Tuesday, December 22, 2015

The big holiday week

First off every year I post this as a reminder to everyone what the season is based on:

Thanks for this wonderful explanation calamities of nature. 

One day if I ever get around to it I'll make these into postcards and send them off at holiday time

With that out of the way let's crack open a winter beer and stumble forth into the realms of well...umm...something bicycle related. Rainy day projects currently rule the thoughts of BOSAHFOW. I've vacuumed out the mazdarauder and organized the cab of said adventure mobile. Also in the mazdarauder I affixed some waggling finish pieces that have been rattling around. I have yet to rind a proper storage net for the area behind the drivers seat. Yeah Yeah I need to post all those mazdarauder construction pics one day.

I finally got around to making the second of my  milk crate panniers:
Now if I can get a proper rack for the front of the cross check I'll have a right nice grocery getter/liquor bitch. Alas such things are not easily to properly rig (for me at least) and rarely are they cheap. I lucked out with the milk crate panniers. I had the milk crates on hand and spent maybe 3 bucks and 15 minutes in the local ace hardware store a few minutes of staring at my bicycle rear rack and wah-la removable multi use panniers.

I drug the tools out and a pair of new brake pads for the voodoo last night. I sessioned the voodoo mechanically fussing with the brakes and adjusting (yet again) the stem height and fiddling eddy merckx style with my saddle. Yet another rainy day project done.

I got around to punching holes into a combat lifesaver course book I printed out and put it into a binder. I figured with all the mass shootings going on as of late knowing a little bit of combat trauma care above what I already know would be a smart idea. Now I just gotta sit down and read it. It's only 200 or so pages long with questions at the end of every chapter. I may be leaving healthcare but it's not reason not to stay up on techniques that may save my life or someone elses in a jam.

Other rainy day projects:
-Switching the underbed drawers around so I can access cool weather clothing more easily. 
-Doing dishes
-Digging all the shit out from under the bathroom sink and rediscovering very important items.
-More velcro!

I did finally open my home brewing kit. I promised myself I would brew over the winter break. I browsed the material and will give it a go on Monday. If all goes well I'll have my first batch done by the end of January 2016.

Even though its been rainy I was able to crank out a ride on the Kona single speed the last week and even snapped a great little pic:

I unfortunately cut short my ride because of strange left leg semi cramps. Don't know what that was about. It was a great day to ride and wish my middle aged body was more agreeable that day. I will have to say since I got the instagrams I do take pics more often and notice other things a bit more often. One thing I have noticed is how fat bikes have truly exploded. I believe fat bikes have certain applications like riding in the snow or sand. I get that and understand it especially when it comes to winter riding. I'll even go as far to say that I have fat bike envy when it comes to winter riding in the snow in the winter.

As for seeing them on local trails here in Georgia in 60 degree temps...well...it's a bit of over kill. Yet the heart wants what it wants and you cannot and should not bash anyone one who wants to ride a bicycle even if it is the wrong whip for the current trail and conditions. It's my impression that fat bikes are meant for slow pace riding. Which again I understand and get. Give me ColoRADo snow and a fat bike and well the riding season would be extended just a little bit longer.

Finally the holiday week is here. I'm working the days for a little extra pay. Also have plans on hanging with some old work friends in from the left coast. Dunno what I am doing for NYE just yet. the rainy weather does not look like it'll let up. So I gotta decide on what I'll do with spare time up until the 5th and 6th of January which is when school starts back.

That's all i got for now. Thanks for reading.











Tuesday, December 15, 2015

What's not to like

I'll start out with a couple of fave artist as of late. One in particular Peaches and of course Iggy Pop:



I was into some Peaches several years ago after seeing her on the old IFC "Rollins Show" liked what she was doing then as the human condition works I drifted away from her artistry.

Lately I have been listening to the WTF pod cast by Marc Maron. Yeah I'm late to that party, so it goes. Anywho These pod casts really do the job when you're driving an hour from mid-ga to Atlanta on a regular basis.  Anywho, Maron had Peaches on his podcast and I again dug what she had to say and how Maron did the interview with a person who is very creative in every artistic vein I can think of currently.

So what's not to like?

The semester wrapped up with me actually passing algebra with a decent non failing grade. With any math I am satisfied with an "average" grade. Biology turned out well which I'm happy with since I totally bombed a lab exam earlier in the semester. I have 6 classes to go until I finish my Associates of Biology. I'm taking a couple of history classes and a chemistry class this coming up semester. I have to decide on how I'm going to divy up my remaining classes like statistics, pre-calc and my second semester of chemistry. I'm closer to the end than I am the beginning. Thank heavens. What I do after that I'll decide later most likely. Possibly move onto a bachelors in biology/science of some sort.

Who knows, certainly not me.

 I had plans on riding today and yup it was totally nice, I just could not do it. In my middle age I have learned to listen to my body and my body said:

"Dude, slow down. I'm making you sore all over because you're not taking it easy on you/us."

So I listened, I slept past noon and ate copiously. The plan is to take the S/S Kona out for a nice ride on a hopefully dry trail. I need to ride the single speed a bit more because I was really fighting with myself while riding last week on the voodoo. I really would like to do a north Georgia trip after xmas and over the new years break. I haven't done much planning beyond telling myself "I should" do it. And really it's not much to plan now I just load up the truck and roll.

That's it for the moment more to come over the break. Thanks for reading.




Friday, December 4, 2015

Soon...soon... soon

I have to admit that as of late I have been wanting to write. Just in the strange, violent and terrifying ways of the world I get a glimpse of what's just outside my tiny bubble. Then I decide not to write because I'll get all nihilistic and get into being a misanthrope which will result in maximum negativity. Combine that with the current holiday season and well it turns into a sucking blacker than black vortex. 

So I don't write.

With that said and knowing my penchant for hating (ahem severely disliking) the last 6 weeks of the year for a multitude of reasons (radical consumerism wrapped up into a tight package of rabid right wing extreme religious piousness and an over all forgetfulness of decent human kindness) I have strove somewhat to be a bit more positive despite my leaning towards the negative in these final weeks of the year.

It all kicked off with the day after thanksgiving and my solo first annualish optoutside black friday ride.

I was rather surprised to see the parking lot of Dauset kinda of full despite the shopping holiday. I set about swilling beer doing last minute adjustments to the Trail Witch and I headed out. There was really no plan, just wanted to ride along on a fine fall day here in middle Georgia. The most folks I saw were near the trail head.
I went to perhaps one of my fave spots at Dauset. It's on the back side on the sandy creek trail. A little while back there was some major trail blockage by some huge trees. The local crew had to drag out the chain saws and clean it all up. Well one of them apparently has a sense of humor and carved this little smiley face. Now I ride by here take a seat on a stump and swill a trail beer. The area needs some more of this trail side art because for the most part it seems to be no huge vistas like what I grew use to out west. I digress though I am thankful for good riding close to where I live. I rode and then rode some more since it had been a long while since I was on the old Voodoo. I eventually made it back to the truck and just sat there and enjoyed the day.  I do admit for all my bitching about Georgia it is nice to be able to get out and enjoy a nice mid-60's temp on black friday. Eventually I made it back to the happening bachelor pad I call "home".

Once "home" I enjoyed another small thing I enjoy. Shower beers. I highly suggest you partake and enjoy one. It'll do nothing except make you smile...go ahead I'll wait...

I'm close all so close to the end of a very average semester. I've struggled with math in a grand way to the detriment of Biology. I only have 4 days til the semester over and then friends and two readers I'll be on the trail a bit more often in perhaps other places other than my own local riding spot. I'll close with a video that's a couple of years old. I challenge you not to smile and tap your foot while listening to "I was denied" by Thee Oh Sees:

 

The performance really reminds me of the fun raw energy of a damn good show. In the last few days I have watched that video quite a bit to remind me all that is good with the world in these violent terrifying weeks. Well onto studying soon...soon...soon I'll be outside.

Thanks for reading.



Friday, November 13, 2015

Friday the 13th


It's my fave random date and day of the week. Friday the 13th. If it were not for social plans tonight here in the A-T-L I would have certainly went for a ride. In a very small way I'm glad I didn't because I found this creepy little doll that I think someone gave me years ago. She rode on many of my bicycles over the years and eventually I decided for some reason to take her off whatever bike and put her into a tool box.

Well I was rooting through my big ol' tool box in the shed and ran across her on this very day Friday the 13th. I had a buddy tell me that it's "fucking hideous". I admit it's a very creepy little doll, yet not as creepy as a televangelist. Since being told that today I did contemplate putting her on the dash of the truck then decided against it and thought that I should put this little dear back into my tool box for a random self surprise later on.

Anyways happy non-hallmark creepy day that is "unlucky".

Oh and in case you want to mark your calendars here is a list of future Friday the 13ths:

So concludes the "Head full of weird" portion of today's blerg. Thanks for reading.

Saturday, November 7, 2015

Smiles all around

Yesterday I grabbed the ol' Karate Monkey and headed out to my local trails. I honestly thought with it being mild weather that the lot would be full. Nope, It was only me and a couple of other folks who were passing thru whilst escaping from Florida. It has been rather rainy and wet for the last several days so taking a quick turn on local trails seemed a great idea.

It was.

I had the trails pretty much all to myself. Yes, I scared the shit out of a guy sitting on a stump and yes I saw a couple of hikers. I grabbed the ol' KM because I knew the trails would be slick with fallen leaves and I could not really power up some rooty sections with the R/S/S/S Kona. It was a nice little ride even stopped and drank a frothy malted beverage at a lesser known trail intersection. Which is where I ran into the Florida couple. We chatted for a few minutes they were doing a road trip and they moved on. I finished up my beverage and started down the trail.

I have to say as opposed to some of my fellow single track travelers. I've *knock wood* had very few strange encounters and hardly found any weird stuff on the trail. So imagine my surprise to find (actually ran over) a cell phone in the middle of the trail after a little obstacle. I immediately know it belonged to the Florida couple. I was hoping they'd call it or there would be a number on it I could call but to no avail. I tucked it into one of my zippered pockets and hoped that they would discover their mishap before leaving. I made it a point to head back to the Mazdarauder via the single track in hopes of running into there folks. Still nothing.

Got back to the trail head and the Mazdarauder, changed outta my clammy shammy and put the KM onto the rack. The only other car belonged to someone with a Fla tag. I made the logical leap that the phone belonged to them. The phone also had a little stick on wallet with drivers License and a couple of credit cards. Knowing these folks were on the road doing a trip made me want to make sure I put the phone into their hands. Because I can only imagine losing that shit while out on the road.

I did not have to wait long maybe 20 minutes. As soon as they came into talking distance I told them I found a phone and some cards so what's your name. They gave me the right name and I handed over their gear.

Needless to say they were THRILLED.

The woman hugged my neck and the dude shook my hand with great vigor. Truly they were very thankful for the fortune that smiled upon them. Seriously what luck to have the only other MTB rider on 20 plus miles of trail run across your cellie and essential ID and cards. I was happy to be of help to someone because deep down inside I am an over grown and often misunderstood boy scout.

I would have offered them beers problem was I had only the one and I swilled that one one the trail. I should have gotten contact info because damn if I didn't make a good impression on someone for once. I did neither and more is the shame.

At least there were smiles all around. Thanks for reading. 

Sunday, November 1, 2015

The fall holy trinity

In case you have not gathered it in the past I really dig the end of October and the very first of November. The 3 days/nights I'm talking about are Devil's Night Oct 30th, Halloween Oct 31st and
Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) today Nov. 1st.

It's a fine time of year in Georgia the temps have finally cooled down from the summer swelterfest and the leaves are now just starting to change here in Mid-Ga. in the past I've done a myriad of activities on these days which we I refer to as the "Fall Holy Trinity" I have a personal story as to WHY I love these days, I'll spare you the sentimentality this time though.

I had to work on Friday so well Devil's night was pretty much a bust. It consisted of me making the drive back from the A-T-L back to good ol' B-ville making a quick stop at a growler shop near work. Feest Noel was the beer of choice. I drove home listening to a podcast of creepy stories. Got home washed the smell of work off of me then watched a little of Broadway Empire. blissful slumber soon followed

Halloween started off with a trick. Somehow during the night I knocked the alarm clock off onto the floor between my improvised and multi functional nightstand and floor turning on the alarm. Hopes of sleeping in on All Hallows Eve were dashed. So I spent the morning checking the weather obsessively, working on a project that I finally got parts for and getting my shit together for that nights ride all the while listening to a lot of The Cramps and The Misfits. In general being distracted. I also made sure I was properly caffinated.

The project I was working on is the LED light project. A long while back BIL give me a string of LED lights for the Mazdarauder. With promises of hooking up a switch for the cab/cargo area. Well it never happened and I was stuck with a very functional and useful item I did not know how to make work. I had tried hooking it in to a straight plug right into the wall but well, it tripped the breaker in my apartment which threw sparks and made me do the "Ah fuck" dance. Which is the dance you do when you fuck something up. Fearing electrocution by the wall fairies and lying in the burn unit at work I decided to rethink and research this problem.

Let me add here that I am TERRIFIED of electricity. I've seen some tragic deaths (a couple of which were lingering and painful) to it so let's just say I tend to want to be VERY cautious with the wall fairies.

I researched on how to wire up LEDs on the old you tubes and lo and behold I can buy conversion kits on the ebays for cheap. The happy dance is what I did when I saw the box containing the kit. I wired it all together and let there be light:

I left it plugged in for a couple of hours to see if you know it would catch fire, it did not so I added some magnets I had lying around to hang off metallic surfaces like in my kitchen because it's as dark as the inside of a coffin in there. Also, I can now plug it into my yeti 150 for truck camping trips/adventures.

Later in the afternoon I loaded up the Ol' Karate Monkey and struck out for Dauset trails. Dauset is special for many reasons. First it's close to where I live about a 20-25 minute drive. Next it's a well maintained and traveled set of trails located next to a nature center and finally most importantly on this night is that the trails close at 2200 (10 pm for you civilian types) I rolled into the trail head parking lot close to sunset right when most folks were packing up to leave or returning from their rides. I took my time made sure all my lights worked and hit the trail at almost 1900 (7pm).

I have to interject here that I was a little sad I did not ride the Voodoo. It's down at the moment because I'm trying to get the stem height just right. Bummer I know. The KM is a great choice because it's a damn stable bike. 29er that I've ridden for years. Its a help with aging eyesight and a pitch black night to have a bike that can roll over most anything.

Another unforseen tricks I played on myself was grabbing the wrong map out of the mazdarauder and forgetting my emergency whistle. I really don't need a map at dauset I'm familiar with the area. It's just helpful when I'm on the trail because I don't have the same consistent loop, in the spirit of Indiana Jones I'm making it up as I go.

Oddly enough there was night course being done by the Georgia Orienteering Club while I was there. I saw a few of the points and talked to a few of the folks participating. I saw a few of the check points lots of people at the pavilion there. I've thought about doing the orienteering thing but then I remember the orienteering course from my hitch in the army and decide not to relive that particular time in my life. They were really focused on what they were doing unlike me who was marveling at seeing raccoons, opossums and deer out at night. I even had an owl swoop down into my view over on the #9 trail. Good fun!


I got back to the truck and set about making some dinner and drinking one of my special occasion cold malted frothy beverages from Colorado:

And let's not forget my Ghoul Friend of the night:

While cooking dinner and drinking above beverage I had a guy and his girlfriend pull up and ask directions to the local haunted house. Without missing a beat I told him I did not know about any haunted house but I had just heard a radio report of a deranged mental patient roaming the area. He and his girlfriend laughed nervously but left in a bit of a hurry. The cops never showed up. It was said in the spirit of good Halloween fun.

I wrapped up and headed home while listening to The Cramps (rockin and reeling in Auckland New Zealand) and then to a fave pod cast Dirt bag Diaries edition of Tales of Terror.

So ended the all hallowed eve.

Today is Muertos. I would normally go to Pop's grave and drop off some stuff there in remembrance unfortunately I have to study for an algebra exam tomorrow. I feel awful that I did not spare the time to do that today, I should have woke up early to do just that or not write. Instead I lazily slept in. I'll make it up there this week and lay my remembrance down then.

My next "holiday" ride will be Black Friday. REI is doing a great promotion which hands down I totally agree with:




Working retail for many years soured me to 'black friday" and now over the years since it seems like Thanksgiving is no longer a day off for most of the retail workers I give a hardy salute to REI for not giving in to corporate greed and letting most of their folks on this holiday of consumerism. From what I gather all retail locations will be closed. Weather depending I'll be down at the trail:


That's all I got here. thanks for reading.

Monday, October 19, 2015

Onward thru October

Alrighty I finally succumbed to the pressures of social media and have an instagram account just look up and to the right for the clickie badge.

Hopefully that makes all 4 of you happy. As my fave month press on towards the most awesome holiday ever (that being Halloween) I have had the chance to go on a local ghost tour with a woman who also finds this up coming holiday just as interesting. Unknowingly the "medium" who was guiding said tour doomed me.

"Oh..." This medium says as we are standing in a local cemetery on this tour.  "...there is a little old lady standing next to you, she says you have a kind soul." This tour guide/ medium turns towards my date and asks "Is he a kind man?" This being our second date she says "As far as I know, yes." This tour guide/medium goes on to say that the little old lady ghost that is standing next to me says there is a "goal out there for me to achieve you just don't need to be afraid to achieve it."

I go on these tours to hear the history, dig the creepy vibe and if I'm lucky spend some time with a attractive woman who is of the same mind. Not to be cold read by a "medium" I'm a skeptic of such things. In the past on other such tours I have been told the same thing. that I have a "kind soul"

Unknowingly this tour guide/medium doomed my second date to end with a fizzle so to speak.  Damn her "kind soul" comment.

My date looked fantastic, was great company and smelled awesome...I just wish the guide said something like "Why are so many ghosts following you around?" Just saying it would have worked out in my favor a little more.

Sigh so it goes in my dating life.

On to bitchin' fantastic news:



It only took a tad over 6 years. I finally got my hands on my fave seasonal beer Isolation Ale. Odell brewery does not distribute east of Mississippi so since leaving Colorado I have been sad not to have this beer. An old work friend who was doing contract nursing work up in Wyoming was headed back to Georgia and made a stop or two in Colorado. He remembered how I have lovingly mentioned this beer (and my occasional text asking him to do me a righteous solid by getting me some of this fine brew) I have swilled some of this beer. I confess it is as good as I remember it.

As for riding I have been getting out most every Thursday to ride for the last few weeks. I have been riding the good old Kona single speed (R.S.S.S.) Rigid Steel Single Speed. It's been great fun. I went by Mom's and got the Karate Monkey for some more MTB fun later on.

Well time is short and I have school projects to get to. Thanks for reading.

Sunday, September 13, 2015

Cables


Well, I don't know why we come here
Guess I just needed the bang
We walk in the beef, and then we pull on the rope
And then the, then the hammer comes down

Cables
Cables
Cables

So I guess they know
I'm not no company man
But I can pull on a rope, I can kill a cow
Slow as any other fucker can

Cables
Cables
Cables

A little while back Dave-O gave me a shit ton of old cassette tapes which both thrilled me and made me want to strangle him as well. As Dave-O tells it to me I had a pretty big influence on his musical tastes. He and I went to a ton of shows together in the mid-90's before I moved out west to Phoenix and beyond.

There are some real gems in this collection of old cassettes. Among them is a personal fave Big Black's "Atomizer" It is a thick with solid jams that gets the blood pumping. It brings back a lot of memories of adrenaline fueled nights heading to a local show to see what kind of trouble I could stir up.

Fave lyric:
'So I guess they know
I'm not no company man...'

This one sentence wraps up my entire professional life no matter where I am in my career. THEY know I'm not going to be in the inner circle no matter how hard I try. I can do the job as well as any other fucker can. So eternally I'm on the outside looking in which I've made as much peace with as I can. I've accepted it.

The temps are finally getting cooler here in in the Empire State of the South. I got a couple of bikes with me. The Cross Check is now back and doing commuting duties to campus, grocery & liquor stores and every other place in between. I slapped the old topeak rack on it with an old busted pannier. I need to get my hands on some spare 700 c tubes although I have super thick tubes in it already. I got the Kona S/S here too. It was doing commuting duties it just did not seem right to have it doing that. I have been wanting to get back on single track. It's been tough getting over to Dauset with the school grind. Maybe this evening. It's be the first time I've been single speeding in a few months. 

In other bike news I need to get it together to sell my TCR C2 giant road bike. It's tough parting with it because I worked my ass off and took a fair amount of shit from the bike shop owner getting it paid off. I worked at the shop so you can imagine that every time I walked in with a cuppa joe from the coffee shop next door I'd get a goddamn ear beating:

"Oh you bought coffee today, well I'm glad you can spend 5 dollars (actually it was a buck cause we had an understanding with the coffee shop owner) on a cup of coffee instead of paying off your bike. At least that son of a bitch next door is getting paid."

Fucker.

Anyways I don't ride it much and actually it's spent more time on a trainer than on a road. I need the money because of certain unexpected expenses like truck problems. I just got to get it together to put the damn thing on my rack and drive it back down here and over to the LBS.

So goes life. Thanks for reading.





Monday, August 31, 2015

A month

It's been a little over a month since I last wrote here. the reason for absence is simple. I've been busy. Yes friends and two readers, too busy to write. The move into my new place was uneventful. It's typical apartment living, the race track over head at 0700 and the occasional neighborly bass treatment. Nothing too bad that can't be dulled or drowned out by a fan. At least if it gets too bad I have a landlord who will enforce a noise rule, rather than the "you can ignore it" nature of my last residence. The box fan I learned is a powerful ally in the fight against ass holish noise.

The apt is small which is fine by me it prepares me for a tiny house eventually. I have severely cut down on possessions and will continue to at the next long break which is around the holiday season. I finally get to cook what I want when I want without again having people look over my shoulder and make comments to the effect of "Oh you're on the health kick again" or "That sounds gross" I digress the Chinese water torture of living with family is behind me. The experiment of getting closer to family has been an abysmal failure, let us bury it under the ever growing trash heap and acts of familial apathy that led to the experiment's very demise.

I have started  back school for the fall semester. My second semester of biology, another attempt at college algebra and a theater appreciation course are all on tap. The college algebra is my biggest headache naturally. I'm worried about it but not so much that I let it get me down too much. I'm a little psyched for the theater appreciation class because it is going to give me a chance to polish a story I want to submit to "The Moth" If I get it down and recorded to a point I like and if I figure out the tech I'll post it here. Biology should not be too difficult although I do need to get cracking on studying my note cards.

Speaking of biology let's talk brewing beer. It's been on my mind for well over a year now and since I have my own space I can move forward with it. Yeah...yeah I have to buy the kit still but Dave-O said it should be under 100 bucks which would be easily covered by an extra shift at work. That extra shift money will have to go towards the dreaded credit card because of a recent complete and total break down of the Mazdarauder adventure mobile (aka my truck) It cost for me a small fortune I was able to cover it but it hurt tremendously. In one morning I prob hemorrhaged a decent percentage of my current annual income. It was tough, so it goes in life. I'd much rather have a costly truck break down than an accident that totals the vehicle altogether.  

The truck though won't be used too much currently except for trips to work up in the A-T-L and to check on my mother. I have my surly x-check back in working condition after I loaned it to a friend and having the "chain fall off" of it. I threw the rack on it and have my bags and panniers at the ready to go grocery shopping and to school. I even left the cross tires on it so I can take it and ride over at Dauset if I chose to.

Well the morning drags on and I have a shower to take and some studying to do. I'll try to write more often. Thanks for reading.

Sunday, July 26, 2015

Trip returns and a move

The latest trip to WNC/Smokey Mountains area went well. Although for a small while we did have a good downpour. I had no probs with a camp site like last time. In fact I got to sleep VERY close to the WEMT classroom. The class was a total blast and very small. I was actually challenged a little bit during the class which is a big plus for me. I made a quick friend she and I went mountain biking at Tsali on the right hand loop and did the alternate because she was so out of shape. I did not care despite her groaning about how out of shape she was. My perspective is that hey we're outside. Enjoy!

It was a good ride and a good time, I realize why more often than not why I like riding all by myself. nothing against other people it just gets old hearing complaints, ride and have fun!

Came back Saturday evening. I just did not want to deal with doing laundry in a busy tourist town on a weekend and trying to find a good camping spot in the area. I was disappointed with my decision but it was for the best because I needed to get back and make arrangements to move and get some things done.

I'm moving tomorrow (Monday) It will be a long process since I never really packed or unpacked from my rushed move a few weeks ago at least everything is in the same place finally. It's just going to be a fair amount of driving. The upside is that I will be much closer to campus and really won't have to worry about commutes much. I hate that I have to pay more rent, the upside is that I can keep beer in the fridge and home brew beer finally! With this move it gets me a little bit closer to the trails at Dauset, which makes the drive 30 minutes to the trail head instead of 50-55 minutes. The other upshot is that at least I'll have a place of my own finally without family looking over my shoulder constantly and clucking when I do something they don't like. The father away and more remote the better.

Well I have a tent to put up to dry out and other smaller tasks to do so I'm going to bail. Thanks for reading.

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Moves and trips

It's been a tumultuous past few if not several weeks. I won't get too deep into it but I have moved once and will move again here soon. I will be living closer to the college I go to presently because frankly I got tired of dealing with bullshit. So now finally mercifully I will have my own apartment. It's a mixed blessing as some may say. I finally get to live on my own for a little while. I don't know how long that will last because of an ailing parent.

I'll be heading out soon back up to western North Carolina for a wilderness EMT course with SOLO. It's a week long. Because of apartment rental expenses I have decided not to go to "Burning Can"  Because I would end up spending money I do not have. I will stay an extra night just to ride Tsali and then head back Saturday afternoonish, maybe.

I spent most of the day today packing for the trip just getting gear into the truck and reorganizing the mess I made when I temporarily moved into my mom's house during this latest round. I'll be in my new apartment by 8/1 with class starting on 8/12. I have to confess it will be nice to be able to brew beer and drink it openly. Then of course the added pleasure of not having family politics to deal with. Pardon me as I quote Bukowski:

 I got the Karate monkey all ready to go and that will be my bike for the week. Speaking of the Surly brand and goings on. I loaned the Cross check to an old friend along with a lock that could be mistaken as an anchor. I don't know if he will ride it. I sure as hell hope he does, I even put flat pedals on it hoping he would. I'll check back before the semester starts just to make sure.

So anyways I got another road trip planned destination def known and what I'll be doing. I have picked up extra shifts at work and it looks like I will have to more often because of rental expenses. I figure 1 and 3/4 of a shift every week won't be too rough. I hope not at least. I just want to finish up my silly little associates of science and contemplate my bachelors of the same subject as well. My faith in humanity has slipped some, so I just recently watched this video and it was restored to a degree:


Anyways that's al I got for tonight. Tomorrow is yard work day then work for a shift and 3/4 then off to WNC for a bit. Thanks for reading.

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

I.G.F.W. #2

Once again because I have to work on Thursday.

I present the hilarious and quite witty Katie Willert (plus for some reason I've always liked the name Katie, well that was until a charge nurse named Katie started hating me for eating tacos instead of clocking into work...that's a long story from years ago. If you dig for it you may find it in here some place..)


I heard about "Cracked!" on a separate podcast (I think) checked them out and then looked up their videos that's where I saw her on "After Hours" a funny look at modern media. Click the link and check it out.

Anyways when ever I do this I'd like to show some video of the IGF so here ya go:


That's it for IGFW #2

Summer is here and I am between residences. I am trying to find a place close to the campus while I am laying low due to familial tensions. Currently I am playing the role of middle aged loser and crashing at my mother's place (face palm) and although this gets me closer to old neighborhood friends and work it's still a bummer. This explains the current uptick in IGFW. Cause seriously women don't date middle aged guys who live with their mother and for good reason, it being plain creepy and weird being despite the reason being primary factors. I don't wanna get bummed so I'll drop that train of thought right there.

I should be riding more but I have not because I have lacked the motivation to get up early to ride. It's in the mid-90's now here in the Atl-metro area and riding is best done in the early morning. I have to admit it though I just like sleeping in. Also I have been studying for my final in my summer class. I want to do well there to press up that GPA after a ok spring semester.

My arm is at about 90% now enough now that I can sleep an lie on it with no pain. I don't baby it as much so I should make the effort to go ride a couple of times a week. I'll remedy that soon. I have plans in a few weeks to head up to WNC again this time to spend a week up at NOC and Tsali then back over to Psigah and Bryson City for the Burning Can. Camping and the event are not cheap so I am currently trying to shuffle funds around to afford gas and bills off my paltry EMT check.

I'll figure something out I'm sure. If not Meh.

Thanks for reading.





Wednesday, June 17, 2015

I.G.F.W.

Yeah...yeah I know the imiginary girlfriend thing should be on Thursdays. I gotta work thursday so i moved it to wednesday. Besides I could not hold back with this incredible woman. Monica Bellucci:


Oh and just to make my point further she's the oldest Bond Woman ever at 50.

Any who that's what I got for ya today. Thanks for reading

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Rousted

The trouble with a sweet spot that is not so legal is that you run the chance of rousing suspicion of a local if you stay too long. After 3-4 nights in this really nice spot I was rousted by the USFS Ranger. It was actually pretty funny because I was doing nothing illegal and had nothing illegal in the truck or no my person. The only REAL thing I had done wrong was park in front of a gate to a grown over FS road that dead ended (I know because I hiked it to make sure.)

The USFS Ranger was HIGHLY suspicious. Apparently a local. I'll call him Hoyt (this was the sticker in this dudes truck window) Saw me hanging out in this spot during a down pour of rain. I suppose he thought I was doing something illegal since I am tattooed up and have a fabulous beard. I had gotten up early that morning and rode Bennett's Gap. Which let me say is a hoot on the sections I did ride the rest was big hit bike dare devil shit I'd only attempt if there was a trauma team on stand by and a rescue chopper flying over head.

The climb back up to the truck was a small challenge but not a total lung or leg buster. I washed off ate a late b-feast and swilled the beer left over in my growler (Backwoods Blonde). All done before 11am (and on a sunday morning...oh my!) which was when the bottom dropped out and it rained like hell for about an hour. During that time "Hoyt" drove by in his pick up truck not once but twice both times I smiled big and waved as I do with most folks out in the back woods. "Hoyt" slowed WAY down the second time and gave me the stink eye. About an hour later the ranger shows up.

Now I don't care I had already bathed and brushed my teeth. I was sitting in the drivers side of the truck with the engine running to charge some electronics and so the battery won't die on the truck. Besides it's been on and off raining so i'm not making the effort to sit at or on the tailgate and eat.

The Ranger was nice but naturally a bit suspicious. He was sniffing all around the truck and I was honest with him. I was hanging out staying out of the rain. It was a good spot, I had ridden Bennett's gap and just wanted to enjoy the day out in the woods. I gave him my ID and told him I had been all over WNC the last few days camping here and there. Mountain Biking and Hiking and enjoying the area. Now I did not tell him I had been in this same spot for the last few days. He asked me if I was cultivating natural products which got a big laugh out of me because I had never dreamed of such a thing. He also asked me if I planned on setting up residence there in the area.

Interesting question that. I had noticed at least 4-5 other sites that were semi-perm in the area. The rules are you can spend 14 days in a site in a particular area then move on. Never leaving your gear for more than 24 hours. Understandable. I have seen and heard about a lot of climbers and semi-perm outdoorsy types bending and outright breaking this rule. Meh to each their own. I was (and still am) considering this very thing because of certain family tensions.

I laughed and told him no again and offered to move on ASAP because truly I did not want any trouble. The Ranger says move on when you're ready but I should b/c of access issues with the gate (which again blocks a overgrown road that dead ends) I said alright and wished him well and to have a safe day. I gave him 10 minutes then loaded the bike and split.

The Ranger was looking for something highly illegal. The worst I was doing was "camping" in a illegal site blocking an access gate. I would have gotten a ticket at the worst. I was just glad he did not catch me doing the shower in the rain earlier. That would have been hard to explain.

I saw "Hoyt" on the way out and smailed and waved real big to him. My feeling was that I was in a spot he wanted to be in he was prob a poacher or a small marijuana patch cultivator freaked out that I was there and used the ranger (smartly I must add) to move me away.

I did not mind because it led me to a better site YG 13 over on another FS road several miles down the road. There I stayed another couple of nights and split for the ATL this morning I was back in the 404 area code by noon.

I was going to ride Dupont this morning and my arm was giving me probs when I got up and decided against it. I got in 3 rides and a few hikes so I am happy. I REALLY don't want nor need more right arm probs. Frankly I am relieved that my arm lasted 10 days on the road sleeping in the back of the truck with hardly any pain.

The trip for June is over. I got work on Thursday and Friday then I have to start studying for my summer class final at the end of the month. The good news is that I HAVE to go back up to WNC in a few weeks for a CE EMT class and it just so happens that the day the class ends is when "The Burning Can" revs up in Brevard, NC.

I'm going to try to talk a buddy of mine into going cause he LOVES Oskar Blues (and what's not to like?) we'll see. That's about it for the trip. Stay tuned more to come. Thanks for reading.

Saturday, June 13, 2015

Live from a unnamed remote FS road in Pisgah NF.

I gotta say that modern wireless technology amazes me sometimes. I would have never imagined that I would have gotten to blog from a remote area such as this. I will make it a point NOT to name the spot because I would'nt want people to get ideas and want to set up in the same spot.

I did some small loops over in dupont state forest a couple of days ago. A lot of my time was spent route finding because I did not have a map and I had to keep pulling out my cell phone to make sure I was going in the right direction according to the MTB project app from the IMBA. Dupont is a great MTB area. Wildly popular in the fall months with the covered bridges waterfalls and turning leaves. Nice area.

Pisgah well it's awesome too. I have done some hiking over there as well not near the challenge of the AT in GSMNP fun in it's own right because I did not see one single person the whole time I was on this unnamed trail in pisgah.

I've woken up to sore calves and been happy with the aches and pains as of late because I've earned them. Tomorrow is going to be a jaunt down Bennetts pass and a climb back up to the truck. I need to tell myself EARLY START...EARLY START! Because it's the weekend and the trails tend to get crowded here fast.

I've done my laundry and did a little grocery shopping for necessary items (I ran out of coffee) I admit it I like the area. Mountain towns are the best! I do dread going back to Atlanta. I left from there like a jail break because if I did not get away fast my family situations would have hampered if not stopped my trip from happening. I digress I won't even start down that emotional hole.

I've been very happy and content sitting in my little FS roadside spot drinking beer and mulling life over while reading or the occasional podcast when reception is JUST right. If the FS rangers did not mind I'd live right here no problem.

I'll be back up this way in a little over a month which is good enough for me. In the mean time I got 3-4 more days of mountain time which will include the fore mentioned mountain biking, hiking, beer swilling and enjoying the pleasant mountain weather in the Pisgah National Forest. Well the battery is getting low on the old lap top and there is another cold beer waiting for me in the cooler.  Now it is the time to dream of beautiful mountain women and the wonder they behold. Thanks for reading.

Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Live(ish) from WNC

Well I'm on the road sweet road. Been so since Saturday. I'm sitting in the oskar blues brewery in Brevard, NC. The bar tender has been kind enough to let me set up and finish my paper for my summer class and use their internets to do so. It helps to have great beer and have a feeling of the mountains and Colorado.

I'm starting this with the knowledge of having a break to do the brewery tour and get a bite to eat. I'm taking a day off from activity because I knew after a day of MTB and hiking I was pushing my luck with my right arm. My right arm I THINK is doing well not the mind searing pain of a few (now) months ago. I was able to do the RH loop at Tsali (appox 14 miles) with no problem. The exception being that I got caught in a huge down pour that rivaled anything I encountered on Guam. In fact there has been so much rain on sunday and monday I have considered doing this:

I've done that in the past with about the same result. I'll stop here for the brew tour. Be back in a few.

So this is back in a few. Did the tour of the Oskar Blues brewery at Brevard NC.  Often I'm like this in life:

Right now I'm about to stand up in a chair and clap and yell until my hands bleed. I've toured a few breweries in the past but this by far shows the Colorado attitude I left behind years ago. I'm usually outwardly reserved right now I'm about to jump out of my skin!

We'll leave that for another post the tour and all. I'll make it simple I'm impressed. It would not be a stretch to see me moving up this way in the future.  it's fucking better than the ATL by a long shot.

So lets get to the last few days.

I left the ATL like a jail break. In fact my leaving so fast has left me at a loss in some spots and cost me nearly 50 bucks. I forgot my North Carolina atlas and my various guides to the area. This has left me floundering at certain points. Last night would be a great case in point.

Leaving GSMNP I knew I wanted to get to pisgah national forest from the park. My landmark was the very opulent and dare I say amazing ingles in Mills river NC. Which I thought was in Hendersonville.

Insert face palm

In this day and age you should never get 'lost' with GPS yet I did. I got to the ingles in hendersonville no prob. Trouble it was not the one I needed. So I GPS the ingles in Pisgah national forest. That sent me an 90 minutes away in a horrible down pour in the totally wrong direction.

I blame noone except myself. I did not double check anything and besides I did not have my trusty NC road atlas with me. I damn near ended up in Boone NC before I caught my mistake. In my defense I was exhausted after spending over 8 hrs hiking part of the AT in GSMNP over some fairly rough terrain. I admit I was not thinking clearly. My right knee was  hurting I ran out of water and I had a small fall onto my right arm which shook me a little.

I wound up a long ways away from where I needed to be at nearly 2300 at night (11pm for you regular types out there) I was almost in newland NC. I was angry and embarrassed with myself. I knew where I needed to be and that because of the nature and weather of the area I wanted to be in the mountain roads maybe blocked by blow down and snags.

Once I caught my mistake I retraced my route and ended back up where I intended in the first place. Which was only 20 minutes from my original fuck up. I went up the familiar forest service road beside the said awesome Mills River ingles. Seriously I could live in that place. At 0100 (1am) I was up on the mountain looking for a parking spot. Which is a challenge because all the good spots are taken and the better one are blocked by the snags and road debris further up the FS road.

I ended up saying "Fuck It" and parking in front of a forest service gate where I should not park in the first place. I could have cared less. my FS sin was not noticed and after a very restful 8 hrs sleep awoke to a dry morning.

I have "poached" sleeping sites for the last two nights. Tsali was great because noone checked the lot on a end of the weekend night and I got left in peace. I should have stayed in the tsali area and parked down by the water.

Anywho I ended up in a ok spot and tonight I'll try to find a place that is semi-level so I can at least turn on the lights that I bought that I wanted to go with my yeti 150. the yeti 150 was bought because I wanted power to run my electronics and maybe a fan when it got balls hot in the bed of the truck. The portable fan works AMAZING and keeps me VERY comfy through the night not draining the yeti 150 past 60 %. Gone are the worries of a dead battery to the truck in the AM.

I have spent my day at the oskar blues brewery (Brevard) to wrap up a paper for my summer class respond to posts for that class. I also made in roads into maybe getting into the brewing industry in the future since I have a decent since back ground and don't care about leaving the medical industry much any more.

The riding and hiking out here has been great despite the weather. I plan on going into dupont forest on thursday giving my body an extra day of rest. The people here are wonderful esp to a curmudgeon like me. Money is tight I figure I can prob make it back to ATL after the weekend if need be. I have enough food. As with all dirt bags on the road gas is always a concern.

Here are some pics from the road. I apologize from the lack of photos I tend to want to live the moment rather than record it:

More to follow I gotta bail get some food in me at the truck and find a spot to sleep in tonight. Thanks for reading.

Thursday, May 21, 2015

Outside looking in.

 Warning Head full of weird coming up:

When the down time of summer roles around it is rough for me. Last year it was anxiety (yes I admit it) about the upcoming semester. Dread was more like it. With the decision to quit nursing school behind me I thought that I'd have a relatively stress free summer. Instead. I got an arm injury and  inactivity. I'm just trying to think of things I can without using my arm heavily. I decided I can start hiking and running again. I just wanna get out of here.

It's tough though with obligations. I had a realization a little while ago and it made me reflect some. I am one of those people left behind by society. I look around to nearly all my family, friends and folks that I know and nearly all of them have something that keeps their feet on the ground. If it's a mortgage, a kid, girlfriend/wife/significant other or a good paying job that they more than tolerate.

I have small peeks into their lives and I wonder what the fuck happened in my life. Then I realize that I chose all of this. I'm alone and happier that way. I can spend hours and days to myself and would be content with not speaking to another person for weeks on end. I realize that my sanity would cave in (more) if I did not pull my head up outta my hole every once in awhile because we all do need a social outlet. That's science folks.

Bukowski said it best "Isolation is a gift" well bro it can kill your ass slowly too.

For the moment I have school to hang my hat on and that's a good thing because I have flushed my career down the toilet, sure I could go back into nursing school , I'm just really over the health care industry. I'm left behind and alone, I work to alienate family because I feel taken for granted. I am reminded often enough that I chose to be here in Georgia and yuppers when I've had enough I will chose to leave. How things stand at the moment probably without a warning or a good-bye, so long maybe I'll see you in the next go around.

School will end with an associates degree in Biology (Like that will get me anything) and family will say what now? To which I may reply ""Hell I've been asking myself that question since I was 10 where were you guys?!"

Skipping around a bit and along the same lines. A fave podcast for the last several months has been "Dirt Bag Diaries" I've mentioned it before a majority of the content is about climbing and the lifestyle one has to have in order to be outdoors full time if not nearly so. I heard something in the most recent episode that got me to thinking. That the old dirtbags (which I am only a PRN dirtbag NOT fulltime) tend to be sad types. Hanging out in the old spots but their bodies are too wrecked to do anything active anymore, in essence they are homeless. All dirtbags are homeless if you don't have a fixed address you are homeless. I don't see it as a bad thing necessarily it depends on your perspective I suppose.

I have known for a very long while I'm not like other people and I'm a little screwy, contrary and can be prickly. Which is tough on people who are close to me. I could chill the fuck out and I do from time to time just after awhile keeping my trap shut gets on my nerves and I open my mouth and then I'm the villain. I've said it before and I'll say it again so I'll be the villain.

I'm prattling on here and I'm trying to say is that I know I'm screwed up. I desperately need something new in my life. Not a full time over night woman, I'm wondering if another woman is really the answer I need.
Make no mistakes a PRN woman would be fine by me, trouble is those tend to want to make it a full time position after awhile. A change of location would only be a temp fix and not the answer either.

So what do I do? Well the typical middle aged thing to do is go out and buy a sports car and get a girlfriend 20 years + younger than you. I ain't typical in a few ways so I suppose I'll just embrace my damn weary contrary weirdness and shuffle forward. Maybe just maybe If I play my cards right I'll get my tiny house in the woods, live my life in peace and die in my sleep before I get too old and feeble.


Lifted from zen pencils

I got some things to do today like driving to the northside of the perimeter and spending my paltry REI dividend and start on my summer online class. Thanks for reading.

Monday, May 18, 2015

Late Spring early Summer

The semester wrapped up with good grades, that's always a plus. I decided for my 45th b-day to head over to a newish trail and ride. It was a mistake. I forgot that riding a new trail can be tough on the body esp if it has been hand cut. I can see that this particular trail has potential I just was not feeling it. It was laso my first ride since my freak arm injury 8 maybe 10 weeks ago. I am totally out of shape and my arm was really aching by the time I finished. I wanted to stop before the pain got to be unbearable. I'm at a loss I have given the arm a ton of rest yet I still get these weird pains all over my arm.

I should go to a doctor. I am one of the 10% in the USA now who does not have health care coverage. I am not saying this to open up a debate about health care in our country just stating a simple fact. So needless to say being a student and PRN EMT really hurts in the old wallet sometimes as well as the right arm.

So what have I been doing in the mean time. Well I have been putting off training for work most of the semester so I had to do that. With that mostly wrapped up I have been hanging out at Mom's place sleeping late, watching videos on the old internets and reading a lot. I did go through the shed and get rid of a ton of old bicycle parts and jerseys to SoPo bikes. I do that from time to time when I have the chance. There was nearly a shed full of bicycle related stuff at my Mom's place. It's nearly all gone now.

I unloaded it because I don't have any use for the myriad of crap I had and because that shed up until recently was a type of sanctuary. It is no longer because family decided to put lawn tools inside same shed. And we have had discussions of putting spare furniture up there. Yet another reason why I need my own place.

Mostly I am avoiding life and all that entails because my arm is fucked up which blew all my big plans for the summer right out of the water. I suppose I could take up hiking or running again. I'm just being lazy and throwing a small solo pity party for myself. I have grown tired of so many things in my life at the moment.

I have been hanging out with a couple of old neighborhood friends. One has came back from Fla. the D-man. He and I are kind of kindred spirits and I feel since hanging out with him I do not feel so isolated here now. We'll see how that goes. Nothing much more to write on at the moment. Thanks for reading.

Saturday, May 2, 2015

Sentimental

I have currently semi-locked my self down in my room until May 5th. That's the day both my finals are on. Yes, I have left a time or two to mail some stuff off to friends. During my study breaks I am cleaning off my bookshelves and deciding on what books to send to people or donate to a local library. I have done a decent job with it so far. I'm really trying to cut down a lot of my clutter because I have plans on moving most of my stuff into a storage place close to here sometime in the next month or so,

I forget that I put pictures and notes between my books. I should remember it, I just never do. I don't know why I do it it's just a silly thing I picked up along the way. The reason I am mentioning this is because this pic fell out on to the floor at my feet today:

Immediately my heart both leaped and sank. This dear friends and readers is a pic of my last girlfriend. A great woman to say the least. I made a lot of mistakes and things were said and done that I cannot change or take back. Feelings were hurt. Hopes were raised and crushed under the weight of what could have been. I attempted to fix things a few times after we broke up only to have every attempt stillborn. We stayed in touch, we were friends and things kind of faded, during that time more mistakes were made by me because I knew I still had feelings for her. It was literally all my fault.

The ex-gfriend? as far as I know she moved on. I sent her a text a few months ago just to say hi and she told me she was heading out the door for a date. I believe I drank some bourbon that night. Not too long after I sent a post card or two from the road during spring break in North Georgia and Tennessee. Never did hear back from her.  She's gone and I still miss her even though we have not talked in a very long time. I can be a sentimental sucker if the right thing falls to my feet like it did this morning.

I resist just calling or texting because, despite feelings I do not want to make the same mistakes I made with her in the past. I hurt her she's protecting herself, that's what I gathered. I should move on and come to a realization or two about myself and my own life when it comes to being with someone that I'm prob better off being by myself that way no one gets hurt and I don't lose hours thinking it through.

It's tough for me not to dwell on this because of myself imposed study sessions and because in just a few days until I turn 45. No matter what anyone says it's hard not to be introspective around birthdays as you get older. Which ties into a fave song:


I'll wrap up here and get to studying for my finals I've been putting it off most of the day. Thanks for reading.