Shoes and Gear at the Office

I keep a spare pair of shoes at the office. This pair hasn't been home for over a year. I have a black pair just like them that are usually here too, just not today. The shoes stay here so I don't have to wear my boots all day. The boots go back and forth from home to office. The shoes stay at the office.

I keep a spare jacket at the office too. The gear jacket is cumbersome when I go out for lunch and people stare at it and ask questions. Not that I mind that.

My gear usually sits on one of my conference table chairs during the day. This time of year I have all the liners in my jacket. Just the windbreaker liner in my pants. My pants are one size larger than my jacket because I wear them over my office clothes. I rarely feel it necessary to wear the heavy liner in my pants. My legs never seem to get that cold. If my commute time was longer I might reconsider.

I often wear an LL Bean rain jacket over my gear just because it is such an excellent windbreaker. Plus, the jacket is red, my bike is blue, hence I ride in Jayhawk colors.

Do you ever consider the little routine things you do every time you ride? How about the helmet and gloves? Get the keys out. Open the top case. Get the helmet out. Set it on the seat. Take the eyeglasses off. Set them on the seat. Pick up helmet. Take the gloves out of the helmet where I usually stuff them. Open the visor. Put the helmet on. Fasten the chin strap. (Ever forgotten to do that?) Put the eyeglasses back on. Close the visor. Put on the gloves. Liners too if it's really cold. Move key from topcase to ignition. Ready to go. All routine. How about the gear? Don't you just love the sounds of Velcro? Sit down. Take off shoes. Stand up. Put the gear pants on. (Remember to zip) Sit back down. Put on the boots and lace them up. Stand back up. Put on jacket. Zip up inner liner. Zip up main jacket. Make sure cell phone in right pocket. Make sure extra keys in left pocket. Zip up both pockets. Put on windbreaker. Zip up again. More routine. Yeah, it takes a couple of moments to do all this. Not that long really. I have heard or read about a few of you expressing a mild dislike of the drudgery of putting on the gear. Maybe not a complaint as much as a mention that it does take a moment or two. It can get a bit old. I never go without the gear anymore. To me, there is always the chance that something might happen on the road that would make me very glad that I had it on. It's happened to me before. I refuse to complain about wearing gear. Like the Nike commercials, I say " Just do it". Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone with SprintSpeed

Common Sense in Kansas

From a dictionary: Sage One venerated for experience, judgment, and wisdom. adj. sag·er, sag·est 1. Having or exhibiting wisdom and calm judgment. 2. Proceeding from or marked by wisdom and calm judgment: sag From a thesaurus: Sage - a mentor in spiritual and philosophical topics who is renowned for profound wisdom Hakham - a Hebrew title of respect for a wise and highly educated man mahatma - (Hinduism) term of respect for a brahmin sage mentor, wise man - a wise and trusted guide and advisor From Conchscooter: dear cpa : Spring in Kansas must mean there will soon be lots of people out protesting aginst common sense. Photos please. One day, quite innocently, I had left a comment on Conchscooter's fine blog, The Key West Diary. In my comment I had merely stated that it was just beginning to feel like spring here on the plains after a cold winter. What you just read above was part of his response. Little did I know how omniscient Conch was. That same day I received this notice. By E-Mail.

Yup! Spring is almost here!

. And Sarah is coming to town!

. Will she have notes on her hand?

Will she bring her rifle with her?

Will she sell out our new arena?

. Will parking be a problem?

. Will she be treated like a Rockstar?

Will she try to answer questions that she is not prepared for?

. Will she say "You Betcha"?

. Will she call for Jihad against all she finds offensive in the world? .

Will she come out swinging?

And finally;

. And the most important question;

. Will the "all knowing" Conchscooter, the Sage of The Key West Diary, suddenly emerge as the Messiah that the civilized world has been waiting for?

. How did Conch know that there would be a total abandonment of common sense in Kansas this spring? Makes me wonder!

. So many questions.

. I may miss the Sarah Palin event.

. I am going to go for a ride on Max!

. Your thoughts?

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!