Ladies and gentlemen...

...let the midlife crisis begin.

First of all, let me be absolutely clear that BeanSS went first, having had a kickass tattoo of a Surly 22-tooth cog put on her right calf last weekend. Unfortunately, all the photos I have of hers are crappy ones from my burner phone. Until she heals up and I can take some higher-resolution shots, all I can share are the ones from my session this afternoon.

I asked for it.

Beau knows tattoos.

 ENO love.

Ben's Bells again

I was very pleasantly surprised to have found another Ben's Bell out near Free Baja Arizona's west side headquarters this morning. This was the second set I've come across, which I suppose is the result of spending so much time riding or hiking around. I suppose it also helps that - being a birder - I'm generally always on the lookout for brightly-colored things in trees.

Uncategorized

I rode a few trails just around sunset yesterday and left my camera in the pack the entire time. This morning, I was going through a bunch of older ride photos on my hard drive and felt like throwing a few of them up here.

 Keeping it.

What millipedes look like outside of the monsoon season.

 

 

Bikes not cars.

 

A glass-smooth trail surface, Tucson style.

 

Winter skies in the Old Pueblo.

 

 

Looooong shadows.

May the Fourth Be With You

A real wilderness experience.

The lament of the solo rider - a bike with no rider in sight.

Another day pressed for time, and another ride at the local regional park. Over the past few months, it was the setting sun that was cutting my riding window short but now, it's the onset of the heat that's interfering with things. Getting the gear packed and into the truck, putting the bike on the roof rack, driving to the trailhead, and setting the bike back up are not individually time-consuming activities, but cumulatively, and with a late start, they can result in me being out in temperatures higher than I'd like.

And so, despite knowing it does nothing for my technical riding skills, I rode the pavement, fire roads, and scant rock gardens and singletrack of my home ride. It's no backcountry epic, but at least I can work on hauling ass rather than threading my way through babyheads. And hey, it's still fun and it still earns me a beer ticket at home.