Beep Beep Vegitation Fire...San Benito County

We dreaded hearing those words from the King City CDF Dispatch Center because we knew how hot, steep and miserable that country can be. As a 20 year old it really made you second guess your decision to not go off to college and instead work for federal minimum wage with 200' of hose strapped to your back. For some reason it all made sense once the fire was winding down, the Kentucky Fried Chicken was delivered to the fire-line by Marlee, and all the wonderful sights and smells of the Gabilan Range could be enjoyed. I learned how to fight fire on all those god forsaken roads while assigned to the San Benito / Monterey CDF Ranger Unit. Now I simply enjoy the memories and all the silky roads that I took for granted all those years. I would like to thank Division Chief Phil Matteson, Battalion Chief Don Lawler (retired), Captain Steve Beniot (retired), Battalion Chief Jeff Row (retired) and Captain Karen Griffith (retired) for teaching me the BEU (drip-torch & a shovel) version of wildland fire behavior.

AC enjoying some super early San Benito sunshine.

Bicycle Inn Boogie...

with the Bloom Creek Brothers

These sultans of soul have been enjoying life on the bike for a decade or two or three or four. I used to love checking out the photo of Harry that was hanging on his wall at the Bicycle Inn of the  LA Games Olympic Road Race coarse with him standing on the sideline and Alexi in the background putting the wood to Bauer. The question is, does he still have it?

Tour De Trump 1989

 

           Dag-Otto: "this is nothing like the Tour de France by the way"

           Donald: "where is the Tour De France?"

         

Patching Tubes - What would Jobst say?

I became a believer of patching tubes decades ago after pushing my blue and yellow lugged Fuji down Highland Drive for a couple of miles after a botched puncture repair on my final tube. My "enlightenment"(verbal evisceration) was inspired by a 6' 6" surly dude on a yellow Peter Johnson with fastback stays drinking a liter of coca cola. Let's just say he was not impressed that I was pedaling alone without a patch kit. I had run into Jobst Brandt on mountain roads over the years but never had the guts to chat him up because I knew he adhered to the -don't speak unless spoken to policy. Luckily I was schooled by Andrew Carroll in the art of tube patching while watching Breaking Away in his bike shrine on McDonald Road during the 80's. I felt confident that Jobst would give our technique a thumbs up. The only criticism I received was for taking too long to let the glue dry - give me a break I was using Jobst Brandt's personal glue stash, it was like asking to barrow Charlie Hunter's guitar so you can poach a couple of strings off of it. 

 

Finally got around to these beauties tonight
 
RIP Jobst

Ride Boss in good company

 

Lemond, Price, Moser, you know...the boys