Gorgeous Day for a Ride

Just so we are clear; There is usually a delay of a day or two between when a particular event happens and when I get a chance to write about it. The day of which I speak in the title was actually last Saturday.

I had to get up early because JuniorClimber (who hasn't blogged in over a year) made the high school basketball team and had practice at 8. So I drove him to the practice and returned home and got the road bike down from the hooks in my basement. It has been weeks upon weeks since I last showered the road bike with some love.

I made a multi-leg journey in perfect 'utility' or transportational cycling style. First I rode a couple miles to the local rec center where I attended my Saturday morning spinning class. I know, I know. When ever I ride to spinning I get a few weird looks and comments, but spinning has really helped me maintain my fitness this year, and I know I ride harder in an hour of spinning than I do in any of my normal outdoor rides.

After spinning there was a parents meeting for the basketball team. The high school is pretty close to the rec center, so that ride wasn't far. While I was in the meeting my wife sent me a text asking me to pick up her prescription at the pharmacy. That meant another 8 miles round trip which was just what I needed.

The weather was perfect. High 50's to low 60's with hardly any wind.

I fear we may not see as nice a day for cycling until March or April.

JPod

As a family we went to Disneyland earlier this year. On the second day we spent 3+ hours in line at Space Mountain. The ride itself was excellent. There is something intriguing about riding a roller coaster in the dark, and not just one that is outside at night. In that situation you still have a clear view of what is typically a well lit track traveled by illuminated cars.

Space Mountain is exciting specifically because for most of the ride you can't tell where you are, where you are going or what comes next. Every few seconds there is a dramatic shift in direction or speed or sound.

Reading JPod is exactly like riding a roller coaster in the dark.

JPod is set in the recent past post-Dot Com bubble period at a Canadian software company that produces video games. The title is taken from the name given to a set of cubicles in which, through a quirk of management or HR, all the employees have last names that begin with J. It chronicles the attempts of the staff to cope with dysfunctional management, strange co-workers and their friends and families, and the vagaries of the retail software industry.

However, that plot summary makes the book seem much closer to 'normal' than it really is. In fact, it is more like reading the journals of a group of gen-x developers all of whom have severe nerd attention deficit disorder.

I loved it!

Preference Rating 4.5/5
Audience Rating: Adults Only - profanity, violence (very humorous, but violence nonetheless), adult situations and sexual references