I’m taking a ‘less is more’ approach here and I hope it creates an environment to let your mind wander, your soul be fed, and your heart be full.  Take a moment to think about the people in your life that mean the most to you.  Why have you chosen to keep them in your circle of amigos?  Or do you have a choice?  What is it about them that you love?  What about them inspires you?

Here’s fifty nine things I love about my dad:

59.  He looks good in sweater vests.

58.  He still has to ask (or should) if his outfit matches.

57.  He rules the billiards table.

56.  He gardens.

55.  He is animated during movies.

54.  He teaches.

53.  He’s strong.

52.  He learns.

51.  He is an incredible painter.

50.  He is an incredible artist.

49.  He worries.

48.  He cries.

47.  He sings.

46.  He’s wise.

45.  He tells stories.

44.  He prays.

43.  He likes to party.

42.  He loves his family more than we know.

41.  He’s a great handy-man.

40.  He works on cars.

39.  He yells at the sprinkler system.

38.  And at cars.

37.  He’s on facebook.

36.  He still doesn’t quite get it.

35.  He was a greaser.  I think that translates to ‘hipster’.

34.  He shoots guns.  At animals.

33.  He’s addicted to coffee.

32.  And always finds new arguments for it’s healthy benefits.

31.  He roasts his own coffee beans.

30.  He studies God’s Word daily.

29.  He has expensive taste.  But refuses to pay for it.

28.  He shops daily at the Unique Boutique thrift store.

27.  He likes good music.

26. He counsels.

25.  He had a monumental mustache!

24.  and mullet.

23.  and perm.

22.  He went grey in one summer. J

21.  He married a fox.

20.  He went back to school.  Twice.

19.  He sits in his Jacuzzi twice daily.

18.  He fly-fishes.  A lot.

17.  He builds.

16.  He’s funny.

15.  He has a great family.

14.  He’s responsible.

13.  He is engaging.

12.  He forgives.

11.  He’s a provider.

10.  He is smart with money.

9.  He’s honorable.

8.  He’s a good listener.

7.  He sacrifices.

6.  He’s calm.

5.  He’s busy.

4.  He’s determined.

3.  He’s honest.

2.  He’s diligent.

1.  He loves unconditionally.

love.

Would you just look at how beautiful those things are?  Low profile design, superior fit, super stiff midsole, and a full length airbag built into the footbed to boot.  Literally.  And for extra credit, every dollar that nike makes on ‘em gets donated to the livestrong foundation.  So you, too, should purchase the world’s greatest urban cycling shoe.  But don’t take it from me.  look who else loves ‘em:

http://prollyisnotprobably.com/2010/07/nike_air_zoom_tiempo_love.php

See you next week.

this keyboard isn’t typing itself tonight, and i can’t find the words to describe what i feel inside, so i’ll just share some photos.

today was…. i’m checking the official weather…. 59 degrees in vail.  it could’ve been 80.  so beautiful!  myself and two friends went on a bike ride.

originally we were going to head west towards Edwards, but discovered that the gate to the entrance of the bike path had been closed for  the season.  we were all a bit shocked, as it was still so beautiful outside.  but you don’t want to get tangled up in a crowd of migrating elk, now do you?  so we turned and rode east.  about a mile and a half to westside cafe for coffee.  warmed the spirits while we waited for the weather to warm up as well. it was a brisk 38 when i left the house.  we mounted our steeds and pedaled towards vail pass.  we chose to ride the north frontage road as it was already basking in the glorious sun.

as i rode, i couldn’t help but marvel at the surroundings.  blue skies, white mountains, and a beautiful green golf course.  quite different from my past several city rides.  quite different and quite appreciated.

we even hit some snowpack on our  return trip, opting to ride on the bike path and through the golf course.  this part of the valley doesn’t see much, if any, sun and proved to be a bit treacherous.

we ended at pazzo’s pizza with a beer, a few slices, and a few friends. perfect day.  thank you vail, co.  it’s so good to be back.

until next time..

well, here we are.  or at least, here i am.  and if you are here, then welcome.  to the inaugural edition of surly saturdays.  as i sit to write this, i am struck at how today is really anything but surly.  like my friend ice cube once said, “today was a good day”.  so it seems strange that for the first edition of a blog named surly, this is the direction i am heading, but i don’t care.  let’s start this journey and we’ll just have to see on down the road if there is a name more fitting.

earlier i mentioned today was a good day.  here’s why:

:: another 13.6 coastless miles.

:: new wheels.

:: trampolines.

:: new music.

:: *nsync.

:: pbr.

let me elaborate.

for the past countless days, weeks, and months, i have been without a car.  parts of which are really cool. other aspects of this are really not.  i have been riding my dear fixed gear a lot lately, which is cool. my commute to work is 6.8 miles, and offers a grand start to each day.  as i pedal west into sun-drenched mountains every morning, i am caught in days of old, and my heart is full.  full of memories of last summer.  cool.

for the past countless days, weeks, and months, i have been without a car.  that ended today.  with $500 cash, i bought wheels.  as i am standing in a welcoming home waiting to exchange money for keys, i look out the back patio door and see, soggy with the evening rain, a trampoline.  having realized it has been awhile since seeing that view out of my own door, i instinctively swing the door wide and make my way down the stairs, across the wet grass, and onto the trampoline.  i jump.  high.  cool.

as i drive my new old car home, *nsync plays over the airwaves.  off their self-titled, 1998 debut album: i want you back.  cool.  strange.  yet cool.

i have a select group of friends, notably in this case, (and many cases) from NY, that are always introducing me to new music.  i appreciate that.  thank you Scotty (and Ilya) for feeding my soul.  16 tracks of pure bliss.  cool.

and as i wind down for the night, sipping on a sweaty pbr can leaving rings of condensation on my nightstand, i..  don’t need to elaborate. cool.

so, as i said, it seems odd that this is the grand kickoff, the home-opener, the ribbon-cutting, premier edition of a series named surly, but i guess that just leaves us with unparalleled room for improvement.  boss.

conrad.

What are you waiting for!?

A good friend is trying to put some food on the table this holiday season.  Please help him clothe and/or bedizen and feed his wife and soon-to-be-born baby.

It is a rad brand and one to back.  Come be a part of Colorado history!

I was recently told by a friend of mine that her boyfriend no longer makes her feel special. Doesn’t make her feel lovely.  Doesn’t make her feel beautiful.

At that moment, in the most unselfish way, my heart broke a little bit.  I felt a strange empathy towards the Grinch.  Just as his heart grew three sizes that one fateful Christmas morning, mine too, throughout this clash of personal debate, has undergone some change.

Over the last several days, as I’ve tried to process the conversation, I’ve sought out other opinions.  One young man wise beyond his years pointed out (and I think this a major part of the problem), that men are simply clueless.  Even in a women’s mind when they are being straightforward and sending no mixed-signals or playing no games, men are still wandering around in the dark.  And when women attempt to shine a light and explain once more, we, as men, are still searching amongst the dark shadows that are cast.  I could go on, but in regard to… to, well, lots of things, I will end there.

True or False:  There is absolutely no fathomable reason for a beautiful girl to ever feel like they are not loved to the fullest extent of a human heart.  In the spirit of A Christmas Story, I triple-dog-dare you to say False.

So here is what I’ve come up with.  First, the girl is drop-dead gorgeous.  And I’m not limiting this description to only the exterior.  This is an all-inclusive description.  Her ability to laugh.  Her effortless mastery of joy.  Her impeccable style.  Her ever contagious smile.  All of these are beautiful traits in a woman.  Traits which give a woman power to control who is allowed into her intimate life. (Please click and read the literature, “raw.” for accurate description of intimate in this setting!  [thank you Clark Morgan])  I’m not saying that this means she should have special treatment, or that her heart should be instantly protected against wrongdoing.  I’m just saying that she deserves an awesome guy.  An awesome guy who makes her feel special every day.  Screw birthdays, anniversary’s, and that one day that lands on February 14 of every year.  I’m not even going to go into that day.  It doesn’t deserve mention.

I could go on and on, and have, but I’m going to keep the rest of it in the archives.  I guess the point I’d like to make is this:  Guys, if you’ve found someone special, let them know that.  A wise lady once told me, “If you can live without someone, then you probably should.”  That was it.  Pretty simple.  On the other hand, though, if you can’t live without somebody, you better be sure that your actions make it so they won’t want to live without you.

In an unrelated story, yesterday was Wednesday.  Free pie day at village inn.  vi.  Sounds disturbingly like an STD.  Early digression.  Let’s return to free pie.  (isn’t America great!?)  After much debate and serious internal struggle, I decided on the French silk.  A la mode.  What does that mean to you?  To me, it means a chilled French chocolate silk slice of pie on a chilled plate served with a side of ice cream.  Possibly with a chilled dessert fork.

Wrong.  To the under-educated server, this addition of a la mode into the order meant a heated French chocolate silk slice of pie (also known as French chocolate soup with hardly distinguishable whipped cream and chocolate shavings) with a side of ice cream.  I have nothing else to add.  Well, except for this:

since when does a la mode mean 'heated'?

Conrad.

P.S.  Thank you to those present on this fine Free Pie Wednesday.  What a nice group of people you are!

This morning as I started my routine with coffee and laptop in hand, I stumbled upon an article written the other day regarding fixies.  Nothing crazy for the most part – the usual tag-words and phrases were used:  Brakes, hipster, hard on the knees, messenger bags.  All things I have been very familiar with for a long time.  (Do you remember the days when Chrome Bags were struggling to pull a profit?  Seems quite unlikely these days, I know, but it’s true.)  The article went on to talk about the fad of the fixie and that it would soon pass as all good things do.  This gave me a strange sense of hope.  Hope that it would pass before it fell into the wrong hands.  Hope that I would never have to be more aware of my surrounding cyclists than traffic.  That cars would always possess more of a sense of danger than the guy riding beside or ahead of me.  Hope that I would once again feel confident on my plain, undercover, gunmetal grey hand-built friend.  That I would no longer be overwhelmed by bikes with more colors on them than in a bag of your favorite Wonka candy.  A hope that came crashing down with a resounding blast as I clicked on a link sure to change the world of bicycles.  Or maybe just MY world of bicycles.  And that would be okay.  THAT I could live with.

So, even with a half-empty cup of joe in hand, the page that opened before me is something I was, and still am not prepared to deal with.  Maybe saying it aloud will help.  Urban Outfitters is now selling bicycles.      Sigh.  So it is, the once-held-revere :)  is now being marketed to the masses as an accessory of downtown fashion.

I am not ready to sell my fixie just as friends have done in the past only because it is now mainstream.  It simply offers too much freedom.  Too much exhilaration.  And puts a smile on my face.  I’m not saying that I do not want other people to experience this, or to go through life without smiling.  I am merely feeling a genuine concern for the unsuspecting general public, my friends, and myself.  Fixed-gear bicycles are hard to ride.  That is a fact.  I have watched many people, even after very in-depth explanations of how the bicycle rides, jump on, and before the pedals make just one revolution, be nearly thrown from the saddle.  To own a fixed-gear, and ride it effectively is a privilege.  It demands respect, and when it feels it has gained that respect, it will open doors to happiness, freedom, and general feelings of ‘bad-assness‘.  So I will just wait out the fad, and when it is over, I will still have my rock-solid steed, and we will continue to rule city streets and suburban hills alike.

Thank you Barry Davis.  For today started with fear of the future.  But now offers hope for the future.  I’m going for a bike ride.

Conrad “Coasting Is Bad For You” Ian

DH.  Downhill.  A simple term.  Merriam-Webster defines it as, “Going or tending downward on or as on a hill.”

If you were to ask anyone of the riders that showed up to Sol Vista Bike Park for closing day yesterday what DH meant to them, I’m sure the answer would be drastically different.

Downhill mountain biking, as one chairlift ride conversation concluded, is the greatest type of riding.  The venue of dh supports great riding coupled with great conversation.  Chairlifts provide the means of transportation to the top of the mountain and an opportunity to learn what the driving force is behind friend’s pursuits of on- and off- hill goals and achievements.  It is a sport that allows- No. Scratch that.  Demands and requires participants to push limits both physically and mentally.  It is a sport driven by all things progressive:  thinking, bicycle designs, and riding.  And it is a sport that I love.

Sometimes DH and its participants are completely misunderstood.  It is refreshing when people recognize DH as a legitimate sport.  Yes, DH has been tagged an extreme sport.  Which, if you look at the common definition, yeah, it fits.  ”A sport perceived as having a high level of inherent danger.”  I think we can all agree that the tag is accurate.  What is not always understood accurately, however, is that DH is cycling.  Cycling.  What a variety of disciplines!  Road, track, cyclo-cross, trials, cross-country, short-track, dirt-jumping, slalom, mountaincross, and downhill.  Not to mention the realms of bmx.  Cycling.  And we are cyclists.  We are not lazy.  We are not spoiled.  We are just as entitled to the joys that riding downhill offers even-though we didn’t pedal to the top.

DH offers something that plenty of people have found only by turning to illegal mood-altering substances.  Pure adrenaline is the result of a delicate balancing act of skills that most of us as avid mountain bikers possess.  Belonging on this list is lung-power, strength, endurance, and desire.  Some of the others are just givens.  Pedaling, braking, shifting, looking ahead.  And the rest can be undefinable.  Or at minimum, negotiable.  From rider to rider, track to track, bike to bike.  There are no constants, no hand-outs.  A successful run is the result of hard work, strong bike handling skills, and absolute mental focus, and there is no other feeling like it.  On second thought, maybe one feeling.  

Love.

My favorite commute.

WWW.FLICKR.COM/CYCLISTONANYMOUS