Why I haven't been riding lately...

Our furry little buddy, Zeke, has himself all jacked up. We had planned on riding Big Laguna (site of the SSSSS2K5) this weekend, maybe twice.
Our plans changed on Tuesday, when the little bugger tried to fit his fat head under a wooden fence to go after a cat. Ruptured blood vessel in his left ear. Big pocket of blood (hematoma)between the cartilage in the ear.
The vet said the resulting hematoma would have to be lanced and drained, then the ear would have to be taped down until it healed. Three weeks.
Any of you who are familiar with Australian cattle dogs knows how much they love to have extraneous stuff on their heads. He started going after it as soon as the anesthesia wore off, so we've been on a constant vigil to keep him from ripping his bandages off. One of us has been around him 'round the clock.
Here's a pic.
May get some riding in this week.

Los

Did I mention I'm a tard?

On a ride a few weeks ago, I forgot to take my wedding ring off before the ride, and it started bugging me on trail. So, I took it off. Dropped it into the pocket of my baggy shorts. Do I need to finish?
I can't believe I lost my wedding ring. It's one of the stupidest things I think I've ever done. Lucky for me, not only is D patient, beautiful, and kind, but she's also extrordinarily understanding. Not angry with me, just bummed 'cause I lost the ring she gave me.
Well, I had to have a new ring. Something that wouldn't get trashed by all the dumb things I do. Something that would be wider, so it wouldn't dig into my finger on the bike. Something that would speak to my inner geek. Something like this.
Speaking of the inner geek, you know we saw Episode III. If you haven't yet, go see it.
How can you call yourself a nerd and haven't seen it yet?!? Oh, that's right. Not everyone in the world is as big a dork as me.
Where was I? Oh, yeah. If you are a huge spazz, you'll get a kick out of Darth Vader's blog. Really well written, and I think it's impressive. Very impressive.
Been listening to the new record from Nouvelle Vague. For those of you who were wondering, Nouvelle Vague means "new wave" in French. Basically, it's covers of 80's music done in a Bossa Nova style. "Sure," you say, "I've got recordings of The Recliners doing lounge versions of that stuff." O.K., but what sets this apart is the first song I heard from them- a version of Dead Kennedy's "Too Drunk to Fuck." Classic. Czech it out.
That's it right now. You kids behave yourselves.

Los

Mary, Mary... Why ya buggin'?

That, of course, is from Run DMC's classic.
There's this little company from the British Empire called On-One that makes a stellar handlebar called the Mary. I just got one. It's the cat's pajamas.
On the Thursday night single speed ride last night, a few folks commented that I was probably using these bars because regular mountain bike bars are too "normal." Well, there is some truth to the fact that I don't really like the mainstream, but I wouldn't put something on a bike just for that reason.
The way these bars make the bike feel is phenominal. Your wrists are in a more natural position, and it's super easy to shift your weight.
Would I recommend 'em? Only to people who like to ride bikes off-road. I think I'll keep mine.

Los

Look at me! I'm good at blogging!

There's a lot of things I'm bad at. I won't go into all of them, 'cause it's a metric ass load. But I figured, "I can write a blog. I can certainly update more often than _____ does."
Well, you know what? I can't. I just seem to get distracted by other... Oooohhh... Shiny!
So, this weekend, I "organized" a little bicycle soiree called the Spring SoCal Single Speed Summit. There were bike rides, there was beer, there was cross dressing. You know, the general good time had by all.
Not really sure exactly how many attendees we had, but there was probably 20ish, all in all. I had to work on Saturday (Yyyyyyeah...Peter... we're gonna need you to come in on... Saaaturday...) so I missed out on the group ride on the infamous Noble Canyon. Because of my absence, bloodshed was kept to a minimum. Brain cells, however, were not so lucky.
TD brought up some Arrogant Bastard Ale, in the handy keg. Many poor, innocent brain cells were sacrificed.
Stuff was given away, beer was quaffed, marshmallows were brutally held over the fire then unceremoniously smashed betwixt two pieces of graham cracker, accompanied only by half a chocolate bar.
Did I mention the cross dressing? I'll post pictures later. Now, I'm not talking about the kilts myself and Erik were wearing. No, I mean a short skirt and girlie-T.
So there's your pictures. Can you find me? Hope no one reading this is stalking me...
There were campfire discussions about bikes (of course) and bike racing (of course, again.) There were discussions on Tweedle-Dumb's ficticious war, and the subsequent fear tactics driving the imminent rape of the Alaska Nat'l Wildlife Refuge. There was a lot of penile innuendo. We even talked about Wil Wheaton's blog.
It was great. Imagine getting a bunch of people together, most of whom you only know through an online forum, and no one wore a fuzzy bear costume. Everyone had fun, no one got seriously injured, and I haven't heard from the police yet, so I'd say it was a success.
Tired. Very tired. Going to be better about updates. Hey, at least I don't get maudlin about cats.

Los

4 weeks?!? That's some fine updatin', boy...

Alright. Not that anyone reads this, but I figgered it was about time to actually put up another post. Riding's been a bit dodgy since the great week in the last post. Since then, I flew to Colorado for a wedding, and to San Antonio with D to scope out the area. Reconnoitering, as it were.
So most of the biking I've done lately has been commuting. The massage bidness is actually going pretty well, all things considered.
I can't believe it's already May. That freaks me out. I turn 34 tomorrow. Ouch.
Something I haven't done in years is ride my age on my birthday. This year, I think it'll have to be off-road. Should be an adventure!

More tomorrow,

Los