So, I woke up this morning, cranky as cranky can be. My head had a fog that seemed to reach all the way into my subconscious and beyond, and I felt ready to scream at anything or anyone, and had too many urges to just break down and cry. Not sure, could be the whole major change in my life, but I need to get my head cleared. I thought, “I need to get out and ride my bike through the woods”, and damn it I was going to. The sun was out and it was cool autumn day. I got a grocery list together, so I could do my shopping post ride, filled the CamelBak, ate a pb&j, loaded the bike and off I went. Straight to the trail head, no stops, no Gatorade/Powerade, no salty snacks, just a deep desire to out ride the fog in my head. I pulled into the lot, only a few cars, nice! I unloaded my steed, did a quick check, got my gear on, and off into the woods I went. It was much cooler than the last time I was out 2 weeks ago, and the other big change, aside from the temp, was that the trees had pretty much dropped all of their little solar panels, better known as leaves. The sun poured in and the forest floor was on fire with the remnants of one of the most beautiful autumns in recent memory. This also made riding much more tricky, it was a moist week and those leaves kept it nice and damp, and the roots underneath were all too eager to make it as difficult as possible. I came across a doe chilling along the trail. When I saw her, I stopped about 15 feet from her. We just stared at each other, she was just interested in getting something to eat, I said “Hi” to her, apologized for startling her, backed up my bike and took another path around her. She just stood there eating, and watched me ride out of sight. Nice! I rolled though the trees, up, down and over roots and obstacles. Down hills, and pushed hard up hills, the wet leaves made climbing a bit of a challenge, and add wet roots under there, and it was down right near impossible, but I rode on. I pushed myself even harder this ride, that damn fog wasn’t wanting to let go, it took a bit of pain to help break it up, and begin to dissipate it.  The music running into my cranium, for those who might be curious, was Boom Bip & Dose One’s ‘Circle’ at the beginning, and The Postal Service towards the end. About half way into my ride, that fog all up in my head, began to break up and fall off on the trail, and I began to feel better, tired, but better. The ride was, for the most part, without incident. I did manage to stay on my bike, only a few roots almost had me off and on the trail, but I was able to correct and save my ass. I did have one good scare, and it would have ended badly had it gone south. On one of the descents towards the end, was covered in mucho leaves, and under those leaves, hungry roots…hungry for bike and people carnage. This decent also lead to a bridge crossing, that bridge being about maybe 3 feet wide, going over a small ravine. As I rolled into this decent, being well aware of the slippery nature of the leaves and roots, I had my eye on the bridge, where I wanted to go. Nature had another plan, and it was conspiring to redirect me off right into the ravine, and it damn near had me. I almost missed the bridge by inches, but I managed to get that front wheel on, and the back wheel followed. I let out a loud “wwwwwwwhhhoooaaaaaa!!!!” and smiled as I rode up the other side, heart beating a little faster and feeling damn happy I didn’t end up in the ravine, bad things would have followed. Good times. I hammered it the rest of the way, slipping on roots a few more times, and rolled out of the woods to my car. Tired and a little beat, but I was in much better mood than when I started, and wasn’t that the point. I craved a cola. I did my shopping on that end of town, and had to stop at Whole Foods, I picked up one of their natural colas and it was damn tasty, just what I was feeling. Yum!!! Another good ride and another good therapy session. I love my bike.

Thanks for stopping by and reading, Patrick

Here are a few videos from the music on my ride, enjoy!

This one above is just music, no video, but it’s the shit!

Peace! Ride Safe!!!

I’m going to be a nerd here for a minute, but points to anyone who knows where the title to this post comes from.

This post is days late, but this is the first time I’ve allowed myself to sit at the computer long enough to write.

Sunday afternoon, I was chatting online with a friend when, I realized that I hadn’t been out riding in weeks. My life has been so friggin’ crazy lately, that, sadly, I often push riding to the back burner, when in reality it’s the one thing that should be damn near a priority. It keeps my head together, as those of you who follow, will know from past posts. So as I was chatting with said friend online, I mentioned how nice it was outside, what with that strange glowing object up in the odd blue colored sky, it would be a good day to ride. Then, I decided to do just that. I told her I would catch her on the flip side, and that I was going riding…on a impulse, but it had to be done. Those who ride bikes, knows the feeling. I dressed for the cooler weather, loaded the bike and headed off to Alum Creek on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. I stopped at the BP for some Powerade and salty snacks for post ride, and I was off to the trail head. Pulled in to the lot, only a few cars, less than a half dozen…nice. The trees were starting to change, but all of the maples were on fire. Hence the title of this post. A picture could not have done it justice, yet if I would have had a camera, I would have done my best to capture it.

I geared up, and off I went, into the crisp air of the woods. The first thing to hit me was the smell, that autumn smell of dry leaves. The leaves covered the trail in a patchwork of colors that reminds one of a country quilt. I realized after some time that I couldn’t see the trail all that well, but I was riding it,  just feeling the flow and going with it. The riders before had of course compressed the leaves, but the leaves still covered the trail, rendering many roots and the trail invisible. Surprisingly, even with the moderate dampness, nothing was too slippery. I pushed myself a little harder than normal, but I realized that’s something I do, when riding alone…push my body harder. Not sure why either. I hit most of the obstacles, a few, my legs weren’t feeling it when I got to them, so I passed. The sun poured through the now sparse canopy, lighting the remaining leaves on the trees on fire. I smiled and the music from my MP3 player flowed as well as the trail, and for those who are curious, the ride started with The Postal Service and then ended with Atmosphere. Both were just perfect for how I was feeling and how the ride was going. I managed to not fall off my bike, barely, but I did smack some fingers on a sapling and fully shoulder a tree, which was on the way out of the trail, but neither of them stopped my flow, too much. OK, the shoulder hit slowed me a bit, and it did hurt, but I just pushed through it and finished the climb out. Good Times.

I need to ride more.

Thanks for stopping by and reading, Patrick

Title Hint: “…he got a gallon of
gas in a can, drove home, doused
everything in the house, torched it,
parked across the street, laughing,
watching it burn, all Halloween
orange and chimney red…

Give Up: Follow Me!

Peep these songs from my ride:

]]> http://soulsidedown.wordpress.com/2009/10/21/all-halloween-orange-and-chimney-red/feed/ 1 soulsidedown http://soulsidedown.wordpress.com/2009/09/20/the-zen-of-mountain-biking/ http://soulsidedown.wordpress.com/2009/09/20/the-zen-of-mountain-biking/#comments Sun, 20 Sep 2009 23:42:20 +0000 soulsidedown http://soulsidedown.wordpress.com/?p=373 ]]>

Today I rode.

I rode despite the rain.

I had to ride, my mind and body need it.

It was drizzling, constant, but very light. Something in me said “load the bike and go” so I did. I wasn’t going to ride if it had rained so much as to saturate the trail, that’s a no-no. One thing we all have to be conscious of is the state of our trails, and riding when they are wet, damages them, leaves ruts, and makes it hard for the trail crew to maintain and a bitch for those of us riding. *steps off of soap box*

When I arrived, I was the only one there. The parking lot was actually pretty dry, damp, but made me feel good about hopping on my steed. Got ready, and since I was the only one around for miles, I sent a text to a friend to let them know where I was, and that I would text them when I arrived safely back at my vehicle. I hopped on the aluminum beast and headed into the trees. I was pleasantly surprised that the trail was actually in really good shape, no heavy moisture, the canopy of the forest was dense enough that the drizzle only did dust control. The trail was nice and compact and no dust…sweet! A few obstacles were slick but the trail was ride worthy. Happiness.  Since I was apparently the only rider in some time, there was oodles of wildlife….oooooooodddddllllleeeeessss, and we consistently had the pleasure of startling the hell out of each other my whole ride.  There was so much, more than I’ve ever experienced, that I started to make noises periodically just so the critters would know something was heading their way. I laughed out loud more than once, and apologized to many creatures for scaring the sh*t out of them.  I saw 3 deer(heard a 4th), half a dozen plus squirrels, chipmunks, a snake (I’m pretty sure, it was undercover of some plants, but it’s movement made me think, snake), a heron, inhaled a few bugs, spit out just as many, and since I was riding shirtless…and sweating, I became a bug catch-all…chest, stomach, arms, face etc. I was also bitched at by either a squirrel or chipmunk for startling them…it made me smile…..”Sorry” I shouted back. I pushed myself harder than the last ride, making almost all of the climbs. The roots, being their own kind of creature, and wet, made many attempts to foil my ride. My back tire was grabbed and thrown out a few times, and they love to jack up your momentum. I never did fall, but was damn close a few time. Love the roots. I hammered through the last stretch, grunting up the last few climbs, loving the lil bit of pain from pushing my self, and made the  last crazy climb out to the parking lot. I sent a text to my friend, loaded the car, and headed home, jamming to  LCD Sound System, and feeling pretty damn good. I love life…for real.

The meditative aspects of mountain biking are another pull for me. When I needed to bring myself back to the present moment, nothing aside from actual meditation does it for me. As you ride, you’re there….here and now. You’re not thinking about what you just did, or so much of what’s coming, you are concentrating on where you are now. The mind does it’s thing and thoughts arise and disappear, but you are always brought back to the present moment, because if you’re not there, well, you eat sh*t and find yourself off your bike. Oh, you still fall off even if you’re ever diligent, but that’s part and parcel of mountain biking, you don’t learn if you don’t go over your head once in a while…but you go into those situations knowing the possible price of admission. It’s all good and it’s all love.

Thanks for reading!

Peace, Patrick

Well, today was a bit tough. My mind needed to be cleared and getting out of the house was the best thing I could do. I thought, a bike ride would be good…off road…with lots of climbing, something to help get the noise out of my head. I tossed my mountain bike into the back of the car, grabbed my CamelBack, the iPod, and out the door I went. The sun was high in the sky and the heat was right up there with it. I drove up to Alum Creek, stopped at a BP for some Powerade and then on to the trail head, PhaseI again. It was weird to be riding alone, never done it. It was a spontaneous decision and I needed the trees whipping past my head, the roots grabbing at my tires, and the dust and heat to purge my head. I geared up and was off. The music for my ride, and it seemed too damn appropriate, was Four Tet’s ‘Rounds’….f-ing brilliant. As I pedaled into the trees, realizing I was alone on my bike, my soul opened up and, the cobwebs in my head fell away and it was just me, the bike and the trail.  Today’s ride was a bit easier than last weekend, but it was still  an ass kicker all the same. I bombed down any decent, and pushed myself to complete any climb, not all were completed, but I gave it my all…next time I’ll get them. I did make it up the climb to the parking lot, it’s not that’s it’s hard, but if you loss your momentum…screwed…and I did get screwed, but I turned the bike around, walked a good distance back, hopped on the bike and pedaled my ass of f, and up and out I went…sweet!   The days events are now exorcised. I am chilling at my local coffee house drinking an iced Americano with three shots of espresso, and eating spicy fries…yyyuuummm! Have a good week and ride safe.

Peace, Patrick

After a long hiatus, I was  coaxed to go mountain biking….well, not coaxed, just asked by a friend, who was looking to ride with someone. Now, I’m not sure that I was the best pick, but I went all the same. See, he rides…lets just say he’s fast. His endurance and skills are a bit more polished than mine. I’m down right rusty, not that I’ve forgotten how to ride a bike, but it’s been almost a year since my ass was out in the woods, and pedaling a mountain bike is nothing like a road bike. Dig? I picked him up and off we went. We drove up to Alum Creek State Park to ride phase 1. Got our gear on, and a pedaling we went. It didn’t take me too long to figure out that my level of physical fitness on a mountain bike is…well, poor.  I toughed it out, it felt good pushing myself that hard, getting the cobwebs out of my head, focusing on the task at hand…not falling off, as I ripped through the trees.  My friend was kind enough to periodically stop to make sure my slow ass was still up right and pedaling…it was. We flew (he flew, I moved briskly) through the trail, dodging trees, riding obstacles, crossing bridges, grinding up climbs, and bombing down hills, and almost eating shit a couple times. I was beat by the time I reached the end of the trail, so much so, I couldn’t get the last couple rotations to get up the final climb..almost, but not quite. Next time I’ll get it. I felt beat, but good as we chilled by the car downing Gatorade. I can’t wait to go again, but I’m thinking I’ll need to sell my current ride for a more reasonable one, more of a cross country style bike as opposed to my downhill-ish ride. It’s a bit too much to be pushing around here, it was great out west, but it was too much work. It will be missed, when I finally have to part ways, but my rides will be more enjoyable on a more appropriate bike for Ohio riding conditions.

Ride Safe!

Peace, Patrick

…Ass is kicked.

Well, friends, my ass has officially been kicked. Kicked across 5 days and 101 point-some-odd-miles, poor eating habits, improper sleep, poor hydration, and just pushing myself too hard when I rode. I wanted to ride today, believe you me, but my body knows better and set me on the bench. I had to listen. My head is swimming, my legs are unhappy, but I feel better this evening having not ridden today, and after having consumed much H2O. I can’t get enough food into my body, it just burns right through it. Hell, I figured I had enough pasta for dinner and bread, nope  I am hungry again. My body has some recovering to do. So, no riding tomorrow either. It’s all good. I look forward to picking up next week, well rested, hydrated, and fed. Ya, dig?

Peace, Patrick

First, I am tired as hell. In my 5 days of  riding and  accumulating 101 miles, I realized that I haven’t gotten the proper amount of rest and haven’t been eating to fuel that kind of ride. Me thinks I need to approach this from another angle, well at least adjust my eating habits to accommodate the energy my body is using, more carbs, protein, and fluids to help my muscles recover. I’ll be researching that this evening. Any advice is welcome from fellow riders.

This morning, for most, would have had them rethinking riding a bike. It was pissing rain and the humidity was 95%.  I was tired, but It has felt so good riding, and not riding would be to easy. It wasn’t the least bit comfortable today, riding in the rain, but that’s part of life, and riding a bike as uncomfortable as it was, is still better than being locked in a box moving though traffic like a zombie. But that just me. I still drive when I have to, but the bike is preferable. Rant ended. I was soaked to the bone when I arrived at work. The rain jacket I had on was just a catch for my sweat (95% humidity), so despite having it on to protect me from the rain, I was soaking myself from the inside. I would have been just as well with it off, except it’s a high visibility yellow…safety first.  Riding through the cemetery, I saw a raccoon heading home after a night out, the mist hanging heavily in the air, he/she scurried for the nearest storm drain. The moisture gave everything the cleanest smell. Weird, huh? I seem to be on a scent kick. The ride home was dry and hot, again, the humidity was somewhere in the vicinity of riding in a pool. I stopped a the local java  joint for an iced Americano and a vegan chocolate cookie from Patty Cake Vegan Bakery. Read a little bit, then headed home to post this, do chores, make some dinner, maybe watch a movie, and get to bed at a reasonable time. Uuummm, yea, right.

Loud Ass Music: listening to Underoath Survive:Kaleidoscope

Scent of the Day: City Bus (I rode by as the door opened to let someone off. If you’ve ridden a bus, you know)

Ride Safe!

Peace, Patrick

Well, I am on a friggin’ roll with riding my bike and it feels damn good. I know, I am not exceptional, but for me, it is important. Yesterday was a good ride, and in the morning I had a weird thought pass through my mind, but first, my near hit story for the day. It was about half way through my ride home, coming up to an intersection that has a right turn specific lane and a straight specific lane, the road I am coming off just transitions in to these lanes, when I am riding into this intersection I just ride right into the straight lane, well apparently I had broken someones speedy flow to turn right, and they got as close as they could to me without hitting me and all I heard come out of the car was “…..fuck….”, then as they passed the rear passenger gave me a hard look, but I refused to walk into that one, and kept pedaling. Hell, I was still upright, and unharmed, what would responding have done…I’ll tell you, I would have gotten my ass stomped by three shirtless guys in a copper Monte Carlo. Uuummm, no thanks! Plus I was still smiling from  brief encounter a little before that. I was riding  and was coming up to a bus stop, a lady was leaning out to look for the bus. As I approached I saw she had her little daughter with her, that poor little girl wasn’t paying attention and I startled her. She recoiled, but she gave me the biggest smile and said “Hi”, in a matter of seconds, I was able to smile back and say “Hi” back to her as I rode by, she was still smiling and you know what, so was I. That my friends, makes the bike so much more than a thing to pedal, you’re not boxed in, closed off from your environment. No, you are connected to those you run across, and that one encounter with her cheerful greeting, trumped the boneheads in their car.

Now my weird idea, a list of smells I encounter on my commute  in no particular order, and some more than once…I’ll put a plus next to those. Here we go: damp air, moist earth, gasoline, oil, exhaust, perfume(+), cologne(+), cigarettes(+), pot (+), hot metal, sewage, decomposing roadkill, stagnant puddles, water, flowers, car fresheners(+), pizza, deep fried something, burning wood/leaves, someone grilling, and garbage. I think that’s it or at least all I can recall. I’ll add to the list daily if something else comes up. Weird, huh?  I am a bit weird like that.

Today’s ride was an ass kicker, it was hot (love it), and a decent headwind, but still better than  being in a car. Right?

Ride Safe.

Peace, Patrick

The title comes from a George Carlin routine on Plane Safety, peep the video at the end of this post.

Why that title? Today, I refused to listen to my legs, who as you know from a recent post, have their own union (LEGS Local #614) and they didn’t see any good reason to have to work on a Friday, but I had to veto their no work vote and make them work anyway. They did so reluctantly. The ride into work was cool and dry, plus I had the sun to greet me, which is always a bonus. Thankfully an uneventful ride that the legs decided wasn’t so bad. Thanks guys. The ride home was a bit more…interesting. When I made my first turn to head west….bam…headwind. Same as yesterday, but I just smiled and pedaled, because pedaling even into a headwind is better than dealing with traffic from in a car. I started to realize that traffic was rather heavy, even for a Friday at 4:30pm. No worries for 3/4 of my commute, it was a bit more difficult getting across traffic at certain points, but nothing that un-nerved me. As always, and you’ll get sick of me saying this, Greenlawn Cemetery was a nice ride and a good break from the traffic.  It wasn’t until I got to the construction zone that I had to really work the bike and pay attention to the glut of traffic. See, there really isn’t a place for a bike here, it’s two lanes, absolutely no shoulder, orange barrels to the right, and a good 2-3 foot drop in some areas where they’ve tore up the road. So, it was me and many cars trying to work our way through. Now I don’t ride my bike to wait in traffic, so I do my best to move along, safely, the right side, maneuvering between the cars and orange barrels. All the while trying to read the cars like a big chess game, trying to figure out what their move is going to be…and that is tough. So, in the span of less than a mile I was almost side swiped twice, and damn near plowed down by a guy in a hurry and on his phone in a f*cking Escalade. I read him and prepared to brake, he just about turned into me, but as fate would have it he saw me and stopped, but I would have stopped…I think…in time. In a final push I got out of the construction intact, but a bit un-nerved.  Whew!  The last part of the commute was just as busy, but not nearly as hairy. I was beat by the time I rolled into the neighborhood. Yet, I would gladly ride my bike any day because…well…bike rock. Ya dig?

Ride Safe!

Enjoy the video below!

Peace, Patrick

Damn, time does fly. Though I haven’t posted anything in a while, I have still been riding. The last two weeks not so much, work has been crazy.  I did say “F*ck It!” last night and got my stuff ready. Checked the bike over, pumped up the tires,  prepped the water bottles, and cleaned out and organized the messenger bag. It was, by most peoples standards, a crappy morning, over cast, and raining, but not me, no sir. It was something I had to do. Nothing clears the head when your having some personal troubles, like riding your bike. No? The roads were good, wet and filthy. Oodles of puddles and too much construction. I hit the road and was off, smiling and running my route through my head. The rain was on and not quite off, more like on and mist.  Strangely traffic was pleasantly low, not too many cars, but then again, it doesn’t take too many cars to hit you…just one. But, I was enjoying the light traffic. The ride through the construction zone wasn’t too bad actually, I cruised through it pretty quickly. From there it was smooth riding. I loved riding through Greenlawn Cemetery this morning, the moisture brought all of the plants to life, especially the smell, it was so clean. It’s always my favorite part of the ride, the locals are quiet (for now LOL) and the wildlife is amazing. The rest of the way was spent trying to clear my head. Over all a good ride. Can’t wait to ride home and do it again tomorrow. Peace!