shameless plug

shameless.
plug.
So, if you are going to Moab this season (and if you can, you should) you need to check out the Love Muffin Cafe for your pie-hole requirements. The food is holesome and deelicious, and I can personally recommendo the vegan waffles. Sexy ladies (I believe they made it a policy to only hire pretty girls...always a good idea, though I am sadly unable to validate the rumors of required footbinding) will pour your joe, and the cook does not wear pants.

Fact.

While in Moab, you should probably ride your bike. More detailed recommendo upon request.





And, plus this guy
might put in an appearance. Those folks are down with pirates.

leaving well enough alone

Again with the wrist. Rode some in Santa Cruz yesterday. Singlespeed felt good. Legs felt good. I was able to just keep the pedals turning over. Well, it helped that the folks I was chasing (as ever) knew the way to keep the grade so doable. Fast and rolling up and down singletrack goodness in the Redwoods. Lucky!
Since I've been in Ft. Ord so much lately, I've come to anticipate the amount of slip needed to maintain good lines there. The dirt is a lot different up in Santa Cruz. When I let the front end ride up the inside of the turn and expect it to slip down just so, it didn't. And that means I was pointed at the tree, not just under it. So instead of catching it on the clavicle, I put my hand out and received my impact by bending my hand back. T___ said he fully expected the scene to involve a run-over dog, judging from the noises I made. Probably a lot of high pitched squeals and some wheezing. Sorta teary, little sweaty, kinda tired...
It isn't a big deal (no swelling or severe pain), it just concerns me because wrists take a while, and are easy easy to reinjure. And I got shi_ planned that involves riding on healthy body parts!So today is ice and arnica with some recovery drinks.

J__, your hard work planning the CO Trail day by day is much appreciated.

R___, this one's for you and yours...

the Ant and the Aardvark

I barely remember these, but here it is...

I love how the Ant seems like Deano.

There's a lot of skwauking on the interwebs about riding your bike to work, etc. And lots of it is holier than thou bullshit. If you wanna ride your bike, you don't need me to tell you to do it.

ladies?...put your hands up, put your hands up

So N and I went grocery shopping today. I hate going (anytime) especially on the weekend, because the freaks come out. Even if they don't, it is just damned crowded. Today there were three people (that I noticed) wearing their sunglasses in the store- and no, these were not the prescription kind. I mention this because it bugged me.
And right away (Right Away) we can barely maneuver the cart it's so packed. And all the yahoos leave their carts in the aisles, etc. So we're almost done, and this cart is blocking a major corner in the coffee/bread interchange. There are 3 other people at a dead stop, rolling their eyes at one another and waiting impatiently. I walk up and I move it, muttering curses, and one of the sunglass wearers (an older woman who's maybe wearing hers to cover her latest round of plastic surgery judging from her bloated, misshapen lips) snatches it, saying "That's mine! Sorry." Then she moves one aisle down the artery and leaves it, blocking that intersection...


But I spent much of the afternoon changing the set up of L's Crosscheck. She's been riding her townie exclusively because it's so much more comfortable. This played a part in her crash (32 stitches! 5 in the muscle belly and 2 inside her lip!) at Arroyo Seco. The tires were just so skinny. To get her rolling again in offroad style, I swapped in the WTB MutanoRaptor 700/44s. Complimented by the swap of picture from Rivendell Bicycle Works
Nitto Albatross Bars (which had been on my Long Haul Trucker, and came complete with sweet shellacked cork grips with nifty reflector plugs, super good-feeling Paul's canti levers, and utterly hoardable & impossible to break Oooold skewel Shimano Unishift shifters {with the clamshell aluminum body! allowing cable routing from either direction...} hmmm, that setup may get swapped out again...) and a longer stem in place of the Moustache bars for a more upright position. Also, one of these. And while I was at it, the Tektro CR720 cantilevers. They have a real nice action, and are super reasonably priced. And finally the Brooks B18 I have been hoarding.I had been holding this stuff back, waiting to place it triumphantly on my Big Dummy. Honestly though, L deserves it more than I...

It's going to be such a useful and kickass camping bike! Now her bike is so shiny and transformed, it whispers to me. It's a good thing for L that it isn't my size.

and speaking of stylish ladies' bikes not in my size but I wish they were...

Let's hear it for the boy...

whoa, whoa maybe he's no romeo
but he's [your] lovin one man show
whoa, whoa, whoa.

So there's that. But there's also this.Personally, I'd rather hang out in front of a BAR and have a bike dance-off.
Ride bikes?

Bike to Work Day

Today was a scorcher. Rode the scorcher to work.
This is my bar bike superbeater. I recently got the bug to complete the Campy, so I put the 165mm cranks I had laying around on it.
That was a mistake.

meet the old boss

Affect the tone of the day...go ride your bike of choice and, while you're at it, hide some easter eggs for yourself. You know you'll be happy they are there later, when you come sweeping through on your long, hot ride. Them eggs stay plenty cool when you stuff em up under some stairs.Why, I've known eggs to last for upwards of 5 months, good as ever- No Lie.

And on that note, stack something warm in there, too. You know, you might want that at some point, too. Me? When I'm stocking the creek, I like to keep the price down because poachers will poach. But that doesn't mean suffering through something bad. There are plenty of serviceable, even enjoyable, cheap whiskies. And when your friends are apt to ride up and try some "just to see what it tastes like", but less apt to ride out and stow some of their own away,there's no sense in throwing good bourbon at them indiscriminately. Old Grandad is your friend here. He's the Head of the Bourbon Family!

Bikes are real similar to whiskeys this way: a reasonably inexpensive one will do the same job that a high end one will. Either will take you to the same place and be fun to ride. Some have fancier parts or a nicer finish, but what's your real aim? I like both (at the same time) for different reasons. There's a wealth of silliness about what's important (especially on the silly bike sites I look at), and maybe a lack of actual use.

Today, I wrapped my mitts around a cheap whiskey and a cheap bike, and it was a real Good Time. And, plus there's colorful eggs waiting for my next dirt ride...