coffee and friends

so today I really feel like an "ex-cyclist", in fact, I feel kind of like an "ex-human".  i'm sitting here in a "lawn" chair at a swimming meet recovering from a late night christmas party.  i'm not suffering from a hang over or anything like that. i was just out pretty late last night ["pretty late" for an ex-cyclist is about midnight]

funny how context is everything.  when I am on my bike I feel like a bike rider, when i'm running I feel like a runner.... and even when i'm at work I feel like an engineer..... however at this moment I have nothing to identify with.  i'm just a chair sitting pool watching blob.  I can't even claim that am watching a swim event, since my seats are so bad. there are people standing in front of me like i'm not even here. 

so here I sit with the taste of bad coffee still lingering in my mouth, blogging on these tiny keys.  :)

the reason I had to drink bad coffee was because I failed bring my own coffee.  I didn't really "fail" to bring it, it got here. it was just undrinkable when we got here.  ex-cyclist tip number #555: never carry a ceramic coffee mug on the roof of the car in minus one degree weather, it is not the way to go.   I noticed my frozen cup sitting on the top of my parked car, as I walked away.... it was quite impressive to see it still sitting up there on the slanted top, after 40 miles of highway driving.

the party last night was pretty interesting.  I meet up with some old friends and chated about cycling and programming... one of the guys was recently hit by a car while riding home from work.  it was pretty hard to hear his story, not because it was gorry, or tragic or anything.  it was just hard to hear, because I could put myself into his situation very easily. i've been riding to and from work almost everyday for the past few months, and quite a bit the past 6 years before that.  
his accident was the classic car pulling out into the high way not seeing the on-comming cyclist.  It was also dark, but my friend had his head light... but it didn't help. except for a broken back, and some really bad pane my friend is going to be ok.
 
I ride home in the dark all the time, I don't how I have been so lucky but i'm really glad.