Some of the most inflammatory threads start out with such innocuous headings as the Olympics, Weather or What winter shoes should I get. If you ever come across a post with any of the above headings, stay away, far away. For some reason, these topics turn into your wrong, I'm right and to prove it I'm going to get over the top insulting. I can throw out some examples of what I mean but somebody will quote what I say a year from now and call me a nilihist or some shit.
So, let's get caught up with the past week. My off season continues to be blissful, with fun mtb rides, kayak paddles and occasional beer drinking.
I met up with Mitchie last week at Allaire, he had a loner car, it was funny to see a big man get out of a VW Beetle.
Friday I paddled the Barnegat Bay with Evan, it felt good to get back on some playful water, this was our first outing on saltwater this year. Despite it being a bit daunting at first, getting rocked about on a 22"wide kayak, after about an hour the rhythm of the waters felt like 2nd nature. Like mtbing, it's all about going with flow and not tensing up, which can be counter intuitive, when we become uneasy we get stiff, recognizing this I remember to breathe and stay loose.
Saturday I rode Hartshorne with Tony. It was good to see him after his bike tour to FL, he told me about his trip as we covered the trails. Riding a bike that many miles, meeting many different people sounded like an awesome adventure, the stories involved people who wanted to offer encouragement and help. We often don't hear about much in the way of good things people do in the news or on social media, I guess people would rather hear about crazy people doing mean shit to others. It was uplifting to hear Tony's trek.
Tony was a celebrity at Hartshorne, everyone wanted to hear his stories.
To wrap up the week, I headed to Ringwood on Sunday to meet up with Kris, Utah, Kirt and 6er. Utah and the boys were raving about the new Sterling trails from a few weeks ago, so they decided to do a second edition with me and Kris. I have to say that these trails live up to the hype. Despite being located in close proximity to Ringwood, which has a reputation for technical trails with elevation, Sterling is a bit more tame, with just enough challenge for beginner to intermediate mtbers. There are those who may like the more raw trails of Ringwood, however they don't attract new mtbers and what we need in this sport is new folks to keep it going. Thanks to Art and Ellen from Jorba for getting these trails built, it's something the mtb community needs to keep it rolling.
Lastly, Jimmy stopped by to get his car he left at my house before going to the airport to travel to Alaska, the largest state in the union, he was anchored down in Anchorage for a bike polo tournament. It seems like a long way to go to play bike polo, but he and I agreed that any excuse to go to Alaska is a good reason. Like Tony's stories of travel, Jimmys trip further echoed the good there are in people you meet along a journey, strangers who take you in and share there time and resources with you. I will say that I believe non threatening looking people are more likely to be taken in by others. Tony and Jimmy are as docile looking as they come, people want to take care of them like a little puppy dog.
So, let's get caught up with the past week. My off season continues to be blissful, with fun mtb rides, kayak paddles and occasional beer drinking.
I met up with Mitchie last week at Allaire, he had a loner car, it was funny to see a big man get out of a VW Beetle.
Friday I paddled the Barnegat Bay with Evan, it felt good to get back on some playful water, this was our first outing on saltwater this year. Despite it being a bit daunting at first, getting rocked about on a 22"wide kayak, after about an hour the rhythm of the waters felt like 2nd nature. Like mtbing, it's all about going with flow and not tensing up, which can be counter intuitive, when we become uneasy we get stiff, recognizing this I remember to breathe and stay loose.
Saturday I rode Hartshorne with Tony. It was good to see him after his bike tour to FL, he told me about his trip as we covered the trails. Riding a bike that many miles, meeting many different people sounded like an awesome adventure, the stories involved people who wanted to offer encouragement and help. We often don't hear about much in the way of good things people do in the news or on social media, I guess people would rather hear about crazy people doing mean shit to others. It was uplifting to hear Tony's trek.
Tony was a celebrity at Hartshorne, everyone wanted to hear his stories.
To wrap up the week, I headed to Ringwood on Sunday to meet up with Kris, Utah, Kirt and 6er. Utah and the boys were raving about the new Sterling trails from a few weeks ago, so they decided to do a second edition with me and Kris. I have to say that these trails live up to the hype. Despite being located in close proximity to Ringwood, which has a reputation for technical trails with elevation, Sterling is a bit more tame, with just enough challenge for beginner to intermediate mtbers. There are those who may like the more raw trails of Ringwood, however they don't attract new mtbers and what we need in this sport is new folks to keep it going. Thanks to Art and Ellen from Jorba for getting these trails built, it's something the mtb community needs to keep it rolling.
Lastly, Jimmy stopped by to get his car he left at my house before going to the airport to travel to Alaska, the largest state in the union, he was anchored down in Anchorage for a bike polo tournament. It seems like a long way to go to play bike polo, but he and I agreed that any excuse to go to Alaska is a good reason. Like Tony's stories of travel, Jimmys trip further echoed the good there are in people you meet along a journey, strangers who take you in and share there time and resources with you. I will say that I believe non threatening looking people are more likely to be taken in by others. Tony and Jimmy are as docile looking as they come, people want to take care of them like a little puppy dog.
