I'm back Jack

Returned from the 10 day family RV trip to northern hinterlands of Kalifornia. Had a blast, car sickness passenger window vomit blasts not withstanding. Got to see some interesting places that looked like great places to ride the bicicletta, Trinity Alps, Mt. Lassen. Redwoods. You would have to be on the look out for the gun toteing Charlie pick em up truck behind you though. I have not been on the bike yet, going on three weeks now, but the knee is ready so today is "Operation CX tighten up". I am starting my CX training today. I am hitting the weights starting to ride nice and slow like. Cool baby, cool. I went down to the hometown, well, near home worktown B'game crit yesterday. My observations on it:

A - Larry Nolan is not human. He is a alien cyborg sent back in time to rip the legs off of the not so innocent and the non - believers and win two races. The dude is timeless. Mad ups to him.
2 - Lothar has gone to the next level. Brother has serious game.
C - I am really glad I never do that race. I live 10 minutes away and have never done that race. Why? Because the 800 rider crash during the pro race was horrific and lots of dudes are not at work today, unless they are of the few that ride for a living, and they aren't showing up either.
4 - That being said, that race is so much fun. I see everyone I know there. Bike friends, work friends. It is awesome. Although I am still not going to do it.


I watched Paradise Now last night. It's about two Palastinian suicide bombers and their mission gets screwed up. Very intense, very interesting perspective. Very timely now that people are killing each other in the "holy land" at record pace again. Check it out.

Nice to see the doper scandal heating up again right before one the best tours in a while. Oh yeah. Mr. Lemond is saying that Mr. Armstrong threatened to kill him. Um, doesn't Lemond have the fastest Tour TT ever? That math is a little screwy. However, I think we will look back on Lemond's comments and say, " wow, he was right". Just a guess. I hate having my favorite sport being dragged through the mud with out being able to come up for air.

On our trip I stopped by North Coast Brewery. Of course. Picked up some wiggidy wicked ale. Brother Thelonious. That stuff will send you into Belgian Abbey Ale heaven. I suggest you go now to get some, if you can find it. Had some of that with my homebay Toddco by the beach bonfire in Mendo. Good times my friends. My favorite vacation memory...... teaching the kids how to play whiffle ball on the beach, and switch hitting a grand salami. I guess I still got it. Well some of it.

Later,
VJ

What Next?

Yaaahooo!!!

Ok, I feel a little bit better. The Dr. says that my heart is fine, and that the last two weeks were just to try my patience and scare the shit out of me. Mission accomplished. Anyway, I have "athletic heart", no shit? He said that my left ventiricular wall is bigger, and that a certian % of cyclists have this condition, blah, blah, blah. Long story short, my heart ricks! Anyway nothing like a death scare to out your whole life in perspective and up your life insurance by 50%. Damn. Well, I was walking on air today, knowing that if nothing else my cross season won't be a wash. Come on you have to have priorities. Realized how much stress it was giving me, and tonight I am going to celebrate by putting some brew down the hatch, and giggle like a little girl. Look we all got to die someday, but I am just not sure I want to know about it far before hand. Man, the sky was frickin blue , the birds were singing life was great. Well actually, it rained a little which sucks in June and I saw a crow being chased by a song bird presumably because the fricking crow was stealing eggs, and after reading McSassy's blog I now am no friend of the asshole crow. However, it was a great day, tonight I will drink dead guy ale to celebrate the wonderment of life.

Won't you join me?
VJ

Poison the well

Poison the well
To change a bitter tounge
Arsenic over the lips
To silence anger's muse
It's now too late
For I have not the courage
To raise a wicked hand
To look into the eyes
Of the bewildered
The shadows that the night creates
For cowards like me
can't hide shame
that resides like a tattoo
on my bargain soul
So I run in the darkness
Alone, looking over my shoulder
For no one but myself.

Sail on

This time I'll try little a harder
Go a little further
I will reflect on the past
consider the future

I will stay right here, right now
smile a bit more, smile bigger
It hasn't been that bad
Dark at times, sometimes lighter

Orphan yeah, sometimes left all alone
Gifts of love in the form of kids and family
Cry somtimes, think to much
Just because of the world of insanity

Kiss the ground, touch the sky
Bodhisattva, Mara can there be one without the other?
A wisp of cold wind on the back of my neck
Reminding me to forgive my brother


VJ

Dem bones

Today I went to Stanford medical schoool anatomy and physiology department. We got to go to the cadaver lab. There seem to be 100 plus bodies. Mostly there were parts. All of them. All chopped up and stuff, some bodies were whole. Very interesting. We all end up dead sooner or later, I am just not sure I want a bunch of 20 something year olds probing and prodding and chopping. Or worse, a bunch of firefighters poking around. Yeah, I am sure you can just imagine what was said there. I thought it was cool, but it made me a little sad. The head Dr. of the department cut some lady's chest open, and we were able to see her lungs and heart and a bunch of other stuff. Another reason not to be a smoker, this lady had some black stuff on the outside of her lungs, Dr. said that was from long term smoking and the tar was pushing out from inside. Pretty cool, uh.. educationally speaking.

When I got home my son was very intersted in my day. It went something like this...

Son - Dad, did you see any bodies?

Dad - Um, yeah there were a bunch.

Son - What did they look like?

Dad - Well, some were together some were in pieces.

Son - Cool! What kind of pieces?

Dad - Well, hearts, livers, legs all of the parts.

Son - Whoa! Cool! What about heads?

Dad - Yeah, heads too.

Son - What about he,he, um.....

Mom from other room - Don't say it!

Son in whispered voice - Wieners?

Dad in whispered voice - Yeah, wieners as well.

Son after laughing for a while - Did they have have butts cut off too?

Dad after a long day of hobbling on a bad knee - Okay, I'll be in my chair if you need me.

Well we get to do it again on thursday, they are planning to open the chest again as well as do a cut down on the neck. Sorry if this is too gross. But it was an awesome learning experience. Anyway, I am sans crutches now, but my knee is still pretty swollen.

I like the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré, it is a cool race, lots of different parcours in one week. It also means Le Tour is right around the corner.

If you are on this dudes wheel, you are on the wrong training ride. That's it for now.

Proper respect for the survivors of D-Day today. I can't imagine what that was like, being 19 and going into that shit storm. Those dudes were hard as nails. No way we could have pulled that off, we are such pussies.

Sleep tight, sleep free,

VJ

More about me

This came out of my leg

So did these
Now my knee looks like this

I would show you picture of my jacked up heart but I don't have one yet. I did find out that I am going to die.......someday. I already new that, but now some cells in my heart are like terrorists, or as W would say al kayda, with their finger over the red button waiting to detonate it. I just don't know when. I think I would be better off not knowing, of course. Now it's like the elephant in the room. So, I guess I can live everyday like it is my last, cause it might be. I may have to teach everyone I ride with CPR, just so they can ride with me and save me. That is a big when and if I ride. I can't even bend my knee right now. At least the Vicodin/Xanax bender has been fun.

I see Bobby P ripped a new one on the boys at the Mt. Hoodwinked classicThe champ said he got a flat and had to mail it in. I guess it rained the whole time too. Bummer.

So now the right wing freaks are going after the gays again, but check out the fox news site, what a freak show. The ads on that site are insane. I really dig the meth mouth ad, that's hot, got to do my part for the anti drug movement. As long as they won't take away vicodin from Rush L and me. Now I know why the neo cons are driving this bus we call our country into a great big fricking ditch, they are consumed by all this nonsense and since the feces is hitting the air diffuser I guess it is time to divert attention again.

Oh yeah, they are also going after Jimmy Carter. Umm... Ok, last time I checked he has been out of office for over 20 years and in the mean time has written a bunch of books and won a nobel peace prize. It is about time to run that commie out of the country.

Time to stare at the stars my pretties,
Peace,
VJ

Less about me

Found out something is wrong with my myocardium. Saw this and suddenly I don't care as much. worldonfire Thanks Donna Joey

Waiting on the Knife,
VJ