crack a beer

sit back and think.
let the med rare strip
w/ baked potato, three
portors and chocolate
cheesecake settle in.

riding again. on the skinny
tires for two out of three.
lapping lifts in between.
centered again and confident.

today we earned it, rolling
sustainable softness. not
the experience of others,
but a quirky personality
trait revealed.

for Christmas, mom got
me the traditional weekly
calander. but changed it up
from the Far Side, to the 
Peanuts gang. Will be a nice
change for the journaling
of adventures.

I've always liked Snoopy.

tree thing.

expecting carvable hardpack/crud conditions.
step onto the Bro's, wanna really learn this ski.
legs still no snap, the wknd lingers. no snap
to the first turns, narrow defensive stance.
lack of power, not aggressive, these skis need
to be driven, not ridden. messed up let 'em run
then crash attempt off the RR headwall, try to
find a groove down low. round two, not following
thru, too much slippage for my taste, exit to Exhi
to find a two footed carve rhythm.

stick it tight to the snow gun crud,
snap from edge to edge,
do a little dance,
let these skis run tonight,
uh huh, run tonight.
open up into the falline a bit,
making a righthander and the
ski won't release, into the backseat,
don't fight it, don't wanna risk a knee
right now. ski loops out and I see my
trajectory into the slopeside trees.

fuck. me.

not going tooo fast, but ain't no
shutting it down. land sliding
headfirst, did spot a gap before impact,
definitely not hitting the blue barrel.
start trying to rotate my feet around,
feel some deceleration, wondering when
I'm gonna hit, and what and where,
sliding blind at bone breaking speed.

wham! shit, that fucking hurt. no sharp pain,
toes still work, arms still move, eyes still see.
shoulder is stiff, probably have some nice tint
to it in a day or two. confidence is rattled.


merry christmas everybody,
thanks for all the good times
shared, those to come.

dz nuts

dude is off the hook.

good movie.

sit back, relax, and watch this flic:

TEN ski snowboard film www.guidoperrini.com from guido perrini on Vimeo.

that was fun.

that's the spirit!

NWS three day record was accurate,
the post storm "freezing mist/fog"
resulted in a sturdy zipper crust. 

 Bro's dealt with it fine, as 

long I kept my end of the bargain.  

Search for that woodsy pitch 

where you can stay in the fall 
line, without hard edging speed 

checks.  Then hoot and holler.

Also skied off some waist to shoulder 

high rocks, once or twice.  Yet to stick 

a landing, gotta start somewhere.  Many, 

many pinheads out and about.  Glad they 

have concern for their gear, didn't have 

to hike much at all to get off the beaten 

path.  Lift serve singletrack stashes were 

best turns found.  Did take a core shot.....

all skis are rock skis.

Jedi mind tricks in the trees.

price of admission.

Impact from big hawk's would be dinner.

why? v7.4c

stumbled upon this last eve:

We must accept our reality as vastly as we possibly can; everything, even the unprecedented, must be possible within it.  This in the end is the only kind of courage that is required of us: the courage to find the strangest, most unusual, most inexplicable experiences that can meet us.  The fact that in this sense people have been cowardly has done infinite harm to life; the experiences that are called "apparitions," the whole so-called "spirit" world, death, all these Things that are so closely related to us, have through our daily defensiveness been so entirely pushed out of life that the senses with which we might have been able to grasp them have atrophied.

Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet

liar.

Heard a Bush excerpt this morn on the radio,
he was in Carlisle, at the Army College.

Said that we have not suffered a domestic
terrorist attack since 9-11....praise for the
troops, freedom, blahblahblah.....




Why are the anthrax letters always forgotten?

misery

NNN-bc

66/54/60

RT scraped hardpack and crud

like a flashback to 5, 6, 10 years ago.

tele whackin' clueless, hitting the deck 

hard, slow speed falls suck.

flailing like a total noob, constantly losing

the edge on any, any, surface that makes 

noise.  Maybe linked 6 turns at once,

such terrifying work to skid down the slope

in floppy hightops.  

fresh raspberries on the hip, hard

bone jarring slams to the ice.  

What ever made this seem like fun?

Force out a laugh with every spill,

no matter the impact, sometimes it

was actually silly, falling over from

pure exhaustion.  But also gotta keep 

the cool to those on the lift.

Really wanting to slam that pole 

into the snow a few times, and scream 

whythefuckcan'tImakeamotherfucking

teleturnonthesestupidmotherfucking

XCskistosavemylife!MOTHERFUCKER!!!!!

frustrating.

Basics, begin with wedge to tele, Michaux

seasoned steel edges find no purchase,

hit the deck. OK, try some meadow 

skipping foot to foot pop in the fall line,

tips cross, hit the deck.  Remember to ski 

more from the ankle, no plastic to transfer 

power from the shin. Reallllly find the ball 

of the foot, dig the freedom of the xc rig, 

so much feel for the snow.

Focused, gotta be.  Try again try to ski in 

that loose nord style, but the skis tangle 

immediately and down again.  Avoid the 

slowboarder scrapeage and finally able 

to dynamically link left to right skids

off the tops of the little crud piles. OK, 

that works, now let 'em roll off the apron 

and find a sketchy all but edgeless surfiness if 

in just the right spot. 

Find some speed and try to let the rock 

chewed waxless bases run, searching for that 

seam of softer snow to turn thru.  Get low, 

really low, so low that hands sometime drag 

as outriggers, plus it's not as far to fall.  Find 

the double camber sweet spot on occasion, 

actually rolling from turn to turn, be like a 

porpoise, really on that back ski and working 

it to shape the turn.  Actually turning where 

and when I want to. Then reality, and another 

slam into the ice.  

That's lap one, told myself I just needed to 

warm up.  You know, put yourself in a situation 

where you have to turn, and you'll figure it out.

So, over to the triple, and then a bunch of crashes 

trying to ski Ramrod from the top.  Who do I 

think I am, some mutant nord from WV?

  

Probably slid down 1/3+ of it on my ass,

lower section held some enjoyable turns

and slides.  Retreated back over to 

Minuteman and made a few more laps 

trying to dial things in.  Finally, after 

the umpteenth slam into ice preserved 

groomer tread, I gave up.  Already had 

4ish hours in me prior to this experiment

and my legs were fried. 

So, instead of heading home, I changed back 

to the big boots and skis for shit's n giggles.  

And those were the worst turns that I've made 

in a long, long, long, long time.  I couldn't feel 

the back ski, I actually caught myself wedging 

into a turn, edges felt all hooky and sharp, not 

committing to the inside ski.

It was freakin' weird.

Otherwise, the snow was pretty damn good

all wknd, lots of fun little lines and rippin' 

fast carves to be had.  Good to see everybody 

out gettin' it at the local hill.

goals n chit

The itch is beginning, the need to

find a new rythmn, growing restless.

Looking back, I see two holes from last year.

First is the unfinished MeeshowHundo.  That's

going down next year, might take multiple 

attempts, but I really want to finish the loop.

The other hole, the aborted double overnighter.

Just wasn't in the cards that wknd, weather 

conspired with slipping motivation to throw

in the towel on that one.  This one isn't really 

unfinished, it is what it was, a long ride that 

didn't pan out as planned.  

Do have sights set on extending the route in 

that direction.  Would like to ride to Raystown

as a three-ish day tour.  And also gather more 

firsthand beta from up north.  

Haven't said much about racing....basically, if 

ya'll are so kind to cast a vote for my dumb ass, 

I'll be hitting up the Breck stage dilly.  But if it's

something I'm throwing down mucho cashola

for....well there're other options, like SSWC

in Durango, with a Colorado Trail distraction

for a few days prior.....

No NUE series for me, last year was fun for sure,

but only so many vacation days.  Definitely hit up

the W101 and Shenandoah though, can't miss those

festivities.

trees.

A fishin' buddy once told me
that he prefers the east over 

the west.  

"The mountains are more intimate."

I'd never been out west at the time.

We were talking in the context of 

mtn brookies or rocky mtn cutthroats, 

and I think it applies to any pursuit 

where you spend time out and about.  

Leads me to think about our trees.  

Riding bike thru Meeshow vs the open 

hi speed of...say, big mtn VA or those 

expansive Rocky Mtn meadow trail shots 

that everybody drools over.  IMBA trail is 

CCC broadway, 20+ rippin' vs headwall 

techy bob & weave barely ever spun out 32:19.  

The tight sketchness comes from the speed.  

Then watch the ski porn, western GS turns 

thru the trees vs branch bangin' billy goat 

mid-A glade skiin'.

Imagine if our local forest were actually 

'old growth', not the remnants of a managed 

recovery from 3rd or 4th, 5th? generation 

clear cuts.  imagine huge canopies of Ents 

with two feet of hillside fresh over loamy 

love with freeform bambi path to follow

and flow in the warmer months.

just imagine.

or maybe I just don't like to go fast.

reward vs risk amplified by

skill/technique vs hudge cajones'

or just gettin' old?

cold.

two of three pics today.
Totem Pole to Snowy Mtn
& back, appropriate. 2 chilly
but comfortable hours w/ old man
Withers & Bobby'sBoy, no need to
push it, for now. Avoiding exposure
to NWwind was best.

Where were the 'cakes?



corner turned?
bike becomes novelty,
skis take over? too early
to make the call...good times
were had, tedious pinballing
rock to rock two wheel slip & slide,
snow and leaves, definitely not a
high speed day. (they were
happy to let the fixy lead!?!?!)



keep warm, keep an eye on the weather,
fingers crossed, please Ullr, pleazzzzze.

re post.

got yanked off U tube,
moved to vimeo.

heal up Bender.

WhiteGrass from Tomi McMillar on Vimeo.

yeah, I'm totally focused on bikes right now.

the gnar.

Ski Roundtop, FKNA!

meet a black guy.

my wknd.

ski season, picked up right where it left off.
Followed my nose to the goods on Friday.
Rinse and repeat on Saturday, but with
new stix. Canaan Valley was a ghost town,
I took advantage, fully. More pics here.

Friday, natural love:

Saturday, rinse & repeat:

hmmmm....

from Dave's weather site:

Nov 25 - Sharply colder with a few flurries overnight, then snow resumed during the morning and continued all day and evening.  Snow fell heavily much of the time from late morning through the evening.  Total snowfall this month so far makes it the second snowiest November in the past 64 years, based on Canaan Valley's official observations.  The most snow ever in November was 55 inches in 1995.

 

(emphasis mine.)

Remember the winter of 95/96?

just saying.....booyah.  ?

(please Ullr, pleazzzzzzzzzzzzze.)

unreal.

so, we've gone from bikes to skis 

with absolutely no interlude, this'll 

help keep off the Holidaze ballast.  

Roundtop opens Friday, might as

well go pick up my pass, maybe 

make a few afternoon turns.

Bro's are here, whoot! sweet flexin'

ski, and light.  G3 Ascents are now 

on the way, just need to find some 

cheap skins.....and a plane ticket.

Gratuitous partial quiver shot:

ya know, nothing beats a good ski tour.  

go out and make it what you want, just like 

a bike ride.  Do what it takes to get out there.

Do some exploring, get turned around but 

never backtrack, cuz you're not really lost, yet.  

Work yourself  into that quiet spot,

find those thin places, stop and listen 

to the trees.  Turn an hourish scouting 

lap into a 4hour loop before succumbing

to the howls of the powder hounds and 

venturing into shin deep windbuffed 

powwypowpow.  Three shaky baby deer 

turns, then get comfortable with gravity

and let the ski work.....ohhhh baby, 

ohhh baby.

Meesnaux, open for season.

from 60's to this....

that was fun.

oh shit!

I guess it's fo rizzle!

hat. is. in. the. ring.

feel like I should write something

witty, or insightful.

vote for ME!

i like beer.

yeah baybee, yeahhhhh

here we go

from NWS, fkna!

This Afternoon: Snow showers likely. Cloudy, with a high near 29. West wind around 16 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. Total daytime snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches possible.

Tonight: Snow showers. Low around 18. West wind between 16 and 18 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New snow accumulation of 7 to 11 inches possible.

Friday: Snow showers, mainly before 4pm. High near 20. Northwest wind around 16 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New snow accumulation of 5 to 9 inches possible.

plans...again.

here we go....I should be prepping ski gear, 

digging thru closets, looking for gloves,

goggles, base layers....but I feel the urge to 

start thinking about next year's "thing to do."  

NUE was this year, it was fun, saw lots of new 

sights, new riding budds met, experiences 

shared, good times.

good times.  

and now I sit here with this idea that's been 

bouncing around for years and I'm absorbing 

maps and pulling up memories and tweakin' 

on Goggle Earth to finally get the ball rolling 

on a connected self supported ridgeline multi 

day tour fest.  figure out the route, arrange 

the shuttle, winkwink Mumbles.  Park the car at B, get

dropped off at A and try to follow a plan to get 

back to B in the time allotted.  Hit it in a few 

3-4day segements, then lay it down from A to B 

to C to D to E.....those fuckers won't let us on 

the AT, time to figure out the alternate.

Uni-tational!!

(photo c: thanks Branch!)Invitational/Unis = good times.

Podiumed for DFL in the Invitational,

3rd to last, 18 something. Trevor kept the

DFL honors in the hometown after stripping

his fixie hub dropping thru the WV gnar.

Timmy R took top dog 6 Packer with a

smokin' 6:30ish run. Dizzam!

I think I won Uni's, depends which lap you count. Qwik pre ride with Tim and Pat, not quite able to finish my HopDevil before the group parade lap. Then a qwik splash of SPARKS! to top off the the tank before we all longingly look at each other and Thomas says Go!

Tim winds it up and I jump onto his wheel. This is gonna be fun! Rippiin' pace into the start/finish chute, happy when Tim checks up a bit before the plunge, hold about 2 bike lengths back, perfect trusting buffer. Hear scrapage and voices behind, herd is thinning. Just watch Tim.

Never had the pleasure of following Tim fixed before. We rode a bit in passing during his fixed hundo, but not together. Now I can only wait until he makes a mistake, which I doubt will happen. Plunge to the park border, slam the left and into the rocky chicane. Pick the line that matches the pedal stroke. Hear more noise behind, then the sensed presence isn't there. Off the front now. Hit some open pedaling, Tim answers the question of how hard are we gonna ride this thang? OHhhhh, we're hammering this shit, ok.

Time to hold on. Just ride smooth and keep on it. ride that 2-4length gap, adjust the pace for the mo and flow, and the loop turns up-ish. Hit a torquey fast corner and Tim's bike makes noise, his pace drops to zero and I see slack chain. Damn, reallly hate seeing that. "Come on, get it and let's go....." I huff out.

Hold the pace steady gunnin', come thru the chute solo for the start of lap 2. Hammer down, keep that pace rolling. Pick the prefered line, or the option, it's all about where the feet will fall. You recognize the height to avoid. You can see where your unavoidable steps fall in 2, 3, maybe 4 strokes out. Pick the line and adjust, constantly, improvise. Sometimes you gotta just slam that pedal and take the hit, just keep pedaling. Hit the climby bit again. Vurp up some odd combination of Spark's and Hop Devil, yummy.

Pedal harder. Avoid the race ending step up and ride the ledge instead, wuss. First coherent thing I hear is Aimee say "One. more. lap." as I hit the start/finish. Number of race laps wasn't quite firmed out at the start, anywhere from 3 to 6 was possible. But this was only lap 3, so it's countin' for sure. Thru the crowd, the pelting begins, empty cans, a splash of Old Mil to the face, refreshing.

Counting the pre rides, this is lap five, the loop is dialed. Options A & B are now known for either left or right approach to the pedal banging bits. Focus and pedal. Hit the fast open corridor, past the shwoopy, breezey pine slap to the right shoulder, then four pedal strokes and into a right hand turn. Four inch barkless log in the apex, slimey. Kicks me a bit to the right, eyes down, wrong. Look up, where's the trail? shit, wtf? where? shit, someone's getting close. what? shit damn, who is that? backtrack, how'd I blow that turn? dumb ass, get back on it and ride perfect.... FOCUS! damn, who's that coming? JB? he's got the motor for sure, but it's his first time fixed...don't look back, just GO! be perfect.

Here comes the Sparks again, urrmm, give it~! urp. Into the trees, tight to the barbed wire, drop the left then take the safe ledge option again, sorry Marty, and sit up thru the cheering chute. "Is that it?"

"One More Lap!" they chant. ok. was that it? Mumbles catches me as I soft pedal past the crowd. Not sure if we're still racing, he latches on and we ride mostly at barely conversational pace...."are we still racing?" I hear. huff, "I'm not sure...." huff..... Now it's an understood 'honest' pace. Work it to keep each other honest, not quite racing at this point, but no gimmee's either. Work the mo and the flow and keep the stomach contents where they belong, keep an ear open to judge the gap, then we hit the spot where Tim dropped a chain. Shhhhwuopff, and I carelessly dump the front end. Sweet grind, but the leaf covered rock eventually took me down. Step off while still moving forward and debate the cost/benefit of being a dick about letting Chris by. Are we still racing? Does it matter?

So, instead of 'clumsily' remounting the bike and blocking the line, he gets by and I latch onto his wheel. No mistakes are made and I follow Chris thru the chute to chants of "One More Lap!" Out we go for #5.....slightly more conversational pace then before, legs are starting to feel it. It's getting dark, bouncing off more and more unseen obstacles. Begin to sense a creaking presence approaching from behind....Jerimiah. He catches us at one of two spots to make a pass. He passes me, up thru some chunky rocks, it's obvious who's been on a few recent CX podiums....but Chris has enough space, holds the small gap and is into the trees before JB, door = closed.

end of lap 5, it's dark, the crowd is boisterous, and I drink a lot of the beers that were handed to me, it's a celebration. 

 Thanks everybody!

must stop.

must. stop. twitching.

skis are in transport

from Canuckistan.

I've peeked at Rockies

early season ski porn.

fuuuuuuck, I want some.

must distract.  fixed up

the Jabber, back home again.

fun Sunday, 'cakes humoring 

me on the front, 'til I'd blow 

up, inevitable.  The flow pulled

at me, that helping hand when

the pitch rolls against gravity.

Brakeless wide eyed wonderment

thru the glades..Ninja pedal skills 

were in effect, but a smidge 

tentative. 

The line easily recognizable.

must. focus.  heading down valley

on Sat for the 6Pak Invitational & 

Fixed Gear Championship of the Universe.

Run what ya brung as usual, spun out 

big mtn slum here we come....  

Hillendale?  gonna freakin' rock 

out with my cock out, how else

can you approach an event of 

such magnitude?  I'm racing for

the Ocean, biatch.  !

time to go work on that 

fucking bottom bracket, 

again.

trigger pulled

found a deal on some blems, 

soft flex, all but new, couldn't 

pass it up, not like I did last April.....

bring on the snow, 125-99-114, sexy.

pillows

yowza, jonesin'.

in threes.

the aborted MeeshowHundo.
the aborted two night trip.
the aborted 9hr attempt.

I heard that Danny Brennan turned a sub 9 fixed up in
Michigan, props, nice work. I cracked, and stoked the
ego instead, Mohican was tough, it was a long year.
100 milers from April thru Sept, a stage race, a super
fatty supported overnight, two unsupported overnights,
two new to me Classiques, handful of other Classiques
and too, too many to count Epiques.

The MeeshowHundo will happen, that's just matter of
swapping an ego stoke pay to play for a solo mission.

The aborted tour, just wasn't in the cards that wknd,
unexpected weather, flat legs and better option for after
the bail won out. Was reaching kinda far and I knew it,
no worries.

9 hours. man, that one gnaws at me. From what I know
of myself, it'll need to be a great day for it to happen.
I'm just not that dedicated. Normal trial and error will
get me close, as it has before, just need a bit more special
aligning of the stars. The route? I think the 101, it's
practically my backyard, the terrain feels like home, is
home. 25 to 30minute efforts with an immediate fall line
hammering, tempo the rest. ran 8:20 free, 9:20 fixed,
drop a tooth and split the difference. Stage race in early
July to set the table, normal prep for that leads to traditional
strength in early June. Time that for the Meeshow effort.

Want to bag few tours early, tighten up that game.
The big goals remain semi-unspoken, more beta
needed. 9hrs? If it happens, it happens, not a focus, ya
know? Short term....those new trails at Raystown
are looking sweet....anybody wanna shuttle me home
from the grand opening wknd next spring, I'll leave
here Thurs eve, meet ya'll out there sometime Saturday.....

anyone?

really?

in an article on Cyclingnews.com,
under the lead picture of theLance
is the caption:

Lance Armstrong will be working on improving his speed and power

yeah, no shit Sherlock.

voted.

longest line to vote that I've
ever been in, an hour's wait.

Normally 10, maybe 15, minutes.

Lots and lots and lots of young faces,

first timers.  Assume they were there

to vote for McPalin.

not!

dinner time, feelin' good.

last blast

caught the tail end of the fall color fest.
leaf season now upon us, over the bars 
a solid four times, lots of hidden holes.

change the vibe

plenty of this on tap for tomorrow....

Chaos!

Get the latest news satire and funny videos at 236.com.

blithering idiot

In part of this interview,

ignorant Sarah Palin said 

"It's sort of perplexing to me, because I'm a practical person and plainspoken also, but just cutting to the chase and calling things like I see them, just like most Americans.  But this has not left a bitter taste in my mouth, the bitter shots taken by the mainstream media and by some of the elitism there in Washington," Palin said.

The reason you feel that it's hostile elitism that's holding you back, is because you're a fucking moron who is unfit for the office you seek, or even currently hold.  Accept that fact that although every American has the opportunity to be something great, not everybody has what it takes.  Not everybody can be a winner, this isn't some self esteem boosting tee-ball bullshit.  This is living in a democracy, it can be hard work, it takes some intelligence, especially if you aspire to lead.  So, please, go back to your dime a dozen hockey mom, country hatin', Alaska redneck way of life.

That 'elitism' you complain about is because everybody but your fucking ignorant, intolerant, racist, worthless, uneducated base is sick and fucking tired of your shit.  Of McCain's shit, of Bush's total clusterfucking of this country.  Please, crawl back into that little fucking hole you came from and shut the fuck up.  

Real America?  Real America?  Fuck. You. I'm sick and fucking tired of having my patriotism, my rights, my freedoms attacked because you assholes can't have a conversation or support an argument on it's merits.  All you can do is attack the messager.  The apologies made for Murtha's comment about his home district/region, of northwestern PA, as being racsist......Well, no shit Sherlock.  Anybody that lives in good ol' Pennsyltucky can tell you that.  He called a spade a spade, deal with it.  The time for whitewashing this shit should be over.  The shit I hear from some of the rednecks at work, there's a generational entrenchment of those attitudes.  Fucking call 'em out on it, don't sugarcoat it.  Walked into a conversation the other day.....

"not..vote...no nigger..."  is what I 

heard as I walked thru the door.

whawhawhhuuuut?  "Well, you're just 

fucking ignorant.  If that's your sole 

reason, then you're just. plain. ignorant."

"Well, then I guess I am ignorant,

cuz ain't no way I'm votin' for no nigger."

"Then you're just fucking ignorant."  

and I went back to my office feeling kinda sad...

Not gonna change the way that asshole thinks.  

It's over, it's done, your way didn't work, now step aside for the grown ups, for real leaders to try to get things heading in a better direction.  Don't forget to vote.

hmmmmm.

on Facebook now....

lizard brain

had an interesting conversation the other eve.

delved into creation myth and where does 'history' start.

also reading a book right now, Explorers of the Infinite.

Gets into the spiritual side of extreme athletes of all backgrounds

and disciplines.  Talks about those magic moments, visiting those

thin places, alpine tragedy, etc.  

Why is it that so many different pursuits lead to the same place?

That extra-body transcendental experience of disconnected nowness.  

Do we purposely 'go there?'  

If so, what do we seek to find there? 

What do we actually learn while visiting?

Anything? or just an escape?

So, you've torn it all down, shredded yourself to the core, as essentially you as you know how to be.  Focused survival mode, running on instinct.  Looping back to the opening about creation myth and also blurbs I've read about more evidence being discovered that supports these passed down stories and memories....Is something like Atlantis really just a myth?  Why couldn't there have a been greatly advanced civilizations previously, that are now gone due to cataclysmic events?

Like when the poles of the earth flipped, or extraterrestrial impacts, wiping out all but the hardiest survivors.  Forcing them back to the Earth, back into the caves, surviving on instinct and passing down their history thru memories and stories, now myth.  And if we've heard these stories, so many, many, many, many times through how many generations, is there a part of the semi-primitive old brain that has that knowledge stored in some way?

Visionaries, mystics, shaman, monks.....what are they really tapping into during those transcendent states?  Do we also catch a glimpse of that when we've torn it all down at the end of a long effort?  What's the difference between a full on emptied the well need to push on for 4 more hours or sleep in the woods bonk vs a monastic meditative days long fasting?  

Physiologically a similar experience, empty the body until the brain bonks, then do some exploring....guess it depends on your focus, and where you really want to go.

bring it!

Bought my season pass yesterday.....

Today: Rain showers, mixing with snow after 11am. High near 44. Breezy, with a northwest wind between 17 and 25 mph, with gusts as high as 47 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. Little or no snow accumulation expected.

logged.

Added up the numbers
that I keep track of.
From some point in Feb
to last week, the 'season.'  
Peaks and valleys, along
with scribbled notes.

The spreadsheet goes back
a handful of years now, stack
of journals grown by one, my
'manifested artifactual evidence.'

Riding with purpose, 
'training' on instinct,
this year's total was 
457.5, last year was 455.  
interesting that it came 
out so close.

didn't count the commute
though, that's another 35ish,
it's just a short spin....

flight

You roll out the door, down the block, settling in.  Working out the wrinkles in the chamois, getting the pack settled just right.  Half hour of fidgeting and the legs have loosened, the kit is tuned and the trailhead taunts.  Qwik 30 minute ascent and you're up on the ridge, take a breather, take in the view, munch some calories and relax into the trail.  Let the tires find their purchase, test the shluffyness of the leaves and loam, slowly wind up the cadence.  Don't force it, let the trail come to you.  Roll out of each turn with a bit more snap, sometimes with a crackle, then a pop.  Soon enough the 32:19 is wound out and gravity takes over.

Relative silence, no clanging banging shifty bits to disrupt. Bit of brake squeal into a corner, the buzz of the Eno and the stern plunk of rubber on rock, knobs chewing up crunchy leaves. Keep winding that gear out, chasing gravity, ramping closer and closer closer to wide eyed blurry oxygen deprived sweetness. Swooshing thru the trees, nip and a tuck with a hoot and a holler, bike is brakeless flow and there's that perfect little hit.  An inviting ramp of rock with a sweet downslope landing.....then it's silent, and you're no longer connected, taking flight for those few bike lengths.  Don't forget to breath.

Is it any wonder that the inventors the magical flying machine had their start in bicycles? Wilbur prefering long rides thru the country, Orville being more of a scorcher on the track.  Their shop in Dayton was the foundation for the aeroplane works, where they repaired bikes, where they designed and built bikes, where they experimented with flying.  Did you know that the Wright Brothers were the 'inventors' of the left handed thread on your non-drive pedal?  That the propellers on the original Wright Flyer were driven by a bicycle chain?

freedom, in so many ways.

viral

ripped this from Fuzzy's site......

Dear Red States:

If you manage to steal this election too we've decided we're leaving. We intend to form our own country, and we're taking the other Blue States with us. In case you aren't aware, that includes California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois and all the Northeast. We believe this split will be beneficial to the nation, and especially to the people of the new country of New California.

To sum up briefly: You get Texas, Oklahoma and all the slave states. We get stem cell research and the best beaches. We get the Statue of Liberty. You get Dollywood.

We get Intel and Microsoft. You get WorldCom.

We get Harvard. You get Ole' Miss.

We get 85% of America's venture capital and entrepreneurs. You get Alabama.

We get two-thirds of the tax revenue; you get to make the red states pay their fair share.

Since our aggregate divorce rate is 22% lower than the Christian Coalition's, we get a bunch of happy families. You get a bunch of single moms.

Please be aware that Nuevo California will be pro-choice and anti-war, and we're going to want all our citizens back from Iraq at once. If you need people to fight, ask your evangelicals. They have kids they're apparently willing to send to their deaths for no purpose, and they don't care if you don't show pictures of their children's caskets coming home. We do wish you success in Iraq, and hope that the WMDs turn up, but we're not willing to spend our resources in Bush's Quagmire.

With the Blue States in hand, we will have firm control of 80% of the country's fresh water, more than 90% of the pineapple and lettuce, 92% of the nation's fresh fruit, 95% of America's quality wines, 90% of all cheese, 90% of the high tech industry, 95% of the corn and soybeans (thanks Iowa!), most of the U.S. low-sulfur coal, all living redwoods, sequoias and condors, all the Ivy and Seven Sister schools plus Stanford, Cal Tech and MIT.

With the Red States, on the other hand, you will have to cope with 88% of all obese Americans (and their projected health care costs), 92% of all U.S. mosquitoes, nearly 100% of the tornadoes, 90% of the hurricanes, 99% of all Southern Baptists, virtually 100% of all televangelists, Rush Limbaugh, Bob Jones University, Clemson and the University of Georgia.

We get Hollywood and Yosemite, thank you.

Additionally, 38% of those in the Red states believe Jonah was actually swallowed by a whale, 62% believe life is sacred unless we're discussing the war, the death penalty or gun laws, 44% say that evolution is only a theory, 53% that Saddam was involved in 9/11 and 61% of you crazy bastards believe you are people with higher morals then we lefties.

Finally, we're taking the good pot, too. You can have that dirt weed they grow in Mexico.

Peace out,
--Blue States

for freedom.

got together with the extended family for bit of mountain bicycle freedom celebrations down in WestByGawVirginny over the wknd. Full effect two day shuttle maximized the trail lovin'. Gaggle of fifteen fools of Foof, 'burgians, 'cakes and even a native son on hand for SpruceBerries-High Meadows-Horton-SpringValley-Allegheny on Saturday, 40 in 7.5. Lose a pair, add a bunch and you get 22 of us traversing the GnarlyNorth on Sunday, 5hours of quintessential east coast ridge love.  Team ACL Buck & Martino were missed. Awesome to see Sue's HUGE smile talking about her fresh tastes of pedal freedom once again. 

drive, beer, fire, beer, sleep, eggs, bacon, shuttle, riiiiiiiiding, burritos & beer, fire, beer, fire, beer, sleep, pancakes, shuttle, riiiiiiiiiiiide, beer, break camp, pizza, drivvvve, zzzzzz.

yeah, it was alright.