As if That Wasn't Enough

Now the bike. I just ordered a pizza for dinner. No truck, no bike with lights. I am stuck here till daylight. A more than remarkable event has left me with a job tomorrow. For most of you
I am sure that is quite unremarkable, but for me on this day, it was pretty spectacular.

This afternoon I went for a ride -- on *my* bike -- which blew chunks. serious chunks. It doesn't go forward when you pedal. It stopped at Chris's house. SO I rode his Trek mountain bike for our ride and also then tomorrow to work. I was out of daylight though at the end of the ride. No lights. I conquered the big hill -- the hill of the bike stopping cramping, kong -- with just a few gears, too -- since the MB has no low gears due to a derailer mis-adjustment.

Today one of my coworkers (you probably don't know him) called me a scumbag. He said your boss "asked me for a recommendation, and I said you were a scumbag, but you'd get along with the rest of the scumbags." I guess that's better than being a dirtbag. I am not sure I would have gotten the job without it.

This afternoon's mileage: ~15
Today's Toatal: 22
Mileage for March: 54.2

The Trek MB had shocky shocks and a leather saddle with anatomical cutouts. I got scared and tried to figure out how to get the Brooks saddle on there -- but it wouldn't go easily. That Trek holy saddle was fair -- but still left my well trained a** in a state ... of pain. It was ok but the spot that the cutout was designed to avoid got beat anyway, and my hands got really numb. After a recent conversation with Gilby, I think I will always think of her when I see a saddle, especially if it's "rock hard and unforgiving" -- I mean easy to push against.

Carless, bikeless, but not jobless, which is a good thing.

Still Fixing the Car

Date: 09 March 2006
From the New Mechanics to Work: 7.2 miles
Total for March: 39.2 miles
Average Speed: 14.4 miles per hour

The Broken Car

Date: 08 March 2006
From the Mechanics to Work: 13 miles
Total for March: 32
Average Speed: 14.7
Temperature on Arrival: 60* F.

There was a quichey like eggy thing with potatoes waiting for me when I arrived at work this morning -- thanks to one of my co-workers. Pepsi and quiche, breakfast of champions. That beats goo all to h*ll.

A Remarkable Turn of Events

Due to today's unlikely turn of events, I'll be free to join this man in his quest to ride the tour de cure. I'll be riding on behalf of my friend Paul Meyers, an avid cyclist, who died, untimely and in his early twenties, of juvenile diabetes. The ride is a 120k hilly ride and is the best perhaps that my homeland has to offer, both in terms of scenic beauty, and in terms of cycling challenge. There are two other lengths, but I will be riding the longer, just because I'm so into the painful bliss.

A contribution of a classic 70's era road bike to ride would be so cool. I have decided to fix one up, if I can find one. I would just love to have a lime green gitane super corso to ride ...

The man above will be riding for team Palm™, as well as his daughter, I hear, all allegedly competing with team Google™, which is my real motivation. He invited me -- but I know secretly he knew I would come if I could compete with Google™ -- but we will have fun. I want to beat them just to show that they really should have hired me. If you look it's clear now that the Palm team is up in the fundraising. Ha! Here's my page, where you can donate if you'd like. I think you can join the team, too. and ride your 25k 120k on the trainer if you want.



Let's get it on for the cure.

Santa Monica Pier

Santa Monica Pier. Digital Photograph. © 2006 Shawn Kielty. All rights reserved.

The West Side

Santa Monica Ocean Avenue. Digital Photograph. © 2006 Shawn Kielty. All rights reserved.

It's Saturday again, go figure. It's nice to be somewhere moist. I am back in the hotel after the morning coffee and crumpets. So I'm sitting in this room contemplating a shower and finding lunch. The motel is nice enough. It's one of those formerly sleazy sort of places that become almost retro cool after becoming a quality comfort inn. There's a perfect iron shaped mark right in the middle of the floor, an arrow pointing out.

This morning I went out to the edge of the world and shot black and white film of some folks on the beach. It feels strange to be in a place where people actually go outdoors to exercise. Maybe a thousand people jogged by me in organized groups of about 100. There were groups around the center there -- with loud speakers and it felt like a real city for a minute.

I need to look at a map, because unlike San Francisco, or Phoenix for that matter, this town actually has freeways that go different places. I walked over the Pacific Coast Highway -- the PCH -- to get down to the beach. I need to figure out where these roads go so that I can get lost more effectively.

P.S. I shot this photo two weeks ago.

Oh That

Date: March 2, 2006
Mileage: 14
Total for March: 33
Average: 12.3
Temperature on Arrival: 68 F.

A quick ride after work with the boys. They always push me harder. I think today is the first ride with no saddle sores. Yeah!

The Way Home

Date: March 1, 2006
Mileage: 9.5
Total for March: 19

Date: March 1, 2006
Mileage: 9.5
Total for March: 9.5
Average: 14.0
Temperature on Arrival: 67 F.

It Smells like Rain - Does That Count?

But it's not raining. It's just not raining. 132 days and no rain. I shot some film over the break for the holidays. This is the Little Colorado canyon as seen from Hiway 89. Above is the beach in San Mateo County, California, at Pelican Point I believe.

The Death Ride and the Kiss of Death Ride

I am not sure I could ever be ready for this Death Ride. or it's junior companion The Kiss of Death Ride

Is There Life Before Coffee?

Ok, so I made it to work, but to do this I had to ride four seven miles without coffee, and then retrain my friends at the Cafe of the Beautiful People to put the drink into this fancy multi-colored politically correct thermos, which earned me a 10¢ discount. Jeepers, I remember when the entire cup of coffee was 10¢. So here I am at work with the coffee, trying to drink it so I can end this life before coffee feeling.

Date: February 27, 2006
Mileage: 19
Average: 12.2
Total Mileage in February: 211.7
Temperature on Arrival: 57/70 F.

I also made it home.

Tall Saguaro Near Pass Mountain

Tall Saguaro Near Pass Mountain. Digital Photograph. © 2006 Shawn Kielty. All rights reserved.

Today I hiked around the backside of Pass Mountain, ~3 miles. After yesterday's haul I was really hungry and am still eating -- right now it's a Haagen Daas™ bar. I think I need to get some goldfish and pepsi.

I got a new deck bag and rack today -- so maybe starting tomorrow I will take on the Brown Cloud -- i. e. commute to work. Put all the new gear on the bike and rode it around the Gravel Velodrome (my driveway) a few times. Is starting to remind me of a sailboat.

It's a Dry Heat

Hell, it's a Dry Heat. © 2006 Shawn Kielty. Digital Photograph. All rights reserved.

The Pearly Gates

"It's all in the journey," the mystery biker states as he rides away from our conversation climbing up the "backside" of Usery Pass. I had remarked that at 7 miles an hour, it was going to some time to get up that 4 mile incline. He had a cool seat mounted holder for two water bottles. I'll need one of those in a month or so. Notice the temperature of today's ride is over 80 degrees. Today's ride was quite thought provoking. I guess there's some advantage to spending 3 hours in the saddle. Gilby will be happy to note that my love affair with my Brooks™ saddle has started. Maybe I won't be so lonely from now on.

Date: February 25, 2006
Today's Mileage: 34.12
Temperature at Departure: 83 F.
Average Speed: 11.7
Total for February: 192.8

One thing that it wasn't today is lonely out on the road. I had conversations with several people today, including one interesting group of hikers over at the drinking fountain at the base of the Wind Cave trail. I don't know if this is just because I spent more time out, or as a result of the rather outstanding weather. The hikers were talking about a 50 mile ride tomorrow. So I asked them what the thing I just climbed was called -- "The backside of Usery Pass" was the definitive answer. It seems this is one of the more notorious climbs in the area. Another -- namely "King Kong," or just "Kong," was responsible for last weeks cramping incident. During this conversation -- I learned of a third, The Pearly Gates. "That will break your hump," says the elder hiker.

The Pearly Gates was a nice ride. I don't know how far it was, but it actually required me to use all my gears. The ride requires that you one, trespass, and two, avoid the copious amounts of coyote crap on the road, and three, work. I can just hear her saying it now, "Coyotes do not prefer to crap in the road. I know you say you've seen them, but it just isn't true." Coyotes and foxes, both share this desire (perhaps wolves too). They would really rather do thier business in the middle of the road. I have seen them more than once, me slamming on the brakes to avoid killing them, trying to take their picture, them, hobbling off so as not to soil themselves, and me again -- failing to get the picture. I want to show it to my friends, and say "See, if you spent any time outta the house you would know this. I secretly suspect they like to do this because it is warmer in the road (you know how you like it warmer in the john than anywhere else). The other possibility is that they know that this is one part of the world that is pretty much screwed, so no one (none of the other critters - except maybe the crows who eat off the road) will mind if they take a squat there.

Anyway, the road to the Pearly Gates is closed (go figure, eh?), which means all those instances of Coyote squat, aren't getting run over, so there are many there to prove my theory, which finally may become a law. It is interesting to note that coyotes seem to urinate and deficate in the same place, leaving two kinds of evidence to both prove my theory, and prove that they are not dogs. The ride, as a result of the road being closed (not the coyotesquatsi) was very nice. With the exception of the automatic machine gun fire from the neighboring shooting range, the ride was oh so quiet and worry free.

Out on the road I was reflecting on this article I read last night, and thinking yet again that I have too much stuff (she -- the woman from above -- said that too), and wondering if I could change my life just by cutting down on the stuff I have (not that I want to suffer a fire), when I remembered the end of that article, which reminds me of what inevitably happens as we force ourselves to dig deeper:

I've learned to recognize a particular moment on a backcountry trip. It's the moment when I can't remember what I'm doing there. It usually comes after some grueling slog, after the pack mysteriously gains weight against all rules of fairness and physics. Everything rubs against me-the shoulder harness, the salt of my sweat, the relentless weather, the earth against my feet.

It's like pushing through a membrane, that instant when misery transforms into surrender. Nothing becomes lighter, faster, easier. Now I can keep on, just for the power, the quiet ecstasy, of keeping on, discarding burdens as I go, growing lighter and lighter with every step, because this-this freedom, this moment, this willingness to trust myself in an untrustworthy world-this is the one thing I cannot do without.

Meanwhile, Pearl the Cat is out the window trying to catch a cottontail. It's hysterical. It's all in the journey, kitty. Look for that quiet ecstasy. Discard your burdens.

The Hotel California

Date: 23 February 2006
Temperature on Arrival: 67 F.
Mileage: 4.2
Mileage for February: 158.6
Average: 11.8

Looky, it's the Hotel California. It looks kinda like this guy is leaving, doesn't it? We know better-- he's just checking out. You can never leave.

The Brown Cloud

Bicycling in the Brown Cloud. Digital Photograph. © 2006 Shawn Kielty. All rights reserved.

Today there's yet another hazardous day in the Phoenix metro, with unhealthy levels of PM-10, which you will all recognize as particulate matter with a size of 10 microns or smaller. I like to think of that as smog, but it could really just be dust. Frankly, it's ugly. They recommend alternate transportation to work, but not bicycling. Exercise outdoors is possibly not a good idea. Sensitive groups should reduce heavy breathing.

Evening Commute

Date: 22 February 2006
Temperature on Arrival: 67 F.
Mileage: 7.6
Mileage for February: 154.3
Average: 15.6

Cool Guy

Collared Lizard Male, Usery Mountain Recreation Area. Digital Photograph. © Shawn Kielty 2005. All rights reserved.

The Morning Commute

Date: 22 February 2006
Temperature on Arrival: 45 F.
Mileage: 8.1
Mileage for February: 146.7
Average: 11.9