"Everybody takes a beating sometime."

First off (because I know most of y'all only read the first half of my rambling bullshit entries anyway), I wanted to pass on a note from a fallen comrade:

Good people of bicycles, i thank you for all the support that yall have given over the past 2 years. i knew there would be a night when i could not physically lead the way. & that night will be the 13th of this month. I ripped a 2 inch hole in my forearm by means of house remodeling. go to youtube type "a day late & a dollar short ending credits" the only difference is its on my left arm. so i sit here McCain'n it with my arm. So the show must go on, i can not lead but i can follow. few options here one: we all fakie the whole way, two: someone gives me a pump on their handle bars. three: the torch gets passed to a person willing to take the position of Moonlight Prophet. I will be on the ride, & will be able to perform the task again in December unless yall decide the other person is better and never want me back. I am truly sorry for letting yall down if i have. hate mail & love mail, & plan mail, plotting the course mail can be sent to:

simbwatz@yahoo.com

Thanks,
Damon

There you have it, everybody. The show goes on, but we get a guest ringmaster for the month! Who wants to herd bikers and drag us on a route of your choosing? This is a golden opportunity for one of you to do the Moonlight Cruise you've ALWAYS wanted to do, so if you think you've got what it takes (a working bike, loud voice, and a willingness to be in front) then drop Damon a note. Get better soon man!

On to my tale of woe and carnage. Since I finally finished my Karate Monkey, I figured it was high time to take it out on the trails. Wasting no time I went straight to the sourch of many of our local trails and pointed my browser towards the Austin Ridge Riders site, where I found out they had a 9:30am Beginners Ride on Sundays at Walnut Creek. I was running too late to bike there so I threw the monsterbike in the back of the truck and cruised up North Lamar past the new "china town" to the main park entrance, making it by 9:30 but not finding any Ridge Riders in sight as I tolled around the parking lot on my bike. I only bummed around for about 5 minutes before wanderlust overcame me and it was off to the trails for 3 hours of the most intense solo riding I've ever done.

I know I'm always singing the praises of the simplicity of the single speed/fixed gear, but sometimes complexity has its place. GEARS ARE AWESOME! They took a bit of adjusting (I'm still not 100% on derailer tuning) but I got it running acceptably and once it was going I was off like a madman! I climbed everything, bombed down the steepest slopes (even surviving the root drop), and got more air on the BMX loop with my rigid 29er than I do on my actual BMX. Unfortunately it was not all wine and roses for me as on one hairpin turn of the Windy Loop I lost my back tire over a berm and endoed into a tree, and another time I managed to get my front wheel twisted in a rut on a descent and sent myself skidding down the trail in front of the bike. I also broke my master link and ejected my chain into the woods while hammering down a descent! Being the ex-boy scout I am I was prepared for that situation and snagged the spare link I keep on me to get back into the action.

A bit of blood and grit aside my foray into the world of those wacky mountain biking types was a resounding success. Running a 2x9 with a 38t/22t combo up front let me go way faster than I should have been, while still being able to climb walls. I rode all the blue trail on the map with the exception of the Log Loops, and I don't know how the hell I managed to miss those because I really thought I followed the brand new markers (thanks ARR peeps, those are a lifesaver!) and hit 'em all. Next time, it's on!

Walnut creek gets 2 thumbs up, minus half a thumb because while it's no Veloway, the ride up there isn't the most pleasant of experiences, at least the last 2 miles of it. I didn't do it this time but I've done it before and it's rather shitty. I guess it's rather suitable that one of the best mountain biking spots in town gets a whole thumb plus a bloody stump from me, so there you have it. I haven't been out to Emma Long yet, but for me Walnut Creek is second only to the Barton Creek Green Belt if you want a great trail to rattle your brains out over rocks, ridges and roots. Remember your helmet, some of those drops are serious business!

P.S. A bike lane or a wider shoulder would be really cool, City of Austin!