This telecommuting thing is pretty neat. I had to run and errand for the boss, and stopped after hours at Ralphs. All this time I've been freaking out over not getting the right stuff for Mom and Dad (especially Mom).

The grocery store gave me some comfort on the subject. I got Mom some sugar free chocolates, hot cocoa, one of those scrunchie bath sponges. I got a special wood working magazine for Dad. I also got them a bunch of little goodies and a card for AMC theatres. I also got some stuff for my sister and her husband and some stuff for Mistress' kitty and puppy. I've been doing the internet shopping thing, but this helps put some finishing touches on the family shopping.

Meanwhile, at home, there's a special Christmas present I've been working on for a friend. Our friend, Crickett (crickett.net) just moved to downtown LA, sans car, sans transportation in general. Los Angeles doesn't just run, it rolls. Being in LA, especially downtown industrial, without a car sucks ass.

I don't have a spare car, but I do have a spare bike. It's a very personal bike too. Back in 2000, my Team Murray Baja was stolen from the parking lot of AVN. I was devestated, especially since I was planning on having major work done on my truck and needed wheels.

Ken Michaels took up a collection, and I was stunned to have handed to me $200 to purchase a bicycle. The next year, right before 9-11, I lost the truck in a nasty accident, and that bike got me through the next eight months, during, through Christmas and a nasty winter. I used it for grocery runs, trips to the 99c store, krispy kreemes for work, and lots of trips for work.

It's really hard to describe what you put into a pair of wheels like that. You get feel every part of the bike. You connect with the way it rides, it's quirks. Cars have a lot of real estate you don't feel connected to. Every inch of a bike is in your hands at one point or another.

I've bought a couple of bikes since then, a folding bike, and a schwinn continental. The bike from work has been gathering some dust, but I've held tightly on to it for sentimental reasons. This afternoon while talking to the boss on the phone, I chased away the spiders, and cleaned off the leaves and dust. It was looking better already.

While presents waited to be wrapped tonight, I took off the back wheel and replaced the tube from a flat tire. A toothbrush and some sinthetic lubricant worked nicely on the chain and sprocket. The brakes needed a little adjustment, and I re-attached the lights on the back end that makes my ass look like Christmas any time of year.

I chucked an extra socket wrench and 15mm socket in there in case she needs to change the tire, flipped the bike back over, and sat on the ground taking a deep breath.

Moments like this require at least a test run, but after drinking in the shiny black, the standing pride, and the handywork that kept me afloat for many months of stinking poverty, I had to give it a final shakedown and took it up to Devonshire. It's warm for December, and when I saw the sign on Walgreens say 60 degrees, I knew I had to put it through its paces.

I cranked on the gear shift and stomped down. Cool wind rammed down my throat, my heart tried to climb out my chest. Bang, Topanga and Devonshire. Wait for the light, pound the petals uphill to Lassen. Sure, it looks easy in your car, try doing it fast on a bike though. I had to ease up a bit to keep from hitting the surplus car and adjusted my hat to keep it from flying it off. Almost home. Fly up the hump, over the tracks, past the 24 office and New Sensations and stop at Desoto and Lassen.

Not a bad little run. I want to call my boss and dare him to ride with me. I wish Mistress could feel my heart pound like that and feel the pride of being there.

I walk it home from there. Just easier up the sidewalk, but I coast it into the appartments.

Not a bad deal, a bike from one former AVN employee for another former AVN employee. Ken would definitely approve and I think Mark Logan will surely get a kick out of it. The porncycle lives and continues.

Maybe Crickett will even enter it in the Mayor's bike rally in 2006 :)

Happy Holidays.