BIKE TOUR

The pace of the city is fast and Oscar wanted me to see everything. One minute we were riding around Town Lake and the next we were waiting for the bats to emerge from Congress Bridge. We ate at a pizza place not called Vinny's with Ron Leon. He sells software. Everyone has a day job. Ron declined the invitation to ride to Bastrop with Oscar and I tomorrow. FOr this triathlete, it would be too much. We walked the streets taking in St. Patrick's Day color and Marvin Gaye cover bands. Let's get it on. Tired we wove through the stand still traffic with a breeze-like-flourish and chatted till Jenifer came home. It was midnight and we all needed to sleep. I quickly packed up my gear freshly reorganized with the help of more dividend purchased ditty bags from REI. It all packs a bit cleaner. It should load nicely on my clena bike with a fresh rim. 7.1 ave - 22.9 max - 1616.8 odo - 2:01:01 time

Austin is littered with bands like Frightened Rabbit set up in bars, cafes, bookstores, and parks, trying to get discovered. SXSW has given the Clap Your Hands Say Yeah t-shirt wearing students of UT something to do over spring break. Suddenly its become ok for men to wear tight clothing again. Stopping by REI, I used my dividend to splurge on $19 sunglasses. Suddenly my eyesight has improved. As Oscar, Blue, and I hopped into the truck to deliver Jennifer's forgotten lunch, I was warned it was chilly. She's attending a personal development seminar and she was vocally not looking forward to it. She wanted to play with us. Maybe it's like brushing your teeth; you don't look forward to it, but you like the slick clean teeth. After soaking up the local color of SXSW, I turned onto 30th. This is where the Hudson's live on seminary campus. They confided that they let themselves be somewhat confined to their tiny community and that they miss Sitka. Well of course they mis...

Sometimes I think I spend too much time on the computer. So much of my life is on the screen. Jennifer thought my link to Wells Fargo was for a sponsor. I just bank there. The bulk of my day was spent cleaning and fixing up my bike. No one worked harder than John. I don't think I can remember my drive train being so clean and shiny. The rain hadn't been good for the gunk buildup or my shoes which spent and hour soaking in detergent-sudsy water. After removing my crappy fenders and ensuring the bike was polished to John-level satisfaction, we brought it to the bike shop he races for. At 360 Cycleworks they discovered a crack in my rear rim. It's all just part of the process. So Madeline is going for a sleepover and I should be able to pick her up on Saturday. In the meantime I'll be chillin in a free-spirit house in Old East Austin. Oscar, the triathlete in the video back on the Lost Maples post and his girlfriend, Jennifer, are putting me up in the front house with the ...

The misty day began with a flat tire as I pulled my bike out of the barn. That brings me up to seven for the trip. Six were thorns. After about twenty miles I rang John to make sure I wasn't going in the wrong direction. I was so he picked me up. He quickly expressed me to the shower and I joined his family (Lisa, Colby, Conner and Conner's friend) out to dinner. Following discussion regarding American Idol, we rolled back up their neatly paved driveway into the garage. With the wonders of digital recorders, we discovered Brandon - the back up singer - had been voted off. I also learned what happened to Jack after he was kidnapped on the island. John filled me in because I hadn't even known Jack had been kidnapped. I'm staying in Conner's room tonight. Painted a calm boyish blue, the walls and sheets are decorated in a "surf's up" theme. Tomorrow the bike will be well cared for. 29.2 max - 1602.4 odo - 2:34:34 time - 9.8 ave

As the sky grumbled in surround sound quality, I contemplated the implications of becoming a fried bicycle stick. Apparently the path that the lightening travels through your body gets scrambled. I wonder if my kneecap would get to meet my nose. I'm sure it's not quite that dramatic. I remember I told Bill that I would will him something. But I don't remember what. Would I taste like chicken? Alas, I arrived in Blanco un-struck. "Why don't we get drunk and screw" plays at the Blanco Bowling Club Cafe. It was recommended by the book that Ann picked up at the Library for me to research. Sherie came in to indulge in the guilty pleasure of a bacon cheeseburger with fries as she came back from the wildlife rescue. She'd passed me on a mission to save baby possums. Aside from her son who appraises real estate to pay for shoes, chai, and writing paraphernalia, there are ten animals in the unfinished eclectic house outside Wimberley. This is where I'm spending...

I had a fitful night dreaming that the Germans had occupied the states. We were held down ladders in compounds where we were supposed to be happy. They pretended nothing was wrong. Ah! but I knew better. At one point I was wandering around a market on a cell phone trying to get a hold of the underground while feeling kike I was being watched. Maybe not the most pleasant way to start the day... Then I talked with Lesa, the church secretary. She was surprised to see me. She let me check my email and blog. I'm still thrown off by the daylight savings change and I didn't leave town until around noon. Course I made a stop at a doughnut shop to get coffee and an apple fritter. That's fruit. It's good for you. I took my bi-monthly stab at a crossword that I wouldn't finish and avoided the sections of the paper that revolve around crime, war, and sports. So I really only worked on the puzzles and checked the weather. The low pressure system is in town and it's a thunder...

Just because the time "sprang" forward an hour doesn't mean I lost any sleep. Since Jon went ahead, I've lost most of my traditional sense of time. I wake up when I want to or when I hear rain on my tent and wonder if everything is tucked under far enough. I walked over to see the triathletes of Austin. They greeted me with shaven legs, Ironman tattoos, and coffee. This was excellent coffee made by a marine transportation major. I didn't know such a thing existed. In the daylight I had to relearn what they all looked like without the cloak of darkness and beer. Johnny fed me and sent me off with plenty of accelerade packets and his office machine company card. Everyone has a day job. droplets dribble on my nose the road becomes a reflective pool I love it when it rains layers soaked through and through familiar squish between my toes I love it when it rains babble begins it ice the street riding against a river I love it when it rains a crying out within the dank ...