Monthly Archives: March 2013

I’m not dead yet!

not_dead_yetThis is what I get in my inbox. Absolutely no respect for me from United Airlines. Am I going to get a discount coupon for Skylawn Cemetery in tomorrow’s emails? Maybe nursing home, er, I mean, “assisted living” brochures in the mail?

I used a blowtorch on the invitation the AARP sent me in the mail last year. I suppose they think sending an email means I’m less-likely to produce on-line vitriol again? They’re wrong. 57 is just a number. 65 will be just a number. 70 will be… well, tell you the truth, 70 does scare me a bit. At some point I’ll wonder if that last ride over Sonora Pass was the last ride over Sonora Pass I’d ever do. At some point I’ll not be thinking about scaling back, but probably actually have to.

I’m not there yet, and I don’t plan to be anytime soon. So don’t talk to me about taking a vacation on a cruise ship (Little-known fact about cruise shops- they’re actually run by aliens seeking to fatten you up for their dinner). Don’t tell me that I’ve worked hard enough all my life that I’ve “earned” some nice quiet time doing nothing.

Breaking news- This just arrived in my email box a day later. Again, I'M NOT DEAD YET!
Breaking news! This just arrived in my email box a day later. Again, I’M NOT DEAD YET!

How much time do I have? I don’t know if I might get stricken some day with something like my father got (a rare blood-born cancer), which took his strength and his life, 25 years ago. Younger than I am now.  But what I do know is that each and every day is an opportunity to do something. Something real. Something more relevant, to me, than a “Senior Citizen” discount at the movies, or a great deal at the Scooter Store. My plan, and remember, there’s always a plan, is to go down screaming and kicking. I literally pray to God that I can execute that plan. –Mike–

Rare Squabbit sighting on West Old LaHonda


Just in time for Easter, our Tuesday-morning ride spots a Squabbit! Not familiar with Squabbits? It’s a cross between a Squirrel and Rabbit, something that looks like a Rabbit but has the suicidal antics of a Squirrel. Proof is in the video!

Was that the high point of the ride? No, not for me. First, it was great just pretending to be functional after very little sleep last night, courtesy of a call from our alarm company, telling us that something triggered an internal sensor in our Los Altos store. At 2:37am. Love that type of phone call. I told them yes, dispatch the police to check it out, and call me back if there were any problems. No call back so it was probably something that fell over and triggered a motion sensor, but as hard as I tried to be motionless myself, my mind was buzzing and I just couldn’t get to sleep. Hate that. But at 6:55am I sprang into action, woke up Kevin (who’d been up until, ironically, almost 2:30am due to pain from his kidney stones), and half-zombie-like got out and rode.

Nice morning, medium sized group. Jan, Kevin, Kevin, Eric, George, Karen, Karl & Todd. The sun came out, the roads were dry, and I was able to get just under 28 up Kings. The only real issue with the lack of sleep was a bit less awareness of the wheel in front of me, causing me at one point to suddenly put on my brakes so I didn’t go up George’s backside, which in turn got a well-deserved audible response out of Eric behind me.

I’m looking forward to getting some sleep tonight!