even if you are not a pro (and believe me, i am not one...), at least look the part.
as we walked into the water i felt like in that seinfeld episode, when george wanted to save the whale, because he was a "marine biologist...". well, i drank so much ocean water, and got beaten by the waves... it is sooooo hard to surf. kudos for those cool guys who do it daily.
ann and jeff were chillin' on the beach after i drank all the water in the pacific ocean.
well, i am off to a surfing weekend. i do not know what i am getting my self into, as i have never surfed in my life. but all the cool guys do it. so i want to do it also.
that make or break your day. it started badly with rain, and a car problem...
and then, when all seemed to go in the wrong direction, the sun came out, and i could ride again...
then i was invited to jeff's and his girlfriend's house, where i could shower, and leave the water running while i soaped!!! and where i found this trampoline, and discovered my inner child.
more than a week in the same place, and i am itching to go out on the roads again. i think that saturday sounds like a good time to leave. i heard of a race near by, and i will drive there, and maybe even race... meanwhile i am waiting for a new wheel from the trek guys, and maybe some new clothing... there is an open stage jam tomorrow, so i might go play the drums and be the rock star i really am... (ahmm).
it is unusually rainy in bend, oregon, since i got into town... could i have any influence on the weather? i highly doubt it. the dress code around here runs from guys in shorts and t's, to girls in coats and boots. i hope it will all clear up soon, as i am a little tired of the rain.
some stay the same. today is memorial day here in the states, and i went to the local cemetery to pay some respect. being that i am a part of a family who lost a soldier, i felt obliged to do so. cemeteries are a sad place. quiet, and peaceful. i hate cemeteries. the rows of little flags, and the names on the stones were a loud reminder of whats wrong with this world. celebrate the weekend as you please, just remember.
you have so many options as far as what to do... some play knights and shit in the park...
some prefer to go dive, or fish in the lake...
me? i drank 2 and a half glasses of wine, and got a little drunk. and by little, i mean a lot. 2 and a half glasses... how lame is that?
so i've gained a few pounds, and i am not as fast as i was just 2 months ago....
but hey, i am happy, and healty...
scott was very happy to get some vintage eyewear from oakly, so the ride started on a happy note. we were both nailing it on our race ready singlespeeds, and the weather was perfect. so were the trails...
'till we hit a wall of snow.... we had to back track, but the downhill was awesome, with great traction and hundreds of turns.
in the afternoon i was a shuttle driver for greg, jackson and moly, who was ripping it on greg's new bike. it was muddy in the afternoon, so i was happy that i got my ride in the morning.
in order to find a new ring for my old belly button piercing. i had not used it for a while, and wanted to re-open the thing. it was easy peasy, and did not hurt at all.
i must say, some more hair surrounded that area than what i remembered. i must be getting old. oh, and i drank beer!!! and liked it!!? yep, somthing's eating hanoch's grape, alright. (no punn intended, i think...).
the whole day was a "girls day out" (!?), as i spent it with moly and her lady dogs- lulu and spider. this town is starting to grow on me. what will this day bring? stay tuned...
"happy memorial weekend...". i heard it twice today, and then came these cofee stand girls, wearing army themed skimpy little shorts, in celebration (!!?) of memorial day... what the fuck? in israel memorial day is one of the saddest days of the year. in the states its a cause for hot sales, long weekend escapes and skimpy hot girls, in skimpy little shorts. seems strange, in my eyes...
for the first time since my arrival to the states, 2 and a half months ago, its raining.
it seems as though i am the only israeli to have ever been in this town. and i thought we israelis are all over the place. its nice to hear people try to pronounce my name, but they just call me H.
this past week, i have met some real friends on the road. don't get me wrong, i am a friendly person, but i feel that i am, only when i am in my element. well, this trip is my element, and i start a conversation with whoever i meet. somthing has opened... first it was steven and cecilya, and now its jeff, greg and moly.... i am on fire! ha ha... its hard to feel confident at first, but i feel great, cause these people are really interested in my story, and vice versa. friends. at last.
i am getting to know all the nice places in town, and have met some really nice people today on my ride. greg, who manages a bike shop, jeff, who owns a restaurant, and beutiful moly, greg's girlfriend, who works on t.v as a news girl. greg took us on some nice trails...
the trail system in this town is awesome. miles and miles of trails interconnect, and you could go for hours and keep on finding new ones. they are well built, and the traction is great. weather is a bit on the cold side... well, nothing's perfect.
today i got to bend, oregon. its so nice here... a hippi kind of town, with very friendly biking vibe. i parked really close to down town, where all the shops and bars are, and this is my front yard.
its a park right in the middle of town, and i can swim in the river every day, which i will. those little ducklings are my new neighbors. kind of noisy, though...
from sweet water, to salty ones, it had it all.
last pictures for the day. a new one will start, and some new adventures with it.
good night. a great day's night.
and i am not even tired...
this day got my blood pumping.
good thing the water was freezing cold, otherwise i wouldn't have been able to go to sleep. and no, i did not jump naked, even if it looks like i did... shrinkage, you know...
the last days were very hot around here. i am pumped about heading north for some cooler weather. i am just checking the intenet for some good weather, and thats where i will go, i guess.
'been staying with the nicest couple on the planet- cecilya and steven. they are so nice. they hooked me up with a bike for the century ride on saturday, and they are just super friendly. thank you guys so much.
turns out that the century ride was organized by a group called- "the gay coalition"... yep- gay. i was very happy, 'cause i knew that the ride would be very well put together, and that there will be phenomenal finger food (every punn intended...). and so it was.
the more you want. this guy was looking at all that crap for half an hour. he got a sugar rush just by looking at it, so in the midst of all his sugar craving dances, i took this picture. i will show it to my kids one day. beware.
i am still in solvang, and tommorow i am going to ride a century road ride, in the hills. 162 kilometers. it will be awesome, as there will be loads of riders over there. i am going to borrow a bike, 'cause i sent my road bike to israel. hope my knees will like the new bike.
as a climb that had taken me an hour to climb, took me only 16 minutes to go down. now, it does not matter how many gears you have (and i have one), going down the hill that you just worked so hard to climb, is what its all about.
some pictures that were with out any context, so here they are... a nice headset cap.
and the door handle for lance armstrong's house, i guess...
in the mountains that cut through LA. the views of the city are like in the movies, with lines of lights from the valley below, and the faint whisper of the cars engines echoing from the mountain sides...
yes, i am that fast!!
i pull into this small town, on the way from somwhere to wherever, when it strikes me... this looks like europe! to make a short story long (?..!), its name is solvang, and it is a dannish settlement... or so said a guy walking a great dane dog. its very touristy, but in a nice way. all the houses look like they just escaped a van goch painting, or somthing.
i rode up from town to a nice little water fall. it was very relaxing, sitting alone, listening to the water falling from high above, sliding over lush, green leaves...
figures out this town is very big with pro riders coming here to train in the winter time. the cafe i was sitting in is full of pictures of the riders, with the owner, kind of like "avazi" in israel.... how cool is that?
