Donkey Puncherelli

Greetings Funsters!

As many of you know, I am an avid cyclist. My love for bikes and all the fun they provide is maximum. This love story began some years ago on a mountain bike that I used to haul my arse around on to get to school and work. One tragic day, the mountain bike was stolen. Many sad faces were had. This, however, lead to a later purchase of an actual road bike from the ever infamous Craigslist. I now own an IRO track bike for commuting and have managed to swindle a bike from KHS for actual training.

   Glow Ride


The purchase of the road bike was urged on by one Mark Oshiro, who had recently built his own bike at Los Angeles’s own Bicycle Kitchen. Mark had just started to go on rides with the good folks from the Midnight Ridazz website. At the beginning of our adventures, going for any length that was further than down the street was like asking us to go to the dark side of the Moon in a paper airplane. We have since grown muscles in new places and look really good in spandex.

Abusing Mark's bike.


This coming June, Mark and I will be riding from San Francisco to Los Angeles. That’s right. You read that correctly. The time to ride 545 miles in spandex is neigh! We shall not be doing this alone, mind you. Not that we wouldn’t, it’s just that we are joining about 3,000 riders (and support) who are riding this years AIDS LifeCycle. We are riding with Team Midnight Ridazz. This team is made up of 20 or so members. These are some of the most rad-tacular people I have ever met, each with their own inappropriate humor and bad-ittude.

  Shenanigans!


In order to do this ride, you need a few things:

1.    Sexy legs
2.    An awesome bike
3.    Some serious grit
4.    The ability to bike a week for others that can’t
5.    Donations

While having sexy legs to power your awesome bike, coupled with some serious grit to bike for a week for worthy cause may seem like enough, we still need your help. All of the proceeds raised from this event go to the San Francisco/Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Centers. Even though I have started to fundraise, I am still a little shy of the $2,500 that I need to embark on this adventure. This is where you come in.

Even if it’s a $1, every little bit helps. You can make a difference in helping to provide services for those that cannot afford these services themselves. You can donate to me via the link provided below.

Your one dollar.
My one week.
Our common goal.
Help me help others.

I am rider 6141.

R

Location: La Brea/Sunset, Hollywood CA
Time: Lunch
Object: Shoes & Socks

I'm prone to looking at the floor. Not because I am low in spirits or lost in thought, but because that's usually where all the good stuff is laying around. I've been lucky enough to find dollars, cents, wallets, phones, and a few other odd objects while looking at the floor. Being a more tan version of Charlie Brown and hanging my head around town has it's advantages at times. This is my attempt to document some of the strange things I find on the city streets.

I've seen shoes strewn high above my head, tangled in wires. The placement there is rather obvious. A new pair of summer slip on's replaces the worn out sew ups of the preceeding school year. What better way to remember your "been there, done that" mentality.

I've often seen one shoe, on it's own, braving the streets while looking for it's lost brother or sister. I'm not sure how shoes end up in the middle of the street. Was someone dangling a foot out of the passenger side window, only to have a mighty gust of wind to snag the sandal off their feet? Strange circumstance are probably involved in the missing shoe scenario, the likes of which my best fictions can conjure up.

The above photo intrigues me. I am used to seeing this scene splayed out near pools of water or at the rewarding end of hiking trails. This pair of Chuck's was found outside of a 7-11 convenience store next to a public telephone. I would understand their placement if there had a been a motel pool that demanded attention by some rebel that paid no attention to the keep out and no diving signs of said establishment.

The pair of socks baffles me. This seems to scream, "panic!" The feet begged escape from the musky confines of their canvas and cotton-y blend prison. I'm sure madness ensued. That or careless littering. I prefer the former, as it is much more elaborate.

Hopefully I have more things to snap poor quality pictures of in the future. If you have any photos of things on the streets, feel free to send them to me and we can create fictions on their placement. Toodles!

El Rich