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Tomorrow night Suzy & are having an opening for their art at Empire Coffee. Suzy asked me to play some music. I’ve been billed on Facebook as “furious”, and on the night’s flier as “the greatest bareback rider of all time”. I’m kind of nervous.

So I’ve been playing through lots of my own songs and a few covers, trying to figure out what I want to share, trying to figure out what I want to sound like. I play for an audience so very rarely, it’s not something that feels very natural or comfortable for me. I know that being on some kind of stage, real or just symbolic, really messes with me. I get nervous, clammy, forgetful, mumblesome. This wasn’t an issue a few years ago, but now it’s a seemingly incurable malady.

I’d like to blame my nerves on the changing nature of the music I’ve been writing, but I know it’s probably just because I’m out of practice and insecure.

Anyway, here’s a cover I recorded today. It is ‘Up The Wolves’ from The Mountain Goats’ album The Sunset Tree. This album has been sounding really great to me this past week, so I recommend it furiously if you haven’t heard it yet.

Download Up The Wolves

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The past two Sundays I raced with Team Paul in Folsom and Sacramento, both times in the singlespeed category.

I did about as well as I expected in Folsom, just barely keeping up and only crashing once (dismounting in front of the very first barrier, of course). Lau also raced SS, instead of the B Masters category, and it was really encouraging to make my way around the course just in front of him or on his rear wheel. I ended up taking 7th place and Lau took 8th, owing to one of his brake levers slipping loose and grabbing his rim on the second to last lap.

Last Sunday’s race was at Disco Park in Sac., and was put on by Sacramento Cyclocross. The course was really flat and grass, featuring only one set of barriers and no runups. Of course I managed to crash again, I was coasting in to the corner on one pedal, ready to dismount, when I decided to burn off some speed and grabbed a handful of front brake. Ass over elbows.

(Photo by Jeff.)

I’m not really sure how it happened, but after 45 minutes and I don’t know how many laps, I came in 4th place. Team Paul had a pretty good showing with Paul, Lau, Jeff, Scott and myself racing. Scott and Jeff were racing B Masters, and put on a good show.

Jeff’s set up a Flickr group for Team Paul race photos, so I’ve dumped the rest of my shots from the past two races there.

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Tomorrow is Saturday, & I relish my Saturdays. Next to my bed I’ve placed a list for tomorrow’s morning. it reads as follows:

In addition, there are some other things I’d like to do this weekend.

I’ve borrowed the fancy DSLR from work and hope to take as many photos with it as I can between now and Monday. I also hope to take some more polaroids.

I’m giving one of my bike to my brother, and I need to nail down what work needs to be done to it before I can send it off. I know the rear wheel needs to be brought into line every so slightly, but I’m sure there’s other things that wouldn’t hurt to fix.

On Sunday there’s a CX race in Folsom that I’m heading down to with two other members of “Team” Paul. It’s going to be my fourth race, and looks to be the largest and most legit thus far. I am very excited/intimidated. I hope I don’t fall over too embarassingly.

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Galland Halloween Cyclocross cross 2009

Last Sunday first CX race, and first time cross dressing. There’s a second or two of me exhausted out of my mind around 3:35. I’m the one in the yellow tank top with the tan skirt, striped socks, and shit-eating grin.

The first lap was terrible fun. I thought if I just held onto the rear wheel in front of me I’d probably be alright, and maybe I could pass some people. The third lap felt like I’d made a huge mistake. I thought if I just sat down and put my head between my knees I wouldn’t pass out, and maybe I wouldn’t vomit. The 4th and 5th lap actually felt alright. Then the 6th lap was finished and it was over. So soon?

I finished somewhere between 2nd and 4th from dead fucking last, which I consider quite a success. The Raleigh rode great for its inaugural ‘cross ride, and the wheels I finished building the night before didn’t explode underneath me. One issue was my gearing though. 46t in the front and 18t in the back is fine for riding around town, but is insufferable on the dirt and damn near impossible on run-ups. I guess that’s why they call them run-ups.

There’s a “TEAM” Paul meeting tomorrow. We’ll be discussing strategies for the rest of the season, and which races we’re going to be heading out to. My main strategy is to swap out to a more reasonable gearing, maybe something like 39tx16t.

Also, Xue’s coming to visit tomorrow. Whoah.

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The British Psychological Society asked world’s leading psychologists to reveal one nagging thing they still don’t understand about themselves. Their answers (in 150 words or less) are a lot of fun to read.
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Norbert Schwarz says incidental feelings still affect him, even though he is aware of them. “Some 25 years ago Jerry Clore and I studied how gloomy weather makes one’s whole life look bad — unless one becomes aware of the weather and attributes one’s gloomy mood to the gloomy sky, which eliminates the influence. You’d think I learned that lesson and now know how to deal with gloomy skies. I don’t, they still get me.”

One nagging thing you still don’t understand about yourself
(Via Boing Boing)

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This seatcam video is pretty rad, me thinks.

Catamount Cyclocross Day 2 Lap 1 from colin reuter on Vimeo.

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Pat’s band was playing at a bluegrass festival today, so I covered for him at Pullins, working alongside Mica and Dan. The day wasn’t super busy, but I was surprised by how tired I was by closing. After flipping the open signs around I worked on my new rear wheel for a little while, finishing it all but for the rim tape. The front hub should come back from anodization on Wednesday. Next friday there’s a “TEAM” Paul meeting, and our first race may be that Sunday.

After work I rode over to the library and met up with a classmate from my machine design class. Right now we’re working on turning our concepts into a materials cut list. This means we need to figure out exactly how the parts of our machine will fit together, and are deciding the parameters that will define it’s framing. We ran into a couple pretty critical problems, and I felt like I spent most of the two and a half hours beating my head against a wall. We came up with some elegant solutions as well though, but I had let myself get tired and hungry and cranky. We called it quits before 9 and I decompressed over the phone to Xue as I walked to get some Pizza.

Two slices and a root beer. They were playing the Pixies when I got there, and Dig for Fire and the food made me feel really energetic and motivated. I think talking to Xue helped too. I left, heading back towards the library, with the intent of killing some chemistry homework. Of course the library isn’t open Saturday nights though. Nobody does homework on Saturday when they can do it Sunday, right?

Feeling a little useless, I came home and tried to play video games, but it only made me anxious, so I quit.

Then I recorded a cover of Islands’ Tender Torture. Have a listen?

Tender Torture.mp3

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I sent Xue a Polaroid camera in the mail with a handful of film, and she found it when she came home from work tonight.

I also got some film for myself. Pic related.

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The air is finally starting to cool in Chico. This morning I had to wear a sweatshirt on my ride to class. I’ve though it was finally October for about the past week, and the calendar has just now caught up with me.

I’m really excited for this month, and this season, and the end of this year.

Xue’s coming to visit in just a few weeks, I don’t really think I can contain my excitement. I try to keep it tempered, but not too hard. Anybody who I’ve talked to about it knows I’m just going nuts. !!!

The local ‘cross season is also starting this month. I’m going to be racing with Team Paul for my first season. Not really sure what to expect, besides hurt and cold and tired sensations, and knobby tires. I’ve been riding my single speed Raleigh everyday, trying to make it the second most familiar thing between my legs. I’ll be lacing up a new wheelset for it in the next week or so, built on High Flange hubs and Delgado Cross rims.

This November will mark having worked for Paul for a year straight, which makes me happy. I feel like I fit really well there, it’s probably one of the best jobs I’ve had.

In January I’d like to head East to see some family & get some snow.

And before we know it, it’ll be 2010 and we’ll all have futurepacks and jetguns.

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It’s way too late, and I have homework that I need to do for class tomorrow, but I almost have an excuse. Tonight I put the finishing touches on a little gift and wrapped it all up to mail out tomorrow.

A little late night arts & crafts is okay from time to time, but one mustn’t make a habit of it.

Halfway through the evening I was confronted with this little alien, who somehow found its way into my home.

I placed it under a glass and watched it pace for a few minutes, before it settled into a shifting three-legged pose.

I tried to feed it a little bit of a medjool date, but it wouldn’t even look at it so I let it go outside.

Now I really need to start my homework. Good morning all.

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