flat

well... i jinxed myself last week when someone was asking about my studded tires. i practically kicked myself when i heard it come out of my mouth too, because i knew what would be coming my way this winter... anyway, i dared to say--aloud--that, "these are such good and thick tires, i've never flatted with them," which, by the way, is no longer true.

just as i was coming up behind the capitol, i thought, "cheese and rice, why am i so sluggish today?" then, i went on to beat myself up over it for the next couple dozen pedal strokes. words like slug, sloth, and turtle were being hauled out. suddenly, i had a revelation, "maybe it's the bike!" as much as i don't want to be in horrible shape, i didn't want it to be the bike either, because i hate bike maintenance.

i checked out the rear tire and, sure enough... flat. well, flatt-en-ing. i continued to ride for a few more blocks while trying to put my weight on the front tire, but i realized that was no better than walking (just a different kind of fatigue). sure i had tools and a spare tube, but i wasn't going to change it out in the cold (this is december in minnesota fercripesake). it took me 10 mins to walk to work from there.

i'll go out and change the tube in the shelter of the parking ramp over lunch...

the day turkey's got off...

wow, i bet turkeys are kinda happy that i stopped eating meat. well... some of 'em are.

so, what am i gonna do today now that i don't have to waste my time stuffing and basting my thanksgiving away? i'm gonna clean the garage. hmm... don't know if my life has improved or not ;-)

hehe...

ok, so what does cleaning the garage mean? i have to pack up all the bike parts and organize the tools as the garage is coming down in a couple of weeks. yeah! we have a building project that'll get started in a couple of weeks.

what're you doing here?

really, you must ask yourself, "what--not knowing a thing about this guy's creds--do i think i'm going to get out of being here?" i ask myself that too, and i know my creds...

anyhoo, i intend to throw stuff at this space ranging from rambling cyclelogs to vignettes, rants, poetry, social/political commentary or, heck, maybe even a few technical topics. i have a family, ride a bike, and--for now--have a job writing software. i'm guided by my faith in and out of the moral pylons and up and down through the emotional topography those things throw at me. i have next to no time in my life to be messing with non-necessities, but we'll see if i have the discipline post here periodically anyway.

so, what was my reason for doing this? the title. in a literal sense, "behind the a-pillar" is a place the cyclist doesn't want to be, as it's where you are just before you get t-boned by a car pulling out of a parking lot. see, the a-pillar is that post where your car's front door meets the windshield. it's the smallest and least considered blindspot in our car hugging nation. metaphorically, it paints this pending collection of thoughts as something nobody really saw coming, but nothing so original they couldn't have come up with on their own by simply tilting their head to one side. so, yeah, i'd like to think i'm original, but i'm probably not.

in review, i'm a boring family guy who rides a bike, writes software, and is so vain that he's willing to put his thoughts online simply because he's come up with a good title. omigosh!

thanksferreadin...