Today's Poll

did you buy it or are you just an admirer of lugged seat post(s)? I have been looking for a new seat post, but it is hard to find 2 bolt seat posts that have much setback and are not carbon fiber and dont look as silly as the thompson (probably what I will end up with.)

There’s no harm, but it is pushing down the Blazers articles. I’m not trying to be a tightwad. I do come here for Blazers info though, and if I want something different I’ll go into the junk drawer. I can understand the appeal, but if this starts to be a regular thing, people will get the idea that OT posting is the new norm.

However, to show that I’m not opposed to the occasional OT canversation, I’ll indulge.

In college, I decided to take a summer time job as a river guide. The thing is, I didn’t have a car and the river was 2 and 1/2 hours away on the interstate. I had to be there one specific weekend for an orientation. I couldn’t talk anyone into doing it with me, so the only natural conclusion left was to hitchhike. This might be a good time to mention that I went to West VIrginia University.

I got drunk at my friend’s barbeque before I left and actually got my first ride to the highway from the police. I was of age, but I couldn’t believe they were cool with plopping me out in the middle of the highway. Then the fun began…

The first guy to pick me up seemed nice enough. He took me down the road for a half hour and was a little off, but I didn’t mind. We got on the topic of sports, and I thought this was starting to turn up. Then he brought the conversation into the locker room. He started talking about comparisons and circle j-
“Let me out.”
“But we’re not close t-”
“Let me out now.”

By this point we had taken the wrong exit and I was in the middle of nowhere West Virginia. I waited on a little road with no houses or anything for about an hour. Finally a pick up truck came by and picked me up. When they stopped, I smelled something a little funny. I got in anyway, and it was a cab only pick-up. I soon realized I was sitting next to two people who obviously didn’t have running water because they smelled worse than anyone I had ever met before. They kept saying how they were going to take me all the way to the river, but the truck couldn’t go over 40 without it shaking like it was going to fall apart. I bought them some gas and a couple of beers (did I mention it was West Virginia) and then they realized that it would be a long time investment to take me all the way like they had promised. They tried to drop me off again in the middle of nowhere and told me that the river was right up the road, about a 5 minute walk. I called their bluff and asked them to take me back to the highway at least. They did that. I was relieved to be out of that truck though. For a little while at least.

I spent the next 6 hours on the side of the highway with a brief break for dinner. No one was stopping for me, and it finally started raining. I was completely bummed now. 80 miles from where I started, 120 from where I was going, and I had an 8 am deadline that I was sure I was going to miss. I had no idea what to do, when finally a Venzuellan guy picked me up. He had a blanket covering the front seat, and he was completely cool. I fell asleep in the car, and when he woke me up I was 20 miles from the river. I swore I would never forget his name, but I don’t even think I knew it in the first place. Regardless, I love that man.

At this point I had all the momentum in the world. I felt like I could have walked the last 20 miles in the 3 hours I had. Glad I didn’t have to. The last ride I got was from a trucker who was just waking up on the side of the road. I caught him while he was tightening his straps on his truck. He made me promise not to kill him, and we were on our way. Truckers, by the way, will almost never pick up hitchhikers, no matter what you see in the movies.

All in all it took me 13 hours to get there, but once my river manager heard what I went through to get there he virtually gave me the job (though he didn’t let me know that until after I checked out in the training).

I’ve also been back and forth across the US 4 times by car, a trip to Europe and am now living in Japan and travelling regularly in Asia. I’m still not sure why I am posting about it on BE. Hopefully though one day soon I’ll go back to Europe and grab a beer with Almart1. That would be news worthy.