Rogue dinosaur and wall-riding geezer...

[Sidewinder]

Old school BMX & MX rider, former vertical skateboarder currently living in Silver City, NM, USA, a paradise for trail riding in the Gila Wilderness just north of this historic mining town. This little burg also has a skatepark, so I broke out my SE Racing 'Rip Style Cruiser' the other day and relived part of my youth. That bowl you see in the pics is at least 9' deep---actually half a pool with coping, no tile---and I'm the 63-year-old geezer you see riding the wall, lol.

   

Another angle:

   

   

The bike in a smaller park bowl:

   

My other bike, perfect for trail riding in the mountains & high desert:

   

[Sidewinder]

Okay, the pics went through... cool.

I was riding conservatively in that session, the first wall-riding session in years... next time I'll go higher, lol.

In the days of my youth, I'd soar above the coping, but at my age that's not a realistic expectation, bones break too easily!

I'm in the process of buying a home here, so I'll be working on the home rehab for 2-3 months, minimum...

The good news is that the park isn't going anywhere, and neither is the park in Deming an hour away, see the link below...

Deming Skatepark Thread

[enkei]

Both bikes/rides look like a lot of fun!

[meamoantonio]

Rad!!!!!! I bet you'll enjoy modern mountain biking like with all the berms and what not

[Sidewinder]

I love berms! And wall-riding! A holdover from riding skateboards & BMX bikes in my youth... every time I hit a berm or wall, it's like going back in time to a better era. A less-complicated era, ya know? Just you and the bike, and whatever obstacle or course feature you're tackling...

Gotta be careful at my age, though, since that mean ol' concrete hasn't gotten any softer over the decades... on the trail, aboard the KTM, well, at least the dirt is a *little* softer, lol. But I've always loved riding, it's a huge part of my personal history.

I'll probably take the thumper up to the mountains tomorrow, gotta change the oil today... I'm buying a home here in Silver City, so I'm waiting for escrow to close. Gotta burn time for another 10 days, aye? Got the kayak & KTM in my motel room, go figure... easier than going to my storage unit every time, lol.

Meh, this relocation saga will soon end, and the home rehab phase will begin... but every time I need a break, there'll be plenty to do here in Silver City & Grant County, New Mexico. Not a bad place to live, the weather alone has to be the best in the U.S., and I ought to know, since I used to drive a truck.

Random outdoor adventure shots...

There are cool shots on both pages of that thread, including some awesome truck camping photos, back when I used the road tractor as a 10-ton RV, lol. Probably couldn't do that nowadays with all of the electronic tracking, pffffffft... but I had my day in the sun, before all of that tracking became commonplace.

P.S. If all photos don't come through properly, just reload or refresh that thread. Gotta run, time to resupply with hard cider at the store. Cheers!

[Sidewinder]

Hey, y'all, I had a blast today riding the thumper in the mountains, I'm just gonna throw down a link to today's pics... easier that way, instead of reposting all the pics, and today's ride can be seen in Posts 6-10 of this thread!

KTM Thread

If the link doesn't work the first time, just hit the reload or refresh button until it does... maybe it's just my old laptop computer, behind the times as usual!

Now, those trails are wide open to bicyclists, and there is NOT much traffic out there in the boondocks! Despite the glorious fall weather, I was the only fooliot out there, except for one guy in a pickup truck on desolate McKnight Road... very rough trail the farther you go out toward McKnight Cabin, in fact I aborted that mission due to the sharp and nasty rocks! Not a trail I would recommend for mountain bikers, but the dirt road or trail to Sheep Corral Canyon was another story, as you can see in the photos! Beautiful ride through splendid mixed pine forest, and fairly smooth until you pass the old wooden corral, then the trail gets rough in a big ol' hurry, lol. But you have miles of forest cruising just to reach the corral, so THIS is a trail I do recommend to all mountain bikers! A TRULY AWESOME TRAIL, lol.

Enjoy the pics, I'll talk to y'all later! BTW, I have a blister at the base of each thumb from the challenging trail beyond the sheep corral, and I also took a big ol' nap once I returned to the motel and got cleaned up, but that's another story, lol. Had a GREAT DAY, the fall weather here is truly fine! I can't say enough about the weather here in Grant County, it's the best in the country, lol. Okay, I'm back to my hard cider, it tastes good after today's ride! I should sleep well tonight, even after a nap! I was heller beat tired from the action today... 115 miles on the odometer, but 35-40 miles on dirt roads, I reckon, so that increases the fatigue. Nothing a few hard ciders & possibly a tequila drink can't fix! CHEERS!

[Sidewinder]

Took a ride on the thumper today, beautiful fall weather in the high desert... that's what I like about living in Silver City, I can go in one direction and explore high mountains and forests of tall pines, or I can go in another direction and find huge boulders in the high desert. I can be in either setting in half an hour, lol... but that's on the thumper, not a pedal bike.

Anyway, you hands who replied before, check out the shots... betcha don't see landscapes like these in England or the Philippines, lol. Gotta love the wide open spaces, and virtually no traffic on the roads! Beats rush hour on the 405 near the Katella Exit, lol... ugh, just thinking about that crazy traffic scene in California makes me glad to be here! Sheer insanity! Lol... I don't miss that craziness either, not one bit!

Here's the link again, just go to the latest post and then back one to see today's ride... great day in the high desert, perfect weather and awesome scenery! You could bring a mountain bike to this park and cruise around, maybe ride up to the overlook which you'll see in the second set of pics... enough exercise for someone my age, lol. Today I decided to twist a throttle, aye?

KTM Thread

As always, if the link doesn't work right away, just hit the reload or refresh button... CHEERS!

Edit: Wait, those interested in this outdoor venue can see more pics in this thread: City Of Rocks Thread Pretty cool place!

[Papa Dom]

greetings from Vermont!

[Sidewinder]

Trees turning color up there yet? I remember those colors from my 'trucking daze!'

We have colors in our local mountains, the forests up there are awesome... got trees in town too, some are very colorful!

[Papa Dom]

(10-14-2025, 11:09 AM)Sidewinder Wrote:  Trees turning color up there yet? I remember those colors from my 'trucking daze!'

We have colors in our local mountains, the forests up there are awesome... got trees in town too, some are very colorful!

oh yes!
fall is a magical period for colorful bike rides and here it's just the right time now. looking forward to riding a 60 mile country side loop this weekend. and enjoying the play of those yellow-red-orange-brownish colors.

[Sidewinder]

Hauled the KTM and kayak down to my storage unit yesterday, the unit itself is an absolute clusterf#%, looks like a twister hit it, lol. Here's a shot!

   

Nice climbing shoes & John Deere chalkbag atop the thumper, lol. Gotta run errands today and set up the transfer of utilities at the new* home...

The cats & I are getting "short" at the motel, only two more nights before we make the final leg of our lonnnnnng journey!

I sign for the home manana, but I'm spending an extra night here at the Roach Motel because it'll be easier to lock down the 4 cats tomorrow night and load 'em in the car on Saturday... I wanna be able to simply load the cats and go directly to our new* home, all our other stuff will already be at the home or in storage.

I'll be glad when this long saga of relocation ends! WTF, it only took 5+ months! Crazy real estate market! I'll be glad to get out of it for good!

I'm no mind reader or fortune teller, but I foresee an ice-cold alcoholic beverage in my not-too-distant future, lol... like F#%NG PRONTO, aye?

[Sidewinder]

'Sign of the Day' seen at a local BBQ shack where I ate lunch today... damn, I love Silver City, heaps of folks here with low tolerance for bullsh!tters, meth heads, and other @$$clowns, lol.

   

[Sidewinder]

Y'all catch a break for a few days, the cats & I are moving into our new* home manana, the deed was recorded today! This long saga of relocation---over 10 months---will end tomorrow, and I'll be under my own roof again, WAHOO!!! I already put some possessions into the home, and I made a separate supply run so the fridge & freezer are stocked with food & beverages... I don't expect to go anywhere this weekend, I'm just gonna hang with the cats until they get used to their new digs. Oh, yeah, I also bought cleaning supplies for a big ol' G.I. party, lol... my entertainment this weekend, I reckon. No worries, I have plenty of food & alcoholic beverages, plus I even bought some dispensary weed, though I'm not a big pothead, lol. Just figured I should have a bit on hand in case I meet some classic neighbor, or if I get injured doing home rehab work... not into Big Pharma poison here, lol. Okay, I'm off to lock down the cats for the night, gotta load 'em in the car tomorrow morning. I will take photos of my progress at the home, this rehab effort will last several months... probably post the pics at FV and just leave a link here. Cheers!

[SPINMAN]

Welcome! Good to see a helmet on the noggin. I've transported a few over the years as a Paramedic with head injuries.

[Sidewinder]

Wouldn't ride any park without it, lol... funny thing, back in the '70s, safety gear was for "kooks!" Now, many of us older riders are wiser, and we won't tackle anything vertical without the safety gear, lol. Those pads & wrist guards are good to have as well!

When I find a decent pair of riding gloves---I'll have to check the web, I guess---I'll buy 'em, but I don't like bulky or unwieldy gloves, I gotta be able to feel the bars and subtle steering changes on the wall. Gotta have good grip too, that's essential.

As an aside, here's the new "cage splint" for the fractured thumb, courtesy of that distracted driver... I also learned that my thumb was only fractured in one location, not two as the nurses originally said. Hey, I'll take one fracture over two, any day of the week! Lol.

   

[GirishH]

Hello @Sidewinder , I hope you’re recovering well. I just noticed you’re from Silver City! A close friend of mine — the one who actually got me into long-distance riding — lived there for a few years and absolutely loved it. He invited me to visit many times, but I only made it as far as Santa Fe and Albuquerque. Sadly (or happily), he moved to France last year — hopefully, I’ll visit him there someday.

He often talked about Silver City and the Gila Wilderness.

Wishing you a speedy recovery and plenty more rides on your BMX and KTM.

Take care.

Old school BMX & MX rider, former vertical skateboarder currently living in Silver City, NM, USA, a paradise for trail riding in the Gila Wilderness just north of this historic mining town. This little burg also has a skatepark, so I broke out my SE Racing 'Rip Style Cruiser' the other day and relived part of my youth. That bowl you see in the pics is at least 9' deep---actually half a pool with coping, no tile---and I'm the 63-year-old geezer you see riding the wall, lol.



Another angle:





The bike in a smaller park bowl:



My other bike, perfect for trail riding in the mountains & high desert:


[/quote]

[Sidewinder]

Thumb is slowly healing... it's still swollen and looks like someone hit it with a sledgehammer, lol.

Silver City is a cool little burg, a historic mining town where there always seems to be something happening: music festivals, car shows, gem and mineral shows, art festivals, etc. It's certainly not a boring place to live, that's for sure...

And the wilderness is only minutes away... 'The Gila' (as locals call it) is great for hiking, riding, camping, etc. Lots of freedom out there on the trails, very few wankers or badge bullies, lol...

I will be glad when my thumb is healed and I can get out there again... to me, the wilderness is the last bastion of true freedom in this country. And the folks I actually do meet out there are like-minded, so we get along just fine. Cheers!

[Sidewinder]

Thumb still enlarged, here's a pic of both thumbs for comparison:

   

No, I don't have jaundice, that's the Canon cam misreading the light, lol. Damaged thumb looks sunburnt, but the peeling skin is due to swelling... I'll be glad when the darned thing gets back to normal size.

[Sidewinder]

Still riding out the broken thumb... honestly, I wish I had just broken a finger or two, instead of the opposable thumb I actually need for home rehab work, lol. Oh, well, it'll heal soon enough... in the meantime, I just do what I can while the thumb recovers from the injury.

[Sidewinder]

Bought a pair of makeshift riding gloves from WallyWorld yesterday, since I'm thinking of going for a ride on the KTM thumper... thing has been sitting too long in the shed, aye? I want to buy a new pair of "gauntlet-style" riding gloves, and I've been looking at the 'Cycle Gear' online store, but I still have to order a pair of gloves. Can you believe that there are riding gloves that cost over $500? No lie, I saw 'em at the Cycle Gear website yesterday, lol... they must have gold, blood diamonds, or some such ghetto pimp bling on 'em, pfffffffft.

Meh, I'll wind up buying a pair of gloves on sale for about $50, but in the meantime these $12 specials will have to do for my upcoming high desert ride... these are "high dexterity" work gloves with synthetic leather, the palm pads will offer some extra cushion for dirt roads, lol. The stretchy synthetic fabric easily accommodates my broken thumb, which is important, and the fabric is thick enough to keep my hands warm, though I wouldn't wanna test the gloves at higher elevations. Knobby tires and icy roads don't mix that well anyway, lol.

   

Might as well throw in some shots of my "supervisors" (as seen this morning before I left our home), they will probably join me outdoors this afternoon as I set up those birdbaths I bought, yeah? Cobalt blue birdbaths, they look pretty cool, but the pedestals have to be weighted down with some "River Pebbles" I also bought, otherwise the lightweight resin (plastic) baths will migrate in high winds. Better to keep 'em on the property, lol.

   

   

Okey-dokey, I'm off to cause trouble elsewhere, plus I hear a cold alcoholic beverage calling my name (clear from my fridge 2.7 miles away from the public library, where I'm currently accessing the web, lol). Y'all be good, otherwise Santa will put you on his $h#t list, aye? Better to stay on his good side, that way you might get a new bike for Christmas! No lump of coal! As an added bonus, you won't have to deal with Johnny Law either, lol... flying under the radar is always the best way to go! CHEERS!!!