Heywood checking in:
We’re back. I do ask for forgiveness from the loyal listeners (Solo) regarding the recent lack of posts from the 3 bicoastal boys. We have all been busy. Out on the east coast, there was a temporary work shutdown for Al and Fred. They both did what any great American would do with a few days off, take a well deserved holiday. I hope those two enjoyed themselves. Both those birds are unaware of the technical advances recently made with laptops so they are unable to post while away from their houses. Come on guys, it’s the nineties, get with it!
As for me, I have been hanging out with the family in So Cal and spending some much needed time with the wife and dogs. Wood likes to keep a tiring schedule most of the time with riding, backpacking, and dog training. Sometimes the wife takes a back seat although she never complains about it. In fact, she usually encourages me to do it all. “Get busy living or get busy dying,” is what she tells me. And so I try, in large part due to her never ending support though all my endeavors, to truly LIVE life.
So pretty soon I get accustomed to her ways and start to expect such behavior. Many days surely pass without Heywood even noticing how special she truly is. Sometimes it takes a very stressful moment to realize what you have. These past couples of weeks have been filled with some extreme stress. The kind of stress that every family unfortunately faces every few years. And with all this stress surrounding the Jablome’s, there was my wife, solid as a rock. And it’s this stress that forces me to step back and appreciate what I have at home. So this past week was with my family. No computers. No blogs. No riding. Just family. Sure it was stressful and hectic. But it was also one of the best weeks of my life. I got to know my wife all over again and I loved it.
Now forget about all this mushy shit and get to the real shit with this blog. Heywood got a new ride. Wood owns a Santa Cruz Blur and loves the way it eats up single-track. It climbs fast, descends like a dream, and handles magnificent. But it lacks the 6.5” travel desired for some really big hits and fast downhill that Heywood loves to do. So last month, great wife #1 gave Woody the OK to purchase a new Santa Cruz Nomad. Unexpectedly, it came in just four weeks. That has to be an all time record for Santa Cruz. So I got a chance to take the beast out on the trails today and I am impressed. This bike just rocks!
So while riding with Big Cat and Oscar the grouch, we decided to mix it up a little today. There is a local OHV/mountain bike park that splits the days between the two sports. Saturday was for the vehicles without engines so we gave it a try. Not knowing what trails to take, we just rolled the dice and tried a trail named Murderers.
Sounds innocent enough, right? Hell no. This shit was balls to the wall, straight down with large boulders and drop offs and Wood loved it. This is kind of terrain used on downhill races. The Nomad was eating the trail up giving Wood a smile from ear to ear. I know what you’re saying, how tough could it be. Well at the bottom, the three of us run into the YETI-Fox downhill race team with Jared Graves. Yeah, the team was testing out equipment for the upcoming Sea Otter Classic next week in Monterrey, California. These guys had there team manager shuttling them up over and over in some big Ford Diesel with FOX plastered all over the sides. And in between runs the team mechanic wrenched on the bikes in the 30’ toy-hauler while they each received messages from the Swedish bikini team. These guys are the real deal and there fine tuning there downhill rigs for next weeks race on some trail that I just happened upon. Wood’s got no armor on, no full face piece and one very small set of balls. What the fuck was I doing here? These FOX dudes are going down these trails with some protective covering stolen fro
m a medieval knight.
Somehow the trio survived the ordeal without a scratch. Luck was on our side. Will there be a next time? Yeah, I will give it another go around I guess. Like my wife says, “Get busy living, or get busy dying.”
We’re back. I do ask for forgiveness from the loyal listeners (Solo) regarding the recent lack of posts from the 3 bicoastal boys. We have all been busy. Out on the east coast, there was a temporary work shutdown for Al and Fred. They both did what any great American would do with a few days off, take a well deserved holiday. I hope those two enjoyed themselves. Both those birds are unaware of the technical advances recently made with laptops so they are unable to post while away from their houses. Come on guys, it’s the nineties, get with it!
As for me, I have been hanging out with the family in So Cal and spending some much needed time with the wife and dogs. Wood likes to keep a tiring schedule most of the time with riding, backpacking, and dog training. Sometimes the wife takes a back seat although she never complains about it. In fact, she usually encourages me to do it all. “Get busy living or get busy dying,” is what she tells me. And so I try, in large part due to her never ending support though all my endeavors, to truly LIVE life.
So pretty soon I get accustomed to her ways and start to expect such behavior. Many days surely pass without Heywood even noticing how special she truly is. Sometimes it takes a very stressful moment to realize what you have. These past couples of weeks have been filled with some extreme stress. The kind of stress that every family unfortunately faces every few years. And with all this stress surrounding the Jablome’s, there was my wife, solid as a rock. And it’s this stress that forces me to step back and appreciate what I have at home. So this past week was with my family. No computers. No blogs. No riding. Just family. Sure it was stressful and hectic. But it was also one of the best weeks of my life. I got to know my wife all over again and I loved it.
Now forget about all this mushy shit and get to the real shit with this blog. Heywood got a new ride. Wood owns a Santa Cruz Blur and loves the way it eats up single-track. It climbs fast, descends like a dream, and handles magnificent. But it lacks the 6.5” travel desired for some really big hits and fast downhill that Heywood loves to do. So last month, great wife #1 gave Woody the OK to purchase a new Santa Cruz Nomad. Unexpectedly, it came in just four weeks. That has to be an all time record for Santa Cruz. So I got a chance to take the beast out on the trails today and I am impressed. This bike just rocks!
So while riding with Big Cat and Oscar the grouch, we decided to mix it up a little today. There is a local OHV/mountain bike park that splits the days between the two sports. Saturday was for the vehicles without engines so we gave it a try. Not knowing what trails to take, we just rolled the dice and tried a trail named Murderers.
Sounds innocent enough, right? Hell no. This shit was balls to the wall, straight down with large boulders and drop offs and Wood loved it. This is kind of terrain used on downhill races. The Nomad was eating the trail up giving Wood a smile from ear to ear. I know what you’re saying, how tough could it be. Well at the bottom, the three of us run into the YETI-Fox downhill race team with Jared Graves. Yeah, the team was testing out equipment for the upcoming Sea Otter Classic next week in Monterrey, California. These guys had there team manager shuttling them up over and over in some big Ford Diesel with FOX plastered all over the sides. And in between runs the team mechanic wrenched on the bikes in the 30’ toy-hauler while they each received messages from the Swedish bikini team. These guys are the real deal and there fine tuning there downhill rigs for next weeks race on some trail that I just happened upon. Wood’s got no armor on, no full face piece and one very small set of balls. What the fuck was I doing here? These FOX dudes are going down these trails with some protective covering stolen fro
m a medieval knight.Somehow the trio survived the ordeal without a scratch. Luck was on our side. Will there be a next time? Yeah, I will give it another go around I guess. Like my wife says, “Get busy living, or get busy dying.”
14 comments:
Great post Woods. You're living large!
ps, Moveitfred would wet his chamois if he saw that many boulders on a trail.
And dammit Woody, send back Moveitfred's Lion King T. You said you just needed something nice for that night out at Sizzler with the Mrs. Time's up, bro.
Woodrow:
Where was the trail? Looks like the after shot in some seventies disaster film. You've got mammoth balls, you ask me. (Of course, we're speaking metaphoriocally here oh loyal fans. I've seen woody pulling on his 8-panels pre-ride...let's just say that "big" is not a word we'd use to characterize.)
Shirt is in the mail Fred. And don't think for one second that I didn't soil my chamois too.
Al, the trail is in this OHV park called Mammoth Bar. Man its great.
Murderer is a steep and rocky OHV trail in Mammoth OHV park. There are no drop offs. If you had actually run this trail you would know that.
I did see the Fox truck and trailer at the parking area at Mammoth on Saturday. And saw a mountain biker go down on the Rocky trail
Nice pictures.... Did you happen to get them from Mtbr.com?
Thanks Chris for chiming in on this issue. Delighted to see you know how to type. So the possibly the drop-offs were on another trail, excuse me, don't know all the names. But I think our readers get the picture, this shit was vertical and technical. Well, for me at least. As far was seeing someone go down on Rocky, yeah I saw him too. Chris, watch out for that downed log next time. They can hurt when you hit them. Maybe you can be dressed in your wife’s body armor next time you ride with us.
SO, her's the thing, I (feltslave) will be in CA for the week of April 22-27th. I need some riding time. I fly into Orange County, will spend some time in Santa Cruz, Buena Vista,..you guys up to hosting an East Coast ride for a non-local?....e-mail me at feltslave@yahoo.com, would love to ride with the BC boyz!
Felt,
A word of advice. When in Cali there are other, more attractive, options to select from rather than spending one's free time with the mercurial and repugnant Heywood Jablome.
Moveitfred
BiCoastals be careful!
I've never heard of this "Feltslave" character and now he is wanting to meet up with you?!?
Look out!
This could be one of those "To Catch a Preditor" set ups that air on NBC. If you do decide to go riding with him...don't bring beer, don't pull your pants down for ANY reason (not even to go to the bathroom), and run if you see a camera crew! I think he is trying to expose/trap the bicoatals and I don't like it.
Wait a sec here.
Heywood gets all schmoopy doopy about his wife in a post, then announces he's the owner of a new Santa Cruz?
Am I the only one seeing through this obvious ploy?
I think I'll write about how great JD is, then see if I get the nod for the Athemn Advanced I really want. . .
Sheez.
Heywood honed his guise of manipulation and deceit beginning in grade school when he began using Where the Red Fern Grows for EVERY ONE of his book reports.
New year/new teacher, same report.
It's the kind of thing English grad students do while plodding through their Chaucer and American Romantics seminars.
It's and ugly, ugly cycle.
Meg,
I love my wife for teaching me to multitask which is what I was doing with this post.
Fred--
No SHIT a kid got me with that this year. He read where the dumbass red fern grows AND HE READ IT LAST YEAR TOOOOOOOOOOO. why are you telling me this NOW???
Heywood--
I dunwanna think about what you do while you blog. Some things should just NOT be multi-tasked. . .
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