Spring!

Next year that frame will be ten years old. Wow.  No need for a new one though with a $15 Fox Float rebuild kit.  Sean and I re-sealed it today and it was just as easy as advertised - thank you youtube Fox. New stem and RaceFace Atlas DH-oriented, big-sweeps handlebar restored the position and vibe of my beloved ten-year-old Azonic PDWs - the "knock-rated" stem was the last component remaining from the Green bike resurrection.  I'm probably going to have to cut that enormous thing down a bit, but not today...

Spring?

The rarest family photo you'll ever see, she's smiling.  ...and there's two sets of three sisters.

Hevy Devy

He's a strapping young lad he is.

Katie is Joey

The Number of the Beast was my favorite album as long as any album has been my favorite album.  I so wanted to be in Iron Maiden but those guys were at least five years older than me,  maybe ten.  It was clearly too late to start a music career...  The album is thirty years older now and me,  I've made multiple new starts and discovered that it is never too late.  It will never be too late.  To do anything I want to do.  I wish I could tell young John.

Tuesday in the afternoon

Yesterday at Afton.  Thinking about that time before where I was amazed that I hadn't gone in the previous four years.  Looking down at the tags on my jacket,  I realized that was four years ago.  I swear the older I get the faster time goes.

The snow was deep yesterday as you may remember.  The somewhat sketchy drive brought back memories of other last minute weather-inspired dashes - I thought about the boys more than once and wished they could have been there with me.  The snow was thick and still falling, slowing the midwestern mountain even more, but if you grabbed some speed at the top you could flow through consecutive edges and islands of untouched.  I had a better time than that picture looks,  but boy without the commuting fitness and with all of the extra old,  I rode three hours and was happy to drag my board back to the car.  A good three hours though.

As I stood back up from the boot changing event at the driver's door two youngers slowly walk by with their eyes and conversation on my trunk-leaning snow rocket,  straining my ears I assume they're blown away by the beautiful, top-quality,  Boardercross-oriented,  Made in Austria, (and I guess now vintage!) Shaun Palmer deck.

They're marveling that anyone rides step-ins.  Nice.