Ruthie on Jazz...

Burning truck on a beautiful day...

I rode the 4th annual Ridge to Bridge century today. A lucky weather break amidst 40 days and nights of rain (seemingly). A very rough course that became progressively hillier. There were stiff head and cross winds on the way back. The pollens were thick... my eyes were puffy and bloodshot at rides end...
The sunny cool weather, though, was welcome...

Early in the ride along a very isolated back road, I encountered this scene. The gentleman driving the truck, who was thankfully unhurt, was driving and noticed smoke coming through his dashboard. He stopped and could only open the hood partway because of the flames licking out from beneath. Very soon the truck was engulfed. Less than a minute after passing this strange scene, the gas tank blew... and this was the picture that I got.

A very sureal encounter on todays ride...

Kirill and I go see Iron Man

Kirill and I went to see Iron Man. On the way out this display beaconed me. I thought this would make a nice picture. I also behaved badly by trying to steal the display.

Kirill now has a restraining order against me.

...can't blame him...

I Love Sharon and Ducks

By glassburn at 2008-05-02

... and this is why...

When I was in my residency in D.C., I used to walk with Sharon to this little playground in the trailer park where we were living. There was a goose that lived in little pond there - and Sharon used to get excited and start chanting, "A Duck! A Duck!"

Later when we moved to WV, we used to go to Coonskin Park in Charleston. There were always lots of ducks there. We were trying to teach Sharon to count at the time... and when asked to count the ducks, she would point to each one in sequence and precisely say, " A duck... A duck... A duck..." and then faster, " A-ducka-ducka-ducka-ducka-ducka-ducka-..." until all were accounted for....

That's why I love Sharon and ducks...

Chad Jams at the Belpre Church Disco

By glassburn at 2008-04-28

Chad Jammed his ass off at the Belpre Church in Ohio Last night.
Check out his moves.

Consider this my friends, this is but one short out-take....

Party-on, Chad!

Christmas 1964

This is an adorable picture of Lynn and Shelley.
Here they are showing off their Merry Christmas Jesus Barbies...

(I took this picture...)

Max

By glassburn at 2008-04-23
Max is the best dog in the whole world.
He's not the smartest ... nor the prettiest...
but he is the best!

You gotta love the dog your with...

Big Sisters!

By glassburn at 2008-04-19

Lynn and Shelley are the best big sisters a guy could have. However, when we were young , they liked to pick on me.
Alas, I bravely took it...

P.S. Sharon, perhaps your psychoanalytical input is warranted. Forward your findings to your aunts.

Love, to all, Scotty

Show Your Bloomers Friday

By glassburn at 2008-04-18

I was requested to recreate an event in which Lisa or Jaime accidentally lost their trousers. Apparently, one thought it was hilarious and the other did not. Jesse is so sweet and always seems to be left out of things, so I recreated events to include her.
(This is not an actual video )

Lisa: A Good but Unrecognised Showing at the 2008 Iditarod

She made a great showing with her dogs Larry, Moe and Curly. However she recieved very little attention.
Anyway... Congrats Lisa!

(BTW: this is the lamest gif i will ever do... promise...)

Max: Portrait of a Dog Fighting Champion

How could I deny him anything (especially a hamhock)?

A Shiny Happy Day!

By glassburn at 2008-04-06

I'm feeling so much better. Today was a great day to get some riding in... 40+ shiny happy miles...
I hope your day was as nice

I Love Cold Medicine!

By glassburn at 2008-04-03

The only nice thing about being sick is being able to take cold medicine. It makes me feel like I'm dancing on the moooooon....

this guy took forever to buy candy

i had to wait behind this dude for five minutes before paying for my gas...

Easter Memorial at Lauras' Place

We didn't feel too into Easter today. Perhaps if the Lord were to resurrect Laura it would have been much nicer.
We nonetheless have blessings to count and friends to be grateful. It was a nice day to visit Laura's Memorial with Erin, Sharon, Ruth and whats-his-face (Kirill). Cooper was nice enough to come along also.
Afterwards we had a nice dinner at the Gresses. God Bless 'em!
God Bless Us anyway...

Axis of Evil

By glassburn at 2008-04-22
Dear God... Let's pray for change!

(I'm usually pretty apolitical... and very independent... but these guys have done us some serious wrong...)

Back to mindless irreverence...

I Believe

This was a picture from my bike trip. I thought I was alone.

Washington Crossing the Delaware with Popeye

Washington and Popeye were close.
Popeye was very instrumental in helping America gain its independence.

Milton ... Mud River ... Ona Loop

Check out the look of determination on this dude! Also, check out the ghetto-mod helmet glasses suspensory accessory.

I had two good riding days this weekend. Approx 55 cold miles today and 40+ warmer but rainy miles yesterday. I'm trying to get some miles in before my first ever 200K brevet in Columbus in two weeks.

In the background you can see my trusty old Trek. I'm stuck with it as my main ride since my Canondale has a busted derailier and hanger. I've been riding the Trek for 22 years now. I bought it in 1986 in Philly after a dude in a van ran over my brand new Univega over spring break... (pardon the run-on).
These events ultimately helped me snag Ruth... (too complicated to succinctly explain today)...
Anyway... A good weekend...
Love to all!

Laura Memorial

It was dark when i completed the monument for Laura. I need to mark the path to get there. There is also a geocache at the site. I haven't registered the location yet.
(better pix and coordinates to follow)

he cuts wind like butter...

and i'm not referring to his digestive prowess...

sun march 2nd: a perfect day for biking. chris gress and i biked 60 miles (winfield_pt pleasant and back). i felt pretty good for my first long ride of the year. the return ride was against a steady headwind... chris cut it like a jimmy dean sausage...

Me and Sharon...

I am very proud of Sharon. She's beautiful, smart and funny.

God bless Sharon Jo!

Kiril Gura eats a big bite of wasabi...

eager to please, KiriLL (w/ 2 els) tries the wasabi... the ambulance arrived soon thereafter...
thanks be to Jesus he was okay...

Breakfast of Champions...

My favorite breakfast is usually the one i am presently eating... However, my favorite breakfast to eat is soft boiled eggs on toast sprinkled copiously with raw oats.
The eggs are soft boiled for four minutes. Then, opened by smartly smiting the egg transversely with a butter knife. Some skill is required to remove the eggwhite completely from the shell without plicating the inner membrane and without spilling the yolk on anything but the toasts open face.
Once both eggs are arrayed on the toast, one sprinkles one eighth to one quarter cup of raw oats on the toast.
The process of eating this delicacy will have to be shared in another entry... As it requires greater and different diciplines...

hard at work

today at work... i did important things...

New Bike Plans

I had little time to experience any sort of afterglow since completing my ride in November. Losing Laura is too difficult and personal to fully express. I'm still trying to sort out my emotions.

I've got two trips planned... the first will be a short one week trip from D.C. to Pittsburg. I will ride this with Chris the week after Memorial day.

I am in the planning stages of a ride from Juneau Alaska to Washington, D.C. -- probably in the summer of 2009.

I've given up some of my conditioning since November... I've regained most of the weight that I lost on my ride. Hell... who didn't see that happening?

more pee-your-pants excitement to come... stay posted... don't blink!