of the thrill we all experience. Dan Bateman (Irondad) has referred to me a couple of times as the "Daredevil Accountant". I am not at all sure I deserve the designation, but it is the result of some comments, discussions and fun we have had with each other, essentially about this very subject. I am really a pretty boring person in many respects, but I do have a history of doing some things in my life that many might consider out of the ordinary, even dangerous. When I was in junior high I got the bug to become a pole vaulter. I took a couple of pieces of wood, put some nails in them at 4" intervals, poked them into the ground, a bamboo pole served as a crossbar, dug a little hole and my vaulting pole was an old tether ball pole. I spent hours and hours out there in the back yard practicing, experimenting and imagining that someday, maybe I, too, could be an Olympian. When I got into high school I used a fiberglass pole, learned to bend it and had immediate success with it. I earned a silver medal at the state meet during my sophomore year. The dream of someday possibly becoming an Olympian grew and I started to get real serious about it and trained very hard for a couple of years. Long story short, I never made it, never even close, but the dream was very real to me. I have no regrets about never making it big. It was the dream and the spirit of competition that motivated me. When I was a senior in high school, a couple of pole vaulters from Sweden were setting new world records. They attended a track meet at the University of Kansas and I and some other high school age vaulters were allowed to sit on the floor of the stadium and watch these guys vault. They were like gods to us. I remember vividly looking up at the crossbar set at 17' 10", literally in awe of their ability. Now, you must realize, that pole vaulters are sometimes considered the crazies on the track team. They must have a screw loose somewhere. A teammate of mine actually broke his back by missing the pit one day. Recently, in a small town near Wichita, a high school vaulter sustained a serious head injury. Many wear helmets now, which is an excellent idea. I myself had some injuries as well from these endeavors. Why did I do it? Because it was such a blast! Almost like flying. See where I am coming from? Riding on 2 wheels is a blast, too. Almost like flying! Is it that much different to blast down a highway at high speed? Or really lean into a curve. I became good friends with a lot of the guys I vaulted against. We gave each other tips and ideas, helped each other out. Except for that one guy from Lawrence High, he was a real asshole. There was a sort of common bond between us. That bond is similar to the ones I feel with other Riders. Maybe that is part of the reason we wave at each other. Or blog with each other. Or give each other a bunch of shit sometimes. Riding is a Pure Sport. We don't get paid for it. We do it because we love it! Not unlike Olympians in some respects. PS. The only bad thing about the Olympics? Those damn Russian judges!

Faces of Children at Christmas

OK, so I can be a bit sentimental. And this post is not really about scooters or motorcycles, although I rode to this event and it was the first day I was able to ride for almost two weeks. It turned out to be a great day. First, because I was able to ride. Second, because I was able to get some great pictures of some very wonderful children. I just couldn't resist posting some of these photos. But there were at least some sort of scooters at the facility where these pictures were taken.

The civic club I belong to raised some money to help pay for some Christmas presents for some kids at a local Pre-School. Many of the kids come from homes that you might say are a bit dis-advantaged.

They held a Christmas party on December 17th for the kids and yes, Santa was to be in attendance.

The excitement grew in the room as Santa made his way down the hallway to the room where the presents were to be given out.

And then Santa was finally there and opened up his pack of goodies.

It is the expressions on the kids faces that got to me.

This little girl was very shy, but just look at the grin on her face. Each class was brought in separately to see Santa. They would line up at the side of the room while the class before them was finishing up with Santa. I heard on a couple of occasions that they needed to be very good while standing in line, because Santa was there, and he still had the ability to work on his list of good children. Once they got in the room, they wouild all sit down in front of Santa and wait for their names to be called. This class had a rather loud round of applause for Santa. Am I next? Everybody got a gift. The smiles were very contageous. The gifts varied to each class, but partially consisted of shoes, backpacks, books, hats and mittens. The Santa was very funny. The kids liked him immediately. As soon as everybody got their presents, the unwrapping would commence. This little guy was very happy. A few times they couldn't wait to start unwrapping.

I love the smile on this girl's face. I wonder if the little boy was wondering if he was on the "good" list. He most definately was!

This very cute little girl was keeping a firm hand on her new shoes. She was very proud of them. The employees of the local "Old Chicago" restaurants held a fund raiser to be able to buy the shoes.

And finally, I think this is my favorite photo. It was hard to decide, but I think I liked the little bit different expressions each of them had on their faces as they looked at Santa.

What a Great Day!

Makes you a bit mad

The holidays frequently bring out the good and bad in people. Our little scooter club had recently taken part in a toy run sponsored by the Marine Corps and the Salvation Army. I had a recent post with a lot of pictures. Over 3,000 motorcyclists participated. Last weekend we found out that the warehouse that the toys were being stored in was burglarized and over 1,000 toys were stolen. Damn! The thieves concentrated on electronics, but also took a little bit of everything. Most of the toys were ready for delivery. Hard to believe that someone could actually do something like that. Are times really that hard? Or are some people just unbelievable assholes. But the good also comes out in people when there are needs. The news hit the papers on Monday morning and by the end of that same day numerous people had stepped up and donated money and more toys. Almost all has been replaced by now and needy children will still have a gift this Christmas.

Here's hoping the Grinch doesn't hit your town.

If he does, please escort him off the planet.