Upcoming Events

"Champions of Scalleycat is a 24-hour long race hosted in the glorious capital of legalized gambling, prostitution, and 24-hour liquor stores: Reno, Nevada. Conceptualized as a mix between a scavenger hunt and an alleycat, the race is a day-long blasphemous romp through Reno on April Fool's Day of every year."

Word is the Republic of Doom is showing up en masse for this event. I think TW should represent as well and we can throw an epic polo tournament inside of their 24 hr alleycat.

Viva Durango pt. 4

I haven't written much about the Durango trip because I was hoping Dabby would pull it together and pay his debts to Disco and I. Unfortunately my optimism and trust in my fellow man was unfounded this time as Dabby proceeded to lie his way across 4 states and back.

But let's focus on the high points. It was a fun trip overall, lots of challenging riding, great weather the whole time, a great polo tournament and lots of new friends. Durango seems to be full of fantastic people. I heard the word special applied to Doom, Bailey and Chad over the weekend and I think it fits. They are all creative, enthusiastic, and incredibly skilled on mountain and polo bikes. Thanks for putting on an incredible event, I can't believe you drew so many people in such a small town.

I'd also like to thank Heather, Thad, Doom and Colin for putting us up on various nights, if you ever find yourselves near Rickreall don't hesitate to stop by. Also thanks to Russell and the Durango Cyclery and all the volunteers. I'll be back next year with a bigger and more reliable posse.

Bailey and Doom with the polo trophy. I hope Chad spells my name right when he engraves it.

At Phil's World. In my opinion the most fun of all the trails we tried. The Ribcage at sunset was intense.

A carrot made of tires and hubcaps.

Doom and Dabby at Phil's World.

We rode Greg Herbold and Bicycle Bob out of town on their way to Phoenix and Costa Rica.


An emu at Hole in the Rock.


I can't remember this guy's name but I like his style.

Viva Durango pt.3

Sheep migration.
photo by Dabby

Our boy band photo.

This trail ends in Colin's yard.

The coffin Doom made for Bailey's stolen bike, "Killer".

Dabby making himself at home at Colin's.

What a sweet crib.

Doom at the start of the Rally.
photo by Rev. Phil

Heather. Thanks for putting up with us!
photo by RP

photo by RP

At the start of the Rally.

This one is for Dee.

Viva Durango pt. 2

Team WRECK triumphant.
photo by Rev. Phil


Every picture of Chad is a glamour shot.
photo by RP

I had some trouble against Bailey.
photo by RP

Bailey on the attack.
photo by RP

Dabby had some good games.
photo by RP


Some art at Bailey's space.


The prize belt.

Hogsback from the finish line. If you zoom in on this you can see three riders on the trail.

Viva Durango

Here are a few random pictures. I need some distance before I write any narrative, but there is so much to tell.

We stopped for some sheep to cross in the Wasatch range.
photo by Dabby


This is a microcosm of our trip.
photo by Rev. Phil


Cheeney railing the Hogsback time trial.

Doom's polo hand. He also took a powerful mallet to the face and has some funny scabs now.

The crowd at polo.


Detail of Doom's townie.
photo by RP
Bruce at the beginning of the rally.
photo by RP

Viva Durango pt. zero

Our most gracious hosts Heather and Thad have made a computer available but I've had trouble uploading photos. Here are a few from memory card number one, I'll post more when I can.

Phil's first mountain bike ride. After this he skipped beginner, intermediate and advanced and went straight to gonzo.


Looking down into Negro Bill Canyon near Moab.


Footdown in the pagoda.


No one locks their bike in Durango, they just pile them up.

The bunnyhop was held on a steepish downhill, which made it more interesting. Chad looked good but it came down to a Doom vs. Bailey finals. Luckily my camera battery died before Doom got naked.

A guest post by Rev. Phil

Rev. Phil likes to type and I'm a little tired so here's a special guest post. Pictures will be added when Dabby finds the binder clip he needs to run his laptop. RK
-----------------------------

Hello biker fans. We are all still alive and kicking each other in the
gorgeous state of Colorado.

This has been my first try at mtbiking and I would say that it was
pretty advanced. We have all been licking various wounds and tonight
we will party with all our new friends that have come to Durango this
weekend. But more importantly, we will wake tomorrow with a sense of
purpose as to yet unparalleled.

Bike Polo, my friend. It is upon us like a foam-dome hat at NASCAR.
And we shall revel in it. It is the 4th annual Pologeist. They have
been playing for sometime, but few of them have ever played outside
the Rockies. We are counting on that inexperience, because frankly
none of us can keep from being winded when we really push ourselves.

Our elevation is over seven THOUSAND feet. So I hope we have
ack-la-mated enough to prevail tomorrow.

Last night we watched two impressive bike movies by John Bailey. I
have seen lots of bike movies, and these were pretty slick. "Devo" was
about 37 min and follows the youth mt biking squad from Durango, and
"Mallethead" is a documentary of the characters playing polo here.

then who knows, maybe Grand Canyon? We already saw where Evil Knevil
failed to make it across the Snake River via Rocket Car. Anything less
dangerous would not be Team WRECK.

So the road trip is on for tomorrow. Dabby and Rev. Phil are fully onboard, though I can't understand why we didn't get a fourth...who wouldn't want to spend 2 weeks in a small car with 3 loud, bald, opinionated men?
As an optimist I'm certain I'll have a good time, though I'm seeing some bad omens. I have a cold for the first time in years and today when I was riding the cargo bike I experienced increasing stiffness in the outside of my left (good) knee followed by acute pain. I tried to tough it out but I barely made it up the Interstate hill. Dee gave me some frozen black eyed peas, which I strapped to my leg with an innertube and continued on in the Audi to Vancouver for a filing at Clark County Circuit Court. I'm currently icing and elevating and I'm sure it'll be better in a few days. I've got to get fitted for that bike before I ride it again though, something is not right.

I took this picture a few weeks ago, right before it started raining. Not a bad harvest for late fall. The purple tomatoes were especially delicious. The round seeds in the bottom bowl are coriander. I get tons of volunteer cliantro every year but I never knew the seeds were called coriander. I roasted them in cast iron, ground them with a mortar and pestle and used them to encrust a nice coho salmon steak.
Not pictured are the incredibly hot jalepenos that I just picked. It was a tiny plant over in the corner and shaded by tomatoes. It didn't get much water and maybe that concentrated the flavor.
I grow lemon cucumbers every year. They remind me of my grandmother Barbara, she always grew them in her garden. We would cut them into wedges, sprinkle them with salt and have them on the side of our tuna and pickle sandwiches while we watched horse racing or football. Good times.

Road Trip

Team WRECK leaves Tuesday morning for Moab, Durango, Flagstaff, the Grand Canyon and maybe Las Vegas.
There is one seat left if anyone out there has $300, 2 weeks off work, a mountain bike, a sense of adventure and a patient, calm demeanor.

Beefa's Slowcat part 2