1. My former landlord, Ted, the one who kicked me out of Shawshank, called and wanted to know if I wanted to take a bike ride with him and his buddy, Bill. I said sure and we met at WaWa up here at the corner of East Bay and 19. I kind of wanted to know if he'd sold the place yet (no), or had it ready to sell, (no, hasn't even been in it!) so I said, sure. It was a Sunday afternoon, pretty nice, and my football fantasy teams suck, so might as well go riding. Keep in mind riding up North means 98% open road, little traffic and pretty neat scenery, even if it's flat and full of corn. Down here, a ride is through snarling traffic, snarky lights every mile, and gnarly scenery (unless you get out of the megalopolis).
Ted said we'd pick up Bill about 15 minutes away then head up for a nice ride along the Gulf. Sounded OK to me. It was about 4:30 PM so I knew it wouldn't be a long ride. What happened for the next hour and a half was truly an experience, let's call it Bill And Ted's Excellent Adventure, with less emphasis on excellent.
East Bay is a 6-lane artery more conducive to headaches rather than enjoyment, but we took it for awhile and then turned right off one of the streets to wind around in a rabbit maze to find Bill. An affable guy I said, "So, we're members of the Friends of Ted Club?", and when I give you a a straight line like that then I want to see what you can do with it. Bill didn't pass the test, he chuckled a bit and unenthusiastically said, "Yeah, I guess so." A couple points taken away from Bill. Introductions over, I noticed Bill had a nice Harley. A couple points given back.
The next hour or so can only be explained as a "cluster" with a particular word starting with "F" attached. I must digress a bit and explain something in the world of group bike riding. There is a leader, appointed, volunteered or forced who is responsible for the group as a whole. You want to stay as a group and not get separated. There aren't leader classes; trial and error and a quiet word from others is all the classroom study you need. But it is fairly simple: safety, staying together and enough hand signals/turn signals for those behind you to get to where you are leading them. In BFE I usually led by default: Tim had to stay on right side of road, Dave and Rick didn't want to lead. I didn't mind, I was just nervous I didn't want to screw up. But up North you couldn't screw up too much. You just needed to keep the group together - stop at yellow lights rather than speeding up and plowing through, signal road hazards to those behind you, turn off your turn signal, don't go too fast, etc. Common sense stuff. On a run or two I ended up in back of the pack because I didn't know where I was going, and I actually decided I like leading better. Go figure.
After we picked up Bill we headed through residential and business districts. Stop signs onto heavier traffic - you have to wait for an opening for the whole group, but apparently Ted wasn't aware of this. We then began playing hopscotch biking: Ted wouldn't wait for an opening and just took off leaving Bill and I to wait for our own openings. This meant Ted would have to pull over down the road and wait for us, which then meant we'd pass him and then we'd have to wait for Ted. Oh Lord. At one juncture, we approached a yellow light and instead of slowing to a stop, Ted ran it like a banshee leaving Bill and I at the red light. A cardinal sin for a leader, I was flabbergasted. Once, Ted and Bill took off at a stop sign but I couldn't go because of approaching traffic. So now I'm stuck in this heavy crap and don't know where I'm going. We eventually got back together, but this was certainly no fun.
We passed through one town's big summer festival full of traffic, people and waiting. Then Ted pulls us over and says, "Hey how about running up to the Sponge Factory?" Sure, I said, what else was I going to say? In Tarpon Springs all things are Sponges. Museum, diving exhibitions, boast full of sponges, little shop along the wharf (and a place that looked like a nice place to visit some day), and a ton of people milling around (you all know how much I like crowds). We tooled around that and then Ted pulled over on a quiet side street. He asked me if I wanted to go back the way we came or swing over to 19 and home. I, without hesitation replied, "19". 19 is a10 lane monstrosity (6 main lanes, 4 frontage) that is always packed, always dangerous, always full of Lane Rangers. But that seemed safer and better than what I'd just survived. Ted also asked if I'd be interested in another ride sometime and I responded weakly, "You guys need to leave all this traffic, get out of town, for some nice bike riding." I could imagine Bill taking points away from me for shellshock and cowardice.
Bedlam looked good when I returned from Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure. The bike hasn't moved since.
2.
Ted said we'd pick up Bill about 15 minutes away then head up for a nice ride along the Gulf. Sounded OK to me. It was about 4:30 PM so I knew it wouldn't be a long ride. What happened for the next hour and a half was truly an experience, let's call it Bill And Ted's Excellent Adventure, with less emphasis on excellent.
East Bay is a 6-lane artery more conducive to headaches rather than enjoyment, but we took it for awhile and then turned right off one of the streets to wind around in a rabbit maze to find Bill. An affable guy I said, "So, we're members of the Friends of Ted Club?", and when I give you a a straight line like that then I want to see what you can do with it. Bill didn't pass the test, he chuckled a bit and unenthusiastically said, "Yeah, I guess so." A couple points taken away from Bill. Introductions over, I noticed Bill had a nice Harley. A couple points given back.
The next hour or so can only be explained as a "cluster" with a particular word starting with "F" attached. I must digress a bit and explain something in the world of group bike riding. There is a leader, appointed, volunteered or forced who is responsible for the group as a whole. You want to stay as a group and not get separated. There aren't leader classes; trial and error and a quiet word from others is all the classroom study you need. But it is fairly simple: safety, staying together and enough hand signals/turn signals for those behind you to get to where you are leading them. In BFE I usually led by default: Tim had to stay on right side of road, Dave and Rick didn't want to lead. I didn't mind, I was just nervous I didn't want to screw up. But up North you couldn't screw up too much. You just needed to keep the group together - stop at yellow lights rather than speeding up and plowing through, signal road hazards to those behind you, turn off your turn signal, don't go too fast, etc. Common sense stuff. On a run or two I ended up in back of the pack because I didn't know where I was going, and I actually decided I like leading better. Go figure.
After we picked up Bill we headed through residential and business districts. Stop signs onto heavier traffic - you have to wait for an opening for the whole group, but apparently Ted wasn't aware of this. We then began playing hopscotch biking: Ted wouldn't wait for an opening and just took off leaving Bill and I to wait for our own openings. This meant Ted would have to pull over down the road and wait for us, which then meant we'd pass him and then we'd have to wait for Ted. Oh Lord. At one juncture, we approached a yellow light and instead of slowing to a stop, Ted ran it like a banshee leaving Bill and I at the red light. A cardinal sin for a leader, I was flabbergasted. Once, Ted and Bill took off at a stop sign but I couldn't go because of approaching traffic. So now I'm stuck in this heavy crap and don't know where I'm going. We eventually got back together, but this was certainly no fun.
We passed through one town's big summer festival full of traffic, people and waiting. Then Ted pulls us over and says, "Hey how about running up to the Sponge Factory?" Sure, I said, what else was I going to say? In Tarpon Springs all things are Sponges. Museum, diving exhibitions, boast full of sponges, little shop along the wharf (and a place that looked like a nice place to visit some day), and a ton of people milling around (you all know how much I like crowds). We tooled around that and then Ted pulled over on a quiet side street. He asked me if I wanted to go back the way we came or swing over to 19 and home. I, without hesitation replied, "19". 19 is a10 lane monstrosity (6 main lanes, 4 frontage) that is always packed, always dangerous, always full of Lane Rangers. But that seemed safer and better than what I'd just survived. Ted also asked if I'd be interested in another ride sometime and I responded weakly, "You guys need to leave all this traffic, get out of town, for some nice bike riding." I could imagine Bill taking points away from me for shellshock and cowardice.
Bedlam looked good when I returned from Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure. The bike hasn't moved since.
2.
Even wasps are disappointing down here. Listless, small and seemingly uninterested in old guys and young kids staring and poking a camera in their faces.
3. Friday is the Wombie's (mild mannered Aquaman) last day as Water Superintendent of Aledo. I won't be able to attend his going away parties (yes, two of them) as I spent too much on my last trip up and funds are tight right now. Mark has been a great twin and loyal brother. I wish I could be there to celebrate his milestone but when I do come up in the Spring I'm sure we'll have a beer somewhere and maybe find some mischief. Best of luck on your retirement and its great to know I have two brothers I can now call on for a handout.
4. Not happy with my experiences at the dog pounds around here I have decided to try a rescue organization. So far, I'm not encouraged. First off, I still miss Missy everyday and want a buddy to keep me company. Local city and county pounds house mostly Pits and Staffordshires. I have made so many trips to these and have never found what i wanted that the rest of he family has decided to no longer accompany me. Any non-Pit pooches are grabbed before anyone else has the opportunity that i am eschewing these places as wasted time. I saw that many breeds have rescue organizations and while more lugubrious to manage, might be worth it in the end. I filled out an application for an Aussie Shepherd complete with references and sent it back. After a week I emailed them wanting to know what the wait time was for the application to be processed and have yet to hear anything. OK, we'll given them some more time, but really, why not answer your mail?
5. A short video on Daylight Savings - you'll enjoy it, it's funny.
For all the reasons you noted and more that is why I rarely ride with groups. I've been asked to join a club in the past but the invite made it clear that I would be required to participate in group rides. Didn't want them telling me when and where to go.
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