The Fall riding has just been wonderful! Lunch time temperatures are very mild in the 70 degree range. It’s almost even a little chilly upon departure, but feels perfect once you start generating some heat. It sure makes the hills more fun when you’re not close to heat stroke!

Vicee Canyon Rim Trail

The Fall trail conditions are another story entirely. With no rain worth mentioning all summer, the trails continue to get sandier, and washouts are becoming more and more common. I’m amazed that all the plants in the canyon have survived this long without rain! It really shows you how well these plants have adapted to this area. Especially when compared to my vegetable garden that gets cranky after only a few hours without water. Let’s hope for some rain soon!

Riding the 7 Steps Trail

The Nevada Appeal has a new story up entitled, Blogs You Should Check Out. Bike Carson is on the list! Some of the other blogs I recognize, but some are new to me. I’m looking forward to checking them out.

Dahon Bikes, one of the leaders in the Folding Bike industry, recently did a small piece in their new catalog about the Clif Bar 2 Mile Challenge. They had a hard time finding pictures, and ended up using some of mine for the catalog! Charlie and Tasha G are featured, as well as Jason G’s fixie. Pretty cool! (The picture below lost some of the colors when I converted from PDF to JPG…sorry)

Dahon Bikes mentions the Clif Bar 2 Mile Challenge and Bike Carson

The Gonads-N-Strife Bicycle Club is having another Poker Run in Reno this Sunday. Be careful if you go though, as this weekend is Street Vibrations, the annual (motor)biker gathering in Reno. There will be hundreds of motorcycles everywhere, so sharing the road will be more difficult. Also, leave your mock Hell’s Angles or Mongols jackets at home. While no violence is expected, these two rival gangs are currently experiencing disharmony!

Poker Run!

And finally, a funny story for the Commute Report. As I told you recently, we have a commuter convoy for the ride home.  The Safety in Numbers rule paid off last night during an incident we had on the way home from work.  We had made it out of the traffic, and were cruising the back streets in a residential area.  We were riding two abreast, which is legal, but when we saw a pick-up truck behind us, we moved over single file to be courteous.  The guy in the truck gave a little blast on the horn, as you sometimes get as a warning when someone passes you.   Scott J looked back over his shoulder to assess where the guy was and almost got a face full of truck!  The driver buzzed us for no good reason.  He had plenty of room to give us a wide berth.   This was obviously retaliation on his part due to his lack of patience.

I was a little ticked off and started chasing him down. I backed off a bit though as I realized I really hadn’t thought about what my plan was if we caught him, as it looked like we were going to do. Before I had time to finish my thought, mild mannered Scott J was flying past me, and caught the guy at the stop sign. Words were being exchanged. At first I thought maybe he knew the driver of the pick-up with California plates. Jesse and I rolled up on the scene, and there was a confrontation in progress! Scott was informing the guy that there was no excuse for his behavior and that he almost hit us. Scott says the guy warned him that he had a dog in the back of the truck and that he was not afraid to sick it on us. By the time I was picking up on the conversation, the guy was explaining that he’s new in town, and was not familiar with our state laws. Things got a little heated, and the driver unbuckled his seat belt. He was obviously nervous and shaken up. I wasn’t sure how things were going to turn out, but eventually we said our piece, and we rode off.

So giving this guy the benefit of the doubt, I’d like to share a couple laws of the land for anyone new in town:

1.) Attempted Homicide is frowned upon. Using a several thousand pound vehicle as a weapon is illegal.

2.) Carson City is a VERY small town. Think twice before pissing someone off. Chances are very good that you will see this person again. And soon. Quite possibly the very same time the very next day! Be courteous to fellow citizens.