Next Full Moon

Sunday, May 3rd Full Flower Moon

14 May 2008

Nice 'tude, bro

So. Your spirit animal must be the Plastic Bag Caught In A Tree or the Roadside Empty Budget Beer 24oz Can, I guess.


Regardless, there was singlespeeding yesterday in Santa Cruz. I don't know if you've ridden there, but it stacks up against anyplace you have ridden and called "the Greatest Place I've ever Ridden!" It really is world _ucking class. I went up there with a fella I had met a total of one times, and who's been agitating to ride. And he's from the East Coast, so his demeanor is a little...pushy. (Don't get all puffed up, you know it's True.) And he insisted he knew the trails real well, having lived up there for a couple years, several years ago. And he didn't want to ride the trails I suggested, but said he knew these trails in _____ ______ that were great, and could be linked to UCSC for a real Good Time. And I have very limited experience with those trails, and new trails knowledge is always welcome.

So we rode there. And ran into a ranger right away- who was incredibly cool and friendly and insisted that the area was closed to bikes. And then we took a trail straight down the hillside and crossed a creek to pathless forest. And then we bushwacked up the steep loose hillside, because he knew the trail was right above us. And then we bushwacked back down the steep and slippy hillside to the creek and crossed back over.

At this point I was finished with the bushwacking to nowhere. I don't know how much bushwacking you've done, but I have done a lot. A Lot. I will readily admit to being lost at least 1 in 5 times I go out. As the King of Being Lost once said to a group of us, "That's Naural Style! It's how you learn!" The fact that he said this while attempting to stop (my) fancy fixxie on a dime and repeatedly crashing it merely lends more gravitas to the axiom. When we did our tour as ski bums, getting lost in the trees was the only way to find the secret=awesome private powder stashes. Sometimes you'd get hung up in tree wells or just beat your way through willows to more bushes, and other times you'd pop out in a secret spot no one had tracked. It's an Adventure.

There will come a time when you either find it or you don't, though. A time at which, there is no sense in throwing good effort after bad, so to speak. And we had reached that point. We discussed, and he wanted to push further downstream to the end of the sandbar/sound of the chainsaw. I agreed, and we ended up sneaking out behind some houses and getting back on track. Could have been better, but that is how you learn...

This fella wants to ride a secret spot around here that I know well. And, I will probably take him. He had respect. East Coastliness aside (and it is just a cultural difference in manner, not a lack of manners) he had asked what I thought about taking the known trail (middling fun) or the potential bushwack (huge fun, if it worked out), he didn't just ride ahead and make choices. Although, asking me if I think we should take the road less traveled is like asking Polly if she wants that cracker.

8 comments:

fxdwhl said...

make sure to give your spirit animal a huge and kiss for me tonight before you tuck it into bed.

e.c.f.u.

p.s. my spirit animal died from lack of sleep, bitterness, and too much coffee.

reverend dick said...

"e.c.f.u."

???"east coast F-ck _u_"??

Bitterness is hurtful to spirit animals. Too much coffee?

fxdwhl said...

all in jest.

the bouncing souls coined e.c.f.u. years ago. kind of a rallying cry for punks on this side of the continent.

i think some of the east's resentment/intesity comes from the fact that we get up 3 hours before you. while we're toiling away in the mines and smoke factories you're still snug in bed all cozy with your rubber chicken.

Little_Jewford said...

I lived in New Brunswick, NJ (home of the Bouncing Souls - long live the Melody Bar) for a dozen years...one of the many epicenters of the e.c.f.u.

I've never been able to put my finger on the specific difference between east and west coast, aside from the general lack of sarcasm out here, but its real. Years ago I saw a cartoon that sort of summed it up, at least the dichotomy between LA and NYC

two guys are passing each other in the street.

In NYC: one guy is saying to the other "go to hell" but thinking "have a nice day"

in LA: one guy is saying to the other "have a nice day" but thinking "go to hell"

LJ

reverend dick said...

Bam. BAM!

I'm not from California, I'm from Texas. Ah, ah...careful, now.

I love you guys. Or is it y'all?

Anonymous said...

wait. who's Polly??

macmorg said...

Hmm... sounds like a bit of "complaining" about the bushwacking....
Surprising coming from you...
Is that a west coast thing? mebbe you been out there too long.
On spirit animals, read a book called "The Golden Compass", good it is, hmm.

reverend dick said...

Well, Corm...if it comes across as complaining I hope it's just my poor writing/riding skills. My intention was to point out that it is only through suffering (in this case bushwacking) that one can achieve true bliss. Parts of the whole, etc. But like a lime to a lemon, lemon to a lime, it must have come across as some California whine. I brought up the exploring in search of powder (mostly off 9, but some 6, too...or christmas tree chutes, anyone?) to illustrate my fundamental attitude towards bushwacking as being: maintain a positive attitude, the goods are right around the corner.And if they end up not being there, now you know...
Not complaining, just stating the fact that it was time to give up that plan and change to one more likely to result in sweet sweet singletrack.
That's all we really want.