Cycling in the South Bay

Feeling kind of thankful today, so in no particular order, and with no claims to thoroughness or completeness…

Thank you Stern-O for teaching me what a clean bike really looks like.

Thank you Filds for the trip down memory lane…at 2:00 AM.

Thank you UnklPhil for inviting me on that very first Thursday shop ride.

Thank you Joe Yule for making the world a more beautiful place, literally.

Thank you G$ for summing it all up: “I just wanna go faster.” And for the burger and fries.

Thank you Maggie for always making me smile…and everyone else.

Thank you Bob Reback for always treating me like a peer, even when I’d only been licensed for a month and you were going on your 38th year.

Thank you Chris Lotts for being the best bike promoter ever, and for encouraging me to say what I think. Because I was shy before I met you.

Thank you Martin Howard for building a bastion of Freddiedom in Long Beach.

Thank you Wehrlissimo for your generosity and good cheer.

Thank you Dave Jaeger for the FTR.

Thank you Scott Dickson for asking me that deep philosophical question 3/4 way up the brutal climb outside of Lago Vista.

Thank you Dad for watching all my baseball games, and for letting me figure out on my own that I sucked.

Thank you MMX for giving so much more than you receive.

Thank you Sup Cat for your excellent Japanese + cycling + Twitter combo.

Thank you Rahsaan for saying the things you believe, even when it makes people uncomfortable.

Thank you Tim Roach for coaching me, even though I’m uncoachable.

Thank you Johnny Walsh for showing me how to ride up to the rail and a zillion other things.

Thank you Glasship for discouraging me to be a lawyer, and thereby encouraging me to be one.

Thank you Mom for teaching me how subtle and varied and enjoyable are the many tastes of bitter…and for the world’s most sardonic sense of humor.

Thank you Barbara for being my best friend.

Thank you Gussy for remembering everything that ever happened and every person who ever did it.

Thank you Norris for being a truly virtuous man.

Thank you Kathy for putting up with Michael’s strange friend from Texas.

Thank you Howard Hughes of the South Bay for your eternal good cheer and friendship.

Thank you Jack for being able to make fun of everyone and everything, and for the awesome puppet movie with Kim Jong Il.

Thank you Jack Pritchard for being the first modern day cycling blogger, before there were blogs.

Thank you Jay Aust for always cutting me a deal.

Thank you Frank Shurer for creating an institution, and caring for all its inmates.

Thank you President Obama for granting us that interview when you were still a senator.

Thank you Ralph Yarborough for the Big Thicket.

Thank you Uncle Phil Davidson for your unforgettable performance in “The Last Meeting of the Knights of the White Magnolia.”

Thank you Allis for inviting me to Japan.

Thank you Miss Sessions for being the prettiest kindergarten teacher ever. I still love you.

Thank you David Johnson for Bellaire Debate, even though you were a complete asshole.

Thank you Rob and Jonathan for being my debate parents.

Thank you Annalee for wearing that tight white button-down shirt.

Thank you Banker Bob for all the great bike rides then, and for all the ones we’ve yet to do.

Thank you Cathy for taking such good care of Banker Bob.

Thank you Hillel for offering me acid, and not taking it amiss when I declined.

Thank you Rick the Rocket for all those great meals at Good Eat’s and for all those fun rides, especially that one where we were sprinting for the sign into Dripping Springs and I almost killed you.

Thank you Kevin Callaway (the good one) for making me laugh nonstop. I still hum “Teakwood” to the tune of Wagner’s “Ride of the Valkyries.”

Thank you Cathy Devaney for the unforgettable trip to New Orleans and for our flail performance in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and for making fun of Jim Ayres, who was also an asshole.

Thank you Russell dB for always making fun of idiots on bikes and crushing the aspirations of wannabe wankers. Not so much thanks for dropping me outside of Sealy that day in the 110-degree heat, though.

Thank you Mel for being the other half of Ironfly, keeping Fukdude in line, and keeping the Tiger Mom street cred real for us white guys married to Asian chicks.

Thank you Toronto for the ride down to SD that day. I learned a lot.

Thank you Dave Perez for always taking a joke, and for giving as good as you get.

Thank you Charon for praying for me, even though it’s not going to do any good, and for being such a stand-up, wonderful guy.

Thank you Noel for having in depth, endless conversations with me on hundred-mile rides where we don’t even need to speak.

Thank you Canyon Bob for surviving.

Thank you Craig for your wit and good cheer and friendship.

Thank you Fukdude for all the training advice, for not minding that I’m a dork, and for always being in a good mood.

Thank you Fireman for yelling at me and for giving me the two consecutive sprints at the county line and for the unforgettable attack on the 101.

Thank you Davy Dawg for tearing the crank off, something I hadn’t seen done since Callaway did it in ’84.

Thank you George Agin for the mushrooms in Colorado.

Thank you Harold Doty for not putting up with my bullshit.

Thank you Granddad Jim for the card games, Gunsmoke on TV, firecrackers, and most of all the fishing. RIP.

Thank you New Girl for always putting me in the best of moods.

Thank you Evan for being the senior-est guitar wizard of the Davidson clan.

Thank you Josh for being one of the best bluesmen alive.

Thank you Adam Lima for forgiveness.

Thank you Garen Evans for the same, and I hope we get to ride together some day.

Thank you Rosie Rodriguez and the junior high school crush I had on you.

Thank you Aileen for letting me give Dave a hard time.

Thank you Brad for your advocacy, and one day when you actually see Victoria, Texas you’ll see what a Ron Paul-led America would look like.

Thank you G3 for the parties and for always kicking my ass. May I have another?

Thank you King Harold for the world’s first, last, and best reverse attack at Telo.

Thank you Polly for the OTB chat at Punchbowl three years ago.

Thank you Tree for not dying at Boulevard.

Thank you BT for your stalwart membership in the Pedal Mulisha and Men’s Lactation Group.

Thank you Todd for steering me to the Hill and away from those apartments on 7th Street across from Ports o’ Call.

Thank you Chelsea for not going off to Germany.

Thank you Suze for always giving the guys hell and making them grind their teeth in humiliation when you drop them.

Thank you Anne Freihoff for tutoring me past that godawful German university entrance exam.

Thank you Liz Mendoian for helping me pass the bar the second time around.

Thank you Rolf and Krista Kurz for the hospitality in Munich!

Thank you Gabi-chen for all of the fun at Studentenwohnheim Rheinallee.

Thank you Jan Volek for the night-time ride to Berlin on the night the Wall came down.

Thank you Kayoko for treating me like your son. And for being the best cook in the world, ever, no exceptions. (Sorry about the bamboo…)

Thank you Takanori for treating me like your son. And for Nandaimon!

Thank you Kihachi for letting me be a part of your family. RIP.

Thank you Sue for so many years of cooking mochi on New Year’s Day.

Thank you George Haynes for hiring me at the UAC.

Thank you Brenda K. Comer for advancing me $100 when I worked at Houston Interviewing so I could buy a wetsuit.

Thank you Bill White for showing me what “shred” looked like.

Thank you Robert O’Quinn for Mazatlan.

Thank you Mike Martin for reinventing “cool.”

Thank you DanC for the early Donut breakaways. My tooth first, yours is next.

Thank you Dom for daring me to race in Belgium. I’m 99.9% gonna do it, which is another way of saying I’m not.

Thank you Amsterdam Hammer for knowing you were better but not making a big deal out of it.

Thank you Douggie for yelling at me to not hammer all the time when I first came out here. It’s sinking in…slowly…and that damn Rollers record on Strava…crap.

Thank you Laurie for the big hug every single time we meet, and for the inspiration NOT to be a runner.

Thank you Gerald for the extraordinary Italian hospitality and cuisine.

Thank you Greg Hall for showing me that it’s possible to just stop. I’m getting there.

Thank you Chief for showing me that in order to be a cyclist one need not necessarily cycle. Very much.

Thank you Matt McPhail for never agreeing with anything I ever thought or said but always being a loyal friend.

Thank you Richard Turner for showing me what a triathlete could do when he focused on cycling. RIP.

Thank you Dan Gammill for the job moving pianos and for teaching me so many important things, for example: “When a customer calls you up, and they remember you but you don’t remember them–that’s a really bad sign.”

Thank you Mr. Cornelius for showing me and my brother what it meant to “slip me some skin.”

Thank you Greg St. Johns for sharing the angle.

Thank you Martin Luther King, Jr. for believing in the equality of all people. RIP.

Thank you Marvin for the unforgettable ass-flap and for being the world’s most liberal redneck. You’re my fuckin’ hero.

Thank you Jay Yoshizumi for the shutter clicks and Snoopy. Who knew those two went together?

Thank you Roadchamp for the occasional compliment, and for the numerous times you’ve let me hang. Let.

Thank you Miles Sr. for the great lunches, and the full-on approach to everything. Now I know what “world record holder” means, a little.

Thank you Miles Jr. for scaring the shit out of me, and cracking me like an egg every time the road tilts up.

Thank you Diego for riding like a man on the Man Tour.

Thank you Peter for stomping me and Fukdude on those intervals, then recovering after, like, 15 seconds, and doing it all over again.

Thank you Kat for the fun in Houston. It seems like a long time ago…because it was.

Thank you Adrienne and Emilio for being there in our hour of need.

Thank you Bill and Loralee for standing together during the Great Water Wars against T. Boone Pickens and his Evil Empire. And for helping drain more than a couple of boxes of wine!

Thank you Teda for making everything and everyone better who comes into contact with you.

Thank you Joe Bill for always, always, telling it like it was. RIP.

Thank you McFreelands for the soccer games and New Year’s parties in Austin.

Thank you Stormin’ Norman for always hitting the front, and hitting it hard.

Thank you Dan for the tickets to the Texas-UCLA beatdown.

Thank you Manny G. for always lighting it up, then flaming it out.

Thank you Jeff Bryant for staying in triathlons for so long. Sucks that you’re killing us all on the bike now.

Thanks Jim Miller for moving over to SPY, even though you had to leave the South Bay to do it.

Thanks Artiste for the tattoos on the calves. It’s not often we get to watch art while we ride, over and over and over again.

Thank you Malouf for teaching me the true meaning of Christmas, every single year.

Thank you Therese for keeping Malouf in line.

Thank you Salem for leaving your corner of the world a better place than it was the way you found it.

Thank you Laurie Brown for personifying integrity.

Thank you Judge Vernon Cook for always greeting me with a hearty handshake and a sincere smile, even though I went to Texas.

Thank you Jim Bill Anderson for helping the prairie chickens.

Thank you Ted for showing me the natural world.

Thank you Mary for living the Christian life that many preach but few follow. RIP.

Thank you Ted Sr. for the lunches, the beer, and the skiing on Lake Austin.

Thank you Kiyoshi for educating me in just big enough bites that I can swallow, and not minding that I don’t get the technical stuff.

Thank you Kim West for seeming like an anarchist, or at least an atheist, or at the very least a Midwestern biker dude.

Thank you Larry Rubin for your eternal good nature.

Thank you Dogbait for the world’s best nickname, and for being the other half of the team that won PBP.

Thank you Hockeystick for the optimism and doing more than your share.

Thank you George Pomel for convincing me that I not only can ride until I’m 100, but that I should.

Thank you Marcel for that one magical day motoring out to Ragged Point. And for humoring me in my attempt to learn Dutch.

Thank you Dave Kramer for always taking the time to show up and be the rational one.

Thank you Nancy Aguilar for helping me get my career started!

Thank you Sharon for always, always following through.

Thank you Granny for never getting angry, not even once. RIP.

Thank you Nicole Keshishian-Modic for coming up to me that one time and saying, “So you’re the infamous Seth?”

Thank you Rudy for hauling my ass up to the Domes that one time on the Donut and not dropping me. And for laughing when I changed my first clincher. Fucking inner tube just wouldn’t go on over the tire.

Thank you Patrick for finally putting your real name on your blog. See?

Thank you Amy Hutner for telling the world about the one time I had to call my wife for a ride home from RB because I was too pooped to make it up the Hill.

Thank you Granddad Frank for teaching me how to water ski. You were a very patient man. Very, very patient. RIP.

Thank you GEA for taking me under your wing.

Thank you Tobin for the constant help. Gotta serve an SOD with a demand for punitives. Finally got it.

Thank you Paul Che for helping so many other people.

Thank you Cary for thinking I was Jewish. High praise, indeed.

Thank you Mrs. Smith for being such a good 3rd Grade teacher, even though you nicknamed me “Mouth.”

Thank you Mr. Harsch for not expelling me on the final day of school, and instead letting me graduate and become someone else’s problem in high school.

Thank you Sue Kidwell for telling me it was okay to drop out of law school for a year and study at the University of Bonn.

Thank you Dean Sharlot for telling me I was an idiot but if I wanted to take 21 hours including Chinese, French literature, and advanced German grammar my first semester of law school, go right ahead.

Thank you Steve Shackelford for being my best friend in law school. You died way to young, buddy. RIP.

Thank you Peter and Trudi Schindler for seeming like old friends.

Thank you Albert Lagunas for the invite to the madness; count me in in 2013.

Thank you Grandma Sarah for all the banana cream pies. RIP.

Thank you Phil Carter, or should I just call you “roomie”?

Thank you Steve Carre for handling it the way you did. No one could have done it better.

Thank you Renee for always rocking it on the bike and always holding your own. With a smile!

Thank you Kelly for the boundless good cheer, the speedy bike skills, and for knowing that Peet’s really is better than SBX.

Thank you Elron for trying to help. But Tim Roach can tell you that it’s hopeless.

Thank you Major Bob for serving. And for not killing yourself when you smashed into me on MT3.

Thank you Roberto Pascani for being able to call me every name in the book, have it thrown back at you, and still be friends!

Thank you Rodley for doing your best to laugh at most of my jokes. Well, some of them, anyway. Okay, a few. Much appreciated.

Thank you Sarah for constantly crushing Cary on the bike. It really does my heart good to see that.

Thank you Taylor for dropping me in all the hilly road races. It really makes me feel like a climber, you know?

Thank you Hoverhawk for the merciless beatdowns. One day I will finish a road race within ten minutes of you. Naaaaah….

Thank you Mike Hotten for those three laps in the snow last year at UCLA Punchbowl. Sorry I cratered and quit on the fourth lap.

Thank you Shana for inviting me to such an unforgettable wedding, and for sharing pictures of Philip on FB. His images and your commentary are priceless!

Thank you Seiji for quitting smoking!

Thank you Tomoko for all of the travels and good times! Lubbock, Oklahoma, Yokohama, Mito, Tokyo, Mashiko…next…LA?

Thank you Mitoji for the great drinking escapades. I’ll never forget that trip in the back of the truck to San Antonio.

Thank you Danny Martin for your friendship. RIP.

Thank you Todd Sweeney for “Sepp Had a Little Hen.”

Thank you Torazo for lurking on FB and still not being too frightened to marry into this family.

Thank you Will Chesebro for the inspiration and for proudly representing the USA.

Thank you Vicki V. for getting so many men into skirts!!

Thank you Captaintbag for your fuggin hilarious shit.

Thank you Ian for doing what every big brother should do: beat the crap out of his little brother, and challenge him to be his best.

Thank you Joy Aoki for your brilliant sense of humor and use of the right word in the right place at the right time. Even though I know you won’t come back to FB, I wish you would.

Thank you Tony Sells for inspiring me to finally replace Ol’ Yeller, and for advising me that there are only two kinds of fathers as regards the female friends of one’s grown-up children: creepy and cool. Tryin’ hard to be cool!!

Thank you Tom Allen for the great tattooed vibes of reverberating goodness that you send my way with every post.

Thank you Tara for teaching me how to ride the tarck better.

Thank you Woodrow for being my beautiful, wonderful son.

Thank you Hans for being my beautiful, wonderful son.

Thank you Cassady for being my beautiful, wonderful daughter.

Thank you Yasuko for being a saint.

§ 4 Responses to Thanksgiving day

• Andrew C. (@sfc750) says:

  February 16, 2012 at 11:36 pm

  Thanks for this post… making me think about all the people I should think about more often and some I had forgotten.

• Rodley says:

  February 17, 2012 at 8:50 pm

  Thank you Seth for “Cycling in the South Bay”

  • Donut says:

    February 17, 2012 at 9:54 pm

    I don’t write that crap, but thanks.

• Toronto says:

  February 21, 2012 at 12:04 pm

  One evening in October, when I was far from sober
  To keep my feet from wandering I tried,
  My poor legs were all a-flutter, so I lay down in the gutter
  And a pig came up and lay down by my side.
  We sang,”Never mind the weather just as long as we’re together”
  Till a lady passing by was heard to say,
  “You can tell a man who boozes by the company he chooses”
  And the pig got up and slowly walked away.