I'll give you __ seconds to tell me what this is all about

Summer. Bike riding or bike writing? As Kool Keith says, "I ain't sitting by no computer, I'm going to Bermuda." So.

Passed this guy on the way to work:

and of course I turned around to check him out. He's accomplished some worthwhile modifications, but. He has fallen victim to one of the classic blunders of the private tinkerer. He thinks his reinvention of the wheel is Omega, and won't listen to another take on it. I tired of his know-it-alledness pretty quickly. Especially his line about being prepared for anything and capable of going anywhere- yeah, that's some bullshit talk right there, Holmes. Soft and street dependent, says I.


Here's a load of

And, you can talk and talk and if you don't actually come prepared, you will find yourself here

no pump/etc and stuffing matter into your tyre to make it back to the pave. You might take your commuter for granted and then try some larger dirt add-on and learn (again) the hard way: always carry the tools to fix your ride!

For what it's worth, it took approximately 2 minutes for the duff to powderize and become worthless.



Single Speed keeps happening. Keeps happening. There's a lot to be said for just head down pedal. Singlespeeding is dead! Long live singlespeeding.

too much flourishing

way too much.

the convergence of all that surrounds it

Well, I can tell you that if you show up willing you got a lot more on the ball than most. And since I'm distributing advice for free, I'll further point out that learning is only ever done by choice- surprise! you cannot force anyone to figure anything out. Some folks has just got to take the hard way. It does NOT mean you have to tolerate them or their company, though. So, if some jack ass shows up at the singlespeed ride aboard a borrowed full squish full carbon with the fancy hydraulic disc brakes and all the gears you could imagine...it's up to you.

What would you do if it was all that AND he had no beers?

the amateur will

cave under pressure. He will feel discomfort and cease all forward motion. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

At least the FNG didn't complain when I tricked him into a "road" ride in Santa Cruz. Lived here all his life and never gone up there for a ride at all, at all? Some would say he deserved everthing he got, others that he hasn't earned any of it. Either way, he received a valuable gift and I'm not talking about the new road rash.

Let's see...Corralitos Mkt to Day Valley to Trout Gulch to Fern FLat to Buzzard's to Eureka to Highland to Summit. Pick up some tallboys and take them over to Redwood Lodge and Schulties. Back to Summit for some more tallboys (FNG says to "get something fancy", so I picked him up a Mickey's) which we toted over to Santa Rosalia.

Credit due: he was riding 23s...you try that and tell me how it works out. Who me? Sheeeeeeit. I ride them 28s all day.

I won't name any names, but Aptos Creek Fire road was where homeboy laid it over, and that was after I took some pity on his fatigue and opted for the easy way down.

FNG may or may not come riding again. If he does, I expect he will have a pump and some will. It becomes ever clearer that I am NOT the guy to teach people how to ride. I managed to keep my mouth shut about the stopping, though I will say here: that shit doesn't help. If you get a "charlie horse" in your self because you have a rotten fit and you're waaaaay too stretched out, you should stop to do what little you can (if it were to be done, then twere best if twere done quickly?) to mitigate your position and then get back to the pedaling. If you have the cramps, then ride through them. Stopping is not going to alleviate any of it, and it is not going to get you back to the car. I can inflict Suffering, but the value of Suffering is something one teaches one's own self.

this is a blog entry

Every locale has it's riders; it's once-in-a-whilers, and it's on-all-the-timers. Ever scene has it's scenesters; it's hangers on, and it's core. Ever group has folks who bitch about what is less than ideal, and those who close they mouf and put they shoulder into the load.

I been riding the single speed a fair amount lately. Time is tight these days, and it packs a lot of fun into the effort. I do notice how willing it is to respond. Any time I feel like standing up and laying it down, the bike is already there- no wind up to wait for. I especially dig that.

And, in thinking about it and all the history of the local SS rides- I talked to M____ the other day, who remembers the Friday Night SS Rides as being "slam a beer and then go fast head down" or somesuch- I am up against my own participation in my local cycling scene. Or lack. I am as bad as any when it comes to lamenting the dearth of ride options around here. So, instead of bitching, I am bringing the weekly SS back really and for real with One Speed Wednesdays. And, yes, I am aware of how lame a name that is. You can bitch about it if you show up.

Details to come, but it's what you think it is. Straight outta Carmel!