I think maybe I have gotten out of my mopey denial and acceptance of limitations mode.
Freak it I am not going down without a fight – well I still fall down if I close my eyes, misstep, etc. but that is not what I mean.
Hey there is stuff I can do if I just get off my arse and give it a try. So what if I look like a dork?
I have been forced to give up many things due to the MS Monster the ever so willing take take taker. I can not launch my boat, I can not ride motorcycles anymore, hike up a mountain – yeah in four days maybe! But you know what I am determined that I am gonna ride my mountain bike again.
My poor mountain bike has been hanging since 2004 🙁 . I mentioned before that I had gotten it down and started to wipe it off – gosh who knew how many fuzz bunny type things and dust would accumulate so fast – I mean it was only up there four 5 years – go figure! Unlike my dulcimer he does have a name well, actually more than one. Thor, Red, and M$%^F#^’r when he cause me to fall boom or crash – yah never my fault!
Anyway as as become a regular around this blogs digs – the video:
I love this! Put on the funny pants and the funny shoes and go for it!
The only place my old Raleigh Alyeska touring bike is going is on craigslist. I can’t ride it anymore, and it’s too big for Tuffy. I will be sad to see it go.
I am going for it for sure!
I sold all my other bikes but this one for some reason I could not part with.
The road last road bike the yellow and white Faggin (fay -jean for those who think I miss spelled) was impossible to ride anymore prior to MS and strokes. My back and my wrist just could not take the riding position of road bikes anymore.
Since we don’t have a garage it was silly to have bikes around that were not being used. Last year I tried like heck to get on the recumbent and met the ground each time I tried to get my feet up to the peddles the bike would lean over before they made it up – so I took it down to Jess and he sold it for me.
Isn’t the Alyska circa late 80″s? Shimano, Renolds tubing, etc nice touring rig if I am remembering right with all the brazzons for racks. That is a classic!
Did you do a lot of touring? – gosh the good old days when the word touring meant something – now making it to the end of the street is gonna excite me.
Jan
Yup, the Alyeska was a loaded touring bike, braze-ons for racks, panniers, water bottles, satellite dish, you name it. We mostly rode around Lansing. Scarecrow was a much stronger rider that I, but after Tuffy was born he got to haul the big old Cannondale trailer– it was a great equalizer. It’s amazing how much stuff you have to carry when you go bike camping with a baby!
Did you load him up with the kitchen sink too. LOL trailers are so -errr well I can see how it equalized ha ha. Hard core baby and all now that is touring.
I used a Camelpack not sure of the model but the thing is hugh. Could load up the tent, sleeping bag on it a change of cloths – good to go.
Pitch the tent somewhere along the trail and snooze away till morning – the good old days.
I got a bear-bell that goes jingle jangle jingle as I merrily go riding around . …
Saying be careful is stupid so, careful be.
Careful be will be I.
You sound like KRP only she ads the part where I am being an idiot.
Hey there Gringo gal, You gonna get purdy red training wheels for that fearsome beast?
Hell, Even fearless Diane says to careful be…
Of course I meant, big fat tire training wheels. In case you were wondrin’.
Hey training wheels! You have so bumped your head – Bat Boy is to cool for that.
Although with full suspension that would be interesting.
Oingy boingy down the street emmm they would have to be red.
Great video — nice editing on fitting the audio and video together, especially at the spinning gears point!
I wasn’t able to comment on this the first time I saw it — all the footage of outdoor play just yanked at emotions in a room inside me to which I haven’t opened the door.
Now about you — good luck with this endeavor — seriously. One way or another I figure you’ll get some war stories out of this adventure!
I almost did not make this video for a couple of reasons
I so did not wish to make anyone else have to go there and
it really killed me digging out all the photos seen at the end
lots of memories of what I used to do – each photo brought back the time, the place, the folks I was with . …
Some of those rides were epic – gosh the one where Joel and I ended up in the pile of doo doo was one of the toughest rides we accomplished and the crap we landed in somehow was fitting and well way too funny. Well the time we got lost in Tahoe National, stuck after dark and a bear was . …
So, believe me when I tell ya it is killing me too –
When KRP goes to work Monday I plan after PE to give it a go and see if I can ride it to the corner and back
gosh now that will be epic!
Oh, I wouldn’t worry about making others “have to go there”. We have a choice. I chose to view your video several times, cry, and look through my mountaineering photos. It was overdue.
That must have been something for you going through the old photos. So, the still photos are yours but was the moving video while going down that rough single-track yours? Yes, the epics. Oh, the epics — wandering lost in the dark, wild animals, etc. I relate. Although can’t say I’ve ever had a landing of any sort in poo!
Full disclosure though. I was always pretty much of a dufous on fat tires and single-track or off-track — never was my thing. But I still have my 20 year-old Diamond Back Apex that I bought at the local ski shop when I lived in small-town Alaska. I used to hurt myself so much on that thing back in the day! Put city slicks on it and used it as a commuter bike when I moved to Seattle. Figured the exercise of riding the tank up the hill would do me good vs. getting a road bike.
Good for you for getting back into your passion. But crikey, since you’re way too cool for the training wheels suggested, might you at least have a, umm, supporter (spotter) for your first outing?
Look forward to hearing some stories although I’m with Diane … careful be!
All the photos are of me – except the video clip (from someone else) – when my computer died I lost all the stuff on the drive and the little video I had of some rides: Tahoe, Mammoth, and the Cool Loop went bye bye 🙁 . … some of my best photos of ride are on floppy disc (I hope) and I do not have a floppy drive right now.
In the spirit of sharing I ended up disliking touring and liked the dirt – fat tires rock! I did do a few road type rides like the Tour de San Francisco ( one heck of a uphill ride with a very high drop out rate) and we always did the Macy’s ride with Billy and KRP’s nephews when they were kids (pretty easy but kind of fun riding on SF streets and freeways) . I rode from Sac to Yuba City once in awhile until they widened the freeway and the traffic become crazy.
The old Apex and Mongoose are in Nevada with the kids. Tanks? Yeah the Diamond Back was heavy but it took a downhill licking and kept on ticking 😉
Ya all I so am not going to haul my bike to the hills and trash down the single track LOL I am gonna try a short simple ride to the end of the street and back! Geezzz … without clipping in OK?