But in fact, sports are a complex issue, and it’s clear that we as a culture don’t really know how to think about them.

I was really intrigued by the comparisons between modern day athletes and the Achilles/Hector archtypes. Worth the long read.

Feeling good isn’t really Louis C.K.’s thing. Over 25-odd years of stand-up gigs, a half-dozen cable specials, a short-lived HBO sitcom and, most recently, the FX show, he’s perfected a unique mixture of abject self-loathing, crushing pessimism, wide-eyed curiosity and, here and there, glimmers of hard-won sweetness.

In case you haven’t seen his latest special yet, I would highly recommend you go get it.

Of all the colorful characters in the motorcycle world, few polarize opinion as strongly as Sweden’s mysterious “Ghost Rider.” It’s not hard to see why – with five DVDs full of heinous traffic law violations, including 300 km/h (180 mph) wheelies, police baiting and near-suicidal top speed time trials around the Swedish freeway system, he’s probably the most famous flaunter of road rules the world has ever seen. And now, his most famous steed, a 499-horsepower turbocharged, naked Hayabusa, is being given away through a website lottery. Only ridden to church on Sundays, it’s the perfect practical getabout to take down to the shops.

Sounds like a pretty sweet commuter bike.

Where to begin? ¹

On Halloween 2011, I was commuting home from work when another driver pulled an all too common move. They tried to catch an exit at the last minute, but instead they caught me and sent me flying onto the road. What would follow was a great deal of physical, emotional, and financial pain.

All I can really remember is getting on the Bay Bridge and then waking up laying on my back and seeing the sky. I was not on the bridge anymore. I looked over to my left (or was it my right?) and could see my bike upright on its sidestand. I remember thinking it was weird that my bike was parked while I lay there. I looked up again and saw a paramedic’s face above me then blacked out.

At some point I woke up again and saw a face again, but instead of the sky around them I saw the inside of a vehicle, presumably an ambulance. I vaguely remember saying something that made the face laugh, then wondered to myself if I am dying. I wasn’t feeling any pain, but wasn’t sure what was happening. I blacked out again.

I awoke again to see another face, but this time I was in a building. I was laying in a stretcher and they were taking me somewhere, but I blacked out again before I could figure out where. ²

My recollection of the next few events is pretty hazy and it’s entirely possible I’ve got them mixed up.

When I woke up again, I was in a hospital bed and there was a man talking to me. I asked him what happened and he informed me I was in a motorcycle accident. When I asked him if he knew any details, he said he had no idea. It’s hard to describe what it feels like waking up somewhere you shouldn’t be and not knowing why you’re there. I guess I would use the word “worried.” I remember him telling me I’d suffered a concussion and had broken ribs. He also informed me that they’ve contacted my fiancé and she is on her way to the hospital. I might have blacked out again.

I remember waking up on my back feeling really uncomfortable with the neckbrace I had on. I couldn’t feel any pain or discomfort, so I just sat upright and looked out the door. Eventually someone noticed and came in to tell me that I shouldn’t be sitting up like that. I asked them if I could remove the neckbrace and get something to drink.

My wonderful fiancé showed up and she had a change of clothes for me with her. I guess that is when it dawned on me that they probably cut them off me and I’m actually wearing a hospital gown. After negotiating my release, they said they’d send me home with a prescription for vicodin. I remember standing up for the first time and trying to walk. Every step was painful and slow. The entire left side of my body felt like it had been crushed. My left leg felt barely there. My head was pounding. I was seriously messed up and I had no idea until then.

I got home and was relieved to be somewhere comfortable. The comfort didn’t last very long, because something inside of me caused me to get really nauseous and vomit. At least I felt better afterwards, despite not really knowing why I felt sick. I think I tried to eat dinner afterwards.

At some point in the evening a CHP officer out of Oakland called me. I remember him saying he spoke to me on the side of the road at the accident. I told him I didn’t remember talking to him and I had no idea how I ended up in the hospital. He mentioned I was really “out of it.” He then told me what happened and where to find my bike. I felt a huge sense of relief knowing these two facts. It felt like two big missing pieces of the puzzle that was my evening were found.

Despite everything else that evening, what hurt the most was the time I was losing with my family. I was supposed to go trick-or-treating with my family that evening. I couldn’t hold or play with my son because it hurt so much to move. I couldn’t hug my fiancé.

The next couple months after that evening would not go as expected. That justifies a whole other post of its own.

¹ I don’t remember any of the accident. I just know what the CHP officer told me along with small memory fragments in between blacking out.

² Last week, when I talked to my health care provider’s claims department, I learned it was to take a CT scan of my head and x-rays of my ribs, left shoulder, left arm, left knee, and left foot. A lot more than I thought they did.

Where once the fire breathing cylinders of an internal combustion engine used to reside, the Portland-base company has found a new use for the shape found commonly between a rider’s legs. I hesitate to call it a gas tank, because MotoCzysz now uses the compartment to house two Race-Tech shocks for its front and rear suspension system. Look for its production motorcycle debut sometime around the 2018 model year.

Chief in Kraus’ build philosophy is light weight. “I think people tend to overbuild things, to use a lot of metal because they don’t know how much or how little it really takes,” he explains. “They’re adding needless weight, and then suspension, speed and quickness suffer.”

Yep. I’ve:

1. Created another minimalist blog
2. Started experimenting with Jekyll
3. Given into another Ruby product