Because it is raining (or threatening rain) on Friday morning I bypass the long bicycle ride and go for a 6 mile run. I only get rained on in the last mile or so.
I get out and do the laundry, run errands, buy new drinking glasses (I've been accident prone lately and keep breaking glasses.), buy new pillows (We know these old ones are worn out from trying to get extra leverage and etc!), and buy thousands of feet of videotape (MotoGP, Formula One, the Giro, and the Tour are coming up.) I edge/mow/trim the lawn and then go to relax and answer email.
This isn't quite enough, so after a relaxing hour of news on the television I get out for the Aquarium ride. It's a windy ride but a fun one. Later, after watering the roses and the lawn, I decide that it isn't enough again, so I move over into the garage and have a session with the weights. I'm sure that I am going to sleep well tonight.
Except that the night isn't quite over with yet. Enthusiastic, energetic, and restless, I head for a club in West Hollywood to finish off the day. I enjoy the evening out and fend off a couple of undesirable offers and make acquaintances with a few people. I'm in home in bed by 2:30am.
I'm up on Saturday kinda early but I'm physically hung over from Friday's activities. I get Nopesterini out for a walk and continue on for a longer one. I have an appointed 10am phone call to make which lasts an hour. Person T* and I see "Better Luck Tomorrow" and then I have to leave in order to pick up the motorcycle. I reverse the process by driving to the dealer in the truck, riding the motorcycle home, jumping on the bicycle and riding to where the truck is parked, put the bicycle in the back of the truck, and then drive home. I add on a bit to this bicycle ride to get to an hour ride. In the first mile after getting the motorcycle back from th tuneup I'm up to 115 mph. It feels good to be back on the motorcycle after missing a day.
Joe and I have a long conversation about things. Even though we have not spoken for quite a while, we both know that we are there if te other needs something...anything. Joe's friends are heading to The Factory tonight. I tell Joe that I'll be at another club nearby because I don't prefer The Factory - too many drugs and druggies there.
Even though my foot is hurting (I possibly have a broken bone in the right foot from the bicycle fall a few weeks back. It hurts to ice skate and rollerblade, but doesn't really hurt to run or cycle. Walking is questionable.) I head for a club in West Hollywood. There are a number of people who want to meet me tonight based upon previous friends' conversations and etc.
I pick up Person J_VKPI (who is on time again) and we head for the club. The lady parking attendant raises the gate and lets me park for free tonight. ("Oh what the hell...you're always here.") We run into a number of friends and acquaintances. The club varies between sorta empty to absolutely packed to moderately crowded throughout the night. There are more people laying hands on me tonight then usual as they pass through the crowd. I strike up a good conversation with Person E_F. Before I know it it is last call time and I excuse myself to go find Person J_VKPI to go home (because I have a bicycle ride scheduled on Sunday morning). I extract Person J_VKPI from his circumstances and we leave.
I'm headed for home and the phone is ringing. Not wanting to distract my driving I let the voice mail get it. A few minutes later I pick up the voice mail from Person E_F. So now, at 2:25am on a Sunday morning and southbound on the Long Beach freeway, I return the telephone call. Except that I get voice mail too.
As I exit the freeway I see a bicyclist near the right side of the street heading in the same direction that I'm going. I give him plenty of room except that he decides to start weaving across all three lanes of traffic on Del Amo Blvd. I look further to the right and discover the reason: a dog is chasing him and he's trying to get away. He gets away by crossing over into oncoming traffic with just enough room for me to miss hitting him. And then the dog decides to cross the street and so now I'm stopping again. But the dog stops in the middle of my three lanes and turns back, so I have to wait until the dog is clear before I travel the last mile home. But this trip is not over! About a half mile from home, again on Del Amo, a cat decides to streak across the street just in front of me. And now I'm hard on the brakes again to avoid hitting the cat. "Oh please let me make it the last half mile safely!" My prayer is answered and I'm laying down for sleep near 2:50am on Sunday morning.
The Sunday morning ride with the neighbor is a good one as we head down the San Gabriel river, across the ocean trail, and back up the Los Angeles river. He's going to the Coachella Valley music concert today so we only get in about 30 miles (a bit short of 30 actually). It feels good to be on the high pressure tires of the road bike again which I hadn't ridden since I bought the new mountain bicycle.
After the ride I make some phone calls and watch the motorcycle race - the first one since Dajiro Kato had his big accident, went into the coma, and died. There is a two minute tribute on the television program and just as I'm feeling oceans of tears ready to burst forth the tribute ends and the racing starts. The race is won by Dajiro Kato's teammate who hasn't won in two years. Afterwards he says, "I could feel Dajiro pushing me the entire way in order to hold off the four time world champion's charge". The four time world champion, who finished second, is ecstatic that he lost because Dajiro Kato was a close friend of his and it was an "appropriate" result.
I get out for a 45 minute session on the rollerblades and then relax the rest of the afternoon. This three day weekend has been long, fun, tiring, draining, and motivating. I'm ready for another one. But I'm in bed and asleep by 8:30pm. I wake up at 11:30pm (for a minute or so) feeling so tired that I honestly believe that an elephant has stepped on me. I like it! I want more weekends like this.
Nopesterini gives the following interview:
Nopesterini: As you know I'm past my prime and I cannot be in the NHL playoffs and recover in time for the Giro and the Tour. The stopping and starting on the ice rink is hard on my hips whereas the more constant stress on the bicycle is less painful. Thus I have decided to concentrate on those races.Thus Nopesterini, as all of us do, has deluded himself (i.e., hallucinated enough) to think that he can regain the form of his youth. I know that I think this all of the time.