there was a man who knew how to hit bottom!

Of interest: where there's smoke there's fire, and the valley is full up from this ride cancelling Big Sur Fire. What a kick in the teeth. Ride? Modified/maybe cancelled.

And as far as lots of smoke and mirrors- here is the Sinyard "apology" if you are into such things. I will comment this far: bullshit. If this were a sincere mistake, then it were required for the big red S to retroactively unfuck the other little people they've legalistically ramrodded. Closest to my heart being Revelate Designs, nee Epic Bags, one dude in Alaska making bags in his garage who (as far as I can tell) started the frame-bag phenomenon. And it is a phenomenon. And if Sinyard actually cared, he'd cease and desist the corporate Grinchyness. Stink, Stank, Stunk.


And, if you have the issues with the hip:

He's using a lacrosse ball, and I'd recommend (starting, anyways) using a tennis ball as it is softer and easier on your tender beginner self. You can roll over onto the affected side and weight the ball further around to the front into your Tensor Fasciae Latae muscle also. Play with it, noticing the tender spots and focus on them. It gets easier and less painful with repetition. Get a foam roller and roll that IT band and Vastus Lateralis. Or else.

it just seems like games

Rolling along the byways on the new route home, I found several pockets of the freshest air. Do you have those? I mostly ever come across them in the redwoods. Ozone so intense it's crazy. As though it were fake, artificial. I love that.

And, I came up on this boar so big that at first I mistook it for a bear! (all shoulders and crouchy movements, you know) That was a surprise.

And, there's this one bit of trail which was blocked maybe 8 years ago by a fallen Monterey Pine. Folks went around it, and eventually (years) the trail became very well established as going around it. But. I personally been actively looking forward to the time when it rotted clean away on account of how much speedy straightness of flow the trail carried into that diversion, which was that much more of a distraction and interruption to the trail because of it's situation. Well, it rotted through a month or 2 ago, and I moved it as soon as I saw the change. RErouted the trail along it's original flow, and damn glad to do so.

Some jackass went out of his way- into the (admittedly dormant, but still) poison oak- to replace the log section into the trail. This is a roughly 2'x5' piece of crumbly, bug-eaten pine. I chuckled, and hoisted it up again and really (I thought) sent it flying off trail, again into the poison oak. 3 days ago, it was back in the trail. 2 days ago, it was back off the trail, because I hiked it out and around and through the poison oak. Well, I wear knickers and tall socks. 1 day ago it was still off-trail, but I wonder how far dude is going to take this. It has been my experience that people are weird.

a thin veneer of magic

In the interest of furthering our common goals of fun and debauchery in combination with safety while cycling, I will say this: next Tuesday's Full Cold but not really that bad if you're dressed right Moon, the 17th, is worthy of a ride down Highway 1 to take advantage of the "public" soaking hours at Esalen. 1-3am ans all's you need is a reservation and $20. Or a back way in? Anyways, I can drop the race van off the day before so we sleep down there and drive back up in the morning light. Totally hard if we throw in some dark redwood dirt action, and totally worth the effort...

Also, rolling down the singletrack dropping off party favors. So, the getting is good.

Also also, if you like the westerns you will enjoy Blood in Their Eyes, by Thomas Cobb. It is outstanding.

based on science

Hey! Ho! I could fill this space with hurried and ill-focused phone pictures. Eh.

A couple things- "winter" on the central Wizeyeizeyest coast is toothless, but it'll gum you pretty hard. Covering my ears up real nice. I been wearing the full coverage booties, even- not just those dip-you-toe-in jobs the roadies all love. Some street riding in Santa Cruz for those that haven't been= my rep as a less than trustworthy ride leader comes home to roost once again as the cracks appear and the frowns come out. "I don't recognize this!" well, why would you? "There better not be any more hills! My legs are done!"

-record scratch here-

Lookit. A big ass ride (whatever the actual mileage may be on a given day, leaving aside the elevations) is just that. You should wait longer before you let that little crack open up real wide and stuff starts coming out. Like, forever. It ain't over until it's over...and when it is, you see how I guided you down the smoothest, warmest, least climby route available. People, in this town, wanna make me carry the heavy title- and it isn't undeserved, I like to ride and I like to ride interesting terrain and I like to keep riding BUT if I say it's the easy way you could keep your end up.


I know people who really are hard core.