No problem

I used to get upset at riders who can't be bothered with a good loud early warning. This "on your left", usually barked around the time their front wheel is visible to you, isn't a warning, it's an announcement that they just passed your sorry behind.

I've always found the W&OD to be a nice ride, aside, you know, from the pack riders. There's joggers and runners and old folks out for a walk and people out with their dogs and kids - and a bunch of middle aged tools riding as fast as they can scaring the hell out of 'em.

I've been surprised many times by the get out of my way crowd and have on occasion exchanged a word or two with them. No more.

The very honorable governor of Virginia has ordered an immediate end to a ban on firearms carried openly in Virginia state parks. 

As surprising as that is I found it even more of a shocker to find out that, if you're a licensed gun toter, you can pretty much carry a weapon on you anytime and anywhere. I thought that was only in Arizona and other states that should be allowed to secede from the union.


Damn.


Maybe it's not a big ol' gut those aging tools got there but a big ol' holster carrying some kind of semi automatic. If I was packin I'd be all up in your face too. The mystery of the asshole biker is revealed, at least in the grand state of Virginia. A Trek Madone and a Glock is an awesome combination and just knowing that they could have that combo is enough for me.


When I'm riding in Virginia and some tool passes me without warning my only thought will be, no problem.

Tattoo who two

 The Mentawai people of Siberut are a tattoo'd lot. For them it's all about nature and the soul and good spirits.

To the modern day American it's all about hipness and cool (and I speak with some authority on this subject, having recently received an iPad).

The native peoples tattoo's often tell a story (the tattoos on the Dyak tells the stories of head hunting expeditions). The late 20th and early 21st century tattootools is geared toward the "me me me" as much as it is to the "I belong to this tribe and this is our story".

I recently encountered a group of tatootools, who had just finished the feast of the Big Mac ceremony, as they darted out into the wildeSUV's, dashing across and through their grazing lanes, sending the herd into a panic.

This caused a great snorting from the large beasts. They will be huffing and puffing about the tattootools in the comments and letters to the editor for weeks to come.

The Bicycle Film Festival (who knew) has a film called "Empire" that captures the tatootools in the wild.