Two wheels are better than four.

Been spending a lot of time of my bike lately. Something about zipping past trees with mud splattered up my back feels right. Like heading out into the woods after school knowing that in a few weeks you'd have all day to do nothing but ride. I'm far from being able to ride all day, but the feeling is enough to make me want to work hard to be able to ride faster and longer.

I got a Gary Fisher Marlin a few years ago, but rode only rail trails. Now that I got a taste for trails I don't want to go back. My goal is to be able to race a few times next year. And to get this jersey. I know I'd be a lot faster if I has this jersey:

http://www.jensonusa.com/store/product/JE300A06-Retro+Image+Black+Cat+Fireworks+Jersey.aspx

They have a few XXs in stock, if, you know, anybody's thinking B-day?

Absence Makes the Heart Grow...

So much for trying to post with more regularity. But if I take the number of posts divided by weeks I'm still ahead for the year.

I've been working on a wiki page though. So if anybody wonders what goes on in my life from 7:30 to 2:37, take a look. http://tektitesandtrilobites.wikispaces.com/

Drive By

I always liked this picture. We took it as we drove past Kennywood a few years ago. It was a great day--we hit up a bunch of Pittsburgh bookstores to sign stock. Started in Monroeville at the Borders and Barnes and Noble. Went over to the B&N in Squirrel Hill. Over to the Joe and Beth's at South Side works. Ended up at the Waterfront B&N. For some reason I can't remember where we ate. But the light was nice and the air was dry. All of our pictures, even casual shots like this one, came out pretty well.

So this picture reminds me of that day and all the good feelings associated with it. It also reminds me a little of the UNDER THE TABLE AND DREAMING album cover. So again, feelings of spring-timey goodness. You can almost see it in the sky on this picture. Still early enough to be dark relatively early, but late enough in the year that Kennywood's open. With the birds out in full force and moist, sweet air coming through open windows I feel a weight lifting. Winter has some great things going for it--being around friends is probably my number one. But not having to dress in layers is pretty sweet too. It's a good time to set the tone for what's to come. For me, I want to get a lot of bike riding in, a lot of writing done, and I'm vowing to learn a song a week.

The Maya, like a lot of other groups, were all about getting rid of things they didn't need. Their calendar carried five days at the end of each year that they didn't 'count'. These days are used to clean, get rid of unused items, etc. Not much different than our spring cleaning, except for its spiritual undertones. Maybe this is how I look at spring. A chance to shed old skin and move away from negativity.

Zion National Park

So much for weekly posts. Seems the best I can do is three or four times monthly.

The road will be the theme though. In the end, isn't that really the only thing that matters? The metaphorical journey, laughing, experience new things to forget about the bad?

When we wake up in the morning we are faced with a choice. I feel like I've been making the wrong choice for a few years now. Gotta change before it changes me.

Daily Diversion

I know what cabin fever is. It's real, like seasonal affective disorder with more anger. Being in a room without windows all day doesn't help. I know summer is coming, I just don't know if I'm going to last.

http://www.fsvisimages.com/doso1/doso1#

Dolly Sods sits along the ridge at the far side of the valley. When I think about summer, that's where I am.