Sunday, August 17, 2008

Star Mangled Banner and Single Speed Heaven

Finally, a good nights sleep. It took a bit of pounding on the ceiling of the room to get the people upstairs to keep their brood from constantly running around, but I finally rested in the arms of Morpheus (no, he was not wearing cool sunglasses and offering the choice between the Red and Blue pills). What was actually amazing was as soon as the people upstairs got quiet, the ladies in the room next door started singing the Star Bangled Banner, though "mangled" might be a closer approximation of their singing ability. But I give them an "A" for effort. They certainly put their hearts and souls into their stirring rendition of our national anthem.

I did meet one of them when I went to get my book out of the car. She asked me if I was from Louisiana. I said, "no" and asked her why she thought that. She replied it was because I was barefoot and only people from Louisiana went barefoot because a lot of them didn't have shoes. Guess where she was from? A hint: In the space of five minutes she mentioned okra, shrimp, gumbo, and the French Quarter. I had nightmares of her asking for beads. No, don't ask.......*shudder* But it is cool how different regions of the US have different habits and viewpoints.

I was reminded of the time I was working in Durham, North Carolina and my co-worker asked one of the electricians where a good place was to meet girls. The electrician replied, "The car wash is a good place to find girls." (this is not the word he used, I will not stoop so low). My buddy looked at me, paused, looked back at the electrician and said, "The car wash? What are they doing at the car wash?" The electrician's reply is one of the classics of all time. In a very slow southern drawl he answered, "Wah ya dumb f**king Yankee...Thar washin' thar cars!"

I know we Southwesterners must have our own regional idiosyncrasies that seem quaint, if not just weird, to visitors (like the German I chased around yesterday).

After such an enjoyable road ride yesterday, today I went back to the Boggy Draw trail system for some more single speed fun. The Soulcraft is made for this place. I added the Italian Canyon loop for some new fun.

This loop is not very hard but it does have, seemingly, twice the amount of climbing as Boggy Draw and two real steep short climbs. I made the first climb, but completely toasted my legs on it. I didn't even attempt the second one.

Here's the split from Maverick to Italian canyon. These trails are amazing. I was telling myself how confident I am riding with tubed tires here versus my normal tubeless ones. No cactus or super sharp rocks.

Here I am two minutes later down the trail. Stupid trail Ninjas.


Here is the Dolores River valley from Sam's Lookout.



And a view up Italian Canyon.
When I was done, I stopped by Sol Cycles in Dolores to chat and buy a couple of tubes. Then off to hike a bit and just hang out doing nothing. All in all not a bad day. Some hot soup and chili on the stove for lunch and woo hoo....

2 comments:

Energetic Storyteller, Family Historian & Grebel Lover said...

The pictures are absolutely PHENOMENAL! I am jealous of your trip it is wonderful. Even the mangled singing is fun under the circumstances. Your apt blending of chance encounters and biking adventures makes for a fascinating blog!

Frank said...

I'm glad you enjoy the photos. I enjoyed taking them almost as much as just being there. I already miss the area and am ready to sell everything, buy an old school bus, wear tie-dye, and move there. But, I have nothing to sell, an old school bus costs as much as an RV, and I don't look good in tie-dye.

Thanks for the compliments, my head is almost as big as those "Anasazi" pots near Mesa Verde.