As hard as it is to believe, we’ve nearly completed another lap around the sun. Didn’t we just do the whole New Year’s Eve thing?
Colleagues are writing up the usual best-of, top-10 and “a look back” pieces, but as a perpetual juvenile and occasional Zen student I remain caught up in the moment.
For example, work is particularly vexing lately for reasons that aren’t worth delving into. “At least you have work,” I remind myself, but it doesn’t help. I have something that pisses me off, is what.
Happily, the biggest upside of my gig — besides the monthly paychecks, that is — is its part-time nature. When I find myself composing a vitriolic NastyGram®, the cursor twitching over the “Send” button, I can put the iMac to sleep, grab a bike and go for a ride.
I’ve been riding the Voodoo Nakisi lately, because I plan to write a review for Adventure Cyclist magazine, but yesterday I thought I’d break out my custom Nobilette, which has been idle for a spell due to a rear-brake issue I didn’t feel like troubleshooting.
Problem solved with a little more daylight between pads and rim, I rolled off toward Palmer Park, my go-to spot for flushing out the headgear. Its 730 acres comprise more than 25 miles of trails, from tame to terrifying, and during a dry winter like this one it’s a great place for staying out of the wind and refuting entropy.
Palmer gets quite a bit of use — hikers, cyclists, joggers, dog-walkers and equestrians — and as a consequence many of its trails have deteriorated alongside Bibleburg’s crumbling finances. I had been sticking to the west side of the park because a main eastern trail had been more or less destroyed, but yesterday I thought I’d do a little recon, see what things looked like over there.
The initial idea was to try to ride some moderately technical, steep single-track, replete with switchbacks and water bars, but my legs exercised their veto power. So I rolled over to the playground at Maizeland and Academy and then looped back around to scope out that eastern trail, which parallels the paved road that winds through the park.
Imagine my surprise: Someone, either the parks department, the Guardians of Palmer Park or benefactors unknown had performed a serious feat of engineering on the worst section of trail, a short, steep ascent that takes you to a bend in the road from which several trails fan out. What had been a rocky, rutted mess had been smoothed out, with new water bars installed and the ruts filled in.
Lacking compaction by rain or snow, though, the soft dirt used for the trail’s new surface grabbed my 700×30 Maxxis tires like a troll reaching up from underneath a bridge, and off I came. Bugger. Pushed the bike to the top like a big sissy and took a picture while catching my breath.
Maybe I’ll go back over there today aboard the Voodoo, with its 700×45 tractor tires and 22-tooth granny. Teach that trail a lesson.
I could send it a NastyGram®, but some issues are better raised face to face.
Mad Blog Media 
Hey Pat,
Have you warmed up to the iMac?I know you had some reservations. I converted over a year and a half ago and it’s great for me. Happy New Year !
Patrick, did you folks get buried today in the white stuff? We got a foot since midnight. Finally slowing down. The snow, that is.
Looks like March 29th not December 29th in that picture.
Doug, I like my iMac, a lot. I’m something of a retro-grouch (surprise, surprise), and was a very late convert to OS X and Intel. After upgrading Herself’s MacBook yesterday we now have two Macs running Snow Leopard, so we’re practically up to speed with the rest of the MacWorld … except for my MacBook (OS X 10.4.11); the G4 AGP Graphics tower (ditto); the G3 iBook (likewise); and the G3 “Pismo” PowerBook (OS X 10.3.9).
All three of the latter are dual-boot systems, capable of booting into the “Classic” OS (9.1.1, I think). I only use Classic mode on the G4, though, so I can use Adobe Photoshop 4 — yes, that’s 4 — to scan and color my cartoons. I hate what Photoshop has bloated into since then, and I really hate its price. I actually got this version for free with a scanner back in the day. Works like a charm.
K, we’re getting some snow, finally, but nothing like a foot — just a couple-three inches so far. It’s not slowing up much, though. This is a weirdo storm that came down on us from the north. We usually get our big dumpers from the south, but this has been an odd winter. We’re inches and inches behind on the usual snow/moisture.
And yeah, Libby, the weather was actually nastier in March that it has been all fall and winter. Go for a trail ride and you come back coated in a fine powder instead of a thick sludge. That ended this afternoon, obviously. Oh, well — it can’t be summer forever, eh?
McDowell Park update: We finally got some winter like weather, it rained and winded big time last night, And, I saw snow four different times today, it just blew around and disappeared. It is supposed to get down to 27degrees tonight. Brrrrrr!
Hey, Charley … good thing you got yourself that big ol’ Detroit tent, eh? I don’t think my little Eureka would be all that comfy at 27. In fact, I know it wouldn’t be, ’cause I slept in it below freezing in Gallup the last time I drove to Sea Otter in Monterey.
You folks had a good time otherwise this fall/winter? When are you hitting the road? I hear this storm is liable to get you Arizona folk too. Looks like I won’t be able to get out of Dodge for a bit … I have a few too many loose ends to wrap up and it’s like herding friggin’ cats.
Snow levels here in downtown Durango are over a foot, at least. A Pugsley may be in my future if this keeps up… what’s a non-skier to do in the Colorado wintertime?
Been into the Mac scene for 9 years now and will never look back to a PC. At my advanced age, it really is a “how it works for your particular brain” thing I think, and for my vino-soaked unit, the damn thing is the cat’s pajamas. To supplement the fleet I bought a 27″ iMac about seven months ago and couldn’t be happier. Freakin’ thing kicks ass, if you want my completely uniformed and largely out of touch opinion.
I too have an older MacBook Pro, running Tiger 10.4 and, while bullet- proof since ownership, Apple has stopped supporting that level of OS. On many levels it makes no difference really – it’s still a great machine for us.
Our neighbors are stuck in Flagstaff. Apparently the roads that didn’t close were too scary to navigate. I can understand that. We gave up on doing our New Year’s Eve shopping yesterday after I got stuck between an idiot in a Corolla and another idiot in an SUV, neither able to move more than 5 mph without pissing their respective drawers. Neither had real tire rubber on their cars for this weather either.
The problem with living in a mountain community with one road in and out is that you are limited by the behavior of the dumbest asses on the mountain. I found a wide bit of shoulder and bailed out. Bought a decent supply of O’Grady brand tonsil polish up here on the Hill and retreated to shoveling out our and our neighbor’s driveways. Good exercise when the roads were too deadly to ride and I was too lazy to dig out the skis when there was work to do.
Joey, buy a used set of cross-country skis and get someone to show you how to use ’em. It’s big fun once you get a little technique. I suck at skating, but classical ain’t so bad.
David, I’d have gone for the 27-inch iMac too but when I was in the market that model was having issues, so I went for the smaller and cheaper version. Kinda wish I’d gone bigger — working the VeloNews.com site demands a lot of monitor real estate (I run a 22-inch ViewSonic alongside the iMac, and my colleague Charles Pelkey runs a three-monitor setup).
K, our neighbors didn’t have the good sense to stay put. The local cage-liner reports a couple 20-car pileups last night — naturally, they occurred on roads that are iffy to drive when dry. These yahoos here just can’t wait to get to Jeebus.
Couple more gulps of java and I’m off to the shoveling, me and my mighty cyclist’s arms. Bwah ha ha.
In the metro Detroit area, it is currently 43F. Most of what snow we had is gone and it is supposed to be 45 tomorrow with rain in the morning. I’ll see about a bike ride in the afternoon if that happens. Happy New Year !
Agree with O’G on the XC skiiing. Cross country skiiing is excellent and if I can learn to do classic skiing, so can anyone. Benefits include no lift lines, no expensive lift tickets, no trips to the orthopedic surgeon, and no pompous downhill skiiers. Equipment is less expensive and lasts forever if you avoid rocks. The clothing is winter bike wear, so you are not out any added money if you are a four season cyclist. Hell, regular street clothes work. Only down side is fewer ski bunnies, but at my age that’s not a consideration since they look at me like their grandfather rather than like a potential cheap thrill.
Its a low key and gorgeous exercise. Even the really good, competitive skate skiiers here are mere humble humans, and that includes guys like Clay Moseley, who bike raced in Europe in the eighties and was the 1994 USCF time trial champion (Patrick, do you know Clay?). Clay is now an engineer with the County Public Works Dept. when he is not scorching the mountain roads and trails.
I will try to get up off my ass later today and do some XC skiing. Probably will go up the mountain and hide out in the woods since the wind is gusting down here on the plateau and the wind chill is in negative double digits.
Happy New Year to all!
And don’t forget snowshoes. Great workout, and cycling garb will suffice, with the addition of gaiters. Some water-resistant pants are nice, too, ’cause lifting the snowshoes throws snow onto the back of your legs and booty.
We have “real” snowshoes — them big ol’ wood-and-catgut boys that look like giant tennis rackets — and the modern variety. The new ones tend to sink into the snow while the wooden ones give you some real flotation.
Colorado Springs Carnage:
http://jalopnik.com/5721936/watch-an-icy-20+car-pileup-as-it-happens
That’s awesome! I know that hill well — I used to live not far from there as a sprout — and I would drive miles to avoid it on a day like yesterday. Darwin was wrong.
Snow shoe guys — PLEASE stay off the ski trails! We’ll be into sliding in snow once we get back to the frozen plains of Iowa but we have almost two more weeks here in (sometimes) sunny Santa Barbara. Did a nice 70 kms on the old Bianchi yesterday in cool (for here, high 50’s) and a bit of wind as the last rainstorm headed east to dump snow on most of you. Tonight’s the in-laws New Year’s Eve Party where “Harry & Leather” are sort of catering — after tasting some local vino we’ll move on to a fennel and orange salad antipasto followed by risotto alla champagne first course. The second plate will be filet mignon in a Sangiovese reduction sauce (one of the guests threatened to bring some nice Brunello di Montalcino to share so we’ll tailor the dead critter to match) with fresh green beans (doesn’t faggiolini sound more delicious?) cooked with pancetta. Yours truly will provide the not-so-authentic but a bit lighter than the standard tiramisu dessert along with some Asti or perhaps Moscato if dad-in-laws stock has not yet gone over the hill. We try to earn our keep by helping out now and then while sponging off the in-laws.
Happy New Year to all!
That road looks like some of ours did yesterday. That’s one reason we retreated to the house.
Two things that seem to have accelerated the negative trend in American driving competence from already low levels.
First, those 4WD SUVs. Ma Nature didn’t repeal the laws of physics when the Auto Industry started marketing 4×4’s to witless Americans. When friction goes to zero, so does steering, starting, and stopping.
The second invention was the so-called “All Season Tire” which now convinces most people in mountain towns like Pat’s and mine that they don’t really need winter tires any more. Until the storm hits, of course.
Larry, I hear you, but much prefer the snowshoe folks to the dog walkers who leave dogshit in the ski tracks.
Larry, please to FedEx some of that good grub to those of us stuck up to the hubs in snow country. I’m still trying to figure out what to cook, having finally exhausted my craving for turkey.
K, I hear you on driving skills. I never owned a 4WD/AWD vehicle until 1996. I drove everywhere, in all conditions, in a 1964 Chevy Biscayne, a 1973 Datsun pickup and an 1983 Toyota pickup. I recall getting stuck once in the Chev’ (someone else’s fault) and once in the Toy’ (whiskey’s fault). As long as I had winter rubber on and was reasonably sober, it was all happy motoring.
Here in Bibleburg I can walk everywhere when the weather goes south (or north, in this case). The Safeway of the Living Dead is just a few blocks from here, and there’s a serviceable grog shop in the same strip mall. Plus there’s a coffee shop just a block away. Fat city.
One thing we found out this week was that up in Colorado you can’t buy grog in the grocery store. Oh, the pain. Oh, the suffering…
Fortunately, we did find two decent liquor stores in Salida.
Don’t get me wound up on XC trail manners! We’re lucky a local rich guy ponies up for a sled and grooming rig to drag behind it AND pays someone who knows what they’re doing to drive it around a state park in nearby South Dakota. Perfectly groomed classic and skating lanes for everyone to play on, unless the snowshoe morons or dog walkers mess it up…but soon enough it’s groomed again and we’re all smiling. I suck at skate skiing but find it lots of fun and a quick way to get seriously tired and sweaty. OG– we didn’t buy the grub or choose the invitees for the New Years Eve soiree, we’re just cooking and serving for the most part though we do get to sit at the table and enjoy the results of our labors with the VIP’s.
SoCal rains are supposed to return this weekend so we’ll be inside most likely — the just-family BBQ planned for New Years Day will force some poor sap to run out to the grill with an umbrella! Won’t be me though, there are other much more “pro” grillers of meat around here than yours truly. Happy New Year!
I really wish that there would have been a cyclist on that hill just spinning away on a Pugsley (or similarly equipped bicycle). That would have been classic!
We have our own XC ski club here and work with the National Parks people to regulate the trails which are maintained by club volunteers.
http://swnordicski.org/
But if someone wants to be a butthead, there is not much one can do. A couple years ago on a fast downhill glide, I almost collided head on with a dog coming around a curve. Not sure who would have been worse for wear, me or the hound.