Monday, June 16, 2014

Heads and feets

Heads as in bicycling helmets and feets as in cycling shoes.

I have noticed as of late that my old Lake shoes are looking a titch worn. I've had them since 05-06. 8 years is nice stretch for shoes. Same holds true of the Uvex helmet. Around 8 years by all standards I should have a new helmet by now. It's that that uvex is so unusual here and man it's a damn fine helmet. Plus it's black.

I have always wanted a catlike:

The price even on sale is steep at over 170 bucks. So unless I absolutely NEED a new helmet No catlike in my future. Which brings up me feets.

I love my lakes make no mistake I bought them with the express purpose of wearing them for hours on end and days at a time on the Colorado Trail. They worked remarkably for that purpose and many others esp on certain sections of the CT that were hike-a-bike I know I know everyone LOVES sidis which is all fine and good, I just bristle at wearing what others wear. I also did not like the idea of a buckle busting on me in the middle of no where and then I'm fucked with no good way to wear the shoe and pedal or walk. The lakes have velcro and although velcro wears out after a bit you don't have to worry about it failing on you on day 4 of a 7-8 day trip in the back country.

I do have to admit the sidi does have some current appeal:

At 260 bones well...I think the lakes will do for now as well. Unless my lakes totally fall apart and cannot be repaired with duct tape then nearly any shoe will be out of budget. Most of my money is tied up in going to the west coast for a week and building out the crew area of the truck. Which is coming along fine in small increments. I'll have a special post about that in a few weeks.

So far I have torn out the jump seats and cut out all the surrounding plastic in the crew compartment which in the middle held the jack. I put new and better sound proofing in there and today measured out and made cardboard templates for the wood that will go in there. There is a lot of small crevices in the area and thought it would be simple to just try to make it all square. I'm by no means a handy dude and will be really be depending on B.I.L to help out since he has experience with RV type things. I have a plan that I think will work now I just gotta get my shit together for it.

I try to get a truck project a summer done a year last year it was the camper shell. I'm planning my Asheville MTB trip for around the end of July. Lots needs to happen by then, even if I just get the wood part down I'll be happy. I'll post a rough sketch soon too.

I'll end here I have to pack for my west coast trip and work this week. Then this will be my last ride for the next week or so over at Dauset at the ass crack of dawn. I might be able to squeeze one in at the very end of June depending on circumstances. Thanks for reading.

Sunday, June 15, 2014

Father's Day

Not so much a melancholy day here at BOSAHFOW rather one of remembrance. Today I was up early so I could drive up to Pop's grave and put some flowers and a couple of small things at the grave side. I'm not one to hang out at a grave and talk to a head stone or marker, I'm just not that type. Honestly, I view father's day as MY day to go up there, I'm his only son everyone else gets the rest of the year I just want that one day and just a small time frame at that. I spent all total an hour up there making things just so. I cut down some dog wood blooms for his marker vase with his old tin snips. It's not with some jealousy that I hear everyone else's father's day plans and to a small degree would want one more father's day with Pop. I think all of us who has lost someone we love wishes the same.

I had the grave yard pretty much to myself since I was up there just after dawn. I got use to rising way early for nursing school stayed in the habit now. It's paying off now I find that just after dawn is really when most people are just not out just yet. I got Dauset to myself for hours with that this past Saturday the 14th.

It was really nice. I loved that I did not have a human soul within a few miles of me that morning. I got to see wildlife and enjoy a nice cool morning doing that elusive thing I like so much. "soul riding" which happens less and less these days.

Let's get back to Father's Day here. I can't say what Pop would approve of now and his last clear directive towards me was "Live your life" which I do my best with my ongoing philosophy of work hard/play hard. Really in all honestly if it was not for Pop driving me all over the south east to BMX race I seriously doubt I'd still be riding today. Pop was no huge cyclist and he only cared about bicycles because I did, he did support me and carry me to the hospital or bike shop as needed. He was the same with boy scouts too. I can't think of a time when he was not involved, taking a vacation day here and there to ferry us to whatever trip, sleeping out in the rain, heat and cold with the rest of us. He was no great woodsman one thing he did was care and was there.

Pop came from a time when it was unusual for a woman to raise kids on her own. His father bailed on them when he was a kid. Pop broke the cycle of dysfunction with me and without knowing it gave me some real corner stones to my own life. Cycling, being outside and a work ethic are among them. I'm thankful for those. As long as I am close to Georgia I'll make the effort to go grave side, it won't always be the case though.

Road trips to go riding always remind me of the BMX trips Pop and I took. Getting up at or before the crack of dawn and heading out, it's a special feeling to have in a sense because I still do that and think of him when ever I have the truck loaded to do such a trip. I'll close with that thought. Thanks for reading.


Friday, June 13, 2014

Friday the 13th

There is a small competition between me and SSK. It's who can wish the other a "Happy Friday the 13th" first. In years past SSK usually won, now though since I live back east I usually get the first one in. I texted here and her husband at zero dark thirty wishing them well on this day of urban omens.

Usually I try to do one of two things on this day. One oddly enough one is work. Once you've been around for awhile in the emergency department you kind of want truly unique experiences. I'm still waiting to see a  thanksgiving turkey tryptophan overdose.   I won't get into them here, we talked about it at work yesterday and apparently it's going to be a full moon. I don't pay much heed to the full moon crap. I do give a firm nod to changes in barometric pressure, which brings out the sickness and crazy in folks.

The other I TRY to do is go for a ride. Since I am working a ride is pretty much out of the picture. It's an unfortunate reality of my job. I will ride on Saturday the 14th:


That's the plan at least. Well I've dallied enough time to gather my shit for "Freaky Friday the 13th" thanks for reading.

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

I really don't have a home

This has been a recurrent theme here at BOSAHFOW. I keep being reminded of it from time to time. Nothing to really mention here just small things that remind me that hey I'm constantly living under someone else's  roof. As my 2-3 readers know that since leaving Colorado I have had a real hankering for elbow room:


With that said I have worked here and there on my summer breaks to make my truck (that Pop gave me on his death bed) more well home like. It has been small things like the camper shell and shelf on the bed now it's getting more serious. I recently took out the jump seats in the extended cab to take on the project to have more storage space. Throwing gear into this extended cab area makes for a mess and breaks things. this goes into an areas I have little confidence in which is cabinet making and working on truck.

I'll be cutting the interior here soon and buying insulation and wood to start this little project. I've got it fairly planned out now I just need follow through. I was really inspired by this video I saw this morning:

OK the video I want won't down load here is the link:


The beer taps is what made it for me. Seriously though, here is a thought. Have a tiny house and the rest of the money you invest into lots around the country. Like have a piece of land in the Rocky Mountains some place maybe up in Asheville out in Sedona up in the Cascades in the northwest on the left coast someplace? It's an appealing thought to me.

The video also reminded me a lot of people I knew in Colorado and their attitude about skiing which was "Never turn away willingly from good powder" which I carried to "never turn away from a good trail"

I got up early to go ride over at Dauset this morning so I better get cracking. Thanks for reading.