___________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.