The Second Half

Waived Off and a sad Conspiracy Theory....

So I'm at one of the 5,000 humongous grocery stores in Phoenix last Saturday night picking up the cherry for my Saturday night sundae. That would be a 24oz can of MGD to go with a football size veggie burrito and the movie Michel Clayton from good ol' Blockbuster. So I walk up to one of those self-pay stations, and it immediately says "SHOW ID TO CASHIER" after I scan that fine can of brew. I bust out the wallet, head towards the dude who is barely 21 himself and I get all of 20 feet from him and he waives me off and says "you're cool - I know you're of age". I look at Dana - she shrugs her shoulders and says "it's the gray hair on the side of your head". F*ck....I got waived off from 20 feet away. What - now do I go get a Volvo with a custom plate that says 'SETTLED'?

The movie was great, the burrito was good, and the beer did its job.

So last week I hear that Patrick Swayze has pancreatic cancer. It's probably the most aggressive form of cancer on the planet - or at least it has the potential to be. THEN, I learn that Jeff Healy died of cancer last week. Both of these guys were in one of my favorite movies, Road House. I'm tellin' you right now, if Swayze dies from this, I'll have a short vigil. Who was a bigger icon that Swayze in the late 80's and early 90's? Dirty Dancing, Ghost, Point Break - HUGE grossing films, and one huge movie star. My pal Sheck and I have been threatening for years to print T-shirts that say: Crazy for Swayze I think it may be time to do this. Getting back to the conspiracy theory - everyone that died in the movie Road House is alive today. Everyone that lived in the movie is dead except for Swayze. OK - so that might be a generalization, but it seems that way. Ben Gazzara, alive and well.....the dude who had his heart ripped out, probably selling TCBY yogurt in a strip mall in Troy, MI. I hope Swayze survives this cancer. Afterall, I named our dog after his character in Point Break - Bodhi.

4.5 hours of riding Friday -Sunday. I broke out the singlespeed for the first time since November, and by Sunday I was feeling strong and used to it again - but tired. Riding the desert courses in Phoenix makes me feel like superman because the low elevation is a huge advantage. There's something therapeutic about that singlespeed bike. No excuses, no free lunch, and you better just think like a caveman and pedal hard when the trail goes up, and rest up a bit when the trail goes down, and stay on the gas on the flats otherwise some guy on gears will catch you.