Author Archives → soiledchamois

Spent, But…

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Despite my family unit being out-of-town for the weekend and the world that IS Mount Pleasant, Michigan at my social fingertips, I had a chill Friday evening alone making Bolognese sauce and pasta, drinking a few beers, sitting on the porch, and watching pirated downloads of Paris-Roubaix on TV. Truthfully I was pretty spent from the day’s ride and was more than happy to go to bed and enjoy several hours of slumber which was colorfully punctuated with dreams of intrigue featuring high-priced special effects, over paid guest stars (Jason Alexander, seriously??) and random memories of young women in black leggings and running shorts shopping in the Meijer produce aisle for ripe avocados. OK, that may have been a fantasy, not a dream, but still.

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In With The New

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The other day I alluded to going down to Terry’s (my shop of choice) in beautiful downtown Alma to check out a bike. With me racing mountain bikes less and less and less and less and less and less these days, my rides of choice have been dirt road rides mixed with crap Michigan pavement. Last season when my back was jacked up and made worse by my positioning on the Jake (The Snake), I thought the best route would be to get a rigid fork and essentially make my El Mariachi a flat barred CX bike for dirt and gravel riding. Even though I usually turn to my Superfly full suspension for singletrack riding, I still couldn’t do it. The EM is too good of a mountain bike to relegate to dirt roads. So….

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Fiftyless

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There are days when riding my bike in the bitter cold, ice, snow and relentless winds of a middle Michigan winter makes me want to fellatiate a loaded .45. However there is one thing in the back of my mind (other than the handgun fellatiating) during those cold winter rides– days like today.

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The MJU II Project No. 1

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After being in the saddle every day last week (both on the road and on the trainer) and a big weekend of riding, I needed a day off the bike today. The aging and fat just don’t recover like they used to. With my spare time free to goof off, I decided to take the first roll of film I shot with the new to me Olympus MJU II to get developed. I will say finding a place to develop 35mm film in house is no easy task these days! Right now here in town we are down to exactly ONE place (Walgreens on Mission & Preston for local yokals) that doesn’t send their film out.

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To The Road Fat Man!

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Just when I thought that I would never emerge from the Stankment™–where I spent most of the week spinning junk miles on the trainer–Ma Nature threw us a dry, gorgeous, fairly wind-free day. I assumed (wrongly) that the dirt roads would be a sloppy mess after two days of heavy rain, so I opted for a 41 mile ride south of town. It was tits!

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Found Color

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After what seemed like weeks of steady sunshine–and cold ass temperatures–we here in mid Michigan have endured several days of gray skies, downpours and steady rain. The extent of my riding this week has been hour-long sessions on the trainer every day since Monday’s short 27 mile loop. Who knew you could ride junk miles on the trainer??

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Things I’m High On

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I know the title of this post suggests that this post is going to be about various sorts of glues, gases, pills, herbs and beverages that I may or may not be using to get high. As it is, I am on nothing. Sorry. But since Monday the weather has thrown me a bit of a velo-cock block and forced me to the Stankment and the trainer, so I figured I would waste your time talking about some things that I am digging right now, both on and off the bike.

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A Make Up Ride

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After a piss-poor, windy and cold ride on Saturday I was in need of a good ride. I had hoped that would have come on Sunday but waking up to an inch of so of heavy, wet, sloppy snow changed my mind and had me hunkering down to watch football and make a VERY nontraditional Easter supper of meatball sandwiches and oven fries. Thankfully I was able to make up for weekend’s lack of quality enjoyable riding with a semi-good ride today.

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