Damn you, tornadoes!

My friend, Jeff, called me yesterday to talk about moving from California back to Pennsylvania.  The rough idea is that I would meet him out there and we could drive back together.  It would be no straight line shot however and we would probably make a several thousand mile detour up to the Cascades and the Rockies.  It's his car after all...

Since I really need to be saving money for my methadone treatments and my Slurpee addiction, I thought it could be more economical to ride a bike out there instead of flying.  There may have been just enough time to do it between when I would first be able to leave and when Jeff's lease ends.  I even allowed myself to get a little excited about it.  I went so far as to planning a route too.

That's when I noticed my route would unavoidably run through either Kansas or Oklahoma.  My apologies to those who live in Kansas because I'm sure that you love living in your state and I don't mean to offend you, but I have no desire to bike the length of Kansas.  Regardless, I explored a hunch and found out that May is the month with greatest tornado activity in the mid-West.  Incidentally, May was also the month that I was planning to spend riding across the US.

A week ago, I gave no thought to tornadoes.  Now they threaten to destroy the very house I am living in and effectively destroyed my travel plans.  Guess I'll start checking the airlines...

The light somewhere around the tunnel

This is the view that I have been confronted with day in and day out for the past several weeks. While the color palette is fairly non-offensive it is also fairly non-exciting. Quite a bit of my time has been spent remodeling my parents' basement with little time spent out in the sunshine. Not that there's been much of that anyway. The other day I watched a wicked hailstorm with golfball sized stones. Little did I know that elsewhere this same storm was delivering a tornado only a couple of miles away.

I have been able to get out for some short rides here and there either to go to the grocer's or to rent a movie. The bike is still terrific but I know that there will be a bit of a break in period when I start hauling a trailer!

I plan to travel to State College on April fourth and spend a week there finalizing my equipment. No word about finalizing my plans. Ha ha! Then on the eleventh, Eric Durante and I will ride down to Seneca Rocks in WV where I will climb for as long as I can find someone to climb with. Anyone is encouraged to join me there. From there it is anyone's guess as to where I head next.

The price of freedom

Well, I have now been officially homeless and unemployed for four days now. I am getting used to the idea, but I don't think that I can fully appreciate/recognize my situation yet. That will come with time I am sure. Hopefully it doesn't scare me once I do.

My parents have decided to move out of my childhood home of Greensburg, PA and move to Durham, NC. Since I owe it to my parents to help them and have the time to spare, I offered to help them for the month of March to move their belongings and spruce up the old house. Let me just say that it is a cruel trick to play on yourself after you just finished moving and selling your own house! Ha ha!

But all will be well. Right now it the house is a kaleidoscope of boxes and projects and that should quiet down in several days. Then I can hopefully start sneaking out for a run or a ride here and there. And admittedly sooner than I think, all I will be doing is climbing and riding and picking uncooked tortellini out of my teeth. So I cannot complain, can I?