the Drive

hat could mean a lot of things.

You can drive a car.
You can drive cattle.
You can drive a golf ball (I can't).
You can drive someone crazy (I can, easily).

But to be driven is to have a compulsive or urgent quality. And in my case, I am driven to see new things, explore new places, to have new experiences of the amazing world that gives us life.

From the humble,


to the proud.


From the mysterious,


to the unlikely,


to the magnificent,


and even to the regrettable.



Of them all, I prefer the humble.



Thanks for looking!

Beer: not just a breakfast food

The latest offering from New Belgium Brewing, an India Pale Ale. It suits me, dontcha think?

Spring is Here!

woo fucking hoo. The endless winter continues....

the ENDLESS winter

h dear LORD what a winter we've had. As I sit here looking out at the sun-drenched fields, I still feel a huge sense of relief that it's finally over. Storm after storm after storm rolled through our beautiful state all through the month of February. Rides were few and far between. Even getting out for a hike or a run was difficult - the mud was ankle-deep everywhere here in the valley.

Jack and Riley made the best of it...



I made it out to Red Mesa for a solo ride. Saw some pretty cool graffiti on the way:





About one mile in, still on the doubletrack, a nifty little root sliced open my rear sidewall and ruined my tire. Curses! A tube, a boot, and a Stan's - lubed wrestling match, and I was back on the trails.

A few days later I got another ride down in Placitas, with only one picture to show for it.



My friend Myles and I made it out to White Mesa a week later. A beautiful spot with some crazy geology.





We ran into Dominic out there and stopped to chat at one of the strange sink holes.

Dom is contemplating a dip in thebubbling warm springs...



We finished up just ahead of yet another storm.



So is the Winter from Hell finally over? It feels like it, but you never know.

But this little creature in the garden knows!



Thanks for looking!

New Moon, New Year, New Decade.....

ccording to some Native American tribes, January is the month of the Full Wolf Moon. This full Moon appeared when wolves howled in hunger outside the villages. It is also known as the Old Moon. To some Native American tribes, this was the Snow Moon, but most applied that name to the next full Moon, in February.

I started off the new decade by making some changes in my lifestyle that I hope will lead to better mental and physical health. So far it seems to be working.

My first ride in the new decade came not on the first, but on the 2nd of January, at the local cold-weather standby, the Cerrillos Hills Historic Park.



I was shooting a photo of this cool rock formation when a Raven flew past just as I opened the shutter:



In some native tribes the Raven is known as the "keeper of secrets." They hold the teachings of mysticism and magic. Ravens are linked to the void, where universal secrets are stored. Their inky black color is the color associated with darkness. The darkness is a place where unconscious fears live. Raven, a master magician, embodies the energy of transformation and shows us how to eliminate our inner demons. Seems I have much to learn from him.


A few days later I hit it again with CDaddy:



The follwing weekend brought a ride at the Galisteo Basin Preserve. We call it the Sphynx Trail for reasons that are not clear to me.




Tony's dog Lulu joined us. She is a natural trail dog but doesn't like having her picture taken.




I also got in a ride at Red Mesa, where the only picture I took was this one of Dillon rolling the Cheese Grater:




A week or two of decent weather was much appreciated. Then it was back to the cold and the snow.




That didn't keep me from getting in a nice hike through the snow to the top of Atalaya though.



Another storm is on the way. And so is springtime!

Thanks for looking!

The post with no name....

I don't really have anything to say here, I just wanted to put up some random pics from the past 2 months. Like this rainbow:





I last rode the Turner around 5 weeks ago at Cedro with a coupla friends. There was a little chunky stuff to play on:





Then we found what looked like a meth lab hidden out in the hills. Probably somebody just squatting on public land, but they had been there long enough to turn the place into a real sh!t hole:




I did a solo ride out near Cochiti Pueblo. The views were fantastic!







While I was descending a long arroyo the universe sent me a sign - but what does it mean?



Clearly something about Love. And plastic.


Thanksgiving came and went and I had a great post-dinner hike with my grandson Eban. I learn a lot from him.



Last weekend my special-needs friend Makachut put on his 3rd annual Punk Enduro, an undefined event that involves bikes, beer, trails, and informal competition. Good times.






Today I played hooky and rode at Cerillos Hills with a coupla friends.



There are literally hundreds of old mines out there. In fact, the oldest continuously-worked mines in North America are in the Cerillos Hills - turquoise has been mined here for over one thousand years.




We saw a Real Live Ghost Town!



Bikes back on the car...




And a post-ride refreshment!




Thanks for looking!

Shooting Stars

was out soaking in the Tub of Hotness just now (which is absofuckinglutely awesome when it's this cold out), and it occurred to me that it has been a long time since I saw a shooting star. I used to sit out there and tell myself "Okay, I'll get out when I see a shooting star". And I would usually see one within a few minutes. Which was really cool.

Now, everyone knows that shooting stars are God's brain cells exploding. Which makes sense - meteor showers happen on nights when God really feels the need to tie one on. The fact that they only happen a few times a year shows what restraint the Big Guy has, considering his responsibilities.




Anyhoo, thinking about shooting stars got me thinking about Bob Dylan. Huh? you ask? Well, one of my favorite Dylan albums, Oh Mercy, has a track called Shooting Star. As with all of the tracks on this album, the lyrics just cut to the bone.

Once again the world conspires to force me to review my shortcomings as a human being. And that's OK.


I could not find a decent video of Bob playing this song. But I encourage you to read the lyrics. And you can get a used copy of the whole CD for $2 plus shipping.

Seen a shooting star tonight
And I thought of you.
You were trying to break into another world
A world I never knew.
I always kind of wondered
If you ever made it through.
Seen a shooting star tonight
And I thought of you.

Seen a shooting star tonight
And I thought of me.
If I was still the same
If I ever became what you wanted me to be
Did I miss the mark or
Over-step the line
That only you could see?
Seen a shooting star tonight
And I thought of me.

Listen to the engine, listen to the bell
As the last fire truck from hell
Goes rolling by, all good people are praying,
It's the last temptation
The last account
The last time you might hear the sermon on the mount,
The last radio is playing.

Seen a shooting star tonight
Slip Away.
Tomorrow will be another day.
Guess it's too late to say the things to you
That you needed to hear me say.
Seen a shooting star tonight
Slip away.

Edit: I was driving to work the morning after writing this post and a song by Harper Simon (son of Paul Simon)came on the radio. The song is called - you guessed it - Shooting Star. And the last two lines of the refrain are "Someday, you'll find out who you are. Someday, you'll be more than just a shooting star."

Weird.