blief

This is from back in march of this year…I was just pokin’ around and noticed that I haven’t been posting some REALLY good pictures of some REALLY fun times.

This day I was trying to capture the way The Mermaids entertain each other…NOBODY makes TheWeeOne laugh like LaGrande. So, they were just making faces at each other and I grabbed the camera.

…and as if they are becoming conditioned to cameras being jammed in their faces…they quickly turned their attention on the interloper.

Then, when they couldn’t see anymore they pushed their goggles up off of their eyes and I got one look and finally busted up, and then they looked at each other more critically and grabbed each other for a good laughing hug, which I caught.

I think this was the last sunny day (In the middle of March) this year until maybe last weekend? Sheesh.

Note from Blief: Thanks so much to all the folks that donated to my Livestrong Challenge this year, there’s still a couple days left but in just the few short days since I made my mad dash for the finish-line we have raised $370!

Thanks for that, I really appreciate it cause…you know…money ain’t cheap.

And for those of you that don’t like to read stuff about bikes…well almost this entire post is about bikes and if you want to see which part ISN’T about bikes yer gonna hafta read it…or at least skim it…or maybe just scroll through the pictures. (hint)

Onwards!

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A coupla’ weeks back a family in the neighborhood came over for dinner and after a while the Dad, let’s call him TheForeman, needed to run home quick. They are a couple blocks away and we were having so much fun I figured, on his way back, TheForeman must have caught sight of  his son’s BMX bike, grabbed it quick and hightailed it back.

Well we got ta talkin’ about the golden years of riding BMX’s around the neighborhood, tearing it up, bunny hoppin’ and stuff

and I mentioned that I still had my old Mongoose in the garage. (come to think of it, I might still have those shoes…eesh)

Check out the tennis ball in the front spokes…epic.

So I pulled it out and TheForeman is such an enthusiastic guy and all and he was just gaga over my old broken down ride and it got me to thinking.

[thinking]
The Mermaids are getting older, and taller, and riding bikes is getting more and more of a reality, you know maybe we could put this baby back into commission get some more fire and brimstone out of her yet and if a pink powder-puff tassle happened to slip onto the handlebars, well that would be okay too.
[enough thinking]

So I take it down to AJ and Jesse at GHY and after scratching their heads on my Silvio for the umpteenth time in idontknowhowmanydays their eyes lit up. As it turns out I’ve got bit of a classic BMX that other folks are restoring or putting up on walls.
They were amazed that even the original reflectors were still there and reminded me on more than one occasion

You know, you don’t have to ride it anymore, it’s a collector and worth a pretty penny.
I know but it was meant to be ridden.
Cool, cool.

The last time this bike saw a road or a trail I must have had one of The Three Bo’s on it because the seat was way low and the handlebars were way back. The rear rim has a pretty nasty dent in it from hitting something…harder than usual…but the brake surface was fine and the frame was in great shape, nothing but superficial corrosion or oxidation.

Not bad for about 22 years in two basements and two garages.

So Jesse dug in, found some original New Old Stock (NOS) red with skin sidewall tires, replaced the cables, trued the wheels, polished the frame, replaced the original chain with a dandy red one and just generally cleaned all the vital bits and voila…she’s back and ready for action.

The Mermaids may have to take a number.

Turns out I got a pretty sweet ride; a restored 1983 Mongoose Californian.

I even found the original pads in a box in my garage. Put ’em on.

The only parts that aren’t original on this bike are the grips, the tires, the chain, and the brake cables and housing all the rest is straight outta 1983, 10 years old, walking home from school on my birthday and my brand new bike is all gleaming, lit up with spotlights in the living room up on the dining room table.

I remember the night of my sleepover birthday party getting up in the middle of the night, in nothing but my little tighty-whitey underwear, and riding my new bike around in the living room in my bare feet. The pedal spikes hurt my feet and I didn’t care.

oh yeah, and for those of you that waited this long, enjoy some of the proof that the glory days are now.

While I was busy having fun and doing THIS (it may not look like fun but it was)…

…others have been laboring against, and living with, cancer.

Just like last year I committed to raising money by riding my bike in the Seattle Livestrong challenge.

Just one problem…

I have been focussing a lot of time on ^THAT^ and pretty much no time on THIS.

It’s getting close now so…if you are interested in supporting my ride, and donating to LiveSTRONG please do so here:

http://seattle2010.livestrong.org/liefzimmerman

The saying “better late than never” applies to both my own procrastination and to the fight against cancer.

Alert! I’m gonna get a little bit philosophical here.

Honestly, I don’t think that anyone with cancer would begrudge me having fun and riding my bike – they probably would do it too, when they can, and I hope they can. So I’m not punishing myself for not having lived up to my part of the bargain yet because A) living and doing is what life is all about, that’s what LiveSTRONG is about and that’s why they are survivors. B) there’s still time (procrastination) and C) I can get crazy determined at times like this and be pretty dogged about doing what I said I would – just like I plan on being during the ride, dogged.

And deadly serious here.

But in truth even at my most dogged and determined I can probably only be half as determined as anyone living with cancer has to be;  all the time; crazy determination.
I salute that in you.

Here’s to the survivors in my life living with cancer – on June 20th 2010 I will ride in your honor. LiveSTRONG!

• Charlotte Buss
• Ruth Brandal
• Jim Campbell
• Jake Jacobson
• Mike Jacobson
• Steve Jacobson
• Lani MacAniff
• Gaylen Mulloy
• Robert Noble
• Mabel Smith
• Ward Zimmerman

Why buy expensive bike gloves or even uber-expensive bike blinkers (http://www.global-merchants.com/home/bike.htm) when you can hit Home Depot and for $13 you can have these.

While prepping my Silvio for racing this weekend I prepared to install my new lightweight tires.
Below is my “old” rear wheel that won’t be going back on after the race. [sigh]

This picture doesn’t show the detail of the bulging tube but you can just make out the blue, flat-guard, lining that underlays the tread portion of the tire.

This one’s not fit for riding on anymore.
If it wasn’t a Schwalbe I am convinced I would have been walking home from wherever that occurred.

Oh yeah, and the front one? Also not going back on the bike after tonight…but for a different reason. [double sigh]

Guess that’s what happens when you ride little road bike tires a lot.

I’m up early this morning. After 30 minutes of trench digging I look up to see that a mermaid has planted a rock garden on my sidewalk for me.

It looks to me, they are relaxing
Stretching,
Indifferently observing my toil,
In the early morning light.

I don’t particularly like yardwork.
I do, however, particularly like taking things apart (like drywall with a very large crowbar…uh oh, I’m already digressing…must…keep…focus) and I think that extends to shredding grass.

Over the past two or three weekends I have done more yardwork than in the previous 100 weekends, but, it will pay off in the next 100 weekends I hope. It will pay off in the form of a LOT less mowing.
Oh and it will be prettier too.

So, what pray-tell is in order at good ol’ Talbot?
Well since you asked I’ll tell you.

The west side of the front yard…

…and the east side of the front yard…

…are gonna get a makeover.

First we take away the grass.

Then we add in a few “ornamentals”

[tangent]
In case it isn’t OBVIOUS, those quotes around “ornamentals” are really sarcastic quotes because, yeah, what you see here is the result of, in ascending order of heaviness:

• One flowering Mt Fuji cherry tree
• Four big ol stones in the middle of the yard. 5,000 lbs. Yeah, they look impressive and all but a) I didn’t have to truly lift them and b) net weight moved by blief – still not the heaviest.
• 32 bags of concrete and 15 bags of river rocks, moved an average of 3.5 times each, for a net weight movement by blief of – let’s just call it 10,000 lbs shall we?
  Hey, it’s my blog.
• 12 yards of topsoil, with an average weight of about 1 ton per cubic yard, subtract out the fact that a neighbor or two dipped their shovel in the pile, and we get ohhhhh, 22,000 lbs.

Holy crap! No wonder my body felt like one mussed up hombre on Sunday night.

Yee Haw!!

[end tangent]

Oh, and let’s not forget the backyard.
Back in June of 2008 we put in a nice little sand-lot for LaGrande to play in.

And now, with bark nuggets on their way, we had to make it so LaGrande and TheWeeOne could dig in the sand and NOT get splinters in their feet/knees/hips/eyes.

And, for the gardner(s) in our midst;
We put these garden boxes in late last summer…

There isn’t any plants in there yet but the dirt is laying in wait, ready to spring itself on a tomato or two.

And last, for next time, you add the bark!