How high's the water, Mama?

 October 26, 2021

Sometimes I imagine that, as I type up a generous helping of this nonsense, there is someone out there who needs to read and see these observations and experiences.  There has just been so much of everything!  I can only imagine that you may be feeling the same.  Reach out!  Reach out your hand to me!  Give me your hand!  Give me your damn hand!  

I got out for a nice recreational bicycle expedition this evening.  It felt great!  Why aren't I out there more?   Life has a way of sucking you along in the pace line sometimes, I guess.  I took my sleek skinny-tyred aero bike from the quiver/bike hook and took aim.  Down to Z Lake.  Where it all started.  

The place I first visited and felt I should share here with you back almost 11 years ago.  There weren’t many people out on the paths or along the shore.  

Not shore why. A bit windy but 55 degrees or so. The first people that made an impression on me were a couple of middle-aged, somewhat stodgy-looking fisherwomen that I feel were of Corean origin that emerged from the brush looking unsuccessful.  The first woman reminded me of Seobingo from the hit Korean series Oh My Ghost!  

https://noonasoverforks.com/2015/07/13/oh-my-ghost-episode-4-recap/

I said hello, but no response.  I decided just to circle the east half of the lake.  That lake was so high, bro!  

It was crazy.  I felt like my bike was so fast, no way to stop me, no way to catch me.  My bike outpaced my mind and I thought I was at a different part of the lake than I actually was!?  No, I don't get out much these days.  Everything seemed so intimate and intense.  I stopped on the dam to savor it all for a moment.

Sometimes it feels like it’s all just spinning out of control.  Mrs. Snot and I have been going through a bit of a rough patch.  It all started a long time ago and it's mostly been smooth as a tacky singletrack dream.  We've been married for 14 years and they have been wonderful years, every one of them.  But marriage is not always easy.  Sometimes it's a bit like riding through scores of walnuts on pavement with skinny tyres.  And sometimes you think everything seems great and easy until you start trying to do all kinds of extraneous shit and eventually things fall down and you've got to clean things up and try to remember what you learned for next time.

  

Anyway, after my exhilarating outing, I made it back home and into the garage.  I left the door open.  I imagined the passersby looking into the inviting light of the garage on this cool autumn night.  It’s less than a week until Halloween!  Got your costume?  Baby Snot picked one out for me.  Guess what we're gonna be?  Godzilla!!  Oh, and I'm going to be a half-elf wizard (of course)!  In the garage, I realized in a quick moment that I was not alone.  I didn’t get a photo, but the cat looked just a lot like my first-ever pet- Twinkletoes!  It had the same white v-neck and white diamond on her nose!  I said “Hi there kitty!”:  she quickly exited,

Cat exited

but not before fixing me in her curious, cautious gaze. What did she communicate to me?  "I am still with you!"?  

So now I’m back home, upstairs beyond the reach of the radon, which is still a little high.  

4.0 p-Cu/L is maximum recommended.  I previously did a 1-day test that produced an average of 4.08. So I bought this long-term monitoring device, which has mostly been good, but lately has failed to reassure me. Levels seem to be higher after it's rained, especially on calm/non-windy days.  So I headed upstairs to enjoy the warmer temps, more dilute radon concentrations, and some tunes.  Mrs. Snot got me a CD called Ivory by Colours along with a fun pirate booke, also called Ivory!  I was enjoying the ambient sounds of Colours whilst typing up my impressions of Z Lake outing.  Mrs. Snot is an awesome gift giver, among her other many wonderful attributes.  What did I get her?  Something she wishes she didn’t have:

Parrot fan?  Anyone?  Bueller?

and it’s got a nice perch in the closet.  

Hope you've got a good perch!  Brave on, fellow parrotroopers, brave brightly on!

Your,

BSO

Changing times/places

 July 10, 2021

Hello,

I hope you are as good as it gets!  I am doing quite well, thanks for asking.  It has certainly been awhile, but you and I have both been busy.  Maybe we should get together for a nice cup of coffee sometime soon, just like in the olden days!?  

Times and priorities change, I’ve noticed.  Here are a few examples:

I’ve dragged my family with me to vacation down in Branson, MO a couple times.  Speaking strictly for me, they were both great vacations. However, my friend and bicycling mentor Rich recently extolled the many virtues of vacationing in Bentonville, AR, so I may give that a try sometime.  So that would be different.  I love vacations and I hope you’ve been able to enjoy one or maybe plan one recently.  On a recent short vacation to Chicago, I enjoyed using the Divvy/Lyft bicycle rental system.

The one by the hotel was empty by the time I decided I should take a spin, but they were everywhere and there was a map showing locations at the informative billboard by the hotel kiosk.  Although I neglected to record and forgot my passcode after the first use, I eventually realized I could just put my credit card back in the card reader at one of the kiosks and they gave me a new code to get another bike!  Plus my second bike had some kind of variable speed transmission thing 

that enabled me to pedal at whatever specific cadence I felt was optimal! I rode for maybe 12 miles and scoped out a busy beach, a bird haven, 

Soldier Field, and the outside of a few museums.  

I also took a walk and snapped a photo of the place where I purchased my first camera, a Nikon N2020 with a 28-75 zoom lens back when I was an aspiring artist enrolled at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.  Although my photography professor informed me my photos were aesthetically unappealing, that hasn’t stopped me from taking many more photos of similar quality in subsequent years and I intend to continue to do so! 

 

Here’s another thing that’s changed:  I’ve recently replaced my panniers!  The old ones were a little holier than thou and had been stitched up a few times.  

I still use the old Nashbars on occasion, but these new Banjo Bros. ones are good.  

I thought for awhile that I might miss the outside lid zip pockets; however, I’ve forgotten to zip the pockets multiple times and had to retrace my path to find various dropped items, so it’s probably good that these new ones don’t have the outside pocket.  They also have a waterproof liner that appears to be pretty good, although I have not yet been through a torrential downpour with them.  And if I ever start a line of bicycle accessories, I think I just might call it Nash Bros. (although you can use that if you want, just make sure you send me one complimentary item that I will graciously test and review).

 

Well, now that vaccinations are doing pretty well here in Nebraska, I’ve been socializing a bit more than usual and I’ve even signed up for the 18^thannual Wear Yellow Ride/Walk/Run, to be held this August 14th!  It will undoubtedly be an extremely glorious occasion as in days of yore.  Some things never change!

 

Unchanging blessings to you and your loved ones.

 

Honestly,

BSO

May or Godzilla!?

 May 8, 2021

Happy spring!

I hope it is going well for you.  I have been enjoying watching the maple tree seed helicopters flying gracefully downwards to the earth.  It seems like it was only a month ago when the first leaves started showing up on these bushes, 

and a month before that when things were blanketed with snow. 

Now it is May and there is a May-or-al election coming up here in Omaha.  The incumbent is Mayor Jean Stothert, who has not been on my good side for a number of reasons, including the following:

·     removal of bike parking areas in downtown Benson

·     handling of protests related to the shooting death of James Scurlock (police seem to have used rubber bullets unnecessarily to intimidate peaceful protestors, there were mass arrests, and Mayor Jean did seem concerned, but mostly only after the bad publicity started to emerge)

Mayoral candidate RJ Neary is a staunch advocate for the following items that I also feel strongly about:

·     developing infrastructure to improve opportunities for bicycling, walking, and buses

·     addressing racial inequality

So that was an easy decision.  

 

Another easy decision: some spring cleaning.

Maybe your bathroom is outdated, dilapidated, and prone to clogging and leaking?  Out with the old and in with the new!

 

We also got a new tree planted, 

which will hopefully work out better than the last one, which appeared to have contracted a bad case of cedar-Hawthorne rust (at least that’s what I think it was), so I cut it down a year or two ago and had a great time removing the stump last weekend.

 

It can be rainy this time of year, but that’s not going to dampen my enthusiasm for bicycle commuting (unless it’s too rainy) because I’ve got some newish Banjo Brothers panniers that should keep all my onboard items dry!

 

There’s a removable liner that appears to be responsible for the dryness factor.

 

Another way to stay dry is by sitting around inside and playing Godzilla monopoly, which has been a favorite pastime of Snot Jr. these days.  

I have to admit I find it pretty enjoyable most of the time too. Capitalism is powerfully alluring to many, but I won’t let it control me (dons tinfoil beanie with helicopter blades for improving air flow to brain)!  May your all be genuine and focused on what matters the most to you! 

Godzilla!     

 

-BSO

 

 

Winter Ox & Free

 January 5, 2021

Mon cheri frères et sœurs,

Bonne année!  How has your year been?   I believe you.  And I believe in you !

What have I become!?  Indeed, what has become of me?  Well, I am mostly working from home these days, so I haven’t been out and about on my hobby horse 2-wheeled bastarde stallion nearly as much as usual.  But I did manage to get out today to enjoy some mild ice and snow bumps.  But before I get to that event, let me mention a few recent highlights of my year in review/recap/recollections:

1.   I am proud to report that Snot Jr. is now a relatively proficient 2-wheeler !  This was quite a relief to me since bicycling hither and thither with the occasional yon is one of my primary self-defining activities.  So now if, God-forbid, I should die, at least young Snot Jr. will be able to spin about and wreck (as he likes to say) havoc upon the neighborhood gentry.  You may call me pathetique if you will, but you will soon be ashamed to learn that many people who are good at other things also self-identify as bicyclers.  Here is a list :

a.    Harrison Ford :

b.   (young) Daniel LaRusso (played here by one Ralphord Macchio) :

2.   Since I am not birolling around as much I now have taken up some bipeding around.  Mostly kind of slow, but also up to slow jogging speed.  It has been great !  Although I don’t consider myself a runner, it has been a good way to get some exercise and has also motivated me into planning on some kind of epic trekking-type expedition with my friend Tyler in the not-too-distant future.

3.   Whilst bipeding I am doing some deep nasal breathing !  It is snot as bad as you might think.  I was inspired by reading an excellent and highly recommended book called Breath by one James Nestor.  It really seems like an important subject I’d like to explore and practice to improve my overall health and well-being.  I especially like the idea of breathing exercises now that my shoulder’s been kind of messed up since leaf-bagging season awhile back.  Whenever I try to do push-ups or standing band rows it seems to mess it up again.  Fortunately it is not painful, but I think I will stick to some vigorous breathing and other cardio-based routines for the foreseeable future.  If you are curious, Mr. Nestor was kind enough to put some awesome breathing exercise videos on his website.

4.   As you have probably not noticed, I’ve been attending to my obsolete blogging habit even less-frequently than hithertofore.  I offer no further explanation upon this matter, but I do think that I should get to one of my favorite annual events which I frequently like to bombastically expound upon in a blithefully ignorant manner of presidential magnitude.  The Chinese New Year is just around the corner and we will be celebrating the Year of the Yin Metal Bat Ox!  And yes, I realize it’s not for another month and one week, but I am unlikely to get around to any further blogging prior to its indefatiguable arrival.  Here is more information about the metal ox.  And here is a metal ox of a bicycle :

As I mentioned dying in item 1, I must confess that I was slightly afeared for my life today as the roads and sidewalks contained quite a bit of ice and a bunch of those big furrows pushed up by those plows and then frozen/thawed/frozen, etc.  That is one of the dangerous aspects of wanting to go for a bike ride really bad because you haven’t been out on a bike ride for a long time so you aren’t exactly in the winter bicycling groove.  The parts that were kind of scary for me were when I was riding on streets where the shoulder was too snowy for ye bastarde and me and the sidewalks were also buried.  Of course I am well lit up and survival prevailed and it was great!  But if I get a chance, I will try to avoid riding in similar conditions next time (unless I am immersed in the winter cycling groove).

On the ride home it was nearly 40 degrees and delightful!  Although that was enough, I was also comforted by Mr. and Mrs. Neon Claus perched up in a tall tree looking out upon the residential roads in a protective manner.  

Sorry for the bad night photo.  As with my winter bicycling, my nighttime photoing is also a bit very much on the rusty side of the fence.

Until next year, hard work and deliberate planning are sure to seal yourself an ox of a deal!  And if ya don't believe me then just go ox the seal!

Plodding purposefully onwards!

-BSO

Independently Muggy and Restless

July 2, 2020

Sincerest salutations from the summery midwestern part of US.

I hope that you are doing well.  It seems like a lot of people are getting outside to public lakes and other public recreational venues to enjoy the summery weather.  Possibly also because there aren’t as many options as there used to be for summer fun.  

Snot Jr. and I had a nice time out on our inflatable 2-person kayak, Floatie, on Zorinsky Lake a weekend or so ago.  We went over to the west side where we saw a couple of basking reptiles but did not get quite close enough for a good photo

and got away from some of the grumpy fishermen in a 16-foot Lund (or similar) who were being territorial near the aqua underpass (i.e., bridge?).  I have no idea where I might have gotten this complex/neurosis, but I tend to bristle just a bit when someone in a larger, motorized vehicle comments on the legality of the actions of someone in a smaller, human-powered vehicle. If I don’t physically bump into your ridiculous-for-the-midwest aqua-vehicle or have a stereo cranked with my sweet paddling playlist, then I don’t feel your commentary is warranted.  Well, I guess maybe many of us are more irritable than usual these days.  This place is like a tinderbox and a lot of people are setting off some fireworks and/or smoking something.  

In the meantime, I have been riding my bicycle at slightly different times than usual.  I noticed a few things that I might not have noticed during my former usual bicycling schedule.  Here is a communal swallow colony nesting site under the overpass I frequently ride under.  

I’d never even noticed them over there before!

Also, here’s some commentary about the weather we’ve been experiencing lately.

And the mulberries are plentiful and delicious and there weren’t any other foragers out there to compete with.  

Yum!

Well, the headset fix on ye Olde Bastarde lasted quite awhile (approximately 12.5 months), but now the upper adjustable cup is cracked and the grease is kind of oozing out.  

So I will see if I can track down a replacement part.  It looks like Universal Cycle has a $12 (+$6.50) threaded headset that might work. If that doesn’t work, I think my next option may be getting new headset cups pressed into place, which involves using a couple tools that I do not have (a headset cup remover and a headset cup press). So I guess I might just take that down to ye olde bike shop and politely request that they take care of it.  

Here is an exciting story about a Harvard University ornithology professor who is bicycling across the U.S. and who is also acting as a kind of diplomat/spokesperson for the Black Lives Matter movement.  He appears to be riding a Surley (possibly a Long Haul Trucker?) and you can even follow his journey on his Twitter account:  @ScottVEdwards1

Awesome! 

Well, that bring us to the close of this edition of BSO.  Wishing you and your friend(s) a happy Independence Day and/or weekend/weekday.

Love,

BSO

  

Colonic War

21 June 2020

Dear Friends and Family,

Happy Daze of Summer!  Here at last!  And there was much rejoicing!  My dad and I were able to get out for a nice spin and I even gave myself some credit by deigning to affiliate myself with the virtual Rollin’ to Colon 2020, which has been an enjoyable Father’s Day tradition for Dad and I for neigh unto a decade or so.

We hit a bit of the Chalco Hills trail, enjoyed the rolling hills of Highway 370, and then the recreational ease of the West Papio Trail and just a bit o' ye olde Keystoner.  

The weather was glorious and the only sadness I witnessed was a young lad who toppled from his noble steed in a decidedly inglorious manner. Fortunately shortly after the event he appeared to be receiving some excellent guidance about resilience and the rough and tumble nature of the bicycling experience from his mom. 

To prepare for this event I partook of a supplement whose recent expiration date inspired me to give it a go.  It was called Total War, and I think I got it as a reward for participating in a gravel ride a while back.  It was not bad tasting.  Kind of bananay.  I was and continue to me mildly wired, but not jittery as I sometimes become after consuming caffeinated substances.  It may or may not have allowed me to keep up with my inspirational 73-year old dad as we enjoyed a pleasant recreational bicycle outing.  

I knew I would get dropped like a bag of underipe grapes if I was not bringing my A or B+ game to this event, especially after staying up later than usual the night before in order to enjoy a smart, dramatic zombie film!  

Speaking of total war, I would be remiss in not mentioning what the hell is going on with the police violence against black Americans!?  It needs to stop.  As you may be aware, there are many organizations that support progress towards fairness and justice.  Also, I exhort you to choose your political representatives with care in order to try to help.  In some parts of the US, bike rides have been effective ways to spread the message that this shit ain’t right and we gotta stop it.  

One love.

BSO

Recreational Fun and a Pint!

April 26, 2020

Dear Family,

I hope that you are doing alright and that your health is good.  

I went for another recreation bicycle outing today and it was a blast!  I rode past an olden, hilarious trailer with the Clark Erection Co. moniker, still quite legible but faded, emblazoned gloriously upon its broad side.  It was right across the creek from a large Pink Construction Co. conex storage unit. Ahhh.  All is right with the world.  Sure I could have taken some photos, but then it wouldn’t have felt so intimate.

It was nice and warm so I had a hard time withdrawing, I mean turning around to head back.  I found that a fairly large group of people were out on a memorial/remembrance walk for Payton Lester, a boy who had a very short life.  Due to the COVID-19-asaurus, I did not find out any additional details about the young fellow, although I liked the "Payton is my Hero" t-shirts they were sporting.  As I was out on the Keystone Trail heading south, I found that the trail was closed at Capehart Road, 

so I rambled about for awhile.  I took a neighborhood recreational trail

and 25^thStreet south until I reached Fairview Road, headed east, then headed back north on Fort Crook Road.  The City of Bellevue had fairly recently decided it didn’t want some of its bike lanes, and I found some evidence of this along Fort Crook Road, which had a few parts with not much of a shoulder.  

Ouch.  Why you do me like that?

Be that as it may, at least the signs were still erect.  

I was happy to see a pretty good bike lane on Capehart Road as I headed back west to the Keystone Trail.  

On my way home I noticed a lone bicycler sitting out on a picnic table behind the strip mall that contains both Kros Strain and Pint9 breweries.  He was drinking a tall boy and so I quickly interrogated him and found that I could get some beer to go from either store!  

I quickly availed myself of this option and had a pint whilst chit-chatting with Phil for awhile.  He informed me that in the Des Moines, Iowa area he once rode for 150 miles (in one day!?) just on paved multi-use trails and that he never used the same trail twice!  I was mightily impressed.  While, it turns out the Des Moines area claims 550 miles of bike routes (although about 170 miles are shared with automobiles, hopefully they don't get any ideas from Bellevue!)!  And now that BRAN has been cancelled, maybe I’ll just head out to DesMoines and ride around on some sweet trails for 2 or more days and see what kind of trailside breweries are available.  

Well, that is a brief summary of my day.  I hope yours has been equally or more satisfying.  Many blessings from the middle of (US o’) America.  

Love,

BSO

PS:  Here is an optional bike-related video for your enjoyment and/or bafflement