The saga of my truck continues! After getting another new motor installed, under warranty and at no charge, I picked up the pick up. I brought it back a few days later for a check up, and guess what? The shop informed me the new motor, with only about 100 miles on it, is already leaking! There will be some follow up visits to see exactly WTF is going on. As much as I like my Ford it’s embarrassing to have it live up to the ‘Fixed Or Repaired Daily’ reputation that Chevy owners bestow upon the moniker of their arch-nemesis.

     At least with my bicycles, if something needs to be replaced or fixed, things are relatively inexpensive. For instance, I recently had to replace the rear gear cluster and chain on my mountain bike. Both components, which are half the drive train, cost me about $50. I also need to get new pedals soon for the same bike. I am going to get pretty decent ones, and they will cost about $60. That’s a total of $110. Compare that to the $5500 it cost for a new motor (half the drive train) in my truck. That means to fix my mountain bike cost me only 2% of what I spent on a motor. And my bicycle can take me places my truck can’t!  Which leads to my next topic: a recent foray on the El Dorado Trail. While I have eschewed almost all plans for overnight trips in my quest to drop the one ring of debt into the fires of Mount Doom I am still making sure to occasionally take day long trips to nearby locales. And after spending money to keep my mountain bike in good shape I am making damn sure to put it to use. A friend and I started at the Missouri Flat Road trail head in Placerville and rode the 25.2 miles to the Folsom terminus. Along the way we saw many wildflowers, turkeys, and even a couple of deer. The trail itself was in better shape than the previous time I rode it. I'm looking forward to doing it again.

     ...Which segues into everyone's favorite part of my blog...SELFIE OF THE WEEK!!! This one is goofy, irreverent, and shows me really not caring how damn stupid I can look. It was taken on the aforementioned ride along the EDT. Enjoy it for what it is, a piece of function-less art that really serves no purpose, or some such thing that sounds like I know what I am talking about.

Selfie #14

     The highlight of my week though has to be getting to touch base with The Commander who, as you may recall, has recently took on the de facto role of sponsor in my pseudo twelve step debt recovery. It's amazing to have the support and encouragement I need to be successful in my journey to becoming debt free. She never hesitates to give me the hard truths, which is one of many reasons why she is my best friend. It would be a much more difficult undertaking without her. Thank you for all that you do Commander!

It's funny because it's true

     Until next time my dear readers, I hope everyone of you is able to figure out all the problems in your life so the only thing you will ever have to ask yourself is