I will now sell 5 copies of the 3 EPs by the Beta Band...

I know. A break in the rain. whew! I do apologize for having to exercise the mighty power of cold wet blanketry (that I usually hold in reserve for important occasions such as impressing my wife's friends/coworkers at parties or the kids' school functions, where I come on like a cold wet blanket by only being capable of talking about bikes and parts and bike rides) in calling down this monsoon. But it had to be done. January was setting us up for fires, come summer.

Be glad for the rain.




Given today's brief window of sun, I'd planned on the quick short local loop (and taken a bottle and no food...) but it was so nice I ended up going long. Checked on our mystery tarp situation, and it looks like that operation is being maintained. We shall see what develops, and I was careful to leave no footprints,etc. Quick easter egg pickup, drinkup, and roll on- with an eye to connecting that area further via that one hillside. I think it can be done. I just need to bring some clippers and make it happen.



Today was exploration day. Have you ever been here?No, you haven't. Because this is so far off the beaten trails it was just me and coyote tracks. Finding this type of extracurricular goodness can only be done when everything falls into place just so (like having all this glorious sunshine after the gloom) and you are alone (no one else wants to be dragged along on your bushwacking sand ride). When it does come together, it is magic. This will be good for the next Full Moon Ride. March 10th is the Full Worm Moon...

I had no lunch,was out of water in my lone bottle and was bonking well before I got to the back side of Fort Ord, scaled the fence at Laguna Seca and begged water from the Mazda racing HQ.


Then it was fast as hell down 50, with the front wheel slipping into an understeer in the wet sand and getting all drifty in the corners. That is fun.
Sorry Minnesota, Spring is sprong here...



See Fremont Peak off in the distance? That is why y'all must get crossbikes! We could be riding this to access that, there and back. It is ridiculous not to. Everbody: get a cross bike...GO!

With all this sustained wetness, each of my bikes has been ridden and put away wet at least once. My road/cross bike is still hanging in pieces from the Countyline (and I have not yet retrieved the front wheel from Craig Ashcroft or Victor Montenegro), so when we rode the Dog in a Hat Ride/Cold Pig in a Wet Blanket Ride in Santa Cruz on Sunday, I reached for the long left hanging Kampe Monkey. It turned out to be just the ticket and I was Glad.

Kooks come out in droves on the VO site to argue that only their personal choice of tyre size is legitimate and I don't comment. Shi_ like that is personal preference, with the caveat that the bigger the headache, the bigger the pill baby. And I am the big pill, so I prefer a big tire for most things and a really big tire for offroad. I forgot how fun that bike is. Gigantic stack of spacers aside (and that is on the 20" frame- Surly! I love you, but why such baby housecat headtubes?) it is rockkk solid and rolls on and on. Like I lik. The drop bars at seat height are perfect- I get the upright 48cm(!) width for the climbs and easy rolling, and the drops give me the technical position to get hella technical on technical terrain. Just Goodness.

With regard to the Cold Wet Pig Ride, I will say it was...fun. Once you commit to something like that, what is there but to enjoy yourself? To the people at the back who continued to enjoy themselves (even though poor planning on your own part(s) led to not having the booze you really needed) I salute you. Even when it hurts a lot, it only stops being fun if you let it stop.