Tension and Release

I have been enjoying the words brought to us by the Human Wrecking Ball over at his place. But lately, there seems to be some tension building around the W.B.. Don't get me wrong. There is always a degree of tension surrounding this character. Not bad tension, just tension. It's like he can't find enough to do in any given day to burn up all the energy inside him. So eventually that energy escapes into the world around him. He was titled the Wrecking Ball for a reason. That dude has killed more bike parts than he ever should have. He's not a big huckstar, flinging his bike off every precipice with reckless abandon. He's not a clumsy oaf, slamming ungraciously into every obstacle. But parts die beneath him. I think that energy of his simply gets absorbed into whatever he touches. He told me once he used to buy drumsticks 20 at a time. Why didn't that surprise me. His energy explodes into his passion, whether his passion can handle it or not.

Lately, he's enjoyed this blog world we're playing within. He reads the passages of our cycling brethren religiously, and pipes in with the same fervor. It's a good blow off valve for him; a good place to release whatever is bringing his internal tea kettle to the whistle point.

If you've ever ridden with W.B., you may have experienced what we call his light switch syndrome. If he's at the front, he's either on or off, like a lightswitch. There's no dimmer on that boy. When he tells his legs its ok to go, the only way to reign them in, is to shut them off completely. It could be that same pressure inside him, driving his efforts, and its too hard to control. Or, maybe he's secretly Steve Austin and has yet to learn to control his bionic parts. Either way, it seems like that same head of steam may be building up in his increasingly frequent calling out of his friends in blogworld. Now, with the responses adding up, I just hope everyone remembers this is all fun and games, and none of it should be taken too seriously, as I know the W.B. doesn't intend it that way.

Now, on to another subject. Liars. For the record, Big Jim Slade is a liar. Not a liar in the evil sense, but a liar in the classic mountain biker sense."Oh, I'm too slow to ride with you guys.", he croons. "Are you sure you don't mind waiting for me?" he whines. "BIG FAT LIAR", I say! Up the first hill of the night, Ice Berg is trying to teach the Newbie a lesson. I'm sitting on, just a little more out of breath than I'd like, when I hear BIG FAT LIAR, back in the back talking to Marcus as if it's nothing. He's back there reciting the Lincoln Address, extoling the virtues of Evangelical Christianity, and pontificating on the whereabouts, both physically and metaphysically, of Osama Bin Laden. We've all experienced it. "I'm gonna take it easy today." LIAR. "This is my off week." LIAR. "I have not ridden with you guys in years, so I know there is no way I can keep up." LIAR. But damn, this guy has been out of the loop for years! I never saw it coming! Anyway, its good to have him back. And I assume the multiple emails I received regarding a new light system, means he feels like he's back, too. Welcome back, liar.