Bikes Anyone?

This Saturday, in advance of the torrential rains from hurricane Irene, I decided to take a brief respite from working on my house to go and ride a bike. That’s right; I loaded up my gear, headed to the forest, and rode some trails. It was Jess’ birthday so there was a small group of people going out and I figured it would be mellow enough for me since I’ve been off the bike for about a month.

From the start I was feeling fairly terrible but I was okay with it. I slummed around at the back and let the rest of the group tear on ahead. Actually, Jess was feeling a little rough too so we rode together and chatted while we picked our way through the sweet singletrack. It was kind of nice to take it easy (not like I had a choice) and not try to crush the trail as fast as I could.

We decided to cut the ride short after just a little while. I didn’t mind because I wasn’t sure I had the legs to go much longer. I was getting close to running out of water as well so I took that as another reason to pack it in. Regardless, it was still a super fun day on the trials. I guess this just means that I need to take more time away from doing house work to have fun.

Reality Shmeality

It should come as no surprise that I like to think I’m a busy guy or at least I talk like I’m a busy guy. When I get home from a long day at the office or finish working around the house I like to settle in and watch one of the seven channels that I have with my cable-less television. I’m a big fan of turning on some mindless sitcom that I can fall into and laugh or just zone out. The problem I have is that anymore these shows are few and far between. In particular, it seems like the majority of the programming is some form of reality based television and this kind of sucks.

I don’t really care what has-been celebrity can dance a tango. I’m not interested in knowing which member of the U.S. populations thinks their dog juggling/ventriloquist/uni-cycle riding qualifies as a talent. There isn’t a single person on TV that I would ever consider idolizing; especially someone I’ve never heard of that sings songs. If you think you can find true love among a group of men or women just by handing them a rose, chances are you’re in for a major disappointment.

I want udder, mindless, nonsensical blather that is spewed forth from characters with names like George, Jerry, Elaine, or Cramer. It’s okay if I miss an episode because it’s not a running story. Give me something to laugh at; something that whisks me away from the reality I deal with all day and transports me into some kind of fantasy land where I can laugh at bawdy jokes or simple one-liners. Television use to be an escape. Now it’s just a bunch of people trying to win something, and nothing about that is funny or enjoyable.

Killing Time

After a long dry spell, the rains have been peppering the SC repeatedly and I couldn’t be happier. Not only was my yard looking a little rough, the landscaping was starting to take a beating too. While I realize we need the rain, it put a bit of a wrinkle in my weekend plans that were probably too ambitious for my own good.

Instead, I spent Sunday morning enjoying my coffee and watching some television. Usually on the weekends I’ll listen to some NPR while waking up but I can only take so much Thistle & Shamrock. Since I don’t have cable, my options for programming on the TV is limited. This Sunday I found myself watching a local “outdoors” show that was all about a guy trapping animals.

I have no personal or moral issues with this kind of show but I often have to laugh while watching. In essence, the show consists of a guy wading around in roadside ditches setting traps to catch muskrats or minks or whatever else might wander into the unsuspecting jaws of death. I don’t want to sound too uppity, but this was probably one of the most redneck things I’ve seen in a while. I have to give the guy credit for being so enthusiastic about outsmarting varmit but I’m not sure it qualifies as quality programming. Of course, I did watch the entire show so it had me hooked.

The Double R

While shameless plugs are not usually my thing, I figure throwing one out every once in a while can hurt. With that in mind, I offer the following.

For those of you that will be in the SC towards the end of September I would recommend you check out the 2011 Banff Radical Reels Tour that will be playing at the State Theatre. It should provide an evening of high adrenaline excitement for all those in attendance. What is this tour and why am I promoting it? Well, I would describe the tour as the regular Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour without all the lame stuff. I'm throwing out my support because the proceeds will help benefit the Climbing Conservancy of Central Pennsylvania which is a local not-for-profit climbing organization. Oh yeah, and I'm also on the board of directors, so there's that.

While you've got a few minutes, check out this cool website that Scott and Ieva put together and buy some tickets so you can be one of the lucky few that gets to have your mind blown on September 27th.