Offroad Explorer... On My Bicycle

It was 1973, I stepped into a bicycle shop in southern Michigan and bought a Motobecane Grand Jubilee. Battle Creek Bicycles was partially owned by my best friend from grade school who'd just returned from Vietnam and wanted to marry my sister. Yes, he gave me a special price because it was my twenty-third birthday and I had just graduated from Cal State Fresno and, he wanted to marry my sister. I took that bike and a duffle and hitched back to California. I set up camp at the south end of The Sierra Nevada, found a small cabin that I traded for ranch hand labor on Erskine Creek. Winter was not very serious that year at 2,000ft. I put a rack and a sleeping bag on the back of that French steed and explored the dirt roads within a twenty-five mile radius of Bodfish, Kern County California. Kelso Valley, Saddle Springs, Sherman Pass, Breckenridge Lookout. I was curious, healthy and enjoying self-propelled adventuring. My tires were narrow and the roads were rough but dumb-luck was with me, I had a pump and a patchkit, never once did I flat.

New Leaf...New Atitude

I'm not sure why I have been so worried about politics in America these last ten years. I am not an influencer. I'm not even an activist. I am just an opinionated onlooker. I think most government programs are wonderful. Starting with paved streets and operable sewer systems. I appreciate law enforcement, fire fighters and mental health counselors. My Social Security check is a huge help because I like to spend money on healthy food and petrol. Sure I have my preferences when it comes to politicians...I prefer that they are honest and set excellent examples of behavoir that our children can emulate as they become upstanding and powerful adults. Well, there you go...this is one big reason to be concerned with politics...example setting! Still, I love that there is a Medicare program and educational opportunities for all Americans. I believe in honor and honesty and kind of expect that in those who seek power over the rest of us. So, there's only so much I can control here...I'll just keep setting my own good example and continue treating the people around me like they are family...living by 'The Golden Rule'.

Trumpery...Look It Up

Apparently this is what we deserve... America and the World. And where it will stop, nobody knows. Hitler made the same kind of comeback in the 1930's...even after being jailed by his countrymen in the twenties. White Nationalism was the order of the day. The "impure bloods" were deported, incarcerated and disposed of. So ninety years later, here we go. We americans are better educated than any society had ever imagined. It didn't matter, we are sliding down the same dirty laundry chute that we were sufficiently warned about over and over again. So, do we hunker-down and say that "we told you so" following every bonehead proclamation and legislation that clobbers our liberal democratic system of government or, do we resist and insist on our humanitarian values and sympathetic responses to the less fortunate among us? As I have said for eight years or longer...Trumpery...Look it up.

It Doesn't Take Much For Me To Have A Successful Day

It starts with getting out of bed and going vertical. I make my way down the stairs avoiding piles of folded laundry. I feel with my toes for dog toys and balls, to the first light switch and furnace thermostat. I find a sweatshirt and pajama bottoms and move over to the coffee pot. So far, a successful morning. After grinding and brewing some dark roast, I choose a cup for the day...after coffee I'll use the same cup for a mouth cleansing serving of chai tea. The dog needs to be let out and I need to ingest six tablespoons of yogurt, for microbiome gut health. I'm on my way to a very successful day. The dog and I embark on a walk outback, which can be anywhere from one half mile to three miles depending on conditions and time available. Dog poops twice and pees at least three times, I pee once or twice depending on my morning coffee consumption...usually two cups. Lisa makes the hike with us at least one day a week but she'd usually rather stay warm at home and practice her Yoga followed by vacuuming, or vice versa. This is our typical successful morning.

Brewery Worker Dream

I was one of the first of six Sierra Nevada Brewing working stiffs in 1980. I labored there on Gilman Way until October of 1985. Ken Grossman and Paul Camusi were generous with me by letting me take Autumn sabbaticals of four to six weeks for cycling and backpacking adventures with my beautiful wife Lisa Jo. I would return to the bottling line every November and bust my butt for $5/hr through Winter, Spring and Summer until the middle of September when we would launch another outdoor escapade. Colorado River floats, British Columbia and Rocky Mountain bicycle tours, John Muir Trail backpacks. They always welcomed me back and listened to my stories. So, here we are forty years later and I have a four hour dream that puts me right back to working at the Sierra Nevada Brewery. Kenny asks me to name the next ale. I am excited to show him the label Lisa Jo and I came up with...It's called 3.2 Ale with a beautiful Sierra green background. He and Steve H. look at each other and say, "Yes, a light ale. We are ready for a light ale."

The Last Family Bicycle Shop in Northeastern California

Twelve years ago there were two bicycle shops in Susanville, one in Burney, one in Quincy, one in Graeagle and one in Chester, Ca. Of those, the only family bicycle store that remains is Bodfish Bicycles and Quiet Mountain Sports in Chester. A bicycle shop wrenches on everyone's bicycle, brings old bicycles back to life, putting them back into circulation and attempts to stock new bicycles for the whole family. Public service is high on a bicycle shop owner's list of responsibilities.....'where to ride' and 'how to ride' safely is incredibly important. You don't get that from the Big Box sellers. So, what has led to the disappearence of bicycle shops? Online shopping is number one, however, large fires have made the territory seriously less attractive to vacationing cycliists and local self-propelled wanderers. Tariffs have had an effect as well. In 2018 the Trump administration decided that tariffs on Asian goods were a good idea. Prices on new bicycles and bicycle gear increased by 20%, scaring off many who were considering a new bike purchase. The Covid epidemic should have been good for bicycle shops but the epidemic and tariffs combined to result in a serious supply-chain problem and hardware was difficult to obtain, limiting store owner options. Finally, suppliers decided to bypass small independent dealers and sell everything on-line.....at bargain prices. This eliminated already slim margins and has resulted in the disappearance of many rural bicycle shops. Bodfish Bicycles is actually operating on life-support, luckily our bills and mortgages are paid and our one employee is willing to work for minimum wage.