Man....I don't Know!!!

You know, sometimes a Brother just gets something stuck in his eye. Just bugs him, pestering and irritating. You think, what the hell are you doing fool.

We all got things in our lives that we love to do. Driven to get better, passion to excel. Extracurricular activities. On the side. We love then, can't get enough of them, think about them, obsess if you will. But in the end, they are just hobbies, sports, activities....a way to take your mind off the grind of everyday man. We may love it, need it, crave it, push other factors of our lives aside to make room, but in the end it is just a hobby......If it don't pay the rent, then.....son....... you got yourself a hobby. If you can find a way to pay the rent doing it...more power to ya, but at our age.......sorry man that ain't going to happen. Some would say they become a distraction.

I am not saying that, but some would (the distraction part, anyway).

What are the important things.......The things that need immediate attention. Commitments, promises.....your responsibilities, your Kids, your spouse. Sometimes they aren't fun, are about more than you, but they're yours and you must reach out and embrace them, grab them and hold on tight.....cause Brother, sometimes they take you to a place you don't want to be. Next thing you know, your like, "What the F#*&, how did I get here."

Makes the world go round. Don't commit if you cant come through.....

Sometimes people just bug me. Bale out on a great thing.....cause its hard, and it gets in the way of play time with the kids. What worthwhile thing in life isn't hard? Give me one........Something fulfilling.....Give me one.

Anyway.....Sometimes...... it sticks in your eye and bugs you, it eats at you, causes the stomach to turn........and you think, Man.......what are you doing?

Latenight Shuffle

The kids gots themselves some colds and I have been spending a lot of time doing the latenight room to room shuffle. Cough, wheeze, cough...shuffle, shuffle.....pat, pat, pat....deep breath...Z'zzz. Wait one hour......repeat. Waking up at 4:20 does not work very well on that schedule if you want functioning neurons later in the Day.

So......to the trainer I go. Cycling.tv and a towel to wipe away the drops as the sweat stings the eye ball. Oh, how I love the morning ride. The cold that creeps into the bones. The first 10 minutes is pure torture, but then bliss..........

Warmth creeps out from the inside, the engine starts to purrr and then the skin becomes clammy and sticky sweet.

Too Freakin Cold

It's supposed to be 31 freakin degrees tomorrow morning at dark thirty. My morning ride buds from the hood are bailing and this little tickle in the back of my pie hole has left me thinking about the trainer and sweat pooling on the floor below me. It's that or frozen cheeks and water bottles.

It is really hard to talk when you are riding in 31 degree weather.

Oh...but I do love the morning ride (more to come on that), and I know the die-hards will be there. JH, Beers4, GVnata, and that French guy, Mellon Ball. I want to get out there and push um down, but nay, sense and sensibility force me to rethink.

I will let you know what I decide......

Nice Day

Today was one of those beautiful winter days in the Central Valley. Crisp, clean, blue skies, with the Sierra in full effect. Patterson Bluff rising out of the valley, the giant granite monolith shining in the sun. You know the air is crystal clear when you can see that huge beast of a rock from freeway 41.

Lots of people know about the cliffs in Yosemite, the granite monoliths of Kings Canyon, but few know of Patterson. This 2,000 foot giant rises up out of the Sierra foothills and casts its weighty view over the central valley like a sentinel on guard against the oppressors of our day.

It seems so close. Like you should be able to reach out and touch it. Fact is, it's a 3 hour drive and a nasty bush whack through poison oak covered slope to get to its base. No Fun.

Today the San Joaquin River Parkway and Conservancy trust hosted their holiday cheer festivities out at the Coke Hallowell Center for river studies, a fancy name for the River House. It is a lovely restored late 1800's farm house off of Old Friant Road.

Anybody who has done a ride from The Berg has most likely gone past this gem. Lovely place. The conservancy does wonderful things to promote river awareness and has been buying up large pieces of land along the river to protect this natural wonder right in our back yards. Stop buy and check it out.

The Fresno wildlife rehabilitation center was there showing off some off their best selections of avian species saved from the clutches of death. This fabulous Peregrine was saved from the grave after some knuckle-head took a pot shot at it and damaged its wing. Now this representative of the fastest bird species in the world is flightless. Still amazed by the idiots.

I can remember a time when Tracy and I were up at Yosemite point and two Peregrines were doing a dance for our sole enjoyment. Rising up from the Valley floor on thermals they would soar high until they pointed their wings back and morphed into a avian bullet and shot past us 20 yards away at 180 mph straight down 3,ooo feet into the valley. The two twisting and turning together in a spiraling love dance. Performing their splendid aerial show while we sat awestruck by their acrobatics. Amazing creatures, living in a vertical world.

I have had many experiences with these wonderful birds over the years in my time hanging from ropes high up on the granite cliffs in the Valley and every one is inspiring. They watch you, you watch them, and then they shoot off, masters of their domain.

The encounters never get old.