I don't lik ___________s that look too planned. Where is the fun in that?

This past weekend was a lot of fun. It centered around a birfday ride (and we know how those go) to the Pinnacles Monument, at which point it devolved into a chaotic free-for-all camp out. A real masterpiece in 84 hard miles: 2 motorcycles sagged with panniers full of iced(!) beer and water and snacks! There were many people involved, (a rotating cast of 19 riders!) and families and friends met at the campsite for a total somewhere between 60 and 2,032 people. They were all good folks. There were plenty of kids for the kids to play with, and D______ got his falling in the creek and emerging covered in mud from the top to the bottom, bottom to the top out of the way early so that he and his buddy could spend the weekend in their PJs (which, PJs and houseshoes (!) is a fantastic look in the woods; and one I will attempt to ape from now on). The children roamed freely, stopping to graze at different snack sites when the need arose.

Happy Birfday, ____! And a heartfelt thankyou to those involved in support! It was super well done.



Also, it was pointed out to me (in many ways) that blogging is problematic for my fellow riders. In that it somehow detracts from the experience while it is being experienced, I gather. I have gotten this information before; several times. At the time, I did not want to pursue this topic; not least because it would be the primary topic for discussion based on how frequently I heard some variation on the theme of "blogging is _______________."(oh...unwelcome, stupid, a waste of time, lame, pointless, something to be avoided, etc)

I will address it here and now. I would ask in response to "waste of time": compared to what? What are people doing with their free time that is so much more awesome? Many of the people with whom I ride have made it clear they do not want themselves plastered on the internet. That is understandable. I do not mention names and the faces are black-barred out. (if it was good enough for low budget stag movies, it is good enough for me) I do not take my camera out on group rides if it will interfere with the pace or if it seems unwelcome. The purpose of (my) blogging is not to recount all the rotten shi_ that people do, though there were a lot of cracks about "documenting" things. Consider them documented.

I started writing this thing because I am interested in bikes and all the surrounding cloud of bikeness. There are all these cool and unique expressions of people's personal interaction with this on the internet that you can't get from your circle of like-minded buddies even if you are lucky enough to be in a place where there is a sizeable circle. This blog is my hat in the ring. Don't lik the content? Fuck off. Or comment and tell me about it, and then fuck off. Enjoy what you see? Great. Now fuck off.

Finally, it is somewhat ironic that the people commenting on the relative unworth of this pursuit must engage in it enough to, at minimum, read this blog. I won't mention any names.



For those interested in such things: the Buena Vistas (Soma's Mixte) are in stock. I need a 58cm...