Ryder is 2!

It seems like just yesterday I was three-quarters through a bottle of wine and working on bikes in my plush Raven Way garage when Denise waddled in and misdiagnosed her water breaking as an uncontrollable pregnant-pressured bladder. Destiny told me to skip my ride that evening and spend some time working on, a bottle of wine, and badly neglected bikes. I was numbly on my way to finishing both jobs when I stopped to mop up the garage floor, pack an overnight bag and drive my contracting wife to Redlands Community Hospital: a drive that she chauffeured on many occasions due to my string of random injuries, aliments and surgeries. Even pickled, I was familiar with the drive from our Grand Terrace home to the hospital.

Back labor forced Denise to stand on the cold delivery room floor through her painful contractions, and me to serve as her pillar. (Note: the one and only time I’ll refer to myself as a pillar). Eventually all that standing, all that heavy breathing and all those massive contractions gave way to all that wine and all that void of dinner in my stomach. Spotting a potential embarrassing moment that I’d never live down (interesting fact - woman faint, men pass out), soon-to-be Grandma Suzie assumed the pillar position while soon-to-be Grandma Cindy assumed that a Del Taco combo burrito would get me through the rest of the birthing. Sure as the sun rises, the from-concentrate beans and oatmeal meat gave me the strength and nourishment to see Ryder born (viewed from the dry end of the bed) as the sun rose on April 21, 2005. Including everyone in the delivery room like Denise, our family, the doctor, the nurses and of course, Ryder, I owe those precious moments to Dan. I think I may have just figured out Ryder’s strong obsession for beans.

Great Grandma Joyce holds the birthday boy. Mint chocolate chip birthday cake, cheese cake or beans? “Yes please,” says Ryder. He loves his sweets and his beans equally.


From the left - Evan, Ryder, James, Brandon & little Destry kick it backyard style.



Attached in the email reminding me that he’ll be in the states on Monday, my good Czech friend, Robert, sent some photos of his new custom painted Prodoli road bike. Apparently decades of communists oppression helped produce a storm of custom-painted creativity. Czech out the detail to the water bottle cages, seat tube & top tube. It’s like a Trek Project One. I call it a Commie One. Anyway, the bike looks as fast as a Russian Mig.

The only thing this bike is missing is this.