Ninjas and Pirates and Lasers and Shit

Dave the Slave got his new rig. 

It only took 24 years, but he finally got a brand new suit and rig that he designed himself and was fitted specifically for him. I may have mentioned in a previous post, that in his high school days and very early twenties, skydiving was huge part of his life and his passion. (alongside flying) But adulthood, responsibilities, a lack of money, and then a lack of time resulted in him not being a part of that world for the past 18 years.

Not anymore.

He's been jumping again for the past 6 months or so, but Holden and I had to go see him jump again on Friday. Note to skydivers: if you have your loved ones come out to see you, please make sure that you can accurately describe your canopy. Dave did not. It was a near sunset jump, so we were actually able to see them in freefall. And then the chutes started to open...and none of them accurately fit his description. Of course the rational part of my brain knew he must have just described it wrong. But the asshole part of my brain was wondering if I just watched my husband jump out of a plane with a chute that didn't open. Yeah. Dave was very helpful in reminding me later that the he has a doo-hickey in his rig that will open the chute below a certain altitude, and though he may still crash and burn, I would have seen something open, even if it didn't open all the way and he still plunged to his death. 

Thanks, honey.

All kidding aside, I really don't worry about him when he is jumping. But at the same time I realize that I don't particularly care to watch. Call it out of sight out of mind, but it's how I cope with worry-brain. 

Anyways, so much awesomeness coming up you guys! Megacon is in four days!!! I love, love, love that it gets to be such an awesome combo of family geek time (Friday Doctor Who Family Cosplay FTW) and getting our freak on (Cyber-punk Time...once the kid goes to grandma's for the rest of the weekend. Woot!) THEN another Adventure Race the following weekend (crap, I still haven't done a race report from the last one. Suck, I do.) In April, I've got a Horseback Poker Ride to put on at the State Park, the Festivus Crossfit Games, Dave and I are taking a motorcycle trip to North GA, AND my bestie Kelly is coming for a visit. Holy shitsnacks my life rocks!

Regarding the upcoming bike trip, I have not been riding enough. So Dave gave me a pass to disappear yesterday and put on some miles. Which I did. All around awesome person, Liza, joined me for a Hooligan-ish ride around the state yesterday. 

We know why dogs hang their heads out of car windows.

It was a long day, but a great one. Here's a link to the route to our destination, Peck's Restaurant at the end of Ozello Trail. Some folks refer to that road as The Tail of the Grouper. If you've heard of the Tail of the Dragon, you'll get it. We may have gotten a little ambitious in our goals for the day. Here's out route home.  So that's 430 miles for a pastry (Yeah, you read that right. 5 points for me!) at the Yalaha Bakery and shrimp and scallops on the west coast. Totally worth it. 

It never occured to me till just now, but our bikes parked next to each other look an awful lot like when we stand next to each other. Even my bike is an Amazon.

Oh and one more thing!!! The Paleo Challenge is FINISHED on the 16th! YAY! I'm glad we participated in it, and the Whole30. I love that I have broken my addiction to Diet Coke and really gotten a handle on my sweets cravings too. But I am really, really ready to take what I have learned and personalize it a bit. But I've gone on enough for one day so we'll save the introspection and plans for another post.

Stuff and things

Is it just me but does a sign like that make you want to go in there?

Last post was a little heavy, but I'm glad I got that out. For today let's just focus on the crazy-banana-pants-fun-stuff going on lately, shall we?

The Women in the Wind gals (female motorcycle club) had a co-ed overnight ride to St Augustine the weekend before. It was the first time I'd really ridden my bike in a couple of months. Why? Partly because I lost the key when my purse was stolen and it took me months to replace it. No, not because BMW gave me a hard time, but because it's been hot as hell lately and I've not been inspired to ride. I'm a weirdo that actually prefers riding in the colder temps. And more importantly, because I'm bored with my bike. I know, I know....could there be a bigger first world problem?  

Total piece of crap, isn't it?

Don't get me wrong, it's an awesome bike. The best bike, in my opinion, if you like to wick it up in the twisties but still want a Cruiser-style bike. And it's so freaking cool looking. But it's not me anymore. I've fallen in love with the Sport Tourers. I want the agility and speed of a sport bike, but with an upright sitting position, electric windshield, fairings and cruise control. In other words, the ability to really tear it up, safely, in the mountains AND be comfortable and more protected from the elements on the long ride there from Florida. 

Anyway, back to St Augustine... this happened.

That shirt reminds me so much of the stuff sold on the Jersey Shore in the 80s. Pose is meant to be ironic, just for the record.

After an evening of fun, there may have been alcohol involved for the record, I suggested we climb down into the (dry) moat around the Fort and make big shadows on the wall in the shape of WITW. For some reason, one or two in the group though climbing down the 8 foot wall might not be the wisest idea in our condition. Buzz-kills. Dave suggested instead that we stand on the edge and the back-light would make a cool pic.

He was right.

The whole weekend was good fun, but it did finally solidify my desire to sell my bike and try to find a used RT or FJR in my price range. That said, cross your fingers denizens of the interwebs, we should be delivering Blue to her new owner tomorrow morning. I've already got a whole list of potential bikes saved on Cycle Trader. Mua-hahahahahha

This one is probably going to be it, if my old man will front me the difference between Blue and it.

In other news, Dave's skydiving again.

Seriously, could he be any more awesome?

He did a couple of hundred jumps in his high-school and college days; but flying, wrenching, life and logistics...oh yeah, and money (or lack there of) got in the way. He's sacrificed for years to always keep me in horses and as a result has put his own passions on the back burner. Thankfully, though we are at point in our lives where he is ready to be a little more aggressive regarding his needs/wants (a GOOD thing, trust me) and I think I've grown-up enough to sacrifice some of my own, if it makes him happy. 

And it does. I know it sounds trite, but there really is no better realization of how much you love someone as when you realize that them being fulfilled and truly happy makes you feel the same. 

In closing ladies and germs, lest I complete a post without some sort of reference to food and fitness. I made this:

Gross, but yummy. This is getting to be a trend with me.

It's a Meatza. A meat-topped pizza with a ground-beef crust, instead of pizza dough. It looks so wrong, but it tastes so right. Definitely for those wacky Paleos and Primals amongst us.

And on the fitness end of things, I'm in the middle of a free week trial at an actual Crossfit Box. Full Gorilla Fitness, the beginner-Crossfit-in-the-park-program, we were doing over the summer are on hiatus until who knows when due to the trainers being too busy with their full-time jobs. Something about needing to concentrate on educating our youth and taking care of their own families. Whatever. That said, I am really digging Treasure Coast Crossfit and will most likely be joining. More on my experiences there coming up soon.

Till then, keep the shiny side up!