___________s with HUGE gaping holes

Back.

J wanted to get out and ride. Rolly singletrack family style.



There's a lot going on here.



It is important to retain a firm grip on one's sucker. My instincts tell me that is so.




Conditions are pretty good right now. Fort Ord holds up well in the winter; the sand drains and tacks right up. Looking forward to more.







In an unrelated development: Thursday December 31st is the Full Blue Moon. Rumors abound...perhaps an undisclosed location in Big Sur? Ride your bike someplace fun. Watch out for drunks.

I'll be the burgher, you be the bun...

Vintage Christmas Krampus Postcard
Originally uploaded by riptheskull

Ah. Gimme that old time religion. Really keeping the schism in Christmas. After all, what's a carrot without a stick?

Church of the Sweet Ride World Headquarters will be closed for a non-denominationally scheduled mid winter break. Here's hoping all is well and plentiful with you and yours as you pull the wool over your own eyes.

jimmy legs

Fort Ord is hella tacky right now...

*I told you I was magical, way back in __________

I used to sing this to my babies at bedtime:



One of the other bedtime lullabies?

My babies are big now, but I sure am feeling sleepy these days.

Street Scientists are talking

Friday was the birfday ride of the lovely and talented M______. It was a boob fest. So, being a bit of a boob meself, I fitted in. So to speak.


There was a lot of talk like that flying around. It's surprising how ribald the ladies are. All that innuendo about the pink slotted Terry Saddle and such. It started with one gal opining that it should have a fake beard glued to the edges, and then went too far when I speculated about installing pink satin in the cut-out for more realism.

Use your mind and your 'magination.

Anyways, in fits and starts (starting with $10 bottomless Mimosas) and with a revolving assortment of accompanying drones the queen bees climbed their way up roads and trails above Santa Cruz. There was a fine ratio of partying to riding. Trails, pave, bikes.



At a certain point in these SC Birfday Rides it always devolves into a to do at Monty's Log Cabin. This time, Monty's was hosting a Christmas clothing swap. The women's clothing was strewn across the pool table, while the men's was (appropriately) in damp boxes in the alley. There were no fine choices there so Christopher St John and I were resigned to looking drab when the gals showed us the finery they had chosen for us.


Matronly.



Festive.




Revealing.


Then we drank more shots of bottom shelf booze than I cared to, and rode down the hill in our finery. Good Times, ladies. Thanks for all the fun.

The coolest thing you've ever seen on the interweb

The impracticality. The danger. I truly believe if an occifer of the law saw this, said occifer would not be able to see it. You could rob a bank with this outfit.

For a bunch of whining complainers, The Fucking Bike Club is cooler than you. And me.

Well, I guess so.

6:15ish.

Tonight.

That one spot.

Don't bring your gun, you. This is a leather pantsed knife-fight.

keep your eyes open

I've been blowing it. Riding again is good, but I need to remember the ridings which are further afield. There's no reason not to go out the Valley to that one road that goes up to those trails.



Winter was here today. It will come and go some more before (what passes around here for) cold settles. Soon be time for trail maintenance and for the cataloging of trails. There's more out there than I know about right now. I must find some.


Should be tattooed on the back of my hand.





Sweaty ride up the hill to the Good Spot. I'm still refining my kit for the cooler weather. Oak leaves and Monterey Pine duff are deep and slippy right now. The Kampy Monkey felt very odd after 1) being off the/a bike completely for 2 weeks, and B) coming back onto the townie styled Long Haul Trucker exclusively for the week following that. I need a 27.2 seatpost with no lay back for this bike. I may need a shorter reach to the bars even after that. I need a pair of bibs. I need a nap.



That is the lurking Oak stump that is right in the fall line at the very bottom of a steep off-camber dip at the very end of the hill. I clipped it at speed. It was noisy. All the air escaped the tube immediately. So I stopped and fixed that.



This sign should say: "Clean up cleanable dead falls." There were 2 other tracks (not mine) on that trail, and lots of evidence that they just took the fast line and left plenty of easily moved logs. It is nice to ride with folks who step up and clear trail. All it takes is the willingness. To take the time out of your important training ride. To figure out how that 30 foot-long x 8 inch-in-diameter log can be moved off the trail. To actually do this, rather than not.



Dude. See how polished those rivets are?

what should I do with my hostage?

So... It is down to you, and it is down to me.



(Did you ever play the game "Risk"?)

Anyways, it has been my experience that people who are Good at what they do are the people willing to allow room for experiences other than their own. I'm thinking specifically of bike mechanics right now, but it applies to villainous geniuses just as well. Willingness to accept (and even solicit) feedback, a.k.a. "criticism" is a hallmark of progression. Stubbornness in this area is hubris.

Listen. Pay attention. You just might learn something.



Don't sleep.

Don't count your chickens.

ride the ... rooster screen print
Originally uploaded by howtouseart




I have been informed (by those who inform me of stuff) that the Full Cold Moon will be pushed back until Thursday December 3. Plan accordingly.

So if you have, like, meetings about riding bikes planned- well that's waaaaaay better than actually riding.

...but d'they call me ______, the bar- maker?

Och. They don't.


Same ride as before, only in daylight.


Winnowing the weak from the shafted, as it were. Come down selector! Trails chosen, trails taken away. (The horses ran roughshod over Fort Ord this Thanksgiving, and wrecked several trails.)



I had some mental breakthroughs this day. Ask me how.

some of us been checking out your act kinda close...

And by now it's looking kinda shaky.



Just so we're clear. The Full Cold Moon is coming at you December 2. From where I sit, thass in 2 days- Wednesday. You know what to do, you know when and where to do it.

Consider yourselfs to have been ranted at with regards to the full moon's value via transience and mysticism and ride quality and Life Quality, and best use of time, and what the hell are you doing with your time on Earth, mortal? OK? Fuck. Just ride your bike for fuck's sake. You know, with no lights save the moon. Fuck.

We took a little recon ride last night, and trust me when I tell you I know eggzackly which corners to lay back on or you'll spill. And where all the grabby sandpits are.


Oh, and also (like it was an afterthought) there will be a (these are rare, so don't blow it) Full Blue Moon on December 31. From where I sit, thass New Year's Eve, and what better way to break the New Year in right. Right? Let it be trails for sure and only that night. No sharing the roads with amateurs and people in a rush.



6666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666





From the amazing Mr. Mitchell.

12121212121212121212121212121212121212121212121212121212121212121212121212121212

And now if I may use this space for my own personal agenda...If I have been a worthless piece of shit to you (recently):

I apologize.

I am trying to get myself together and grow as a person. I truly mean that. It is a process. I'm sorry for being a jerk. I'm riding (again) these days, and that helps.

overlaid with antlers

Thanksgiving was a full one. I rode out the valley to work, and then rode on further out past the village to a summer camp owned by friends of friends. It was gloriously warm and sunny (shirt sleeves!) early on; then the clouds and wind pushed me ahead of themselves in the later afternoon. There is a surprising (to me) amount of Fall color out that way.




I felt great. It was a perfect meshing of good position, enough rest, excellent conditions, attackable grades, and sufficient legs for the job at hand. It was just hard enough to be felt. It was just easy enough to be dismissed.

It has been a while since I felt that way. It is a Good Feeling.



Here is the temporary replacement stem. Here are the clamshell shifters after I adjusted them mid-ride so as to give me maximum grab area. I lik a lot of hand positions. It occurred to me that having lots of bikes is good for you; in that you are that much less likely to suffer repetitive strain injuries if you spread the use around over different handlebar configurations. Just go with it- it's Science, and Science is something your sweetie cannot deny when you come home with that next bike.


When I arrived at the summer camp entrance I ignored the devil on my shoulder whispering at me to ride out the valley just a little more, and climbed up to join my sweetie (roped in by friends) in the industrial kitchen to help cook for ~80 people. I walked in the door, cracked a beer and mashed some potatoes. Then I sipped at the flask full of rye and washed dishes for several hours, while all around me it was chaos and quickness.

These people are not us. That's some lady and F____- who wanted to talk to me about his army days in Greenland, and would not stop whistling Van Morrison's "Moondance".



We spent the night in one of the cabins...


I hate cots.






Rain prevented the planned ride back in this morning. Instead, I drank lots of coffee and helped cook breakfast for the ~40 people who stayed over. My Big Idea was to use the GIANT bowl of left over mashed potatoes to make potato pancakes (and so prevent them from going to waste). I used leeks to add some texture, threw in some garlic, salt and pepper and browned up 4 giant cast iron skilletfuls. It turned out well.

I wish I had thought to photograph the poor pathetic stuffed bear they have on a mantel in one of the dining halls. You would have loved it. It is the size of a Labrador, and falling to pieces. I have a strange fondness for mangy taxidermy.

Thank You

The Frontiersman
Originally uploaded by Marxchivist

the little things. The BIG Picture. patience, tolerance, humility. bikes and bike riding. My Family. health. employment. things that are funny. the nick of Time (which comes in yet also cuts deep). again- the heavy heavy monster sound. buzz of tires. rush of wind. silence.Blood, blood, blood- blood and fire! pave. canvas, wool and leather. owls. chances- are and taken; both. wisdom, knowledge and overstanding. wind at my back, sun on my face. whichever ride is happening now....

mouse fight breaks out! no clear winner

Fat drunk and stupid is no way to go through life, Son.



I got on the Long Haul Trucker for a sunny ride to work this morning. It's been a while. The handlebars felt a little off; like the right side was flexing up more than the left. I eyeballed the set up and it was a little cocked to the left, so I thought I must have knocked it around somewhere down the line...and I'd fix it later.

Whatevah.
I flexed the bars back and forth a bunch getting reacquainted with the feel of this bike. Took some turns a little hot. You know. Super fast bumpy drop down the hill. Getting out over the front end. Dropping like a stone.

I wanted to go ride some dirt after work so I pulled out the multi-tool to re-align the stem, but this

was what I saw.

Oh my.

I called the wife for an automobile rescue.

move along

Nothing to see here.

Damn, damn, damn!

to all those that know what really time it is

J's first ever trail ride!



Which quickly became his first ever trailside crash...



followed by his first ever trailside recovery.


He really tore it up. Especially in light of keeping up on dinky 12" wheels.



There were moments of panic, in which he forgot the coaster brake and Flintstoned to a stop. There were moments when he used his feet as outriggers and pogoed back and forth down some inclines.


We took the mildest singletracks available. Some fireroads. A very small amount of pave. Not one complaint.

Ostensibly, the plan was to head over to the old Boy Scout Camp and cut the hands off the used-to-be clown-headed swing sets. The heads are long gone. There's one frame/body still standing, but people beat us to it. Those hands are gone now, too. There is one body in the weeds, which location I thought I remembered but could not find. I had stashed the body in the dark of night maybe 4 years ago, after I'd hack sawed the head off. I kept telling myself I'd get around to hauling the body out one of these days. Dang. Who doesn't want a white gloved tube of galvanized steel with chains attached?

Anyhow, we cooked Brown Lunch and fooled around.


J got tired on the way back. We strapped the pink bike (which had been N's 1st bike and then D's, and J's in turn) onto the tail of the Big Dummy and J climbed on board.


We stopped briefly at the stairs, where J decided he wanted to ride the rest of the way himself.


Then we collected some trailside logs for firewood and called it a day.



We should all be so stoked. ~6 miles.

Post up

If you haven't read David Foster Wallace, you're shorting yourself some Quality.

Full stop.

I hadn't read this piece before, which remains timely and relevant. Go read it, I'll wait.



















I would just add that, short of turning into one of those cyclists who make it about self righteousness of one sort or the other (whether it be lycraed out Serious Training, or Planet Saving Commute, or Traffic Law Obeying to the Nth degree as a matter of being an upright example to others, or maybe just some jackass on a computer-ahem), short of being one of them, being on a bike would make just about every example listed in the tedious workday struggle for conscious awareness a little more fun and, so, doable.
The ability to make the choice to step outside oneself and one's "tiny skull sized kingdom" -and man, I wish that line were mine!- is more accessible given the inherent freedom of the bike to take us a step outside the gridlock.
2 cents.

I found the article via Flick Lives!, which is frequently a good read. Thanks for the heads up, Flick.

for your health!

You have different bikes? For different ridings? Using different bars on them reduces your likelihood of developing over use/repetitive strain injuries, and, plus makes each one more interesting through contrast!

Why didn't you think of that?

You say _______________, but you don't mean it.

Pain in the ass? No, "pain in the low back." OK, pain from the ass. Gluteus Medius is involved in 90% of low back pain. And that is why I do this:


to help with low back pain by eliminating trigger points in Gluteus Medius (which have a referral pattern up into the low back). I'll move the ball until I find the spot(s) and then rock back and forth letting my body weight work out the knots. Maybe hold on a spot for a maximum of 20 seconds, and then move off. This pushes blood from the area and when the pressure is relieved fresh, oxygenated blood floods back in. I also roll around on my side and work points. It works.




In looking for a reason for this new discomfort, I examined my cleat placement.Look at this!



Wha?!? How did this happen? Am I such a lunkhead that I set the cleats this way initially? I'd like to say :"Oh, surely not!" in a firm and competent tone; but let's face it...it could happen.

Ouch.

While this is a clear indictment of my (overall) competence however we look at it, it almost certainly is the cause of my recent pain in the ass/back. I've now moved both cleats as far back as the slots allow to see how that feels. Ankling? Apparently, we don't have to show you any steenkeen badges.



Hope that helps.

kid bikes