Category: Thoughts

A Quick Thought On Cars and Bicycles

Posted on by justrollingby

I really hate driving a car. I don’t do it very often.. maybe 20 miles a week, at most. Usually to help out family. Driving a car in traffic, in the city, along side 3 million other idiots (including myself), makes me feel sick, anxious, unhappy, and ungrounded. The entire experience of driving in the city is one of pure insanity to me.

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This morning, I discovered, much to my chagrin, that a “person” has opened the gas tank on my truck and siphoned out it’s contents. This happened some years back as well.. While living in my van in Salt Lake City, working a construction job, I awoke, at 5 am, to the Van being rustled violently to the effect of 2 dudes wrestling the 5 gallon gerry can of gas off the back of said van. This can was my “fuel gauge”. Since the fuel gauge on the vehicle did not work, I would simply allow it to run dry, pull over, run a siphon hose from the can to the tank, which were right next to one another, and then get on down the road. It worked like a charm for years. That early morning theft cost me 100 smackeroos.

Gasoline, right now, if I am not mistaken, is rising rapidly towards 5 bucks a gallon. When people walk into the bike shop and complain that a bicycle starts at 3 or 400 dollars and goes up rapidly, it completely blows my mind. These same folks drop 100 bucks a week into there gas tanks alone. Not to mention maintenance, tires, insurance, parking, and of course the absolutely splendid experience of getting the opportunity to drive one of these luxuries along side several of your 3 million best, angry friends!  What a bargain! On top of that, the last time I a took even a casual glance at the cost of buying an automobile, they seemed to generally start at around 3000 bucks for a used one.

Admittedly, my Surly Ogre, which I built myself, every spoke and bearing, cost nearing 4 grand, but to complain that a used, quality commuter might cost a few hundred bucks is, without a doubt, completely absurd, and in my humble opinion, exactly what is wrong with the mentality of Americans today. Walmart and Target are doing more to perpetuate this lie than most.. They sell “bicycles” for 70 bucks that fall apart before you can load it into your trunk and do absolutely nothing to further the notion that the bicycle might have some real merit in this culture by rejecting the people who make said purchases and furthering their concept that the auto is greater than the bicycle.

This is extremely unfortunate.

A Bold Step?

Posted on by justrollingby
Alaska Range
Central Alaska Range

My mind’s eyes focuses intently on a people and a society that is not focused on a realm of technology but one that inherently desires to achieve a sense of wonder regarding a planet that they inhabit with all species and not on one that intrinsically needs to overcome and destroy their surroundings in order to achieve a means to place themselves squarely at the “top” of an imaginary dimension of superiority amongst the living creatures around them.

 This is my vision, or some may say, fantasy. A fantasy it is not, I say. What do you say?  Technology is a misnomer in the regard that, of course, we have the upper hand above all that surround us, but, ultimately we do not control. We control ourselves. We are engaged in a culture that does not assume responsibility for our actions, but instead, we rely on a seemingly grotesque vision that we must dominate the planet; that we are privy to all that is and all that will ever be, which, in a sense, is not only killing us, in a sublime fashion, but killing all that surrounds us. A species that assumes such cohesive control over everything in it’s path must only, in this authors humble opinion,  be considered mad. A species that destroys it’s surroundings in order to achieve dominance, is a stupid and feeble species indeed.

  I am quite certain that when I say this, it is correct, at least from my limited perspective of the world at large, but nonetheless, here goes, I know that technology is not the answer to our most perplexing questions. I know this with all of my heart and being. I sit here writing on a computer, that I am told, it’s processors are built with a resource that only comes from a small place on the planet; one that is probably decimating an entire culture of peoples in the process; I do not condone this, but, I am using this technology to convey a message from my heart in regards to all of our future. Our children’s future. The future of the Bears and the Salmon, and the Wolverines, that cannot be rejuvenated once depleted. The use of technology is a tool that must be used to further all that is and not to destroy it. We MUST become more responsible to ourselves and to others. And when I say others I certainly mean the Bears and the Salmon and the Wolverines and all others trying desperately to make a home on this globe, where, in fact Humans are the common enemy.

So how does one make sense of all of this, You ask?  First off, I am not a purveyor of wisdom; I am only a man who wishes deeply to connect with You, the human, in order to perceive the world we live upon in a harmonious way.

Living in harmony with nature, at least in this culture, is the stuff of fairy tales. It seems to be only an acceptable thought undertaken by children, the mentally feeble, or the unrealistic idealist. But to me, any other way of looking at the world is total madness.

We seem to exist in a culture where there is little intention in regards to utilizing the technology we have to actually better ourselves; and when I say better ourselves, I mean bettering all species, because for all species to flourish is for us to flourish as well. We seem to be utilizing state of the art tech in order to entertain ourselves, to distract ourselves from the real questions at hand.

Technology.. A bicycle is a form of technology; It’s metals are extracted from the Earth utilizing toxic methods and polluting means, rubber used is created much the same, not to mention the machines created to accomplish such tasks.  But, people!  Bicycles are here. Now. Utilizing them and educating our peers, needs to happen at this juncture in time.

I don’t drive often, but when I do, the experience of stammering along on a crowded freeway going either 5 mph or 80 mph, depending on the time of day, really makes me ponder that we are headed for  a painfully disturbing death, not only for ourselves, but for all around us. I know that this is not the way we are supposed to live. In fact, it really makes me want to vomit.

In Sacramento, the cops don’t give a damn about bicycle theft; to them, bicycles are reserved for either a few elitists, or homeless junkies unable to afford a proper car. This is utter nonsense and a typical view that American’s seem to have. Bicycling creates a feeling of euphoria and calms the nerves, invigorates the body, mind, and soul, and deeply limits the need for extracting fuels that are destroying what’s left of North Americas’ greatest wilderness asset: The Arctic…  Which is why I am headed there this summer. I encourage everyone to take a bold step in realizing that we are headed for disaster and that taking a leap toward an unconventional form of thinking is what is now in order.

Those who do not do this, are merely taking up space…  I’m going for a ride now.

Not Saddle Sore

Posted on by justrollingby
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The Rivet Pearl…
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..with Ti Rails!

I’d rather be riding my bike today.. but, well, it’s raining. I know what you’re thinking; how can someone who raves endlessly about all matters northern, about how riding in the rain does not bother, about the “glorious” weather of SE Alaska, simply whine about a simple California drizzle.  Well, for starters, the trails I had in mind to ride today are going to be muddy. In fact, the trails I was going to ride today are in fact illegal. By riding on muddy and illegal trails, I set the stage for prosecution and closure by creating said muddy tracks.

Also, part of the reason for going on a ride today was to test out the new, famously good looking Rivet Pearl saddle, that was graciously given to me for such purposes by the fine folks at Rivet Cycle Works.  As soon as I get the chance to do some vigorous thrashing on this beauty, I will be posting a review, so keep Yer eyes peeled.

So, my time spent in the hours before heading to the bike shop to work will be filled with coffee and hopefully something interesting to say to you all.

Here goes…

I struggle as a writer, struggle as photographer, struggle as an adventurer, insofar as creating the means to do so. I fear not the “talent”, or the creative processes that are required for my sanity, or to paint a beautiful picture of the natural elements of this splendid planet.. I feel soo lucky to have been born here. This globe is beautiful beyond wordly description; that is why I must do what I do. The far reaches of this planet’s wilderness are my calling. This can cost a lot. Financially, yes, but this not what my voice speaks. These places come as a cost in regards to how one can handle the pressures of our given society and how one perceives self and how, not to behold, the “values” that we have been so engrained in believing. Why must we live the way most do? Can it be “acceptable”, by one’s family and peers, to embrace the beauty of the planet before us, to, perhaps, live as our ancestors did, to love all creatures, wether or not they are located in the food chain above us or not. To see and to feel the wind; to be there at that moment in time?

These are the questions and reasonings I behold, not to stroke an ego of self in regards to media or self promotion, but to truly empower one’s self as a Human; a human lost on a planet ruled by a species gone mad.

On certain terms, the living in a  city has been good for me. It has re-shown me the path that we ALL are on and the one that I must follow.  To recognize the destructiveness of our behavior.

I tend to “think” with my heart; my brain merely functions as a overseer to what needs to happen at a given moment in order to accomplish a task at hand, and nothing more. Heart is what guides.

What gets you off most: the thought of the new iphone 5 coming out, or what your heart might feel sitting or walking or riding a bicycle through hours of the most torrential rain storm in recent memory? Can you smell the odor of the trees coming alive with quench of the moisture, or do you merely quander at the thought of what your peers may think of your latest achievement? These are genuine questions that beckon the prose: Am I here to fully realize and experience the whole  of what we really have to offer one another and the planet as a whole, or are we here to simply entertain ourselves through the current form of technology?

I think not.

Some Thoughts

Posted on by justrollingby

112 days. That’s not to long, is it? Only 112 days left till the open road is mine once again. 112 days till I  get in my truck (ugh) and drive to Bellingham to catch the ferry to Skagway. These days, lately, have been filled with wrenching at Edible Pedal, editing video, working on TV commercials and feature productions, doing construction projects, and just about any other thing I can muster up in order to make the funds necessary for my up coming yearly adventure by bicycle. This years’ adventure, as well as last years’, will be a northern one.  When I’m not engaged in the above evil activities as a worker bee, I am sewing gear, repairing holes, altering tents, studying maps, reading web blogs, pouring over “The Milepost”, dreaming of Bears and Wolves, flying with Eagles, preparing my bike, and living a life of adventure in the city.  I long for the forest and the mountains and the lakes, and the animals, and the valleys, and the glaciers, and the open coastlines of the North. I miss it’s smell of spruce and of berry patches and of the salty coastal air. I miss bearing witness to 30 mile long glaciers and Bears half the size of my truck.  I miss the quiet and the solitude that these places offer my mind and my soul. A place to rest; not body, but mind. I miss the daily bicycle or foot travel that affords one a chiseled and lean structure in which to live. I miss sleeping in a sleeping bag and cooking my meals in a simple and enjoyable fashion. And yes, I miss emptying my bowels into the open forest, as all animals do…  Only 112 days.

Escape From Sacramento

Posted on by justrollingby

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Dirt trails, Rail trails, cat’s tail’s, 2 tracks, single tracks, train trax, dirt roads, access roads, forest paths and game trails.

Study maps, ask around, look around town, think like a weirdo, and keep yer ears open and yer eyes peeled. Since I am held captive by the urban sprawl, this is what I do. I seek out places where most do not; I look for the paths and trails that, for the most part, at least in these parts, follow the waterways of the Sacramento region and it’s rivers and Delta area’s. There are horse trails and fishing paths leading to rivers, sloughs, ponds, creeks, tributaries, and ship channels galore.

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A usual start and off to Old Soul coffee house and Edible Pedal bicycle shop. Eat tasty quiche and croissants and Java for breaky. Catch up at the shop to find out about more trails up between Auburn and Folsom for another day perhaps. It is in my registry now. Today however, I am drawn back to the west side of the city and into it’s key river’s upper Delta area’s.

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Meandering through urban alley’s and backstreets; a side route through the ghetto; across said river and through a minor forest to find muddy fishing trails. Finally hitting open pavement if you will, and bolt for the wild west beyond the combatant city, where most there are fighting for supreme survival in automobiles. Paying a pretty price to do so in fact; lining up at filling pumps, all the while spewing their poison for all to become intoxicated with in this metropolis of bliss…

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I head out West Jefferson Blvd, a known, fast route out of said Madness, and planning an escape route on the Clarksburg Rail Trail, but instead, spy an alternate: The Sacramento deep water Barge Canal has a levee on it’s side with a gravel surface that begs to be ridden fast; which I do.

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There are many fisherman here; many on bicycle, who have ridden in from adjacent neighborhoods, accessing the canal via trails, paths, and streets as I do. They fish, seemingly for 3-headed Sturgeon, and perhaps Catfish with feathers and legs. I do not know for sure.

I do know this:  Snake Pliskin did not have a bike, but I do. Henry David Thoreau did not have an ipod, but I do.  Bike + ipod + dirt paths = a whole shit load of urban fun. I am quite certain of this.

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Looking back upon the Madness, beyond it’s factories, and skyscraper temples of commerce, I begin to see a rare and hopeful sight unfold before me:  some 50 miles to the east, the clouds are parting along the edge of the massive Central Valley, to reveal the greatest asset California has to offer.. The Sierra Nevada Mountains, covered in snow, and standing as a monument to a time before the Madness was constructed. I spy an electrical cabling tower perhaps 150 feet high. This tower, I presume is to carry mind control signals to the workers in the Madness, to keep them artificially subdued (sub dudes), so as they will not wish to escape, as I have.  I decide to climb up the said tower a bit in order to catch a better view of these monuments of a time forgotten. Nearly 30 feet up, I realize that the ladder pegs, and my shoes are quite wet, and decide to descend, Before I do, however, I see the Mountains, far beyond the city, and dream of them.

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 The levee continues, but between said levee and Barge canal, an area opens up with some light forestation and a nice singletrack splitting it in two. Meandering in and out of Oaks and thickets, it finally ends, and I am forced back upon the levee, where mud becomes thick like gooey cake batter.  This is practice for the Dalton and Dempster highways, I think.

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Eventually, the levee too, ends, and I am forced back onto West Jefferson, and ultimately, the City. As I near the State Capitol, I spot a protest ensuing. I cannot make out what most are saying, but judging from the signage they carry, these are Native American Indians, protesting for their Native Brothers in Canada, against Canada’s recent opening up of it’s river’s and lake’s to massive demolition by way of methane/coal extraction. This practice will destroy rivers, destroy the Salmon, destroy the Bears, and destroy the native peoples there who rely on said natural resources.

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I feel for you all, and all of us,  Brothers and Sisters…