Here we go again...

We're moving in 3 months. In the not-quite 4 years D and I have been together, we've moved 4 times. Not too bad, until you consider that we've been in the same place for 2 1/2 of those years. It's not so much that we mind relocating. In fact, we both relish the change of environments. The problem is, we always seem to move when it's really fucking hot. I don't know why this is. We even tried to avoid it on the move to Tejas, but then, BAM! things change and here we are, moving 1200 miles away in the middle of summer.
We're pretty glad to be moving, honestly. It's not that SoCal has been a bad place to live, but it's been impossible for us to get ahead. It's really, really expensive to live here there's just no way we'd ever be able to buy a house.
Wait a tick, did I just say that? That's right, folks, I said that. Never in a million years would I have ever imagined myself realistically thinking about homeownership (apparently, that's a "real" word.)This is coming from a guy who has considered living out of a tent for long periods of time. Guess who's joining adulthood?
It's not like I'm hot on the idea of "owning" a piece of land. We all know, somewhere deep down inside, that you don't "own" land. The land will still be here when our great, great, grandkiddies are pushing up their little daisies. It's more a matter of being able to do pretty much what we want with the place we live. Making it our own for the time we're there. D and I both bristle at the idea that landlords decide whether or not you get to paint your living room green, or plant a garden, or install a tandoori oven in your backyard.
We're also looking forward to having a better support network. We've made some good friends since we've been here, but they've been few and far between, I have people in San Antonio who've been my friends for decades. That, and my family's pretty tight.
On to bike-related stuff. There's a 24 hour race in Tejas that I'll be doing come October. This will be my first on the fixed gear, so I'm gonna have to start ramping up the mileage sometime fairly soon. The good news is, D is taking steps to not put all of her time and energy into the life-suckers at her job, so she'll have more time to come out and play with me.
That's it for now, but expect more...

Los

Wait... There's water down there! 

Those green things in the water? Yeah. Those are the tops of trees. Let's just say Lake Hodges has been a bit low in recent years! 

Wily in the wild. 

Portentous omens...

Well, got to go for a good little ride out at Lake Hodges yesterday, and on the way back, it seemed like the Universe was trying to tell me something.
See, D and I have been planning to move to Texas later this year to help take care of my parents. But lately, it seems like a lot of stuff has been going wrong, and that we might not be able to continue to live in San Diego much longer. Not if we wanted to do the things we enjoy, like eating at least once a day. So we decided, after much deliberation, and budget reworking, that I'd quit school early and we'd bump the move up to the end of June, instead of October like we had originally planned. Now, while I'd like to finish my schooling here, it's just not worth it. D wanted me to finish, but it just doesn't make sense right now.
Anyway, back to the ride. I had a good one, as I said, and on the way back to the car, I opted to take this little singletrack offshoot. I had decided earlier to avoid it on the way back and just stay on the fire road, but when I got to the trail I just took it. It's a little climb, with a rutted, semi-technical descent. On the way up, I saw my first roadrunner in California. Now, I know they're not unusual here, but I've not seen a single one. This was a big male, with a little snake in it's beak. And it stopped to look at me before it ran into the brush. Next, right as I got back onto the fire road, I got swooped by a hawk. Well, maybe not swooped, but it came probably 10 or 15 feet overhead. When I stopped to look at it, I didn't see it anywhere. Hmmm...
I got to the concrete path that lead back to the car, and lo and behold, there's a couple of bluebonnets! At least they looked like bluebonnets to me.
Finally, when I was loading the bike on the car, and older gent whom I'd just passed asked me if I'd seen the big rattlesnake lying across the fire road in the middle of a blind corner. I asked where it was, and he described a place on the fire road I'd missed due to my singletrack detour.
I know there's a lot of people who don't believe in stuff like signs, or omens, or whatever, but I do.
I guess our decision to move to Texas sooner was the right one, after all. Or am I just nuts?

Los

Here's the skunk hunter extrordinaire, Zeke,
looking pensive...

Just a short one...

Not much time today. This is my wife's birthday week, and something always goes wrong on her birthday week. Last year, we got broken into. This year? Our faithful dog Zeke got sprayed by a skunk. On D's birthday. Suck ass.
Poor guy got it right in the kisser, down the throat even. After chasing the freaked out dog down the street, having him roll uncontrollably in the dirt, and generally having a great time, we washed him off with hydrogen peroxide and baking soda. Note- if you (or your dog) should ever catch the business end of a skunk, this mixture actually works. The guys on MythBusters even said so!
Then, when we were done washing the mud and funk off of him, and crawled exhausted into bed at 1 a.m., I hear him yacking. Calling the Buick. Technicolor yodel.
Well, this is how I found out he'd swallowed a bunch of skunk juice. His puke was all kibble and skunk spray. Not pleasant.
Anyway, we're finally going out for D's b-day. Poor girl just can't catch a break!

Audi 5k, Gs.

Los

Coming clean...

Alright, some people might get the wrong idea when they read back a couple of posts. I have to admit, I'm not the angry, put-upon bike mechanic I used to be. It's just so easy to fall back on what we're used to. I have my wife Daniella to thank for keeping me in check, actually. The problem is, she calls me on my bullshit. Like when I say that I'm bummed about not racing 24 hour races. I chose not to race this year. I enjoy it, but I'd rather not put us in that stress right now, and honestly, I didn't want to dedicate my time to that. Telling myself that we can't afford it is just easier to deal with than realizing that I just don't want to, right now. I don't like facing that reality, but I can't lie to her, and I know I shouldn't lie to myself, or anyone else, either. As much as I hate that, that's also what I love about her. She doesn't let me be disingenuous, or hypocritical.
So, yeah, I'm not the bitter, surly wrench-thrower that a lot of people think of when they picture "bike mechanic" in their heads. In all actuality, I don't even work in a shop anymore- not officially, anyway.
I am going to massage school to become an acupressurist, a "healing facilitator." She's making it possible by busting her ass everyday at a job she hates. She's very supportive, and giving. So my outlook on life, and humanity in general, has improved. I still think that cars kill, but I'm not nearly as militant as I used to be. Or as evangelical about my stuff, be it single speeds, fixed gears, whatever. If I can make a difference in someone's life and turn them on to bikes as a pastime, transportation, what have you, that'd be great. But that's not the end-all, be-all of my existence.
You see, I love my wife. She makes me a better person. A more positive person. If I could do the same for her, that would make me accomplished. I'm a lucky guy.
Anyway, I regularly read the blog of one Matt Chester, who, if you aren't familiar, builds some really cool bikes. And I have to admit, I admire a fair amount. He fights the good fight, but with a more positive attitude than I'm used to. He likes to use the mantra, "calm down." I think I'll adopt it as my own. Anyway, in the current post, he reprints (is that the right term, in this electronic age?) an article written by another hero of mine, Mike Ferrentino. Go to the link and read it. It's a great example of what I think of the state of the bicycle industry as a whole. Good stuff.
If you haven't yet, listen to some Radiohead. Daniella and I have both been listening to Kid A and O.K. Computer a lot lately, and they're both beautiful albums. A little depressing for some, but truly art.
That's it for today. Keep the rubber side down, and be well,

Los

Hey Steeeve! 

Hangin' out at the shop... 

The finished product. 

2)Headbadge and pink headset. 

Bike stuff...

For those of you who aren't familiar with my inane bike ramblings yet via some other source, I'll tell ya a bit about my penchant for bike stuff. I've worked in the bicycle industry for way too long, but it goes back a bit further.
I guess, like a lot of guys, there's the instinctual drive to have and work on mechanical things. Some tinker with cars, some RC airplanes, maybe a couple hop up vibrators, for all I know. Anyway, that I'm sure is part of the fascination. Most "bicycle enthusiasts," as the marketing geniuses refer to us, are all about the latest bleeding edge technology that's fresh off of Gran Prix motorcycle racing, or Supercross, or the aerospace industry. Probably the next largest segment are all about collecting vintage bikes from whatever era they deem is right before the world went straight down the shitter.
I belong to a smaller, but growing subculture. Singlespeeders. Bikes with only one gear. While some might look at bikes with one gear and automatically push us into "retro-grouch" status, there's a hell of a lot of guys here that spend thousands on new tech.
I don't have anything against new tech. Or old tech, for that matter. I do, however, have something against innovation for innovation's sake.
So I like simple bikes, ones that rely on hard work to get you to the top of a hill, instead of all that mechanical advantage. Sure, it's harder, and there's a bigger learning curve. But I do this because it's harder. If I wanted easy, I'd get something with an engine to get me up the hills!
To that end, I've been riding fixed gear bikes, or fixies, lately. If you're not familiar with the term, it means that the bike doesn't coast. Direct drive. If the wheel's turning, so are the pedals. Now, if you live in a big city, you can see your local bike messengers riding fixies. Simple, low maintenance, very few parts to replace, weather resistant. And thieves usually don't want to steal them. Pretty good attributes, if you ask me. So I started riding fixed on the road, like most people. Then, last year, I see this guy racing against me at the 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo race (this is an off road race) on a fixed gear. Well, maybe that's not completely accurate. He didn't so much race against me, as blast me back into the Stone Age. So I got to thinking, and thinking, and sure enough, within a few weeks I had set up an off road bike fixed.
Now, I have a fully custom built, just-for-me mountain bike that's never had a freewheel on it.
I love riding fixed off road. It's a bit slower, especially on the downhills, but it's great! You really need to focus on the here and now.
Alright, that's it. Here's some pics of my bike. Sorry for the double on the headtube shot, but I'm not very good at this computer-thingy.

Keep the rubber side down,

Los

Ummm... yeah.

I'm pretty terrible at this so far. Almost a month, and 2 fucking posts. Great.
Maybe I've been in a pissy mood 'cause I haven't been riding my bike much lately. I mean, the bike's my transportation for the most part, but I don't think commuting is the kind of riding I need.
This time last year, I was recovering from my first solo, 24 hour mountain bike race. Single speed. That's where I should be right now, but money's too tight. I have my new bike, which I got with 24 hr. Racing in mind, and now I can't afford to race! How's that for a kick in the sack?
Anyhoo, I have started riding a bit more, but it's been raining a lot here in SoCal. Huh? Yeah. Rainiest year in something like, I dunno, a long time. And the trails are muddy as hell. Oh, well, I guess that's what happens. I know I'll have plenty of opportunity to ride for the rest of the year.
Speaking of the new bike, there's a review that I wrote about it on www.63xc.com . It might be cursed. The bike, not the website. Yeah, I got to thinking about it on Thurs. Night, during the "weekly" singlespeed night ride. I have yet to ride this thing without getting it muddy!
And another thing- the Thursday night singlespeed night ride I referenced? Out of like 12 or 13 people, only 6 were on singlespeeds. The rest weren't just on geared bikes, they were on full-suspension geared bikes. Lemme tell ya, when you're stuck behind one of these clowns on a tough uphill section, you just want to neck-punch 'em. *CLICK-CLICK-CLATTER-CLICK-KERCHUNK* No consideration. The worst part? A lot of those guys do ride singles, so they should know better.
Alright, back to work. I've gotta get my Pathology research project done. Wait, isn't massage school supposed to be easy?!?

Los