a dissolute man in fashionable society

And by now it's looking kinda shaky.


Not least because I recently strapped these All City double toe straps onto my fixed wheel bicycle in an attempt to be on the sharpest of cutting edges. It's humbling fumbling with these.
Full Strawberry Moon has not disappointed! 2 nights running of hottt moon on trail action. You wouldn't know about that. (Johann, I had some Ali Farka Toure going on the jukebox at the Caprock Bar and poured some beer out for you and the African posse)


Night #1: Tuesday night, the night before Full. I missed the birfday fun ride in Santa Cruz because we were super busy in the bike shop so I was unable to take off early to make the ride. Which led to local solo perfection. Cloudless sky, BRIGHT Moon. When I'm all by me onesie, I am hesitant to take certain trails. Call me chicken, but that's how it breaks down. Some trails are too closed in for me to feel comfortable rolling down potentially mountain lion laden alleys of poison oak. I know it's unlikely, but people do act funny when the wolfs bane blooms and the Autumn moon is bright. So...I stuck to the fire roads until Mudhen Express, which is too swoopy to be denied (and plus, it's wide open). Spent some time lounging under the moon, drinking beers ( which helped the closed-in, dark singletrack trails seem a lot more inviting on the return trip... so I hit them riding out to Eucalyptus), eating peanuts, listening to the wind or my musical phone. Good times.
On my way back down Military, I came across this kook:



What caught my eye was the (full suspension?!) Bob trailer on the roof. Then I noticed the rubbish laying around the car, the entry-level commuter bike, and the sleeping person wearing a surgical mask (?) amidst the detritus piled window level in every seat but the driver's. I desperately wanted to interact with this obviously unique bicycle enthusiast, but the possibility for a Lynchian vignette was not enough to offset the probable angry craziness...

So I enjoy a detour through the cemetery. It's dark, quiet, and offers an alternative to roads. As I was rolling through at 11pm, I saw shadowy figures standing at a grave...and candles at the headstone. I looked again, and they were still there. I rolled over there and it was your standard 3 young adults memorializing "Grandma" at 11pm. I can't help but think it was weirder than that. But these grave site squares were not talking, so I kept moving.


Night #2: Local yokels ride trails for fun. We took those trails. While malingering, this guy rolled up out of the semi-darkness and asked if one of us was named "___..._____?" And it turned out he was the fellow the kids and I had met out there weeks ago, and to whom I had mentioned our moonlight proclivities. So there he was, and he'd toted his own beers. Speaks well of him. Meeting new people can be hard. Fast trail riding out left my front wheel looking like this


the next morning. Looks like I rolled it sideways a little. That happens. 2 nights local loop has left my legs feeling real tired...More riding the trails tonight. We'll see how it goes. I sure do like milking these moons for all the fullness thereof.

Ride yo bike!