Objective Jerk
Army Veteran Asshole that is learning to love Jesus. I use my MIC / Platform as a form of "Therapy", no schedule, no script, just whatever is floating my boat at the moment.
Objective Jerk
MY HOBBIES: Podcasting, Drums, Mountain Biking Adventures, and Emotional Journeys
In this episode, I explore the intertwined worlds of drumming and mountain biking, highlighting how these passions offer joy, healing, and connection, particularly during challenging times. The discussion unpacks my personal journey through these hobbies, reflecting on unique experiences and the importance of pursuing our interests.
• Introduction and equipment challenges faced during recording
• Joy of playing the drums and the blisters that come with it
• Transition into discussing mountain biking experiences
• Early mountain bike memories and significant rides
• Personal bike journey and the trials of various bikes
• Overcoming challenges in the biking world, including tubeless options
• The healing power of biking after personal loss
• Redefining biking strategies and family involvement in the sport
• Conclusion with reflections on hobbies and shared experiences
I got blisters on my fingers. What's going on? This is the Objective, jerk. And I'm said jerk, how are you doing? Hope everybody is well. I just got back from.
Speaker 1:I have my father-in-law's. He's got an extra room with an air conditioner and that's where I have my drums set up. Why do I not sound very loud? Let's try that. Is that a little better? But I still might play with it. So it sounds better from what I can tell. But there's still like some echo. But I mean, the room I am is, you know, it's tile and I don't have it set up. It's not like a sound room or whatever.
Speaker 1:But I've played around a little bit with the um, the mic and some different um filters and stuff, but I don't know, I can't really seem to find one that I like. Let me know if you guys know of, uh, something on garage band and I don't know. I think the video is better, that's for sure. I did actually have somebody, um, you know, say like yeah, it's like echoey or what was it. No, it was um. He said it wasn't good. He was giving me some um, some pointers, which was nice. It's nice to have a little feedback and have, you know, people that actually somewhat care, I guess, I don't know, but anyway. So I'm still working on it. I think it's better. Um, but yeah, it was the program I was using. So now I just got a garage band, I think? I don't think I can.
Speaker 1:I think the video was pretty good. I did listen to it. What was it? I think the video sounds way better with using iMovie, I think it sounds so. It's just, my podcast still has kind of an echo.
Speaker 1:I'm trying to. Maybe I need to turn up, but I can't talk like this into the microphone. I just can't do it. Maybe I need to turn up some input. I don't know if I can do that while I'm recording, though. Let me see, this is an exciting episode. Huh, should have done this before, but I can hear it though. So I guess it. You know, I'm, I'm, I can hear it when it sounds good to me, like this right here Sounds, or does that sound like? Is that going to put you to sleep? But anyway, I'll, I'll see what I go. Here we go. Okay, let's see. Uh, I don't know if I can. I don't think I can do it while I'm recording, though. Pretty sure, anyway. So let's see.
Speaker 1:So, um, I play the drums. I'm not, you know, so I play the drums. I'm not, you know, exceptional or nothing I can play, but I've never really had the chance to. I mean, I have jammed with some people here and there occasionally, but it's usually just like a one off, not very, you know, it's not like a regular kind of thing. So so usually I just play along to music or play around or whatever. And see, here it is alert volume. I can see my input level. I know, I think that's probably good. Whatever, I'll just adjust it a little bit later. I don't know, I guess I should work on it. Huh, how come? I guess that's why. What's his face? Who's the guy he's like constantly every time he talks, he's like constantly adjusting his microphone. The guy with the beanie? I can't think of his name right now. But okay, the drums, okay. So I play the drums.
Speaker 1:I try and play the bass, but I'm not really good. I don't have an ear for the bass, so I don't, you know, I do have one, but my son plays, he'll play the bass and we play together, uh, sometimes. So that's that's fun, um, but anyway, so he he's off doing his thing and I just I was doing some dishes and cleaning up and I was listening to music and I was like man, I feel like playing. So grab my, my headphones and I I went to my father-in-law's and and, um, is this as high as this can go? Yeah, I think. So that's how high this mic goes. Maybe I need to get the other mic so it can sit here, kind of like this. I don't know, I'm working on it, I do. That's too high now, shit, I do listen. I don't listen to all of my podcasts, but I do try and listen to some just to kind of make sure they're somewhat bearable. I guess that didn't really work, did it? Anyway, okay, I'm very animated sometimes, so that's why I don't like being too close to the microphone. Okay, let's see, let's see, let's see five minutes and I haven't talked about shit the drums, anyway, I got.
Speaker 1:When I play, I play kind of hard, I try to play soft and I usually start off soft, but then it's like I'll kind of play some easy not easy, but easier going like you know, harder rock, metal music it's fun to play, like BC boys and stuff too. Um, but usually kind of by the end of it it's like when I start playing, like I start selecting some heavier music. So the whole thing started is I had like a little playlist of some Weezer songs, just various songs from different albums that I like, that I would like to play the drums to, you know. So I it's like my own little playlist, my little own um, what is it? What do they call it, bands, when they make up their list of their songs for their shows? I can't think of it, but anyway, so that's kind of what I, you know, did, and I played that and that was for like 40 minutes, but then I'm just like wanting to keep going. So I played, I played some Toadies, I played. What else did I play? I think that was it. And then I played Chevelle, one of their latest albums, and it's got some really good like heavy grooves and it's like, so I really get into it and I hit. I mean, I don't, you know, I don't want to damage my drums or anything like that, but I, you know, I hit pretty hard and I get into it, you know, um, so, yeah, so I ended up with blisters and I got one here, but it hasn't peeled yet. So, yeah, that's always a good time. That's one way, I know that I'm doing pretty good, like in a good mood is when I want to play the drums, though. So that's always, it's always a good sign that.
Speaker 1:And mountain biking so that's what I was actually taught wanting to talk about for this podcast. Um, who here that listens to this wonderful voice? Uh, rides a mountain bike, any bike, really. I guess. Any pedal bike I can't get in the street, you know, and I guess they have what gravel bikes they call them or something. So it's kind of like it's a, you know, a half-breed mountain bike, street bike for people, which kind of makes sense, I guess, you know. You can kind of take it anywhere, so that's kind of cool. It's kind of like a, an all terrain vehicle or a motorcycle, you know what I mean. You can take it off road, right on the street, so that's cool. But for me, when I ride my bike, I like to be in the woods, I like to be on trails, so that's how I've always been.
Speaker 1:So I'm going to do a little story. I guess. Is this another story time? I don't want to talk about politics. I don't know. Aoc is an idiot. She looks like she's probably going to go to jail there, that's it. I've talked about politics, okay.
Speaker 1:So I started mountain biking in the 90s, like 90, I just had an issue with my garage band what do you call it? 90. So I started. This is horrible, all right. So I started riding bikes in like 97, 98, I want to say I can't remember exactly, but I remember I worked for the sign company and my boss he was selling a mountain bike, it was a Scott bike, but it was, you know, no shocks, everything was cable and it was the pad didn't even have disc brakes. You know that's how old it was, right, right, but I bought it from him for I don't think it was that much. I want to say like 70 or 90 or something like that. I don't know, something like that, but anyway. So I bought that bike and I started riding. I got a, a bike rack from my car and I would go riding with my buddy bullfrog. His name was Jeremy, obviously, and, uh, his roommate and friend, gosh what was his name?
Speaker 1:And some other people we used to go to um, this place in Washington state called tiger summit and I wonder if it's still there. It's gotta be there, cause it was pretty, you know, but it was really awesome. There was like a big parking lot. I think I've talked about this before. I want to say I have, but whatever, you're hearing it again. Um, but they had the you know, a parking lot so you could park your car, and then there was like a small paved road that you would ride your bike up to the top. I think I have talked about this. So it was about like a mile right. So it was about like a mile right and it's kind of steep, but you know, you could do it it's on pavement Get a little workout right up to the top, but then, once you get to the top, you just have all these different selections of trails to go down and they all lead right back to the parking lot. So it's pretty awesome and I'm sure there's a lot. You know, most probably bike trails are probably like that. I just you know I haven't been to too many different ones, a couple, but that's the one that I think of whenever I think about you know. So I was doing that for a little bit and then a few years later well, more than a four, let's see how long. Gosh, probably almost 10 years, huh, I think it was almost 10 years. Well, I mean, yeah, like eight years or something like that, I bought the bike I currently have now. So this was 2000, 2008, 2009, something like that.
Speaker 1:I was living in Louisiana, I was out of the army, I was a civilian, okay, and I bought this specialized hard rock, I think is what it was, what it's called it. Just it doesn't say it on there, just says you know, it's a specialized aluminum frame, not aluminum. Is it aluminum? No, it's pretty light, maybe it is, but it's, you know, it's not carbon or anything. And and you know it had disc brakes but it was cable and it had, you know, the basic shocks, nothing fancy. And you know, I mean it was a decent bike for a time. I paid like $800 or $900 for it, I think. So I rode that a few times with a buddy of mine in Louisiana who I was in the army with, but he was still in after I got out. It's a long story.
Speaker 1:I left, I came back to Louisiana, but I was a civilian anyway, so I wrote it a few times around there, um, didn't really get crazy about it, and then moved to Utah and I rode it a couple times. Nothing like in the desert, nothing really that cool where I was at. But I remember there was like sage was you know growing or it was pollinating or whatever growing or it was pollinating or whatever. And pretty sure I'm allergic to it, because after I went riding out there, man, my sinuses were done, so I didn't ride much there anymore. Where did I go? I wanted to, god, I want to say I went somewhere. God, I can't remember now, but anyway, and then I didn't really write on it much. Oh, that's right, because okay.
Speaker 1:So we were living in Utah and I moved around a little bit, in case you didn't realize. So I lived in Utah for three, four years and then we moved back to Washington and when we were moving there, so what we did was we put most of our stuff in a storage and we just brought over our necessities, my kids and some stuff, and I had a bike rack, a new bike rack. I bought a new bike rack just for the trip and and we put all our bikes on it. It was like my bike, my wife and like two of the kids, like cause, my youngest, he was too little and we had a bunch of stuff on the top. And that's what we drove to Washington, right and I was going to live with my mom for a little bit and then, once we got our own place, then I was going to. Well, what I did do is then I made a trip, got all the stuff from the storage and brought it up, you know, up there and stuff. But that was sometime later, anyway.
Speaker 1:So we're driving to Washington to move there. I got the truck loaded, I got, you know, bikes on the back of the truck and we're going down this road and it's like right at the very end, so from Utah to Washington, which is like a day and a half, roughly two days, but like I would drive pretty much the whole time. I would stop and sleep for a couple hours at one point and do it. I did the drive a few times because I got family that's pretty much where I grew up, washington and Utah and right at the very end of the trip, like we're turning off the highway to go on the road to go to my mother's house, and then all of a sudden a piece of metal or something on the bike rack breaks and the bikes, bam, hit the ground, ground and they get dragged for a little bit and I pull over and I get out and I see, and I'm like man, and so I, you know, I strap the bike, rack up, and then we go to my mom's and then, when you know, when I look at it, the tires on my bike got messed up. I mean, to me that makes me think that my bike was on the end, which was stupid. It was the biggest bike, but I think it was because mine was bigger but it was lighter because it's, you know, it was a little more expensive bike, and then my wife's bike was heavier, and then the other kids, you know, like a little smaller but still pretty heavy. So I think maybe that's why I put mine on the end, but maybe I shouldn't have done it that way. But anyway it broke, so it just damaged all the tires and the rims. So I couldn't ride my bike until I got that fixed. So that didn't happen. For Was that not until I got here Trying to think when did I fix them?
Speaker 1:I was planning on riding in Washington, you know, again, go to Tiger Summit, but then that happened, and so I, you know I obviously didn't go writing, but I can't. I want to say I fixed them at some point. I'm pretty sure I did, but I'm having trouble remembering Cause man we were. So we were in Washington for like four years and then we went back to Utah. This is like 2018. Cause my dad was kind of not doing so well and I like Utah better anyway. I mean, there's some things I love about Washington but, like, if I had to go back to the States now, I would try and go to Utah or like Texas maybe or something, maybe Louisiana, I don't know. Anyway, so I I know I got the tires fixed, because I don't think the rims were messed up, I think it was just the tires. So I got new tires. I wrote don't think the rims were messed up, I think it was just the tires. So I got new tires.
Speaker 1:I rode it here and there, the snap, but never really got into it, like you know, in a big way. You know what I'm saying. So it wasn't until I moved here in the Philippines in 2020. So, dude, that's a long time, but like a long time and a lot of time of not riding, really you know what I mean. So I bought that bike 2009, 2008. That's an old bike, but I still got it, though it's pretty badass, but anyway. So I get here. I'm retired, basically Right, so I got a little more time to whatever. And then my, my wife's uncle, he goes mountain biking and there's some, you know some older guys that they they go riding and stuff. So I was like, cool, but my bike was still not upgraded or updated. I mean, it had the new tires and everything but the.
Speaker 1:It's a large frame bike, but it was. It had 26 inch wheels, um, the handlebars were very narrow compared to what they, what they'd use now, you know, and it had the three by what was it? Three by six, three by eight kind of gear ratio. So you had the three gears in the front and then, like it was like six or eight in the back or something and, like I said, it had cable. It was disc brakes, but it was cable. Um, so I, I used that bike for a while and you know I couldn't, I couldn't get up certain hills like other people with the, you know, the updated, the bigger gears, so they can just kind of climb.
Speaker 1:We call it god mode, you know, you can just climb up steep hills, no problem, and but I went riding like crazy with my bike, like that. And then then finally I started, um, slowly replacing parts like, uh, the handlebars. I got wider handlebars, like I was used to, the handlebars and everything. But so the new ones man, it's weird, it's so weird having them wider, but they are. It does make things a little easier once you get used to it. So I got new handlebars, I got, um, I got new new transmission. Everything on the bike is new except for the frame and the, the seat, the saddle. I even got like a, a, um, what you would call it, the plunger seat that you know you can push up and down, but it ended up kind of not working. So now I'm back to the standard whatever, but everything else I got. You know forks it's a hard tail, but it's got kind of not working. So now I'm back to the standard whatever, but everything else I got. You know, forks it's a hard tail, but it's got. I got bigger rims and tires, so they're 27 and a half, which is as big as I can get on there, and so, yeah, everything's updated.
Speaker 1:I went through a couple different transmissions and different, you know, to kind of get the right, because I don't know stuff here in the field, but you can get a lot of stuff here, good stuff, but some of it I don't know what it is like, certain names, I guess brand names I know in the states here. I don't know if it's good or not. You know what I mean. And then when you try and talk to individuals here was about stuff. You're like, hey, is this good? Like oh yeah, it's good, it's very good. I'm like okay, but is it really good, or is it? Is it the brand? What's? Why is the price higher? Is it because it's the brand or the brand name, or is it actually better? You know, you try and get that information and either they don't know or they don't want to say something bad about a product they have. I don't so.
Speaker 1:But so the bike, my, I kind of, I kind of went ahead there. So my father died six months after we moved here. And when was that? So a couple months after he died is when I started riding with my wife's uncle and we were riding like every other day and it really kind of helped me get through, you know, losing my dad. So I went through and that's when I got crazy into it and was we were riding every other day and then I started slowly upgrading and then, um, but what's funny was, you know, I rode the bike stock, basically, except for the new tires. Maybe I had new wheels, I can't remember but everything else was stock and I never had problems with it. You know, I couldn't always make it up the Hills cause it didn't have the gear ratio. Um, and you know, maybe some of the rides were a little rougher because the fork was a spring fork and not, you know, air oil or whatever it is. You know, a nicer fork man. I never had problems with it.
Speaker 1:And then when I started upgrading and getting all new stuff, there was like my you know, my transmission. I had one break. I had stuff constantly slipping, had chains breaking. It was just like, oh my gosh. But during this time I tried the tubeless, you know, taking the tubes out and doing the slime. So I did it on my own. I bought some tape, I taped the rims and I bought some slime and did everything and it worked great. It actually worked fine. It was much easier to convert over than I, I thought, you know. And so I used that for a while. And then I remember just being on the trail and you see people having to fix their tube or replace their tube and I'm like ha-ha, tubeless, thinking I'm cool and it was great at first, but I started having problems with the valve stems. They were getting clogged and I didn't.
Speaker 1:I think if you're gonna go tubeless, you need to be like actively riding regularly. You know what I mean, because I was pretty active for like six months. I rode pretty regularly, but then after a while I kind of like when the rainy season that first rainy season hit, when I started riding, so I didn't ride for a while and then getting back into it, and that's kind of a problem I have. It's like I want to do some things, but it's just like that first step, you know, and then so trying to get back into. Once I get back into something, then I'm good. Or once I set the momentum or the habit, you know, I'm pretty good. So I didn't.
Speaker 1:The rainy season hit and it was pretty pointless to go riding during that time, and so I didn't go riding for a while. And then when I did, it's like I was having problems because the slime would kind of dry up and fill the stem and clog it. So I'd bring the bike in, get new valve stems, and it happened like three times and I was just like man. So I haven't ridden in like almost two years a year and a half maybe, I don't know. I'm trying to remember. I don't remember the last time I went riding. But so my son my youngest he has been like come on, let's go ride. He's been bugging me, wanting to go ride and wanting to go ride. So finally I got my older son's bike, which was too big. It had 29s, which was too big for my youngest son. So I put 28s on there and got some things on it. So he's good to go.
Speaker 1:We went riding the other day. We had to mess with his transmission a little, but it seems to be pretty good. But my tires, I wasn't able to put air in them. So I brought them to the bike shop. He put air in it. I'm like cool. But then the next morning one of them's flat, I was able to put air in it. The other one was like a little bit lower but I could not put air in it. I just couldn't. So we went riding, come back and it's like man still having issues. And then it was just like.
Speaker 1:At that moment I was like you know what? Screw this dude, I'm done with the slime crap, I'm going to put tubes back in. You know what I mean? Because it's like it's not that hard to change your tire. I mean it's a little bit time consuming and stuff, but it's not that big a deal If you've got the tools and you got the tube, you know. So you just you have the tools and you always have an extra tube with you when you go riding, right?
Speaker 1:Um, so I was like I'm just going back to the tube. And then I thought about it and it's like because because of my, my habits, you know, I don't ride all the time it just the slime does not work. So I think tube works better for for me, and until maybe I start riding, or maybe if I get like, yeah, if I start riding regularly and maybe I buy a new bike and I'm just like riding like crazy or something, then maybe I'll go back to tubeless. But I don't know because, holy shit, it was a pain in the ass to go back to tubes, right. So yesterday I made holy crap, I'm at 25 minutes, uh, who cares? Anyway.
Speaker 1:So yesterday I made the decision to go to or to go back to the tubes. So I went and bought some tubes, come home, start getting everything ready and I start, you know, trying to get the tires off and they are like super glued in. So the slime just completely dried, everything, and it was just I could not get the bead. You know, every time I would kind of open it up and and get it kind of ready to get the tool in, to kind of it. Just it would. I couldn't move anything, and I don't know, it's just, it's hard to explain, but it was just, it was.
Speaker 1:It was getting to the point where I was like you know what, we're not going riding, I'm just going to cut this fucking tire off and buy new tires, which I didn't want to do Cause they were still good tires, they weren't that old, but I was getting frustrated, I was getting pissed off. And so, finally, though, my youngest son he's like he was he got on YouTube to try and find, you know, if there was some kind of resolution, something, and he did. He found an individual who had the same exact problem I was having and what he, and he found it on. I don't know if he found another channel or it was a friend, but basically, you know, he makes sure all the air is out, obviously, and then what you do is you lay the tire down and you have to, like, step on the tire, not the rim, but the tire, just like you know. So you got the circle of the tire and then you just kind of step on, step on it and then you grab the spokes right there close to the rim and you just kind of pull on it and it'll separate the bead. And then you go to the other side and it kind of it. Finally kind of did it and it was like oh my gosh, finally. So we got it off.
Speaker 1:The thing I was worried about was the tire, was it got a little messed up from me constantly trying to get at it? But like I don't know if I'd be able to go back to slime with that tire, like I'm worried that it might. I think it'll be fine, but I don't know. Anyway, so, but finally got it in there and everything's good. So very, very, very happy about that. Um, but yeah, I I don't know. Like you know, there was a couple of times where I almost bought a new bike, full suspension and all this kind of stuff, and I know I'm getting older and you're supposed to. You know it's easier on your back and everything with full suspension.
Speaker 1:I just love my, my, my bike, though, man, it's a hard tail, but it's it's bad badass. I should have a picture of it. Do I have a picture of it? I don't think I do. Well, actually, I don't know where my old phone is at. Anyway, it's a gray, like a light gray, standard bike. It's got a classic look. It doesn't have the newer shapes and stuff, cause it's older, but I don't know, I'm, I'm kind of like more into classic vehicles. You know what I mean. So it's kind of the same thing with the bikes.
Speaker 1:Like you know, I see the bike, I'm like, oh, it's nice, that's cool. Um, so I, I don't know, I definitely won't ever get rid of it, if anything, you know, maybe I'll buy a new one and then, you know, my son can ride it or whatever. But I don't know. I like it, um, it's good for me, but I don't know if it's it's. It's a large frame, but you know, sometimes I'm, you know, it's probably the length of it compared to some of the newer ones. I don't know. I'm sure if I'll get like an extra large and 29 wheels and all that kind of stuff to, you know, make it make it funner? I don't know, we'll see, we'll see, but I don't know. So that's my mountain biking story. I love once I get out there, man, I love it, um, and it's like I don't want to go back, um, so it was. You know I haven't ridden in a while. And then we finally we just went behind the property and went on some like little dirt trail, nothing you know crazy, but still it's kind of fun and it really was just like, oh man, it, you know it's in me, like I love doing it. So it's just, it's just getting me, getting me to, to go, so, but I don't know. So that's kind of what's going on with me.
Speaker 1:Anybody else, what's your hobbies? I'd like to hear some of the hobbies that you guys have. I'm starting to get a little more interaction with some people on my videos. I haven't gotten any interaction through the podcast. I don't know if people make comments on Spotify. I think I'd have to log in to Let me know if whoever's listening to this. If you have made a comment on anything on Spotify, let me maybe send me an email. Theobjectivejerk at gmailcom.
Speaker 1:Be like dude, I say stuff all the time but I don't know the last. You know it's been a minute but there wasn't. People were listening but I wasn't really getting much. You know feedback or anything, but anyway, yeah. So I'd like really getting much, you know feedback or anything, but anyway. Yeah. So I'd like to hear about what kind of hobbies you guys do. You know, whether it's like 3d printing or I don't know, rc, who knows whatever Kind of curious. But um, I've been talking for 30 minutes now so I think I'm going to end it. I appreciate your time and hanging out and listening to my retarded story. Anyway, let me know Again. Email me at theobjectivejerkergmailcom. Thanks for hanging out, god bless, and I will see you guys next time. All right, bye.
