camouflage

first poppy

Hitched outside the pub

One day they will set up trainers for us to ride our bikes on while we drink at the pub…

Circa 1994 times two

I think Mindful Mule just turned 21!

a couple that bikes

Love-bikes!
Old Pasadena, Dec. 2014

Clean, shiny, vintage, and out on the town… I don't know this couple but I like the way they roll...

long december

Long december - it's one of my favorite songs - and one of my favorite months if there can be such a thing - because after this it only gets lighter - so I've revamped the blog to dark background - "and there's reason to believe, maybe this year will be better than the last…"

I've been thinking about the speed of walking - and how it shows you the over-zipittyness of this place - tried to walk across a street lately?

And I've been thinking about long, undocumented rides through the mountains - carrying a picnic…

And runs through the endless silent hills…

new brake pads

I just put new brake pads on the road bike (the Masi, aka Purple People Eater). I understand that this wouldn't normally be considered a topic of relevance for a blog post (too bore sooo many readers). However, I've had these brake pads for 10 years. It seems impossible that I've never changed them as I feel like I ride a lot. Maybe I just don't brake a lot? And it wasn't like I felt they (the old pads) were at the end of their usable lifespan. But I just got to thinking that maybe after all those years in the heat and the cold and the sun and the rain that these old pads might have lost a bit of their tackiness, their rubberiness, their squish. I haven't even taken them for a test ride yet because I didn't want to bother changing pedals (at the moment I'm sharing pedals between Masi and Centurion, aka Totally 80's!). But just the process of changing the pads was so nice - just loosening that tiny pin screw and sliding out the old pad and in the new without hardly even having to adjust the brake cable much - what a great design! And so sexy! If I notice a difference - and I think I will! - I'll do a similar swap for Totally 80's! - although in her case I'll need to replace the whole pad-and-bolt-on-mechanism because she ain't got that tiny little pin screw to slide out her old pads - upgrade! 

currently reading

Because you can't just not mention Lance.

1000 Mile Shoe Club!

Oldest living CamelBak dies

I don't remember the exact date or year when I first got this Camelbak but it's outlasted a number of girlfriends and life changes - I'm sure I had her in '98 - so sixteen years plus or more. Tonight she died. Upon opening her up tonight the membrane around the filling port tore. But this morning she ran up Brown Mountain with me for one last time which is just how I want to go, too. Thank you Camelbak for keeping me hydrated all these years - oh the adventures we've had! 

dream

woke up from a dream about coffee and bicycles…
or was it a dream…

a million cars can ruin your whole day

This has happened to me a number of times lately - and I feel it's just getting worse - I've just come out of the mountains and/or some secret winding, rolling road and/or path under a dark canopy of trees only to emerge into such a steady stream of cars I can hardly believe or understand. My feelings of fatigue induced euphoria are quickly stomped on by the speed and rush and hurry and the cold steel feel of a car unthoughtfully buzzing by. And so sometimes I just pull over and wait. It's a long wait. But I figure it might save my life. And I wonder if car drivers ever do the same - wait - for anyone… I hope I do when I'm behind the wheel but I've got a different perspective - after so much time on bike and foot - so, I try - and I do see other car drivers trying and I greatly appreciate it - but, still, I get confused - a bicycle is not an anomaly - I know cars pass bicycles all the time - but each time a car driver passes me I feel like it's the first time they've ever done it - too much uncertainty - or worse, too much disregard… we are humans, all - traveling humans… 

clean bottle found

I found this Clean Bottle in the gutter - at the bottom of a hill - actually my hill - or, at least, the one I ride down nearly every day - there are some bumps in the road - thank goodness - they slow the cars - so probably some bicyclist hit those downhill bumps just forcefully enough that their bottle popped out of their cage, never to be seen again - I suppose I could have left it there - or propped it up on the sidewalk where it may have been more visible and refindable, but I really had no way of knowing how much time had passed since the bottle popping out incident occurred - although, the water was warm - and so I selfishly and/or riskily grabbed the bottle and made it my own - and, anyway, it's a Clean Bottle so I shouldn't be concerned about being able to wash out a little spittle and foam… And anyway, it reminded me of my friend who has become quite famous on a certain popular afternoon television talk show, I guess you call it. He's like what I would call a sidekick - let's call him Sideshow Andy for now - he often dresses up in costumes and dances around on stage - and if you're interested in cycling - you've no doubt seen the Clean Bottle costumed man trotting alongside the peloton in Tour of Cal and perhaps others… That Clean Bottle muppet always reminded me of Sideshow Andy and so I just had to snatch up that Clean Bottle - and it's insulated! 

currently reading

Murder in the High Himalaya: loyalty, tragedy, and escape from Tibet.
by Jonathan Green, 2010.
Intense and upsetting but a story that must be told, read - and current events, no less!

p.s. - for those of you who haven't been in a while, that's the library in the photo… get there.

cool breeze

a cool breeze blowing in as the sun goes down 
ushers in our first cool weekend of fall
windows opened to pull it inside 

summer's not gone
supposed to be a hundred again next weekend
but only eighty tomorrow 
for a run up Brown Mountain

the last hot day is the best hot day

Sycamore Skye

We've made it through the summer. A hundred degrees today. A few rain drops on the back porch for happy hour. This Sycamore might not make it to next summer. But she likes today. A beautiful hot goodnight summer day, evening. Goodnight Sycamore, goodnight…













p.s. - maybe the mule is ready for a revamp…

the hems

typical friday night

wine and inner tubes

Had to move the operation to the laundry/garage due to lack of light (I like this photo) (the crayon marks the spot of the puncture!)

And… for the record: it's goathead season! Look it up if you must. Or imagine a spiky seedpod that penetrates all and everything. It was a goathead that popped BOB's tire that you see pictured above.

And… I know you won't believe this, but my shoe picked up at least a dozen goatheads on this morning's run - on one shoe!

family portrait

Ceramics by Hugh Watts

trimming the hems

After another summer of running with drenched clothing that gets lower and heavier with every drop of sweat that won't or can't evaporate quickly enough I've begun to consider some options and take on a few experiments. 

One item of clothing which could be helpful is the running singlet, aka a tank top. But I somehow feel like I'm too old to wear those now - although I used to. Also, I've developed some killer cycling/farmer tan lines and it would take quite a while to recolor the bare spots. 

Shorter running shorts: same as above - but I might just try it again anyway.

What I have been able to agree on for the present moment is to trim off the hems on my running shirts. Now it may not seem like that would really make much difference but because they double over on themselves they actually represent a fair amount of water holding, weight adding fabric.

So far I've experimented only with my least favorite running shirt, of course. I used scissors to trim off the hems on the sleeves and around the waist. I left the stitching of the hem, though, to maintain some amount of form to the garment. So far I've left the one around the neck but depending on the shirt I may trim those off, too. 

Next up I suppose will be to trim off any hems on shorts and their linings.