It's Bike Building Time Again! Yahoo!!

From the warehouse at Quality Bicycle Products (where all great bike goodies come from) I was able to get a blood red Surly Crosscheck frame. Aaron at Freewheel ordered it and I picked it up last night. I love that color and also the Crosscheck frame. Now I'll have two Crosschecks. This is bike number six for anyone who's counting. But there's always room for one more bike in the stable. My new frame is currently in my room next to the recliner. I've posted Wu outside the door as security guard. Nothing like a 13 year-old surly golden retriever to safeguard a Surly Crosscheck frame. Snowy isn't much of a watchdog, unless the house gets robbed by a squirrel or cat. Speaking of squirrels, I had one run into the side of my foot this morning on Minnehaha Avenue. He/she just kind of bounced off and ran the other way.

I'm taking all suggestions about how to build up this bike. Single speed? Three speed internal? Fixed? I'm leaning away from too many gears. That's what my Salsa is all about. Coaster brake? Disc brakes? Moustache bars? Flat bar? Oh shit, I'm giddy just thinking about the possibilities.

Treatment tonight with substitute counselor. William our regular counselor is on vacation. I bet a cd counselor really needs a break every now and then. Night after night of listening to stories from substance abusers has to wear you down. It looks like rain right now. I hope the rain moves through because I want to ride a bike to the hospital. I normally wouldn't care about getting wet but I don't want to sit in group as a drippy mess.

Peace out. Crosscheck frame pictures to come. Debbie just called to tell me that Wu denied her access to my room. That a girl, Wu.

Not To Be Used As A Getaway Vehicle

Somewhere in my hundreds of photos are at least a few of this guy's truck. He lives near 24th and Minnehaha. I've also seen his house which is also quite eclectic. My picture doesn't do justice to his truck. The truck is decorated with all sorts of bowling items including a full rack of pins on the roof. Now that I ride further with Debbie in the morning I see this thing every day. It always makes me laugh.

I broke my diameter tape this morning. I can't mark private trees without one and I don't have a spare. So nobody is going to come home tonight to an orange ring marked around their private tree. I borrowed one from one of my tree contractors this afternoon. Tomorrow will be a different story.

Summer winding down means that it's darker in the morning when we leave for work. I need to get some type of blinking headlight for oncoming traffic. The one Debbie has works quite well. It's really hard to ignore that thing. Before you know it heavier clothes will be necessary in the morning. Summer sure flew by fast. Oh well, you can't stop the clock.

My Room Is Clean For Now

Some day I'll post the before and after pictures of my room. With the help of the lovely Debra I re-organized my armoire. Yeah, that's right, a guy from Logan Square has an armoire. We decided that I didn't need 200 t-shirts available for clothing choices. I also cleaned the top of my desk. I found credit card receipts from basically three sources. Jewelry purchases. Bar tabs. Freewheel Bike Shop. The bar tabs included some pretty handsome tipping in the range of 40-50%. Sorry bartenders and cocktail waitresses of the Twin Cities, Raymond no drinky no more. We also moved my fancy Room and Board easy chair and ottoman out into the living room. We moved my piece of shit recliner in to my room. I don't actually sit in my room too often so it made sense to move the better chair closer to the television. As I write this drivel I'm sure Snowy is camped out on my chair. Hell, I'm just glad it's getting used.

Biking was limited to 27 miles on my Rockhopper on Saturday and 29 miles with Debbie on the "Dragger" Sunday morning. We stopped for breakfast Sunday instead of donuts. Don't read anything in to that George. I'm going to be buried with several dozen donuts, brother. After carb loading we rode around the lakes and down the Cedar Lake Trail to downtown. Home along the river without a stop at grandmother's house. I saw one my regulars on the Greenway and rode/talked to him before he split off to go to Hopkins. He's 60 years old and says he bikes 5000 miles a year and also walks 5000 miles a year. I think it puts my little chickenshit bike mileage goals into perspective.

My Shoes Will Dry In A Week Or So

By the time I got to work this morning my shoes were very squishy. I wore a pair of older Nike sneakers because I just had that feeling that the rain would reach a point of deluge proportions. No biggie. Commuting is about dealing with a wide variety of weather conditions.

Some guy honked the horn at me at 46th and Park this morning. Not sure why. I was as close to the curb as I could safely ride. I hope he heard what I screamed as he passed me. I don't think I'd be too eager for my mother to hear what I said. I'd like to eliminate the foul language from my daily speech. What with all the new babies around. Maybe, I can confine my foul language to yelling at assholes who feel the need to honk the horn at me, even when I'm obeying the rules of the road.

All I need is a picture of Debbie in her Cat 6 jersey to show off her entire collection. Top picture is of her in her Salsa Dia De Los Muertos jersey and below that is of her in her Queen of the Mountains jersey. You're not going to see a picture of my blubber in form-fitting spandex. I'm trying to keep readers, not run them off.

Wedding tonight, fantasy football draft party tomorrow. Sunday Morning Donut Ride on, you guessed it, Sunday.

Have a great weekend. Ride your bike. Scream at the jerk motorist of your choice in traffic. Don't mow your lawn under any circumstances.

I Guess That's Why It's Called A Vacation

Returned to work today after a week off. Getting up at 5 seemed earlier than usual. The picture above is an image that pretty much sums up the trip for me. The photo was taken at Millenium Park in downtown Chicago at Cloudgate which is a big shiny sphere. That's me on my nephew Brian's Schwinn cruiser that he bought at the All Nite Flea Market on Saturday night. He brought the bike with him Sunday to Maxwell Street so I could ride it. I rode it through downtown to the park and then down Michigan Avenue to the Hancock Center. The ride was pure joy. I'm not sure where I'm going to ride a bike that will compare to the way I felt. For a guy who grew up in Chicago it was the ultimate experience. I'll post other pictures of the trip, but this is the one that really does it for me. You can't really tell it's me, except for the Hawaiian shirt. I'd like to say I used the flash for some type of artistic reason. Not true. It just happened to be on. But the flash in the picture shows a small point of emphasis. I've already set this picture up as the background on my computer.

The trip itself was fabulous. I got to meet baby Aimee our newest family member. She's a doll. I only get to Chicago twice a year to see family. I probably won't be back until next January or February. It was a sad ride home through Wisconsin. I tried to play upbeat music. It didn't help. I was glad to be driving towards my loved ones in Minneapolis.

Debbie and I were off yesterday. I needed an extra day off before going back to work. We took out the tandem and stopped at One on One for coffee. Didn't do a whole lot else. It sure beat going to work. I've got treatment tonight from 7:30 to 9. I think I'll take a slow cruise on one of the bikes to get there. But I won't be able to ride down Michigan Avenue. What a pity.

I'm Lucky I'm Riding A Bike While I'm Here

Since I'm on vacation, I really haven't been eating too many low calorie items. But hell, you don't go on vacation to eat right, now do you. Pizza, waffles and loads of chips. Tonight I got a waffle cone at the All Nite Flea Market and before I finished it I was in line to get an ice cream bar. At least I rode my brother's bike 40 miles over the last two days. I've ridden twice out here in suburbia and have only seen a couple of other bikers in my travels. I probably would see more bikers if I rode on the trails out here but I've been riding the streets. It's more fun. There's more to see. My nephew Brian bought an old Schwinn single speed at the flea market for $25 and is bringing it to Maxwell Street tomorrow morning for our other traditional flea market extravaganza. I'll ride his new bike around downtown and will probably go further than anyone expects me to. After Maxwell Street we heading to a Polish buffet back in the old neighborhood. I want to take some pictures of the house I grew up in. It's a fairly rough part of town these days. They should drop those dumb shits that are on Survivor off in my old neighborhood at dusk. Whoever is still alive in the morning, wins. Time for bed. We'll be on Maxwell Street by 6:30 am tomorrow.

What A Nice Bag

My goodness! What could be in the bag with this on it? The Hope Diamond? Diamonique? Or is it just a bag with a shitload of candy in it? Midnight has come calling in the western suburbs of Chicago and a goofball and his sister-in-law are drinking coffee and in a tweaking mood. Little Debbie is fast asleep in Minneapolis with a dog at her side and a dog on the floor. Hopefully, Aimee is still asleep in her little bed. Ella is in Milwaukee clamoring for her midnight feeding. Dogs sleep. Drunks are walking the line awaiting a night in jail. How long will it take for a little girl who rides a black Crosscheck to call the aforementioned goofball once she reads this? Stop tweaking! When the lid is finally closed, the tweaking will end.

Pretty In Pink

This is my great-niece, Miss Aimee Elizabeth Wroblewski. My sister-in-law took this picture with her digital camera about two weeks ago. I haven't met Aimee yet. That's going to happen this afternoon. It looks like she's strapped in to this contraption pretty well. Where did the tradition of pink for girls and blue for boys start? Why not pastel yellow? Or some shade of purple. I'm sure Aimee has a load of pink in her closet. I'll make a close inspection this afternoon. Little Ella has a load of pink too. But she also has a hideous green outfit to celebrate her Irish heritage. Even her mother hates that outfit. Her father bought it for her. Not all men have good taste in clothing. Especially when it comes to dressing their children.

8/26/05 - Inspection of Aimee's closet yielded an abundance of pink clothing. Uncle Ray is now searching for an all black outfit.

Good Morning Debra

Did you miss me on your commute to work? Did a dog wu wu at 3 am? Wish you were here.

I Ate My Weight In Junk Food

Greetings from Chicago. The trip went well. No speeding tickets and a minimal stomache ache from the Twinkies, Ritz Bits, Doritos and custard at Culvers. I dropped Kris and Ella off in Milwaukee and left after dinner. Once you get in Illinois there's the posted speed limit and then there's the speed that everyone drives, which is about 80. If you want to hear some really shitty radio stations, just drive through Wisconsin some time. Tomorrow, I'll be hanging out with my sister-in-law Carol. We have dogs to walk and we're packing a lunch and heading out to Aurora to see Aimee and Liz. My sister-in-law walks dogs for profit. Actually when I visit I walk the dogs and she collects the profits. I need to post this one because it's past midnight and time for beddy bye. So I'm going to put on my Spider Man jammies and go to bed. I sleep on the couch with 5 dogs to protect me. There's a cow in Wisconsin that doesn't know that she'll be immortalized on my blog some day. No, I haven't been drinking tonight. I'm crazy from the Cheez Whiz.

Trip Checklist

24 pack of Twinkies - If I eat all 24, it will only be 3600 calories

2 bags of Doritos - these will be placed strategically on the dash

Aerosol cheese and crackers - it can be a party or road trip without aerosol cheese

Ritz Bits - the peanut butter ones

Assortment of chocolate candy for instant energy

bike helmet and gloves

large bag of clothes that I'm donating to my brother - some of these shirts are a little loud

$225 in change - to be used on the Illinois Tollway system

2 disposable cameras - I'd get a digital camera, but I've got a possible line on a bike frame I've been looking for

1 clean shirt, 1 clean pair of shorts and 1 not so clean pair of jeans

socks, underwear, bandanas, t-shirts- enough for 5 days

toiletries - no razor blade - I'm shaving tonight and not shaving again until I return home

My chrome bag - for bike riding and Maxwell Street

Road map, GPS and compass - just kidding

The king of the road leaves tomorrow morning. Returning to Chicago as a changed man.

It's Crunch Time For Lawn Mowing

Was able to ride 114 miles over the last three days which put me over the 4000 mile marker for the year. It took me till December 22nd to hit that mark in '03 and late October last year, so I'm ahead of schedule. I'm going to ride 7000 miles this year or die trying. It looks like there's going to be some pretty beefy mileage required in November and December. Hopefully, we won't have too much early snow.

The Sunday Morning Donut ride focused on a trip to Panera Bread in Saint Louis Park. You never feel too guilty eating a big carby lunch when you're out riding. The Queen of the mountains carried us on the tandem yesterday. It was a very enjoyable 29 mile trip.

Didn't mow the lawn yesterday. Didn't think about mowing and experienced absolutely no feeling of guilt about it. Chicago trip is in two days. Tomorrow night will be for packing. So, that means I mow tonight. I've instructed Debbie to deny me dinner until the lawn has been mowed. It's not a tough job, I just like to bitch about it.

I feel like finding a big hill to go down on the way home. Doesn't everbody? I don't think I can find anything on the way home that will equal the 48 mph that Donut Guy cruised down this weekend. For now, the winding hill on the Minnehaha Parkway east of Lyndale will have to do.

My name is Raymond, I'm an alcoholic, and tonight I mow my lawn.

My Wife Is A Bad Influence

I really wanted to go to work yesterday. I've got shitloads of paperwork to do and at least a million trees to mark. But my wife called in sick. Well, she didn't tell her boss she was sick. She just told them she wasn't coming. So I sat with my coffee watching the news at 6 am. And I sat there watching the news with my coffee at 6:10 and 6:20. At that point with none of my crap in my bag and still in my jammies, I grabbed the phone and called in. Sorry guys, you'll have to live without me today. Usually, I talk Debbie into calling in. She's a real pushover. I guess I'm a real pushover too.

After walking for the paper (still in my jammies) we headed off to breakfast. My favorite server at Uptown Diner was working. His name is Michael and he never charges us for coffee. I think that practice started because of some handsome tips. Can't take it with you. Oh, I didn't go out for the day in my jammies. From breakfast it was off to Marshall Field's for a swanky outfit for my Chicago trip. I've got to look good on Maxwell Street. Debra found a pink ensemble and a pair of shoes. The girl loves her shoes but then most women love their shoes.

After shopping we stopped to see Kris and Ella. Debbie didn't get a chance to hold Ella because I kinda hogged her. Maybe next time doll.

It took till about 3 to motivate myself to ride my bike. I took out my Giant mountain bike which is by far the heaviest bike of the fleet. I took a leisurely ride down the River Parkway and stopped at Freewheel for air in the back tire. From there I headed downtown to play in rush hour traffic. Nothing beats dodging cars downtown at rush hour. By the time I returned home I'd ridden 23 miles. Average speed 14.4 mph. Shit, I dropped my ice cream cone.

The weekend will be about getting ready for my trip and dealing with my mother's latest crisis. Recent rains have made the lawn grow again. Boy do I hate when that happens. I suppose I should mow the lawn before I leave town. I guess I should've mowed yesterday when I called in "sick", but why ruin a wonderful day off.

Peace out. Have a wonderful weekend. Ride your bike. Eat a donut. Mow your lawn if you really have to.

What Bike Do I Mount My Medallion On?

Tonight I graduate from Phase 1 of my treatment program and start Phase 2 right away at 7:30. My counselor William will give me my medallion and then I'll have a chance to speak. I think I'll mention how I never thought I'd be receiving one of these things. People who go to treatment have drinking problems. I couldn't see that I had a problem or maybe it was just denial. AA is for down and out drunks, isn't it? No, it isn't. It's people from all walks of life. I'm going to tell my group how meeting them and talking about my drinking problem has changed my life. I'm never going to forget those guys. I'm going to tell them to try their damndest to stay clean. They are there for a reason. Finally, I'm going to thank my counselor William. I'm going to tell him that the hard look he made me take at myself was one of the best things I've ever done in my life. William doesn't rough you up for shits and giggles. Everything he says has a point to it. I'm a little nervous right now for some reason. Maybe the reason is obvious.

Who Needs Fenders?

I thought I could ride my Salsa today and miss any rain. Wrong, wrong, wrong. I may have to slow down a little on the way home because those slicks tend to slide just a little occasionally. I'll call Debbie to tell her to get the first-aid kit out. Come to think of it, fenders don't do shit in a deluge.

Good news. Tomorrow is my last night of Phase 1 in my treatment program. No more three nights a week. I'll move on to Phase 2 which is one night a week from 7:30 to 9. I'll even ride my bike to that phase of my program.

Time to get changed and prepare to ride between the drops. Debra called to tell me she made it home safely. She said she was soaked. You're turning in to quite the bad-ass, aren't you girl?

So Unhappy Just To Be Alive

No, I'm happy to be alive. I'm talking about a large percentage of teenage girls. They were out in force at the Mall of America yesterday. Crabby-pissy-eye-rolling-sighing-little-primadonnas. Aah, grumpy princesses everywhere. I may be 47 going on 13, but I'm a happy 13 year old.

Was able to ride 113 miles over my three day weekend including 55 on Friday. I think my legs were a little dead on Sunday for our tandem ride. No donut stop. I made blueberry panckes at home. Maybe I needed a donut for carbs, grease and sugar. Or some of that vile shit they sell at bike shops to give you a boost. Rice krispy bar? Spam?

Mother rolls from one crisis to the next. She needs money for a field trip on Wednesday. She didn't need it Friday, Saturday or Sunday when I had all kinds of time. She needs it now when I have a million trees to mark and have to bust my ass to get to treatment. Thank God I'm not drinking or I'd go on a bender of epic proportions.

I came in late to work today so I could have coffee and a scone at the hospital with my lovely wife. It came under the heading of - Life's Short. It was a very wise decision.

Happy Birthday Johnny Boy

Yeah, I know your birthday is tomorrow. I'll be out on my bike most of the day tomorrow enjoying my Friday off. The lawn needs mowing and the gutters are full, but I'd rather ride my bike. The best gift I can give you right now is my sobriety. I know, you'd rather I give you another shitbox for the driveway. We both knew I had a problem. When you've got alcoholics on both sides of your family the monster doesn't always escape everyone. Better late than never as Ma always says. I hope you get taken out to eat and get a twinkie with a candle on it. See you soon.

Love to you always

Ray

Their First Business

This is Ashley who has a lemonade stand at 69th and Bloomington. She also sells gum occasionally which is also very refreshing. Ashley told me yesterday that I was her best customer. I love to patronize kids lemonade and Kool Aid stands. They're so happy to see customers drive or bike up. Some of them drink as much refreshments as they sell. One thing they all have in common is that they're all serious business people. Today is about 92 degrees, 500 % humidity and a negative breeze. I hope to find some lawn sprinklers and lemonade stands on the way home. So don't pass up those stands unless you're riding your bike with no money in your pocket. I haven't met a kid who takes an IOU yet.

What Do You Like About Riding Your Bike?

I don't know what you like but here's a few of mine:

1. The feeling you get when you pass a mileage milestone that you've been working towards since January 1st. That's me, celebrating 5000 miles on the last day of November 2004. That's a bottle of Boones Farm. This year's celebration won't include alcohol. That's not a bad thing for me.

2. The Sunday Morning Donut ride with my lovely wife and the girlish squeals she lets out when we go down really big hills.

3. The looks I get from motorists at stoplights when it's really hot or cold or is snowing or raining. Yeah, he's nuts, but he's also having a hell of a good time.

4. Telling your crash stories and explaining your road rash. The actual crash really blows but telling your war stories is always pretty cool. As long as nothing is broken on you or your bike.

5. Riding up in the northwoods of Wisconsin. Not much traffic to dodge but there's always deer around.

6. Stopping at Freewheel. Sometimes I feel like Norm.

7. The adrenaline rush that goes along with being chased by a dog. Those farm dogs in Wisconsin mean business.

8. Racing around the neighborhood like a wild man at the end of my ride. It's amazing how fast you can go when you're three blocks from home.

9. That sound you bike shoes make when you clip in. This one was stolen from Bicycling Magazine. They're right, it's an awesome sound.

10. Stopping at kids lemonade stands. I think they actually love bikers the most.

I could come up with a lot more. I bet you have a list of your own

An AA Meeting And Then The Saturday Night Ride

Going to an AA meeting and then meeting the Saturday Night group in the parking lot of a liquor store are really at opposite ends of the spectrum. But that was Saturday night.

On the way home Friday I rode around the airport area (not on the runway) and then down the big hill that enters Fort Snelling State Park off Post Road. I got my Salsa up to 35 mph which was great. That's just fast enough to put a little fear in you. I stopped at the ranger's station to fill my water bottles. I told the ranger on duty that 35 mph was fast enough for me and those Tour guys who go 50 are nuts. He reminded me that the speed limit in the park is 20. I told him I'd keep it under twenty through the rest of the park. I've dealt with this guy before. He should be a security guard at Wally World. Debbie and I took a little trip to Uptown after dinner Friday. The people watching is awesome. Aah, the Urban Hooker look. If this were a research paper I'd have to have a footnote giving credit to Curtis (Debbie's co-worker) for use of the Urban Hooker label. Uptown also has a Ragstock. We both found some great items there.

Sunday Morning Donut ride was moved to Saturday. We stopped at my man George's at 4705 Nokomis Ave So to see if he had any skull valve covers. He had skulls and gave them to me in return for putting the word out. George has a shitload of old cruisers and parts. If you want an old cruiser or parts, then you need to look George up. He and his lovely wife Julie live two blocks north of Minnehaha Parkway. After George's we rode out to Edina to see Ma's new bed. The new mattress and box springs are so tall that I think Ma will need a stepstool to get in bed. From Ma's it was off to Freewheel. Debbie ordered the polka dot jersey of King (Queen) of the Mountains along with the matching socks. I got two Rabobank orange water bottles that look great on my Salsa. By the time we got home we had ridden 31 miles.

Back to AA and the ride. I really liked going to this AA meeting at the Basilica. Great speakers and a great atmosphere. I went on the Saturday Night Ride because I heard Ben and Laura would be there. They moved to Seattle last January. Great to see them. Ben remembers me when I was a 300 pounder. I miss seeing him at Freewheel. He has some unique perspectives on life and bicycles. Megan came out too. Nothing like a farmer/bike mechanic. 20-25 people went out on the ride. There were splinter groups within the splinter groups. The groups came back together at Fort Snelling for a fire. I had just kind of drifted off by this point. An alcoholic has to limit his temptations. I was home by 1 am. Thirty miles with the ride. 66 for the day.

After breakfast Sunday I rode to the U to check out the State Championship Crit. I missed most of the Cat 6 Racing Team's races. Derrick was racing when I got there. He was involved in a crash with minimal road rash. That's easy for me to say. Rode 23 miles on Sunday. Total for July was 768. 3609 for the year.

Picture at the top is Ella. Are you crabby or pissy right now. Just look at that picture and it will all melt away