I'm not working on my huge stack of bicycles that I've stacked outside in front of the garage. Not a bit. I'm thinking about putting together for myself something that I actually want to ride: how about a really nice Trek 800? KHS Professional 531 racing cycle? These are works in progress, floating around half-assed and waiting for parts to materialize from thin air.
I got a Trek 800 21" frame in Burlington last June. 8 bux. I recently made a purchase of an old Raleigh "Mountain Tour" - from a response to my ad placed in the Wilmington News Journal. The Mountain Tour has SunTour friction thumb shifters, and some real simple DiaCompe cantilever brakes that I like. I could strip that stuff off and earmark it for me. I should. But the Northroad handlebars that I'm using have been drilled out to accept bar end shifters. Incredibly unique and badass. So I should get some bar end shifters. Instead, I just ordered some Silver Down Tube shifters from Rivendell last night. That's an aside - they won't work. But Rivendell has bar end 'pods' that fit them. Maybe I'll get them in the future when I'm rich again. Then I can have nice friction shifters for all my rides.
I'm also working on a really tall 63cm KHS Professional (w/ 57cm TT). This will be my road bike. It struggles to fit 700x32c Pasela tires. It's made to be race-y, and has very simple but thinned lugs (good craftsmanship). It also has forged SunTour dropouts, and full 531 tubing for the frame and fork. It's nice. I put a nice quality Campagnolo-hubbed wheelset on there. I bought that from another response to my ad. 8spd cassette included. Throw your hands in the air for friction shifting. Throw'em!
But I'm out of shape and I don't ride my bicycle much. Haven't ridden an inch since returning from Key West, except for the Peace a Pizza delivery bicycle. I don't have a bicycle I'm in love with, and I find any excuse to be a slob. Gotta work on that. Especially since I'm a nerd, and pre-7:21 today I spent a very considerable amount of time geeking around on the internet looking at the Furnace Creek 508 website, some "Rough Riders" website, and one I haven't seen before: The 3 Speed Adventure Society. Wow. 3 Speed Adventure Society... someone has been sneaking into my room and reading my diary!
Also: I didn't sleep in my van last night. I slept inside in a bed. That breaks the Dec 1 to Apr 25 streak of enjoying my sleep in a vehicle. Streak broken.
Let me continue to talk about how I spent $41 at bars in Kennett getting really drunk on Hop Devil. Completely ridiculous. Some lady was trying to prod me to 'smile' and seem real happy. I was reasonably happy, but my catatonic expression did not spell this out clearly enough. I told her I was being 'fucking introspective and shit.' I was sitting alone - obviously - right in the middle of the bar. She was flirting with some golf pro fuck across another lady. Maybe he wasn't a fuck - to be fair, he just looked like it. Well the joke is on her, 'cause I ended up smoking weed in my van with a girl from Scranton who knows Mike Quinn. Mikey. Life is not to be taken very seriously.
Two days after that, I saw Matt Emerson. Speaking in terms of physical appearance, the Army has turned him into an imposing figure. Always good to see childhood neighbor friends. Kennett is a fucking trip, g. I talked briefly with those who I have not seen in some time, then spent a lot more time drinking up a good tab alone. I think the combination of meat, beer, and weed has hurt my typically fantastic immune system. I blame meat the most. I think I was a lot healthier when I didn't eat meat. But that might have more to do with riding a bicycle.
Well I'm no scientist, that's not what I went to school for
And I'm not a doctor, so I don't know much about medicine - EL-P
3 comments:
Man. That's the goddamn truth. I truly hate going back there.
I rolled down to that area just today to see my folks, and I dreaded running into Matt Emerson, or the like.
It's a strange tug-of-war between the sentimental and convenient parts, and something that feels a lot like being embarrassment.
You should roll on up to Howard Street for sure.
why did you leave key west? i missed something
I never really intended to stay in Key West even as long as I did. I was thinking one month at least, three on the outside. Ended up being 4 1/2 months. My job got to feeling monotonous, though the money was really good and I fully recognize what a good job it was. The weather started getting pretty hot, which is not good for sleep. I ought to get a setup with a deep cycle marine battery and a 14x14" fan installed in the ceiling - but that's not a pressing enough concern for me to deal with at this moment. I also want to learn how to blow glass. In any case, now I'm up closer to where I left from, and where I grew up and lived the vast majority of my life. I'm comparing this 'home' to Key West. I've talked to Eddie and Matheus on the phone several times. I kinda miss Key West. I made my own little bubble of a paradise life there. Next is going to be a bicycle trip in June or July. Adventure. Then I want to figure more shit out. Either move somewhere else or go back to Key West for the winter. I'm trying to decide whether I really need to live around Pennsylvania at all. I know I don't, but there are aspects that I kinda like - only familiarity? - and I feel drawn to it. I'm not an experienced drifter. I fantasize about being a hardcore drifter in my mind, but I don't know if it's in the cards. I picture what things would be like to start touring like Heinze Stucke, and never stop. However, I also recognize this as my own tendency to over romanticize all kinds of scenarios. It's kinda chilly out tonight. I'm inside. I'm not hobostripper. She's my favorite person, but the 40's is cold. So. I left Key West for no particularly great reason, but in my heart and mind I was ready to go, and life is progressing. Moving forward.
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