Oak Hill Flyer

"so, whatcha gonna name it?" k asked me one evening over the dinner table.

"i just got it; give me some time to think about it," i replied.

"don't take too long, or else i'll name it for you."

[...]

my new bike has been running great over the past two weeks, and today i load it on a truck to be seen next at ironman arizona. *excited tingle*

i'm not necessarily a naming person per se, but at the insistence of my wife (and the threat of my sister-in-law, who purportedly hands out names like "spatula" and "meatball" to the unmonikered) i've given thought to the topic. the candidates that have popped in an out of consciousness over the past month are (in no particular order) as follows:

• farenheit 171. a fitting tribute to surviving the texas summer and the local bus route: "that's mister farenheit to you, pal." more subtly, a nod to the song i would always listen to before every marathon (and a little less eyebrow-raising than the alternative tribute: "sex machine.")
  
• arizona 87. the road upon which i'll spend 7+ hours on next sunday warrants a nomination, no? besides, i'm on a roll with this word/number combination. give me credit: i've resisted the use of "1701" in any of these candidates so far (although that bus route number is tantalizingly close).
  
• bandera. a whole lot changed on that cold january morning three years ago; for the first time in my life i'm not asking myself 'what if?' i do hope to get back out to that trail race again, but probably not six weeks from now.
  
• heartbreaker. a tounge-in-cheek play on the sequence of events after bandera. i never ever ever wanted to ride a bike, but sometime between 2008 and now i found joy on the road. also: a continual reminder of the hazards of the road, the importance of safety and the need to keep more than just the wheels in my life well-balanced. finally: zeppelin.
  

however the most fitting name as i head into the desert is a nod to the theme from one year ago: no name at all. sorry girls, you'll just have find some other use for "meatball."

Posted by OHF on 14 November 2010 at 11:03 | Permalink