return of the scorcher

the year was 1987. saw glass tiger and cutting crew at my first daytime outdoor concert in tucson. rode off base on my first road bike to this fiasco. imagine a pseudo glam athlete hopped up on the smiths and morrissey mixing in a little big daddy kane and doing 4 rides a week with a future member of the 7 eleven team. all of this while 13 years old. running cross country and still getting gates two nights a week at sports park back when the bmx track was still there. man, where did i get all of that energy? i couldn't even spell fatigue, much less identify with it. the scorcher was the first bike not named pk ripper that i fell in love with. 87 miyata 912. shimano 600 components, which were the shit at the time. i was too poor to go italian, plus andy was riding a japanese bike. when your 13 and a 21 year old is talking to you like more of a human being than your parents are, you pretty much emulate that dudes every move. i remember going to the bike shop to pick it up. andy drove me. he pretty much convinced the owner of speedway bikes to sell me the bike at wholesale. first ride was gates pass. i have never been so sore. good times.

so the scorcher is back. finally home after a long nap in a storage unit in tucson. at some point the shimano 600 stuff went away and a mix of 105 and deore lx was mixed in. i was in a different place when that unfortunate change happen. something about a pennywise tape, surfboards and wanting to move to hawaii. desperation almost cost me the scorcher. changes were made, but the buyer never showed. good thing.

now that he's home, i just let him grow a fresh moustache and overhauled the bearings. trued the wheels and threw on some rubbers. tonight, in the rain, the scorcher rides again. ipod was blaring "don't forget me" . emotional shit, people.

youth is forever. thankfully, though, the glam period was not.

163

a new day. a deep breath. no rattles, shakes or spits. sun was up and fog was clear. up early, so decided upon a road trip east. took a friend up on an invite to come over and revisit dirt paths that were not taken while playing poker back in october. sascha had designs on running up and down black butte, but her owner, sean, knew better with the snow line. owner wins this time. had a little trouble parking because a momma deer and her fawn were not in any hurry to move out from the middle of his driveway. no worries. i'm not in a hurry, either. the deer in downtown sisters are about tame. just about. yet just wild enough to stay wild. kinda like a feral cat that trusts you enough to safely live in your barn and let you feed him, but not enough to let you pet him. the weather today was fantastic. beautiful, 49 degrees at our 11 o'clock start and just hints of snow and ice in places from where it was 16 degrees last night. up old highway 20 to the five mile hill gave up 180 degree views of all 3 sisters, washington, jefferson, 3 fingered jack, black butte and the peak of mt. adams. quick break for gels and adjustments and we were on the peterson ridge trail system outside of town. beautiful day. little bit of snow, but hard enough to make it so you could just glide over the tops of it. shorts and long sleeve shirts and that fantastic sunlight. nice run, looking forward to returning in a few months to do some racing on the same trail system. popping back in town a half mile from the house. quick stretch, change and it was a short walk downtown for some outdoor seating in the sun, pumpkin soup and veggie bagel sandwich with lemon and avocado spread at angelines bakery. thanks to sean for the tour and the hospitality. thanks to sascha for being the pathfinder she is.

chill

emerging

the sun has power. mindset. the smiles on others faces. watching plants and grass turn and reach out for it's rays. it's a powerful things. it's not hard to see why it has been worshiped by cultures. the weight loss has balanced and i am actually 3 pounds back up. my hunger has returned and the only remnants of my sickness seem to be this thick krupi in my chest plate and the burning cough that is expectorating the shit out. sleep is so important. i am amazed at how much i could get in one day and still be tired. the sickness seems at it's worst when i am awakening.

sun is here for the next three days at least after shining bright and beautiful all day today. porching was returned to the fold and teetee got a chance to get outside and eat some grass and roll around in the compost pile. yuk. but she has been deprived for a few months.

going to try and emerge enough tomorrow to go gently turn my legs over a bit for about 20 minutes and see what running and breathing does to this crap in my chest. this will be the test as to whether i need to seek help from a medical professional as i have exhausted the over the counter and alternative naturopath meds. of course, my appetite returning is making a huge difference. i just don't want this stuff to linger for a few more weeks if a few antibiotics can knock it out for good. i rode gretchen fetchen up to the store to fill her basket with orange juice for her inaugural ride. been debating whether to get my boy, lane, to build her a sweet cetma instead of the basket, or to just go full on xtracycle. her purpose is for fetchen stuff. groceries. liquids. items for the garden. one step closer to not having to use the car unless leaving town.