As much as spring tries to come to Michiganderburgh, winter just won’t let it. Wednesday was yet another one of those April days here: snow, freezing rain, sleet, rain, and slush. There are signs that spring is here, but they need to fight through the heaps of wintry puke to reveal themselves.
I have to say, that I really didn’t mind that Wednesday offered up a miserable mess, since I was beyond tired from my 2 AM arrival home from Tuesday night’s Maiden show.
I hadn’t seen Iron Maiden live since my junior year of high school twenty-eight years ago. During that time I lost touch with the metal scene and moved towards alternative and indie bands. But like all aging men do, in recent years I’ve started gravitating back to the memories of youth that I actually enjoyed, in attempts to relive them in some way. Listing to Maiden has been a perfect escape back to those times and the show was awesome!
It was as over the top as expected, but they sounded great, looked great, and seemed to be having a great time. So many bands of that generation appear to be going through the motions, riding the coattails of one time popularity in an attempt to make some cash as they tour in their later years. But the guys in Iron Maiden seemed to be truly having a great time playing and the vibe was infectious.
It was nice to see them in a packed arena, the last time I saw them all those years ago back in Pittsburgh the crowd was so small they had a curtain drawn across the arena so as not to look so empty. Not this time, the arena was filled with people ranging in ages from teenagers to long-haired septuagenarians. Even our car was oddly filled with a barber, two bike shop owners, a grade school teacher, and a slack graphic designer-at-large with a shit bike blog, all of whom–oddly enough–enjoyed the show alcohol free.
The show was totally worth the four-hour round trip to the outskirts of Detroit, AND the mere four hours of sleep I got before getting up at 6 AM to get B-Man up, fed, and off to school. Of course he was barely out the door before the Maiden and coffee high wore off and I fell into an hour and a half slumber in the Chamber of Farts™.
As I mentioned earlier in this lengthy post about nearly everything in my life BUT cycling, the weather was a tad uncooperative, and wet snow, rain, and slush coated everything. So between my old ass body still trying to recover for a late night of metal, and the weather, I just planned a day around some work, husband/dad duties, stretching my crap hip and back, errands, and watching some Champions League football later.
In between that stuff I snuck over to my friend’s house to feed his cat while he’s down south enjoying some warm weather this week. Him and his goofy-eyed cat are both jerks. Joking, the cat is cranky but semi-normal-ish and so is Mike. He even left me a bottle of happiness for my efforts this week. Thanks, it was enjoyed while hurling insults at Man City later.
Thursday has brought another round of wet snow, but unlike last week in where I let it beat me down, this week I will find SOMETHING to do to replace time on the bike; whether it be strength training, a hike in the woods or the trainer.
Later.