just living life "normally"

Okay, I just had a revelation that everything I post on here isn't required to be about my facial differences. What I want to share with those who struggle with things that make them feel insecure is how I live my life as normally (whatever that is) as I can. Your differences don't have to define who you are. That's key.

That all said. I want to share some funny stories with you concerning my mountain biking hobby. First off. I got the steal of the century on ebay a couple of weeks ago about the same time I got back on my bike this year. I know slow start. But you got to start somewhere. Anyway, back to ebay, my favorite shopping store! I got this vintage (1994) mountain bike frame that had been built by YETI (when they were still here in Durango) for the Schwinn/Evian women's mountain bike race team. It was one of their training bikes. Most of you won't recognize the name, but it was Ruthie Matthe's training bike. Anyway, a local guy was selling it so I picked it up the day after the auction ended. I added all the components back onto it and promptly took it to a trail very nearby where I work in Durango. Telemark trail system.

The first day out wasn't too bad. I had no front derailleur so the chain came off a couple of times. The head set got just a wee bit loose and started clunking after I came down a bit hard on a rocky drop. I don't have a shock on front, yet. It's a rigid fat tubed fork that came off of my first GT. Hey, it's all I had laying around that would fit! :) The rear derailleur was rough shifting between 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. I had to hold down on the shifter to keep it in 1st. My seat height was a bit low. And my rear brakes are really weak. I think the rubber has solidified over the two or three decades. They are pretty old after all.

So, second day, I had adjusted the rear derailleur, seat height, added a front derailleur and re-tightened the headset, still a rigid fork on front, and headed to the trail for round two. Things were looking up. In more ways than one. The bike performed much better with the adjustments I had made. I got much farther in and higher up than the previous day. WoooHooo! So, I'm on my way back down and I am about 1/2 mile away from the trail head and suddenly, the front tire starts making a hissing noise. About 5 seconds later its flat. Dang. I was just mossying along real slow when it happened. It was along this nifty little ridge that has about a 30-40 ft very steep drop off in both directions so I've now affectionately dubbed that part of the trail "blow out ridge". Anyway, I get off and start pushing. I look at my back tire about a minute later and find that it is also flat. I guess it felt sorry for the front one. Never had that happen before. Got back to the car loaded up and headed for the bike store to get two tubes and a small hand pump I could carry with me. It turns out that the front tire had gotten just a bit low on air and the tire slipped on the rim and tore the tube stem loose. The back tire? Like I said, it felt sorry for the front one.

Day three, round three. New tubes with a spare and the hand pump on-board for the ride. Not walking down again! I get about 15 minutes into the ride and feel something making my shorts stick to my seat. I mean like chewing gum sticky! I stop. hop off and find out that there is a big gob of tree sap on my seat. As I'm standng there not being happy about this new mess, my left hand brushes against my shorts and gets something sticky on it. More sap! Dang. It was showing up everywhere. Shorts, shirt, handlebars. I grab some dirt like the Gladiator and rub it on all my sticky surfaces. I had a lot of riding left to do.

I encountered a few bikers on the trail that day. About 4 or 5 of them. I have to wonder what goes through their heads if they take a close enough look at me and my setup. I'm wearing some Levi work shorts and a t-shirt, my helmet is a low-end "Bell", I have standard pedals with no toe-clips and the clincher? I am riding a bicycle that has the brand "Schwinn" in big letters on it (you know, you could find bikes with the same name at Walmart and it could be mistaken for one of those if a person didn't look closely) and there is still no shock in front and not obvious to them my rear brakes are still weak. They have got to be wondering "what the heck"? Actually if I were them, my thoughts would be a bit more descriptive than that. I do have some classic toe clips but have not put them on, yet.

Anyway, had a great ride went further in and higher up on the trail. Got to the top of the ridge between Mercy Medical Center and Sonic. I sat and enjoyed a shady spot for a few minutes and was amazed at how quiet it was up there, being so near to downtown. Headed back down the hill. Made it safely over "blow out ridge" without any troubles. Got back to the office and discovered that hand lotion works fairly well for getting the tree sap off of my hands. However, the sap that was on my bike seat had of course transferred to my shorts and I am quite certain it transferred from my shorts to my underwear. So, the rest of the afternoon things just didn't feel quite right. Enough said.

Day four, round four, today, I rode my Goldwing to work because Shiela, my lovely wife wants to go on a motorcycle ride. So, number one I forgot my mountain biking helmet and no, I was not going to wear my motorcycle helmet on the bike trail. :) So, it dawns on me that I have to get to the trail head. It's about two miles from the office to the trail head and I didn't want to waste energy riding my bike all the way from the office. So, I proceed to bungee strap my mountain bike to my Goldwing luggage rack, I've done this once before, so I knew it could be done. My boss and one of the other employees see me doing this and can hardly believe it. "James, Stop! You're gonna kill yourself doing that." "Naw", I say, "I've done this once before, I just can't remember how I did it." Hmmm. Well, I finally got it strapped on. Bike stayed put as I took it easy driving my Goldwing to the trail head. I'm sure a few heads were turning. Mountain bike strapped to back of Goldwing. Anyway, it was dang hot out this morning! I did NOT got further in and higher up. I got about 3/4 the way of what I had done the previous day and decided that was enough for today.

I encountered one other rider this morning on the trail. She had to be thinking the same thing as all the other riders I have encountered when quickly observing me and my attire and my bike, with no helmet and no front shock, weak brakes, "what the heck?!"

I kinda figure I am injecting some good medicinal health into those other bikers lives in the form of laughter as they reach a resting point or the trail head and ask each other about the guy on the Schwinn with no shock or toe clips, weak brakes. "Did you see that?!" Who knows, maybe there are bigger nuts out there on the trail than me and I just haven't seen them yet. Maybe they wait and come out when the heat of the day has arrived in full boar to boil their brains! Hmmm. Maybe not.

Well, I get back to the office and just as I am walking in, my boss meets me in the hallway and promptly informs me that they are calling me a hippie over on the other side of the office. Who else would be hauling a mountain bike on the back of their motorcycle? So they say. Well my office mate's hobby is bull-riding, so we've been entertaining each other now with name calling. He calls me "hippie", I call him "bull-rider" and "sh!@#t-kicker" but that doesn't seem to have the same effect.

So, anyway, that's a look into my life this past week concerning my mountain biking hobby with the purpose of getting me back into shape. Be yourself, be who you are, you have a lot to say about that, more than everybody else does.
James