Keep Your FIngers Crossed.

After I read this article in the Colorado Springs Independent I've started developing heartburn worrying that the Mccain campaign might do anything to win this election. Its happened before, in 2000 (and maybe 2004) Florida, I'm looking at you, no more more shady shit!
Bill Maher has a fabulous segment on "Real Time" called exit strategy that I'm starting to take a lot more seriously.


Someone please reassure me I'm being paranoid.

Please?

Into the Wild Blue Yonder!

Since I did not get out for a ride this weekend, and never got around to posting my ride from last weekend, I'll put my Air Force Academy ride up now to fill in.


Since the whole trail is contained within the boundaries of the Academy, it is referred to as the
after the school Mascot. Incidentally I ran into this little guy on a flight between the Springs and Denver a couple years ago. Apparently this falcon did not make the team and was on his way homeThe Stadium from the freeway.

And from the backside where I parked. No game today.
This is the first stretch of down. Pretty short. I almost rear ended a deer here. Big one too, 6 points or more on his head. Fortunately I think it was as surprised as me and it took off.
This little cabin is way off in the boonies. No roads or anything near by. I don't know if anyone who doesn't ride the trail here even knows it exists.
A rough section! Pretty rare at the Academy. I don't know if the cadets who goof off get sentenced to trail maintenance or what, but the trail is always freeway smooth and as soon as a bermed corner starts to develop their leveled off. I think this is to keep bikers slower since so many cadets run on the Falcon Trail.

Nice day for a ride.


New England?
The only two technical sections, on short up...


....and one short, steep down. I have yet to clean the up, and I'm not willing to try the down, even when I rode here with the guys from Ascent. The down section is a "high price of failure" spot, especially with my broken ass body.

This is a neat spot, in a creek bottom right up against a cliff.
Wear your helmet. This could come loose any time.
Real narrow squeeze right at the end. I'm not even sure this is "rideable" I always scrape something here, pedal, bar end, knee, elbow etc.
This is the start of "The Climb" the only really challenging part of the trail. You can see it on the profile. Its unrelenting. Not technical, but it just gets steeper and steeper, and the switch backs are all loose powdery dirt that makes climbing them a bitch.

Some A-hole practically blew me off the trail here while he was descending. Up-hill has the right of way ass. But revenge would be mine!
Obligatory view shot. Not much to see here actually, the trail is behind or at the bottom of mountains most of the time.
Communication towers at the top.
The Top!
Now we go down hill fast for a bit. Snow is already forming in the shady spots so there were some muddy places.
Set your suspensions to "fun".

After the first big descent is another brief/easy climb to this.
Followed by another steep switchbacky descent.
This might actually be the scariest part of the trail. Its super fast double track maintained by 4 wheelers with plows that tend to leave these deep wheel sucking spots of loose gravel randomly placed about. A high speed OTB (over the bars) is a real possibility here.
The last climb. A couple of steep loose switchbacks. Short and steep.
The view looking back.
The ridge line. This is the best part. Almost 3 miles of down hill with water bar/roller/jumps. Tight single track with switch backs follow ending with single track skirting the Golf Course. During my descent in the switchback area I saw the guy that ran me off the trail during my climb and totally edged him off the trail. Sucks don't it Jackass!

No trip to the AFA is complete without stopping to view the planes-on-a-stick. Or in the case of the b52, a plane-on-a-bunch-of-sticks (its big!).
A10 "warthog", it has the same engines that the CRJ700 that I work on has.
Big gun, something like 5000 rounds per minute. Turns tanks to Swiss Cheese.
As an interesting side note (i think), the A10 shoots 30MM depleted uranium slugs that some believe are responsible for Gulf War Syndrome.

An Open Letter to my Republican Friends

Well let me start by saying I know I said I'd keep politics to a minimum, but fuck it, tiss the season right? This came in my e-mail from a Republican,
whom despite that, I consider a friend, and it pissed me right the hell off. Its factually inaccurate in several ways, is backed up in no way by anything credible, and to top it off is down right insulting to any one capable of a free thought outside the Fox News studio.

*********************************************

This is a matter of opinion and opinions are like (well you know) everybody has one.
My personal opinion? I agree. If after reading this email you disagree, Please, no need to reply back to me. Your opinion is yours and that's fine, just delete it.

A lot of Americans have become so insulated from reality that they imagine that America can suffer defeat without any inconvenience to themselves.
Pause a moment, reflect back.
These events are actual events from history.
They really happened!!!
Do you remember?
1. 1968 Bobby Kennedy was shot and killed by a Muslim male extremist.
2. In 1972 at the Munich Olympics, athletes were kidnapped and massacred by Muslim male extremists.
3. In 1979, the US embassy in Iran was taken over by Muslim male extremists.
4. During the 1980's a number of Americans were kidnapped in Lebanon by Muslim male extremists.
5. In 1983, the US Marine barracks in Beirut was blown up by Muslim male extremists.
6. In 1985 the cruise ship Achille Lauro was hijacked and a 70 year old American passenger was
murdered and thrown overboard in his wheelchair by Muslim male extremists.
7. In 1985 TWA flight 847 was hijacked at Athens , and a US Navy diver trying to rescue passengers was murdered by Muslim male extremists. ( remember the pilot of this flight was from Richmond , MO )
8. In 1988 , Pan Am Flight 103 was bombed by Muslim male extremists.
9. In 1993 the World Trade Center was bombed the first time by Muslim male extremists.
10. In 1998, the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were bombed by Muslim male extremists.
11. On 9/11/01, four airliners were hijacked; two were used as missiles to take down the World Trade Centers and of the remaining two, one crashed into the US Pentagon and the other was diverted and crashed by the passengers. Thousands of people were killed by Muslim male extremists.
12. In 2002 the United States fought a war in Afghanistan against Muslim male extremists.
13. In 2002 reporter Dan iel Pearl was kidnapped and murdered by-- you guessed it-- Muslim male extremists.
No, I really don't see a pattern
here to justify profiling, do you? So, to ensure we Americans never offend anyone, particularly fanatics intent on killing us, airport security screeners will no longer be allowed to profile certain people... Absolutely No Profiling!
They must conduct random searches of 80-year-old women, little kids, airline pilots with proper identification, secret agents who are members of the President's security detail, 85-year old Congressmen with metal hips, and Medal of Honor winner and former Governor Joe Foss, but leave Muslim Males alone lest they be guilty of profiling.
According to The Book of Revelations:
The Anti-Christ will be a man, in his 40's, of MUSLIM descent, who will deceive the nations with persuasive language, and have a MASSIVE Christ-like appeal....the prophecy says that people will flock to him and he will promise false hope and world peace, and when he is in power, he will destroy everything.
And Now:
For the award winning Act of Stupidity Of all times the People of America want to elect, to the most Powerful position on the face of the Planet -- The Presidency of the United states of America .. A Male of Muslim descent who is the most extremely liberal Senator in Congress (in other words an extremist) and in his 40's.
Have the American People completely lost their Minds, or just their Power of Reason ???
I'm sorry but I refuse to take a chance on the 'unknown' candidate Obama...
Let's send this to as many people as we can so that the Gloria Aldreds and other stupid attorneys along with Federal Justices that want to thwart common sense, feel ashamed of themselves -- if they have any such sense.
As the writer of the award winning story 'Forest Gump' so aptly put it,
'Stupid Is As Stupid Does'
Each opportunity that you have to send it to a friend or media outlet..do it!
or again. . . just delete if you disagree.
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And this was how I responded:


If I may:
The author of this piece of "opinion", and it is a piece, is correct. Everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion. But your opinion doesn't mean sh*t if it is premised on completely false information. According to the author, Supposedly from the Bible, and I quote "The Anti-Christ will be a man, in his 40's, of MUSLIM descent, who will deceive the nations with persuasive language, and have a MASSIVE Christ-like appeal....the prophecy says that people will flock to him and he will promise false hope and world peace, and when he is in power, he will destroy everything." except that the book of Revelation says no such thing. I'm not Thomas Aquinas or Martin Luther but I'm pretty sure that Islam wasn't even a religion for a couple hundred years until after John wrote that portion of the Bible. What the Bible does say, is that Gossip, i.e. outright slander in this case, IS a sin. (Romans 1:28-32)
Whats even more important is that McCain's conscience recently got the best of him, to the point where he told supporters that Obama is "a decent, family man, citizen that I just happen to have disagreements with (him) on fundamental issues and that's what this campaign is all about." Which is good, because recently McCain rallies have started looking a lot like KKK rallies.

I mean really, there are still people out their who actually believe that Obama is a Muslim? Where do these people hide? We shut the satellite off in our house 3 months ago and I'm more in touch than that, or maybe because of it. Not that most Republicans are interested in "facts" any more. In fact I'm guessing I lost some of you by the end of the first sentence. Your not interested in "facts" like McCain led the Charge on a lot of the bank deregulation that got us in the financial mess were in now. (the collapse of the DOW average isn't what you need to worry about BTW). Or the fact that McCain wants to deregulate health insurance the same way. What could possibly go wrong?

What I'm asking, is if you vote Republican, understand why. Its not that hard to do a little research. I found all the links for this piece with our good friend Google. If you still want to vote for McCain, that's fine, I understand that different people have different value systems. But the vitriolic slander pieces floating around don't change any ones mind. In fact you might just wind up pissing someone off enough for them to spend 2 hours on a Friday night looking for ways to shut you down.

But that's just my opinion, feel free to delete this if you disagree.
Cheers!
Shane

P.S. RFK's assassin was Sirhan Sirhan, who was disturbed for sure, but not a Muslim. And Pan Am 103 was destroyed by "rouge" Libyan Government officials. Although I suppose you could make the argument on that one.