Thursday, September 28, 2006

A 6.9 on the Toadstrangler Scale

So I had this great window open today. My wife got sick and stayed home. Therefore I didn't have to pick my son up from day care. Thus I could ride all the way to and from work. Her loss, my gain. She just was tired and had a cold, nothing to mourn over. Our cats got lots of lap time and she feels better.

Not much of a story here except that there was rain in the forecast. Possible thunderstorms. You hear that a lot around here. Last June it was for real. Man cats and dogs ain't the half of it. It POURED. Haven't really seen that kind of downpour since. Thank goodness. Well today we are riding home just after the trail junction near East Falls Church and it starts to storm. So as we ride along I dig my jacket out of my pack and put it on. By the time I got it on it stopped. So we get to Lee hwy about five minutes later and I take it off, and put on my Ricky Rudd hat. I went to a NASCAR Busch series race like 7 years ago and I bought a hat to fit in. It has this really long duck-bill brim and it rocks for riding in the rain. Plus I dig the confused looks I get from people because it clashes with my kit real bad. Real splashy letters across the front, in yellow: RICKY. Or RICKEY, don't know about that E. Anyway.

Then it starts into full on Toadstrangler, thunderstorm mode from H. E. double toothpicks. Real loud thunder. Real splashy lightning. It almost seems to make the sky flash red it is so close.

One of my friends starts getting nervous, as he is riding an aluminum bike. He doesn't want to get hit by lightning. So is the other, also on aluminum, in fact. But I'm on carbon, since there is no wagon pulling on my agenda. No lightning magnet beneath me. I smirk and tell this dumb joke: These two guys are camping when they are awakened by the enraged roar of a crazed grizzley bear. One stumbles out of the tent slightly and shines his flashlight upon it, revealing blood dripping from it's claw. Evidently they are about to become desert. Dude with the flashlight looks at his camp-mate, who sits there calmly but rapidly putting on a pair of shoes. "You're not going to outrun that bear, why are you putting on your shoes?" His buddy says: "I don't have to outrun the bear, I just have to outrun you!"

One buddy is so worried he actually pulls up and decides to wait it out under some shelter, but we other two press on. The rain starts hitting us so hard it stings. It gets really dark. What a treat, I love the thunder storms we get here. So epic.

Then my wife treats me to a home-made pizza with turkey and spinach and feta and onions and it was so great. She saw it on the food channel and had to try making it and she did great. And I weighed in and I lost four pounds. Good day!

Also I found this (warning not work safe - contains one utterance of the F word) on the internet, clever:
  • Floyd Landis Raps
    • His debut single "Bikin' Dirty." Be careful, it will get stuck in your head.

    And there is this
  • great post on Racing Union's blog
    • There is this ad featuring this guy, who was a rocking six-day track racer in his day, who was whoring himself out for a cigarette sponsor. Don' forget to check out the comments.

    posted by Mark @ 7:06 PM