Money changes everything

As Cyndy Lauper says, so it is.

I am amazed how one can go for months not needing anything beyond food and shelter, and then at other times the little trinket, adornment or tool, seems to tempt us beyond our capacity. Problems seem to fall into one of two categories; problems that money can fix, and those that it cannot. I realize I am lucky to be where I am, and I am cognizant of how fragile my position is.

The fat wad you see was from the Syrian leg of our trip. We had to pay cash for everything. Everything included hotels, trains, cabs, and restaurants. The other challenge was their biggest bill was the equivalent of US $20. This money took care of four days.

The leaves are falling time to carry your bike

A pre-season event brought Evo out of hibernation and my son wanted to also drink from the frothy mug of cyclocross as well. This is a shot of him enjoying some early season suffering on the first run up of 2009. Although he flatted on the last lap, he was able to reach into his suitcase of courage and find enough to call it good. There were flats a plenty and Evo likewise was afflicted with that disconcerting hook and ladder wandering back wheel feeling.

All in all it was a rewarding day. Hottie was there to capture the moments, and Andrew was kind enough to share our words and images with the fellow cross cult members.

I must have a HUGE lead !!

Sunrise is later and later

This morning was another training ride, and although I started in the dark, it soon grew light and the morning was wonderful. The clouds were just about every color clouds can be. I didn't hammer myself so instead of needing my suitcase of courage I was able to get by with just my duffle bag of good humor.

I sat on a bench, ate a bar, snapped this shot, then headed back home to shower and go to work. Summer may be drawing to a close, but I'm still squeezing it for all its worth.

Signs that cyclocross is coming !

This is what greeted me twenty miles from my bed this morning.

I had actually practiced dismounts and remounts on Monday, so this didn't present any problems. A quick 44 miler and then off to work. The ride started dark and cool, and finished sunny and warm. I am looking forward to Cyclocross this year.

Climbing the walls no more

When my children were little my two oldest sons and I helped a friend remove a bunch of 3/4" thick plywood from his place. Shortly after, I got my hands on some fresh lumber and bought some climbing holds from a start up climbing equipment company. I remember how excited we were when these arrived. The person who took my order seemed to think I was a climbing gym so I got them at wholesale. I was afraid I would be discovered and the arrival of the holds meant we had gotten away with it! Several evenings and a bucket of screws later we had a climbing wall, complete with overhang, in our garage. My children swarmed the wall like ants on sugar. It was a hit and I have some very fond memories of time spent with my children. When we moved back in '97 I loaned the holds to a friend and to make this story shorter, I got them back this week.

The kids are generally gone and I'm not about to recreate the wall in our current home. So I listed these on eBay. I've sold a lot of stuff on eBay. It was a strange emotional journey to offer these holds to the highest bidder. While I will always have the memories, it is sad to see these physical bits of my memory going out the door.

Things come and go. Money comes and goes. Children come and go and come back and go again and, thankfully come back again. I love my wife. I love my children. If you must, take any material thing of mine. They can all be replaced. Leave my memories. They are the prize of my life. If I could charge for the memories these holds have in them, the bidding would start at $90,000.

One of the reasons we live here

This is a shot I took last week at 5:25 AM while on a before work bike ride. This is Lake Washington and it was another great day. We are so lucky to have gobs of daylight. Go to your favorite weather website and check our sunrise and sunset times. Yeah, winter is grey, but it is grey in most of the world, so not too much of a loss there. These summer days are amazing.

I didn't know he was running....

For a couple of weeks on my way into work I would drive under an overpass where a man stood in the sun, wind and rain holding a blue sign that said "JESUS" in white letters. If the sign had said Mariners, or Packers maybe the reaction would have been different. People would have likely honked or waved. Pretty much everyone just ignored the poor fellow. One day, from the car in front of me, a hand shot up through the sun roof with a single finger extended, but not to say, "you're number one." That was a little different. Then one day, he wasn't there anymore.

During election season the overpass is consistently populated with sign toting locals. When the Jesus sign first appeared, I joked to myself, "I didn't even know he was running for political office." I expect the election sign folks to fade quickly and don't miss them when they go. I had come to count on the blue sign that wasn't asking me to do anything, just saying, "Jesus." No great vision had come, no deeper meaning, but in a life where we all take comfort from predictability in all kinds of things, I was bothered when I didn't see the blue sign anymore.

I don't expect to see the blue sign anymore, but I do look every time I drive by and wonder where Jesus went. If I see him, I'll let you know.