Tuesdays with Dirty: Apen’ ain’t easy

It’s true, Apen’ ain’t easy. I decided a while back that I’m going back to Cali to act a fool durring the mountain stage of the Tour of California. Since its always a little depressing to drink alone on the side of the road, I put the call into the Evil Canadian to meet me. He was down for the road trip, as always, and it was game on. I left Thursday after work and drove straight through the night to Big Bear. At 2am I pulled into Rim Nordic parking lot to make camp where I found 2 guys on singlespeeds, shredding trails with lights on, and drinking Southern Comfort on the rocks out of a Martini shaker. My people.

Lets take a second to talk about Rim Nordic. The Canadian got ahold of the proprietor, Bev, through a friend of a friend. He asked if we could camp there for a couple nights and she was all for it. She didn’t ask me for a dime in return and was just genuinely happy to have us there. If you are in the SoCal/AZ area you should take the road trip at least once this year to check them out. The are way up in the cool pine trees, run a race series, and the trails are incredibly fun. C’mon tough guys, they even have a Super D. I’ll be there. It has been a long time since I have felt so welcome by complete strangers.

The stage itself was pretty cool, and I must admit, it almost felt like a real pro tour stage race. I bet if this stage was on a Saturday or a Sunday it would have been jam packed with people.  But even so, there were some great fans out there like these guys, and he is completely serious about that moustache. They looked like the most rowdy group so proceeded to hydrate with the PBR’s I had in my paniers. Once I felt properly hydrated it was time to move on to the Gubna. Holy Shit. Best beer in a can EVER. Get some, and enjoy while pedaling. 

From there, things went downhill fast. I proceeded to get in the ape suit and try to represent DC the best I could. A quick thanks to Mark over at cyclingnews for capturing some memories for me. Because really all that I can recall is asking Andy Schleck why he was going so slow and him giving me the stink eye. Oh, and I remeber  this too:

broad with the ape

It was tempting to go to L.A. to see the TT on Saturday. But I took into consideration how much I despise that town combined with the raging headache I had the next day and decided it was wise to just go to Joshua Tree and chill out.  I’m pretty sure I made the right choice. Thanks again to everybody that made this past weekend so much fun. Until next week…keep it dirty.

About Dirty biker

I am a fan of singletrack, singlespeeds, single women and single malt. Bisbee, AZ - Follow on Instagram @dirty_biker

9 Replies to “Tuesdays with Dirty: Apen’ ain’t easy”

  1. Ever notice that almost ANY situation can be vastly improved with the addition of a gorilla suit? Ride on, DB.

  2. DB: Awesome job representing DC at the ToC! Thanks for making the wait for the race so enjoyable. Andy may have given you the “stink eye,” but his leisurely pace after being shelled by the breakaway allowed him to show his full appreciation for the Faye Wray you are holding in the picture. I have a whole new level of respect for him.

  3. …some chicks just really dig hairy dudes…

    …you lucky ape !!!…