Last year when I decided to participate in May is Bike Month, I got that itch again and decided to drop using a car as my primary mode of transportation. This included pulling the boys in a trailer to practice or school. After several years of wanting, yearning and waiting, the funds have finally been released for a new bike. Can a bratha get a woot!!! woot!!! How bout one from the cheap seats…WOOT!!! WOOT!!!I got a Scott Genius 50. Its got 6 inches of travel both front and rear, 185 mm front and rear hydraulic brakes. I could go on and on…like it only weighs 27 pounds, which is less than Bode’s 12 inch bike (I wish that was a joke, but seriously its not, that thing is a freaking tank).  The rear shock has 3 levels of travel…wait…right…i said I wasnt going to go on and on…but the rear shock is controlled from my handlebars…on the fly…oh look a squirrel…The epitome of irony, or that of a cruel joke, getting the email from FedEx on Wednesday stating that the bike had been delivered and is sitting on my doorstep, but I am currently sitting at my desk…in Vancouver….until Friday…..grrrr! Then couldn’t ride until Monday because the dolt that is I didnt realize there was a spacer in the disc pads to prevent them from clamping shut. It also prevented me from finishing putting it together until my buddy could get over to my house on Monday to reaffirm my retardedness and point this out to me. DOH!

If you are remotely interested in the technicals click here and read till your hearts delight. Or if you subscribe to the theory that a picture says a 1000 words, feel free to gawk look at the pics.

Seriously, look at the shock and tell me its not cool

I am not going to lie, if it wasnt for my beautiful wife that I share a bed with, I know who my new sleeping buddy would be. Thats not true. I would not ACTUALLY sleep with it, thats just creepy and wrong. I do guarantee that sucker would hang on the wall above my bed.

Two words...KICK....ASS

I haven’t hit the trails, yet (unless you count Lake Natoma a trail). My skates are mad at me since the bike has replaced them for the bagel runs on Saturday and Sunday mornings, but those days are coming to an end, not the bagel runs, the fact I havent hit the trails. I plan to leave much skin (though I would rather not) on the trails in Granite Bay, Tahoe this summer and Vancouver when I get up there.

One of my colleagues that I plan to ride with in Vancouver asked if I had body armor. To which I replied, ‘No’, with a sly, though slightly worrisome, grin. I guess I wont be leaving skin in Vancouver after all, just plastic from my newly adorned SixSixOne Pressure suit. Ah snap, this is going to be a fun summer!

The things that look like eyes are my headlights. I jury rigged two 100 lumen LED flash lights to the handlebars. It looks funny, but damn is it functional and cost me a fraction of the cost of bike lights with twice the amount of light.

Not the brightest of ideas, I know, but thats how I roll. I get a wild hair up my ass and see a challenge, no matter the impact to my body, it must be completed. Luckily my brain can still over rule my body. I completed all 200 miles and averaged speed was 14 mph and it would take me about 21-23 minutes to complete the 5.1 miles from work to home. The last week however was torturous. I more or less had dead legs for the week and didnt touch my bike for 3 days afterwards. Mission Accomplished. So much so in fact, I decided that my bike was now my new method of transportation.

This year I pledged the same 200 miles, but with lower elapsed times. I mean I ride 55-70 miles a week so I wanted to see what, if any, improvement there was. I wanted to average 15 mph and with sub 20 minute jaunts from home to work. I wound up riding 218 miles with an average speed of 16.6 MPH and on average it now only takes me about 17 -19 minutes to get home. While I didnt extend the mileage (too much), I lost 40 pounds and 5 inches off my waist. If anyone finds it, there is no reason to return it. Anyhoo…I guess the challenge was successfully completed.  Deadlegs are a thing of the past and was actually bummed I wasnt able to get out on Sunday or Saturday to get the mileage closer to 250. The last ride for the month however, was by far the most rewarding and made me the most proud, but…it had nothing to do with me.

I have working with the boys on their bikes, getting their legs stretched, controlling their bikes, understanding how to ride on a trail, etc. Last September, neither could really ride their bikes even with training wheels. I mean, they could get on them and make it move, but the bike rode them. As long as the ride was straight, flat and had zero obstacles they could ride for a few miles. Hoooo…booooyyy….how far they have come…

Deb said something about waxing something or manicure somthing, I dunno, all I heard was Folsom…wha…wha…waxing…wha…boring…wha wha…lunch. So I said sure, Ill meet you at Karins for lunch in Old Town Folsom. The boys and I will be there in about an hour. We got ready, hopped onto our bikes and we went for a big boy bike ride. Karins Bakery is about 6 miles from our house if you take the river trail. The trail is popular (especially on the weekends and more so now that the weather has decided to stop raining) and busy. The trail is not all flat, it has some hills and some rather high ones. Well not like Vancouver high or anything, but enough to let you know that you are no longer in Kansas, but when you are 5 and 7 I bet some of those hills compare favorably to Vancouver.

Distance ridden: 5 miles

Time: 38 minutes

http://rnkpr.com/a6798u

Not exactly setting land speed records, here, but this was big boy riding. Since the last half mile consists of an 100 foot elevation gain, I decided to opt them out. Could they have done it, yeah, but Deb was done with her girlie stuff so I decided to cut them a break.

I regret not taking pictures to document the occasion, but I was a bit busy reiterating trail etiquette as they rode on, but believe you me, the grins on their face and the sense of accomplishment they felt when they realized how far they rode was more than any picture could tell.  They more than earned their PBJ sandwhiches and chocolate milk for  lunch on this day.

As lame as the thought of graduating preschool is, I have to admit the proceedings were cute. They all walked down the aisle single file to the sounds of Pomp and Circumstance, then we were christened with a song. I was there live, watched the videos mutliple times and frankly, still have no idea what the hell they sang. The kids are all singing at the top of their lungs, to their own beat and clearly will not be outdone by their classmate.

Being that this is the second graduation we have attended, its fun to see the difference in personalities between Ethan and Bode. At Ethan’s preschool graduaion, you can see his mouth moving, but no real sound coming out his mouth. There is always one kid that must be heard. Yeah, Bode’s that kid. It’s clear, he is singing and he is bringing tha thunda. In case you cant tell, he is kid open mouthed, screaming singing at the top of his lungs. Oh yeah, he is also in the pink polo shirt, blue cargo pants and orange crocs. What can  I say…he’s our little fashionista.

After the three and four year olds sang, the graduating class sang a few more songs:

zippie doo da…

So we are ready….

My favorite part is where they introduce themselves and tell us what they want to be when they grow up. Ethan wanted to be a doctor at the end of preschool, by then end of Kindergarten it was a veterinarian. We shall see what Bode decides to do by the end of next year.

What I want to be…

The graduating class finished with a rousing rendition of  I got the whole world…

I am not exactly sure what he has in his hands half the time, but tell you what, he definitely has the whole world ahead of him.

Bode is gradumated...on to kindergarden

I was in Vancouver last week on business and Deb mentioned as she always does, she had not seen Pip since I left. Nothing new there. He generally only showed while I was around and the boys were safely tucked away in their beds. Since I have been traveling more as of late, Pip and Deb had reconciled a bit. Not sure who instigated the reconciliation, but I am sure it was done out of necessity and was resolved like most married people couples when they fight. There may or may not have been who is right, who is wrong or an apology. One day, they fought, the next it went along as if nothing happened. Pip just hopped up next to her on the couch or in bed and she petted him, he purred, she read, they both are happy, until Daddy comes home. Then Deb gets glared at as he sits on my lap or chest in bed. Its rather amusing really.

Pip begrudgingly letting deb pet him

This weekend was different however. Pip didnt greet me Friday evening when we got home. He sometimes gets mad and waits until morning to say Hi. Well, the guest room reeked of urine when  I got home and Deb mentioned that she was washing blankets most of the week and the smell had improved. Saturday morning more of the same. Yatzee! I discovered someone had peed on a bunch of gift bags and the carpet between the wall and the bed. I found Pip hanging out under the bed, said ‘Hi’ gave him a little pet and in his way said ‘Hi’ as well. He did not move though. Which, again, really wasnt abnormal since Ethan and Bode had made their presence known to which Pip basically looked at me and said with his eyes, You think I am going there while they are out, you can suck it!’.

I was in a bit of time crunch anyhow with us running late for Bode’s game now, I threw out the bags and drenched the area with pet stain remover and pulled up most I could. After the games and dinner with friends, we got home and I dusted off the steam vac. Smelled like everything was taken care of.  Typically, when the vacuum turns on Pip turns into Usain Bolt and blows through the closest exit regardless of which one of his nemesis’s  stands in the way.

Checked in on the room on Sunday and all smelled remarkably well. Pip and I exchanged a little man love salutations. Hmmm…wierd, Pip seemingly had not moved. I guess the order of his nemesis’ had been altered. Hmmm… I thought to myself, I need to ensure I spend time with when comes to bed tonight, but he didnt show. Bastard. Now I am beginning to feel a bit slighted.

As I approach the guest room I begin to smell the urine again. So I go to get Pip from the bed while voicing my displeasure at him for not coming out to see me. I nudge his head a bit, but he doesnt move. He just looks at me with his sad eyes. So I grab for him, but I cant really reach him and he doesnt move forward to help a bratha out. I walk to the other side if the bed and push his back side and again he doesnt move. Now I know something is wrong. I work him out from under the bed, no sounds, no fighting. His backside is just kind of limp. I looked at his eyes again and I knew. I set him down and notice he is not using his back legs…at…all.

Deb had already taken Ethan to school so I asked Bode to get his food and water from the garage as now the last three days just rushed through my head and Deb mentioned that she had not seen him all week. She just assumed that Pip was coming out at night. Pip basically had not had anything to eat or drink in about five or seven days and he is not starting now.  So Deb trys to get water to Pips mouth while I quarantine the rest of his nemesis’. Nothing. it dons on me. He was hanging out under the bed and dragging himself out to pee and then draging himself back under the bed. This was his final resting place. Its time to take him to the vet, hoping that he will return with me, but knowing realistically that Pip and I would be driving the Green Mile. Deb held him in her lap while I got ready. I had Bode say goodbye and Deb too and off he and I went.

The Vet took him in and examined him and after about 5 – 7 minutes he called me in. He told me that Pip was paralyzed from his lower back down. His hind feet were ice cold. And the moron that is I responds with,  ‘With well how did this happen?’ Like he is going to know…idiot. This vet had never seen Pip, or I for that matter, prior to this and luckily I caught myself in the middle of my moronic statement and stopped. The vet smiled and had a chuckle and proceeded to tell me that Pip suffered a blood clot in his lower spine and he was paralyzed and his outlook was grave. He said that sometimes as cats age, this kind of thing happens. Basically, shit works one day, then the next…not so much.

The vet was very nice in explaining all the options though the pink elephant in the room was clearly standing there in a black trench coat and holding a scythe blade. Many things have changed in my life over the last 12 years, but one.  The Vet asked if I had ever stayed with an animal through this and I said no, but that was one of my regrets.

My boyhood dog decided to flip the switch while I was  out visiting my Dad in Hawaii and if I had the option, I would have been with him. I chose to stay with Pip to be his rock as he had been mine for the past 12 years. Pip clearly had no feeling in his hind legs. He didnt even flinch when the syringe pierced his skin and the anesthetic entered his blood stream. I said goodbye to him as he lowered his head while he enjoyed his last rub behind his ears and head. Though it was over in a matter of seconds, I stayed with him for about 10 minutes after it was complete, remembering the path we took over the years (As a side note, what the Eff is with my pets and hitting the ‘Off’ button while I am out of town. Clearly no travel for me when Jack or Finn hits 10).

When I moved to Sacramento to come up here for school, a friend at the Chilis I worked at had all these little hickey marks on her neck, fingers and hands. I looked at her and asked what the hell have you been doing?!’ She mentioned that she had a little kitty that was 3 weeks old that was abandoned behind a trash bin. He had no mother and (shockingly) liked to suck. I could only think….have you heard of a bottle or at least a boyfriend, good gravy woman! After about a week or so she could no longer keep him and was looking for someone to adopt him. Frankly, I think she had to give him up for fear the kitty was going to pop a major vessel.

We were running through names and Pip came to mind. Listen this is the late 90′s and South Park was not to be missed in a college dorm. He is the little English kid that no likes. He gets picked on and made fun of. PERFECT! True to his name, when folks came over to enjoy a tasty beverage or twelve, inevitably you would here someone shutout, ‘Dude! you cat totally loves beer!!’ Wait, what?! No he doesn’t! Sure enough, Pip would be lapping up whatever they put into his ‘water’ dish.

He wasnt much for playing or had an overly penchant for being pet, when he wanted he would walk up and attack my hand or if he was in the mood to be pet, he would just walk up plop himself on my lap and move his head under my hand. Between that and Pip running full bore into a closed sliding glass doors when he was young and knocking himself stupid is pretty much all you need to know why we got along so well.

I guess as you get older you come to appreciate those around you. Tell them you love em as when you wake up in the morning as you dont always know what the day will bring…

Bye my little Pipper-Doo, you will be missed….

ha! suckers! no one can find me here!

Short on sleep it made for a long day, but way fun. We were supposed to be up for the parade at 6.30 am, however I hit snooze and forgot to reset the alarm, so we didnt get up until 7ish to be at the field at 7.30. We got there about 7.45…ish. Ah well. They both made the parade, in their uniforms, so no biggie.

It should be interesting to see how the year goes since I am a coach on both boys’ team. When Bode found out I was coaching Ethans team again, he asked if  I could coach his team too as well. With 4 and half years of cuteness staring you in the face, it’s impossible to say no. And yes, that is the word ‘Sucker’ (the fine print says ‘stupid’, in case you were wondering) you see stamped across my forehead. In a couple of years when they get too good for me in their coaching, I will be able to sit and relax and watch the game. Yeah, I cant do that either. In fact, thats how I got roped into this in the last year, but I will enjoy it just the same!

Ethan’s Team is Coast this year, which means the coaches are pitching the ball to them and by the end of the year, the players will be pitching. Ethan hit the ball each time he was up and had a fun time. The team as a whole did quite well, even had a couple of innings that they ended the ended the inning by getting all three outs before giving up 5 runs (which is the alternate ending for an inning).

Considering how Bode’s first practice went, I was really worried how he was going to do for his first game. His first practice consisted of him being shy and stubborn, meaning he didnt participate at all.

For the first game however, not the case. He had a blast!

He was the catcher and first baseman. So he got plenty of action. The league gave us catchers gear for kids that are 12 not 6. The leg guards came up to is hip!

He reminded me of the kid from the ‘A christmas story’ when he got into his winter coat to go play in the snow. All he did was stand there because he could not move!

A couple of times he could have fielded the ball and stood there. I walked over and told him he can get those balls.

Ethan enjoying his brothers first game!

He looked at me and nodded his head to say ‘Yes’ while in his head is thinking, ‘Seriously, you jackass?

Can you say, fat guy in a little coat…I can barely move, let alone take four steps, bend over, pick up the ball and then throw it!’

Today we rode our bikes to the park to go on our lady bug hunt. Shockingly, we found one and a beetle too. Thankfully, hunger took over so we gave up the hunt after about 15 minutes or so to eat the snacks Ethan packed for us.

We played at the park after that and rode home. They boys rode about a little under four miles round trip.

Bode still has his training wheels on, but they are pushed up, so he is basically riding a two wheeler.

Ethan tried to pass his brother in when we were crossing a minor street and hesitated. He jammed his brakes wobbled decided to bail off the bike and in doing so he scrubbed and nicked his leg on his wheel. Tears ensued, but once I explained that it was his fault he kind of dried it up.

He is still in the ‘Mommy phase’ where blood equals pain. Im working on him…pretty soon he will be in the ‘Daddy phase’ where it wasnt a good ride unless you come home…and bloodied.

Anyway, that was a long winded way to say, I missed the family while I was gone and its so good to be home!

It was a good day

We took the bike route, which was gorgeous. Just light traffic, but tons of other bike commuters. About 4 miles in, Sean ducked between the speedbumps and caught his tire and blew that puppy out! Nothing like the sound of a loud pop and 100 PSI of air air hissing its way out. Luckily, Sean had all the materials to fix it, unfortunately the tire was hosed and we were going to need to get a new one. By the way, I am going to have to get a C02 pump. That bad boy was tight! 100 PSI tube filled in less than two seconds. Daddy likey. I took some pictures of the trip into town if you are interested. Not the best quality since I was taking them and riding at the same time. The last one is very nice. Looking over downtown Vancouver with Strauss Mountain in the background at dusk. I got off the bike for that one. Just waiting on a nicer camera from Mr. Jobs.

We stopped off at the local bike shop (luckily it was the one day a week it was open until so that Sean could get a new tire. It was nice being able to browse the bike shop without clamoring from the locals to leave. Sean got a yellow tire to match his bike, which kinda made me laugh. Its so cute. Now he just has to get a matching front one and he is accessorizing nicely. I am sure the boys in the Castro would be proud. While Sean was working switching out hte new tire, I got another Bike Toque (I am picking up the local vernacular, a toque is a beanie for those who dont have a red maple leaf stuck on everything they own, whose up for a Timmy run?). My ears thanked me for it on the way home. We rode over to the Comic Book Store since that was the whole reason we were headed into town.

It was just before 8 and we noticed that they werent looking very open. Apparently, Fridays are the days they stay open until 8. We cant blame the stop off at the bike shop for missing out on the last issue of Criminal. They closed at 6, which is shortly after the time we left. Guess we should have looked into that prior to us leaving, eh? I crack myself up…anywho…The Mexican place wouldnt let us park our bikes on the patio to eat, so we rode into Granville Island. Which by the way is cute quaint little place. Awesome farmers Market and cute little shops, surrounded by the bay. We ate at Sammy J Shigglers, or something like that. With Mexican on the brain, I got the fish tacos. What? it had been at 24 hours since I last had fish and it was cooked. I am sure there was no mercury as it was cooked out. Mexican is not their forte. Listen, their salsa had canned tomatoes and the fish tacos were on flour tortillas with lettuce. I mean really, why dont they put yellow tires on a yellow…heehee…kidding Sean! The beer was good at least. Probably would have had another if not for the ride home.

Even with the lack of reading material for the plane, it was well worth the ride. There are many things you can call Vancouver, but flat is not one of them. Just about 1 mile from Sean’s house, we were able to split two lanes of traffic, hang a left and topped out around 27 mph. That was a nice little pick me up to end the night. After riding 27 miles for the day and still hit 27 mph on flat ground, I got my high for the night. Which will pale in comparison of the high tomorrow when I get off the plane to the sight of my beautiful wife and the wonderful sounds of our two boys asking me what did I bring them. Snap! The airport better have something freaking cool for them!

The video is shot on my 3g and since its not optimized for a camera, there is a bit of wave to the video. Without boring you the details as to why this happens, its not the app, its the limitations of the phone. Hopefully this will get resolved with the next iteration of the iPhone. This ride was more of proof of concept. Eliminating as much wind noise as possible, showing more of the street (not my front tire like I did on the first test). The video cuts out at the 8.39 mark, for reasons I am not entirely clear on. You dont miss much, but it was a good test. Royal Oaks is next. Longer, steeper hill in traffic. With any luck I will get a chance to exceed the speed limit. Should be good times. Ill post that tomorrow.

I took pics of the route on the way home. It proved to be a bit difficult to ride and take pictures at the same time. So again, you may see a bit of a wave in a few of the pictures. As I get more familiar with all the gear and how the different sites integrate with one another the quality should improve. If the map doesnt show the pictures, I have posted them to Picasa. If you ever wonder why I ride, the pictures should help explain it better than I.

I basically only eat sushi while I’m here. Sunday, Sushi Garden, Monday, Sushi Garden and Tuesday…Bella Pizza. What?! Listen, I dont want to die of mercury poising while I am here. Plus, I was really in the mood for pizza tonight.

I got the Garden Veggie Supreme. It was just over pretty good. I wouldnt say spectacular, but since my experience to date has been Boston Pizza, (ugh) and…hmmm…dont remember the name. Think if Papa Johns and Little Caesars had a love child it would be called CRAP!! Does it matter what its called at this point, it was wretched. The box was green and purple and have had cardboard that tasted better, Anywho…back to Bella’s. It has spinach, tomatoes, artichoke hearts, garlic and a touch of Pesto (so says the menu). There was enough garlic to keep the twits from twilight far…far…away from here. The only action I am getting tonight is my tongue. While it gets continually raped by my toothbrush.

The sushi out here rocks. They are a dime a dozen. There are two that are my favorite and both are within walking distance of my hotel. Oyana and Sushi Garden. I am usually the only white guy in Sushi Garden, so that oughtta give you an idea of how good it is.  Oyana’s and I are fighting. They probably have no idea, but I went there yesterday, admittedly late, and wanted to sit at the sushi bar. The chefs were cleaning up and neither side seemed as if they wanted my business, so I bounced and went to Sushi Garden instead. In the last two days, I probably ate half my body weight in sushi. My mercury levels are getting low, so we should be good to give Oyana’s another shot tomorrow.

Since I am out here all alone with nothing to do, I decided to ride to the Apple Store in Vancouver yesterday. No kids or wife yapping in my grill that they are bored, which by the way, how can you be bored in the Apple Store. You are surrounded by ipods, iMacs and Mac Minis, my head is spinning just thinking about it. Anyway, needed to pick up an adapter an Airport Express (huh, oh nothing honey), plus I was hoping to see and touch the iPad, but to no avail. Even the Apple stores wont have them until they come out in April. That was slightly disappointing. I bought my happiness…oh look…a squirrel. As fun as that was, the highlight of the trip was the bike ride. Some people snort for it, some drink it for it and others smoke for it. Though after that ride, I may have to start smoking for it too.

It was just under 12 miles round trip of pure adrenaline pumping, car zooming, traffic dodging, hill riding exhilaration!  I left work just before five, so it was right in the middle of rush hour. Burnaby and Vancouver have many bike trails on the roads out here, very biker friendly, but the route I took, not so much. Plus all the hills, here. Imagine riding 18-20 mph at ruising speed, then you hit the down hill and you are jamming at about 30-35 with 1000 pound projectiles  are zooming past you 15-20 mph faster than that coming within inches of your arms. mistake to your left and you are speed bump. Make a mistake to your right and you are the new ornament on the parked car you just bashed into. Its a great way to train for riding in the mountains. I think I smell a career change, bike messenger.

>

One Word: HELLFREAKINGYEAH!

I just need to make sure Deb gets job with spectacular benefits for any medical issues I may incur. Speaking of which, you may have noticed my commutes into work have been smaller. Thats due to the proximity of the hotel. Its just over a couple of miles…..of downhill BABY! I have spent the last couple of days dialing in how I can give you a feeling of what the commute is like. Lets just say it takes me about 8 minutes to get into work and about 17 to get back. What goes down, must go up, or something along those lines. Expect some video on it in the morning with the crescendo on Thursday.

Matty has to tame the beast. Royal Oaks on my skates kicked my ass. Daddy brought a bigger keg to the party this time, unless of course the stoplight at the bottom of the hill has anything to say about it. Ah well, should be fun!

I am sitting here at a table, drinking a Alexander Keiths (it was the only thing not named Molson and I am not doing Molson, sorry) blogging on my phone, snickering to myself while I listen to all the people reacting to the Canucks (Vancouvers NHL team) on all 8 TVs. Seriously, there are 8 flat screens and ALL of them have the stupid hockey game, including sound. Hockey sucks…so does the pizza and the beer for that matter, but I digress.

Maybe I will grab a little sushi on the walk home, that has yet been a dissapointment. I ate Oyamas last night and we are going for sushi tomorrow (I’ll most likely eat it on thursday as well) so I thought I would venture off the beaten path, but again, I disgress.

If San Francisco and Seattle ever were to have a love child, I believe they would name it Vancouver. This place is bah-yoo-tee-ful! The bay, the mountains, the sun…just checking to see if are actually still paying attention, but yes, the sun. There Is no rain this week. I got here between storms. Good for me but bad for my legs. With the weather expected to be sunny and in the low thirties (for the high) I got the ingenious idea to bring my skates as my mode of transportation to and from work. The unfortunate thing is (besides leaving half my hide on the local sidewalk, but I will get to that in a minute) I left my commuting skates at my sisters in San Diego in September. No matter, I have a back up pair. Admittedly, they are set up for when I was 17 and stupid and liked to jump. Since I am no longer 17 and have no desire to voluntarily have my wheels leave the ground, I decided to bring my extra set of wheels and bearings to make them a kittle more condusive to skating distances.

I soon discovered that the wheel wells are designed for wheels no bigger then 77mm, the wheels I am switching them to are 86. Snap. (Red flag). I am one is not easily deterred. I should back up here.

As I exited immigration at the airport last night, I went to the information booth to ask about the best way to get to the hotel. After I got directions on the new light rail, I asked about the streets here. If I have to worry about ice on the sidewalks in the morning when it’s 20 degrees in the morning. Both looked at me funny but assured it wouldn’t be an issue, but they both wanted to know why. I told them I planned to skate the 5.5 miles (or 2.75 km I discovered it really was. I mean really, who uses the metric system anyhow? Oh, right….everyone in the FREAKING world but us! Idiot). The lady then proceeds to tell me that it’s a bit hilly. I have a brake, so no worries really. (red flag). Lateryhay night I was IM’ing my product manager, Karin, who lives in Burnaby and she also proceeds to tell me that there are several hills between my hotel and the site (Big Red Flag). She even sends me a picture of the street that I am going to skating on via google street view (Huge RED FLAG). Frankly liking at the g
Flag only sells me on the idea. I mean really, if I can’t skate into work on these narrow, exposed aggragate laid sidewalks and steel hills, what kind of an idiot am I? Apparently, a rather large one. At what point did I finally decide to walk you ask? Well about a mile and a half into the trip, after I determined that my rubber brake had turned into my plastic brake frame and I had skated to the top of the next hill. Looking back I should have stopped on the down hill part when I heard the unfortunate sound of scraping plastic against the sidewalk with about a quarter mile of the steep down hill with a stop light coming up.

Actually, I did stop. At fifteen mph, it only takes about 15 feet on the side of your leg and hand to get you to stop. I now have five inch by two inch raspberry down right my calf and 2 inch diameter raspberry on my ass. Frankly it could have been worse. The road rash could have far deeper and longer if wasn’t for my forged pants, leggings and bike shorts. All of which have far more impressive gashes and rips than do my legs. Hopefully, the weather stays nice or I could be in a heap of trouble. Though nothing a little duct tape can’t cure in a pinch.

Turns out I was only about mile from work, but since my stupid American self thought I had to go 5 miles and not 5km, I got the pleasure of walking an extra two miles in my crocs. Candian Way just dead ended to another street, WTF, I don’t remeber that on the map. (Red Flag) So I decided to call Karin. In between laughs she let me know that I walked right past the site and to turn around and turn left at the BCAA. Snap, I think to myself, I passed that like 15 minutes ago. Ah well. My 2 and half mile skate, turned into a five mile skate and walk. Frank Sinatra caroons that he left his heart in SF, I apparently have propensity to leave my flesh in CA, HI and now in the beautiful streets of BC.

I am sure my parents are proud.

‘Yeah. Sure. Fine, just get to sleep child, its after 10!

Well as I am pounding away on the keyboard, Bode, mumbles and gurgles here and there. This is not unusual, especially when he is overly tired (to the point of exhaustion) and then he gets sick (I have no idea where he gets that from, must be his mother! OK fine, I guess I can take responsibility for this one) He is off in dreamland on the couch, finally, dreaming about who knows what. Tonight, however, he pulled back the curtain a little and gave me a little glimpse of what bounces around in that little active brain of his.

‘Ethan…can you come out please. Thank you Ethan. Dad. Daad. Daaad! (I damn near answered him on the last one) Guess what, Ethan and I are best brothers!’

ahhh…kah-ute!!!!

So there you have it, spoken clear as day. Though to be fair, he was in a dead sleep and if he is anything like me he takes no responsibility for what he says while sleeping. I just hope Ethan feels the same.

There is no hope, only do. If you have ever seen those two interact for more than 20 seconds, you know that they are best buddies awake or not!