Back to business as usual.

Based on the comments from Monday’s post, it looks as if the topic struck an artistic and epic nerve. Now that we have that matter handled, or at the very least, milked, let’s get on with an array of the standard hum-drumness, because like Fred the Baker, it is indeed time to make the donuts;
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Kicking things off, we’ll get started with this little ditty I found while lurking amongst the interwebs at the Hellingham blog;

I’m in the process of getting myself a Klunker together. Truth be told, I have been since Vegas, but this clip turned the heat up a touch.
In news of bags and the stuff that goes in them, I have long used a beat up old Lowepro bag on my backpack, for the carrying of the camera. Two things I was always a little weary of was the zipper opening up while in transit (I’ve dumped my camera into traffic once due to this, and played chicken with a car to save it) and the strap what which holds the bag to my back pack strap was never much to write home about. After looking high and lowe (see what I did there?) for a suitable replacement, and even commissioning a local seamster to do my bidding, I still came up empty handed. As a final ditch effort, I contacted Laura from Maximo Supremo favorites, Soulrun to see if I might be able to squeeze into her production schedule. Only a week later she sent me this;
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I am really excited about this, and when I get my camera back from Canon, I can not only carry it with a secure mind, but once it is repaired will no longer have to be bothered taking photos that look like this;
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Not relating to camera sadness in the least, if you happen to live in, around or plan on visiting the Bay Area this weekend, please note that the gigantor Supermarket Sweep is having its sixth annual throw down, which promises to be a high time for all;
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To date they have organized the collection of over twenty thousand, but under a hundred billion pounds of food. Still, that’s nothing to sneeze at. If you find yourselves around, help them reach the hundred billion mark. I suspect most people who read this site could use some good karma points anyway.
Unfortunately, for my part, I will be away this weekend and gone until Wednesday the 7th of December. If you need me I will be running drugs in Mexico. If I don’t return on said date, it’s because I was killed and am most likely dismembered somewhere in a rocky and sun bleached ravine.
Thank you for your time and consideration on this matter.
Now let’s continue with business. Back in September I met the very nice people behind Boulder’s Team Alchemist. We exchanged contact information and went on our separate ways. It was just a couple weeks ago that I received a package from them in the mail containing one of their organic cotton Boss Hogg shirts;
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I thought this was a nice gesture indeed, and if you by chance have followed my scrawl since the Swobo days, then you know I am a big fan of things made of organic cotton.
Anyway, on the day that this package landed in my hands, I found it to be extraordinarily damp. It was as if my friendly United States Postal worker had transported my goods in a puddle. Never one to turn my nose up at a soggy package, I smelled it to see if I could detect the scent of urine, which I could not, then discarded the disintegrating envelope and stuck the shirt in my bag.
A short while later while enjoying some sun and snacks, I pulled my new prize out of my bag to hang it in the sun for a spell, while I made short order of my food-things. While doing so, I noted that the Alchemist hang tag was actually a small bag of wild flower seeds. Immediately I cracked the top of my man can and stuck the little envelops into the ground.
Which was then followed by smiling the smile of a dirty hippy;
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I would also like to point out that an arm warmer makes for pretty good beer camouflage;
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Anyway, regardless of the fact that they are from Boulder, the Alchemist folks are very nice people and are more than deserving of your patronage should you find yourself in need of their wares.
As a matter of fact, I find myself possibly in the unenviable position to no longer give Boulder grief about taking itself too seriously after this recent transmission from Jim;
“While it prolly can’t hold up against the Greats like the HFF, this past Friday here in the BoulderColoradowheretheytakecrossseriously some of the serious-types let their hair down a bit and commenced to partaking in some bike-n-drink jackassery; the 10th(?) sorta-annual Tour de Dewey. Here is a photographic sampling”;
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I wanna go. I wanna go and wake up with people I didn’t know twelve hours before and a headache I am all too familiar with. That is the life for me.
Another individual who hails from the Republic of Boulder is Master D. Pike. He is a person who holds a similar affinity for Burt as myself, and will send along occasional gloat-worthy imagery such as this;
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Maybe I misunderstood that particular region all along.
They might take cyclocross and night time binging and looking attractive in red and white silken body suits seriously, but to my knowledge, very few from there have chimed in on the Tattoogate, so maybe that means it’s not worthy of all this hullabaloo after all.
*Heyhey! At the 13th hour DPow! from PDW got in touch with some dark news from up in the PacNorWes;
“Some major bullshit went down here, is there anyway you can make a special post to get the word out about the NWTA trailer being stolen? Thanks man, these are the folks responsible for Sandy Ridge, etc. This is a major buzzkill.”
Indeed it is. If anyone notices some really nice trails suddenly being built in your area, check the hardware.
It is with that that I say, we’ll catch you crazy kids next week. Don’t forget to party.
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18 Responses to “Back to business as usual.”

  1. Pistil Pete November 30, 2011 at 7:30 am #

    That clunkin’ dog was rad!

  2. bikemike November 30, 2011 at 7:37 am #

    chicks shotgunning beers?
    this event has my full support.

  3. B Sauce November 30, 2011 at 8:39 am #

    Stevil. I am a little ecstatic/worried that there is a Klunker revival upon us. While it would be amazing to expose more people to the joy of riding, and caring for, the trails that we love so much, I am honestly scared that the work that has been done by the mountain bike community to improve/maintain trails and advocate for access will be quickly undone by a bunch of flannel and cut off jean wearing hip kids who will be passing a family of four on Leif Erickson like they are splitting traffic on their way to stumptown and then skidding their way down the only thing that RESEMBLES single track within city limits. But who knows, I have no third nipple and thus cannot tell the future.

  4. fomenter November 30, 2011 at 9:50 am #

    just for the record B Sauce, the flannel clad folks responsible for the above video have forgotten more about trail building/maintenance than most riders will ever know.

  5. Stevil November 30, 2011 at 9:56 am #

    I appreciate B Sauce’s perspective, as it is a very good point. However, at least as far as this video is concerned, and the trails on which they are riding, I whole heartedly agree with The Fomenter. Bellingham is an anomaly where things like this could occur because the riders don’t carry their heads in their asses. The rest of the world, not so much.

  6. HeavyJ November 30, 2011 at 10:52 am #

    “See what I did there” ? Why is that so damned funny to me?

  7. Gypsy November 30, 2011 at 11:19 am #

    Three things: #1- I agree with Pistol Pete. The clunking dog is bad ass. #B- Umm… I forgot. #3- I want me a custom titanium Sascha Sachs clunker with a killer baby blue powder coat and carbon cranks… Ooo! Ooo! Don’t forget the ceramic bearings! Oh yeah! That’s gonna be groovy! I can’t wait until I can buy a “clunking” themed artificially faded t-shirt at Urban Outfitters!
    Point? What point? What do you mean I’m missing the point?
    Sarcasm? What sarcasm? What do you mean, you don’t understand sarcasm?

  8. Karen November 30, 2011 at 1:01 pm #

    I would be remiss if I did not reply with this link to a video of klunking’s origins: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVWP6VaLtvw
    But maybe you’ve already posted this somewhere on your excellent site.

  9. cyclotourist November 30, 2011 at 2:37 pm #

    Pistil & Gypsy, have you seen Lily the rad trail dog? You’ll like!

  10. Josh RVA November 30, 2011 at 4:46 pm #

    I do believe that Stevil has been dipping into the Reddit.

  11. Stevil November 30, 2011 at 6:02 pm #

    Seriously Josh, bite your tongue. I’m not entirely sure what Reddit is, but I know for a fact I don’t care for it. Maybe they’ve been dipping into me.

  12. scooper November 30, 2011 at 9:58 pm #

    I’m a cutter I’m a klunker I’m a rocker I’m a roller. The Lily dog video kicks ass!

  13. Crank December 1, 2011 at 6:35 am #

    4:50 Ranier. Cool. Second point, I wanna fuck up my karma and come back as a dog, preferably like Lilly.

  14. daisy December 1, 2011 at 9:47 am #

    Will a 4.5 tire fit in the upcoming Handsome frame? If not can you put a change order in this late?

  15. devin December 1, 2011 at 7:09 pm #

    Be sure to post your klunker when it’s done.

  16. lanemcclain December 2, 2011 at 9:10 am #

    Dudes, seriously, the Bellingham bros are slummin’ it.
    Check out the North Valley Bicycle Park in Albuquerque for the real-deal! What we call a klunker the kids here call a bike. They slay it on no-brake-no-chain-no-seat-Wal-Mart-flat-black-spray-paint-specials-fresh-out-of-pawn-klunkers for no helmet big air madness!!!
    Oh and one other thing:
    I’m looking to trade my Yeti DJ for a 67 Schwinn Typhoon. Scammers don’t bother.

  17. Duncan December 2, 2011 at 6:22 pm #

    I really wanted to hate on the Klunker video for it’s hipster touchstones–the Tom Ritchey mustaches, shitty canned beer, and Band of Horses (all guilty pleasures of mine)–then I realized I’d have to admit that I was a curmudgeonly asshole who hates “the kids” because they’re just that–kids. Besides, these kids can fuckin’ ride.
    The whole “it’s so pure” thing has heavy echoes of the early aughts fixie feeding frenzy (there’s a blurry line between this clip and the “Fix Push” mockumentary). Once again, though–I can’t be too much of a crank about guys who can jump higher, smoother, and farther than me on a 50 pound work bike with a coaster brake and a flat tire. That is pretty fucking pure, isn’t it?

  18. Ken December 2, 2011 at 7:19 pm #

    Stolen trailer… this bothers me, really bothers me; damn, I’m bothered.