Not long after I hit the publish button on this morning’s post about riding the fatty and taking pics, and how I probably wouldn’t ride until Monday due to weather and my family activities, I kitted up and went for a short Better Than The Trainer Ride™. It wasn’t the best, it wasn’t worst, but I’m glad I got out to blow the ‘Weener stink off of me.
With the strong wind finally out of the area, I headed south for a dirt road ride on the fatty on Friday. After the rain of the previous days, the roads offered up a bit of everything: tacky dirt, wet peanut butter mud, deep ruts and soggy sand. I was happy with my girthy choice in bikes and even happier with my choice of cameras (the Fuji X-T10) and lenses (the Fuji 55-200mm f/3.5-4.8). The camera and lens set up is a bit heavy for mirrorless, but when you are on a 30+ pound bike, and weigh over 200 pounds yourself, what’s another pound or so? Plus I really dug the results.
When I woke up this morning at 6:05 and checked the weather while drinking my pre-dump cup of coffee, weatherdotfuckingcom said “35, rain, snow, wind.” Yeah, that sounds pretty crap to me. So I took a last gulp of java, headed upstairs, shat out that coffee fueled dump and sat upon the throne thinking of how to get my ass outside. It was obvious to me that a ride was NOT going to happen (’cause it would surely be anything but fun), so, I was gonna have to put one foot in front of the other and do a hike around Deerfield Park. Cuss everything all to hell! You can call it a hike, but it’s walking!! WALKING!! Ug!! What’s next, Shake Weights??
Up early, do my dad stuff, eat, coffee up, do some pixel pushing, kit up and go for a ride. The air is chilly but the Weather Channel says that the winds are calm. I opt for a jacket and leg warmers just in case.
Saturday was a washout for riding, so I was looking forward to making up for it on Sunday. After the strong storms that blew through on Saturday I figured the trails would be a mix of slick mud and downed trees, so I headed out for a 33 mile dirt road ride… on the fatty. You can’t cure stupid.
Rainy Saturday. X-T10, 1/2000, ISO 6400
I woke up at 7:30 this morning; the late fall sun was just starting to think about thinking about rising to show off the dark gray of the day. I brushed my snags, washed my face, assessed the status of my numerous wrinkles, the severity of the bags under my eyes and headed downstairs to let Jake (the dog) out into the dark damp morning to do his thing. I thought about a cup of coffee but turned the TV on instead and saw that the footy didn’t kickoff until 10. Why am I up?
I went back to bed.
I had a few plans locked and loaded for my “Friday of Solitude” while Wifey and B are in Pennsylvania:
Not one of those things happened. I ended up on the trails surrounding MMCC again for 15 to 16 miles of autumn leaf surfing. Obviously this was NOT one of my plans for the day, but when I rolled out of bed, it seems I rolled out on the wrong side and stepped in a huge, steaming pile of funk. And not the good, badass kind. So, it was sort of a miracle that I got out at all.
No matter what the bike companies tell you, there is no reason to EVER ride a fat bike on anything other than snow or sand. You are absolutely fucking stupid to ride it on anything else. Yet people do–I do. I hate myself. I mean I REALLY hate myself.
A month or so ago I took delivery of a used Fuji X100S camera that I bought off of eBay for less than half the cost of a new one. I had read a ton of good stuff about Fuji X Series and the X100S. So far, to me, it’s lived up to the hype. I love the size and styling of the camera, the ease of operation and of course the image quality. It’s smaller than my entry-level DSLR and for the most part allows me to produce better photos.
There were some random showers making their way through central Michigan today. Somehow, someway, I ducked and dodged nearly every drop that fell. I’ll take that.
