Summer

Quick, cold, naked dips "make" the summer.

Winter Doldrums

         It's not my favorite thing...showing up at work five days a week, during Winter. The last three Winters have been strange, little or no snow, mostly cloudy and very few customers. We haven't had so much as one morning frost this December (2014). The shortest days are upon us. The storms come whipping across the Pacific and the weather people are visibly excited...only to split, some goes North, the rest goes South and we are left with sprinkles.
         I've been able to ride my bicycle more than in years past, however,  I'm pretty bundled up...and can't even consider riding to a lake or place on the river for a quick dip. Reading is my refuge, mostly books and crazy stories that I find on the internet...almost always "fiction" these days.
         I have little interest in the realities and complaints of my fellow Americans. I'm less interested in the International situation, the stock market and even the weather reports than I imagined I would be, now that I'm in my middle sixties. My only sports are bicycling, professional baseball and lake-bagging...that's it! Who knew that I'd become so narrow.
         I most want to start writing interesting stories...using my wealth of experience and depth of feeling about real issues of the day. I shouldn't worry about the fact that few people will be interested in what I have to say, and that others will be insulted or embarrassed with what I reveal. I want to just "go for it".  I think I need a few cheerleaders...a handful of coaches and supporters who have a thirst for what I might compose. It takes guts to write it down,  just as it spills out of my head. I'm not sure I'm that brave.

Owning My Own Writer's Block

You'd think it would be easy...just sit down and write. Certain stars need to be in alignment before I can sit down and write anything meaningful. My brain needs to be ON...I am thinking that this is only possible during a few hours a day. I can't be feeling guilty about the fact that I am not pitching in with the "real work" that begs to be done around me. And then there's the question that always haunts me...do I have anything meaningful to say? ...and who wants to read it, anyhow? These doubts are the foundation of my personal brand of  "writer's block".
You probably didn't notice but, I haven't composed a blog entry for five and a half months. These were my busiest work months at the bicycle shop followed by a six week cycling/camping/driving vacation in France. Now...in the last couple of days...I'm finding time to relax and configure my next essay.
When men ask, "What do you do?"...this happens a lot when you are on vacation, and women never ask that question, I've been practicing with the answer, I'm a writer. It's a sure way to halt the inquiry...but you see it in their eyes, (WTF is that?). On the other hand, if I say, I own a bicycle shop...they are all smiles. It's a handle they can understand. My partner is retiring this week after 30 years of working for the US government...she is now an artist and organic gardener. She was always an artist and organic gardener...and I was always a writer, sometimes it takes decades for us to own who we really are.

Disc Brake Mania

        A longtime customer walked into the bike shop this morning and asked, "I'm looking for an $1800 mountain bike, but I don't want disc brakes." I'll see what I can find, was my answer. I checked the catalogs, I searched the internet and I called my experts in the nearest college town...guess what?...there is no such animal, in fact, between $600 and $3,000 you will not find a new mountain bicycle that does not come outfitted with disc brakes. I was shocked.
         I've been in the bicycle business for forty years as a columnist/publisher/author and mechanic. I've owned and operated my own bicycle shop for over twenty years. I never saw this coming...the industry has been swarmed and inundated with disc brake technology. It's not as if rim braking was a problem. I've only seen a handful of worn-through rims in four decades of fixing bicycles. What's going on here?

Turn Down The Noise, Get Outside And Sweat.

If I were the Dalai Lama (of course, I am not), and someone asked me what advice I would give Americans (no one asked me), in eight words or less...it would be, turn down the noise, get outside and sweat. Yes, I know several people who exercise with earbuds attached to IPods and the like...I realize they won't hear my valuable advice. Oh well, I'm just imagining that I have something important to say here. I'll shut up.

The Days We Have Left

        What to do with the days we have left....It's a finite number...everybody has a finite number of days. How precious they seem, once you've seen 23, 330 days fly by. Only the very lucky make it to 30,000...my mother will make it and she sounds as if she is enjoying each day, every time I call her.   She is only 6,315 days older than me...now, that's a long time to avoid being in the wrong place...at the wrong time. There are lightning bolts, falling trees and distracted drivers galore, out there, so, I'll assume that I won't accumulate that many days.
         When you only have 6,000 days left are you going to waste a day? Let's hope not. I'm getting a lot out of each day now but, I'm sure I can do better. This is why old people move to warmer climates, they assume that the quality of life is better where it is warmer. I've never believed this...the  lazy, shiftless, addicted, dishonest and unfit tend to gravitate toward, what they imagine is, an easier life. This is not the element that I want to share my neighborhood with.
         Would I do anything different if I knew how many days I had left? I would. I'd work a little less, swim more, ride my bicycle more adventurously and hug those I love a little longer.  Funny, I never set my sights on making a bunch of money. I'm just happy to stay ahead of my bills and stay in control of my material lust. Wanderlust, on the other hand, is harder for me to control. I love to travel and I'm lucky to have a mate that loves traveling (and bicycling) just as much as I do.