Happy May And How Long Ago Was March ? Or April ?!?

You Say The Hill's Too Steep To Climb , Chiding 

You Say You'd Like To See Me Try Climbing 

You Pick The Place And I'll Choose The Time 

And I'll Climb The Hill In My Own Way 

Just Wait Awhile For The Right Day

And As I Rise Above The Tree Line And The Clouds 

I Look Down , Hear The Sound Of Things You Said Today 

Fearlessly , The Idiot Faced The Crowd , Smiling 

Merciless , The Magistrate Turns Around , Frowning 

And Who's The Fool Who Wears The Crown?

Pink Floyd

Meddle 1971 

WORKING:

Yup , still working my life away. Feeling like a million bucks these days and yet I don't have a dime to my name. Actually , I found a penny heads up and a nickel on the Main Street the other day. So I got that going for me , still doesn't equal a dime to my name. Classic 

Worked over a client that is about to go under the knife. During our previous Neuromuscular session , was informed of this upcoming procedure. So I explained the benefits of a lymphatic drainage massage. Your lymph nodes contains white T cells , they filter our interstitial fluids , they are the defense system really , and are directly responsible for our immune system. Life  

Now , I have never personally spoke with a cosmetic Doc here , but I heard that plastic surgeons in California request/expect their patients to receive a Lymph Drainage before their face lift , liposuction , or any other augmentation. Removing "toxins" a few days before a procedure aids in quicker recovery and minimizes scaring. So The Story Rides 

FOX:

The duo is shaping up rather nicely. We have created 16 originals with a decent sprinkle of covers that flow within our original tunes. Nice 

Set I

Tea Time - OG

Shine - Collective Soul 

Love Song - OG

Don't You Forget About Me - Simple Minds  >

Naive Melody - Talking Heads 

Black Mambo - Glass Animals 

Cage I've Made - OG

Ghost Town - OG

Trampoline - OG  >

Breakdown - Tom Petty

Set II

When Doves Cry - Prince 

Dreaming - OG

Where Is My Mind - Pixies 

Toxic - Britney Spires 

Meow - OG

Like A Virgin - Madonna

Pixie - OG

Nightmares - OG

Three Little Birds - BoB Marley

White Wedding - Billy Idol

One The End - OG

Puzzle Pieces - OG >

Joker - Steve Miller Band 

Wagon Wheel - Old Crow Medicine Show 

BIKE NIGHT:

Friday Night Bike Night was massive and arguably the largest turn out of 2025. The Dude counted off just over hundred and then we were joined by another three or possibly four groups as we took flight. Maybe 150??? Maybe?? Muller?? Maybe ?? 

And I would guesstimate that about 40% of the group dressed in 1970's theme as well. Another 60% actually added lights and general accessories to their bikes. And doggie backpacks are really a thang nowadays. Way Cool

Of course there were cats!! Yes , two cats to be exact. One lady rode with her cat in the front basket and that cat was stoked. Another lady had her cat in the small child buggy attached to the back of her bike. Super Cool

I'm telling ya , bike night is more than a simple bike ride. Bike Night is more than an event. Bike Night is a communal socializing gathering !! Nothing quite like slowly navigating through residential streets while chatting away with like minded individuals. Bike Night is not a pick up hub. Bike Night is not a who's who. Bike Night is not about spending tons of money in order to be seen. Bike Night is a celebration for finishing the working week. A Common Denominator 

INDY 500:

The Indy was a bust for me. Seriously. It bothers me to think this but my Indy traditions might be something of the past. oof , that hurt to type. OOF , that actually hurt to read as well. Just how Phuc'N old am I these days?? 

The intro of the drivers lost its merit in my eyes. The flyover of 4 F16's was uneventful to say the least. And the damn "race" was delayed due to sprinkles. The pre-race warm up lap , it happens , Scott MaLaughlin crashed out. Yup , crashed out before the green flag as his car got away from him while he was added heat into the tires along the straightaway. After an hour of wasted time and only about four laps on the books , called The Dude to see if he was up for throwing some disc. Good Call

After we threw a successful round , caught the end of the race to witness the first spaniard ever win the 2025 Indy 500. So in closing , waited for the "rain" delay , played a round of disc , and caught the finisher. Guess it all worked out just fine. I Guess 

But I will gladly toot about enjoying these two days off in a row for the first time since March Vegas Madness. Yup , two whole days off in a row. Would have been delightful to share a nap but my happy A$$ knocked out chores , threw some plastic , rode my bikes , and played with dogs. Cant Complain 

Think Of Others First,

Cheers 

Ride & Vibes 2025

I Have A Picture    Pinned To My Wall     An Image Of You And Me And We're Laughing    We're Loving It All   But Look At Our Life Now   All Tattered And Torn     We Fuss And We Fight And Delight In The Tears That We Cry Until Dawn         Oh , No     Hold Me Now , Woah     Warm My Heart     Stay With Me    Let Lovin' Start , Let Lovin' Start     Hold Me Now 

Thompson Twins

Into The Gap 1983 

Ride & Vibes Baby:

It is that time of year when the mean streets of GJ close down. North to South facing roads become stages for live music. Main Street transforms into an Expo with vendors selling all of it. And the whole weekend is dedicated to Mountain Bikers and opportunity for community involvement. YES

Friday afternoon shenanigans kicks off with live FREE music on 4th Street around High Noon. Bands trade off between 5th street and 4th street stages with about a 15-30 min break in between each band. Along about 5pm started the kids loop around the Downtown Criterium Course. 6pm sparked off the Community Kluncker Crit Ride. So Rambunctious 

Yup , this was the highlighted event for a majority of us slackers. The Kluncker Ride is not a race , just a social ride around the Crit Course. Let's just say that The Dude & I were in so many photos/videos. Wearing the mirror-ball helmet was a huge hit with the crowd goers. We ended up completing about 4 laps or so and here below is a photo of The Dude & I via text from P&M. The Dude & I rang our bells nonstop and shouted "Happy Friday" to all. That infectious vibe caught on by about the second lap. Those gals on the coolest tandem beach cruiser bike behind us there joined in the fun and started shouting out as well. The Pro Women started their 45 min Criterium Race after us and then the Pro Men ripped up the city streets for their 55 min race after that. No Crashes No Whammies 

Two different bands played while the pro men and pro women raced their hot laps around the downtown streets. Moonbeam was terrific and the Laddery was just OK. Not bad , just OK. Still House String Band was the mainliner Friday Night and the place was packed. They performed a high energy bluegrass show and nailed a number of cover tunes of course. White Freightliner Blues was a hit for me personally. All of their cover tunes were a hoot. Yahooo00000  

At one point , my buddy Rob walks up next to me and says," You and I know a lot of people here in the Valley." I nodded in compliance. "I haven't seen a single person I know other than you." As I scanned the crowd with a soft focus , sure as Sh*t , he was right. There were so many out of town/staters and talk about boosting the local economy. Way Cool Ride & Vibes

Saturday fires off early with waves of Mt Bikers tackling the rowdy trail system of our high desert. Locals attempting the 15 miler / 24km , fit out of town folks shot off for the 30 miler / 48km , and all the heavy hitters blasted off for the 40 miler / 64km route. Impressive 

During that time , I worked. I checked out the Expo. I caught a few bands. I rode home for a fruit smoothie. I caught more bands afterwards. I saw a few finishers roll in. I went back to work. I caught a few more finishers. Caught up with a few friends here and there. Rode home for a proper meal. Rode down to see a local band called Big Dominguez. They were awful. I was so bummed. They threw on whatever shirt happened to be next to the bed that morning , the sound tech guy muddied the hell out of their sound , and it was such a drag watching folks leave the area to go check out the next band. Bummer 

I slipped away by about their third song or so and headed for the train station. Saturday was also National Train Day. Our historical train junkies brought their A Game!! They opened the old train station from the turn of the century as it is currently in renovation mode. Model scale N dioramas of train sets were on display. HO is the common household train set and the N scale is very tiny train set for comparison. A make shift bar was set up , burgers for the fund raiser on the open air grill , and massive color posters with concepts of soon to be intentions were showcased throughout the building. Local cats by the name of Stray Grass also played live and the train aficionados were thrilled. The photo below is from opening day in 1903. Bacana  

The evening back on Main Street was topped off with a duo that brought the vibes to Ride & Vibes. I had never heard of Black Pistol Fire but I was completely committed for a dang good time. They started right at 8:30 and exploded with sound!! The drummer went totally Ape Sh*t on that kit!! The whole riser was vibrating with every slamming strike. The guitar guy was full on ADD in HD. The drummer used a machine to add synthesizers , bass lines , horns , and who knows what else. These two brought a spirited pulse that I have never witness during Ride & Vibes. And that is saying something! At one point , the singing front man guy and his screaming guitar is motioning vigorously for everyone to pack up tight. All the kids knew every word of every song but us dinosaurs were so oh clueless. 

So the lead guy is still playing that favorite recognizable track and motioning everyone to come together. All of a sudden , he crowd surfs!!! While Playing!! The crowd went flipping nutz!!!! I looked over at The Dude and said ,"That's A First At Ride & Vibes!" They played rough and indefatigable right up to the 10pm downtown curfew. Their fans were screaming and they all sang to everyone of those songs. The two guys walk back out for an encore. They said thanx and all that and even said,"We were told that there is a hard 10pm curfew here in GJ." The drummer jumps back on the kit and the front guy says," So let's break the rules and come together now." Yup , encored with The Beatles Come Together off their 1969 Abby Road album. 1969 , these kids. Then of course , they jammed out one of their own tunes and the youth jumped out of their skin throughout the whole song. Amazing 

One of the better weekends here in JunkTown for sure & Happy 5/15 at 5:15pm,

Cheers 

May Showers Bring Say What

You Got Me Shook Up     Shook Down   Shook Out    On Your Love   On Your Love    I Want A Girl With Extensions In Her Hair    Bamboo Earrings   At Least Two Pair    A Fendi Bag And A Bad Attitude    That's All I Need To Get Me In A Good Mood    She Can Walk With A Switch And Talk With Street Slang   I Love It When A Woman Ain't Scared To Do Her Thing   Standing At The Bus Stop Sucking A Lollipop  Once She Gets Pumping It's Hard To Make The Hottie Stop     She Likes To Dance To The Rap Jam    She Is Sweet As Brown Sugar With Candied Yams    Honey Coated Complexion Using Camay    Let's Hear It For The Girl    She Is From Around The Way 

LL Cool J

Mama Said Knock You Out 1990 

There are these elements of caricature in the portrayal of the super hero. Unfortunately , I just haven't felt these elements. Apparently my big toe catches on every nook and cranny and I am a three steps backwards for every step forward. Above was my April. Yup , my happy A$$ took two days off. And did I just lay around on the couch for those two days? Sure , Yeah Right 

CROSSROADS:

My schedule mainly consist of 2 - 4 days a week wrenching , problem solving , and babysitting. Actually, I shouldn't say babysitting as the work trade department is something I truly believe in. All the maintenance stuff and problem solving is straight forward and its simply daily upkeep. Lubrications 

But the WT is a little different than other departments. The program began way back in the nineteen hundreds and I jumped in after graduation from body work around 2007. I performed the standard cleaning , wiping down the fake plants , pulling the light covers to clean out the dead spiders , and vacuuming when necessary for 5 hours a month. In return , a free membership. That is how the WT program works. Easy 

That's right , Work Trade is just that. The WT trade crew cleans the gym for a membership and it is only 5 hours a month. Along about 2016 or so , (Rest In Peace John Parker) and the owners son Cam informed me that John was retiring and they asked me to run the WT Program. At the time , per usual , I had about 4 irons already in the fire and I originally told them no. But of course , I signed on and at that time and we had 14 WT crew members. I happily oversaw the development of progress , scheduled folks when needed , keeping the department up to snuff , and ordered supplies as we saw fit. No Worries

Welcome to COVID Number Nineteen. I lost everyone but two. And ever since C19 , it has been a Sh*t Show Of Excuses. You name it , it has happened. Employees taking advantage of the program but never cleaning until HR & I discover their patterns months later. Useless Employees clocking in but not starting until 20 minutes into their shift and leaving early obviously. New hires that MUST change everything and complain via text messages and then by third month they are a no show. Pain In The A$$ 

But it is those good eggs that keeps me around. It is the problem solving with machinery that keeps me around. It is the 100 year old members that share tales from their past that keeps me around. So 2- 4 days a week works wonders. And below is my latest painting. Yippee  

DRIVING:

Are you ready for this , I took on another job. Yup , 2 - 4 days a week. We have all noticed "bad" drivers or texting drivers or running stop signs or poor parking yahoos. I was on my bike near the end of February and I noticed a DRIVERS TRAINING Car near the library. So I Fallowed 

Tracking down the companies headquarters was rather mundane and I walked on in. I inquired about the processing fees , the extra education , and what certificates were involved in becoming an instructor. Ready for this , not much. Seriously!! Not much at all. And below was from the beginning of Alien night theme during Friday Night Bike Night. Yah0000000ooooooooooo  

It's all hands on , I trained with instructors , sat in the backseat , and observed what it is that the school does. Yes , I am judgmental but I excel at reading people , body language , and the art of building rapport. After decades of practicing a wide verity of modalities of bodywork , yes , I take pride offering empathy towards all. Sympathy when a display of sadness washes over another human. Basically , I am just your average knucklehead with skills. Coaching High School Water Polo laid the foundation for working with high schoolers , meeting them in their model of the world , and helping them to discover were they excel. Then exploit their advantages , strengthens , and all while encouraging them to succeed. Uplifting 101

So I trained with multiple instructors during the month of March and became a part time certified instructor for a driving school here in GJ. Before you stereotype these students just like I did , they are required to have at least 30 hours behind the wheel before enrolling into our program. Most of these students are solid drivers. My role is to fine tune , explain signage , walk them through the laws of school zones , promote safety , and create scenarios in which we navigate daily. You Know , The Unpredictable 

Turns out , I flipping rock. That is tooting my own horn but it is true. Last week , after a drive , the owner meets up with me and shares with me some of the horror stories of the business. The owner goes to explain how he only receives the negative calls and complaints and the no show last minute horse Sh*t. Reminds me of the Work Trade Department. As I am politely listening , they go on to point something out to me. They have already received two calls regarding my style and BOTH callers were raving about me. WHAT

Here is my trick. At the end of every drive , I ask the student to tell me two things that they learned. I then mention this ,"Tell me two things that you will be able to teach your mother , your father , your grandmother , your grandfather , your sibling , or anybody that you practice driving with." So every normal child after every normal day of school responds to their folks with ," nothing." How was school? "FINE" What did you do today? " NOTHING" Now , the students start walking to their house and chatter about me and they immediately test their folks. This drivers training experience offers the byproduct of a running dialog with their folks , guardians , or grandparents. An actual conversation with family members. Who Knew 

ORTHO:

Still in the office in the evenings between 2 - 4 days a week. The same rotation of clients with a sprinkle of a few first timers walking in. I mean , all is well. Without breaking any HIPAA violations , a solid mix of men and women. Have dwindled the athletic clients but the injured folks continue to come and move on as they see fit. Still working with the relationship of replacement parts that humans receive. The Grand Valley is loaded with knee replacements , shoulder repairs , and good old fun hip replacements. Normalcy 

DOGS:

Wanna talk UNREAL. I just landed an incredibly lucrative gig for the entire month of May. I have watched this little girl Emmy Lou a few times already now and here is the big gig. Emmy's humans are jetting off to the UK for the entire month of May. Plus , all the watering duties out back. Its more than just dog walking twice a day. Way More 

We walk together at least twice a day. She eats twice a day. And I still make a big A$$ production out of meal time. Drives this poor girl crazy. You should hear her whine and cry while I pretend to mix with an extra twist or clank the fork on the dish a few extra times just because. Classic 

And I am allowed to eat all the fresh crisp lettuce I want. Radishes , chard , carrots and hopefully strawberries soon. I water , I munch , and I throw the little girl a ball for a quick game of fetch. Oh Baby 

NUMBERS:

April numbers were damn near identical to March , Feb , and January. I logged 27 activities , 29 hours , and 258 miles / 415km on the commuter bike. So I got that going for me while rolling these verdant valleys. But my higher divinatory pronouncement is that I am still unable to comment here on my own damn free blog. The other day , couldn't upload photos to this blog. And today , unable to access the BOLD , Text , Or the underline feature within this wonderfully free blog site. May 1st of 2025 and I am still dealing with elementary issues of blogging. Oh Joy 

Two days later , I was able to upload these photos AND add BOLD to the underlined titles. OK 

Happy Trails ,

Cheers