The (Not So) Big Crash of 2013

     When you have a ride like this, you don't leave it in the garage or in our case, the shed. FH and I have really been tearing the streets up the past eight months. We have put about 250-300 miles on the bike since we first put the seat on the back of the bike and had it tuned up by the great folks at Cherry Street Cycles. And for those critics out there, that is not hyperbole, but rather something very close to the truth. If you do the math, that comes out to about 31 or so miles a month or a mere 7 or so miles a week. Our longest ride is 15 miles and our average is around 2-3 miles. Right now, we are living in what Mel calls the "polar vortex", so the mileage is at a slight stand still. We have gone out a few times, but we usually end up with a Fordsicle and we don't want that. Know we aren't really cruising along at high speeds, but we do keep it around 8-10 miles an hour and we plan on keeping that speed up. Let's just say we've got a three speed internal hub system and we know how to use it!

        And if you ride long enough and consistent enough to really get around it is almost a given that you will crash in some way. No, it won't be (we hope) getting hit by a car or totaling your bike in some near fatal wreck, but you will wreck. It is a given. If you ride exclusively on bike trails away from the trials of the city and motor traffic, then this is a very rare occurrence. But when you are riding the streets like FH, Mel, and myself do, then you will probably wreck the ole' two-wheeled stallion. It may be quick and almost harmless, but you will fall off, be thrown, get your tire caught in a rut, or just plain run into something. It won't happen often, but it will happen.

   Riding a bike may be something that can be picked up rather easily as the old phrase goes, but if you've ridden for any length of time, you, like me, wonder where that phrase came from. You may never exactly forget how to ride, but riding alone is no piece of cake and chauffeuring a toddler ain't exactly child's play. I'm not in anyway complaining or making it seem anymore serious or technical than it actually is, but a cyclist must be on constant guard; even if it is just a five minute ride around the neighborhood. There are cars, trucks, SUV's, high school drivers, private school moms, delivery drivers, rednecks, college girl drivers, police, 18 wheelers, etc and they are all paying attention to something else and most of them don't want you sharing the road with them. Throw in a couple of bad paving jobs, potholes, broken glass, elderly drivers, dogs, and trash cans on the sidewalk and you have yourself a place ripe for a mishap! And all of that finally caught up with FH and me.

The way the great beast looks now. 

The way the great beast looked. 

      And so it finally happened to us. I used to wonder how it would happen and hoped it would be practically painless and far way from heavy traffic and to my surprise, I got all my wishes. We were heading home at the fading of the twilight hours and I was pointing out some lights to FH and all of the sudden my knee hurt like mad, the bike stopped, we lunged forward, and FH let out a very loud, "uh, oh!". We didn't lay the bike down and we didn't have the bike on top of us and we didn't have scrapes on our helmets. We had just run into the back of a solid black trailer that was parked on the street. Our grocery basket had saved us! We wouldn't have been so lucky had we fallen prey to the laughs of those we pass at times, but we kept the basket on and it saved us; all except my knee. Here are a few shots of the basket. You can see we dented it pretty well, but that's what happens when you crash an aluminum basket into a steel trailer at 11 mph. If you were wondering, we didn't even put a scratch on the trailer. 

From the side. 

The shattered apparatus that attaches to the handlebars and that you attach the bike to. 

A top and angled view. 

A view from the top down. 

A front view. 

    We are fine and we've been fine. The scrape on my knee didn't amount to much minus a few days of pain and a surface scratch. FH was unharmed and thought it was funny. We threw the basket away and are riding with an old, steel locker basket attached with green speed ties at the moment (Locker basket 55 to be exact). Another front basket is in the works. Once you start riding with a basket and use it on a regular basis, then riding without one is hardly an option. Where are we supposed to carry our snacks and do you think we were going to leave home without them? FH and I hardly think we're going to be doing any such thing. You are free do so, but we aren't leaving anywhere without a few necessities and we surely aren't going to start wearing a backpack or something. We are basket men and we plan on staying that way. Our next basket is going to be a Wald basket and we're going to sport it with pride. What do you think?

Silver or black? 

  Happy reading and happy, but safe riding,

  DAVID

She Did It Again…Or Hey, Mr. DJ Turn the Record On, I Want to Dance With My Baby

No, not her...but her, silly!

You know…my better half. My brown-eyed beauty from South GA. My very own Sweet Melissa.

   I am married to this lady. Don't ask me how. I'm still not sure exactly how. My college minister said I was marrying up, but this my friend, is way up. I, sometimes, tell people or students that my parents paid her. I, sometimes, think she had a moment of weakness or maybe a multitude of years where she was feeling especially philanthropic. I hope she got the hours. No matter what her reasoning was or is, I still did pretty well in the ole' marriage department. She has her faults, but in the scope of things...those are few and far between and compared to mine, they are what my students would describe as "weak sauce". 

   Anyway, the above lady, has a past. No, not that kind of past, but she has a past and what the good folks on Law & Order call an MO. And this MO has to do with her buying Christmas presents for me. Don't worry, this is my last post about Christmas. I, never intend for this place to be a venue where I brag, but when it comes to the gifts my sweet Mel buys me, I'm not sure what else to do except brag or talk about them with beaming pride. Her MO goes a little like this: she has me make a Christmas list, she looks at the list, and then she goes and buys me something I have never asked for, but end up loving and using a lot. If you'll remember, last year, she bought me this:

    I wrote a blog about it and you can read it here again. I won't give you the list of all the gifts she has ever purchased for me, but she bought me my first bow tie. She sent us to a David Gray concert. She bought me my digital hiking thermometer. She bought me my first pipe. You get it. She is a great gift buyer. I, now know that each Christmas, the box under the tree from her isn't going to be something on my list, but rather it is going to be something I didn't even know I wanted, but will end up loving. And this year, she did not disappoint, but she did follow her signature MO (mode of operation or method of operation). And now to the gift…

It's a briefcase…

It's a suitcase…

It's the proverbial "football"…

No, sillies…it's the Crosley Cruiser 3 Speed Portable Turntable with embedded speakers!

      I won't say too much about the gift because I really don't know much about it except it is an awesome gift and I have enjoyed having it. It make listening to music seem like an event when you take the record out, place it on the turntable, place the needle on the record, turn it on, watch the record spin, and wait for the sounds to come from the speakers. Sort of makes digital music seem like it is missing something. No, I won't go all super-hipster on you and look you in the eye and wax poetically about how records have a better sound quality than the music that streams from my iPod because that's simply just not true, but it is a whole lot more fun. FH and I one to put the record on, wait for the music, and dance for a while. Or all three of us love to turn it up loud and really shake what our momma's gave us which can be a little tricky if you find yourself in FH's velcro shoes because his mom is right there.

Listening and dancing to music is awesome!!!

      I have never come right out and said that I'd like a record player, but I know when we go to someone's house that has one, I always end up saying how neat I think they are and Mel has been listening all along. And this Christmas, she dressed up like Santa and put one under the Douglas Fir for me. We have been giving our one record a lot of play and at times I look over and at her and she's showing small signs of regret, but don't worry, FH and I are quick to remind her that she bought it for us. And we turn it up louder and press through!

An inside view of our player. 

   The actual player is made by Crosley. They make radios, cd players, and a plethora of other sound devices. It is a 3 speed player, which means that it can play 45's, 33's, and 78's, which is really just record sizes. A neat and very useful part of the player are the embedded speakers. This is the part of the player that usually gets it a lower rating or review with the chief complaint being they aren't loud enough, but DJ Moonlight Mel, Fancy Fingers Ford, and Dirty D have turned it up to the max and we aren't quite sure what situation one might find themselves in where these little speaks aren't quite loud enough for you. Well…we can think of a few, but we don't want to be there.  It also has adaptations for plugging in additional speakers, as well, as an outlet for headphones or earbuds. 

Our player at task. 

     We only have one newish record so far, but please know there are grand plans of building a little collection. My first record that I opened on Christmas morning is Paracosm by a group called Washed Out. We first heard them on our Andrew Bird Pandora station and my little sis SHA turned us on to the rest of their work, but we were already in love with their song that is used as the opening song for the show Portlandia. Don't worry, it is your typical record full of hipster (read: white, post-college, granola, outdoorsy) nonsense. We like it and as they say, "its got a good beat we can dance to." I am told there is an Andrew Bird album on back order somewhere, but it hasn't shown its head as of yet, but when it does we'll give Ernest Greene and crew a little break. But until then, we'll keep spinning the hits and dancing as a party of three in our dining room as we watch the fantastic looking maroon record spin. 

The Paracosm Album Cover

   Happy reading, but even happier listening,

   DAVID

Two Very Neat Cycling Videos

    

   Ever since sometime last year, I have had cycling on the brain and I just can't shake it and I don't really want to. It happened the day I discovered Grant Peterson, his "Velosophy", his book, Just Ride,  Rivendell Bike Works, and the whole mindset of enjoying something rather than looking at it like a must or a grinding away the hours exercise. I know this mindset is not attached solely to Grant Peterson and the the great folks at Rivendell Bike Works, but they do a great job of exhibiting that train of thought. Public Bikes is another place that does that to, but I prefer Rivendell myself. I have already written a post about all that and if you haven't read it, you can check that post out here. I will just say again that from the day I finished reading that book it was like a giant weight had been lifted from my shoulders and I could finally enjoy riding my bike like I did when I was a kid. And ever since then, I have been finding ways to ride that way almost every day. Most of the time, I am doing it this way:

   But, I've also been doing it solo and with a couple of friends on some great Sunday afternoon rides and some pretty fantastic night rides. It is so much fun to just wear normal clothes, hop on your bike, and ride. And spend the time looking around instead of pushing through the miles and checking them off your list of things you had to do for the day and constantly feeling like your less than you need to be. I spend my time rather spotting neat things to stop and look at and wondering why everyone else isn't doing this. And to my surprise, I feel like I have become a better rider in the process. 

   Anyway, enough of that. I stumbled upon these two gems while doing some internet snooping for bikes. I have watched them too many times to honestly say and I've made my poor wife and son watch them to. They do so patiently and pretend to enjoy them. They make me want to go ride and I hope they do the same for you. I am looking forward to the day when FH is old enough and we can start doing a little of this. The Rivendell folks call them the s240. They are these great camping overnights where you ride about 45 min. to an hour away from home and camp for the night and then ride back in the morning. No real commitment and not so far away that if something went wrong, someone can't come rescue you. The s240 stands for "sub-24 hours". Well, enough typing and time for some viewing. 

Back to Earth from El Zumpango on Vimeo.



Back to Earth Two from El Zumpango on Vimeo.

Happy reading and happy watching,

    DAVID

My First Rivendell Bike Works Box

       It is not too often that you find a place that seems to embody how you think and how you feel about so many different items, but for me Rivendell Bike Works is that kind of place; or at least it feels that way from their website and from their blog. Mel has Anthropologie. FH has anywhere that has cart to push and they sell popcorn. My mom has Target. My dad has Gander Mountain. My brother has Academy. My father in law has Northern Tools. I've got Rivendell Bike Works. Sometimes, I feel like Nacho in Nacho Libre in this clip:

      Even though, Rivendell Bike Works is my place...I don't own anything they sell because most of what they sell is far out of my price range. I will own some of their smaller component items in the future and maybe some of their soaps and such, but up until now, I didn't own anything. I will buy a bike from them someday, but that day is far, far in future. It may be my present to myself when I turn 75 or something. But when the month of December came upon us, my sweet Mel came to me and told me she had been given the duty of doing a lot of the holiday shopping for several members of her family and then said these magical words:

"Can you get me your Christmas list, I can probably make some of your wildest dreams come true."  (WHAT A GAL, RIGHT?)

    My mind went here: 

And: 

And: 

   However, on Christmas morning, none of these happened to be under the ole' Douglas Fir, but rather this package was wrapped up so nice and it contained the next best things that come right after the above pictures. And once I took the paper off, I couldn't quite get the box opened fast enough. And I'll explain the rest in pictures and a few words. 

The beloved box. 

The address to the place I stalk on a daily basis. The internet can be a wonderful thing. 

The contents of the box of wonders. Even the way the contents were packaged was amazing. You know the box is going to be good when even the packaging is done in a way you like. You tactile people will get this...I hope. 

The first item I pulled from the box were these cork grips. Every bike has a metal handlebar and you can't just hold onto the metal. You can, but you don't want to do just that. If you ride longer than a mile, you're going to want to cover some part of the handlebar . The Huffy 3 Speed FH and I ride had some plastic grips. They worked okay, but 1984 had been their best year. FH and I were ready for an upgrade and this is our ticket. They are made from real cork from cork trees grown in Portugal. They are handmade there. Sounds pricey, right? You can have your own pair for just over $20. And you'll still have them 15 years from now. I have installed them on the bike. There will be a post about it. Don't worry. And they feel like a dream to the hands on a ride. Trust me. 

Every bike needs a bell. I know this may sound girly, or metro-sexual, or sissy to all those folks out there that have opinions on things they don't own or do, but if you ride in a city...get a bell. People, cars, buses, and other cyclists need to know you are there. Or you will run them over or vice versa. There have been two folks hit by cars and killed in the city we live in, in just the last two months. They had on spandex shorts, but didn't have a way to signal. FH and I will take a few snide remarks and laughs as long as we can signal to folks that we want to be seen. We now have a bell. We have lights. We are going to add some reflective gear. Laugh away. We like being alive. And this my friends, is a great bell. It is made of brass. It is loud and it looks sharp. Sounds pricey, right? You could have one for $14. 

This ended up being maybe the best part of the gift. It is the free catalog. I didn't have one. It contains so much helpful information about bikes, riding, cycling gear, and just general information. Grant Peterson, the found of Rivendell, writes the catalogs up and I really enjoy his writing style and his thought processes. I think I have read it through about three times so far and am planning on putting it somewhere where I can access it on a regular basis. Don't worry...you will see some quotes from it. I know you were worried. 

Every cyclist needs a good hat. When I first started riding, I just wore the helmet and it really caused my head to itch. I went from no hat to a bandanna, to a baseball cap backwards, to a pretty sweet cycling hat from Mellow Johnny's in Austin, Texas and now this great cycling cap from Rivendell. It is by far the most comfortable cycling cap I have ever worn and it is made in the USA! I wore it on a four mile jaunt yesterday and it felt so great I kept it on for awhile after FH and I came home and brought the trash cans in, buried a dead possum, and played a little one on one hoops. I'm sure our neighbors were jealous of my look. I know my dad would shake his head a couple of times at my look. 

The Wald 139 basket. It is a very large basket. It could probably hold 2-3 full bags of groceries. The Wald Company has been making quality bike components in the USA since 1905 in the great state of Kentucky. Other companies make bike baskets, but you won't get a better steel basket for a bike than a Wald basket. They make other bike components, but are most famous as of late for their baskets.  

Every bike needs a basket or someway to carry your things. No, if you are an elite rider and are riding in the Giro d'Italia, then you don't need a basket, but for the rest of us, then you probably have some stuff and you probably would like a way to carry it. Yes, you could wear a backpack. They work great, but you are not a fan of a very sweaty back and sweaty shirt, then get a basket. Yes, you will get a few laughs. Take it in stride. And if you are a vindictive guy or gal, you could follow the mockers to the gas pump and laugh as the money sign ticks higher and higher. Or you could follow them to a traffic light and laugh at them as you take a side street or the sidewalk, but you aren't that kind of person. Right?

      Long story short, I really like the stuff I got from Rivendell. I look at their website almost everyday and read their blog every time they post a new selection. This box of wonders was a great surprise on Christmas morning. I will be using the contents for a very long time. If you haven't checked out the Rivendell Bike Works site, you should. They sell some great stuff and all of it is quality stuff and a lot of it is built right here in the USA. Americans love to gripe and complain about Big Business sending jobs overseas, but then they love buying foreign goods. You want people to have jobs in the USA, then a great way to support that idea is to buy American made goods. Yes, you can buy cheaper bike components, but you are also going to buy them two or three times over because they aren't going to last as long. And if you don't buy from Rivendell, you can at least window shop and get some pretty great ideas for riding your bike.

Happy reading and happy riding,

   DAVID 

Happy New Year from The Darkroom

Taking the old Trek 1000 off road in the Lone Star State

    This won't be a long post. That is one of my 2014 resolutions or goals, more blog posts, but with less words, but that is getting into the meat of this post a little early. I don't really have that much to say. I just wanted to wish our faithful readership a very happy new year. We are hoping 2014 follows the trend of the even years being so kind to us. We got married in 2006, began working together at PCS, and moved into our first home. We moved to Macon and sold a house in 2008, well, God sold a house. And Ford came in 2012. The odd years have been okay, but they always seem have to a curve ball or sucker punch waiting for us that really takes the wind out of us or the pep out of our step. 2011 was a douse, but 2013 made that look like a cake walk. In retrospect though, the rough times always make me see exactly what I do have and that is a lot; it is more than I really deserve. This past year was a huge reminder of that. I found out how much I have that you can't exactly point to the monetary value of, but not having it (them) would be the end of me.  

My beautiful bride and my handsome son. 

    So, five days into this new year, I just wish you a blessed, peaceful, and joyful year. I hope you get to spend more time with family and less time on things that don't really hold any value in them. I hope you spend more time outdoors and less time trapped inside. I hope you take time to move beyond looking and start to see. I hope you turn off your phone, tv, etc. and begin talking to those right next to you. I hope you start thanking God for all the little things that mean the most in life instead of making mental lists of all you don't have. I hope you spend more time doing the things that cost less, but yield greater enjoyment and less time spending money to get joy when laughing is still free. I hope you spend more time with loved ones that are far away because time isn't moving any slower and we aren't exactly getting those we've all lost back anytime soon. I hope that you remember the great quote from Percy's novel, The Moviegoer, about how we spend our days is how we spend our lives. I hope you spend time asking God to move you closer to Himself because there is really nothing other than that. I wish you all these things because I wish them for myself and my little family.

A bearded dad and a smiling son. 

     2013 reminded me of how fragile everything really is; of how all our lives are huge stacks of cards waiting to crumble, no matter how carefully we have planned them. It reminded me of how important family, friends, and community really are. I am trying to take all I was made to see and learn into this new year. I don't know what it holds. I never do, but I do know God has a plan for me, for my sweet wife and son, and for my life. It may be nothing like I expected, but it will bring Him glory. It may be hard to swallow or it may be so sweet and serene that I will have to bite the insides of my mouth to make sure it is real, but I know that it will be a plan that works to my good; which I still don't have a full understanding of. 

I am sure that I've never laughed more than with this guy. 

    And so, I will leave you with this. It is from The Valley of Vision. I find the Puritans say it so much better than I ever will. Happy New Year. May it be one full of joy, peace, comfort, and the fullness of the Gospel of Grace.

CREATOR, UPHOLDER AND PROPRIETOR OF ALL THINGS,

We cannot escape from thy presence

        and control,

    nor do we desire to do so.

Our privilege is to be under the agency

    of thy omnipotence,

  righteousness, wisdom, patience, mercy and grace;

For thou art Love with more than parental affection.

We admire thy goodness,

  stand in awe of thy power,

  abase ourselves before thy purity.

It is the discovery of thy goodness alone that

    can banish our fear

    allure us into thy presence,

    help us to bewail and confess our sins.

We review our past guilt

  and are conscious of present unworthiness.

We bless thee that thy steadfast love and attributes

  are essential to our happiness and hope;

Thou hast witnessed to us thy grace and mercy

  in the bounties of nature,

  in the fullness of thy providence,

  in the revelations of Scripture,

  in the gift of thy Son,

  in the proclamation of the gospel.

Make us willing to be saved in thy own way,

  perceiving nothing in ourselves but all in Jesus.

Help us not only to receive him but to

  walk in him,

  depend upon him,

  commune with him,

  follow him as dear children,

  imperfect, but still pressing forward,

  not complaining of labour, but valuing rest,

  not murmuring under trials, but thankful

    for our state.

And by so doing let us silence the ignorance

    of foolish men.

Valley of Vision pg. 217

Happy reading,

   DAVID

PS: Here are a few of my 2014 resolutions or goals:

1. Run 1250 miles. 

2. Bike 2500 miles.

3. Write two, good, solid stories. Submit them to a fiction review. 

4. Blog more, but do quicker, shorter posts. 

5. Learn a few new things. (Bike mechanics is at the top of the list.)

6. Begin having family and personal devotions on a regular basis. 

7. Read at least 20 books. 

8. Take more naps.

9. Take my pretty wife on more dates.

10. Eat more Hardees' breakfasts. 

That is enough for now. Enjoy your evening. I am about to go bathe a pretty grimy little guy. 

DD