Smooth move ex-lax

I can't say that I've never lost anything before. I'm usually pretty careful with my expensive toys, but I've been known to have a momentary lapse of consciousness here and there. My latest came at the end of a relatively disappointing attempt to ride Saturday.

The winds were whipping and the people were bailing so I bailed on the ride too. In retrospect, fighting the winds would've sucked nearly beyond comprehension, but it would've made me stronger and now that I look back, richer (or at least less poor). Pete and I shot over to the center trails in hopes that the ice had melted off and the trails would now be a nice frozen pack. Well, they were indeed frozen, but they were also covered in large sheets of ice. We rode just enough of rollercoaster to kill our buzz and head off in hopes that Denman's would be less icy. Wrong again. By now we were about 30 minutes in and still trying to salvage something, anything.

We crossed the little bit of track left on J11 and hopped on. Eureka, we found a little bit of track that wasn't a solid sheet of ice. We made a lap and headed back for a second round. At the very end we had to cross a bit of a brush pile and sure enough I found a thorn and an instant flat. Not really into changing a tube in freezing weather for another 10 minutes of riding I opted to walk it back to the truck as Pete took another spin through. I made it back to the truck pretty quickly by cutting across the tracks and through the bottom of rollercoaster. That's where things went awry.

I put the bike in the truck, got my deflated tire/wheel put into the back of the truck and headed towards the shop to fix the flat. I remember hitting the stop button on my bike computer to shut it down and that's the last I remember seeing it. Now, if I just lost or broke my bike computer, I wouldn't be too upset. Shoot, I've got 3 or 4 setting in my bike box. Nope, I managed to lose a REALLY expensive bike computer. The cheapest replacement I've found is a shade under $200 for a refurbished unit off ebay. Doh! Not exactly what I want to be spending my money on right now. I've got a lot bigger fish that need that moolah.

I tore my truck apart, searched my bike clothes and gym bag, and even took a trip clear back to Ashworth pool parking lot in hopes that a lack of people using the trail Saturday might have left it laying in the parking lot. Near as I can guess, I probably took the computer off my bike and sat it on the bed rail of the truck. I simply forgot to grab it in my hurry to head off to the shop and it simply fell by the wayside. The only other thing I can think of and isn't as likely to me is that I left it on the bike and someone decided to crawl up in the back of the truck while parked at the shop or down off Court avenue and steal it off the bike. A pretty unlikely scenario in my book, but still possible. So, I'm pretty pissed at myself for being that dumb. Man what a bummer.

Bummer

I'm bummed for Miranda. She is like me in that she doesn't seem to make many close friends. We've got a lot of people we're friends with, but can probably count on a single hand, the people we'd consider really close friends. As such, losing one always sucks. Miranda's closest friend is moving about 5 hours from here as her husband is making a career change. They were stuck here until their house sold and while we were secretly hoping it would never sell, they finally struck a deal on it a couple weeks ago. Part of that deal involved them being out in roughly 30 days so the hunt was on for them to find a new place. Again, we halfway hoped that wouldn't be the case, but alas, they found a new place and everything seems to be set in concrete.

It's going to be rough on Miranda as this is really her best girlfriend. They talk several times per week and almost always get together with our girls once a week as well. We all hang out a number of times throughout the year as well enjoying good food and drink. It's a good time and pretty laid back deal. They'll be missed for sure and I forsee at least a few road trips to Chi-town in the upcoming year. Actually, with us having another set of friends in that same relative area, it might work out well as we only get over there about once a year as is, so this might help that friendship as well. Its just a bum deal all around, but we wish them the best and hope it works to make their marriage stronger and lives better.

Bummed

The inevitable happened. Miranda's dad passed on this morning. While I don't feel like we truly knew him that well as he was only involved in her life for the past 10 years (he and her mom divorced when she was 2 and he stayed out of her life), I know she'll still mourn and miss him. He is the first person I've known personally in my adult life to pass on from cancer. In his case, it goes to show, that you really can't reckon with the odds of being a lifelong smoker and getting lung cancer. I'm glad I kicked that habit long, long ago.

I guess I'm bummed for a number of reasons. I feel bad that my wife lost someone close to her. I feel bad that I'm not there with her and provide a shoulder to lean on. I feel bad that our daughter won't have a chance to know one of her grandpas.

There are at least a few things I'm happy about. I'm glad that Miranda's mom was able to go with her and Corley. I'm sure it helps a lot to have her there. I'm happy that they got down there in time on Tuesday to spend some time with him while he was conscious. I'm happy that Corley and he were able to meet and exchange words whether or not she'll ever remember it.

I'm left wondering a few things as well. I wonder if we'll stay in touch with that side of the family now that our direct link is gone. I wonder what effect this will have on Miranda. I wonder how much and when we'll tell Corley about her grandpa.