20/20

Good: Taking a year off from riding a bike since I was sick of it, getting back into some other things I hadn't been into for a while, getting over the feeling that I have to train every single day or else I am falling apart, turning money from bikes and everything else involved in racing and riding into other valuable items like: a new bow, blind, puppy, tree stand.

Bad: Getting rid if ALL my bike stuff. I mean every single scrap. This wouldn't have been bad except for the fact that I'm wanting to get back into riding. So it's like starting over. That takes some money, but you just figure out how to do it cheap.

Advice: Take time off if you need it. Don't get rid of all your stuff.

The future: My outlook on cycling has changed some now that I've had time to get away for a while. I think I'll do some racing, but not much. I think I'll be able to keep it a lot more fun now also since I have no intention of trying to ride everyday. I'm not going to stock up on lots of stuff. I want to keep it simple this time and own what I need and that's about it. Nothing fancy. Nine speed for now. No epic long rides. No riding in bad weather- that's running and lifting weather. No more beer in the waterbottles- no vodka either. No carrying chili in a ziplock for a mid-ride snack.

Goals: Get my link spot back on Butthead's blog, go back to having Meathead call me five times in an hour to set up a 20 minute ride, get dropped by Mr. International Junior Toothpick, meet up at the Coffee Zone for a ride, drink coffee, forget about the ride and go home.

Ahh... good times ahead.

Roots, Blues, Rock and Bikes

Columbia is a cool town. I've posted and boasted about this before, but it keeps getting better. It's cheap to live here, it's got lots of stuff to do- both indoor and out, culture, rednecks, gays, bi, lesbians, curious, Christians, Atheists, left-wingers, right-winger, intelligence, morons, city mice, country mice, hunters, anti-hunters. Everything and everyone. City parks, state parks, dog parks. Good weather, bad weather, moderate and extreme weather. Well, I'm starting to sound like Dr. Sueuss so let me get to the point. This weekend we have the BCNB Roots and Blues Festival. It's going to be pretty cool. Music and BBQ competition for two days. Did I mention it's free and even Taj Mahal will be here to open the weekend. Checkitout . I didn't realize it, but apparently I could enter the BBQ contest. I'm not going to toot my horn too much, but I think I could do pretty good with a big ol' pork loin like we had at Leslie's birthday last November. That thing weighed about 12lbs and there was nothing left by the time the sun went down. Then on the following Wednesday, Wilco will be here to play a show on 9th St. in front of the BlueNote. I may not make that show since tickets are high dollar. I could always just hang out on the corner down the street I guess and bring a pair of binocs. Then, on 9/11 the Tour of Missouri starts with one of the stages ending right here in C-Town. All this and Tiger Football. I must be living right.

What th! How'd that get there?

So I go out in my garage this morning and look what's hanging between my Element and one of my climber tree stands: