1000 words

Hoppy Holly Days...

With snow finally coming this week, and more to come Monday, it feels like the perfect time to rest, relax, and wish everyone the nicest of Christmases.  If you celebrate Hanukkah, I hope your festival of lights was magnificent, if Kwanzaa, then enjoy Christmas and then have a happy Kwanzaa.  I wish you well.  Talk to you next year! 

Don't feel bad about putting down the bike and picking up a book.  Or your kids.  Or some food.  Or whatever. 

PS.  No, this picture above is not the Schwinn Single from Target.  Although it may break down about this fast...

Like Andy on the Gavia...

 

Should've posted this the day before yesterday, but been a little busy.  Our first snow of the year came two days ago, which is not news or blogworthy, 

but when I got to the big hill at the end of my ride, up to Witchcraft Heights Elementary School, I rode up the hill feeling like my original cycling hero Andy Hampsten in the Gavia (see photo) 

and noticed a car getting closer to me.  I was doing fine so I accelerated and PASSED THE CAR on the hill. 

I was so surprised I didn't quite know what to do, so my car-driving instincts took over and I passed it on the left, spinning its way up the hill.  And I'm happy to say, I dropped it. First time that's ever happened.

I think it's going to be a good winter!

The Chicken Coop and The Garage

When I was pretty young, not sure of the age, I spent lots of time at my grandparents' house.  An old white farmhouse.  Trails in the orchard out back.  Lake down one of the wider trails.  And of course I took it all for granted.

There were two other buildings there that I credit for subliminally shaping my future life. 

My grandpa's garage.  No garage door, ever, but it had two small rooms in the back- which I'll describe in a second.  It had a huge tank which for awhile was used to pump gas.  Yeah, he had his own gas delivered in bulk.  Pretty hardcore to think about today, but this was PA, and he was a former farmer and snowplow driver, so who knows.  Just to the right when you entered the door was an old barrel- that was where the odd named spray cans went.  WD-40, Liquid Wrench...

Back in those two rooms were old dressers- drawers filled with nuts and bolts and stuff.  And the rooms were chock full of old stuff.  And not in nice neat boxes, but just full of stuff.  Old "Operation" game from the 60s?  Yes.  Unattached toilet?  Yep.  And everything in between.

And the second building was a former chicken coop (I think) that my uncle had taken over.  It was usually locked, but we always tried the window- and sometimes it was open.  Inside the walls were covered with rock posters (I think I remember Janis Joplin) and a motorcycle.  I thought it was the coolest little building I'd ever seen.  Like a clubhouse or treehouse, but so much cooler.  And you could lock it!  I could bore you with the family history in that place and the garage too, but that's not what I'm after.

I think I've been searching ever since for those two rooms.  The photo above is of Heidi Swift's Bike Area.  She's a writer/photographer in Portland, OR whose blog I read occasionally, and when I saw that picture it took me instantly back- like so many garage photos do. 

I want (and have had on many levels) to recreate that chicken coop.  A place fully dedicated to my bikes and where I could have a scooter or two.  Posters and race numbers on the walls.  And the only thing stopping me is permanence.  Any place we live I feel like I shouldn't put down roots, that I shouldn't get too attached.

I suppose that starts to get into family stuff again, doesn't it?  How I've moved so far away from my family, and now have new family here. 

But I want to go on a little more about that place.  How you should make one if you don't have one.  Or cherish and polish it if you do have one.  There's a lot of talk lately about "Man Caves".  Whatever, but there's a place for the workshop... whatever you call it and whoever uses it.  No matter what size it is, it is a part of the bike experience, and you're missing out a little bit if you don't recognize and cherish that part of it.  Home base.

We now pause for station identification...

does anyone remember when TV used to say that a lot?  Just a few technical matters to discuss for a moment.  And then back to our regular scheduled bike-obsessed blogging.

Following.  If you're a google member, please do it.  Consider it motivation for me to write more.  I'd just like to know if anyone more than those 5 over to the right are reading.  And frankly, all five of them would read any old crap I wrote- they're friends.  Hopefully this is better than dragging the bottom of the riverbed for them, but I can't be sure.  If you read this blog, please consider following.

And responding.  I know how much trouble it can be to place a comment on something.  You don't want to take the time for the CAPTCHA word puzzle thing.... you don't want your name posted up there.  I get it.  But now each post has a quick review feature with 3 levels of "cool post" type responses.  If you get anything out of them, please note these and tick a box.

That is all.  Now back to bikes and trails.

Simple Isn't Easy

Preface:  I'm sure this is all copyrighted backwards and forwards.  This blog doesn't make money, and if any of the concerned parties doesn't like what I've done here, leave a comment and it'll be taken down immediately.  Ok?  Ok.


Just a little bicycle battle of the quotes, anyway.


" I had something that worked well and I decided to stay the course. Singlespeed to me was about rejecting the 1990s arms-race in the mountain bike world and distilling things to a minimalist point. The important variables to me were: 
1) Keep it simple and reliable. 
2) Get fitter yourself through riding. And: 
3) Be quiet, both bike and mouth."
-Matt Chester (framebuilder) on his blog


vs. 


"Mountain biking has evolved and mountain bikes have evolved to the point where riding only singlespeed is essentially one step away from burning the Spinning Jenny.  Face it fellas, you are the modern poster child for the Tollpuddle martyrs [sic]."
-Alex Leigh, in Singletrack, issue 24:  "Suspension and Gears:  A Victimless Crime".


Not sure Alex got his historical allusions correct on this one, as the link shows.  It does lead to some fascinating reading about Ned Ludd and the luddite movement, though.  His article should be taken as a little bit tongue-in-cheek, by the way, but I think still represents many people's views enough to be quoted.

Update!

As of today, 52, out of 113 of you that own Mountain Bike Boston, have updated. 


Now, I don't know exactly how this works, because to be honest- I can't afford an iPhone or iPod Touch.  Or won't.  Either way, I'm not sure technically how it works, but I know that it is supposed to be free once you buy the app.  You're missing out.  Any new information I have on existing trail entries is updated.  Any new entries I've finished are on there (at least a couple, maybe a lot more).  And finally, new photos that I've been able to take of the locations are also included. 

And all this costs...  NOTHING.  Get updating!