Ride Lugged

Uh,

Art

I guess I see why Johnson doesn’t try to make bicycle art.

To readers of this blog that may be concerned:

The poster known as 5dollarbud, aka a4nick8tor, aka Big Killa N, aka Golden Balls, aka Kung Fu Jimmy is currently on holiday in Prague, CZ.

He appologizes for not notifing sooner and wonders if it would be possible to meet any other posters on this blog before Thursday when he leaves.

He can be contacted at his usual email, or by his swedish mobile (+46 70 fourseveneight fourfouronetwo), or by calling the hotel (+420 296 889 688)

kthanks!

Old School Freestyle.com
So this used to be a website I updated and ran for about two years or so…back in 2002.
It’s supposed to be a magazine flip kinda page browsing program…oh, and it’s about bmx stuff.
I used to think it was fun, now I just think it’s funny.
Enjoy.
RobQ

freezing rain sucks.  so does wind, slippery roads, ect.  if this is the weather of the tomarrow, we will meet same time same place, corys house, 12ish, start drinking, maybe ride around town a bit, maybe maybe do a short ride sub 12 miles.  more drinks will be followed by more drinks, food of some sort, drinks with drink chasers.  there will be drinks, drink drink drinks.  then there will be drunks.

call me T.S.  

so we have reached that time of year. the time when the students go out into the world and make environmentally based installation art.

we start with a fine piece about “The chosen artwork the object being a yellow towel did not belong.” Enigmatic, sure. But “In my work was an outdoors scene was captured.” Ah yes. Do tell us more. “The towel is not a part of nature and does not belong the fall colored leaves make it less of a nuisance.” Right. Now i am getting it. “There is INTERPENETRATION in my work as the towel and tree are interlocked. ” OK now I truly understand. “My work in particular I had to physically put the towel in the tree. ” and hard, diligent rewarding work it was! Good job student o’ mine. Furthering the misery er i mean mystery, the student submitted the work upside down.

The next entry I read was about an altoona artist. We knew he was from altoona and painted scenes about altoona because the student mentioned altoona 16 times, perhaps 14 more times than it has ever been mentioned in print. To give you a taste: Altoona Altoona Altoona Altoona Altoona Altoona Altoona Altoona Altoona Altoona Altoona Altoona Altoona Altoona Altoona Altoona. makes my eyes go funny.

choice quotes: “To the Mr. Goldsworthy and myself the power of nature, is endless cycle and unpredictability is a continuous driving force.”
“I created my art piece after a large amount of contemplation.” Read: I created my piece after drinking copious amounts of cheap rail drink, pitchers of margaritas, and a half a case of amstel light. Andy Goldsworthy is crying his eyes out as we speak.

nothing says super hero like a penn state brand blanket draped over and octogenarian’s shoulders. no, seriously, that was the premise of this art project. shoulda kept that one in the oven, student o’ mine.

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the dscwdibmssitilmslahcibbjf78hddr was originally slated to take place at 1pm in myersville.  rob pre-drove the course with mark, and they deemed it too hard.  ok.  i can handle criticism.  or can i?  buahahahahaha.  here is my proposed compromise, complied from a dirt roads index that joe whitehair gave me, and a ride profile that he conjoured up.  this ride is longer, but not harder, and has more dirty dirt and chip roads.  you could singlespeed it, easy.  the ride profile shows no climbs over 300 feet.  considering the length, it is really really really flat.  that said, some people might say, oh its long.  but its flat! thats a compromise.  there will be no death march climb, no hills for a walkin’.  there are also numberous bail out points, and a longish section that you could cut out and sit around waiting for everyone else to complete.

my opinion though, is because its longer, we should A. all bring lights, definately.  front and back.  fresh batteries.  check them before you ride.

B. bring toe warmers, ect.  thick socks.  you know the drill.  a weather proof jacket.  ear warmers.  good gloves.

C. we should probally leave corys at 12 not 1.  that way, we’ll get back right when its getting dark.  mark, be there at 11.  you dont read this though.

if there is major issues with this plan, i can tie off the dingle at the mid-point in the ride that gives about 18 extra miles and more dirt road, as well as a view of the potomac river.  i would rather not, but i would really rather have everyone come on this ride.

routeslip thing here.  

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ok. so i have been warned off the trail. obviously this is the last time i ever have any one but me pre-drive a course. at least i know how to lie to myself, and con others into my web of denial. this is from a recent rob to johnson email:

So Mark and I drove the route tonight. I tend to agree with Mark when he says it’s kinda ambitious.
Mostly because of the lack of riding we’ve been doing…and the impending weather that’s predicted.
It starts with a death climb and then turns into beautiful rolling country. But there are several hairy
downhills into death climbs on the other side. To really give you a picture of what we saw…
There was:
-no cell phone coverage for 90 percent of the route
-Several pitbulls on a leash outside of a confederate flag touting homes/trailers…
-two junkyards
-thousands of neighbors trying to be junkyards
-rough pavement with lots of tar
-only about three miles of dirt
-about a mile of sketchy high speed no shoulder road
-random properties that seemed like a good place for a horror flick
-random properties that seemed like a great place to hole up and be cantankerous
-the potential for LOTS of walking up hills
-magnificent views out over valleys
-no stores or gas stations or anything that could sell you a moonpie or cupcake

I’m not saying it’s not possible…just that it would be a bitch for anyone not is great shape.
Also, with a sub 40 degree day with a 50 percent chance of rain and some snow showers…
it would be a completely treacherous road ride…you WOULD NOT want wet rim brakes!!!
DOOM!!!
seriously….some of those descents would produce injury. Especially if the road surface was wet/icy.
So there you have it. It took us over an hour to drive and we went pretty fast…I thought.
I can make you a list of things you should take…but I won’t be on that list.
I’m in no shape to do that kind of ride, nor do I have the clothing.
Mark doesn’t have the bike. So we’re out if you all are in.
Mark did have a great idea of doing a ride from the Shanty of Benson up Hamburg and perhaps include
some single track and lots of gravel roads and then come down, say, by the reservoir or something.
That way everyone could drink and not have to drive to/from a grueling bike ride.
So there you have it.
Oh, the directions were good though. Except for a couple of places. Which I fixed on my Queue sheet.
Call me.

a few things are obvious from this email: rob doesn’t ride with a loaded gun, he thinks brakes that work are a right not a priveledge, and is thinks he is fatter than i am. john wrote a semi similar email with words like ‘white knuckle decent’ and ‘walking’ repeatedly mentioned.

so i have to reconsider. obv we dont want mark and rob to not come. i’m going to work on it tonite. i’m not promising that the revised ride will be easier, but maybe i can cut out the junkyard thing.

for now though, i leave you with this thought: