12-28-11

December 28th, on Continental 700 x 250, 25 - 622. Inflated to 105 PSI...that's a PR. Not a hint of snow, ice, slush, frost or my domestique.

In 2011, I spent 434.43 on race fees, and 1400.33 in bike shops. And I will be the happiest cyclist in St. Paul when I get to take my Bicycling calender off my wall.

Here is what I listened to while riding, in reverse order.

Hot For Teacher, Van Halen
Trampoline, Joe Henry.
One Step Closer to You, Michael Franti
Flying Saucer, the Wedding Present
Shake Your Foundation, AC/DC
I Don't Know Why, Muddy Waters
Under The Milky Way Tonight, the Church
Spanish Grease, Verve Standards
Distance Equals Rate Times Time, the Pixies
I Will Possess Your Heart, Death Cab For Cutie
Release Me, Thee Shams
Basket Case, Green Day
Music For a Found Harmonium, Patrick Street
Cannonball, The Breeders
Sunspots, Bob Mould
I Hope That I Get Old Before I Die, They Might Be Giants
Chase The Ace, AC/DC
Over The Moon, Luka Bloom
Revolution, The Beatles
Learning To Fly, Pink Floyd
Savion Glover, P.O.S.
Pop Song 89, REM
Blue on Black, Kenny Wayne Sheperd
My Mind is Rambling, The Black Keys

Ireland history

Paddy's Lament, Ireland 1846-1847: Prelude to Hatred by Thomas Gallagher

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


"They were standing near a shoemaker's shop, whose dangling sign resembled those of other shops in that it was written in letters that started large, quickly grew smaller and smaller, and finally ran down into a corner in search of the necessary space. If anything symbolized Ireland and the Irish at this time, it was these homemade signs that began with expansiveness and hope and ended with a downward slide to almost nothing."

Page 160



Very descriptive symbolism, something that could also be applied to business, relationships, law, politics - often the grandest of concepts are proposed at the start, only to have the smallest of accomplishments achieved at the conclusion.



Like an orchard ladder.



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Rivers

TROUT

Hangs, a fat gun-barrel,
deep under arched bridges
or slips like butter down
the throat of the river.
From the depths smooth-skinned as plums
his muzzle gets bull's eye;
picks off grass-seed and moths
that vanish, torpedoed.
Where water unravels
over gravel-beds he
is fired from the shallows
white belly reporting
flat; darts like a tracer-
bullet back between stones
and is never burnt out.
A volley of cold blood
ramrodding the current.
by Seamus Heaney

About a year ago, I got to writing down all of the rivers I had tried fly fishing on...between 1996 and 2009. Here is what I came up with.

Colorado
 
Frying Pan
Roaring Fork
Colorado
Crystal
La Poudre
Little Charleston
Elk
Boulder Creek
Blue
South Platte

Montana

Yellowstone
Firehole
Madison
Gibbon
Stillwater
Beaverhead
Bighorn
Soda Butte

Minnesota

Whitewater
Browns Creek
Root
Mill Stream
St. Croix
Mississippi
Valley Creek
Split rock
Beaver
Gooseberry
Cannon
Temperance
Baptism
Hay Creek

Michigan

Two Hearted
Fox
Pere Marquette
Little Mannistee

Wisconsin

Spring Valley
Namekagon
Rush
Kinnickinnic
Willow
Apple
Clam
Sand Creek
Cave Creek
Lost Creek
Bois Brule
Trimbelle

Bead Head Pheasant Tail Nymph, size 18.
Sulphur compara-duns, size 16.
Parachute Adams, size 18.
Light Cahill, size 20.
Partridge and Green, size 14 and up.

Stoneflies, caddisflies and mayflies. I get a little nostalgic when it's cold and there is no snow on the ground, which inevitably leads me to a fishing story.

Biology of the Pacific Northwest, 1994

Sunday Night Dance Party

Another sunday night run, same route, same distance, new playlist.

Chase the Ace, AC/DC
A Little Light, Bob Mould
Slow Turning, John Hiatt
Unsatisfied, The Replacements
Stop, Janes Addiction
Can't Believe, Firehose
Pardon Me, Incubus
Bamboleo, The Gypsy Kings
The Harder They Come, Jimmy Cliff
Twilight, The Raveonnettes
St. Charles Shuffle, Peter Lang
Punk Rock Classic, The Red Hot Chili Peppers
Cult of Personality, Living Color
Hang Fire, The Rolling Stones
Stranger Than Fiction, Bad Religion
Tightrope, Stevie Ray Vaughn
Tea For Two, Sarah Vaughn, (re-mix)
Raincan, Willie Wisely
Red and White, Leo Kotke
Blue Orchid, the White Stripes
Hot For Teacher, Van Halen
Over The Moon, Luka Bloom
The Way You Do The Thing You Do, Earl Van Dyke
The Picture, Jay Farrar

As near as I can recall, anyway.

Chilly run

I've been doing some core strength workouts at the Saint Paul Skyway YMCA, trying to make sure those jumpy knee ligaments and tendons are staying in place while I'm on my bicycle. I've also started getting back on the treadmill, and tonight, I guess I got a spur in my saddle and went out for a ten mile loop. Yesterday I rode the Raleigh xxix in the snow and on some trails, and besides having a little too much air in the tires, had a good time despite myself.

The snowfall has everything looking still and feeling quiet.

"Growing up in a place that has winter, you learn to avoid self-pity. Winter is not a personal experience, everybody else is as cold as you, so you shouldn't complain about it too much. You learn this as a kid, coming home crying from the cold, and Mother looks down and says, 'It's only a little frostbite. you're okay.' And thus you learn to be okay. What's done is done. Get over it. Drink your coffee. It's not the best you'll ever get but it's good enough."
-MPR coffee cup

Playlist:

Cripple Creek, Leo Kotke
California Soul (Diplo Remix), Marlena Shaw
Who Made Who, AC/DC
Pieholden Suite, Wilco
When Doves Cry, Purple Rain
Knock Me Down, Red Hot Chili Peppers
Strawberry Swing, Coldplay
Ramble On, Led Zeppelin
Start Me Up, Rolling Stones
Voodoo Child (Slight Return), Jimi Hendrix
Basket Case, Green Day
Let's Go Crazy, Prince
Pop Song 89, REM
The Ballad of John and Yoko, The Beatles
Tears of Joy (Live), Robert Randolph and the Family Band
Purple Rain, Prince
Distance Equals Rate Times Time, The Pixies

Dicky Barrett & the Bulldogs

Photo Credit amiright.com

A friend in college got me started on a decades long Mighty Mighty Bosstones bender. Today, I thought I lost my wallet, but I found it. Three hours later, I'm sitting comfortably in a warm coffee shop, having nursed a cup of coffee and sandwich for all of their worth, and "Hope I Never Lose my Wallet" is on repeat, somewhere.

Hope I Never Lose My Wallet lyrics

Never lose my wallet, it would put me in a spot.
Never lose my sense, at least how much I've got.
Never lose my family, never lose my friends.
Never lose my youth, I hope it never ends.

Hope I never lose my wallet.

And hell I hope to hell and only time will tell
I hope I never lose my mind.
Or lose my self somewhere not too far from here that nobody can find.

Never lose my hair, I would hate to go without.
Never lose direction and wander all about.
Never lose my courage, never lose my hope.
Never lose my girl, it would make it hard to cope.

Hope I never lose my wallet.

And last of all, not least of all
I hope I never lose my mind.
Or lose myself somewhere not too far from here that nobody can find.