January Random 10

Merle Haggard - You don't have very far to go
Sea and Cake - Interiors
Fugazi - Target
Broken Social Scene - Fire eyed Boy
Pepe Deluxe - Little Miss Cypher
M Ward - Who may be Lazy
Bootsy's Rubber Band - I'd Rather be with you
Yo La Tengo - From a Motel 6
Hacienda Brothers - Mental Revenge
Clap your Hands Say Yeah - Sunshine and Clouds

I smell tuna

When Life Was Good - Taos Dirt - Divisidaro Trail

For the past month here in Taos it's been below zero in the morning and not even reaching freezing during the day.....not good biking weather. It is, however, good weather for beer drinkin', football watchin', food makin' and butt scratchin' . I've been doing lots of all that stuff. So here from the dusty depths of the "F" drive, and with nothing else to do - is a write up on the Divisidaro Trail.

Divisidaro, which I think means "steeper than shit" in Spanish, is the best short-technical trail near town - and since it is kind of a burley climb, it does not see too much bike traffic. Hikers on the trail are generally not a problem since, on the climb, you won't exactly be blowin' doors - and on the steep twisty technical decent, they will gladly step aside in the hopes they will witness the "stupid biker" endo: skull on rock style. It's a tough trail, not fer greenhorns.

Here's what you do: From the plaza head south on highway 64, pass El Monte Segrado, Angeladas and that crazy place with all the blue glass chunks. Right after the Carson National Forest sign you'll see the trail head on your left (if you know this area, you'll see the end of the South Boundary Trail is right across the street). Anyway, hope you've been nice to granny lately because you're gonna need her "gear" for the next hour or so. Climb, climb, climb....rocky ledges, switchbacks, loose shit.....you got it all and you've gone anerobic on top of it all. It's tough right from the start and unfortunately it's like this all the way to the top. After 10-15 minutes you'll come to a split in the trail - both of them go to the top of Divisidaro Peak - left is longer and less steep right is shorter and more steep - but almost too steep. Going right you will be off the bike more. Left is more fun (in my opinion) - and cooler, if it's a hot day. Either way, continue on and you will know when you've conquered the bastard when you see two chairs made of rock - that's the top. It usually takes a little less than an hour to make the top (from town) and another 30 minutes to get back. Don't be surprised as you head back to the plaza, you're bike mysteriously starts to veer off track to the left, eventually leading you to a table under a cottonwood surrounded by hippies.......you must be at Eskes Brewpub.....don't fight it you'll just hurt yourself.

December Random 10

New Pornographers - Falling Through Your Clothes

Allen Brothers - Allen Brothers Rag

Kleenex - Heidi's Head

Interpol - C'mere

Pixies - Broken Face

Arcade Fire - Black Mirror

Mazzy Star - Unreflected

Tom Waits - Ain't Goin' Down to the Well

Tad - Stumblin' Man

Tortoise - I Set My Face to the Hillside

Random Yucatan

Downtown Merida and the rush to happy hour where they serve up some MONSTER margaritas

The flower market

The veggie market

"yo quiero Taco Bell"

Cooking up some lunch under the beach palapa

Cathedral in Valladolid

Many of the homes along the coast we in bad shape from the two hurricanes that came through this summer

Awesome water and totally empty beach

Sea kayaking through some of the backwater mangroves

The beer truck en route to Punta Allen. We didn't let him out of our sight

Early morning in Campeche

Cathederal in Campeche

I'm heard Bimbo Corp is thinking of Atlanta as a test market for the new "Negrito" snack cakes. People are gonna love the fro and that delicious black frosting.

came across these people getting ready to throw this poor kid off the building. We didn't stop em - he probably deserved it.

random burley muscle church

You heard it here first......George Bush is going into early retirement and is now running a liquor store in Campeche Mexico. Click to enlarge - ya, it's him all right.

Old Town Yucatan

In "Apocolypto" Mel Gibson sent a bloody heathen Mayan head down these stairs. The main temple at Chitzen Itza where you used to be able to climb inside to view the Jaguar Throne until some fuck head tourist stole the eyes and teeth of the jaguar

Coba - the lamest of all the mayan sites we saw. Hundreds of tourists acting like complete idiots. If it was not in a really cool area with lots of birds and butterflies we would have turned around and got the hell out of there.

Kabah - probably the coolest site we visited. You could climb all over anything you wanted and there were only about 5 other people in the whole place.

Mas Kabah

Uxmal - pretty interesting, well preserved - but lots of tourists

Uxmal