what? huh?

I waited some and drank some beers at the trailhead, but you must have had other things going on. I understand. Monday night is no time to go out and wreck yourself on trails and cheap canned beer. Everone has their priorities, their schedules and such. It occurs to me that it may only be myself who has this...urge to ride with no lights at questionable speeds through twisty singletrack. Who among us does not have their deeply personal and abiding interest in some singularly absorbing pursuit?

It's just that mine is important.

In part because the opportunities are so limited. 12 possibilities per year to ride out and see the world at it's best. (OK, on average- but your Blue Moon is an even more special circumstance and cannot be ignored) Moonlight changes those favorite rides with new and surprising magic. It is very different from "night riding" with blazing/limiting cones of headlights. Try it, and it'll make sense. I'm just trying to help you help yourself be happier.



Being alone in the woods under a Full Moon can be wonderful. Being alone under a Full Moon in the woods can be scary. Sudden pockets of cold air in the low spots, warm (almost hot last night) air in the open meadows and higher ridge lines. Strangely amplified rustling in the undergrowth. Deer appearing beside the trail from no place; as if from the darkness itself. The sounds of diverging and converging packs of yodel dogs singing to one another. Unidentifiable animal movements- large, and speedy too- which cause the warm rush of adrenaline down the back of your neck and across your shoulders.

This month I wised up and remembered to wear a cap. The visor helps a whole lot with keeping the moon from sneakily blinding you. I rode pretty directly (I've figured out the good line from the old rope towers is turning right at the paved road and then righter at the singletrack down to the open sandy area and the fireroad East towards Comanche's Grave)(also, the singletrack off that to hook under Blair Witch has now been bulldozed and fucked) over to the bluff at the end of Mud Hen Express (moonlit woop de doos!) where I lounged and toasted the moon with Michter's Single Barrel Rye Whiskey (which is an American/actual Rye ) and thought about real deep and fundamental shit which I will keep to myself.

I will say that there are now 9 dewy fresh Easter Eggs, bathed in the magic of Full Moonlight, aging in the shallow caves beneath the caprock there. If you are reading this and know where that is, you are welcome to 1 or 3.

I hope to see you next month for something similar, if a bit chillier. You know, if nothing good is on TV...

Carry on.

if I could redirect your attention for a moment

Kicking and screaming all night long. Full Hunter's Moon tonight. Usual spot, darkish. Cross bikes recommended.
Ride it...

what do you wanna do with your life?

I wanna rock.




Well, I wanna ride bikes long distances (preferably off road, thanks) and stuff. Mike Curiak has a real good series being posted these days on a ride through Southeastern Utah he took. It has real nice photos and stuff. You might lik it. It has inspired me to try the route next summer/fall...now i just gotta figure out this GPS BS and find an adaptor that will work with a solar charger or a generator hub. There's this, but it's long and I haven't read the whole thing.

Any of you people smarter than me (that's most of y'all) got ideas?




Yes, I mostly just wanted to post Barry White in Mexico with heavily processed hair and pretensions of being a conductor.

bittersweet yet triumphant?

You go head, you! This is all for you! Only and all. I sincerely hope your life goes as well as can be, and that you are happy. No one could ask for more.


As for me, well...The highest and best use of a "lil' loafer" ( _esus uck, I hate the cutesy contractions). You see how the day/ride begins. There was a lot of rolling. Some stopping.


And so on. Head over heels crash on Blair Witch Trail scraped me up and broke the camera's display. Haven't told the Mrs. yet.



Velocache, bicthes!


At a certain point, I was again at the Stairs... I used to spend so much time there. J and I were there at least once a week for a year or so; you can still see where the surface is burnt from our early days cooking Brown Lunch before we had the heat shield dialed. I've had great times there with wonderful friends, and I have spent the night all alone and sad. Today was just a stop.


Hamms. Dried bananas and walnuts.


I did stash a beer just for old times' sake and even though lately the place has seen a bit of a reversal of fortunes in that there's frequently trash left- evidence of yahoos.




Speaking of yahoos...



50ish miles.

Enabling [air] certain behavior [quotes] wherever possible

No clearance, low clearance...issues. After a deeply dissatisfying morning's wrenching, it was time to ride.



Not the bike I'd wanted to ride, but you got to know whichever bike I am currently/actually riding is always the best and favorite bike. As it should be.



Up and into the Monterey Pines. Networks of trails, connected by back roads.



Confirmed Totem Animal sighting. Those of y'all who keep insisting that my totem is the raggedy skunk with it's head stuck in a jar? Place that in your smoking apparatus and set fire to it. As always, click to enlarge as desired.









Restocking the log.





It becomes hard to hold onto the bitterness from _______ (pick your poison, today [for me] was clearances) in these places. Let it go. Let it ride. How can you not?

Ride bikes. Enjoy yourself, it's later than you think.



I reflected today upon the similarities between my bikes and the differences. Cantilevers v. discs for a thing. Skidded out knobbies v. fresh for another. My right knee hurt like a -utha-ucka yesterday/Sunday just walking around, not to mention stairs. I babied it today; asking the left leg to do some work taking up slack. I rode a fair amount last week, and then rode the fixed wheel (above left) to work on Friday and Saturday which I noticed as waaaaaay steeper geared than I remembered.

I think I am getting old or something?

Back on the regular glucosamine/chondroitin for me. It helps.

Heads up, Moonshine.

Just a little taste of the ___ for you, as you get up an dance at the _______. Halloween parties are for amateurs.


If you'd like to register a complaint regarding this image, by all means.

The coming Full Hunter's Moon will appear, as if by magic, on November 2. Plan accordingly, as this a Monday evening affair, and you will be utterly and completely unfit for productivity the following day. In the past, Full Moons have been re-scheduled at great cost to werewolves and sea turtles alike, and solely for your convenience. This coming event is so action-packed, that this will not be the case here- we'll need the entire moon's light for the hot laps to proceed as planned. Testers have tried a corkscrew-like portion of said course in less than optimum lighting, and the results were...thrilling in their potential for disaster.

Come correct and fully stocked at dark time at the usual entrance to Fort Ord. Mixed bag dirt and pavement. Cross bikes recommended. Costumes welcomed, but not encouraged.

That is all.

Shiney shiney.

Yes, I know it is bad form to post pictures of mock ups. That is a given in the tradition of geeked out bicycle-related-picture-posting internet culture of highbrows such as ourselfs.



Well, maybe that's just me. Would you like my review of the fenders' performance now? They are markedly shorter than Honjos, both front (sadly) and rear. The hardware looks different too, from my brief examination through the bag. Order extra stays (they come with 2), as the front tends to flex some, and you don't want that. Your local can order them for you from Merry Sales.



I am waiting on the actual fork for this bike before installation; which, as opposed to the virtual one you see represented here, will be fender compatible.

Shiney brass fenders. I am going to let them tarnish to a weather beaten mellowness, which will understate the unspoken message of how much better my bike is than yours and by logical extension how much more Quality a Person I am than you. Sorry to be so harsh.