Bikes, Life, and Fingers

April and May have just blown on by for me.  After that fun wreck I had back at the start of April it took me about a week to get my  bike back in working order.  A huge thanks have to be extended to Matt at FSA for hooking me up with some a fly new handlebar and stem combo.  Also big ups to the gang at Brave New Wheel for getting me a new Surly fork, and bringing my bike back to working order.  The doctor who took a look at my finger gave me no limitations as far as cycling, just the advice to “try not to fall on it again.”  I decided against riding my mountain bike because I was unable to get a solid grip on my handlebar with my right hand.  As my thesis work went from writing the damn thing to making edits based on my advisor’s comments (and D2’s fine proofreading skills) I found myself having more time for riding, and my life improved drastically.  May 11 finally came and even though I had yet to actually defend my thesis (I technically graduate at the end of the Summer 2012 semester), I still walked my ass across the stage at graduation and made mom, dad, sis, and girlfriend feel proud.  Much like  good bike ride with friends, some whiskey was brought along to the ceremony to make the day that much better.  Between myself and buddies, that 375 of Jameson didn’t stand a chance.

Riding towards the mountains
I felt the need to stand out

Finally after seven weeks or so my finger is “healed” to the point where I can make a fist (bar fights here I come!), meaning it was time to get back on my mountain bike.  Once I got back on the trails in Fort Collins I got that stoke back similar to what Judi wrote about last week.  Even though rides were cut short due to seatposts breaking or getting shit cleaned up at school few things can top hours on a bike.  Finally, as D2 eluded to earlier, I found myself a gig that I start in a few weeks.  The good news is I get to stay in the Front Range, the bad news is I will have to join the ranks of the spores who drive to a trailhead (gasp).  While Denver doesn’t have proper mtb trails in the city, they do have a decent network of trails to get around town (commuting route), and my job will be a quick 15 minute drive to the trails in Golden.  I guess this is the next chapter, I gotta say I’m excited.

Looks like I got a crooked finger for the rest of my days

 

The price I paid for having shiny carbon bits on my bike

About 40 Hands

A fan of riding bikes with one gear, malt liquor, riding without knowing how many miles I’ve covered, and strip clubs that let you bring your own keg. I typically have a stupid grin on my face, it is because deep down I know that no matter what, my mom thinks I’m cool. Denver, Colorado, USA

39 Replies to “Bikes, Life, and Fingers”

  1. Since I have been your proofreader for a while now, I feel it’s probably okay to tell you that the word is “alluded,” not “eluded.”

    Glad you’re back on the bike. Let’s get faced at a Rockies game now.

  2. It’s all about ti seatposts on steel hardtails.

    Good to hear you’re finally getting back in the saddle and congrats!

  3. My engineer here at the shop has a finger just like that…only his incident involved a hydraulic press…

    Congrats on graduation and the new gig.

  4. Congratulations are in order, I’d have awarded the degree cum laude for that DC logo placement. That is hard to beat. Tell us again how you bent that finger ;)

  5. Jesus says in Mark 30:21, “Thee cyclist with no finger crooked is a poser on thy throne of thy leather saddle. Thy who has more crooked fingers rises to the truth of life. Let my flock all ride with crooked finger.” When I was 16 I heard this for the first time at a road side revival in Kentucky and thought how true it is.

  6. You’ll have to look me up after a few, just landed in Lakewood and have been friends with Dirty for a few…plus I gotta bike for D2….

    This DC thing is petty rad and seems to make the world smaller and the trails longer.

  7. Congrats on the fresh Master’s Degree!

    Other than the seatpost, how’s that SIR9 treating you? Any issues?

  8. Congrats on everything man. Someday, I’ll tell you my own finger story. Gotta love those war wounds.

  9. “Don’t you think it’s just a little bit strange that Ronald Reagan had an operation on his asshole, and George Bush had an operation on his middle finger? What are these two men trying to tell us?” – the almighty George Carlin, from “Doin’ it Again/Parental Advisory: Explicit Lyrics”

  10. No I don’t, Mr. Carlin. But I find it exceedingly odd and quite a bit troubling that we know so little, medical or otherwise, about the incumbent. Dogs on dinner plates, heavy drinking and “enthusiastic” drug use-These things and more would have been front page news, had they appllied to a concervative. Look at how the media hounded our forty-third President over allegations of alcohol and drug use. But The One just seems to keep on getting a free pass, one for which We The People will bear the ultimate cost.

  11. Oh Joey, out of all the Little Rascals, you are my favorite. I know you suffer from what is referred to as a “compensatory repetitive strain injury” due to your receiving a massive amount of left-sided “butt-hurt” and this causes you to perpetually lean very hard to the right as a way of compensating for the injury.

    I recommend rest, ice, beer, salve*, or R.I.B.S for short.

    *Where I come from a salve is any cream, ointment, elixir, potion, or lotion that is used as a majikal cure-all. Salves are generally produced by one’s grandma using a secret family formula that has been passed on down through the generations. Oh why am I wasting my time, you’re Joe the Electrician, you’re the oldest guy to ever use the internet, you probably invented salves. My apologies.

  12. …geez, 40…with you graduating (nice hat, btw) & gianni passing the bar, it’s almost like i can feel the world becoming a better place…

  13. Congrats dude. We should ride as soon as you get into town. Welcome to the jungle!

  14. …foot in mouth whilst head up ass…

    …no wonder somebody likes to ride a single fixed gear…anything else would be too complicated…

  15. Simplicity is its own reward. Having more stuff than you need doesn’t make you richer, nor does it make your teeny tiny pathetic little dick any bigger. And it most certainly doesn’t make you better than the next person. In fact, it advertises in screaming neon six foot letters just how lacking you are.

    And less is more if you have what it takes to get by with it.

  16. …sure, joe…whatever you like, joe…‘blah, blah, blah’, joe…

    …& joe, i’ve NEVER implied i was better than anyone, ever…

    …i just think, unlike others who still wish to show you tolerance, that you’re a fucking clown…it’s just my opinion & you’ve never done anything to dispel the notion…

  17. clearly the juice was creampied so far into your ass, BigGaggingWanker, you’ve been walking funny for years. this aint europe, and god willing and the creek dont rise, it wont ever be.

  18. …i’ll bet the intellectual prowess offered in your support is heartwarming, huh ???…sounds like you brought your whole fucking circus to town…wow !!!…

  19. It’s cool, Pops, get it oot of your system, eh. You damned sure wouldn’t take that tone with me in person. Not more than once, anyway.

    “…whole fucking circus…”? Oh, you mean the guy with the BigGaggingWanker* comment. Nope, can’t say as I know the guy but I do like his style. But then you know they say great minds think alike.

    *BigGaggingWanker. Nailed it.

  20. “…great minds think alike…” ???…ya, or “…fools seldom differ…”

    …can’t see your face but it’s easy to tell you’ve got a clown’s makeup…

    …in person, i’d simply ask the bartender (in a polite ‘tone’) if that was you lying face down in your own vomit…again…

  21. “…laugh…”, huh, joe ???…somehow i don’t think you’re laughing, joe…

    …not even close…

  22. …but, joe…i thought you were laughing…

    …truth is, joe, i finally got tired of you making stupid, irresponsible statements & then you acting like it had never happened especially when a number of people would call you on it…

    …i’ve said it before…if i make a mistake whether i’m misinformed or simply ignorant of the facts & the truth is pointed out to me, i’m willing to reassess, reevaluate & make the admission because it’s part of the learning process & it allows me to proceed better informed…

    …you never show that capacity, not because you’re incapable but because you wanna play this idiotic game of “i’m joe, i’m old, i know & you don’t & i don’t have to change, so there !!!”

    …& you fucking call me ‘pops’…wow…

    …time to stop hiding behind your quaint little colloquialisms, man up & be responsible for what you have to say…& if you’re wrong, why compound it by ignoring the truth ???…

    …your call, joe…

  23. Ummm, “So’s your old man”, I think. But I could be wrong.

  24. …go ahead & play it any way you want, joe…

    …but as it stands, you’re still wearing those real big shoes…

  25. …blah, blah, blah…but they’re still overshadowed by the clown makeup…