Im no fibber, and when I stopped by Manifesto Bicycles on Saturday to fetch my paintings, Sam presented me with an item of such magnificence, that I dropped a spectacularly colored deuce right then and there.

A unicorn stencil?
Im gonna be bombing like crazy with this thing.

Riding was a bit of a bust over the weekend. Friendly Paul and I had made tentative plans for him to throw on his $75.00 boots and come meet me for a spin, but the weather was so unrelenting that we called it until a later date. Of course Sunday saw a big cross throw down in San Francisco, but driving there would have kind of contradicted my 'Ill only do the races I can ride to' rule, so I just did a local mash with the kids, and that suited me just fine.

Shortly after I snapped this shot however, I got swarmed by one of the angriest group of Yellow Jackets Ive ever had the displeasure to encounter. I initially made it away with only one sting, but they ended up with possession of my bike, and that just wasnt going to do, so I put my head down and charged, snapping up my bike and putting every cross skill I have to the test as I bounded along off the camber single track, while hop-scotching through a mine field of slippery and potentially deadly wet roots. Finally, well away from the hive I remounted, getting a couple more stings. Again, I dismounted, running up a hill and returning to the fire road, where I glanced down and saw at least 15 of those little bastards clinging onto my shorts.
Thank God for the awesomeness of Ben Davis cut offs.
I swatted all of them away, and as I was nearing my compatriots, I got another sting under my back pack. Laughing maniacally as I rode past my friends, jettisoning anything that wasnt attached to my person, thereby ridding myself of any final hiding places, I was able to finally come to a rest and take inventory of the damage that they had exacted.

Yellow Jackets-5 (or 6 or 7 or maybe 8..), me-0, and however many I killed as I rode swatting, and flailing my arms like an epileptic speed freak..

I cut my losses and returned home to pound some Benadryl, as Yafro, Devon, and Demonika pedaled away into the damp Redwoods.

Now, back to $75.00 boots for a second. Id like to mention that I wore my BOSS boots out on Saturday, and low and behold, not only are those are American made as well, but only cost $17.00.

Another Homie Fall Fest has come and gone and in my absence, my heart ached like crazy. I did the smart thing and unplugged my telephone, but did the dumb thing and forgot to turn my generally neglected and stored-in-a-drawer cell phone off which went off like an air raid siren at 4:00 on Sunday morning.
It was GenO calling to tell me that "(he) just made it out by the hair of his chinny chin chin, that hed taken three pictures and promptly lost his camera, that B-Rad and Karna were somewhere spooning by a fire, and that his vest and jumpsuit were intact."

Im not surprised by any of that, and all we can do is wait for someone to forward on photographic evidence of the train wreck that was.
Until that time however, I suppose we could all review what happened last year, or even if you wish, the year before.. I suspect that it probably kinda went down like that.

Lucky for all of us though, I was leaked a single spy photo before anyone else;

Here Gene and Hurl are wondering where it all went wrong.

On a whim I was checking flights on Friday afternoon, but I couldnt find nothin' for under five bills.
Plus I gotta save what little scratch I have. The drugs arent gonna buy themselves..

After the recent windfall of race flyers that have been posted, a trickle of reports has begun to creep in, the first being from Dave;

"Hey All,
I just wanted to drop you a note and let you know that my Mission Path Race alleycross last Saturday the 25th was a roaring success. Thirty-three racers finished and everybody had a really good time. The guy who had the best time is and old school courier by the name of Grey Wedeking. First Woman was world champion bike messenger Sarah Torgrimson. Of note is that the first four finishers were on track bikes and that none of them did the checkpoints in what seemed to be in the obvious order. Fast is Fast! The afterparty was also a success with a healthy crowd in attendance to enjoy free beer and snacks and see the awards ceremony. Grey was super stoked to learn that he had won a free frame from Mission Bicycles and everybody won something thanks to your generosity. Some of the fastest and best bike handlers in San Francisco are out there repping your brand right now, thanks a ton!
If you have a moment to check out some photos on Flickr my friend Kacey worked a beautiful checkpoint and took some nice pics as did the boys from Box Dog Bikes.

With this success under my belt I think I may throw a couple more races this year. The first is the Sunset Path Race, an annual affair that I've done twice before on a very small scale. I'm looking at a sunday in January as a race date for that one and would very much appreciate your support.

Best Wishes,
Dave Vetrano"

Im glad that it was a success, but in all honesty, I dont remember if I sent anything to them.
My mind is an absolute blank slate.
All I remember for certain is that I lost their flyer.

Anyway, good job Box Dog, good job Rickshaw, and good jobs Sarah and Gary...

I mean Grey.

Hey, lookat the Novak that Becker recently put together for Sooni.

He stripped it, and had it repainted, and before he got the chance to put the badges back onto it, I took it and shot a photo.
To get a bike like that is almost enough to make me want to be Beckers girlfriend for a little while..

Well, the long and the short of it from this end is that Im covered with increasingly swelling stings, and the antihistamines are making my brain not work so very good, so its probably best that I sign off so as to not subject you to any more of the drivel.

Have a good Monday.
I feel like a Raspberry.