It’s a puzzle with no matching pieces.

Or as my friend KB is fond of saying, “An F’s as good as an A.
Square Peg in a Round Hole

First things first, I’d like to share this.

You’re welcome.

Welcome back to one more day of whatever the hell I can come up with for the given space until I get bored and decide to insert that little blue skull signifying that the post is done and it’s time for you to do something with your life that matters.

In the meantime however, the content is totally up to me.

True, you can decide if you want to pay any attention to it, and until a time comes when that isn’t the case, the terrorists have yet to win.

Of course one of my favorite things in the whole world besides putting on some clean shorts after five days of not, is me.

That’s right. The creation of my own parent’s snuggling nine months before is something that I spend a great deal of time thinking about. While I don’t much care for my appearance, the sound of my voice, my fashion sense, how I’m scared of everything, or how I drink water, I do have an affinity for all of the rest of me, so I was very appreciative when Brendan of Simi-Rad and Adventure Journal got in touch with a link for an interview we did together so long ago I’d forgotten about it entirely.

While we’re no Richard Nixon/David Frosts, it’s still pretty good.
Richard Nixon, David Frost
Another thing I’m quite fond of is free stuff.

While one might assume that filling the role of a douchebag bike blogger (same diff) would net me a regular cascade of said stuff, this isn’t necessarily the case.

But occasionally I do get a freebie here and there and when I do I feel like it’s Christmas and my birthday and New Year’s Eve and the 4th of July all wrapped up into one.

Two such occurrences have taken place recently by the very generous hands of dear friends from Maximo Supremo residents Portland Design Works, and Giro.

Maybe it’s charity, and they feel sorry for me, or maybe it’s because I’ve fooled them into thinking that my opinion of things is worth slightly more than a pile of beans, (regular beans- Not the fancy kind of beans that they serve at upscale eateries the world over), but whatever the case, I’m certainly glad to be on the receiving end on the rare occasion that I am.

First I got a care package that has everything a boy or girl needs for safety and speed;
pdwgoodies
A pair of Mach Schnell goggle, (German for ‘hurry up’, or ‘COME NOW’), a Dios Thronous saddle (Latin for ‘throne of Dio’), their brand new Aether Demon USB rechargeable light, and a guide in how to live by Paul Reiser.

Firstly, the goggles are a must have. Primarily I use mine for blogging, and frying bacon, but they can be used in a number of other pursuits, not the least of which is partying.

The Dios Thronous I have spent a fair bit of time with since our inital introduction. I’m quite fond of the saddle. It’s light, tough, reasonably priced, and water proof.

The only quality of which I’m not terribly fond is the finish of the saddle surface is mega grippy, and I have to pay extra attention as it gets caught up on the crotch of my drawers, leading to periodic gyrating to get all the bits and pieces down there back in place.

100% of the time I spend on that saddle, I’m wearing Ben Davis cut offs, so it’s entirely possible that the denim from which they’re made is equally grippy. All of that aside, there’s no reason the saddle shouldn’t get all high marks in all other categories.

The Aether Demon is just as bright and dependable as all of their other lights, plus comes with the added benefit of not having to constantly be either throwing batteries away, or wandering around looking for a place that recycles them.

Finally, I’m sure the book is fantastic, but I’ve been buried under volumes of Dr. Phil’s prose teaching me how to be a better person, so I’ve yet to get into it.

Then, just before the trade show, Mr. Blacksocks generously bestowed upon me a pair of their limited edition lace up mountainbikecycling kicks;
girocamo
Can you see them? I doubt you can.

Plus, they’re like, totally limited and stuff!
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Still clinging onto when it was a thing in the BMX scene in 1981, it’s no secret that I have gotten my panties in a wad over the current trend of camouflage everything;
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Just the same, I think these are pretty neat and I appreciate Giro’s consideration.

It was just a few days ago when Robert Ives and I were discussing the benefit of having a laced shoe as opposed to the standard ratchet buckle and velcro strap systems nearly all shoe manufactures use as a standard. I’ve always understood that the advantage of having laces on your shoes is so that you can absolutely customize the fit of them to whatever freak of natures happen to reside just below your ankles, which is great.

However perhaps due to the normalness of my feet, I’ve never found myself wishing for anything more than what the buckle and strap systems offer.

Time will tell and it’s entirely possible that I might eventually find myself in a torrid love affair with laces, and toss all my buckle shoes into the Goodwill bin.

One thing I know for certainty is that I’ve long been anticipating the arrival of what I consider to be my own team model;
amigogiros
Because everyone knows orange is the color of speed;
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-But at this stage, I need all the help I can get.

Finally in closing, it was just last evening that the 111 Minna gallery and drinking laboratory hosted their cyclocross photo/bike and whatnot thing;
CXParty-flyer-2013
Jimmy James and I left to go check it out early with every intention of a couple of high fives and a bail out, but wound up drinking drinks and staying till closing.

The following is some of what we saw;
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Oh, well lookie there. It’s almost just like last year;
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At long last, J.J. and I blasted into the night to find our way home and I think at some point, eat some food, fall asleep at the restaurant, and top it off with late night donuts;
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At least the mouth full of half eaten food I woke up with this morning would indicate as much.

It’s on that note that I would like to take the oppritunity to thank you for tuning in to yet another installment, and if I haven’t said it recently, I am very grateful for the support for a myriad of reasons.

Not the least of which is because even on our best days, we’re still all just a bunch of square pegs in roundish holes and for that fact I couldn’t be prouder.
newlittleskull

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Leave a Reply

8 Responses to “It’s a puzzle with no matching pieces.”

  1. Largo September 27, 2013 at 7:35 am #

    Oh man, Bell was way ahead of the curve on the camo stuff, way back in what, the late ’80s? Remember the Bell salad bow (VX-1???) lid? In white, yellow, black or CAMO!!
    The circle is complete, must be beer time!

  2. Yukon Alvin September 27, 2013 at 9:48 am #

    Will trade extra kidney of a pair of orange Giro. Could include slightly damage liver to sweeten the deal.

  3. Steve Young September 27, 2013 at 11:24 am #

    Jimmy Staples and Jortz? That’s a win right there. Then add a Chuey and it turns the world on its head. Portland sucks.

  4. Eric Nelson September 27, 2013 at 3:08 pm #

    Love those camo kicks!!! Looks like you scored!!!

  5. Coach Bobo September 28, 2013 at 4:40 am #

    Glad to see photo of Katie wearing denim race suit at party! Well done on your current piece in Paved; is Demonika being courted by many pro teams?

  6. Ben September 28, 2013 at 6:12 am #

    Have you seen how much those Empire MTB shoes are going for on ebay?

  7. Gene o October 15, 2013 at 7:30 pm #

    Who wears velcro shoes? Old people and kids who have not learned to tie shoes. Thats who.