Is the whole world stagnant...

or is it just me?

Yesterday there were an unprecedented amount of views for a Monday, especially a Monday following a non-race weekend. Although Tanya (creator of yesterday's Xtranormal cartoon) had this to say about yesterday's post...

"This is a week's worth of posts, Dicky. So much stuff."

I felt it was garbage. Well maybe not garbage, but hardly my best work. Yesterday I was trying to think of a word or phrase that best describes how my brain is functioning lately. "Coasting" came to mind, but that sounds as if I'm effortlessly moving forward. "Treading water" seemed like an option, but although it indicates no movement in a direction it still suggest some effort being put into keeping my head above water. I realized the best word to describe my current situation is "stagnant." Instead of moving through the off "season" looking forward to next year I'm stagnating in place and approaching 2011 with some caution as far as planning goes. Lately work as a bike messenger in the Queen City has been sucking balls, not the type of work I do, but the amount of work I do in a day. Job security is not really something I'm feeling lately, so fantasizing about going to exotic places and racing my bike has taken a back seat to pointless worrying and mind numbing boredom.

Although things at work have been going downhill for some time I personally went downhill after I returned from Crank the Shield. With the first ankle injury I found solace in beer... sweet nectar of soothing relief and joyous times. No sooner did my ankle get better then I injured the body part I am no longer allowed to mention, and I was off the mountain bike for a very mentally unhealthy two weeks plus. The end result of beer, cookies, and too much time off the bike had my weight skyrocket to my normal "Oh shit I've gone too far" winter holiday weight of 143lbs. This did very little to help the situation.

I will say one thing on a positive note. I've been getting more sleep, and I feel pretty good, dare I say pretty fucking good. So good in fact that my semi-retirement from being competitive is being questioned on a personal level. I've been thinking that perhaps my fire down below was starved for oxygen through lack of sleep. I haven't gotten this much sleep in years, and the additional 4-5 hours a week has really re energized me physically and perhaps mentally. I feel motivated to approach next "season" with a little bit of energy... oh yeah, except for that silly employment issue.

Yesterday I hung the DeBernardi on a hook and broke out the Fastest Bike in the World.

Not so much because I wanted to or because it was planned, but because it had a fender and the DeBernardi did not. I was hoping to stay on my shitty road bike until The Fall Gathering/Double Dare this weekend in order to give my unmentionable body part the maximum amount of time to heal, but I really didn't want a soggy ass all day. That made it three weeks without riding a single speed let alone a fixed gear, and oddly enough I'm feeling the effects today. Meh... time to get back on the horse.

And since so many people are tuning in to read about boring bike maintenance issues...

I spent an inordinate amount of time trying to get the rubber boot on my PoopLoc in its proper position (shown in its improper position) last night. I only mention this since some anonymous people like to point out my obvious incompetence, and I'm hoping to get my third "You're a pussy" comment in three days.