Five Unrelated Paragraphs of Varying Interest

Conversation at the Berkeley Bowl Checkout
Cashier: When you peel those Shasta tangerines the smell is really strong.
Me: Really? Like after you eat asparagus?
Cashier: What?
Me: After you eat asparagus your pee smells.
Cashier: Oh, yeah. It totally does. I didn't realize that until somebody pointed it out.
Me: And the tangerines do the same thing?
Cashier: What?
Me: They make your pee smell?
Cashier: I said "peel" not "pee."
Me: Oh, that makes a lot more sense.

I had a pretty good tri-sport three day weekend. I took my bike to the community workshop on Saturday, replaced 4 broken spokes and trued the back wheel, fixing the speed wobble I'd been getting, meaning I can ride no-hands again, meaning air guitar is back, which is awesome. Sunday I took the kayak out and paddled from Berkeley marina under the bay bridge and back. The new spans are bird-free, but dodging the falling bird poop under the old span was quite a challenge. (I promise to take my camera next time--it's really pretty out there, I guess I'm a little scared of taking a spill and killing anything electronic.) Monday I got a good 5.5 hour run/hike in, which I think is pretty much my first long run since late October. I discovered I'd been missing out on half of Sibley park. I thought it was basically linear with just one trail (Skyline) going from end to end, but I was totally wrong, as there's a cool old quarry part of it with gigantic bullfrogs in the ponds and great views down to Highway 24 and east to Diablo. On the way back I did a trail in the south half of Claremont Canyon I've only done once before. It's fun but not necessarily worth it since it's not connected to anything and requires a bunch of road to get there.

Deer Tick is a pretty great band. Sea Wolf's song Middle Distance Runner is fun.

I got a free couch off craigslist today. One out of two of the seats is more comfortable than the floor, so I guess that's a win.

The following is a list of the Hard Rock-qualifying 100-milers, their date, location, application date, and status.
I would gladly run Bighorn in Wyoming, except I'm going to be busy all June with a teaching/faculty-prep course I hope to take. CCC I've done before and don't really want to do again, and Grand Teton is a bunch of loops, so that leaves Plain and Leadville. I'm been over Hope Pass (the killer on the course) on the CDT, and I'm going to Leadville at the end of the month to hang out with hiker trash friends, so maybe I'll be inspired. We'll see.

Comments

  1. Plain is cheaper than Leadville in many respects. Hard to say how what the net opportunity cost of Plain vs. Leadville is, though, when you factor in job-market considerations.

    Gwin Canyon and its connexions rox!!! Bring your tecnu. You can cut off most of the pavement if you are creative. Involves some trep-sassing through EBRPD yards, though.

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  2. i like deer tick. on a side note, the deer tick is the vector for the spirochete bacteria borrelia burgdorferi, or lyme disease. i'm full of trivia.

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  3. I honestly laughed out loud at your grocery store conversation. It reminded me of the time I was in the drug store and the young checkout girl paged a price check on my personal lubricant, then asked me what it was while there was a big lineup behind me. Good times.

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