I have. Now. Yesterday was a Comedy of Errors. Yesterday made the day before look like a vacation. Yesterday pretty much sucked. I’m pretty sure that yesterday has to be in the top 5 of all weird days of my life.

Yesterday started at my now normal 5 am, with a little dog surgery. Then the engine of my van caught on fire while trying to get it into the garage. But the highlight of the day was discovering that I am missing 3 automobiles that I previously had.

I have been meaning to write about Jeff. Jeff is a desert storm vet. He has lived in a house I own here in Topeka for 2 1/2 years. He is/was my “renter”. But, he never paid rent. Not one month. He got behind the first month and, I guess, could never catch up.

I liked Jeff. He is raising 4 step kids. He seemed pretty honest. Other that nothing he ever said about money ever occurred, he seemed pretty nice. I didn’t really care that much about the money. I cared some, but not enough to confront him.

I think I justified Jeff by thinking it was a charitable thing. A poor black man, who was disabled through the Iraqi war, raising kids that aren’t his. And his kids are great. But, things went downhill fast today.

I got a call in the morning by the Gas Service Co. that they had a disconnect order for my house. I asked if it was because of lack of payment, but it was because a service disconnect had been ordered. Jeff was moving. I told him to leave the gas on.

I drove over to Jeff’s only to find no one there. There were no footprints in the 8 inches of fresh snow. There was a lot of furniture on the porch, so I figured they weren’t gone yet, but weren’t living there.

Behind this house is a detached 2 car garage. With 3 of my cars in it. A 1970 Saab Sonett, a 1983 Honda Civic S, and a 1986 Dodge Caravan (manual transmission, 4 speed). I noticed that the door to the garage was open. I had a padlock on it last time I saw it, which hadn’t been for awhile. Anyway, I go look in the garage and all three cars are gone. And there is a bunch of other stuff being stored there. Crazy.

There has been a ton of stuff in the paper about people ripping off metal to sell for scape. There is a crime spree by some guy that is going on top of commercial buildings mainly, and stealing the copper out of the rooftop air conditioners. And three city employees just got caught stealing metal from the city and recycling it. I thought you were supposed to have the title to scrape a car, but this is Kansas.

So, I’m pondering what to do here. Report it to the police? Forget about it? Civil court? Maybe just rack it up as a life experience? Pretty strange day.

A highlight of yesterday was riding indoors. I know, I usually hate that with a passion. But, yesterday wasn’t so bad. I rode for and hour 15 and had pretty unbelievable power. For me at least. I’ve had this Tunturi ergometer for nearly 30 years. It just uses spring tension for wattage, but that is accurate enough for me. As long as it is consistent, it doesn’t really matter what the numbers are.

I have it and I’ve only ridden 2, yes, 2 days inside. And, pleasantly surprising, both of those times it hasn’t been like sticking needles in my eyes. I’ve been renting movies and just riding. Pretty hard actually. Riding indoors is always hard mentally though.

There is a ton of snow here, as just about everywhere else in the country. I don’t know the reason exactly, but there was virtually no plowing of any roads the first 24 hours of snow. Must be no $$$. It is pretty sad when city services can’t do something as simple as remove snow from the major streets so people can get around and go to work. I wonder if anyone takes into account how much revenue it costs the city in the long run by having everyone stay in their houses and not work or spend money.

Today I’m going to ride outside on my MTB bike. There is nothing like a little/a lot of snow and ice to keep your bike handling skills up to par. It got down to way below 0 last night, so it might take a bit to warm up today. The high is supposed to be around 20 today, so if you go by the winter rule, I should get a least 20 miles in. The winter rule, at least mine, is one mile for one degree temperature under 40. So, 28 degrees, at least 28 miles. It’s about as long as your extremities can handle it before they fall off. My fingers are having issues at any temperatures anymore. I use the rule mainly as a minimum mileage anyhow. Sometimes I ride 40 miles when it is 15. It’s all a matter if there is sun out, whether it is damp or wet and motivation, of course.

Yesterday was Groundhog Day. An early spring is on the way, if you believe the little guy. Do you think? One of my favorite movies is Groundhog Day. Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell. We have a dog named after her. I grew up with the exact same alarm clock that is so ever present throughout the movie. I like the movie because it is thought provoking. What would you do if you lived the same day over and over? Bill Murray becomes a physician, learns to play the piano and learns what is important in life. Pretty great movie, that could qualify as a film.

Sometimes bike racing becomes a little like Groundhog Day. Not in a bad way. In a good way. One of the best things about the sport is that there is always the next race. And we get the opportunity to compete way more than other sports. It switches up some, but I probably average close to 80 race days per year. I think one year, way back, I had close to 125 race days. That involves a lot of stage racing and a lot of travel. I can’t think of another sport which you can compete so often, if you desire.

I’m getting lighter since I got back from Europe. I think I’ve just be lazy eating. Oatmeal and tea for breakfast. Not much lunch, then I try to eat dinner, but that has been sort of hit or miss recently. Maybe I’ll be light all season. I doubt it.

I need to put my road bike back together sometime soon. I swore I wasn’t going to bastardize it during ‘cross season, but I still did. I need to go somewhere warm. This winter stuff, snow shoveling in particular, is getting quite old. And I’ve only been in it a little over a week. Man, am I a pussy.

Boy, this is just turning into a wandering ramble. I guess that is what happens when you have cabin fever.

Dinner last night. Pretty lazy. I did eat some olives later though.

This isn't normal here in Topeka.