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.
Mad Blog Media 
There’s CCC building here in Pensacola in one of the local parks. The Boy Scouts used it for years and now it’s used by various fishing clubs and the local water quality group. The building is in disrepair but the city has little interest in keeping it up. My girlfriend got it put on the historic register but that doesn’t seem to matter to the city. So a few years ago one of the clubs decided to clean out the basement and ended up finding a few bones hidden away. Human bones. They thought it was a homeless person that broke in and died down there. The police were called and forensics was done and it was determined that the bones were quite old. It then was assumed that the Boy Scouts back in the day may have found the bones from an old Indian mound and stashed them down in the basement. Come to find out that a large portion of the park was an old African American church and cemetery from the 1800’s. The city did some ground penetrating radar and found dozens of probable graves. There are no headstones or anything to indicate a cemetery. Still not sure how the bones ended up in the basement though.
Jeez Louise. Sounds like the title for a Netflix limited series: “The Bones in the Basement.”
Plenty of folks were here before we were. Whenever I hear a strange sound in the night I wonder if some of them remain restless and annoyed.
Only when you whistle in your sleep.
A good steel frame and a small chainring are golden, heh?
“A good steel frame and a small chainring are golden, heh?”
For reals. Speaking of which, the lads at Two Wheel Drive are assembling my Soma Pescadero as we speak. And yes, I am running out of hooks to hang ’em on.
I went with an IRD Defiant 46/30T crankset because it’s beautiful and I love it (this will be my third Defiant). Other bits: 9-speed cassette (11-32T); Deore rear derailleur and Ultegra front; friction shifters; Paul Components’ Racer centerpull brakes with Shimano levers; Soma’s Crane stem, Hwy One bars, and Cinelli cork tape (same as on the New Albion Privateer); Thomson seat post with Soma Hishou saddle; 700×38 Soma Shikoro tires; and a wheelset handbuilt by the TWD crew (Shimano hubs and Alex rims).
I had considered a complicated three-way wheelset swap involving The Fleet, but I decided (a) it was too much like work, and (2) I like everything in The Fleet just as it is at present. Plus I repurposed a wheelset for the Privateer during the Great Parts Drought of The Plague Years and thought the Pescadero deserved a fresh start.
With luck I can be tooling around on the new beastie by next week. Woo woo woo. …
The trail system in the Chiricahua National Monument was built by the CCC. Only the large stone chimneys remain from their barracks. If you have never visited Arizona, I suggest putting the monument on your “bucket” list.
Meanwhile, the local paper carried this Propublica piece yesterday. Just another example of the best government money can buy.
https://www.myheraldreview.com/free_access/how-elon-musk-s-spacex-secretly-allows-investment-from-china/article_2b1f0f9c-eddb-428e-ab86-9a5245cc8fb3.html
Spring is breaking cruel here in the Mitten State. Although sunny the past several days, the winds be strong and northerly and the temps more reminiscent of the Yukon than say, the Cayman’s. Where I wish I had my money banked.
Wowsah. It’s already 60° here at 7:30 and the high could get all the way to 80°. I stocked up on sunblock at the grocery yesterday.
We’ve buried our doubloons in the back yard. I have a parchment map with a skull and crossbones on it. Can’t be too careful with pirates about. Arr, etc.
Well, pirates have a code of conduct. The thieves in the white house have no code at all, They would, as Patrick says, steal the pennies off their dead mother’s eyes.
Well Herb, Patrick wouldn’t let us hang in the garage unsupervised. I guess that applies to the back yard now. That’s to be expected when pirates hang around together. Hopefully someday we can do it again.
I wouldn’t let me hang out in a garage FULL of bikes and parts either. Especially since I need some odds and ends to build up this Soma mixte frame Patrick MADE ME BUY.
Well…he casually mentioned they were having a sale and being easily led to slaughter I whipped out the credit card. Having headtube/headset install issues however. I fear the frame might have to go back if me and my LBS can’t come up with a fix. The folks at Merry are cool to deal with so I’m not sweating it….just a detour. But if I could just get into POG’s parts stash……..
I am looking forward to seeing both builds. It’s the best way to buy a bike. Get everything you want, nothing you don’t.