To All The Fixers,

Yesterday's post was an admission of an embarrassing temper, not a complaint about driving. I love driving and I love my car. One part of the problem is my car isn't my car and it hasn't been for over a year and a half. It wasn't an issue at the old home because I wasn't dependent upon a car there and sharing it resolved many other issues. The other part of the problem is that I am now dependent upon that shared car and other people and I hate being dependent upon anyone other than myself (Hence my love of the self supported bike challenges).

The tipper, and what I woke up to yesterday, is that I'm never sure how I'm getting to work and home at any given time. How I get around is a bit like predicting the weather, never a far enough out view and an ever changing climate. That is the absolute core of my frustration. Getting to work and home should not have to be such an orchestrated ordeal.

At first glance, it would seem a motorcycle or another car would immediately resolve my issue, but it wouldn't. It would add to the frustration. Another payment, another insurance note, another vehicle's emissions to test, another vehicle to pay to repair, to maintain, to license, etc... Oil and gas. I don't want to pay for another vehicle that runs on dying technology, and batteries, in my eyes, aren't the future.

There is a park-n-ride lot about 5 miles from the house, I don't see it listed in the MTA routes, but I've sent in an inquiry. Hopefully it will be able to get me from the house to downtown Nashie and back, allowing me to depend upon my bike for the Nashie to Franklin portion. Vive le independence!

SSWC08 Moment: Downieville, CA


Rich had planned a fire road epic to a ridge line from his hell ride experience. Wayne from Yuba Expeditions put us on a more enlightened path. Our goal was the peak of Mt. Ellwell (just under 8k feet) and to ride some epic trails. Rich had the map and "led" the way. We jokingly refer to it as the "Dicky Downie Hell Hike" as we did a lot of walking on the way up. Not because of the grade (although many portions were steep enough to force us off the bike) but mostly due to the vast amount of rock present (quoth the gRant: "I am dead to rock"). Traction was great, that is until the rocks gave way underneath you and slid down the slope. So hiked we did. Rich and I were able to ride most of the final pitch to the top, as it became less shale pile and more earthen.


After climbing to the top of Ellwell and it's large boulder mass, we enjoyed a flowy fun descent that took us through tall forests and dusty, carving turns. Downieville was a dream. Looking back I wish we would have planned for one more day there. A bookending design would have been perfect. Thanks for the Downieville plan Rich, it was a highlight for sure.

photo cred: Bill the Eye (he takes spectacular photo perspectives)