Thanks again everyone (Tony, better start paddling now)
Forget that. I get seasick in 1’ swells. Plan B: Take you on a Bay Area mountain bike ride. heh, heh. All I can say is, after mtn bike riding in Florida, bring an extra set of clean underwear.
Tony
Uhh, I’m in Colorado now Tony 
Your puny little bay area hills don’t scare me 
I’m now acclimated to high altitude and I’ve got a full suspension rig with a Hopey steering damper to boot , bring it on. 
So, how do you like you’re Dramamine, in drowsy or non-drowsy formula?
Loren
There’s a little shack (Alcatraz) right across the Bay Loren - I don’t think it’s occupied right now You might get cheap accomodations there!!
Seriously - best wishes with the job…
Uhh, I’m in Colorado now Tony Your puny little bay area hills don’t scare me I’m now acclimated to high altitude and I’ve got a full
suspension rig with a Hopey steering damper to boot , bring it on.So, how do you like you’re Dramamine, in drowsy or non-drowsy formula?
Dang it! <splash, splash>
Wait a second…You didn’t actually say you’ve ridden your bike in Colorado with the Hopey stuff and all (whatever that is, if you didn’t make it up. I didn’t just fall off the haywagon, you know.) Are those springs to keep your delicate tushy from getting bounced around too much?
Cool! The commute won’t be crowded and the acoustics will be great for playing flute and whistle! Not to mention I can finally buy myself another drumset and wail away without bothering the neighbors - awesome!!
Thanks for the good vibes re: the job - I’ve got a lot of irons in the fire now, so we’ll see what happens. If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the last year, it’s that life can be so incredibly unpredictable that it’s astonishing, so I’m not getting emotionally involved in this process or attached to this job possibility. We’ll just see what happens, or doesn’t.
Loren
“Wait a second…You didn’t actually say you’ve ridden your bike in Colorado”
Good try Tony, but you won’t get me to divulge my training regimen so you can gain the advantage - you’d have better luck trying to get Lance Armstrong to give up his secrets (and let’s face it, I need my secrets much more than he needs his!)
“with the Hopey stuff and all (whatever that is, if you didn’t make it up. I didn’t just fall off the haywagon, you know.)”
No, I imagine you just fell off some old Scwhinn you stole from the poor kid down the street. Tsk, tsk.
“Are those springs to keep your delicate tushy from getting bounced around too much?”
Geeze, you really are living in the stone age aren’t you dude? You don’t know what a steering damper is 
Umm, does you bike have any gears? Wait don’t tell me, no brakes either, you simply drag your feet to stop… :roll:
Loren
Hey, Loren:
I think I remember that you’re also a juggler; just so you know, there’s a pretty good juggling scene in SF and surrounds (the SF guys meet at the San Francisco Circus School, one group meets at Stanford and has great jugglers, there’s a club in Berkeley…). So there’s plenty of folks to throw things at (or with), too, if you so desire.
Now if you can just find an affordable place that’ll take dogs . . . wait, I think I just saw a pig fly by my window!
You can always just keep the Bay between Tony and yourself.
–Aaron
Geeze, you really are living in the stone age aren’t you dude? You don’t know what a steering damper is Umm, does you bike have any gears? Wait don’t tell me, no brakes either, you simply drag your feet to stop…
Gotta give you points for your humor. Very droll. I might be able to line you up a jester job. What hat size do you wear?
I’m not stone age. Maybe bronze. I will confess I never heard of steering dampening for a bike. I just grab the handlebars and turn them. I also use pedals. What do you have, a motor? Brakes? We don’t need no steenking brakes. We just leap off around here. Be a man, for pete’s sake. This is San Pablo Ridge trail just across the street from my house. Good for warmups.
Well, if Loren screams down the scree slopes and has the scars to prove it, he’s got us beat Tony but we have our own little terrors on our hardened clay-cracked hills and slippery golden grass.
If anybody is actually reading this, Whistler’s Highlands (Casa de Weekender) is west of Tony’s shot but on same range. I ride in same canyon as Tony but different paths. His shot is our summer biking reality bite.
And Tony, you should admit that you just moved up to front suspension bikes! (He was old school till about 3 weeks ago! 
) I am not much further ahead with a five-year old Mongoose Hilltopper but we have our fun. But a disclaimer: I own no brightly-colored togs, weirdly shaped helmet, or camelback thingy. I ride alone and don’t hoot and holler just because I came down a hill. And I brake for dogs, horses and kids so I am a maverick. Oh yeah, and I always say “Hi” to people. Like the Jimi Hendrix song.
Loren, San Jose is about an hour from the Cannery. You can get a studio apt here (in a bad neighborhood) for between $700 and $800 (that’s where I was living when I bought your TW…anything that’s not nailed down gets stolen or vandalized). If you want a better neighborhood, I moved out of the ghetto a few months ago and now pay $1,000 for a one bedroom. No pets, of course, even in the ghetto. However, during rush hour it’s quite a bit more than an hour to the Cannery. Might even be two at that time of day.
You mean these high-falutin’ ‘steering dampeners’ are just front shocks? Geez, I got those. I thought Loren had robotic servos or something. I figured, next, he’d say he has autopilot. Rear suspension, though? That’s what knees are for.
Tony
Good memory Aaron! Yeah, it’s amazing how many useless talents/skills I have relative to skills that I can actually pay the bills with : 
Thanks for the info, I haven’t done any passing in a long time, but I’d love to get back into it, damn shame all my clubs are still in Florida, there is probably a good juggling club here in Boulder as well.
Loren
Thanks for the lowdown on San Jose. I can’t live in the ghetto, or anywhere there is a lot of crime, I’ll shoot someone, seriously. I grew up suffering muggings, home invasions, and worse in Philly, and at this point in my life i wouldn’t hesitate to shoot first and ask questions later - I’d be happy to do the world a favor and rid it of a few burglars and rapists. However, I prefer not to go to jail, so I try to avoid living and working in areas that might cause me to do something others might regret.
The good news is you’ve warned me about the area, so that narrows things down a bit. Rent out that way seems prohibitive though, about 2x the cost here in Boulder, which is already an expensive town.
Loren
Tony,
Nice picture. Um, don’t you guys ever water the lawns there in California though? I mean if I want to pedal through sand I’ll go back to Florida, at least avoiding the Gators makes it interesting.
No, a steering damper isn’t a front shock, but if you’re still riding a bike with a banana seat and a sissy bar…well, I wouldn’t expect you to have a clue. Do a google search for Hopey Steering Damper when you’re ready to join the us in the here and now, Mr. Flintstone.
Loren
Weeks,
No funny helmet or Camelbak? Well, at least we all know what to get you for Christmas now 
Loren
Hey I got an old dinged-up Bell (the white kind) that has served me well through a bad crash. Nice and beat up though I have had to nearly steam clean it a few times. Makes quite the contrast with the funny purple Jetsons things that people wear and since I don’t go over 150 mph, I just don’t get the aerodynamic design thing, thats all. Water bottle in cage. Now, I don’t go on those monster trek journeys. Just an exercise loop of an hour or two to keep me sassy and I take it on vacations. I love Sierra biking except the granite sand is hell on the chain etc… Bet you get that in Colorado too.
Actually, the sugar sand in Florida is much worse (in terms of wear and tear) the stuff is everywhere and is so fine it penetrates everything. Only my Chris King headset and the Hopey seem impervious.
Seriously dude, you need a new helmet (goofy shape or not), helmets do have a limited lifespan, and should be retired after any significant crash. Do yourself (and your loved ones) a favor and get a new brain bucket asap.
Loren
Now don’t you go and get all logical on me! Thanks for tip, tho 
I saw a guy’s helmet the other day. It seemed to have an exhaust pipe out the back. (Maybe it dampens his steering! )
So, Loren, do you have the new antigrav levitators yet?
Fred
Nah, I would but I’m on a bit of a restricted budget at the moment.
Actually, my mountain bike is still in Florida, I don’t even know if I can ride the darn thing anymore, might need to borrow your training wheels if I can ever afford to have my bike shipped out here.