First dirt

This is just a post about a bike ride. Friday’s post was actually important, so if you haven’t done so already, read it first. Buckwheat needs you more than I do.

Folks up in the Mad-Zoo Valley had their spring gear swap and mountain bike festival on Saturday, complete with an afternoon group ride guided by Fat Bikes builder Mark Gronewald. The trails were soupy, but we managed to pull off a mellow-but-fun little cruise on some durable double-track with a nice little section of dry singletrack.

Mountain bike tires actually rolling on dirt in April, in Alaska. Not bad. I don’t usually touch a trail until late May.

It was a fun crowd of new faces, and a few familiar ones. Adam showed up with his wife, Jo-Ann. Alan was there. DaveIT shared the ride up in my 4Runner, and Leonard was there being ... well, Leonard. Sticking his face in my photos, sharing his stash of chocolate, trying to mess with my shifters and teaching me all sorts of names for disturbingly unmentionable sexual practices.

Some people read serious articles in The New Yorker and grab a dictionary when they come across words they don’t recognize. I ride with Leonard and then go home and use Google to look up the names of acts that are probably illegal in most states, and probably not recommended in most relationships that last more than one night.

OK, so Leonard's no Malcolm Gladwell. At least he has better hair.

And the bike-blogging world got a tiny bit smaller Saturday when I got to meet Michelle from Chain Driven. She’s still recovering from shoulder surgery, but finally got some slop on that sweet new Santa Cruz Juliana she had built this winter.

Shiny stuff with a splash of mud.

That’s a good combination.