Yipee Truckee

It's getting pretty ridiculous moving every few years. My CHANGE OF ADDRESS forms are stacking up and I have to rack my brain every time I fill out "mailing address" vs "shipping address" vs "billing address". But the really cool thing is exploring new areas and shit. Around here there is literally a limitless shitload of stuff to explore There is everything outdoors within an hour of here. I'm already extremely aware that Reno blows, but just west of town the world changes. My current Recluse World Headquarters is in Verdi, which is still inside Nevada barely, and it's the beginning of everything wonderful. Today I woke up early around 11 am and headed west to Truckee for a mellow spin around Donner Lake up Donner Pass Road along Donner Pass Road towards Donner Summit. What a fucking gorgeous, classic, postcard perfect road bike ride. Of course I turned around about 50 feet up the big climb and stuck to the flats. The new joint is feeling way better, but why crack a real sweat this summer. I'm looking to take it slow then taper off a bit. The weather was hot and perfect, and I poked around town afterwards. Then I went for a long walk on the beach...down along the Truckee River. More like a short stroll while high on some remaining percocets. Already love that river. It's perfect for everything from white-trash booze cruizing to world-class flyfishing. As the day draws to a close, and before I get ready to hunker down to The Artist in my tiny home, I sit here in the RV park's welcoming center finishing up some internetting and watching Joe Dirt. For tomorrow I begin chapter 3,753 in my autobiography. I'm already stressing about what to wear.

first Reno impressions

Wow. People live like this? En mass? Reno is a city in contrast. It contrasts completely to anywhere I have ever even thought of living. EVER. Please, nobody tell my parents that I'm living here. I'll end up becoming the victim of an intervention and hauled off to rehab somewhere nicer like Yakima Washington. There's the usual expected skanky whores, crappy tribal tattoos, terrible casinos, and shitty Nevada lifestyle. There's entire stores around here devoted to Burning Man so you don't have to be creative anymore and you can just consume shit. So far, the only people smiling are the baristas at Starfucks, but they're so jacked up they don't know where the fuck they're stuck. Every neighborhood seems like it needs heavy bars covering the windows and guns constantly pointed outward just to answer the door. But I've found 1 pocket of non-sketch and I'm gonna try to find a room for rent inside that area. Also on the plus side, there's a college here and they have some decent sports. So it'll be fun to attend some events that I could really care less about. There's also a nice little river walk along the Truckee River in between the giant casinos. Might be fun but I'll not be happy when I get mugged. Reno seems pro-bicycle. There's lots of other fags in spandex littering the roads and they have lots of paint on the road designating where I'll most likely get run over and killed. Truckee is just up the hill and only a half hour away. Lots of white people with dreads up there. Cute sporty chicks, too. I sat at the DMV in Truckee for about 4 hours yesterday and wandered the neighborhood. It seems like a decent area for adventure so I'd assume I'll use it as home base for exploring Tahoe. I'm sure I've forgotten something that's really shitty about Reno, but I've got plenty of time to complain over the next several months or years.

hey bud, let's party

The Jeff Wirtanen International Cavalcade of Broken Bones & Amazing Life Choices continues to chug along at breakneck speed. Speaking of speed, it's just arrived full of hope and joy in sweaty old Reno Nevada, where METH is king. I've landed at the Gold Ranch Casino and RV Resort and I'm actually kinda fucking stoked. It's quiet, clean, and has a casino connected. I got drink credits so I'm up already. I can feel the luck. Also, there's a cement landing pad which means less dust and I get to plug the Boler in for fan use. It's hot as balls here. I've been hauling that fucking thing around and was wondering if I was just gonna throw it away at some rest stop along the way. Anyway, I'm doing laundry then gonna get a shitty steak dinner.

campground overload

Pre bean bomb.

Mid Summer Training Camp

I live a relatively simple life. I don't require very much to lead a happy life. Just a bit of sports and the occasional rubbing up against a female. As the cliche goes...it's all about wanting what you have. Now that I can walk without a major limp, swim laps, ride bikes, and hike I am truly living the dream. To top it all off I moved out of my noisy fucking apartment and I'm camping in a free site along a little creek for a few weeks. It's 9 minutes stoplight free to the center of town and the Starbucks. The day usually starts leisurely around 9am. Why get up any earlier. I slowly lay in bed and start the actual process of leaving bed. I'll load the car withe all the shit I'll need for the day to limit my trip back to the camper. The first stop is Starbucks and catching up on the innerwebs. I'm That Guy nerding out in the corner. Then I'll head over to the gym for some physical therapy work. My hip replacement surgery was barely 2 months ago and we've got a lot of kinks to work out. It's painful as fuck still but it's just a grin-and-bear-it kinda thing. The more I do now the better off I'll be come surf season. After an hour plus at the gym, I'll stuff my face with some foods. Got fuel up for the afternoon double or triple. After lunch I'll try to stall for a while to let the food digest and get some energy built up. Because that's when I'll get on the bike and spin the legs. Not much power power on the left side, but it's coming back slowly but surely. It feels great to climb long mellow grades, but feels like shit to descend. All the rattling and out of the saddle crap ain't good. Just trying to stay upright and keep the wheels on the downside. Nothing to prove. If I have enough energy after all this, I'll head back to the gym for a mellow 1000 yard swim to loosen up the back and arms. I'm still working out the scar tissue from 2011's shoulder surgery and it feels incredible to get a good pull in the pool. By the time 6 or 7 pm rolls around I stop by one of the restaurants and get some To-Go food and take it back to camp for sunset. I'll sit by the creek and cram more food in my piehole before settling in for a good night sleep. I seriously have a smile on my face as I lay in bed reading in silence before sleeping in silence then waking up whenever I want to silence. I love being a hermit.

1975 Boler Special Edition

The end is near. The End Of The World isn't far away. Come this December we'll all be looking for someplace to live. I've got it all figured out. I scored a tiny home. And it's mobile if there's any gas left. I'm gonna stuff this thing full of bike gear, food, books, propane, solar panels, an iPod, and water. And surfboards. That's all I need. I'll need some wax, too. But that's all I need.

the big push

The last couple months have been crammed full of highs and lows. When I saw highs, I really mean lows. But when I say lows, I really mean really fucking low lows. I fucked up and waited too damm long to have my artificial hip redone. In my case, ignoring a bunch of everyday pain for so long was a bad choice. The result was the addition of a fist sized bone graft in my hip socket thanks to a cadaver. Think of it all as a sandwich top to bottom...my hip/bonegraft/new titanium hip socket and screws/new thin plastic liner/new ceramic ball/old spike down center of femur/femur. Good times. The healing process flat out sucked. Lots of bullshit physical therapy getting me nowhere except deeper inside the pain cave. Everyday, everything was painful. Usually I just fight through the pain and build some muscle, and maybe stretch a little and things start feeling better eventually. Eventually took 2 months. And that's today. But 2 months is just too long with out much adventure. I'm over IT. Time for change... Step 1....Last week I scored a 1975 Boler Special Edition, or The Escape Pod as we like to call it. I'm gonna camp for a few weeks. And ride my bicycle alot. Step 2...got a new jobby job in Reno, Nevada, so I'm moving there and starting August 20th. Stoked. 5 hours away from surfing on weekends. A foot in the door towards a return to Santa Barbara. Step 3...focus on ME, and fuck everybody else. Gonna get all jocked out and strong for a while. Need to get everything powerful just in case I feel the need to shred Tahoe this winter. Working hard now. Getting strong now.

levitated cock

People in Los Angeles have got to be the most stupid fucking people ever. Only in a fucking shithole like LA would some assclown drag a $10,000,000 rock from Riverside and it then be considered incredible mindblowing "art". Rocks sitting on I-Beams are not art. "cool, look a rock" was heard repeatedly on opening night. Have they never seen nature? Ten million dollars for a rock while there's something like over 15% unemployment. There is one stoked rock salesman somewhere on a rad vacation. Please tell me that none of my personal tax dollars went towards this bullshit. Fuck! I need to live off the grid in a treehouse or renovated school bus.

the rebuild

Bigger. Faster. Stronger.

left hip zipper

Not much blog posting these last 3 weeks due to simply hating life. Not much time for anything other than sleeping, napping, pill popping, bandage changing, sweating, watching endless hours of mind-numbing tv, moaning through extreme stomach bloating issues caused by drug enduced constipation, and yelling at new roommates who bring the party home at 3am. I never realized how much shitty stuff is on TV these days. But it looks like I'm halfway through the worst 6 weeks, and I think I've turned the corner on pain and suffering. Looking forward to PT and getting back on the bike soon.

A brief study of the visiting area

As I lay in bed resting and recovering, a bunch of random friends come visit. In my visiting area, I've got the Portland Trailblazer Lazy Boy. I just can't get rid of that thing. I think Blazer Fans, James an Andy come visit me just to see the chair. My oldest bro, Jimmy, got "laid off" in Porkland so he flew over and might end up moving here since he's gotten a few killer job offers already.

minor update

Back again. I'm able to sit up in bed and shuffle around my house under my own power. I have about a 40 foot range before the cold sweats and hot-face begins. Sleep was better last night. I must've gotten a couple 2-hours stretches of uninterrupted sleep. I'm on a bunch of meds so the pooping is nearly non-existent. Meds tend to do that.