Sunday Night Haiku

all day steel grey skies
and at times snow flakes falling
I love these winters

Starting Over

I've purposely not been here for awhile. My idea of writing a blog based on commuting by bicycle has hit a few snags; due to a, how do I put this delicately, fucked up prostate, I'm not even sure I am a cyclist anymore. Also, does the world, or the 3 people who read this, need another bike commuter blog. There are plenty of them out there. But I do want to write, and this seems to be a good outlet. If I think that there are a few people reading this, then I tend to feel some commitment, and there is less chance of me lying. Well, maybe not. Never let the facts interfere with a good story.

Sunday Night Haiku

cold that blows through me
brings a smile to my chapped lips
snow will soon be here

Life at GNH Studios

Man, I can't believe it's been 2 weeks since I last wrote. Sorry about that, but things have been kind of busy around here. G and I have been working hard trying to get her studio painted so that the carpet people could come. We're done with the painting, the carpet is in, and all the furniture is back in. Now, G just has to get all her stuff back in place. What a mess!


It was actually pretty fun painting. Those of you that know me, know that I am not real into home redecorating. I have always told G, that she could do anything that she wanted, as long as it could be done while I was out on a bike ride. That was fine with her, because she is a perfectionist, and I am not. In other words, she wants to do it right, and I just want to get it done, so that I can go ride my bike. Unfortunately, as her spine continues to degenerate, the option for her to do all the things hat she wants to do is just not there. So, there is no other choice but for me to be her laborer. And much to my surprise, I have really enjoyed it.

The only problem with working for G, is that she is an artist, so nothing can be simple (which translates to fewer bike rides), but since we were really trying to get her studio done, I had her convinced to tone things down. I took a Friday off, and we had the whole downstairs primed and painted, including the ceiling, by Monday morning. That meant the carpet people could get right on it. Then disaster; the carpet that G had picked was out of stock, and had to be ordered. That gave G 2 weeks to think about her studio. So, now there is a stripe around the top of the walls, that gives the room a sense of depth, or contrast, or something else artsy. Anyway, it does look good, and I was able to talk her out of the 4th color.

I have been riding a bit lately. I'm riding to work 3 times a week, and getting a longer ride on the road bike on Saturdays. The knee is feeling good, though my leg still wears out pretty quickly. I see Doctor on Tuesday. I'm really jonesing for a mountain bike ride.

Tonight, before you go to bed, read some of the FatCyclist blog. Then, tell your wife, husband, partner, companion, mother, brother, sister, father how much you love them and how much they mean to you. Then, go back to Fatty's blog and donate to Livestrong. Last, but not least, say a prayer; for Fatty, for Susan, for all who have lost and all who have suffered.

Poop of the Day

I don't know what kind of poop you see on your daily commute, but here in northern Idaho, it can be quite varied. Of course, riding on a multi-use bike path, dog poop is not at all unusual, especially behind the I-90 rest area at Huetter Road. I have no idea why someone would watch their dog take a crap on the trail, and then not bother to dispose of it. I guess they just figure that no one else in the world is going to come along that trail.

Horse poop is also not unusual. Horses are not allowed on the trail, but that seems to be more of a guideline than a rule, and good lord, horses take a lot of craps. There is nothing I like more than riding through a nice fresh pile of horse shit, and then having it fly off my tires for the next hundred yards. Thank God for fenders.

Last spring, as the snow melted off of the trail, there appeared quite a bit of moose poop. But even that didn't surprise me that much. The moose population in these parts is growing, and like most places, there habitat is being encroached on more and more. I can only hope that I don't ride upon a moose cow and calf out on the trail. They are big, and like most mothers, don't take a perceived threat to their child lightly.

Then, last week, as I was slowly climbing the last short hill of the day (Dr King, if you are reading this; There are no hills on my commute. I swear!), I happened to look down, right as I passed a small pile of poop. I didn't think too much of it at the time, it was just poop. Then, it occurred to me, there was something unusual about that poop, so I went back for another look. Sure enough, it was full of cherry pits. A small (I hope) black bear must have been gorging himself on one of the wild cherry trees that grows along the trail, and then just couldn't contain himself till he got back to the woods. Yep, bear crap:

One for Fatty

So maybe I overdid it a little this week. Last week was the week from hell at work, so all I did was my gym workouts. This week I wanted to push it a little more. I rode to work on Sunday, and then again on Monday. That probably wouldn't have been too much, except that I accidently got out of the saddle on a short climb Monday morning, and discovered I couldn't spin through the top of the pedal stroke. Of course, being the OCD (obsessive-compulsive-dude) that I am, I worried about it all day at work. On the ride home, I kept getting out of the saddle to try to repair my spin. Now, I know that Doctor told me not to push any big gears, but I think what he really meant is to not push any big gears unless you become obsessed with the fact that your pedal stroke is not as good as it once was and you really need to fix it immediately or your entire world may crumble around you. Or something like that. Anyway, my leg has been pretty tired since then, and my knee aches more than it did, but I'm sure it will be just fine. And I can stand on the pedals and spin through the whole pedal stroke.

On a more serious note, if you follow Fat Cyclist blog, you know that things are not going real good. Cancer is a horrible disease. If you want to help, click here.