Sup, nerds?

Have I used this title previously? I feel like I have, and I feel like over the course of the last year, it’s has also been my go-to greeting any time I walk into any of my local haunts, be they the record store, bikes shops, skate shops, or whichever of the three bars I frequent. It feels right though so I’m keeping it.

I said it a few times over the course of the weekend as well, as I pulled up my britches, made like a big boy bike blogger, and actually spent a little time at the Tune Up mountain bike festival, all of which reconfirmed that A) I love my friends, B) Some well-thought out bike stuff is always pretty neat, and C) an overwhelming majority of (contemporary) ‘mountain bike culture’ is overwhelmingly underwhelming.

I’ll even go so far as to say it’s downright pedestrian.

Granted, I’ve been attending shows, festivals, camps, etc. for somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 years, and while the odd event is still capable of blowing a ray or two of sunshine up my skirt, anymore it takes a lot to dazzle me, let alone make me feel like not trying to crawl out of my own skin.

As I said however, I got to see some old friends, a couple of new ones, and it was pretty badass.

Like for example Ashley from Cosmic Dirt;

And Matt Slaven;

And the road dog’s road dog, Verge;

A couple of the good-hearted derels from Trail Boss;

And my ace homie, as well as the newest jewell of the Industry Nine crown, Ms. Amanda K. Bryan, who immediately after I took this photo gamed my phone out of my hand;

And while we’re on the topic of I9, I poked, prodded, and kicked some tires on a few of their offerings which reminded me that sometimes bike stuff is pretty cool;


I also got to see a huge array of previoulsy unseen (by my eyes) Pro Tools in what might took to the untrained eye is a carrying case for an sniper bazooka;

I also came across this little number from Syncros which I ended up calling my own;

Sénior Gon, who was the sales manager when I worked at SCB, and is now with Transition;

And then there’s this guy;

This is Garth. He’s some kind of muckity-muck at Scott bikes who I hadn’t seen since Wednesday Night Rides back in the old-timey How To Avoid The Bummer Life days;

I mean, how cool is that?

Probably the best thing I saw however was the miniature golf course;

Truly a field of dreams.

So how did all of that reportage feel? Do I still have my bike blogger douchebag (same diff) street cred?

Anyway, with all of that under my belt and feeding my heart, the dust settled on another weekend of dumb bike shenanigans I never want to do again until the next time.

Unrelated to any of those things, while on my way to a bike ride win the woods, I stumbled across a car show and these two breathtaking blueberries;


Be still, my barely beating heart.

Though it isn’t necessarily car show worthy, I also came upon this inspired family truckster;

“Get in, kids. We’re going on an adventure.”

Finally, in closing I am pleased to offer you the newest episode of Revolting;

I’m listening to number 86 I type these words and I can say with conviction that it’s not the worst one we’ve ever done, in spite of ourselves.

I hope you love it.

It’s with that I bid you the fondest of ‘late dogs’.