My policy of keeping a “door plus” distance from parked cars paid off on the ride home today. A guy (ironically wearing a yellow safety vest) nearly got me with the door of his F150. All either of us could manage was “errrgh”. Once the danger was past, I fired off a menacing “be careful!” You can bet that’s still ringing in his ears. So let that be a lesson, kids. Just cuz it ain’t moving doesn’t mean a car’s not out to get you.

Also, I began to philosophize about the corrections system. It occurs to me that it really doesn’t correct much. We say inmates are paying their debt to society, but doesn’t it cost society money to imprison them in the first place? Why isn’t there some means by which perps can make tangible contributions to society with all that time they spend in the pen? Couldn’t they do some of the low-wage work that has largely moved overseas, and in the process, learn some actual skills (as opposed to the “skilz” that got them there)? I mean, they should at least offset the cost of their room and board. Why should they get a free ride while college kids deliver pizzas and tend bar to pay for theirs?

Dr. Brooks – I eagerly await your comment. That is, if you can spare a moment from your current research…

I did my first MTB race in about four years on Sunday. Ironically, it was in my hometown of Sheboygan, and put on by the guys who first got me into riding. As in olden days, I started decently, barely managed to get out of my own way in the singletrack, aggravated everyone behind me in said singletrack, cramped about 2/3 of the way through, and eventually had to sit down and pound out the cramps with my fists before managing to finish. It was a good humility check. As time blurs my memory of the pain, I find myself more and more excited to do it again, though. In fact, I was already shopping for a new full-suspension rig later that night. The soreness in my back today tells me that might be a wise purchase. Anyone interested in a Fisher Mt. Tam 29er, size medium? It’s kinda dirty right now…

Apparently, stand around and exchange recipes. You can bet this scene won’t repeat when it’s 28 degrees out.

Another acceptable answer would have been “take pictures of other idle cyclocrossers”.

I got a new set of tires for my commuter bike today, and guess what happened on my way home? Flat. Gol-dang kids and their soda-pop bottles. Fortunately, I had a spare tube, so after a gigazillion strokes of my mini/micro/nano-pump, I was back in action. I even deposited the vitrious instrument of mass deflation in a nearby recycling facility, cuz that’s the kind of responsible earth citizen I am.