When it rains, it pours.

You ever want to flip off the universe? I do, though I freely recognize that it’s not Her fault, this month hasn’t been awesome.

For those following along, your boy has gotten the cosmic crap kicked out of him over the course of the last twenty three days, so it was no surprise when I got a phone call from my doctor on Monday afternoon notifying me that the mole she’d just cut out of my shoulder turned out to be a cancerous melenoma, and she wants me to come back in to have a bunch more removed.

I will share a funny side note about the initial exchange with the dermatologist however. As she was preparing to make the incision, and ultimate extraction, she was explaining me how it would scar over. If she makes this sort of incision, it will scar this way, however, if she makes this other kind of incision, it will scar another way, and so on. It was around this time she opened my file, and her face went blank, for it was there she could plainly see far more carnage than she obviously cared to. Image after image of my wretched form, turned inside out, bent backwards, gashed, slashed, and bruised.

At that point, she stopped talking and continued her work.

Anyway, I’m due to return next week to get more of my body cut off of me, and hopefully that will be the end of it and my luck will begin to turn.

All of this being said, I implore any and all who are reading these words to keep a close eye on any weird spots that might be growing on your body.

Mine started innocently enough, and after having been checked a year ago, I was told there was nothing to worry about. Fast forward to last week. It had gotten slightly larger, slightly darker, and had a light spot in the middle. All sufficient warning signs, or so I thought. However, when the dermatologist took a look at it, again, he said he didn’t think there was anything to worry about.

Just the same, I opted to get cut, and upon re-reviewing at the spot, a second dermatologist echoed my sentiment and said in fact, she thought it was a very good idea to get removed, and as we’ve already covered, we both turned out to be very, very correct in our assertions;

Now that I’m going through this process, I can’t help but think about former Retrotec Bicycles team honch, and all around nice guy, Mr. Rob Sears;

In 2008 Rob died of skin cancer, and as I understood it, it all started with a simple, overlooked or ignored mole.

If it can take someone like Rob down, the rest of us don’t stand a chance.

Anyway, check yourself out. Hell, make a game of it, and get naked with a loved one (the sort of loved one you’d want to get naked with that is. Gramgram, your uncle, sister, etc. is probably out.) Be diligent, be observant, and just because a doctor tells you not to worry about it, trust your instincts. The bottom line is nobody knows your body like you do.

Thus concludes today’s PSA, and I thank you for your time and consideration on the matter. It’s with that, we can now get one with the regularly scheduled shenanigans.

First up, we’ll start with contact with my surrogate mother (even though I think I’m older than she is, she takes care of me like a mom would), Laura of Soulrun goods. It seems as though between outings on her fat bikes, and playing in the snow with her pups, she’s kept her nose to the grindstone in her sweatshop and has come out with a new item;

Hey Stevil!

I hope things are going a little better this week, I know it hasn’t been easy. Joe and I are always here for you:)

I’ve been busy in the sweatshop working on some phone cases that I call the Puffy Phone pouch. It’s essentially a puffy coat for your phone and designed to keep the cold out and keep your battery from dying. We’ve been using ours while out fat biking on the coldest of days and have had good luck with it;

I was wondering if you would mind sharing these as I really love making them.

Also, I think you should plan an Allenspark/Moab trip with us soon!! Ok, talk to you more later:)

Much love,
L

I would be remiss not to mention the residents of the People’s Republic of Boulder’s love for puffy jackets, so to have one for your pocket computer only makes sense.

Now if Laura could only make a tiny Suburu Forrester for them as well.

And speaking of puffy jackets, my old pal Ian up there in Portland loves himself some, and though the following item has nothing to do with keeping your body warm, it has everything to do with maintaining a comforttable temperature for your heart;

Hey Stevil,

As I know you are not a fan of our current POTUS, and you love bikes, and hand signals, and of course the double entendre.

Remember a few months ago when the woman in DC was riding and our Commander in Chief drove by and she gave him the finger? Don’t you wish that could have been you? Well, except the part where she was fired from her job. Well, I certainly wish I could tell the Orange POTUS what I think of him. So we decided to make this shirt, from all of us here in Little Beirut, to everyone around the world, you can show your pride on your ride, or any other time;

I am hoping that you might help us spread the word about our new T Shirt. Black only. Because T Shirts should be Black. White and Cheeto Orange Graphic.

100% Cotton from American Apparel. Printed in PDX.

Thanks,
Ian

It is true. I loathe him and all he stands for with such passion I can barely acknowledge his existence. I’ve said it before with some consistently, but in this instance, for 45 I truly don’t have enough middle fingers.