Antarctica Starts Here

Morning weigh-in: 180.5#, 13.5% body fat (looks like a hydration issue, better drink more water)

Some snow squalls came through today and the temperature plunged, should be like this for the rest of the week. On the exercise front, I took a rest day: forgot my gym bag again this AM, and it's hard to come home, get my stuff and drag myself back out. Rest was probably a good idea anyway, I was feeling a little tired -- a-and maybe I only thought I forgot the bag, eh?

Instead of the gym, I did a whole lot of nothing: mostly played with the computer, surfed; dinner was chick peas & potatoes in lemon-tahini curry, with rice because I'm out of barley. (This is one of those simple, tasty meals that leaves you bloated, smelly and satisfied for hours...)

In Memory of Mike

Morning weigh-in: 181.5#, 15% body fat (not bad, considering it was a "bad behavior" weekend)

Work, spinning (tougher tonight than last week, but I was tired), bike brakes may need new parts, yadda yadda, here's what I've really been up to: this is a photo album I'm putting together for my friend Mike's fiancee, shots I had of various bike/outdoorsy things from the early nineties plus some photos my brother sent me. (That's a photo of him before a ride in Jim Thorpe, September of 1993. Mike passed away in December, here's a recent post about him.)

This just started out as me putting some photos on a disk, but one of my (more minor) pet peeves is finding old photos that no one can answer questions about, so I thought I'd include comments to make them understandable 20 years from now, and so I thought web pages would be a good way to go even if it ends up on a disk, then I thought I'd make an index/thumbnail page, then I decided write a script to automate the process, a little finger exercise...

In other words, the project snowballed, and the thing I was really doing (put pictures on a disk) got pushed to the background, but I now have most of it in rudimentary form, ready to be polished and finished. Take a look, let me know what you think (whoever you may be) and try my comments link at the bottom of the post... Personally, I'm a little disappointed. I wish I had more photos, and wish I could say more about each.

UPDATE: I get my comment capability via BlogSpeak, and they're in some dispute with their own host, so comments are down for now, oh well... by the way, I won't be keeping the photo album online for too too long, so if you got here via permalink don't be surprised if it's broken.

UPDATE #2: Comments are back up, thanks to HaloScan.

Busy Busy Busy

Well, I got my new eyeglasses: two pairs, very different styles from what I'm used to and and also different from each other. Props to Doug, Lori & Kris for the invaluable assistance. We went for dinner at Lobaido's in Allentown while they filled my prescription, and that's where Eric met us -- he worked late until Kris called and told him we were done shopping. The food was excellent as always. I got something called Pollo Sorrentino, which was breaded chicken and eggplant parmigiana with some pasta; couldn't tell you now what anyone else had, I was a little preoccupied... I think almost all the best restaurants in the Lehigh Valley are in Allentown, and they're like Lobiado's: little holes-in-the-wall scattered through Allentown's neighborhoods, and almost without exception they're BYO -- the big exception being Cannons, the "best dive bar in America."

Anyway, Lobaidos has fantastic food, especially their salad, but they also have homemade ice cream and I was looking forward to some cherry vanilla, but time was pressing -- I had to pick up the glasses before they closed. I was planning to pay for dinner as a thank-you gesture but they refused, in fact made me leave before the bill or I'd miss the mall closing. I'll get even with them I swear....

I went out again after I got home, basically the same drill as Friday but without the Mad Elf. I stopped in at Which Brew and caught the last set of the Skulldiggers and hung out with Heath and Hans Kneller, two brothers I know mainly from Which Brew, but I know they're VMB members and they ride and someday (hopefully it'll be warmer) we'll get in a ride or two together. They know the mandolin player in the band, which was laying down some really good Dead-style bluegrass. Which Brew closes at midnight, so when the party ended we all trooped over to Porters to catch the last set of Duende, an awesome duo that leans towards "traditional music." (The girl bartends occasionaly at -- you guessed it -- Which Brew.) I've seen them before and they're good, but last night they just blew me away. I think they need a long time to come to a focus, and seeing them early in the evening (like before midnight at Which Brew) doesn't show them in their best light... They also had a young and crunchier crowd, real rowdy and appreciative, which helped fire things up.

One beer fewer than Friday, but a much later night and I felt like sleeping in but Joe and I had plans to ride Kittatinny Valley State Park in NJ. Joe must have run into Dave "Creepy Guy" somewhere last night & told him about the ride, and brought him along. Good ride though, until my rear brake lever crapped out, but even then it was still pretty good.

Think I'll go fix my brake lever. Goodnight.

Beer Has Calories?

(Morning weigh-in: 181.5#, 15% body fat)

Rode last night, not that bad though I had some respiratory issues, but it sure was cold. I was supposed to hook up with Joe but he went to Mother's downtown earlier in the evening and "peaked early," and by the time I finished my ride, he was back home in Bethlehem. So, I went over to Which Brew, had a Troegs Mad Elf and a Delerium Tremens (both in 10-oz snifters, I'm such a beer snob), then drifted across the street to Porters to catch a set or so of Leather and Lace, an acoustic duo that I like. Unfortunately I got there just after their first set ended. (I caught up with a bunch of people there though, whom I saw earlier at WB and told about the show, and who'd hurried over to catch the first set.) A Troegs Oatmeal Stout and a Rogue Yellow Snow took me thru the second set so I drifted on home... For some reason I woke up this morning a little under the weather, but I got moving; first to the coffee shop, then to the gym -- I'm starting the seasonal switch from strength to endurance training.

My next task today (other than haircut/drycleaning/groceries) is to get new eyeglasses. Many of my friends were ecstatic when I told them I was thinking of getting new ones (the ones I have aren't exactly stylish), and Doug said he and Lori would help me pick a good pair. I'm meeting them, and also Kris Rigler, at the Lehigh Valley Mall to make it finally happen -- if we find a good pair today I'm buyng them dinner.

(morning weigh-in: 183.5#, 13% body fat)

Getting ready to go for a ride right now, too bad it's 9 degrees above zero outside. Short & sweet baby...

a little experiment

(Morning weigh-in: 182#, 15% body fat, obsession index near 100%.)

No exercise today, I took the day off. I've got a handle on the exercise, and I'm coming to grips with the nutrition thing, but I still need to get my act together when it comes to rest and recovery. (Actually, I went to the gym after work, and realized I forgot to pack my gym bag this morning, but still.) More rest is in the agenda though. Going to be hitting the sack early tonight -- for me -- but I thought I'd play around here first. I have a ton of unused space available to me from my ISP for a personal web page, thought I'd start putting it to some good use:



Here's a shot of Doug (on the right) and me at Weyerbacher, Halloween 1999 I as far as I can remember. We started out from my place on bikes, or was that the year before... uh, now I can't remember...

Anyway, just putting this up to see how it works.

I was supposed to go for a ride after work, but managed to procrastinate until about 8:30, then it took me another 45 minutes or so to get to the point where I was actually on the saddle and rolling. Rode the towpath to just before Freemansburg & back. I was so bundled up (temps in the teens, major wind chill) and it was so windy that I didn't move very fast, got home around 11:00.

yesterday, continued

Morning weigh-in: 183 lbs, 15% body fat. So things are going my way...

One thing I didn't mention yesterday: I saw a Virtual Pubbster at my gym yesterday, the girl who carpooled with Joe G and me up to Burlington two years ago, and chewed our ears off all the way up with tales of woe. Outdoorsy girl, but she recently joined the gym because, like she said, she has some New Years resolutions of her own...

She's been dating the singer from Endless Mountain (local bluegrass band) and seems much happier now, life is good again ("be like the squirrel, girl"). Anyway, it was a strange coincidence, since I almost never run into these people outside of a Virtual Pub context, and I'd just joined that band's mailing list the night before. I guess it's a small world after all.

Recipe for Disaster

One of the girls in the Chain Gang is a real homemaker, very into crafts, cooking etc. She thought it would be a good idea if we all contributed recipes and made a Chain Gang cookbook -- after all, our unofficial motto is "an eating club with a biking problem." Nothing's been done about it yet, so I posted a recipe on our mailing list, "Fettuccine and Wilted Greens in Olive Oil and Garlic," which is a vegan version of the dish that got Joe, Doug and myself kicked out of the Black Bread Cafe (in Jim Thorpe) a few years ago.

The story: Joe (who's vegan, and rather strict about it), Doug (vegetarian, not so strict) and I rode in Jim Thorpe, and afterward decided to get some food in town. I'd been to the Black Bread Cafe once or twice before and liked it, and I think Doug & his wife (or was it Joe & Cindy?) ate there a few times as well; it's a somewhat upscale place (though "precious" may be a better term) with really good food. Joe was a little skeptical when we suggested it, but that's where we ended up. I forget what Doug ordered, but Joe got something like "pasta & wilted greens" which came with a garlic sauce -- this was the only thing on the menu he could order besides salad, and he made a point of telling the waitress up front that he couldn't eat meat or animal products, milk etc, before ordering (like I do with food allergies). I ordered the same thing as Joe, plus the black bean hummos appetizer.

Doug and I are pigging out on our appetizers while Joe sits there hungry, and then our meal comes out, all fancy and garnished -- with grated parmesan cheese. Joe stares at it for a second in disbelief, then asks the waitress to take it back and get him some without the cheese. She comes out with a new plate, and Joe starts eating, but stops because the sauce was made with butter. Doug and I are still stuffing ourselves, but I'm starting to sense trouble... Joe gets the waitress to take his second plate back, hopefully to get some non-butter-based sauce.

About a minute later, out comes the chef, all decked out in his chef uniform -- he might even have had one of those hats, I don't remember -- and he starts out jocular but you can see he's pissed. (By the way, there's a framed article on the wall, complete with photo, about how wonderful and upscale-french-cuisine-savvy our new friend is.) He demands to know what's wrong, Joe starts telling him, he gets all testy, which ticks off Doug who fires a few zingers, and tempers are mounting, and finally Chef Jaques says "Well, what do you expect me to do, make a whole new batch?"

Joe says "Uh, please?" and that proves the straw that brakes the camel's back.

Chef starts yelling "Get out! Get out of my restaurant!" We tried to pay, but he was like "No! Get out NOW!!" So we left. Coward that I am, I was dying of embarrassment the whole time, but as soon as we were outside we all burst out laughing and ran away down the street. We just got a $90 meal for nothing, though Joe was still hungry...

I've never been back, though I hear they have a new chef.

Anyway, here's a version that'll please just about everyone, with one possible exception:

Fettuccine and Wilted Greens in Garlic and Oil

Ingredients:
Light olive oil, suitable for cooking
A jar of minced garlic in olive oil, or you can mince your own, several cloves worth
A box of fettuccine, or whatever pasta you like
A bag of mesclin-style salad mix (w/ baby spinach, chard, radicchio, arugula etc)

Pour maybe 1/4 inch of oil into a frying pan and put a couple of spoonfuls of minced garlic in it (amount varies according to taste -- I like a lot). Start heating the oil on low/medium flame, stirring constantly, and start the water for the pasta.

Keep cooking the oil, stirring often and taking care not to burn the garlic, while the pasta cooks. When the pasta is ready, drain it and set it aside.

Toss several handfuls of the mixed greens in the oil (way more than you think you'll need, since they'll shrink when they wilt), and turn the heat up a bit. Stir everything around and let the greens wilt, then pour greens/garlic/oil over the pasta and stir it all together.

This makes enough for two meals for me, your mileage may vary. Enjoy!

The Party's Over

Back to work today. But, instead of being stuck in a long drawn out boring day, I walked straight into an emergency! And it wasn't my fault! Dealing with a series of tube leaks in a header we supplied, meetings, research etc, took up the morning, then in the afternoon I started on the (rush) job that I'm supposed to be on. Union meeting at 4:00, the day just flew by...

Went to the gym after work. Colette, a riding friend from way back, has just started teaching spinning classes, and also switched to my gym, and has been bugging me to check out her class (I told her "after the new year"). I haven't done a spin class in years (and didn't particularly enjoy them then), but I found myself actually surprised by how much I liked her class. Well, Colette's always been pretty cool, so she's got herself a convert.

Today was also "Mug Night" at Which Brew: dinner discounts for Mug Club members on the first Monday of the month. They're normally closed Mondays, but the local PBA uses Which Brew for their monthly meeting, so they open for members as well. Typical Mug Club crowd; I met Brian there for dinner. He'd just come from his gym, where Colette used to work & convinced him to join, before she quit to teach where I go so he wasn't all that happy to hear my story... I had pork and saurkraut (traditional New Years Day dish hereabouts) and a Lancaster Milk Stout to wash it down.

And that was the end of my holiday... in the immortal words of Samuel Pepys, "and so to bed."

Well, after about half a week of my new diet/exercise resolutions, I'm up two pounds... I know the conventional wisdom is not to be too obsessive about the scale (it's not even that accurate), but the "fat is converting to muscle so you're really getting more slender & in better shape even if the weight goes up" adage doesn't really hold all that much water for me: I have reasonably good muscle tone, not much intramuscular fat -- mostly I just have a serious inner tube, but this is the ominous "syndrome X" situation -- so there's not much "gain muscle to lose fat" opportunity. Still, if the scale doesn't start telling me what I want to hear soon, I'm going to throw it out the window. In other fitness news, I finally got my HRM watch battery replaced (it's only been about a year). My resting heart rate is currently 54 bpm.

One small reason why the weight might have gone up: Went to a co-worker Christmas party last night in Parsippany (my friend Vito, who retired about a year ago). This was the party that got rescheduled from the night of the big snowstorm, just before Christmas. For dinner they had pizza, antipasto, filet mignon, yams, potatoes, onions, broccoli casserole (Vito's wife & daughter are vegetarian, as is Jay Chandran, who I hadn't seen since he retired), a spiral ham (in case anyone's afraid of Mad Cow), homemade wine, sausage & peppers (Pat Gargone said he liked them, last Christmas), and several different pies for dessert. Good time and an unbelievable spread, but so much for my resolutions -- I'm surprised I can even move this morning!

We (Chain Gang) were supposed to go ride at Allamuchy this morning but it's raining and cold. Maybe a "Cold Mountain" matinee instead?

By the way, here are my New Year's Resolutions (actually, one resolution in two parts, and two goals to make it palatable): I resolve to live healthier, by eating better and exercising more regularly, including adding running to my regimen. My goals are to lose 14 lbs (get down to 170#) by late March or early April, and to run a 5k about the same time. I want to run the 5k within 25 minutes, but will be happy with anything under 30. (I'd really like to get down to maybe 165 by June, but I'm not sure about how that fits with my larger Lean Body Mass. My days of being 145 lbs are long over...)

How will I do it? Not sure yet. I think I have enough diet info to eat healthy if I'd just do it, but I may want to follow a specific diet like the "Fit or Fat Target Diet" or something along those lines. We'll see, but in the meantime there's the exercise: I've been pretty slack over the last year or so, and I think I'll have to get kind of regimented about it for a while. But the good news is, my old friend Colette is now teaching spin classes at my gym on Monday nights, so I'll go for that workout, hit the towpath maybe once or twice during the week, then hit the gym for running/lifting Saturday and one more day during the week, and something outdoors, aerobic and daylong on Sunday -- I should be sick of it by February!!

I think that ought-four is going to be a good year...

A quick recap: Christmas was good, didn't go anywhere though (XC snow/weather conditions were rumored to be shitty in VT). A couple of good rides here and there, some running (gahh!), some good parties including the Chain Gang Xmas dinner (Chinese food), Doug & Lori's impromptu bash, and Greg & Judy's 2nd Annual New Year's Eve Blowout -- very subdued compared to last year, where we all ended up on Greg's boat trailer as he drove us around his lawn, but by all other, normal standards, an excellent party -- then yesterday's traditional New Year's Day hike. Myself, Doug & Lori, Brian, Bob & Karen, Joe & Cindy, and Joe and Cos, up Tammany Mountain (Delaware Water Gap) to the lookouts, then down the back way & along Dunnfield Creek, two hours or so.

I haven't been blogging here for a while, because there has been one event that would have to go here, and I found it a little hard to talk or think about for a while... my friend Mike Kucher passed away in his sleep on December 6th.

Mike had been a friend since grade school: he was a year younger than me, my brother Kevin's age and one of several of Kevin's friends that I sort of glommed onto. Mike was a litle closer than most though, he was practically a member of our family.

He'd gone into the Navy just out of high school, and contracted Hodgkins Disease (aka leukemia) while serving, so ended up with a medical discharge, and disability, and treatment at Walter Reed. Remission for a few years, then another bout with Hodgkins, then remission again, then (years later, but still years ago) throat cancer... he took a real beating from that (chemo, radiation, removal of part of his jaw and throat), but two years ago last summer we'd had a party for him because he'd been cancer-free for five years. He'd been through hell & obviously would never be the same -- he had no saliva glands, and with half his throat gone he had to re-learn how to swallow etc -- but he'd made it, he survived and won and the rest would be gravy.

Like with most of my high school / Manalapan friends we had already been drifting apart for a while by the time of that party, so I wasn't really aware of any illness or trouble, but at Kevin's wedding this October he was extremely thin, and had difficulty eating or even moving his arms. He put a brave face on it (as usual) but his fiancee told me that the radiation treatments, years earlier, had caused nerve damage which was only now manifesting itself. (Apparently his inability to eat was also causing underweight/malnutrition problems; he'd been in the hospital for pneumonia and had a feeding tube inserted in his chest.) Even with all that, when my mom called to tell me it took me completely by surprise. That was Saturday evening, the 6th. The wake (closed coffin) was the next Tuesday night, and the funeral was Thursday. The wake wasn't too hard (standing room only, many people I hadn't seen in years, you can almost forget why you're there), but the funeral was way rougher than I expected.

Well, rest in peace Mike. You deserved better in this world and didn't get it; maybe we'll meet again in a better one.

Back from Thanksgiving dinner at Mom & Dad's. More on that maybe but first I thought I'd mention two recent things I read.

The first, several weeks ago was about the mythology developed by homeless kids in Miami. It was several years old, and possibly was a hoax but the story was compelling and disturbing. You can read it here.

The other was in Dirt Rag magazine, and was the winner of their reader-submitted story contest. It was about racism, alcoholism, death, friendship, courage and the Portal Trail on Poison Spider Mesa. I can't get it out of my head. (Nothing online that I saw, you'll have to buy the issue.)

The photos from the Which Brew Halloween Party are here.

The Joe man is back...
-- Big Black, "Bazooka Joe"

Sunday night, and I actually have enough energy left over to write here...

Last weekend I went camping, on a backpacking trip with my friend Joe. He's a natural athlete and avid outdoorsman, but last December he blew out his knee so we haven't done much outdoor stuff -- and no riding at all -- since then. Anyway, he'd been bugging me to do a backpacking trip for a few years, even convincing me to get a really good backpack (which has been gathering dust ever since), and his knee has rehabilitated enough to give it some exercise, so we decided to finally get in a hiking trip. We went to a place in the Poconos called the Thunder Swamp Trail System, which can be wet, but is relatively flat and non-technical, a fairly easy trail as these things go...

It was the hardest three days of my life. The trails were rocky in places -- it is Pennsylvania -- but not all that difficult; it was just that I was totally out of my element, and not used to walking with a pack (weight: 40 pounds) on my back. Joe also took care of the food, and he's a militant "organic food only" vegan and thinks I eat too much anyway -- we were starving ourselves by my standards!! Not enough calories as far as I was concerned, which might have contributed to the fatigue, but luckily he's a good cook and the stuff we did eat was tasty. All told, we hiked 15 miles or so: 3 on friday afternoon, and about six each on Saturday and Sunday. Considering that he did the entire 29 mile trail with his old girlfriend, on a 3-day weekend a few years back, it was a a woefully disappointing performance -- and we (I) couldn't blame his knee, since he managed to be ahead and constantly waiting for me... I was totally whooped. I basically blew off all exercise for the rest of the week, and pretty much blew off everything Sunday and Monday nights except sleep. My legs, especially the little stabilizer muscles, were killing me through Wednesday. Great weather though, flurrys on Friday, sunny and not too chilly for the weekend.

Thursday was a trip to Linden, NJ to a job site. Nothing special, they just wanted a few more pairs of eyeballs going over a unit problem area. Some questionable piping (small lines, like 1" pipe or less), problems with supports, everything was under control without my two cents but it was a day out of the office, though Linden ain't exactly the Bahamas.

Friday was a late-night towpath ride, then a quick trip to Which Brew to see Endless Mountain, that bluegrass band.

Saturday: back to hanging out with Joe in the woods, this time on bikes. Beth & Kevin McGatha have an annual "Chili Ride," which starts with a ride at Allamuchy and ends at their house with a party, bonfire and chili cook-off. Great time, rode with Lauren Detoro who I haven't seen in a while (jeez! when did she start smoking?), and a bunch of other people I don't really know except through Beth. Kevin didn't ride -- old motocross injuries finally caught up with him, and he's also recovering from knee surgery, so he and Joe talked knee braces and ACL tissue replacement... We left about 7:00 and raced back to Easton to see the George Bush "Liar Liar Pants on Fire" effigy ride in and park at Center Square. About eighty self-conscious "protesters," and one pro-Bush heckler (give him credit, he wasn't shy) for them to argue with. (In the paper this morning, it was a "white hot debate.") I owed Joe dinner for doing the food last week, so it was my treat at Touch of Thai, then another early bedtime for me.

Today was yet another Joe day: myself, Joe, and his ex-girlfriend, Cosmia -- and he just broke up with that non-biking girl he's been dating since the knee, hmmmm... We went up to Jim Thorpe, rode the singletrack out in the strip mines for a few hours (hard, technical riding, lots of fun), and checked out the scene in town before taking off. That might be it for Indian Summer.

Anyway, those were my past two weekends. One other piece of "news:" greedy Don now has an Amazon wish list. More on this as Christmas approaches.

Wow, here it is November already... just got back from voting, hope you voted too.

Killer weekend: Last Friday was a Halloween night ride (in costume: I was Frankenstein) down the towpath, where Genesis Bicycles mechanics set up spooky scary stuff. After that it was down to Which Brew (sheesh, where else?) for their Halloween bash. Saturday I was kind of hurting, but did my normal coffeehouse/gym/errands day then went to Alan & Colette Flory's --remember them? -- for a "Hot Spicy Food" dinner party, saw some people I haven't seen in a while, like Al Flory and Mike Hess, another old Chain Gang member. His wife works at the gym I go to, so I see her maybe once a week depending on schedules, but I literally haven't seen him in years. He looks the same... Sunday was a Lehigh ride on South Mountain, plenty of fun, then lunch at a new Mexican place on Main Street in Bethlehem.

Other things: My brother Kevin got married in early October. The wedding was down in Florida, and needless to say it was a blast. We also had a great ride maybe two weekends ago, two laps around Blue Marsh Lake to simulate the Vermont 50-Miler race. Only the Workmans got their entries accepted (web-based entry forms, filled up within hours); unfortunately the real race -- unlike our Blue Marsh 50 -- was a deluge and a fiasco. (I wrote at length about both of these, but my post got screwed up & lost, and I didn't have the heart to re-write it. More on both of those some other time, maybe.)

A Cultural Weekend:

Friday nite was bluegrass and cask-conditioned Troegs (speaking of culture) at Which Brew, probably the best nite there so far, and that's saying something...

Saturday I checked out the Allen Ginsberg photo exhibit (apparently he was a bit of a shutterbug all thru the beat years) at the Allentown Art Museum. I highly recommend this for anyone who's in the least interested in the Beat poets, or even just plain good photography.

Sat nite was back to Allentown for "Bat Boy: The Musical." I still love Bat Boy, but I'm pretty sure I still don't like musicals, let's just leave it at that...

Sunday was a tag-team whoopass ride with the Workmans, as Bob led an Allamuchy ride, which ended up at Kittatinny State Park where Karen took over at breakneck pace, then back to Bob for the suffer-o-rama back to the trailhead: 35 miles, all very hard and all fast. Ouch!!

"I said roadrunner once,
Roadrunner twice,
I'm in love with rock & roll
& I'll be out all night."
- Jonathan Richman

WNTI-FM is having a banner day. I'm out running errands (drycleaning, food shopping, buying underwear, all a part of my glamorous lifestyle you know), and I turn the radio on to hear a "non-standard" version of Roadrunner which is just too cool, so I have to wait in the parking lot for the song to end before getting my drycleaning. Good but skippable song while I run & get my shirts, but then, on the way home, I hear Richard Thompson's 1952 Vincent Black Lightning, which is a legendary song, at least in my mind. Finally, to top it all off, there is an accordion band (complete with dorky/ironic singer) doing a cover of Jimi Hendrix's Fire. Stuck in the car listening once again, before I can go in the house.

By the way: Allamuchy was great -- pics and results are posted here. Pretty soon I'll post a few stories from the race & also the Cancer Ride. Meantime, back to the chores...

BTW#2: rereading High Fidelity and A Walk in the Woods, both excellent and both very funny.

1952 VINCENT BLACK LIGHTNING -- by Richard Thompson

Oh says Red Molly to James "That's a fine motorbike.
A girl could feel special on any such like"
Says James to Red Molly "My hat's off to you
It's a Vincent Black Lightning, 1952.
And I've seen you at the corners and cafes it seems
Red hair and black leather, my favourite colour scheme"
And he pulled her on behind and down to Boxhill they did ride

Oh says James to Red Molly "Here's a ring for your right hand
But I'll tell you in earnest I'm a dangerous man.
For I've fought with the law since I was seventeen,
I robbed many a man to get my Vincent machine.
Now I'm 21 years, I might make 22
And I don't mind dying, but for the love of you.
And if fate should break my stride
Then I'll give you my Vincent to ride"

"Come down, come down, Red Molly" called Sergeant McRae
"For they've taken young James Adie for armed robbery.
Shotgun blast hit his chest, left nothing inside.
Oh come down, Red Molly to his dying bedside"
When she came to the hospital, there wasn't much left
He was running out of road, he was running out of breath
But he smiled to see her cry
He said "I'll give you my Vincent to ride"

Says James "In my opinion, there's nothing in this world
Beats a 52 Vincent and a red headed girl.
Now Nortons and Indians and Greeves won't do,
Ah, they don't have a soul like a Vincent 52"
Oh he reached for her hand and he slipped her the keys
Said "I've got no further use for these.
I see angels on Ariels in leather and chrome,
Swooping down from heaven to carry me home"
And he gave her one last kiss and died
And he gave her his Vincent to ride.

Jest passin' thru...

Back from the Cancer Ride, where I finished John Adams, reread Vineland (it's being read & discussed on the Pynchon mailing list) and picked up The Recognitions where I left off, as well as riding 560 miles... Tomorrow -- actually, today at this point -- I'm going to Allamuchy to set up camp for the race on Saturday. I have plenty of stories, but they'll have to wait to show up here. By the way: rode hard all day, every day for a week, got home & got on the scale -- gained 5 pounds.

Listening to the Acoustic Charts on Soundclick.com, reading Runciman's Byzantine Civilization and thinking of Arianism ("one iota of difference"), Monophysitism, yadda yadda...