I'm No Hipster

In the parlance of cycling lingo, I'm no hipster. In fact, I might be closer to a Fred. I do not have a singlespeed, do not have a star tattoo on my wrist (in fact, I have no tattoos. I don't look down on those who do, except maybe if they're stupid about it, it's just not my bag.), and I don't wear a beanie and listen to Kraftwerk. I don't roll up the right leg of my pants to ride, and I usually wear bright colors, including neon, to stand out. It's a side effect of being hit-and-run.

I did, however, visit my pseudo-hipster roots this week when my beautiful Honda was in the shop. I commuted to work on my bike. It's been quite a long time since I did it, and I have to say I had forgotten how much I enjoyed it. It was a nice little jaunt. I saw, along the way:

-- Two guys in a square-bottomed boat, one of whom had a sizable fish on

-- A lot of people looking at me like I was crazy, and an equal number of people who were equally disinterested in me

-- A car full of young kids. I thought they might be trouble when they pulled up next to me with the windows down, but then I heard a terrible noise. Apparently, one of them had just bought a fart-machine and wired it through the stereo. Not only gross, but loud. He'd hit it and they laughed uncontrollably, then hit it again. The process played out couple of times (it's a long light) and I thought for a second and decided too play along. After one horrifically long and juicy blast, followed by guffaws, I looked over at the kid in the passenger seat and said, "You might want to have that looked by a doctor." They just howled, laughing as they pulled away.

-- It might just be me, but I saw a lot more people riding to work on bicycles.

-- An owl

-- It's easier to do hills now that I am in decent shape. That being said, I couldn't figure out why I was having a harder time on Friday. Then it occurred to me: I was carrying a 20+ pound pack on my back with my clothes and work stuff. I remembered when I started, and I was carrying those 20+ pounds on my gut.

-- I got home and really didn't want the ride to end. I found my car was ready and Mrs. Fish and Little Fish were off to see Fame (Verdict: Save your money). BONUS! That gave me a little over an hour to get to my car. I hopped back on my bike and pedalled as afst as I could, reaching the shop right before sundown. All's well that ends well.

Oh So Close....

My car broke down. I was driving back from a client appointment, which is sooooo much better than having it happen driving to a client appointment, when the check engine light came on. At first I thought it was odd, because it looks exactly like the low-fuel light (which is almost always on, for some reason which may or may not be related to my penchant for trying to eek out just one...or two more trips before fueling) and I had a quarter of a tank of gas. Then I realized with a shock just what it was.

I was on Route 581, which for those of you in the know is most decidedly NOT the place to break down. If the trucks barreling through the region don't run you over, the cars will pick you off sniper-style. I was fortunate to be arriving into Harrisburg when it happened, so I pulled off the exit, into an apartment complex, turned off the car and watched in horror as steam billowed from the car in a mushroom cloud with a noticeable antifreeze/coolant odor. Something was clearly, terribly wrong.

I called Mrs Fish and told her what was going on, and that I was going to walk into town and get some coolant, then try to nurse it to the service station. I found a Rite Aid about half a mile away that had coolant, and bought two bottles, then hiked back to my car...those bottles are heavy, for the record. I let the car cool down, then poured the coolant in.

I made it to the repair place after two more stops to let then engine cool down, then adding more coolant. In short, it was an overall unpleasant experience, but prayers and my trusty Honda saw me through. My goal was to get a quarter-of-a-million miles out of the Honda. I pulled into the station at 249,089. Oh so close...I knew I was facing decision-time if the bill was high, and given the nature of what was going on, it looked pretty bad. And smelled pretty bad, too.

The Repair place called me the next day. A hose had broken and the repair bill was going to be....less than $300! Done and DONE! We're back in business and looking to clear 250,000 miles by next month. ROCK ON!

I Can See!

It's been a good week, all-in-all.

Mrs. Fish started the fall cleaning project on my golf night (WIN -WIN!)and while moving a chair in the living room she found my glasses (WIN-WIN-WIN? Win cubed?). So now I have my glasses back, but not before I went to the eye doctor, got my prescription updated and oredered a new pair (Winner, Winner! Chicken Dinner!). I have two pair of glasses, which, as some astute and anonymous observer pointed out in the comments section, is probably where I should have been all along. That being said, I have enough problem keeping track of one pair.

Speaking of winner, winner, I won a sales contest today for setting the most appointments in a two hour period (I managed 14--sweeeet!) Prize was only $50.00, but it's $50.00 more than anything I ever won for teaching.

Earlier this week, I won a different recognition along the same lines, when I was named Sales Performer of the Quarter for the entire company. That's saying a lot, because I work with some awesome salespeople and business is tough right now.

And, the best thing? It's not even Friday yet! Game on!

GAH! I'm Blind!

Or mostly. My glasses have run away. Or, I lost them. Or something. Anyway, they're gone, and while my eyesight is not bad, it's just off enough to cause general discomfort and eye strain of the variety and strength that I am pretty much wiped out at the end of the day.

I remember when I had fighter-pilot vision. Today? Not so much.

From Bad Things, Good People Do Amazing Things

My friend Randy is one of them...

FORE!

Last night I shot 8 over on 9 holes. I made a 30-foot downhill putt for par to win a hole. I stuck a 120 yard 9-iron inside of 10 feet. I hit a 200 yard 4-iron that came up 3 feet short of the green.

I LOVE this game.

Ask me again next week.

DUDE--I GOTTA GET A MOUNTAIN BIKE!

The shots at the 4 minute mark are awesome...

LiveSTRONG 09: The Totals

So, just what exactly did Team Fish do this year? Here is an overview, by the numbers.

98.6 - Miles for the course
15,085 - Feet of climbing, over hill, over dale
7,998 - Calories burned, according to Kurt's Garmin (that's 4 days of foood for some people)
4 - Riders on Team Fish
6,300 - People who rode, ran or walked in Philadelphia
3,200,000+ - Dollars Raised in Philadelphia: Holy CARP!
41 - People who made contributions to me
4,190 - Dollars raised by TEAM FISH! THANK YOU!!!!!!

355 - Days left until we do it all again! Surely that's enough time for you to get yourself READY and into shape, SET your plans, and GO RIDE WITH US!!!!