Yo. Friday Night SS Ride is on (again) like Donkey Kong. In order to keep it fast and loose, below radar, and fressssh the meet up shall be: 7:30PM San Carlos Cemetery...the Northeast corner has a perfectly situated bench for ____king and stuff.
Don't kid yourself. Route(s) to be determined on a ride by ride basis. Bring: your big boy/girl pants, a bike with lights if you got em and repair stuff, a good attitude, a list of grievances, and this paddle game, and that's all you need.
Interjection: if you happen to be out in it, riding your bicycle, equipped with the disc brakes, and you find pad wear has gone far past the point of acceptability you can use the pull tab of a cheap canned beer as a shim between pad and piston in order to limp home. Or, say _uck it, and keep riding for a while.
*edit- that's _utha _ucking Kool and the Gang right there, playing Summer Madness!!!! You better click it.
Day 2 of the Last Camping Trip of Summer 2012 began with coffee,breakfast, and agitating for the rope swing to be set up, like, now. I declined. It isn't too early to learn anticipation...
And, plus, in the meantime the kids come up with entertainment on
their own. They brought out a couple chestnuts: Little Sally Walker ( a musical chairsesque dance party), and
the new to me Good Day Bruce (an Australian accented word game). Hilarity ensued. Way better than everyone off in their own private virtual world.
For those who wondered what I'd forgotten this time, it was the tent poles for the 2 person tent that the girls would use. No problem, we drank a couple a Hamm's and pulled out some Surly Junk Straps and a pair of bungees and it was all of a sudden ultralight! Worked...
Children who sleep in tents deserve to be hassled.
Bike pile!
The water was way too low for grown-up rope swangin. It was fine for the kids. I gave it a shot, and alls I got in return was a banged up foot.
Floats.
Beers.
Low hanging cliff jumps.
Lounging.
We gained some company for the day, and then lost them plus 2 of our own. Camping in shifts, if that's what it takes. E____ told us we were "core", but I think it's just doing it. Your kids are subject to your whims...make them toe the line. They will (maybe) thank you for it later.
Joy us. Joy for us. And I'm jumpin on it. Regular Arroyo Seco route, with a surprisingly expanded cast of characters. 4 adults, 5 kids on Day 1.
Friend J is a seasoned PRO, as evidenced by his rig:
Yep.
And we took on loan M____, #2 daughter of a friend/neighbor as well as our own pickneys. Remember that GT I expanded with the Xtracycle kit I had laying around from pre-Big Dummy days? Of course you do. I set it all up (back then, even) with the side-loader bits and the deck we've been using so that E____ could take his son L____ on a Spring Break camping trip that got rained out...well, they made it this time round:
This was L's first ever bike camping trip. He has been used to the camper and electric conveniences. I believe it was eye-opening for him. He and J have been bros (what can I say? They're from Cali.) since they could walk. J was suuuuuper stoked to finally have a friend his age along.
The loan of the Xtracycle platform necessitated some last minute bike swapping as I tried to distribute all our customary Arroyo Seco gear amongst my family's bikes. A rope swing is a bulkier item than you think. And there are floaties to consider. I ended up running the Fargo and pulling the BOB trailer. It worked OK. That bike is more suited to personal bikecamping than the gypsy wagon set-up required(?) for camping with kids, but we made it work with everyone hauling something. 3 days of backcountry won't haul itself.
Man, I sure do love turning that corner from the shitty, gangster-strewn lower level camping areas (seriously- spray painted XIV etc. on the rocks in the river, for crying out loud. Salinas needs to chillax.) and opening my eyes to the Ventana.
Flip the switch.
It was a stark contrast between the 2 youngest boys' experience levels. We all start where we are. Hopefully the hook is set, and inspiration follows. There was some whining. There were tears.
E rallied on his 1st ever bike camping trip. Especially when taking into account his non-biking surfer ways. Loaded. On a cargo bike.
Day 1 was really evening 1 by the time all was said and done. Getting there and setting up camp were about all we accomplished. Fire ban= s'mores over the twig burning stove.
With the howlingest of howls. The Full Kick Ass Moon remained shrouded both of 3 nights running, riding, looking. The misty fog did seem lit from within (though that may have been us) and it was enough to creep along at a pace that felt scary fast but wasn't. Fast. It was a little scary. But, as we all know, the trails in Fort Ord are comprised of a magical sand which luminesces during Full Moons. If you missed it, you're ______. I won't even go into reasons, cuz there are only 12 and all of them irrefutable. Monterey.Pfffft.
I ride my bike.
No ride is only good stuff. If you have driven to the sweet trailhead, well- among things left unsaid, that was the bad part. A real ride, which is one wherein you have been riding the entirety, will have it's bits of...for example, Cside. Bits which must be gotten through to get to the Goods. Obviously we all try to minimize the negative. It is impossible to avoid completely, so just cut through the Embassy Suites p-lot, catch the light perfectly, and head down GO! up Sonoma. SS heaven. Perfect go fast grading. You can catch and pass the weirdo commuter that ch-ch-chugged past you on the bike path with his running suit wind pants tucked into his white socks as he huffs and puffs up Broadway. The secret? Don't even look at him as you smoothly pull by.
Point being: there is fun to be had aboard your bicycle. What do you want to do with your Life?
