xcrament

Wed late night phone call:

Me: “I need you to mark me off sick ”

Work: “No problem, will you be back to work by friday?”

Me: “No im pretty ill, more like Monday”

A few hours later and after a similar call to his employer Pat showed up at the house and we were off to catch a 5:25 a.m. flight to San Diego. Within minutes of touching down Mark and Emery swept us up and we were crossing the border at Tijuana into Mexico.

Its a good thing we rode Honda’s because Pat splurged on a full matching Team Honda kit. Waldo set us up with bikes and a place to change and just a few hours on the west coast we were off

Just a minute ride from Waldo’s place we had to stop and see the new house being built in the neighborhood

See that huge bag Mike lugged with him. He has a “real” camera that takes REAL high quality images that can be seen here:

oooooohhhhhh yyyeeeaaaaahhhhhhh

I carry a beat up, piece of shit, point and shoot camera in my pocket and capture the moment on the fly. That being said some photos on here were stolen from his site but there are tons more so go check them out

Taking a break in what little shade the desert had to offer. The heat combined with the real rocky section (Mike is standing on the trail) and getting slightly lost made this part of the first day a real eye opener for Pat

Lost in the desert, 100 degree heat, Mike’s mind is still thinking Extreme Parkour 24/7

Uninvited guests… just let yourselves in

Getting slightly lost and avoiding being stranded by an imposing mechanical issue with Mark’s bike, we ended up doubling back a bit and changed our weekend route entirely. We headed for Ensenada (the city we intended on ending up in for our last night) where Mark has friends who can help remedy an unavoidable mechanical failure on his bike

Since there are no rules in Mexico riding the highways on unlicensed off road machines is allowed, so i assume so is taking pictures and even texting while driving for that matter

After a stop at a friends place to borrow another bike we called it a night, grabbed a hotel, shower, and food in Ensenada and discussed our new route since Day 1 did not go as planned

Good morning Ensenada

Picture Me Rollin’

He sells candy. From his store. Its located on his head

This guy was a little shy but i found the fast track to his heart with a mexican twinkie

Mikes view

My view

Follow this driveway for an hour and find Mike’s Sky Ranch

Its a small oasis in the middle of absolute nowhere

Retired

My spanish is a little poor but I am pretty sure he said “helmets and boots are for pussies” as I rode by

Offered up my services for a wet photo shoot

Here is what you get when you are hours away from civilization and ask “Any gas for sale?”

I stole some sluts sticker

Leaving Mike’s Sky Ranch the back way (you can vaguely see his trail out)

This dude was all smiles and rep’d this dirt beard from start to finish

Our mission was to spend the night on the beach at this legendary  Surf break/Surf Hostel. Thats the remains of a 50ft. Grey whale that washed up and he collected its remains

Oh and this little thing

Its quite a ways off the beaten path and footsteps away from the water

“I’m going to test out the ham-hock”

Richard (right) is the owner and creator. Bought the land in 1980 and has been building it up ever since. All jokes aside…This dude is living the dream

Woke up to a tall fresh pot and it was time to test out our land legs

Pick your Poison….wall of loaner boards

These never leave the elements and lack certain things, like the ability to roll

Once Richard realized we could actually drop in and carve around his bowl he brought his boards from his own private collection that he kept in the house. Session was on

Just moments after this I left a full imprint of my entire body in the deep end and in return a sore rack of ribs for the next month

According to those worn out tightie whities the winds are calm

Spicoli

Got hustled by some locals at the first gas stop

Back to the beach

Traffic

Fun hill climb. Mike awaits the climb (small black dot in middle of road). Pictures and Video never capture how steep some things actually are. It appears nearly flat in the following video. Clearly it isnt

Back to Ensenada for a long night of food, drink and laughing for hours

Bought a few gifts for lovedones back home from a guy on the street

Home Sweet Home. Having to give up his loaner bike in Ensenada we made chose to limp back to Waldo’s with Mark’s original bike which was basically a ticking time bomb

Public pissing is the new “planking”

What to do when someone says “make yourself at home”

The best attention whores

Always reminded that anything goes down here

The line to cross the Border was over an hour long but highly entertaining. You can buy ANYTHING

even puppies

or catch a juggling act

Topped off the trip with a backyard ramp session at our west coast pad in San Diego

Ramp Dawgs

All of the parties involved will be meeting for a similar journey once again. Sooner before later

if time and my patience werent already running thin i might try and figure out why all the images are different sizes and what not

Day 1

Running into to this gang on a back road from the airport is a great way to start a vaca

dropped of our crap and straight to the local beach

it was crowded

a view from our patio with an evening storm a brewing

DAY 2

according to a local you can jump off if you know “where to land” because it is pretty shallow but since no one else was doing it I didnt want to search for the landing zone the hard way

he was local but didnt know either

3 years of spanish didnt teach me what this Iphone app did in seconds

hike down to another busy beach

rescued this beached little guy. he was moving but not getting far

poolside sunset from home

DAY 3

Filadelfia

traffic

Playa Grande

posted up

staked my claim

if im stranded on a deserted island and can only have one survival item i would like a straw

Local Surfer owned Taco stand on the beach had critters on the roof

but security kept a close eye on them

we decided to head back to a local beach and ended up spending the afternoon with this Fam of Howler monkeys

Clearly the male

Mother and child

ever hear one?

Day 4

one the road early to the  Arenal volcano. This is Lake Arenal

a view from Cafe Macadamia. Best eats on the trip. Stopped on the way in and out.

second time here and yet it still doesnt seem real

we spent the night at the Observatory Lodge at the Base of the Volcano which is active.

jungle hike

had a brief encounter with a small group of Spider Monkeys

finished it off the day with a night at the Tabacon Volcanic Hotsprings. Have been before and will def be there again

DAY 5

Kim insists on going on a Zip Line tour every time. me being the “extreme sports” enthusiast is always happy to oblige

10 cables. some over 3000ft long and almost 1000 ft high. speeds of 40-50mph= FUN

if your form sucks or you bitch out and slow yourself down you get stuck in the middle of the cable like a chump. prepare to be laughed at by seasoned professionals like ourselves

graf for a cause

drove back and watched an amazing storm from a distance

i cant believe my beat up old point and shoot documented this so well

DAY 6

Playa Danta

try and blend in with the locals

Playa Avellanas

dead sea turtle lunch

my charm has the same effect on bitches everywhere

Kimberly plays lifeguard

fruity drinks on Playa Avellanas at Lola’s

passed this operation on the way back

a tree that big falling in a cemetery had to wake the dead

saw this hungry little lady walking the road and immediately pulled over and fed her everything in the car

DAY 7

A day hike at the Rincon de la Vieja National Park

Rincon de la Vieja, the largest volcano in the country’s northwest, comprises a remote volcanic complex in the Guanacaste Range. At least nine eruptive vents are located within a 15-kilometer-wide caldera.

Basically everything was boiling

hot exploding mud pots

came across a group of White Faced Capuchin monkeys

then back to the crowded beach

with friends and babies

mango thief

youngster

i proudly endorse Dihatsu vehicles. we beat the balls of this little buggy once again

waiting for that perfect sunset pic

last night and every night ended in the pool. huge thanks to my cousin Tom and Laurie for the use of their place. anybody who wants to go feel free to contact me and I will pass on their info to you. and Kim and I would be happy to lead guide you on this same type of adventure if the timing is right

Last fall Brett (http://theseourwasteddays.blogspot.com/) and I tossed around the idea of pedaling and camping along the abandoned section of the PA Turnpike out in mid/western PA.

“The Abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike is the common name of a 13 mile (21 km) stretch of the Pennsylvania Turnpike that was bypassed in 1968 when a modern stretch opened to ease traffic congestion in the tunnels. In this case, the Sideling Hill Tunnel and Rays Hill Tunnel were bypassed, as was one of the Turnpike’s travel plazas.”

Word spread quickly and a few other thrill seekers piled on.

as always any great action photos are lifted from Brett’s site. Guy has impecable timing behind the lense and this wheelie in flops is a prime example (basically all good photos in here are stolen from wasted days)

hang on to your lid

1 mile and already Dehydrating on the neighbors landscape

Pre-ride profiling

This tunnel is over a mile long. There is no sign of a “light at the end” to be seen

huge ventilation fans

the ventilation shafts are pitch black and run the length above the tunnel. i brought road flares for fun

onward.

a mile or so later

open road

as usual all caution to the wind and setting up for something big

living life on the edge. one handed into on coming traffic. no bigs

Tunnel #2

post ride (that was easy) profiling

Warmest days of summer = bath water

roughin it with fake meat for those who dont, and real for those that do.

dudes

great hottest weekend of the year  getaway with great peeps.

Mikes Sky Ranch is almost a Baja Museum with every window and door plastered with stickers from years of baja racing history

 

dont forget to go to http://emeryphoto.blogspot.com/ too

back on the baja race course

sign should read “No Traspassing unless you have wire cutters”

we are going that way

follow this cattle path for 20-30 miles and it leads too

 

rock climb

 

 

 

 

“dropping”

terrorizing a vacant beach in the middle of no where

 

finally led this horse to water

 

food

real crab burritos recommended by the owner

the same guy who asked us to proof read his drink special list for the upcoming  baja 500 race in two weeks

 

back to the race course

 

5th gear wide open is sketchy in the loose stuff

 

 so we pull into a city on the beach called Ensenada and Mark asks if we want to ride more along the beach. hop a sidewalk and picture people walking, hanging out, volleyball games and 3 idiots on dirtbikes

 

 

 

then a few block ride to our hotel in the city

from our balcony (look closer)

 

typical street vendors all pedaling the same garbage

 

well it wasnt all garbage

 

trying to blend in with the locals

 

 

who else could pull off a NO FEAR drugrug

not sure what gave it away but right about now a local asked us where we were from because we “dont look mexican”

so mark tries to “look mexican”

and i do my best to blend in with the locals as well

 

our balcony below the neon…we were in the Happening spot

 

mikes brother he never knew he had

 

car load of “working girls” below our balcony. the one was 6’5″ and looked like Dee Snyder with the adam’s apple to match

 

sleep…

morning

VIP garage parking, cant have these things getting dirty

 

out of town and into this awesome pine forest

 

gas station

self-service

 

watersports

 

mike has much better pics

 

drenched

this pine forest was seriously one of the nicest places i have ever been

rock hop

 

 

 

Mike crossing the border. “No i dont have  NO FEAR drugrug to claim”

USA

Miles Covered: 615

Days in Mexico: 3.5

Near Death Experiences: lost track

Bad People encountered: Zero

i have dirt and sand in places i havent washed in years. i cant believe it took me so long to get there but it wont be long till we go back. this was just a warm-up. next ride we are already talking over will blow this away.

 

i go to work when im sick so i can use my sick days for stuff like…leaving the country to ride dirtbikes. since the first time Mark rode the baja in Mexico he has been telling me non-stop that i need to experience it for myself. spending four days riding hundreds of miles of the hardest terrain through the most desolate areas of a foreign country doesnt sound like a vacation to most, but i knew mike “party boy” emery would enjoy this trek. with all the news reports of violence, kidnapping and corruption in Mexico my last phone call before crossing the border was too my mother who laid down the law “dont hang out with any bad people”.

all loaded up and making a run for the border

 

all laced up and ready to cross the border.  literally rode through Mexican border on the bikes into a city called Tecate. right through the city streets to the highway and then out into the hills. i couldnt believe it was legal

we ended up riding 30 miles into the country the first afternoon to a small village/ hotel so that first thing friday morning we could really get on our way.

milk jug gas station

 

mother and her young welcoming committee

like father like son

 

would you follow this guy into the interior of a foreign country?

this mongrel followed us to our room

 

Mike has a “real” camera he lugged along. for “real” high quality photos of our journey go here : http://emeryphoto.blogspot.com/

as authentic mexican as you can get

DAY ONE:

miles traveled: 3000 by air/ 30 by moto

near death experiences: zero

number of “bad people” i hung out with: zero

 Since there is no possible way to really capture the difficulty and technicality of racing or riding in the baja i did a quick video search and posted the first video i found so you can get an idea of what a 200 mile off road day of baja really is like. its beats the shit out of you

 

suns up. lets roll

a well known breakfast spot in the village of Ojos Negros

 

circus is in town

 

if you ride a “moto” all the locals assume you are a pro racer and all they want are stickers. it doesnt matter that they have no idea what the stickers is. mark makes friends with the natives. 

 gringos

miles and miles away from civilization we came across a local woman and infant who was stuck. she nearly drove straight into this hole which was easily 10 feet deep.

stopping for a second to take it all in. the miles we covered and the speeds we were traveling made it hard to take any pics of the actual riding. these were literally cattle trails, farm roads, river beds, mountain trails that are hundreds of miles from any sort of civilization

 

 

the gas station attendant at this fuel stop spoke very good english. when Mark commented on it he explained that he had lived in the States for years before being deported after being caught with “a little bit” of weed. when i asked what “a lil bit of weed” was he said 200 lbs.

all fueled up… back to no mans land

 

this is along the driveway of our destination for night number two. the world famous Mikes Sky Ranch. his driveway is 30 miles long over dirt, rock, streams up and over numerous mountains and valleys.

welcoming committee

 

pool was empty for painting which sucked

 

garage kept

this place only has electricity when they start a generator as the sun goes down and they let it run for just and hour or two and that it.

 

the water crossing on the way in and out is NOT optional. after a rain it is measured by feet not inches

we were pretty beat after the day that we couldnt wait for the sun to go down so we could go to bed

DAY TWO:

miles traveled: 205

near death experiences: 5 (blowing turns at high speed into ravines or hitting random cattle in the trail)

number of bad people encountered: zero

 The Loyalsock Trail (LT) is a 59.3 mi (95.4 km) hiking trail along Loyalsock Creek in Lycoming and Sullivan counties in north centralPennsylvania in the United States…and just a few miles a our mountain home

(photo: Glenn?)

Our plan was to park a car at two separate lots  and leisurley cover about 13 miles of it on an overnight hike.

 

its just a hop skip and a jump

only guy with his aqua socks

pick your line

up

 

braving the class V’s  at Haystacks Falls

lunch bunch

family

stolen from http://theseourwasteddays.blogspot.com/

Sones Pond

 

gator

loyalty

artsy

statue pose

wiener

10 miles = ready for dinner

 

a nice home for the night right by the water

 

waiting for the sun to set

Temple of the Dog cover shoot. new album 2010

eats

 

illiteracy

outlaws

 

one man tent + zero degree rated sleeping bag + one dog + one dude = steamy situation

 breakfast

wake the neighbors

gotta love the spent shell ejection from the over/under 12 gauge

ejection

 

many a fun days of shooting have been had

the next 36hrs he looked like this

Great two days or so. Tight crew. Great weather. Just say the word because my stuff is still packed and for sure Harley will go

After a stellar year in Colorado last year at this time with ort long time friends and wonderful hosts…it took Brett about 2 seconds to think about his reply when i asked if we were gonna do it again

 

first morning we got right to work…but were snowed out at stop #1

 

with a little shoveling and some sun we made some stuff happen at stop #2

snow pants and hiking boots…

the runway

all pics that look like Me were stolen from  (http://morewasteddays.blogspot.com/ and lisaandjersadventures.blogspot.com)

shoveled out an approach to the up/down ledge

off to snowshoe in the rockies

look back at the previous picture

 

frolicking on a frozen waterfall

wrong day to wear your antler hat

 

next A.M. off to Breckenridge with the occasional Bighorn sheep along the road

the most accurate way to test snow depth

it was windy, cold and snowed pretty much the entire day

 

 

 

Vail was crowded

under the rope = unopened, untracked, and off limits. its the first place we went

shit was knee deep

i spent way too much time trying to rotate this photo and its just not happening

in case you didnt know who The Skipper was

 

we were greeted at the bottom of the slopes by these mongrels

this lil lady instantly fell victim to my charm

meet Mom and Dad

 

early morning Copper Mtn jet stream

it was sunny and warm. tons of snow in the trees but the hiking the park was where it was at

this looooong multi-level box was well worth the hike

 

back to the woods…guess where i just came from

 

taking a moment to reflect

we spent 3 nights in this slope side condo in Breckenridge

cable TV, fireplace, full kitchen, jacuzzi, 2 shitters…it was perfect

the next morning we were preparing to go ride backcountry on Loveland Pass and we caught this on the news

this was literally where we were going. and didnt deter us

 

said “avalanche” remains in the upper left

 

 

 

i found this natural tree wally and got in the way of lisa taking a pic of brett (see next pic)

 

 

or brett taking a pic of lisa…either way i got in their shot

back country kicker session

1 jump. 2 angles. 1 tweaked out method

Long day at Loveland is capped off with 55 degree temps and a session at the denver park

some snow in crucial spots but plenty of skateable stuff available

maximizing board time on this trip we stopped at one more spot n the way to the airport. (thanks lisa for letting me abuse your cruiser)

just like last year it was another perfect trip. tight crew. everyday maximized. unbelievable hospitality. great weather. see you again in 2010

This past weekend was an event organized by the Foundation formed by not only the most accomplished cyclist in history but also a cancer survivor Lance Armstrong. It is a “challenge” and not a race in order to raise awareness and donations for cancer research. Some 6500 participants raised over 3.2 million dollars for the cause. Out of all the participants only one was dumb enough to “challenge” himself to the 100 mile ride on a single speed/fixed gear/brake less track bike.

My Motivation: My grandmother who had 3 battles with cancer and who I recently lost

Kim’s mother who we tragically lost so prematurely

Ray and Big Al. Two long time close friends who have both battled and won

My Inspiration:

Earlier this year some of the Mash SF crew rode the Tour of California. 6 Riders/9 Days/750 miles. Absolutely ridiculous. This preview video says it all. Definitely earned tons of respect.

The Ride: “The total climbing elevation for the 100 mile course is 4,337 feet.”

My Ride:

needs some TLC after the ride

My story:

Overall I had a good time.  I definitely got a few looks standing in line for 100 mile ride with my bike but it was all the motivation I needed. Having never done a century ride I wasn’t sure if one with over 4300 ft of climbing was the right ride but it was for a good cause. The announcer pointing me out as we left the start line was kinda funny too. I think most of the doubters new I was for real as I was passing them on the 1st long climb and didn’t turn off at the 70 mile ride mark and followed the signs for the 100. The highlight of my day was the Landis Store climb. It is about 58 miles into the ride and climbs around 500 vert. feet in a mile. I pedaled by at least 30 people walking there expensive, geared road bikes up the climb.  As soon as the devil (guy dressed as the devil directing traffic at an intersection) saw me coming he began heckling all the walkers as the “fixed gear guy” pedaled on by them. I refuse to get off my bike and walk. I will have to fall over before I give up and get off. I definitely answered a lot of questions and received a lot of praise and respect from fellow riders as the day went on. The term “you are a better man than me” was heard dozens of times as I was passing riders yet all declined my offer to trade bikes. coming into the finish the announcer told me to “slow my roll” for photo ops. it was when I skidded sideways he realized I was “the fixed gear guy” and the place went nuts as he called it “Philly or NY type skills” which was funny.

I heard dozens of times “What’s with the long sleeves?”

My reply “I have 3x invested in my tattoos as you do your bike”

I finished in around 6.5 hrs riding time. i ran 48/16 gearing which meant i really needed to keep my momentum going up each climb which is why I was passing everyone on the up hills. It was a leap frog effect. I passed them going up, they passed me coasting going down while I was pedaling my ass off.

Thanks to all who donated, all who inspired, and here’s to all who motivated. Whats next?

While pedaling this a.m. up the Macungie mtn. I heard some loud rumbling while I crested the top. I had seen the following link sometime ago…

 

There is a big powerstation on top of the mtn and i got to see this in action. i had a conversation with a PPL worker about what they where doing, and what I was doing. Apparently the second helicopter was filming a TV show for the BBC called “Invisible Industry”. I had my phone so grabbed a few crappy pics. Being 150ft away from watching this guy hanging out of a helicopter, getting zapped and clipping onto the wire is fucking cool.

Guy even gave me his card. I wish I had a business card that was this cool.

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This event…
One of the oldest rally races on the schedule, Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally (commonly known as STPR) began in 1977. It is not only the oldest, but it is also the fastest rally in North America. With roads consisting of clay and gravel, the course is slippery, fast and extremely dangerous. Drivers travel at speeds reaching 100 MPH through densely wooded roads. The speeds combined with the dangerous course ensure that this rally is not for the feint at heart.

Takes place not too far from my place in the mountains of north central PA. The right thing to do is round up a bunch of dudes, tons of food, guns, and disappear into the middle of nowhere for a weekend.

The early risers get to see the cars lined up in starting order in downtown Wellsboro

Starting 1st and who everyone wants to see. Ken Block

and 2nd. motorcross and xxxtreme sport legend Travis Pastrana

Travis

Ken Block. (the man behind the wheel in the following vid)

 

Dave Mirra (i think he is only famous for hosting Real World/ Road Rules challenge?)

The race consists of 15 timed stages on friday and 15 stages on saturday. all cars must be street legal because they drive public roads to and from each stage. this is the start in downtown Wellsboro

No shame in his photo game…Metal J right up in it

On our way to spectator area but following a racer who clearly lost his bumper on friday.

For those that dont know the stages are timed and the drivers  have never seen or driven these roads before. Stages vary in lentgh but can be up to 15 miles of gravel mtn. roads and they rely on instructions from a co-driver who is relaying information off a map. Therefore roll-overs, wrecks, collisions with trees/rocks/etc are very common.

The first spectator area we made it to was on stage 4. This is video I took of Ken Block.

Travis Pastrana

not positive but i think this guy was smuggling horseshit under his stupid hat

waiting at stage 9…The Dudes (L to R):  Barold, Metal J, Bagger, Papa Bear, Shitbag, Chuckles. (the last of the crew not pictured was the photographer)

Stage 9 was a tight 180deg. turn. Take notes on the following of how to properly handle the situation

Ken Block (note his rear bumper is missing which was attached in the previous vid of stage 4)

Travis kills it

this pic was captured during the above video of travis by mike and his $900,000,000 camera he borrowed from his employer.  Def the sickest shot he got. (peep the glowing red hot brake rotors)

this guy has apparently spent some time bouncing off rocks and trees

VW love

competitors are allowed only 15min. before the last stage for repairs. ken’s crew awaits his arrival.

back to the homestead to shoot shit

“PULL”

Grillin, Beer, Marshmellows…Man type shit

7 dudes, racing, guns, steak = Meatfest 09′

Sunday a.m….more guns

sunnin’ them titties

digging a 12gauge slug out of some lumber

found

its obvious why ladies find him “dreamy”

i found my new hat at a gun store in the middle of nowhere and it was the best find of the weekend

shotguns use shells, this guy uses silver bullets. tap the rockies

over 400 empty shells is evidence of why it sounded like World War III at my place.

great weekend. hoping it all goes down again next year

 

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