new orleans part 2

been pretty busy lately but here are some photos to catch up on my doings.

the next day after getting here our friends PTW were playing in town so we went and hung out with them.

phil with the worlds biggest can of bud (he wishes).

brad in his knickerbockers...

...and cleaning out his belly button before the show. super shitty, i back it.

thats them on stage, i promise. i just hate being that dude taking pics at a show so i opted for no flash.

the crowd was lame but they played well regardless. i was into it.

after the show we went into the french quarter and ate at this place.

i had an alligator po'boy. for those that dont know what a po'boy is, i didn't, it is a traditional submarine sandwhich from louisiana. it pretty much always consists of meat or seafood, which is usually fried, and is served on a baguette-like french bread which is what differentiates a po'boy from a sub or grinder. louisiana french bread has a flaky crust and a soft, airy center. alligator was pretty tasty. abit salty tho. i ate half and traded rod for half of his shrimp po'boy. a whole one would've been too much.

the next night we stayed at the royal street courtyard bed and breakfast. this house was built in 1859. probably the oldest building i've ever slept in.

the bathroom had elevated floors. probably for pipes.

this building was the slave quarters back in the day. now its rooms 13 and 14.

outdoor hot tub = cesspool of bacteria.

interesting little tid-bit we picked up on while staying at this bed and breakfast, apparently they use a plant called chicory out here to add to coffee. some drink it instead of coffee. new orleans locals claim that this plant has many advantages over coffee. it is used to treat many ailments and is not caffeinated. i personally like the caffeine in coffee, and the taste, so i won't be switching anytime soon. that and i've also had my share of experiences with boiling plants and ending up at the hospital hallucinating for 2 days so no thanks. nonetheless its still interesting so i urge you to read up on it.

shellby's house aka where we're staying. thank you shellby.

where i sleep.

biscuits and gravy from envie. they have great coffee and also brew chicory.

jambalaya, mustard greens and corn bread. mmmmm.....

mardi gras bike. sweet frame tho.

lots of long necks out here.

so many people get there front wheels stolen out here. lock'em up too.

thats all for now. more to come.

ride on!

the bayou

rolled into new orleans yesterday. left at 6:30 am. drove all the way. got in at 6:30 pm central time. not bad i guess. had to pee alot on account of the 16 cups of coffee i had.

florida is a boring ass state to drive thru. this is pretty much it. zzzzzzz....

so we skip right to our destination.

this was our exit...

...and we were immediately in ghetto-like surroundings.

this corner was bumping. i like the dude sitting on the public phone. priceless.

Lil' Wayne performed here in november. i guess he shut the place down.

they have trollies here. 

we'll be here for 2 weeks so theres definitely more to come. can't wait to do some riding in the big easy. stay tuned.

poor kitty

while out riding this past sunday i came across this unfortunate kitten on a street in north beach:

as if losing all it's nine lives by getting run over by a car is not enough, the point of collision had to be on this kitten's face. check it:

gnarly huh? not much else i can say except, please, please, be careful out there when you drive. pay attention and try not to run over any cats, dogs or any other animals, for that matter, including humans. and especially humans on bikes.

be safe.

and ride on!!

ketchup!!

ok, this is me apologizing for slacking on updating this blog. what can i say...i've been lazy, i guess. anyway, i plan on filling you in with the goings ons so lets begin then...

last sunday's ride took us to key biscayne. we planned on riding the metrorail to vizcaya but this really annoying guy got on who started playing the worst spanish music on his shitty phone and was talking to his friend about the night he had spent drinking big glasses of "whikee" (as if anybody really gave a shit. quick side-note: i happen to find exceptionally astonishing how most people in south florida, when in public, think that other people within ear range want to a) listen to the same whack-ass music they listen to, and b) listen to whatever bullshit topic of conversation they decide to engage in with their companion at a level of volume that is offense and contributes to the already massive noise pollution that surrounds any major city. end side-note) and the train shitting down at government center forced us to ride from there to key biscayne. all in all it was a pretty sweet ride totaling up to about 25 miles all together. here are some pics:

yeah so i took photography in high school and think im some sort of amateur photog...so what?

pretty wide bike lane, beautiful scenery, access to the ocean...key biscayne gets a thumbs up.

what wasn't so thumbs up was the ride i did afterwards from there to hollywood. to be honest it would've not been as bad if it wasn't for the heat. we're talking afternoon sun, son! brutal! otherwise it was pretty legit. 30 or so miles mostly on biscayne blvd all the way. being that it was sunday wasn't so bad either. i'm sure any other day it would've blown due to the idiotic flow of traffic but surprisingly enough i didn't once fear for my life. by the time i reached hollywood blvd it started raining and let me tell you...what a blessing that was. atleast up until what was a light rain turned into a thunderstorm and the drops were hitting so fast and hard that my eyeballs felt like they were being pelted by tiny arrows. not good so i took shelter for abit then finished at sheridan and 43rd. i was pooped. no pics of that ride. i just wanted to get it done.

this past friday we rode from hollywood to hollywood beach to downtown ft. lauderdale and back. abit over 30 miles in total. not a bad ride. seemed like we were gonna get some rain at the end there but it passed us over as if we were a 70 year old stripper. downtown ft. laudy was bumping (i guess as usual for a friday night) and so at first i was not into being there in that mass commotion of frat dudes and club chicks, all trying to only get laid, daunted in their goin-out clothes and fragrances. but, after some convincing from 2 sweet ladies i had the pleasure of riding with that night, i made the most of it and after my first shirley temple i was loose as a goose. however i will say that long bike rides and mexican food followed by an iced coffee is not the best combo in the world. i thought i was gonna have to clean vomit off my handle bars or feces off my crank later on that night for a second there. whoooo....that was a close one.

no pics from this ride as i am still a novice at all this blogging and forgot my camera. bummer.

i didn't forget my camera yesterday on our sunday ride from vizcaya station to north beach (normandie and 71st). so here we go:

peep the earrings. Die Slow! so heavy.

photo class baby!

a very delicious snack...get into it!

our destination

photo skills, son!!!

taken while riding without looking. what, what!!

after i ride i like to sit in a stinky, dirty chair someone threw away and reflect.

i don't know this guys name but lets call him hobobob. we met him outside of publix. he wanted 3 things...beer, patti's Bad Brains t-shirt and my bandana.

he said he was punk and to prove it showed us he was wearing "old skool" vans. he kept trying to sing Bad Brains, Minor Threat and Dead Kennedys songs for us, which he did but would forget lyrics and mouthed instrument parts instead. he also gave us the horns with both his hands several times but could only extend his index finger on his left hand cos he was holding his change. he then proceeded to tell us he had followed Phish around the country for awhile and we said he wasn't punk but a hippie, to which his response was to show us his Butthole Surfers tattoo on his back. i still say hippie but whatevs...hobobob's a funny dude.

this morning i woke up at 7:30 am to catch an 8 am ride with my friend john. he's a real experienced rider and i must admit i was abit intimidated at first cos i wasn't sure if i was going to be able to keep up on my fixed. once i saw that i was able to (im sure he took it easy on me) the ride became much more enjoyable. we rode from hollywood to ft. lauderdale beach and back. it was a sweet ride. i must remember a few roads we took cos they were really nice to ride on, especially along the airport. no pics of this ride either. it was a fast-paced ride and i figured i wasn't gonna slow us down anymore than i had to. about 27 miles in total. not bad for a couple of hours on a monday morning.

well thats it for now, players. hope you enjoyed my ranting and chatter. more to come as it unfolds.

as always...ride on!

4th of july...fuck fireworks!

here are some pics from lastnite's independence day bbq at the rushka's. if your expecting to see some pics of fireworks you've come to the wrong blog. sorry, i happen to think its boring. i used to hate it when i was a kid and my parents wanted to take me to watch the fireworks at a park or whatever. they seemed to be excited by them so i never had the heart to tell them but i figured they would've guessed it by the shitty expression on my face. i guess i've just always had shit face. sweet...

what bbq would be complete without hot dogs?

the "man" always barbeques.

view from the back yard. how serene. minus the mosquitos, of course.

zoe not so pumped on me taking a pic of her.

but way pumped on her beef dog swimming in a sea of ketchup.

this little guy turned 5 the day before so he deserves to have more pics of him. here we go...

happy birthday, nick!

little omar. this kid is pretty hilarious. just look at him.

mmm...paleo diet...arghrrr!!!

before...

...after.

this is just too good not to post.

this beer was pretty tasty...although to mari it tastes like a hot dog. trust me, it doesn't.

hope everyone had a great and safe 4th of july. lets not forget what the true meaning of this celebration is all about. so, like the maxi-pad, stay free!

and of course, as always...ride on!

Summer, summer summertime...

for us south floridians summer signifies lots of rain, the threat of hurricanes and the ever popular humidity at an all time high. but this year i implore you to also please keep in mind the oh so wonderful fruit/plant...the watermelon. delicious and refreshing on a hot summer day, whether outdoors or not, watermelon is the official fruit of the summer. says who? says me thats who. i decree it so!

scientific name citrullus lanatus, originally hails from south africa, although these days china is the world's largest watermelon producer. the vietnamese apparently consume its seeds during the vietnamese new year's holiday Tet. I might also add that smashing watermelons, either with a huge tool or by throwing them against the floor or a wall, is loads of fun. don't believe me? just ask gallagher.

a single watermelon contains about 6% sugar by weight, the rest being mostly water. is also a source of vitamin C and beta carotene. the citrulline, which is an amino acid, that is in watermelon rinds is known as a stimulator of nitric oxide which is thought to relax and expand blood vessels, like viagra, and may even increase the libido. so fellas dont discard those rinds and ladies brew your dudes some tea with watermelon rinds next time your feeling freaky deaky. enjoy!