yo

Anybody out there thinking about the Arizona Single Speed "championships"? Saturday February 7th is race day.

(hyperlink: SINGLE SPEED ARIZONA)

Yes, I don't live there. But word on the street is that the course is going to be real good...and what else are you gonna do in February that involves bicycles? I realize this is not the Full Snow Moon (that'd be the 3rd, which is the Tuesday before) and that is a black mark, granted.

I am thinking about riding my SS  thru Big Sur to SLO and taking the train over to Tucson. That way, I can (not drive) have a nice time the whole time. Maybe get some hott full moon type action whilst riding down the coast...take the train on Wednesday, arrive Thursday, and "win the race" on Saturday. In it to win it. Looks like around $200 round-trip...

I talked to So and So about going, and he was unenthused. I understand. Seems like the SSWC has become...well, less a gathering of people who enjoy single speeds and partying and more a gathering of people who enjoy gatherings of people who enjoy single speeds and partying. You know? But, while I can see that side of it, I can also see the side of it whereby new trails are ridden and new people are well met...fuck a bunch of costumery.

Anyhow, I'm thinking about it. Who's in?

as seen at the ___________

One reason for all the giddy (up, ness) is I put my SS back together. It was in parts for a bit, and you forget how a bike is special when it isn't ridden. I do, anyhow. It is that sort of forgetfulness and laissez faire which backslides into "they all ride like bikes"... which is true, but fuzzy. Some girls are bigger than others, you understand. Well, that SS is Super Snappy! Short stays make for some quick response.

Allergies have taken my top end for the past few days, but the jump remains. I been realizing there are only not trails in those spots because I haven't made any yet (which is profounder than it seems at first). And so this morning I jumped off the road at a likely spot and poked around. Feeling froggy, hopping powerfully up the little ups while looking to expand my throat pouch and get back the breath-dependent top end. Doing it, you know.

I spied a healthy bobcat and raced him. Saw a Red-shouldered Hawk (buteo lineatus) toting a fat mouse up from the tall grass, so that was my totem for today. On account of I like them, and you can't always be the skunk-with-it's-head-in-a-jar.



Laying down fat (but totally controlled) skids through the pine duff, etc. Trying to stay ready so I don't have to get ready.

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!

restore your health for good

Breathe in.



After days on this bike and days on that bike, it was the Black Cat SS for 2 days running. Back to back rides on the rocket ship. We been working on dismantling the 1/2 pipe down the road to reassemble it here at HQ (for the eldest son) and it has been some time constraint style, get in and get out, pack the most fun in the smallest time, guerrilla single speeding. Dress all in green, get on the drab brown bike and GO!

Super jumpy. That bike is so quick (REspeck, but- especially compared to the piggy rigs I been pushing) I forget. People forget. Summertime? A nimble SS? Uh hunh.


So and also, switcherooing will highlight the differences in fit from one bike to another. Now, we all allow for the built in differences- even celebrate them- but some stuff is given; take seat height/angle. The OG Moots post on that bike holds the BRooks right where I want it, but this or that has put that saddle slightly nose down and low, too. The pinch bolts are a shitty design

which has been changed between the then and the now. Wonder if I could get them to put a new head on that post for less than lots of dollars...





And, my wife is getting a birfday surprise...

It's for my wife!!

It will be perfect for nervy, flexy cruising. It needs some work (duh), but it is OG 1972. The Schwinn Twinn. Double mixte?!?! Hell yes, hell yes. Came with the original paperwork, which Schwinn propaganda is worth posting on it's lonesome, and receipt for $148.11 (in 1972 monies) out the door. In 2013, it was worth $350. Inflation. Look for it parked outside some of our classlessiest bars soon.





Breathe out.

stupid glorification of mere filth

I have assembled the ingredients for the Happy Life, and successfully combined these disparate steps into a coherent and translatable recipe. Prepare to receive instruction:

 There it is. Simple, no? That is my favorite corner anywhere, by the way.

I have been spending so much time aboard the fat bike because it suits a bunch of the riding I've been doing. It forgives boozy line choices, sucks up poorly routed sneak-throughs, handles roots and pine cones etcetera hidden by shadows, tracks straight through the chunkiest rock sections and more. I am enamored. But...it is a pig. Changing to the Black Cat SS for the commute was a delight. So light, so responsive, so willing to leap forward. That morning commute through singletrack will put a positive spin right on you.

Simple formula: dirt commute = lasting happiness.

 The stem drew me in. Bulbous.

Next, a parking brake caught my eye. It's plastic tubing fixed under the grip with a bolt on the free end which inserts into the gap between squeezed lever and body and held in place upon release of lever to keep the brake engaged. It's not my thing, but it's very well executed. When the brake is squeezed again, it springs out and away immediately.

And this? Der Kaiser (as this former airplane mechanic introduced himself) wanted a longer cage, so he made one. He had dumpster dived the frame in Tucson and this is what he's made of it. I called the other mechanic out of the shop and we marveled. You could see it warmed the Kaiser's heart to have his ingenuity recognized and valued. I enjoy my weekly shift in Monterey. There's more kooks over on that side of things.

I saved my lunch money and spent it on tallboys instead. That's that one spot. I was collecting empties and producing new ones. The ride home? Ripping singletrack. I had to walk up a bunch of hill, but it's a SS so I don't feel anything but fine. Up turns to side turns to down hill.




Finally, you can't teach me, but I can learn the hard way. Depending on others to provide for one's own Happiness is a sure road to Failure.

Fact.

Oh. Yeah, tomorrow is the Easter. While I don't believe in magic and I certainly don't believe that my group's magical theory is grounds for moral supremacy and/or resource appropriation, I do know my kids like to hunt for Eater Eggs. Who doesn't? So, tonight will see me rolling the stone away and riding around a certain section of trails drinking beers and hiding eggs...

more heart than ever

You know and I know it's the Full Kick Ass Blue Moon. We can feel it. Feels like a creepy swelling. Keep feeling it.

Friday Night SS just so happens to coincide. Happy happy. Get your one speed bicycles and your good times, too. We gonna celebrate and party witchu. El Encinal Graveyard, NW corner, 7:30ish.

each and everyone of you be on some kind of shit

If I ever wondered what I might do on Trail X at spot Y when faced with Ranger Z, well now I know. I'd immediately (as soon as the white service truck is spotted) turn that bike around and begin my sprint. Upon getting out of view I'd begin looking for a shallow enough angle in the slope above up which I could scramble. People in cars don't look for routes that aren't apparent. It's the blinders on for them- if it isn't clear for their car-based perspective, they won't see it. When I was far enough up that slope to be out of the immediate line of sight of a driver, I'd stop and listen. I'd have had to have hurled my SS up slope several times and climbed up to it to hurl it anew. When no noise greeted my listening ears, I'd continue up that slope and marvel at the density of the poison oak thicket. I'd pick my route as carefully as I could. I'd hit the high trail and head back the way I'd originally been going.
But this is all purely hypothetical.



Friday Night SS Ride went like I expected. We don't talk about it. I had some koozies made:

that's a sideways picture taken at the graveyard. It has a picture of le coq hardi, with the classy Latin phrase "est non ad nutrientibus se". Pretty self explanatory, really, but: everbody is all crazed about the Belgian lion and have made it the symbol of cyclocross in this country. I find that nonsensical. This is my rebuttal. I may be throwing these at you this cross season. Keep your eyes open in the tight spots.

warnung warnung

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.

cul8tr

DRUGS ARE FOR RECREATIONAL USE ONLY

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.

clean out of sight

SS on pave to dirt. Because A) I am fortunate enough to live within riding distance of dirt, but really B) I am more willing to ride than to drive. That's because I am a cyclist. I lik to ride bikes.

If you are not riding to your ride, and you have the option to so do, then you are losing. Get with it.

I frequently see large birds on that one hillside. Mostly Red Tail Hawks and Buzzards, but an occasional owl. Today I heard a snake, Coluber lateralis lateralis- California Striped Racer, making a hasty retreat for his lair. Heard him and then saw him. I especially dig that, even though it's only due to the protracted walking on account of the SS.

Bobcats have been players these last few days as well...

Today I ventured into some new-to-me trails, and saw the above bobcat (Lynx rufus). I got much closer than this, but photos weren't happening. The cat had a large field mouse dangling from it's mouth. Yesterday's cat, I forgot to mention, I chased and was gaining(!) when he bailed to the side over a fence. I lik to see the wildlife.

Riding the new cleaned section and the fresh reroute was worthwhile. It will take some time to set in, but it has begun. Now it's not just a headache ever time I ride through there thinking "Man! This could be so much better." Because now it is. I also cleaned up some of those arm slappers on the descent to the other side.


I see this sign, but I'm unsure as to what it prohibits. I feel certain it is unrelated to my own activities.



Thinking of saws...

The Silky Super Accel 210 (Large Teeth) is recommended by a person whose bona fides we cannot access. At $37.95, it is made in Japan where they make solid cutting tools. I think I'm leaning more towards the American made Bob Dustrude Quick Buck Saw at $44.99 from Duluth Pack.

I'm through being cool, and I'm through with being stymied by large branches.

one after the other one

Back at the old home on the central coast, it is some Summer. We get a real fine Indian Summer. You should come ride.



Singlespeeding is good for clearing the mind.





I felt surprisingly froggy. After pickling meself in Vegas, and riding nothing but FAT tyred (as opposed to fat, tired) monsters, the featherweight flickability of the Black Cat 29"SS was noticeable and relished. A nudge was all it took for course correction; no muscling, no pushing or pulling. It's a fun bike! Climbs like a frightened bear cub, and that's fast- even with the flailing limbs and wasted motion. I hadn't ridden this bike in months and months. The fit felt slack. I dropped the stem 10mm, and it made a nice change; more tuggable/aggressive as opposed to feeling droopy off the back.

Saturday after work was for quickness. Sunday after work was for cutting. I took the clippers up and cleaned that one section nicely. All that poison oak is gone. Those pesty Monterey Pine saplings crowding the singletrack and soaking me (they hold a lot of foggy precipitate) on the way to work are trimmed. Hey _ick, remember that one time you pulled out your belt mount clippers and were all "Yeahhhhh!" and no one gave you any respect? Well, now I understand how well chosen that tool can be. So, yeahhhhh!

Trail maintenance is a must. Still lots of cleaning to be done, and I really need to reroute that other section around those big dead falls, as well.



Stay sharp! But also, know that rubbing is racing and CCCX#2 is coming up on this Saturday, the 24th, so being against racists in a sense means some pushing and shoving on the cyclocross course...

dark shadows of Evil trapped in a web of witchcraft

Nobody?!

Not one of y'all can be bothered to click on/examine the link and come back here with sumfing to say? Nobody.

You knuckleheads need to quit phoning it in. Rep your sets, yo.






Whatevah. I do what I want. I rode my SS again today; someplace you were not. And it was some kind of long assed pave climb followed by hello tight fire road cruising and capped off with the benchest of singletracks overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Side hill for days. Large feeling in scope. Though the vividly purple irises seemed incongruously domestic, it is some big country.

I need to remember that it is possible to swap out my cog and not only to run what I brung lowland roller gearing. And I need a new rear tyre. Anyhow, Feelings are set to GOOD.

Permit me to expound. Climbing on the SS is a matter of making as much peace with the hill as you may. Spin and spin and spin and be nice.
"Until it's time to not be nice."
When it is that time, you must stand and giver. There is nothing but momentum. When there is no momentum, there is the walking. Back country singlespeeds is where it's at.


Come Summer Solstice, you better pack a lunch...

I'll always regret the day I joined

(skip to 1:25 in to skip the talky talk)


As I was looking at this flock of bicycles this morning, trying to settle on one, the singlespeed revealed itself to be that One. It's been awhile since I took it out. Cycles, cycles. Some bike or other has been calling me recently.





1stly- it's so light! And responsive! And punishing! And automatic. No thought, just pedal. I like that.

Climbing was well handled. Legs are feeling Good. Ribs are feeling good (little bit of pull; minor not major). With a drop in tyre pressure, downhills were in the bag. Up the hill to dirt (you know that one power line easement I been squawking about? It's a no go- straight down to a Poison Oak filled drainage...oh well, time to try that other one), across, down, up another side, and an extra woods loop for kicks.



This is why oaks are Mighty. Every limb on it has dropped, but here it is Spring and damned if it's not giving it another GO.





At home, this package had arrived:


Good on you, H___.




In addition to some oddball taffy on which my kids are now hooked, and aside from the mummified jumping spider, it contained the repair parts for the shelved B17. The Standard Titanium Tension Shackle and the 60mmTension Pin & Nut Assembly.


Sucks to your carbon fibre rails, kids.




That this saddle is repairable sits well with me. The nut did not sit well in the shackle at first.





So I took the flat file to it...






though it took the rat tail file to really do the necessary.






All flush and moving into position.






The notches sit up under the (riveted on Titanium!) nose. Also, note the mummified jumping spider in the mysterious box which we shall examine another day. Yes, that is the photo.





Threading the Tension Bolt.







Flush. Ready to insert into the (Titanium!) nose cone...








I put another nut on the bolt end, and levered it into position in the nose in order to back out the bolt and begin tensioning the leather.







Done.







Yep. That there is a perfectly repaired (and repairable!) saddle. Put that in your weight weenie and smoke it. Please also note the large, hammered rivets. If you are thinking about a Brooks, I recommend these on whatever version suits your posterior. The small rivets tear through the leather much more readily. True fact.






What else?

sometimes your words just hypnotize me

It keeps getting better:



"It seemed like a Good Idea at the time" is words to live by, friends.


Big Sur this day. I forgot the camera, so take my word it looked like it did then, only cold.

Singlespeeds. I love to hate that ride. The climb is relentless; it starts out steep pavement and delivers several kicks then falls back to solid tempo riding with occasional short steeps to keep your hand in, as it were. Hurtful.

The albino redwood is thriving. We took that hike up the drainage to check on it. That region is such a fantastic place to be. It's a privilege riding through it.

"Let the mind beware, that though the flesh be bugged, the circumstances of existence are pretty glorious." - Jack Kerouac.


From the saddle, the route becomes dirt, and further punishes you via some sections necessitating BMX style stand and thrust, but with enough pitch and grit that the balance required to keep the rear wheel from letting go is no small feature. Good stuff. Just when you (I) feel as though you've worked enough to be at the top, the skibbly decayed asphalt drops appear. Then it's a matter of a few more juuuust doable (if you bury yourself on the attack) steeps to be got through before the summit, at which point you begin to wish you had a suspension fork and don't cease wishing this until you have ridden all the meandering and stuttering singletrack back down to the coast.

Bikes. And bike riding. Hurt so good.

tops, ramps, hoods, hooks, flats

Start out cold, settle in, climb some, descend at speed, maneuver (how's about shaking it around a little).




On account of last week's relative inactivity, riding is hard again. My left TFL (tensor fascia latae) is my bugbear, and increasingly constant companion.( I know, alls it needs is attention/stretching/work, but it's easier said than lived).

...is that you?



On account of last day and night's rain, the trails are tacky again. And plus, the rain warshed away all the duff in which I'd cleverly cached the velocache name of Dirty #30 (I know, but they can't all be gems) so as I passed it today I re-cached it.


On account of people breaking balls, bike choice is in my mind today. So let me just say this: I like bikes. I like road bikes (geared and fixed wheel) and mountain bikes (geared {full squish and sprung on the front and fully rigid} and singlespeed {fully rigid and sprung on the front} and fully rigid fixed wheel). My wheel size of choice is 700c/29", and that is cuz I'm a long tall Texan. I think proper wheel size is more a matter of relation to rider size than anything else; you should ride what fits you. I enjoy most of all to ride the cross bike (geared or singlespeed or fixed wheel) so's I can take roads and trails.

So. If you don't like one or more of the above options- well then it's time to _uck or _ight.

And further, if you are of the opinion that one or more of the above options is not legit, then you need to stop kidding yourself; a different ride is a different ride which allows for a True appreciation of any one of those options. The wheels on the ____ go round and round.

Any questions?
Oh. THE FULL HUNTER MOON WILL PROCEED AS PLANNED, FRIDAY 22ND...DARK THIRTY AT THE WATER TANKER. Corner of Parker Flats Cut-off and that other street.
Any other questions?

you should occasionally

Sometimes a ride is just a ride.

Yesterday, a ride was sublime. I suppose I should be feeling strong at this time of year, but let's be honest about what passes for training around here and be happily thankful about some strength when it is there.

I drove to Santa Cruz solely to pedal. (I know it's not right. If I can't come clean to you people- well.) I parked my personal power plant, and unloaded the SS. I had a water bottle. I will not ride with a pack unless under duress. I wished I'd brought 2 bottles. Even 3. But I had 1.

I don't know about you, but I like to climb. I will happily climb for hours, joyfully hurting. It doesn't make sense, and I don't have the natural aptitude for it- but there it is.

Might as well suffer.

I pedaled up that dirt road for a while. I passed the "top of incline" in a bit of a personal haze and had to think about it to realize where I was on the climb. It felt so early to be there. A sign of good fitness things, and so- confusing. Everything is working right now (knock wood) for full body shoving on the pedals. There are several road climbs in my neck of the woods which match that climbing profile, but none in my current rotation of dirt (maybe Toro Park? It needs exploring...) In that manner, overlook reached and passed without stopping. The 2 ugly steeps following, I stood up and stomped on without stopping. Briefest of pauses at the top to don helmet/gloves and into the woods on Northernlumberjackdomesticporkcutlet, twisty singletrack. It's a much different flow than my local trails. My timing is waaaay off for that type of shimmying and it shows; fun, nevertheless. Segue to Upperswine, and thence to Swine and Deviousswine. All good. Back up the road to the Westsideoftheridge and down down down swoopy down.

Sometimes a ride is just a fucking Good Time.

plenty of room for action

My legs got a break today. Limited time saw me out on the Black Cat SS, and man! what a rush. It's a zippy bike anyways, but after extensive fixed riding it felt so...free? Easy, like my legs were just barely attached. No heaviness, no drag, just whizzing spin. And, plus- coasting is AWESOME. Timing pedal strokes to avoid pedal strikes? Awesome. Swinging your power foot ( yes I said it) back a 1/4 revolution so you can clear that back and forth singletrack up and around that one log? Awesome. Big ass 29"x2.3" tires? Awesome. A punch in the dick?


Awesome.

I haven't been riding that bike so much since it isn't efficient to ride to the ride, but it's just so fun I may have to slither on up to Santa Cruz to ride up and down under the extensive redwoods and remember how Good it can be.

Thanks, Todd, that is a sweet ride. Smart like bull.



A couple singlespeeds parked in the driveway.



Also, it is time to adapt the green kid bike to the growing kids...

turning corners

I been riding my bike. It has been getting better and better.



Have little motivation for writing of late, but plenty for riding. Feels like I turned a real corner yesterday with the SS ride up, up and up.
Colossal.
Monumental.
It's a Good Feeling.

knows a guy

Still feeling spectacular. I don't expect this will last. Took a little SS trip up the fireroad and down the singletrack. That was real fun.


The rain is coming and that is hard to ride in for me. If you need me, I'll be making riding while the sun shines.

mysterious stranger at your door

I'm talking about feeling so Good it's Bad. I'm talking about riding a bike so zippy and so responsive, it's got a little name inscribed on it. Says _______ ______. Feel so good I have to holler for help!




tears off shirt and runs around the room looking for chests to full-body high five.



And that's just my commute. grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr