by 
Its official, summer is here. To most people that is a really happy occasion. Down here in the desert it just makes me agry. It means for the next 3 months I can’t comfortably ride my favorite trails during the day. Life shifts from all day rides with your friends to getting up at 4am, to be on the trail by 5, and to be back home in the air conditioning by 8. This schedule severely cuts into my nighttime drinking fun. With the first couple days of real hot weather here it’s time to stop living in denial, dust off the old road bike, and chop some wood. I’m no road rider, but if I oversleep and can’t get on the trail, the road bike will sometimes scratch the itch. But most of the time its kind of like a half of a handjob. Just a tease.
What to do once you have already got a ride and a nap in and its still only 11am? You go to your local pub and plan out some kick ass trips. So with my laptop in hand I took my seat at the bar and decided what I’m going to spend my summer doing. It’s going to be good and you will probably hear all about it.
It seems like all the links that I found over the course of the week can all be filed under “People Doing Crazy Shit.”
My buddy Pat shot this video of some local mountain unicycle riders.
I found this over at the Sunday Bikes site, note that this kid has no peg and no brakes. Wait for the last trick. It’s worth it.
Sometimes it takes crazy, fruity nutcakes to innovate a sport, and this guy is super tweaked, but you gotta love how he is pushing the envelope in this video.
Lastly, I will leave you with this:
This weekend I will be in Bend, OR…any DC readers in that town? Let me know whats good.
Keep it dirty.
by 
glad to hear it’s finally starting to get warm somewhere. I’ll be spending the next week in the southern Utah backcountry, hope it’s hot!
i hear that there is good single track in bend, but if i were you i’d just spend your time at deschutes brewery…
It’s been pouring on and off all day today in Vermont. Appears to be the beginning of monsoon season (had one last year…lasted until the end of August). I’d take a week of sunny and hot…
Those kids are totally off the hook. Oh. My. God.
(I’d totally kill myself. Ask around. Dead sailor style right here.)
Those were some of the cleanest trails I’ve ever seen. And Ozzy? Fuck yea.
Black Sabbath with Ozzy !!!
Fucking awesome.
Those were the days…
Interesting trivia for you all, since you asked:
The name ‘dog days of summer’ comes from belief that Sirius, also called the Dog Star, was somehow responsible for the hot weather. The Dog Days originally were the days when Sirius rose just before or at the same time as sunrise, but this is not true today, owing to the continuous change in the rotational axis of the earth. Lore has it that the Romans sacrificed a dog at the start of the dog days to lessen the rage of Sirius. Dog days were an evil time (according to wikipedia )…”when the seas boiled, wine turned sour, dogs grew mad…causing to man burning fevers, hysterics, and phrensies” (ref. Brady’s Clavis Calendarium, 1813).
JQP
Looks like those kids had a good day. I’m old and fat and my bones are brittle as all fuck. I believe I will have that drink now.
Leave it to JqP to drop the PhD.
dude, those trails, SHIT. what is with that magical-ass dirt?
Sirius is already in full effect here, triple digit heat on the way. Should make for fun racing this weekend!
Wish I could head up to Mt. Lemmon for a day of cool singletrack…or whatever is left of it…And you are allowed to ride on. always a nice cure for the summer heat.
Trail builders are the fucking backbone and lifeblood of bmx. With Parks popping up everywhere like Starbucks, and the parasitic nature of street riders, a dope set of trails will always remain timeless.
nope, gnomey, my noggin is too fried to remember these sorts of facts (or lore), but i think it’s interesting. I also could not agree more since I am suffering the Sonoran wrath myself (and it’s only just beginning). Angry is a good word for it. so, thanks for the reminder to also provide sources of both fact and conjecture even when blogging. I paraphrased, truncated and cobbled the Sirius bit from:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/pets/detail?blogid=48&entry_id=28084
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_Days
http://www.space.com/spacewatch/dog_star_030815.html
JQP
(sorry if this has been posted previously, I am having computer problems and thought it was important enough to try again)
Nope, gnomey, my brain is too fried to remember such facts (if I ever knew them at all). I don’t want to give the impression that I knew this. I just find it interesting and I looked it up. I also happen to agree with it. The Sonoran Desert is beginning to flex its muscles. Thanks for reminding me that even random blog should provide references. The Sirius-Dog Days bit is cobbled, truncated, and paraphrased from:
http://en http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-
http://www.space.com/spacewatch/dog_star_030815.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_Days
jqp
…re:- “the harvest”…an archaeological dig site in the year anno domini 2643…
…“it looks to have been a site of worship where two wheeled divine beings flew through the air while facilitated by a liquid concoction called ‘pbr’…”…
…’i concur…clearly the regular population were not capable of these amazing feats’…
Nothin’ “regular” about me, bgw, and I sure as hell can’t ride like that.
…ya…neither can i but if we’re not “regular”, i guess that means we’re “special”, right ???…
…cuz, well, you know…god gave mankind the intelligence to design & build the most efficient machine yet invented & damn, if we aren’t just smart enough to use ’em…
…ain’t that special ???…
Reminds me of this Specialized Allez I scored at a thrift shop. If it were nearer my size I’d ride it. There’d be stickers on the downtube so’s it would read “SPECIAL**ED”.
Unfortunately this whole “finals” thing will be keeping me over in Eugene instead of back in Bend for the weekend. The lower trails should be prime this time of year, but a lot of the higher elevation stuff will still be under snow. Run into Hutch’s Bicycles on Columbia (westside), They’ll let you know whats up. And if the riding sucks, at least there’s 6 micro brewerys in town.
Bend; Wonderful town.
You should ask around to find Jackson’s Corner. Great little eatery with wood fired pizzas, awesome pasta, solid selection of beers, and a everyone’s welcome atmosphere.
And also McMenamins is also fun. That place has a crazy little theater, good bar, restaurant, and these Turkish Baths(think Bathhouse style)
There is good hiking/Trail running trails up-river from The Old Mill District too.
And yes, there is the Deschutes Brewery Brewhouse. Always a hit.
And if you have time, make the drive to the McKenzie River trail too. It is something like 25 miles of really good single track up the McKenzie River and then back the same way. The day we did it was warm, so we turned back 15 miles up, than raced back down to car for cold beers
Anyway, again a wonderful town…..
Cheers (hoist a Black Butte for me)
Obviously you have to hit the Deschutes brewery.
Fucking chopped wood on the Desert Classic last night with the light. Most fun I ever had on that trail. (Didn’t see any badass unicyclists though). That’s my solution to the Sonoran wrath. Night rides.
Sweet video of the Avatar rock climber and the mushroom-laden dirt they piled with shovels. Sweet, sweet shovels.
Thanks for the reminder of the Boulders. That’s a sweet spot. Buy you a beer down there anytime.
@Turkey – Boulders is pretty much my office. I live around the corner and can usually be found in there a couple nights a week
i should have an email addy for people to contact me soon, you will have to look me up when you are in my hood
Yessir, I’ll pedal down sometime. Their beer selection is unbelievable.