Sunday Fun day

I spent about 3 hours riding Landhal Sunday
3 dudes 3 single speeds
Only a few people about
The only noise was the sound of our tires on the dirt, the crunch of the leaves, and the buzz of our freewheels
Well that and the sounds of the shooting range










It was a fantastic day

For Laura...

Laura and Mr. Joshua popped in today and ended up helping me rearrange my living room.
Laura was a fantastic help. She was like a cleaning whirlwind.
Mr. Joshua simply drank my beer and tried to stay out of the way.
Mr. Joshua mentioned Red Fang whom Laura had never heard of.
She got her introduction.

KCSprints season opener photos

Some photos are going up from the KCSprints season opener Saturday night.
Capt'n Coco took some shots for us.
Check'em out here

Halloween weekend... its here

Well Halloween weekend is upon us.
Which means all over the place there are "crazy & spooky "things happening in the next couple of days.
Supposedly... I wouldn't know for sure. I don't get invited to those kinda things.
However, I do know about at least one.
The annual Homie Fall Fest in MPLS

If you have the means and time to be there I suggest being there.
If you ride bikes, drink beer, and enjoy fun you won't be disappointed.
Believe me.
I won't be there again this year. I had planned to go but the whole new bike thing kinda got in the way of it.
Ah well. I'm sure I can make my own kind of fun here...granted it might be locking all the doors, turning off the lights and hiding under a blanket.
But hey... I'll have fun. And thats all that matters.
Right?

Have a good weekend. I'm gonna go ride my bike.

Save Carrie's Thumb!

Since we are on the subject of spending money on worthy causes here is another one.

Evil Cycling's Capt'n Dave has a really nice lady friend named Carrie. They've been together for quite a long while... Boarding on common law marriage long while.
Yet as great as they are together, they have found themselves to be in a bit of a pickle... and its a big pickle

Carrie crashed during a weekly Ironclad ride and shattered her thumb.
Its not just broke (which for me would be bad enough) its SHATTERED.
Meaning a difficult, extensive and painful surgery plus lots of down time for Carrie.

Their insurance company, being the way insurance companies are, promptly ran away to hide.
Leaving Carrie and Dave holding the bag... a bag filled with 8k worth of medical bills.

Where do you come in?
Got a dollar? Got $5?
How about digging the change out of the cushions of your couch or the ashtray in your car and sending it their way?
Its easy.
Send it to savecarriesthumb@gmail.com VIA PayPal.

Cause we don't like this Carrie:


As much as we like this Carrie:


Save Carrie's Thumb!

The Vortex of Terror

Jessee LaLonde (Gary Fisher, BKB, CantiCult) is pretty freaking amazing



Blatantly lifted form All Hail the Black Market

Where I should be on the 4th of July

If things go as planned, that is...

What ya doing May 14th?

You should check out:

Nicole Rapp & Savannara Yos

in

"Natural Artifice"
Thursday May 14th
6PM to 12:30AM
Fashion Show begins @ 7PM
Location Event Space at Nara
1617 Main KCMO, 64108

No Cover/18 and Up
All nite cash bar
Dance party After the show
w/ DJ Boyfriend
JOIN US!!

visit: NRappDesigns.com for more info or to RSVP

Dirt Burger - Taste the Trails

Man Down

Here is what I know:
Tuesday morning driving from Lee Summit to Overland Park for work, a car on the shoulder suddenly pulled into traffic and BB hit them.
Then a large vehicle of some sort (SUV?) T-boned him.
The other drivers walked away. BB went to the emergency room with major head trauma and possible damage to his brain stem.
He is currently in the ICU in a medically induced coma.
I went and saw him today.
Not for very long but I went and talked to his family.
They are all trying to stay positive.
Its too early to let worry run the show.
Hes a pretty tough cat.
Its only been a few days.
Nothing to do but hurry up and wait.
The body will heal itself.
Think positive thoughts...


BB with wife Kellie and children Collin, Ella, and Lila Christmas 2008
Burt family album
BB's little one man graphic design company bb73design

3rd (?) Annual F*uk L-town Pub Crawl

The word came down today from "Sexy Pants"...

We are doing the third annual Fu*k Lawrence Pub Crawl on Saturday the 31st
We will meet at 75 Street Brewery at 7 pm.
We leave when we want to & go ride & drink until we fall over.
Pass this on to any you deem irresponsible enough.

big grin...

So there you have it. If you wanna play come play. If not stay home.
I would imagine that we will at least ride from 75Th to the River Market and back.
But then again who knows... it could very well end up being an all Waldo pub crawl.
Weather and what not could be a factor.
Guess we will have to wait and see.

Things to bring:
Drinking cap
Bike (duh)
Bike lock (may not get used but never a bad idea)
Camera (to capture the shenanigans)
Drinking money (shots are mandatory and I ain't buy'n yours, hell I may not be able to buy mine)
Dancing shoes (you never know)
A friend (the more the merrier right?)
A good attitude (act like a dick and you will get treated like a dick and probably smacked around, tied to a pole and left for dead. Hey it could happen!).

A little advice from the single guy...
If you are "attached" and your mate doesn't play... er,ride get a kitchen pass early so you can.
Also spend sometime buttering he/she/it up during the week, taking out the trash etc.
This way when you call them drunk at 4AM lost and alone (or tied to a pole cause you were being a dick) they won't laugh and hang up but come and find you.
Trust me... this does/can/will happen.

*Little history...
The F*ck L-town Pub Crawl started a few years back (technically it hasn't happened annually for 3 years... we slacked and forgot last year, maybe one other year too but this is the third year of doing it... I think. It all kinda runs together after a while).
Back in the day there was a huge pub crawl every year in L-town the weekend of or before (Like I said its all run together) the Super Bowl.
After several years of doing it we (I) realized that we didn't know anyone that lived in L-town any more. So no place to crash.
We hoteled it one year but that got expensive quick.
And whats the point of driving out to L-town for a pub crawl if you can't get blind drunk when you have to drive home? F*ck L-town, we can do it better in KCMO.
Thus the F*ck L-town Pub Crawl was born.

See you kids on the 31st.

Wedding weekend

Well we all survived
Glenn is hitched
Good times had by all, tux issues or not
Too lazy feeling to write too much about it right now but here are some pics

10-4... good buddy

Saturday should be fun
A friend I have know since I was a wee lad is getting married Saturday
10-4

I don't know who is the bigger fool
My friend for asking me to be in the wedding
Or me for agreeing to do so
At least he didn't ask me to be the best man

The best parts about weddings?
I look damn good in a tuxedo
And weddings are a supposed to be good place to hook up... right?
I have been to and in alot of weddings (ALOT) and that rarely (never) happens
It does make for some good stories ...
*insert flash back music here*
Several years ago I went to Sadella for a college buddy's wedding
I met a gal
Tall thin with a good shape
Dark hair Glasses
Very cute but also sexy in that "dirty librarian" kind of way
She was very obviously interested
Good eye contact (I had two then) Interesting small talk.
We had a dance
It had potential to be a promising evening
She told me she had a room there in the hotel
She invited me up... and then...
Then I asked about her husband
The husband I had been introduced to with her earlier in the evening
The husband she had been holding hands with while staring at me so hard I could feel it from across the room
"Oh don't worry about him. By now he's asleep."
She gave me a room number and left
!!!!!!!!! ????????
I quickly found the free bar and the table full of friends where they all had a good laugh
Then we proceeded to drink all the alcohol the wedding had to offer
Then we moved to the bar and tried to drink them dry too
All while toasting the happy couple into the wee hours of the morning
Good fun

Biker Down!

Got word that fellow cyclist and friend Vanessa was taken down yesterday

Hit by a car on her pedal to work Tuesday morning

Last report she was in the ICU with head trauma, a broken jaw and collar bone

Send any extra good vibes you go towards KC

We are all hoping for a speedy recovery

Vanessa wasn't the only one hit today. I caught part of a news report tonight of a cyclist getting hit out east in Lee Summit.

Be careful out there people

Sprialing into depression but I think we have made it to the other side

Sorry there haven't been many post as of late.
The only topic I seem to have on my mind as of late is my disappointment with how things are going with my job.
Not the kind of dirty laundry really I want to air here (especially since I know people in my company read this).
I will say that I am having serious doubts that I will be employed by my current employer (I have worked there the last 8 years) by this time next year.
I will either be fired or I will quit.
I certainly hope I am wrong. Most days I like my job and I would like to believe that I am good at it.
I think the most frustrating part is that store policies and regulations are set by people that don't even work in our store or even live in our state. They are trying to make everything the same here as it is there.
I don't know if this is a good idea. Our market is different than the market in Colorado, or Ohio, or North Carolina.
But what do I know? I am simply a poorly educated schmuck who should consider himself lucky to work there at all.
Maybe its just simply bad timing.
Dropping new store policies on us right as the season gets rolling. As if there isn't enough going on dealing with the fresh rush or customers and product, training new people and getting our ducks in a row. Tack on these new rules and store policies that supposedly have always been there and everyone is in a tizzy.
For me personally this is compounded with the realization this last week that I am not really friends with any one I work with.
Some of them were my friends but now they are simply co-workers.
I don't hang out with or even ride with anyone I work with anymore.
Not that they aren't fine people or they have changed since we work together.
Mostly the problem is me.
It never used to be this way.
When I started in the bike biz it was with old college buddies. If we weren't at work together we were riding, drinking, or simply hanging out together. Our little group of guys all met and rode together in college and then all ended up at the same bike shop. We like to believe that it was us that spurned out shops growth here locally.
We were all so excited about bikes and our excitement excited other people to ride. I just remember having so much fun going to work.
But times change. We all get older, grow apart, move on to other things.
I find myself wondering more and more what it would be like if I could afford to quit, pack my stuff up in a van and move to a new life and adventure in a new city.
But...
This thinking also comes with its own set of problems.
Where do I go?
Where do I live?
What would I do for a job? I don't think of myself to be very employable... I don't have very many if any job skills. I believe I only have a job I have because of the friends that used to work there.
Then there is the whole meeting new people thing...finding a place to fit in... I am not good at that either.
I have been told most of my problems all start with me.
I am my own worst enemy.
I am plagued constantly with self doubt and insecurity.
I have been this way most of my life. I am not sure why. I am told that I am like able enough and I do have friends. But its been some time since I have had the kind of friendship with anyone similar to ones I remember from my past. Or maybe it isn't that those friendships don't exist as much as it is that they don't exist here.
At least not anymore.
Maybe I spend too much time alone.
Maybe I need a woman.
Maybe I just need to go for a ride.
Maybe I need to ride more often.
Maybe I should stop thinking so much.
Maybe if I just relax it will all be OK.
Maybe I should stop this rant because its only making me depressed...

OK.
I had to walk away from this post for a while.
Take a break, make some dinner, do some reading, flip some channels.
I was starting on the downward spiral of depression and that is not where I want to go.
And I certainly don't want to take you with me.
I wasn't intending to start a pity party when I started this post an hour or so ago.
Besides, I need to hit the bed in a good mood tonight.
I plan on getting up and out early. Motoring out east to Landahl where the trails are finally dry.
I haven't been on my 29er yet this season. The trails have just been to wet.
HSP's Spoke Pony Showdown 3/6 has been rescheduled for this Saturday the 29th.
I plan to "race" provided that I don't get sucked into working the store (oops there we go again... slowly back away, slowly back away...).
I say "race" because with my poor fitness and lack of riding as of late I will be lucky to do more than a couple of laps. Let alone doing laps for 3 hours or 6 if I do the Duo.
But we shall see
I can't wait to rip it up tomorrow for a couple of hours.
Here's to hoping I don't over sleep!

*Ya know... I wasn't sure that I was even going to post the first part of this.
But ya know what?
I feel much better now that I have vented.
Sorry to take you though all that muck.
Its more for me than for you.
Thanks for reading*

Glad that week is over

Its Tuesday. A week ago today I woke up feeling like I had been hit by a truck.
Turns out I had some sort of space fungi living in my lungs.
I spent for days on the couch or in bed. Even simply pacing "Z Manor" left me breathing heavily and sweating.
This wasnt a good sign.
Four days with a lot of water, bad T.V. and some pretty decent movies.
I made a list. 12 total.
A week later I know I feel better but I am still not quite here.
Motovation for anything isn't really there
Funny how being sick for 4 days and then two days of play put you right back feeling like its the frist day not being sick.
Two days of play? Yeah I manged to feel good enough to play on Saturday and Sunday.
I put 23 miles on the road Saturday with Bryce. It wiped me pretty good and I didn't go out again after that ride.
Sunday I set out to have breakfast with Mr. Joshua, Laura, and Feyh. The restrant was closed so we changed plans. Ended up at McCoy's for bloody mary's and eats. Bloody Mary's turned into $6 pitchers. Other friends arrived. Beer flowed freely.
Nex thing I know its 3AM Monday morning and I have just got home.
Where did Sunday go and how do I think I am starting a fresh new week back on the job?
Funny how time flys by when you are hanging and drinking with friends, new and old.
Needless to say Monday was kinda rough.
I was back in bed again by 9 PM.
Lot of things to play catch up with at work this week.
Heading to MPLS for Frost Bike Friday afternoon. Could be a fun weekend.
I am a bit concerned though. Going with a couple of guys from work.
And although its techincally a work trip I want to have fun.
Not baby sit.
Big Grin won't be a problem but I worry that the other fella might be.
I would like to talk to him about it and didn't when I had the chance, now he is at Specialized in Morgan Hill. I won't see him until Friday night in MPLS.
I ain't one to air work differences (anymore) here and its a long story that I don't want to get into.
I just don't want to baby sit.
Nuff said.

Now thanks to Big Grin, enjoy this peice of Pork.