Month: March 2025

Islands in the stream

~ Patrick O'Grady ~ 28 Comments
The Rio Not-So-Grande on my birthday.

The annual birthday ride (in kilometers) is done and dusted. And on my actual birthday for a change, too.

I only needed 44.1 miles for 71km, but actually covered 45.3 (72.9km), so I have a few pedal strokes in the bank for next year.

My plan was to zip down to the bosque and log as many flat miles as I could stand before turning around for the long climb back to the foothills.

As I rolled out, the air down in the valley looked filthy, and I considered bailing, but then thought, “Nawwwwwwwww,” and soldiered on.

And I was glad I did. I’ve been caught in a loop of Groundhog Rides — basically the same 20-milers over and over and over again — and this was a refreshing change of pace.

There was a slight headwind as I rolled south on the lightly greened Paseo del Bosque trail to I-40, where I hung a right to snap a shot of the Rio Grande from the Gail Ryba bike bridge. More like the Rio Not-So-Grande. Too thick to drink, too thin for swimming.

Pic in hand, I pulled a U and enjoyed a tailwind to the Paseo del Norte trail, then took the usual route back to the rancho, along Bear Canyon-Osuna, up and over I-25, past the golf course and thence to Tramway via Manitoba, and home again home again, jiggity-jig.

Well, that’s not entirely accurate. I had to head south on Tramway to Rover and pull another U to collect enough mileage (kilometerage?) to make the nut.

And then I ate everything in the house and took a shower because hey: It was my birthday. I could do whatever I wanted.

In which the suckitude is minimized

~ Patrick O'Grady ~ 11 Comments
The Soma Double Cross and I took five for a photo op’ at the foot of the climb to La Cueva Picnic Site.

Not everything sucks.

Case in point: I spent a couple hours on the ol’ bikey bike yesterday. And while the high temperature did not break the record of 83°, set in 2012, I found the observed high of 78° downright pleasant for the tail-end of March. Riding in shorts and short sleeves I was. Even had to break out the SPF 50 and the Pearl Izumi sun sleeves.

La Cueva Picnic Site has yet to open for the season. Being something of a scofflaw, I’ve been known to circumvent the barrier and ride the steep mile to the top anyway. But yesterday I gave it a miss. Still managed to bank 1,600 feet of vertical. So, winning, etc.

La Cueva is a reminder that the government is not always the problem. Listed in New Mexico’s Registry of Historic Places, it was the work of the Civilian Conservation Corps, part of FDR’s New Deal. According to the U.S. Forest Service:

There are stone picnic tables and structures built by master stoneworkers during the 1930s to blend seamlessly into the existing landscape. You will soon discover a rock pavilion that is hidden by the trees, plus other small structures sprinkled throughout the site. Keep your eyes open for picnic tables, vault toilets and fireplaces that are tucked away in nooks and crannies, throughout this site.

The pavilion, picnic tables, fireplaces, and toilets remain. But the road is in poor repair, which may be due to a lack of funds or part of a plan to keep vehicular speeds low. I know I tend to mind my manners on the descent. Shredding the gnar is one thing; shredding yourself is a whole other deal. Especially if the barrier’s down and the ambulance can’t get to you before you bleed out.

Remember La Cueva Picnic Area and the CCC whenever some fathead quotes that overdone ham Ronnie Reagan to you: “Government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem.”

Even a blind pig finds an acorn. But it generally takes him a while. Forty-four years later Ronnie’s right on the money.

Violent Juvenile Freaks

~ Patrick O'Grady ~ 8 Comments
There’s a Firesign Theatre album for just about any occasion. This one, like the now-infamous Houthi PC small group chat, was released just in time for April Fool’s Day, but back in 1980.

“Hey, Porgie, did you remember to invite the journalist to our top-secret War Plan chat group on Signal?”

The 101st Fighting Clowns (2025 edition) sound like a cross between Adderalled preteen gamers and your Pee-Paw who never learned not to hit “Reply All” on an email before talking shit on someone in the family.

We’re gonna need a bigger bus for all these bozos.

Enjoy the entire album here. That’s Jeff “Skunk” Baxter on guitar.

Blue skies, si; smiling at me, no

~ Patrick O'Grady ~ 12 Comments
Nothing to see here, move along, move along.

Some mornings — maybe most mornings — eyeballing the news first thing is a real bad idea.

For openers, The Duck! City’s coppers told KOAT Action News that the 11-year-old suspect in Scott Habermehl’s death had already been considered “a danger to the community” thought to have a number of antisocial pasatiempos, among them “shooting one person, shooting at another person, as well as burglarizing multiple homes, vehicles, and a business.”

Next, a Las Cruces auto show turns into a shooting gallery. The body count varies wildly depending on your source of information, but The New York Times apparently had someone on the scene and counts maybe two dead and six injured.

It will tell you much about the state of today’s newspaper business that the Las Cruces Sun News had to run with a story from its El Paso cousin before finally getting its own report online around 8 this morning. Check out the staff directory. The El Paso Times now reports three dead and 14 wounded.

And finally, the DOGEbags are busting balloons over at NOAA, as John Fleck tells us in his latest wrecking-ball report.

Writes John: “Daily radiosonde launches from National Weather Service sites across the country, coordinated with similar launches at the same time around the world, provide critical data input to weather forecast models. While satellites and other data sources play an increasingly important role, the tried and true twice-a-day weather balloon launch provides the vital skeleton on which our weather forecasts depend. … The benefits of good weather forecasts vastly outweigh the costs of collecting and analyzing the data.”

Spring, Route 666

~ Patrick O'Grady ~ 10 Comments
Spring 2025, hold the shorts and sunscreen.

When I awakened my watch read 3:33.

“That’s a half-666,” I thought drowsily, trying to recall the details of a dream I’d been having. Something about needing to be somewhere, late as usual, and rooting through a duffel full of colorful short-sleeve shirts and shorts because of course I was butt-ass nekkid.

Then it came to me. Spring. First day of. I awarded myself a soupçon of spring break and dozed until 5.

When I dragged ass out of the sack to pull on some duds I was not looking for a flowered Paddygucci shirt and shorts, because spring in New Mexico debuted at 22°, which called for pants, long-sleeve shirt, and a light fleece vest.

Miss Mia Sopaipilla had already greeted the vernal equinox by blowing a hairball and carpet-bombing the litter box. Herself was clocked in at work, hoping to cash a few more checks before the X-Man decides Sandia National Labs doesn’t need any librarians to tell his DOGEbags where they might find the owner’s manuals for the Death Ray.

Just wing it, fellas. Hit that big red button on the grip and see what comes out the other end. Probably shouldn’t look down the barrel while you’re doing it. Move fast, break things, etc. Whoops, there goes Paris. Serves ’em right for wanting their statue back.

Yeah, Mr. Whitey! Yeah, science! Political science, anyway. Maybe political science fiction.