I will be the first to admit that this piece probably isn’t going to be re-published in the New York Times, The Economist, Mad Magazine or anything with that sort of stature. However, I just had to put that Flock of Seagulls lyric to some good use. Sometimes titles are used to pique interest and have little to do with the content. And that’s largely the case here. I’m no Middle East expert, but I’m sure that bombing people who bomb to prove that bombing is wrong is… wrong. I will state the obvious: the more people cycling, the less we need to rely on the infernal combustion engine or even hybrids and the less energy wars we’ll have with other nations.

I will go on the record as saying I think that the future ex-president #45 of the US was well out of line, his legal authority and his friggin’ mind by ordering the targeted assassination of Iran’s #2 man, as deadly as he was. Later that same day that news broke, as I returned a car borrowed for visiting family over the holidays. I was only slightly relieved to be less a part of the problem. We in the developed nations rely on oil in many forms like plastic, to deliver food and other products. There’s not much A Dude can do to influence foreign policy. So this weekend, I let my legs do the talking as usual.

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On Saturday, I got together with buddy Rhodney and a friend of his for a relaxed 13-mile ride east on Town Lake. Before we departed from Auditorium Shores, we paid homage to the guitar great who adopted Austin, Stevie Ray Vaughn. I got to seem him play live once, maybe twice. Man, was he ever the real deal! Sadly he died before his time in a helicopter crash after a concert. But we still have his music and memory to hear and keep alive. His guitar was underwater during bad floods a while back.

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This tile mural reminded me of the work of a former landlady but also caught the sun along with some holiday lights still strung up. I take pictures while putting in the miles as a way to stop and smell the roses. It also gives me a break and keeps me grounded and is a way to further release the kraken of my creativity. Krakativity, maybe.

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Austin is always changing with the influx of new people (please don’t move here, even if you like allergies, traffic, heat, high cost of living and plenty of wackadoodles. While it’s gotten pretty huge and expands to neighboring towns, downtown Austin itself is still fairly navigable, and picturesque.

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I’ve ridden so much (5, 006 Miles in 2019…, if you haven’t read my previous post) that I needed a new front disk brake pad. Mine was so far gone it’s a wonder I didn’t crash. But I wear it as a sign of struggle. I hope we’re able to include that effort.

Oh yeah, cedar pollen is at almost an all-time high — the highest in 25 years! If you live here, you know what I mean. If not, that’s a dilemma for sure.

Well, those are some of my activities, I hope you enjoyed them vicariously.

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