Cav’lry charge falls short

Hoo-boy. Mark Cavendish was pissed when Andrea Guardini beat him to the line in the last sprinters’ stage of this year’s Giro d’Italia.

It was a clean, straight-up ass-whuppin’, though, with nobody on the deck afterward. Guardini was simply faster than Cav’ this time around.

Tomorrow brings a real leg-breaker, 197km from Treviso to Alpe di Pampeago. Don’t look for Cav’ at the front of that one come the finish line, either.

The prez risks contracting Teh Crazy

The prez came to town today to address the U.S. Air Force Academy’s graduates. I hope he was inoculated against Teh Crazy before he left DeeCee to chat up the Blue Zoomies, ’cause Teh Crazy is an epidemic in these parts, along with viral stupidity. All we need is a stupid, crazy president. Oops, wait, too late — that was the last guy.

Meanwhile, and for the permanent record, Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Asshat) is a chickenshit punk who was born in Leavenworth, Kansas, and should be returned there with all speed, to take up residence in the U.S. penitentiary for impersonating a U.S. congressman.

In a sane nation a would-be ward heeler like this numbnuts would be restricted to standing up to his fat ass in a ditch full of raw sewage with a shovel, where his shit-talking would have the audience of inattentive turds that it deserves. Alas, as I have noted before, while most states send their mental defectives to the state hospital, Colorado sends its fuckwits to the U.S. House.

• Late update: And Jesus H. Christ on an armored vehicle, who is handling press relations for Rep. Mike Coffman (R-HAL 2000)? This is what you get when cousins marry, or you elect a middle-school science project to Congress.

Beer me

Yow. Another temperature record today — 90 degrees. I believe that’s three high-temp marks that have fallen this year, and it’s only May, f’chrissakes.

I did a bit of work and then I did a bit of cycling before the mercury rose too far, riding the Pikes Peak Greenway to the north gate of the Air Force Academy and back. Weird winds, coming from every whichaway, but mostly from in front, as per usual.

Back at the ranch, the “lawn” needed mowing. We call it a lawn, because it is (a) mostly green and (2) on the ground, but between you and me it needs more than mowing. And it didn’t even get that today, because I ain’t mowing no lawn in no 90-degree temps, thanks all the same.

Instead, I’m drinking a beer. St. Lupulin from Odell Brewing, to be specific. It’s my new favorite beer, and I recommend it to anyone considering mowing the lawn.

Splish, splash, I’ll be takin’ the cash

Well, shit. Some crazy bastard tried to rob my favorite grog shop last night.

Dude pops in, squirts a clerk and a customer with lighter fluid and demands cash. Clerk says something along the lines of “Kiss my ass,” the bandit tries to come around the counter, and another clerk produces a baseball bat. Exit bandit, stage left.

It was the second attempt in less than 24 hours at robbery by flamethrower, too. Dude actually got money from a hotel clerk the first time around. Grog-shop clerks must be made of sterner stuff.

And times must be harder than I thought. It’s usually all knives and guns around here. Hell of a note when the bandits have to retire their PPKs and go all BBQ on a citizen.

Words to live by

Garden of the Gods
The Garden of the Gods makes a fine backdrop to any kind of bike ride.

I took five from chores yesterday to drag the Voodoo Nakisi around the west side of town.

The route I chose is one reason why a cyclo-cross bike — or better yet, a MonsterCrosser® like the Nakisi — is the ideal Bibleburg bicycle. I headed south on the creekside bike path and then west under I-25 to Bear Creek Regional Park, where I picked up a short bit of single-track before settling down to a nice, steady, pulverized-granite climb to Gold Camp Road.

At Gold Camp you can hang a left and ride all the way to Victor, if that’s your idea of a good time. But I haven’t got the legs for that, and anyway there was a stiff wind out of the south, so I took advantage of it and rolled down 26th Street to Colorado Avenue to pick up 31st Street and another steady wind-assisted climb through the Garden of the Gods.

Herself, Buddy and the iPad
Herself and Buddy, a.k.a. Mister Boo, video-chat via iPad with the kinfolks in Maryland.

After the Garden I hit the Sinton Trail and headed for the Goose Gossage Youth Sports Complex, where I briefly contemplated continuing on to Palmer Park for a little more single-track. But then my tummy alarm went off, and I recalled a bit of leftover steak and potatoes in the ’fridge at home, so off I went.

Herself was having a spot of fun with technology, video-chatting with her mom and a sister in Maryland via FaceTime on the iPad, occasionally taking a break to play Words With Friends with one or the other. I won’t play until someone comes up with a dirty version.

As it turns out I probably should have gone for the extra miles. Today is about 30 degrees cooler than yesterday, and windy, too, with a spot of rain from time to time. And the chores have returned, too, goddamnit (good for 476,209 points in Scrabble).

So that’ll teach me, right? Probably not.