But I won’t do something jerky like make that my “this weekend I spent hours fixing bikes” blog.  That’s this one!  My pal needed work done on his front derailer (Sheldon’s spelling), and Mrs. P. needed both of hers attended to.  Thing is, I forgot about the moving sun where I was working, and I got a bit of a sunburn.  I’ve gotten a few of those this year.  That’s not going to help the fact that I already look older than I am and have reached the age where that’s not good news anymore, just news.

But fixing things is always fun, and when you’re helping people to keep biking, that’s awesome, too.  Sunburn be damned.  A liter of water, an energy coffee drink dealy and Chinese food, and I was ready to face the world.

Which I did that evening, and Mr. Dan and I blasted all over North Baltimore, in search of a milestone on his new cyclometer.  We celebrated with cold drinks and chocolate, Mr. Dan’s treat.

I recently watched all six Star Wars films, too, in chronological order.  That is, in the order of The Force, not The Box Office.  Mrs. P. had never seen them, and I tried to keep my mouth shut.  I really did.  I hate how they changed the song at the end of Return of the Jedi, one of the most [musically] triumphant movie endings ever.  The other CGI stuff, I don’t know.  Whatever.  I’m pissed about that song!

Where are all these frikkin storms?

Damn.

I don’t mean this in a bad way, really. I have so many Moleskines that I need a shelf. Not to mention my affection for Amelie and utter and complete caffeine addiction. I’m just saying is all. And, to be sure, I totally tried to be a Cuddleblogger at first, whether I realized it or not. Until our car wreck, that is, when I let loose with my first naughty language (here). That sumbitch in the land-yacht changed everything for us, literally knocking us out of a pattern of contentment that was leading us to somewhere we did not want to be. But that’s another story.

I like making up words and definitions. Cuddleblogger. You know what I’m talking about, though they are certainly a dying breed. I’m hard pressed to think of more than one or two who still blogs regularly. And I miss them.

This is posting in the future, when I’ll be off to Harper’s Ferry for a nice day trip and hike up to Maryland Heights. I went there the day after Thanksgiving in 2002, too, and they had homemade cinnamon rolls with fresh icing poured generously with a ladle at the ice-cream shop. It was cold, and the plates of heaven steamed on the porch when I confessed to a friend of mine that I was a vegetarian.

Seriously, though, here are two great blogs for your weekend reading.

Free Advice on How to Fix Your Bike is written by a fellow who has it in his heart to help those of us who are not very technically-inclined fix and maintain our bikes. When I kept losing my chain in the front a few weeks ago, when I used the smallest chainring for the first time, his site hooked.me.up. I got the limits adjusted and peachy in a few minutes. I’m drooling over the plans to build a bike trailer now. If you own a bike, you should check it out. And if you don’t, you should definitely check it out and learn to fix something you might find at a yardsale and join those of us who love the joy of bikelife.

Another great blog to come out of my former home of Carbondale, Illinois is The Beer Philosopher. I don’t mean to disrespect the other bloggers of Carbondale, but this is my new favorite Dale blog — not just because I am…fond of beer and trying new brews. It’s well-written, and this gentleman not only knows his beer, he loves it. And that comes through in the blog in wonderful ways.