monday morning is here...monday is not my favorite day
mornings are not my favorite time of day
monday mornings are way the worst
trying to wake up
trying to get my head ready for the week
trying...
sipping some coffee and throwing down this thought
gotta get moving
gotta walk the dog then head into work
the weekend past was casual while also being fun packed
a classic summer weekend
a weekend that involved many things summer
watermelon... maryland crabs... splashing in the pool... riding a bicycle... live music outdoors
the events of Friday night are not so significant that I can recall
yet I try...
left out of work feeling a squish in my rear end
no I did not shit myself... I had a flat
well... I did not have a flat... my rear wheel had a flat tire... a punctured tube
thinking it was a slow leak I tried to short cut things by just pumping things up
most of my short cuts fail... this effort was no different
on my short cross town commute I had to stop and replace the tube
yes... I should have just replaced the tube
got home to the usual madness that is a house with a four and a seven year old boy
STOP THE FIGHTING! STOP THE FIGHTING!
STOP THE YELLING! I SAID STOP THE YELLING!
it was Friday... the exhausted father in me thought MOVIE NIGHT
but it was really getting too late for a movie so we stayed with the games
I think that there was either a Memory Tournament or it was a Battleship epic
Battleship with a seven year old can take some time
then the battles moved to trying to get the boys to go to bed
more issues with four year old grant than seven year old dean
but if one of the boys is out wandering about the other follows
Friday night so often blends into Saturday morning
although I have trouble with the specifics of Friday night...
I can recall that Saturday involved a few more games of Memory
I balanced my day by entertaining my boys and working in my garden while my brother and so many others were racing the 12 hours of Cranky Monkey
so often I get this sense of envy when others are racing and I am not
what is odd is this envy comes no matter what I am doing
earlier this year I missed the Baker's Dozen
my feeling as if I missed something by not racing in Leesburg is funny because I was in Santa Cruz California having the blast with friends and riding some epic California singletrack
so while others were racing the 12 Hours of Cranky Monkey Lisa and I had plans to go see Thievery Corp at Merriweather Post Pavilion
things started in the afternoon... we did not go till later
the show was AWESOME!
Thievery really puts on an amazing show
it is like a three ring circus with the constant rotation of singers
the energy was infectious
we danced... or better yet we grooved and swayed to the music
tried to snap a photo of my buddy Rob on the megatron as he jammed on sitar on some songs then guitar on others... but lisa's iPhone was unable to deal with the contrast of the low ambient light and the bright television screen
cool hanging out with friends
fun going out dancing with my wife
the show ended early enough
we went backstage to pay homage to the band but did not stick around for any after ours madness
we were in bed at a reasonable time
we got home
lisa crawled into bed while I cracked open a beer and turned on the tube
morning came as morning does... always a bit of a surprise
morning already?
rolled out of bed in no great rush
grabbed the phone and made contact with Cargo Mike to see if our tentative plans for a ride at Patapsco were still an option
sure enough!
with the bike ready enough I grabbed the requisite shoes, socks, shorts, shirts, gloves, helmet, and glasses
check.... double check
mental check one: head to toe
mental check two: toe to head
drove across town to grab cargo mike
fueled up as I drove
a warm red bull was in the car from the backstage experience of the night prior
at the park and ride we suited up and go on the bikes
pointed into the woods and started to guess our way around
chasing cargo mike around the woods can be exhilarating
we were riding together for a bit as things started to warm up
then Mike launched over a set of logs
his trajectory was a tad wild
perhaps getting more air than he had planned
rather than taking the energy down and back in control
mike launched over anything and everything that we approached
it was more like I was chasing a rabbit than another man on the bike
I would catch mike waiting at the next cross road
only to lose him again as he was having too much fun and I was doing too much braking
after two hours of hammering up and down the hills of the Patapsco Valley we were ready to head home
but only after we grabbed some food in downtown Catonsville
then one more stop before we entered the city
bought some Maryland State Flowers for my garden before dropping Mike at home
a good weekend
no racing
but a good balance of life
time with the family, time with my wife, and time on the bike
it was a pretty righteous summer weekend
time well spent
MORE: Patapsco Avalon Area
Thievery Corp-Myspace
Thievery Corp-youtube
www.blairwitch.com