February 21, 2020
Dear Friend(s) and Family,
I hope that you are loving life. Although it is a tumultuous time in many parts of the world, hopefully you are having some good rest, relaxation, and/or recreation. Or maybe figuring out who to support in your local/regional/national elections and/or coups.
I recently noticed that there was a hole in my pannier, dear Willie, you silly! It is probably going to get bigger.
I also recently stitched up the ripped part along the inside of the pannier by using an awl to jab through the plastic reinforcement on that side. And I have had those panniers for approximately 11 years. They are the best! I will definitely purchase some more. What insane, altruistic scofflaw goes about making panniers that last approximately 11 years! Why the Nashbarians, of course! Here are the best panniers – oh wait! I guess Nashbar is part of Advanced Sports Enterprises(ASE) and has filed for bankruptcy, much like Price Point and Shopko before them!? Well, I guess you know who wasn’t paying attention/supporting one of his favorite bicycle supplies suppliers! The shame and sadness are with me now. But the new panniers are elusive. Let us have a moment of silence for the glory that once was Bike Nashbar.
The website is still operational under new and unnamed ownership. Hmm. This pannier special doesn’t look too bad. May have to pull the trigger on that one before I lose one of my bottles of beer from ye olde panniers before I get a chance to pass it around.
And now, I think I will grab a beer to assuage my current sorrow and perhaps imbue tomorrow with a bit more sorrow.
The name of the beer is Snowsuit and it was a gift for my belated axe-throwing birthday from my friend Nick. Thank you, Nick. I won’t need a snowsuit around here this weekend because temps are supposed to be in the 50s. However, I am planning on zipping out to sunny Colorado for a ski trip in the near future! Yes, I hope to have some fun and avoid serious injury since I have only recently felt fully recovered since my self-diagnosed medial condial ligament (MCL) (or somesuch) strain I suffered approximately one year ago. So that should be fun, and hopefully not too painful. I’ll be sure to give you a long-winded update ASAP. I will probably also take some video with the high-quality, but slightly awkward to attach and use, Sony ActionCam (GoPro knock-off). To prepare for my trip, I am thinking about watching a ski-related movie, perhaps one of these? I don’t know, Ski Party is hard to beat (I think. The only part I've ever seen was when James Brown stops by in a comfy sweater to get down).
Well, it hasn’t been a bad winter for bicycling. Just a few missed weeks here and there. I have thus far only biffed it once (at slow speed on a quiet street) due to some unwelcome black ice. How has your bicycling habit been? Oh really!? Please tell me more! You can always send me a postcard.
I recently went to a film sponsored by the likable Omaha Pedalers Bike Club. It was Le Ride avec accente sil vous plais. It is a very good movie, although I appreciated it more the first time I saw it back in November of 2017, I think it was. The likable Phil Keoghan follows in the skinny tyre tracks of fellow Kiwi Harry Watson who was part of the first small group of English-speaking individuals to participate in the Tour de France back in 1928. There is allegedly also a book about this event. It was at this event that I learned about a town famous for its absinthe (maybe Pontarlier
?) and that the annual Omaha bike swap meet will be taking place at the College of Saint Mary on March 8, as noted here.
Now that those brief introductory paragraphs are behind us allow me to fill you in on some of my latest activities.
- 1. In the past I may have mentioned that some of the tight-fitting, sporty boxer briefs are a conspiracy to cause impotence in those who succumb to their comfortable-looking charms. My first inkling that this was taking place was when I donned these. Butt my fears have been reinforced by the maiden voyage of these good-looking skivvies. No wait, I meant these.
- They were toasty.
- 2. I had a flat tyre so I elected to ride the speedy WYR bike to and from work. It was, in general, kind of fun. But it is geared pretty high, which seemed to threaten to cause another bout of hernia, so I good-naturedly hiked my way back up the hill on my way home. There was a dried leaf on the water bottle holder that seemed to represent the ethereal nature of the seasons and life in general.
- 3. The geese are back and appear to be eating dried leaves? Maybe some grass?
So, there you have it. Please give me a call when you get this if you have time for a chat. Otherwise I’ll be sure to see you at the next soiree avec absinthe, oui?
Ou revoir la revolucion!
Le BSO
