My Valentine!

Water color by Richie Gunn

I present the Voodoo Erzulie or as I call the bike on occasion "The Trail Witch" this bike has been my one true Valentine over the years. Again and again she has been with me through thick and thin. When life has me reeling I go to a local trail get the tires dirty and if only for a little while the fog rolls back. I SOOO wanted this bike when I was living on Guam, I just could not get it through the LBS there. So when I got back to the continental US of A and got some cash together I scrambled to a bike shop that was closing and got one for a good price. Shortly after that Voodoo went out of business.

I rode the shit out of that bike. For the longest time it was my sole form of transportation in the city and on the trail. Never even in my time working in the bike shops did it even occur to me to get rid of the bike even though many of my friends and co-workers told me to get a full suspension yadda yadda carbon bike. I was tempted I just could not imagine letting go of the bike. Yup sure I got the Cross Check to commute better and the Karate Monkey for something different in the end though I always went back to The Trail Witch. The Voodoo is what got ridden at 24 hrs of Moab oh so many years ago.

She came with me back east when I decided to help out with my elderly parents and found that she was marvelous on the tight single track of my local trails back here in Georgia. She got ridden a lot more and for a VD gift to her one year I bought a new set of Rebas. Another year I gave her a Chris King headset. This year because money is tight I got her a new chain, brake pads, headset spacer, bars and rear tire. I swear every year I'm going to send her off and get repainted. I use the excuse of not having enough money, really though it's because I cannot bear to get her stripped down and send her off to another state for a few weeks. Honestly, I'd be devastated if I lost her.

Yes, I love all my bikes it's just different with the Voodoo. She's always just been THERE. From break ups to the shooting to the career shuffle to Pop dying the Voodoo has been waiting to be ridden telling me in her own solid steel way that sure life is shit sometimes just when you're on a bike and riding with the breeze in your face it gets a little better for a little while.

I always said that if the bike gets to where it can't be repaired it gets framed and up on the wall it goes. I'm dedicated to the bike so much in fact that a long while back I got the head badge tattooed on me:

The "VFL" stands for "Voodoo For Life" there is a reason this blog is called "Bicycle of Steel and a Head full of Weird" When someone mentions Voodoo I get all geeked out and have to resist the urge to buy it on the spot.

I love this bike and cannot think of any other way (besides a bitchin' paint job) to show that it means THAT much to me. Yes, it's strange and yes I know it's an inanimate object for me though if it's possible it has a soul. In my book if something has a soul then it's possible to love it. I feel bad that she has had to sit for months neglected in a cold dusty garage or in a drafty tool shed. I don't have my own space so it's tough on the bikes the Voodoo especially she gets more scratched it seems every week. After nearly 20 years owning the bike of course the paint is going to get thin in places.

This is my love, my valentine for many years in the past, this year and many years to come. I have not said it enough Thanks Trail Witch for being there and all that you have done, I LOVE you.

Thanks for reading.