After work bimble into the green, green woods...

 On Tuesday I had to decompress somewhat. I am currently having a very tight schedule, and it starts to wear me out a bit, but it´s all my fault really. And what to do? RIGHT! Get out of town and simply have some rest for my soul. It always works. The sun was not exactly shining, but glaring with a strange and milky light, and alongside a grain field I trod my path into the green twilight looming ahead.

 The grass was growing wildly, and on the banks of the nearly unintelligible path grew plantain, woundwort, chamomile, common yarrow, sorrel and many more. I could have filled my pack, but there is still so much left from last year that I do not need any at the moment. So I simply stopped and took in the lovely colours and the air of a flourishing nature, even if this year seems to be a bad one for the harvest.

 I have thought about telling you of the properties of those plants again, but I thought about it and came to aconclusion: So much we do is just because someone or something has properties and is good for this or that. I have done so in other posts, and you can refer to those, but I realized I simply wanted not to forget the beauty behind it all. The beauty of the plant itself, just growing there and being there, not for me, but just being.

 I am grateful that the woods are there, the flowers grow, and the deer chant in the twilight. I am grateful for the fox, and for the hare. Just because they are. Of course, I love to find something, and I like to have a tea, or find a bone for a knife handle, or even some antler. I would hunt for food, of course, and maybe some day I can afford a hunting license and a decent gun, or maybe, when all breaks down, use a sling, spear and bow and arrow. I practice their use after all.  But that´s not all. Everything being is not being there exclusively for our use. We can make use from it, but we have to learn, and especially western civilization has to, that there is a very delicate balance in it all. This can have a soothing effect; we are not the centre of the universe. We are beings like the deer, like fox and hare and bird, a part of it all, and maybe we could still fulfill our part. Of course, we are the most aggressive raptor on earth, but even we could still have a place.

 Deeper into the woods I went, and stillness came over me with every step I took, with the sound of the songs of birds, of creek and stream and the gentle rustling of the wind in the leaves.

 Beside the stream I sat on a rock and simply listened to the song of the water, the voice that constantly murmurs without a message I could understand, but tales it told nonetheless from and of the circles of life and death, of rebirth and growing. Of tales of fancy and imagination as well as of life and death, of fights and defeats and survival. Above me flew my friend, the bussard, and uttered his cries that are so full of yearning and hunger, not only the concrete hunger, but also a sensation of flight and gravity, of force and power, and freedom in the playing of the forces. The creek sang its song of the water, and the earth thrummed with a deep sonore hum that few can hear, but the song of the soil is there, if you live and listen intently. Then some day you might hear it and listen in awe... and there will be nothing gained or lost by it, but being.

When my bimble came towards an end, I found this gift not given from a friend that is not a friend.

And home I went, into the enmeshments and involvements that harass our everyday life, but with a deep breath thrumming in me.

Just being alive.

Schedule change on the upcoming blacksmithing events

I was informed by Volker that the schedule of the upcoming blacksmithing events has to be changed.

The summer fair at the Bethaus smithy will now take place on

13. and 14th of July.

On 6th of July I will be at the Bethaus smithy also, but only on a regular basis. Come over, get a coffee cheap and have a chat!

The Hammer - In on 7th of July at the industrial museum is not touched by this change, as well as my presence on the highland games in Wuppertal!

New blogs on the roll

I stumbled across some new blogs to follow, which might be of interest to all you bushcrafters out there. Having read the book by Eric  Valli: Rencontres hors du temps, which inspired me in a BIG way, I came across Lynx´ site and blog. Now Lynx certainly is what qualifies as a "wild woman of the woods", extremely skilled and close to the song of nature. This here is her blog:

http://www.lynxvilden.com/p/blog.html


A bit different is Gerd´s blog. Gerd is a tribal knifemaker from Germany I have the privilege to be acquainted to now. He makes some knives that are really appealing to me, and I look forward to meet in person and maybe have a ball with fire and steel together:

http://gmomesser.wordpress.com/

is his blog. He makes wire damascus and traditional damascus as well as spring steel knives and loves to recycle and reuse valuable materials to create beautiful tools.

DeNOOBing ourselves-Technical training in the rock garden

 On Monday evening it was that time of the week again... a rookie and even some experienced riders came together beneath the legendary sculpture of the whirlwind brides and the sun in the "Felsengarten" Hagen (the rock garden). We exchanged some friendly talk, and then it was "shred mode on". We did some static and dynamic off-bike muscular exercises to warm up, and then we did some riding exercises.

 The defined surrounding of the location is ideal for beginners to slowly and controlledly try out bigger tasks. I had shown Andrea to ride a staircase and stopping on it, balancing on the staircase, beforehand, and she did it very well. I had made a schedule for the training, but only Andrea showed up who needed tutoring, and she already was farther than I intended the program, so we did something else: I tutored her how to lift front and rear wheel, which  ultimately led to her first bunny hop.

 Andrea also rode the stair up and learned how to lift the rear wheel out of harm´s way.

 Soon the formal training part was over, and we simply did some shredding, having fun with the unusual architecture. By the way, it was Hartwig, the father of my ex - girl - friend and all-time-best friend Anna, who designed part of it all as an ARRRchitect.;-) Thanks, Hartwig, those rollers are greatly appreciated!;-)

 This is Bear Lee catching some air. We were actually quite finished, even if riding on one spot only, but the exercises fatigue you out quite soon, especially the jumping, turning in the air, hopping and the like wear you out fast, for there´s a big amount of body tension involved. Bear Lee had been sick the whole week, and this was his first time riding. He did extremely well for that!

 I was most pleased to meet Toto again. Toto´s a really laidback and friendly guy, a competition pistol shooter, and I learned he broke the German record with the ordonnance pistol. Congratulations on that! he has a calm and friendly air about him and is always ready to help weaker riders. He knows quite a bit on pharmaceutics, medicine and anatomy, too, and his knowledge of the martial arts is frightening!;-)

Being older and having seen his share of events, both good and extremely bad in his life, he has always offered me valuable counsil, and I value his opinion above many others. Thanks, Toto!

 And, if you keep in mind, he misses half  a biceps on one side and a shoulder blade on the other which he somehow lost ;-) in a frightening crash at a downhill race, and his body is mincemeat due to ...wait.. is that twenty years???... of hardcore riding, it is a right miracle that guy rides the way he does!

We had a lot of fun, the weather kept stable for a change, we had some great chats and the right balance of jokes, mischief and serious and interesting conversation, and, last but in no way least, we did some serious shredding and gained much more self-confidence and riding skills.

Thank you, folks, it was a great evening!

Children´s birthday party at the Bethaus smithy - and the birth of a Nessie

 Hope I am not getting on your nerves;-), for this is another children´s birthday party post, and, while they tend to look all the same, and chance is, they do for onlookers, rest assured, there is no one alike the other one. It´s often kids that tend to be motorically impaired (But being tauted as "normal". Many so-called handicapped persons tend to be more capable than average "normal" kids.) Many of them arrive drugged with Ritalin or the like, and if they don´t, you usually have a problem. (Kai-Torben, NO! You WON´t stick your finger into the forge, Kevin- Dennis, NO! Do NOT poke Dennis-Kevin´s eye out with that bar of steel!*ggg* Schankktal-Schakkeline, put that knife away, you WON´t cut your forearm again...;-))

It´s often arduous work, but this time it has been a right pleasure. The kids were accompagnied by parents who actually had fun organizing the event for the kids, the kids had fun playing games (playing games! Remember that time when children actually used to play actual games? Not sitting paralyzed before the great one-eyed snake box?), the adults had fun playing games with the kids, they were actually around and seemed to enjoy themselves because the kids did. Okay, I admit it... they bribed me into writing this by offering chocolate brownie cookies;-), but me, being above being bribed, declined;-), while Volker gladly accepted, that old sweet-tooth;-).

 It was a very relaxed atmosphere. That was not to say there was no work to be done! But the kids being creative, capable of concentrating, and enjoying themselves, it was real fun. The adults, however, were laid-back and friendly people. Perfect!

 Here Volker putting the kids´ tools on the desk...blimey, that guy was moving so fast, the picture is blurred! Even with this high - end, completely functional *g*camera, I did not manage to get the picture right!*ggg* Imagine that!*ggg*

 Here Volker explains the history of the Bethaus. The miner´s chapel house was built in 1830 as a meeting point of miners before their shift, and was the site of a miner´s worship of St. Barbara, the patroness of miner´s, smelters, artillerymen, and black- and weaponsmiths. Before the shift, miners came together for a prayer to the saint for a happy return. A great and amtospherically dense novel to transport the terror of the subterranean, but also the hope for riches and prosperity the miners were confronted with in those days is "The Mines Of Falun" (Die Bergwerke zu Falun) by E.T.A. Hoffmann.

After the shift, the miners hopefully returned to have their tools repaired for the next day. For that purpose, there always had been a smithy at the chapel, too. There picks, shovels and hammers were repaired or made anew, later on the chisels of power hammers and other power tools were repaired. And the best thing about all that is - we still do that!;-) The kids were enthused to be smith´s apprentices, and we did our best to let the old times revive for them, even our skills still are not up to par to those of those ancient miner´s blacksmiths. But that´s not our purpose in the first.

 We are here to let the kids have some fun and to keep the flame burning.

 The kids were enthusiastic about the work, and many of them took a great deal of time polishing their works. We made pendants, snakes, small knifelookalikes;-) from mild steel which I tried to work-harden by coldforging. A bit hard on the ears, and I fear my hearing is already impaired a bit... blimey, have to get some ear plugs... but it´s hard to communicate with the kids when you wear plugs.

 And yes, it´s pictures like this that keep me going, even when it´s sometimes tough. It simply feels good to pass on the enthusiasm for the next generation.

Let me give a more personal take on that. We live in a very, very strange and estranged world. We tend to blabber about freedom all the time, and when we get it, we use it to simply kill time and refine our boredom. We are not free, for we work to earn money we believe we need, because we believe we need a fifth laptop or the latest smartphone, a third car or, yap, a fifth mountainbike or surfboard. Mountainbiking is a great example. Many of the people I know who ride mountainbikes call themselves "freeriders". To do this sport, you need at least 1.500 € worth of bike, plus some 700€ worth of equipment, protection, gear, clothing, and you have to spend at least 1.400€ worth on holidays. Maybe a bit exaggerated, for most of the people I know would not be able to afford this,  but that´s what the magazines keep telling you. All this you "need" to ride free. To ride "free", a person with an income not exactly middle management thusly would have to work 1-3 months just for the tools of the trade;-) and a holiday. I therefore very much doubt that he or she then is "free". We are told so, but we are not. The examples are legion. You can be free by buying deodorants, insurances, cigarettes. Interestingly I read an ad about a deodorant named "obsession"  that transported the message of freedom some years ago, which is outright ridiculous in my book.

But then, how can one be free? Is there anything like freedom?

I have a maxim I try to live by: "As long as I do not harm anyone and the world benefits from it in any way, I do whatever I want." This is sometimes very, very hard, for the world generally does not care a runny shit about me or anyone else doing anything for its benefit, for its surface is designed by mammonists. Those are glad if anyone does anything "for free", for he or she can be exploited much easier that way. You do not get any money equals you cannot buy symbols of status equals you have no status. But we are talking surface here. I learned for myself, that in-depth, the world is a beautiful place. If you do not value money that much, if you simply regard it as a tool, not a toy, there is much to discover; a flower growing through the concrete, the grain of some burly wood, the pattern of damascus steel. Your own body, aside from the advertisment-hysteria and the beauty- and wellness-hype. Your power, of body, mind and soul. The beauty and terror of the actual world. The terror and greatness and the overwhelming beauty of actual life.

Blacksmithing has done one thing for me: It made me realize I could shape my own world. From junk and scrap and ashes I have learned, the hard way sometimes, to shape whatever I desire, or at least, to be capable of learning it-potentially at least. It means, while I often have a tight schedule with little or no room for toodling about, and sometimes work 70 h a week with an income that´s not worth mentioning and amounts to 30 % less than the minimum dole would sum up to, I have a freedom that I need for the sanity of my soul. I might not be the best of blacksmiths, but a blacksmith I am.

But what does that mean? In Volundar - saga it is said that Wayland the smith was taken captive by some king named Nidung. He cut his tendons to keep him captive and demanded he forged for him wondrous armour and weapons. Wayland escaped. He forged himself wings and flew away. In the bronze - age smiths of the Unetice culture are said to have had prince status. The metallurg was master of the elements, and legend has it he or she was also master of fate. Smiths have made this world, and those who know this blog know that there lays a hope for me, for the world has gone mad and false.

Genetic manipulation is not evil, but we simply do not understand enough of the whole to do it-and yet, corporations like Monsanto monopolize on bringing out manipulated seeds on the market, and there are little options left for the common man. There only but recently was an attempt to illegalize self- harvested seeds, even in private gardens. It might have been another attempt of corporations like Monsanto to get a monopol on victualies and seeds.
Capitalism is not evil, and it has secured peace for a long period of time. But it bears strange fruits. Ecologism is not evil, either, but to burn down acres of rainforest to plant rapeseed (genetically manipulized, of course), exclusively for CAR FUEL, while the inhabitants starve, is mad. Mammonism is not evil, either, if Mammon gets assigned his place in the pantheon he actually had ages ago. It´s all a system, and this system is the reason we not only cannot be free, but are subject to tyranny. But who are the tyrants? Can we hang them?

Bit difficult, could do that just if you feel so inclined to commit suicide. The enemy is within, within the gates. It´s us. We can´t escape.

Can´t we, really?

I used to buy a lot of knives and other tools in my time. I learned to forge, now I do not buy them anymore (that frequently, okay, I admit;-)). I had no money for a decent pair of reenactment shoes. I made them myself. While not exactly perfect, I wore them for one year and used them very hard, for I used them for hiking also, because they were just so comfy, now there´s a hole in one sole, but no harm done, I can repair that. I  wanted a Sarouel pants, and I made one. I want a kuksa... what will I do? I make my own mead, I brew my own birch sap beer, kwass and sloe champagne, cure my cough with herbs I collected, treat my wood with resin I found, drink my tea made from leaves I collected.

I am realistic: Not everyone can make his or her gear all by themselves. I can´t, myself. But that´s not the culprit. It´s not about making these things, but about understanding again THAT these are made in the first place. That they transport the time and energy put into them, that they rely on natural resources, and to understand that everything we claim has its consequences, and that our behaviour has consequences, too, and not because someone tells us so. It is easy to even work with difficult kids at the forge, because you can easily illustrate why one should obey the rules. They are made by iron, fire and water, not by the smith. 1.200 degrees Celsius will be dangerous, and anyone possessed of the ability to feel pain will recognize that without further ado.

The world will not be saved by that. We will still have to endure the consequences of the exploit we did to the planet, and chance is, few will survive the breakdown of western civilization that will come. We are in the middle of it, in fact. It´s not the punishment of God or the Gods. It´s just the consequences of our false behaviour. And it is a chance to learn how it´s done properly.

I hope that with my blacksmithing an tutoring, I achieve one thing: To get minds to think for themselves, if only one out of thousand. I might not be free, and I am not Wayland for sure, but I hope to one day look back on my life and to be able to say that it was okay.

That´s all I can say.

By the way, I just wanted a Nessmuk. Willy is doing these all of the time, and I did not want to stay off the back, so I made one from a piece of spring steel: 

 It came along quite nicely, done with a forge, tongs, hammer, two files and that´s it. I drilled two holes near the back of the tang for balance, but I might add more of them, depending on what scales to fit. I recently found a block of Pertinax in the woods, which looks very beautiful, but I learned it is toxic due to the Formaldehyde and Phenolic contents. Guess I´d rather get rid of it.... and fit some stag or ramshorn scales. We´ll see how it goes, but the choice of scales will have an influence on the drillings, for I like to have my centre of gravity on the index finger to make for more nimble handling of the knife. I also choose an edge line in line with the handle outline (does that make sense to you?;-))to make for more acurate carving ability and a somewhat milder S-form of the knife in general. Having played a lot with it already, I can say that I really like the feel of it, and as there´s still this ominous crane bag / ditty bag project on the bench for some, wait, is that two years??? I rather say, this might find its way in... but talk is cheap, and there are too many options as far as this bag is concerned, and I daresay I rather stitch this thing together any which way. I simply have too many ideas that in the end I follow none of them... so I guess I´ll rather put the rubber on the road soon. But, this knife first.;-) Or that cleaver. Or that bush knife, oh, and the damascus blades and and and...

Anyaway, I´ll keep you informed!

On the bench: Damascus Hadseax blade

So, done with riding and philosophy, back to business;-): This is a new hadseax blade I have in the making. 90x3mm file / crucible shear steel damascus, selective temper with a scandi grind... I will keep you informed how it goes...;-)

...that a threat or a promise?;-)

The whiplash line-what mountainbike riding has to do with art nouveau, martial arts and a fiddlehead

I am a mountainbiker who now rides hard for 27 years, and without a question, I started just like everyone else. I bought a bike, fiddled around with components, made my own and bought pink titanium goodies just like anyone else. But at some point I realized something. I realized that I could not agree with the "bigger is better" crowd. People had given me their time and knowledge, and I realized I had the responsibility to give something back. So, I started tutoring, giving workshops for kids from a poor social background, and the like. It was then that I realized I had to learn what I was actually doing, for you teach best when learning. So I started to analyze what I was actually doing on my bike. I had always experienced flow, and "transcendent experiences in forest environments" were not at all strangers to me, either. I realized, being a writer and trying to torment my guitar and my flute, that flow can be experienced in other situations as well. So I  studied as much as I could on that topic and made some very interesting discoveries. I realized analogies and shared characteristics in the concept of flow, satori, eucharist, kairos, metakairos especially, the awareness of Chí, and shamanic exstasy. I had always studied several martial arts, with no ambition and until very recently, without instruction, and my father had trained me in our family martial art since I was a child.

When analyzing the Motions involved in mountainbike riding and slavic martial arts, I discovered a strange application of force. Being accustomed to the yin yang concept, but no expert in that matter, I was irritated that the development of force application of many movements seemed to follow a whiplash-line motion. In slavic dances with the Shashka, this becomes very evident in how the force develops. Apart from the double-circle (eight) motion, the "eight" can be diversed in whiplash lines.

This at first seemed contradictory to the Yin Yang principle, until I learned that the commonly known type of Yin - Yang is not the end of it.

Here, I found a decent explanation on the concept.

Non-polar (wuji) and yet Supreme Polarity (taiji)! The Supreme Polarity in activity generates yang; yet at the limit of activity it is still. In stillness it generates yin; yet at the limit of stillness it is also active. Activity and stillness alternate; each is the basis of the other. In distinguishing yin and yang, the Two Modes are thereby established. The alternation and combination of yang and yin generate water, fire, wood, metal, and earth. With these five [phases of] qi harmoniously arranged, the Four Seasons proceed through them. The Five Phases are simply yin and yang; yin and yang are simply the Supreme Polarity; the Supreme Polarity is fundamentally Non-polar. [Yet] in the generation of the Five Phases, each one has its nature.^[8]

 
picture source:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ea/Taijitu_Lai_Zhide.png

It is now a stunning "coincidence";-) that e.g. the motion of the hands on the handlebar when bunnyhopping an obstacle on a mountainbike follows exactly the same line, and that  the whole mess does not end there. Many everyday motions we do without thinking follow this principle in one way or the other.

It is then that I came across the Heraclitus spiral, 
the Fibonacci, or generally, the Golden Ratio spiral. The golden ratio was discovered by Adolf Zeising to reflect the growth and arrangement of plants and their limbs in nature. I cannot for the life of me figure out how to do maths properly, but I found this strangely appropriate.

For instance, if you look at a fiddlehead, you will realize a striking similarity, and, of course, this is only natural, not necessarily because nature follows the golden ratio, but also because we always are obliged to follow nature, and the golden ratio has always been a means to describe nature.

That said and done, I assume that this diagram of the whiplash line is found throughout nature, and, of course, the whiplash line follows the aesthetics of the golden ratio. I then assume that a movement following the whiplash / golden spiral is a natural movement. If we assume the concept of Ch ´i expresses itself in flow or satori and follow the thesis that movement in itself is an expression of the application of force, we can now state that:

1. The whiplash line is a natural phenomenon following the golden ratio
2. The application of any force follows the whiplash line diagram, as well as the dialectic movement in polarity pairs like Yin and Yang. A similar concept are the expanding gyres of W.B.Yeats.
3. Since the concept of Ch ´i is linked to Satori (Flow), and Satori is linked to a kind of activity of either body or mind, and since this activity at least for the most part follows the whiplash line diagram and thusly the golden ratio, the development of flow / satori must also follow the whiplash line / spiral form.

Therefore, the spiral form is crucial for the understanding of flow, satori, or the Awen / AOUEIn. Since I assume an identity of flow with the Awen, and the Awen is a principle, amongst other things, of inspiration, I must assume that the process of creativity and creation must also follow these lines. Therefore, I must assume, that creation is organized in a fractal manner.

Flow/Satori/Awen therefore follows fractal ratio.


...to be continued.

DeNOOBing ourselves-and riding on the AOUEIn´s wings: A technique training tutorial

 On Wednesday, traditionally the weekly ride of my mountainbike club takes place. This week I contributed a bit by offering a tutorial, for beginners and rookies and trail riders alike. Wasn´t exactly crowded, but the quality of company certainly made up for it. BärLee, who agreed to assist me in guiding the training, Andrea, who is a very nice person with a deep personality, Seppel, and last but in no way least, Jandark. We met at the Felsengarten, which might be known to readers of my blog;-), and had a chat beforehand. It seems that not all is grand in the wonderland of our club, and we discussed about that, Jandark being the web designer and Andrea being the press consultant, Seppel and Bär some of the most active members, and myself, having started this whole mess;-). And I feel the urge to loose some words on the subject:

In the beginning, Zee Aylienz were more than just any other club. It was an idea. It was not only about buying the latest paraphernalia and having a shiny bike and tech talk and training. There were times when I had taken this whole thing way to serious, but even if  I do not do this anymore and have simplified my attitude a bit, some aspects still remain:

It is about getting out on your bike, having fun, for sure, but also taking responsibility, for freedom isn´t free. First and foremostly, the woods we ride through are not only great for the fact that they provide us with a sporting area. They are great, because they are woods, with all the animals and plants involved. We get out there for adventure, for freedom, to get out of the madness of our world, and we want to preserve this possibility, and so we have to work for the woods. We have to fight for them, for trees, while they can hate, they cannot move. We have to love the trees and animals for what they are, not what they should be. Oh, and we did it and still do that. And our team became bigger, and we started to take the madness of the outside world with us on our rides. People started to compete on the rides, and that´s not bad in itself. But they forgot they were kins and brethren in a fight for a moment of freedom and peace. They valued their ego so much their smile first became wry, when they shook hands after battling each other up or down the hill. Then the whispering started and the gossip. Then the woods became irrelevant, and the material you rode ever so much more important. More whispering started, bragging and mobbing.

Recently, this had become better again, and this is the reason I agreed to do something for the club again. Mountainbike riding has given me so much more than just getting dirty or about performance;-). It has taken me places in the woods and mountains I would have never experienced without a bike, but more important, it has taken me places in my soul I would never have discovered. I could rant on endlessly about the concept of flow, and I have done so on other occasions and other blogs. If you want to understand what drives me, look here. I have experienced flow myself, not only in mountainbiking, but also in ex - tempore poetry and musical sessions, and I looked at myself in awe, wonder and gratefulness at being alive. And while I have no right to lecture or even tutor anyone on that topic, I want to give something back to the world. The fact that flow is not limited to sports and not even to an activity, gives me hope to bring back a tiny bit of magic into this deranged world, for the concept of flow shares many characteristics with the feelings described by adepts of most any religious concept. That said, and keeping in mind I do not want to lecture anyone or create a dogma, this concept best speaks for itself when experienced, and that´s not easy. Mountainbiking is not "the" way to experience it, but it is one way. But just as Satori is not being experienced while you struggle and concentrate on techniques, but only after a period of constant practice, when the moves involved have become second nature, it´s just about the same with flow, which in my book, IS the same.

Since this experience not only has made me very happy, but is also crucial to the transcendent experience of forest environments, and since this experience is at least beneficial to the understanding of the original idea of the club, "zee aylienz", I currently feel the urge to pass it on. Of course, there is also a bit of wishing to be understood involved, but first and foremostly, I believe that many of the current challenges in the club or even in society might be won if we had something to believe in. In that, our club is a mirror of society in the whole, and, hey, I cannot save the world. But maybe I can try to do my friends a favor, eh?;-)

Flow is no sorcery. It´s just a phenomenon encountered after a bit of training after all, be it music or mountainbike riding. What anyone makes out of this experience, is not my business. What I can contribute, however, are plain old training and some tricks this old dog learned;-) on the trail. I must also mention that I owe a lot of the practical side of the tutorial to Elmar Keineke, with whom I once made a tutorial for kids from a poor social background together. Also, he always had some giveaways for the kids courtesy of his employer at hand, and thusly, I can´t thank him enough.

Okay, now talk is cheap, and we quit blabbering also, and made for the location. Since only Andrea was present who needed tutoring, I did not do it systematically, but simply tried to answer her questions. First we did some sort of warming up, nothing fancy, really, just riding the simpler stuff, and then we got to the point where the rubber meets the rock;-).

 Bastian analyzing a rock garden section that was not exactly smooth;-).

 After surveying the terrain, which importance can´t be emphasized enough, Jandark made up his mind to ride the bastard. It is crucial that you get the ride in your mind before you actually do it. You have to visualize yourself riding this or that line succesfully. If you cannot do that in your mind, that´s when you have to say "No". This is even more important than  actually doing it, but doing it out of control. "Those who fight and run away live to fight another day", as the old saying goes. If you feel uneasy about it, don´t do it. If your buddies yell at you or call you a coward, let them talk, it´s your spine fracture, not theirs. It´s more important to know when to say "No" than doing it under pressure. But also ask yourself if you really can´t do it. Look at it at least three times, walk the section and analyze the line. Remember that the path down the hill is always the same as the water will take. Sometimes you must modify this general rule of thumb, but most of the time it will help you.

 Jan walked it. He paused. He touched this stone or that. He looked at it intently, then breathed, and said "I will do it". And did he make it? BOY, did he!;-) Look at the picture: Jan keeps his strong foot on his front pedal. Also the cranks are level with the ground. That way he can control  the ride with his strong foot and does not risk hitting a rock with his lower pedal, which might even result in a crash with a nasty air trip over the bars and stopping on your cheekbone.;-) Clearance is crucial in this situation.

I must admit I stood there, on top, and fear swelled up in me. But I knew I had ridden this before, and even if the rain had caused some severe erosion in the past few years, it was still the same trail. So I breathed into my stomach and concentrated on my sternum. It helps to count to three when breathing in and to five when breathing out to calm down. If you cannot calm down, call it a day and walk it again.

I managed, for I knew I could do it, and I rode it myself. Bastian, however, was a bit injured still, and simply called it a day. Got the gist, that this is crucial;-)?

 Then I tutored Andrea showing her how to ride on slippery terrain, such as loose gravel. The trick is frightening at first, but works: Most people tend to use the rear brake more than the front. But roundabout 80% of braking force is applied through the front brake. If you use the rear brake exclusively on a steep slope, the rear wheel will lock up, and you end up on a sleigh ride down the hill, becoming ever faster and losing control. The trick is to use the front brake. When the rear brake locks up, and you start to skid, don´t panic. Just open the brake for a fraction of a second to allow it to make a half revolution to get new grip. Always look ahead of you, about 15 m to the front. The bike will also always follow the direction where it´s pointed, and that´s the direction of your head. You can try that out in an empty parking lot: Ride a straight line and the explosively turn your head in one direction. When you follow with your knee on that side, you will already have a half turn, aim your elbow around the bend and the bike will turn. The only limit is the wheelbase of your bike! Also remember to have all your braking done before any bend: First you slow down with your front brake, and use the rear brake only halfway through the turn.

Keeping that in mind, you can figure out to look at things and objects you´d rather avoid might end up in a desaster. So, don´t program your mind like "oh, don´t hit that rock", but go like: "steer to the right side of that rock". Look  where you are aimed. MESSAGE!;-)

That said and done, you can experiment with your mind a bit. put on two different socks, say one with pink polkadots and one with yellow. Ride a straight line on the parking lot. Then think about the pink polkadots.

When riding around a bend at high speed, and not through rocks that might need more clearance and pedals level with the ground, your balance and speed is greatly enhanced by weighting the outside pedal. You can even experiment with all your weight on the outside pedal, taking the inside foot from the pedal. That  way you can ride out 360 degree-bends with little to no braking.

 When Andrea saw Bär Lee jumping the staircase she immediately went: "I want to do that, too!". To float down a flight of stairs, you have to unweight the front wheel, but be careful. First experiment with the balance point. Dismount your bike and set it on the rear wheel before you, holding onto the handlebar. Then push the handlebar diagonally back, down and then away from you, resulting in a push of the rear wheel away from you. You will notice that there is one point where little to no force is required to push the rear wheel  away from you. This is the much sought after balance point or manual point. Keep in mind that the curve diagonally back towards you, then down and away from you describes a dynamic curve, like a whiplash-line (MESSAGE!;-)). This curve is not only crucial to lift the handlebar in the so-called "floater drop" down a staircase, but also to the wheelie and bunnyhop. But, also keep in mind, that there are dangers, too. If you do not adjust to the manual point, you might fall off backwards, onto your spine, and this would be serious. First and foremostly, use appropriate safety gear and carry a first-aid kit. A daypack with a hydration bladder serves the purpose of spine protection quite well for lighter trail applications, but if you want to go big, always wear a motocross or freeskiing spine protector.

But there´s also one simple technique you can use when overdoing the quest for the holy manual point. Try out dismounted, with your bike before you, to push your bike over the balance point, and then pull hard on the rear brake. The front wheel, following the braking impulse, will immediately come down.

When practicing lifting the front wheel it is first crucial to lower your saddle so that you can at least sit on it while both of your feet comfortably sit on the ground. Roll at medium speed. The piece where your fork sits in the frame to meet the handlenbar is called a steerer tube, and there you can find a badge or something. Go down into a crouch, while you push your elbows out, and while doing so, lean forward, so that you can see this badge. Pull back/up, down and forward in a whiplash line motion. Imagine a whip going through your motion. The front wheel will go up, but not much. Now repeat the procedure, but this time roll at a medium speed (both pedals level with the ground and your strong foot on the front pedal) standing up as high as possible, then crouch down explosively in a whiplash line motion. KEEP! THAT! FINGER! ON! THE! REAR! BRAKE! LEVER!;-) You will be surprised at how easy the front wheel goes up. Also, practice the wheelie and dismounting off the back in a stress situation.

Now to the floater drop. Andrea rode the staircase first, at least ten times. We also practiced stopping on the stair, and riding slow, but this time we hit the stairs at ever-increasing speed, and Andrea realized the front wheel always became lighter with increasing speed, and that she had a tendency to land on the front wheel. Since it were just three steps, that was not a problem. But when hitting a larger staircase or natural rock drops at high speed, this can send you sailing over the bars. This is the reason the Gods made the floater drop;-). You use it to lift your front wheel out of trouble, and to land with your rear wheel first. This way, the impact is taken away from your weaker arms and transferred into your stronger legs, and the process of the bike dropping from the rear onto the front takes the force out of the impact additionally. But you have to take care that your front wheel is a bit higher than the rear always. This you can achieve by leaning back in the air. If the front wheel gets to high, tip on the rear wheel just enough to lower it. Diving the front wheel is a technique only applied when there´s a slope landing involved.

 It simply was a great experience, for different skill levels of riders simply rode together in a very friendly, heart-warming atmosphere, tutoring each other and simply having a ball. Bastian, in spite of his injury, did quite some dropping down himself, and must I go on endlessly about the skill level of Bär Lee?

I mean, that guy rides for but, .... wait, is that two years...?! Here, he´s airing it out in style. It´s great to hang out with those gals and guys, for it helps me improve myself also. I hope I have made clear, that we did that together. We are on a quest. It´s not only the quest for "bigger is better" and the ultimate fun. But we also seek the truth in a world of lies. I don´t know if mountainbiking is the correct means for it, but then I do not care. We are freaks, but care for each other, and we try to discover a new world, for the old one is wrecked to pulp by banksters, politicians, priests, and liars.

I also hope I have made clear that it´s not just mountainbiking for me. It´s the woods and the real world I want to discover. I have been force - fed lies all of my life, and never believed in them. Now I hope.

Finishing an underpaid job;-)

 On Friday before the Ruhrbike race, I rode to the smithy to do some honest work again and to finish the job Volker had ordered. 20 tent pegs wanted to be forged, i.e. 15 scrolls and 10 tips, all from 16mm round bar. First, I did some degasing the coal, which was coke size 4 anthracite.

 Since I had to do some pounding also, I brought my big hammer also. I tend to use my own hammer more often than not, even if it´s light at 1.200 g. But it draws out very efficiently. Advice: When you forge your own hammer, make sure its weight is centered around the handle more, makes it very nimble! The whitehouse forge hammer I got on a flea market, and it´s a great one for harder work.

 I also made some more S - hooks which can be quite handy in a reenactment camp for kettles, for strapping down a tent, and whatnot. I mede them from 6mm round stock.

 I also made this dragon head tent peg for Volker.

 And a leaf-shaped tent peg just for fun (and for Voker to mess up the prices again;-))

I also started a leaf handled knife out of spring steel, but I stacked up and broke the leaf off*grml*:-), so I will forge it out as a rattail tang to be fitted into a handle. I will post some pictures then...promise;-).

It was quite energizing to do something other than damascus and the like. Not that I do not like that anymore, but sometimes you simply have to clear your mind to avoid getting in a rut.

I hope that Volker´s customer will be content with the outcome!

Ruhr Bike Festival 2013 - Bushwhacking, murder attempts and plain old fun

 Now this is somewhat of a difficult post. I do not know where to start, for it is an event that not only took place. A lot of people made it happen, and, even if there were many people involved, I guess I´d start with a different kind of Volker, another friend of mine.

As many of my readers know, mountainbiking is always seen as controversial. Mountainbikers are seen as an ecological catastrophe, a pest, a plague. I am a mountainbiker, too, and, while I totally agree that tearing up remote desert spots or high - alpine - off-trail terrain might not be socially acceptable, a trail in some hills where a tyre track will vanish in one weeks course, is totally acceptable to ride on and have fun on, and no ecological consequences whatsoever result thereof. Just take care you´ve left the woods after sunset, OR learn how to avoid scaring any animal off. Especially in winter one should also take care to leave the wildstock alone where it needs it. Out of respect,  and not because someone told you so. If you follow some rules, all will be fine.

But then there´s another grievance against mountainbikers, and that´s social interaction. Many mountainbikers are said to be egomanic, antisocial morons scaring the shit out of horses, horseback riders, dogs, dog owners, pedestrians and being rude to hunters. And I have to say, while I always tried to be polite and ready for discussions, controlled my speed and said hello, let hikers, horseback riders and dog owners pass by and exchanged a few polite words, those who do that also seem to become fewer, and I got my fill of abuse from fellow mountainbikers when I suggested to accept the trail rules of DIMB and IMBA. Plus, we wear helmets, ride a bike that has often a martial, aggressive look, we move silently, but very fast, we love to jump and do aireal tricks and stunts, and this adds to a problem: That we are not seen rationally as just another group of recreational sports individuals, but as a threat.

That said and done, I must explain that, in this region, we have a mountainbike mekka, sort of. Even well - known Canadian riders come here to ride the trails, when they are around these parts, and that tells something. There are many manmade trails around, and here is another problem to be found: For in germany, until only recently, the land - owner had to assume liability to any injury any person, horseback rider, pedestrian or mountainbike rider might suffer due to a lack of safety in his or her woods. Fortunatly, this insane law had been removed recently, and was never persecuted as rigorously, for everyone, even lawyers, know that woods are woods (we might as well learn that the knowledge of lawyers might end there as far as the woods are concerned*ggg*SCHWARZDORN!!!). But what remains, is, that it is not polite to build  5 m - high  drop - down jump stunts on private property without asking.

The Ruhrbike-race takes place on a large amount of private property. Volker and Dirk from RSC Tretlager Bike Club Wetter were the ones responsible for the acquisition of trails for the race, and while most of the time they managed to get along with the land - owners very nicely, some of them were not exactly amused to have a  bike race on their doorstep. Because they had worse experiences with mountainbikers slamming into their horses, scaring their cows and dogs and whatnot, and building stunts in their woods without asking. If every mountainbiker in the region would voluntarily keep to a code of conduct like the DIMB / IMBA rules, Volker and Dirk would not have as hard a time as they have finding trails for the race. We will learn further down, that maybe even more problems could be solved.

When Volker called me if I would help out cutting free and pruning some trails, I agreed blissfully, for I wanted to show him my respect. So I packed my Khukhuri and a saw, and got a rake from Volker´s father. Must I mention that I also enjoyed being out in the woods and taking my old Khuk out for a walk?;-) 

The trail towards the place I had to clean up.

There lay this dried oak branch, and maybe the riders could have bunnyhopped it, but I simply wanted to do some chopping...;-), so I cleared it away.

Then it was some raking work, cleaning the downhill from fallen leaves, rotting twigs and branches, some good 300-500 m of it.

Before it looked like no trail at all.

I loved being out there, all alone, in the silent woods, under this lovely green light of the sun that shone warm and brightly, with the sounds of birds singing, and the echoes of my soul being strong in this environment. I regretted to have to tear out some tree saplings that grew in the trail and had to be removed. I tried to replant as much as I could, but to be honest, I daresay many of them will not survive it. But it was a trail anyway, and they would be cleared off either way.

When I was done cleaning, there was another trail to be done.

By the way, a Khukhuri is a really good tool for many kinds of work. Like a billhook, you can chop as well as cut. I cleared this trail´s rims from nettles, jack-by-the-hedge, several strong grasses and brambles. I chopped some dead branches and tree limbs that had fallen on the trail, and that beast came  begging for more. And it´s not even a good one! I will make myself one soon.

Then, some two weeks later, the race was taking place. Volker and the safety squad rode the course beforehand to make sure everything was still in place. When they returned, they had a puzzled look on their faces. The start of the race had to be postponed.

It seems, from what I got out of them, that not only were the trail signs removed, as is common practice, and the ribbons taken away or torn, but someone put punji sticks into the soil on the course. There were banners mounted in the woods saying "Ruhrbike nein danke" (Ruhrbike - no thanks). Many of my mountainbiking friends out there will not understand me when I say that this is extremely serious. Not the banners or the common means of sabotage.

But that there are individuals out there not restraining from murder attempts, and punji sticks CAN kill, especially if you hit them on a downhill with some 35 km/h, to make sure the race does not take place. This is not just some "I do not want this or that, so I use the law or political methods to keep the organizers from doing it", but utter hate and ultima ratio. To me it is an indication that our civilization fails at a much more rapid rate than I expected, and it is a reminder to me to get my bug - out methods wired and train some more.

The organization team however, deserved even more of my respect, for in but half an hour time they managed to get the whole thing running.

I was then hanging around with the guys at the tent of my club, when a voice came from behind, calling me, and who might that be? It was Heike, whom I had not seen for a year or so. Now Heike is a very great person, a mountain bike racer extraordinaire, but also a very laidback girl with a wonderful attitude towards the sport. She´s also a hunter. Pardon me, a hunter? A mountainbiker and a hunter? Yap, that´s possible, and she does not suffer from schizophrenic fits. We had a laugh, and she told me she was there for fun and rode the race for no team whatsoever (she was a semi-pro until last year). I said: "Then you´re in for a victory? Do you prepare your comeback?" She answered: "I´d rather prepare my camenbert... it´s ripe."-"Is it overripe?"-"Last night it wanted to escape, it ran away to flee, but no chance, for I am a hunter..." We then had a laughing fit when we imagined what a big caliber might do to a camenbert that runs away and imagined a camenbert´s face... and NO, WE DID NOT TAKE ANY DRUGS*ggg* in case you ask. She then hemmed and hawed about putting a waterbottle here and there, "for she had noone to lend a hand". I replied "Oh pleeeease, just ask!!!". I once taught her the bunny hop and how to ride her first bike and accompagnied her on her first races, and it just makes me proud what she made out of that little input! So I took the water bottle to this location.

It wasn´t long  before the leading motorcycle came around the bend, ridden by one of my lunatic neighbours.;-)

I do not have an inkling of who those guys and gals were, but they apparently had fun and most liked the encouragement I had to offer.

This is maxvader from my club attacking on the uphill.

Then Heike came, still on 3rd position in the women´s race, and we exchanged water bottles and I gave her a piece of banana, and we traded a joke and a laugh  again. And this is what makes this person that endearing: Being able to have a laugh while you attack the field in a mountainbike race that´s not exactly all roses all the time!

When Heike had passed, some other member of my team came along huffing and puffing and snarling at me why I hadn´t brought a water bottle for him! I replied that he did not ask for it, and he answered that I should have guessed... that made my day! I laughed my head off afterwards...;-) Those are my most beloved situations with the morons of my club..www.zee-aylienz.de..

But, I must admit, this picture made me proud. For you could see a whole army of flame jerseys scattered around the expo area, being busy for the race of our neighbouring club, or for our racers.

The expo area was situated on a beautiful location, a sports area beneath an old  tower. The tower would be just right for me to live in...;-)

This was our tent in the expo area, and it was a right chillout zone. Racers who finished came along, friends, loved ones and relatives came by, and everyone had a chat and a laugh and enjoyed themselves.

Then Wido came in. Now this race is arguably one of the hardest in Germany. Testament to that fact is he smashed his rear derailleur on a stick in testing terrain. Not willing to quit, Wido just carved himself a stick, stuck it in the mech and finished, and not on the last position! Respect!

What I mean with a chillout zone.. great atmosphere, and thanks also go to Frank and Bastian who were present at the booth the whole day, handing out drinks and food and more than one beer!

Bikes galore...

The Nutrixxion booth. I heard say my club owes them summat, but I forgot what...*ggg* The energy bars, and more so the drinks and power gels (you know that stuff?GAH!) always tend to get stuck halfway in my throat, and my stomach seems to revolt, and I cannot call that "food", for there are no baked potatoes, bacon and sausage involved;-).

Susanne came along, exhausted and terrified by the race, but she finished. For that, I find she deserves even more respect. Knowing one can ride the hell of a race and even thinking of finishing, say top ten, is one matter. It´s as easy as picking up a penny. But knowing the bastard will bring you to your limit (or even over it), and still do it, just to become a better person, is brave and, when done out of the right reasons, worth more respect that racing for ranking.

Then I met with Adrian from Connex bicycle chains. We once rode more together, he riding downhill, races and all, including the ice - race in Winterberg and doing snow jump stunt shows, and hadn´t met for a decade or so. We had a chat, and I learned he will be a father soon... I wish him all the best for it!

Those are the guys from my favourite bike shop, metal motion bikes, Dennis and his father, Ralf. Ralf is riding mountainbikes since the medieval ages, and one can safely say he is a big part of the m,ountainbike scene. Dennis, the one with the strange haircut and the load of spare metal in the face;-) up front, looks like some ghetto kid, but is certainly one of the nicest guys in the scene, laidback, super-friendly, but firm. Also, he´s got a funny humour. When I neared their booth, he addressed me:

"Psst, we got a troll in the shop". We had a laugh on that ambiguity (meaning this bike, of course, not drui*ggg*) and a bit of beating around the bush. I really have a certain affinity to those surly bikes, for they are bombproof and will easily meet a bushcraft standard. No race bikes, those means of transport will get you places even after a meltdown. Also, I love that classy look. Talking of which, they also got a classy GT Hans Rey anniversary edition of the classic GT Avalanche trail bike on the booth, all white and gold, with a triskell as a stem cap...schwweeet! As you can see, I am not above being a techno weenie from time to time myself. But that stem cap gave me ideas... something to do with a forge and some stag antler crown... watch this space...;-). We talked about this or that, and I have to drop by their shop soon, just to control if they are not making mischief there;-).

There also  was a junior dance group presenting Arabian dance interpretations. I found that good, for we desperately need cultural diversity and integration!

Decathlon is another sponsor of our club...

And this was my favourite place;-), for there you could have pasta, coffee, cake, wafers and a lot of real and delicious homemade food.

Talking of which, I attended a Carsting;-), Carsten, that is. Carsten is another laidback guy from the RSC team, always with a joke on his lips, even when the going got tough. Originally hailing from Solingen, the bladesmithing town and being no stranger to some knife talk and some knifemaking himself, we simply have to meet again some day for a hammer - In! I got a steak there (Thanks, Björn, I am not sure I deserve it;-)SCHWARZDORN!!!)

...

This is a dirty girl... Heike, to be precise, after she finished 2nd place in the SENIOR WOMEN II *GGG* category. Here, she is being not amused that I am making fun of her old age...*ggg*

Party on! I met with Björn, and we had a chat that made my day.. SCHWARZDORN!!!!!

Finally, some decent food again... man, I drank like a bucket of coffee and ate three pieces of cake, it was that good!

This is the logo I once (long ago, in 1999) drew on a handkerchief when I was drunk as shit. The club being called "Zee Aylienz" I adapted this design from an older sketch... the laughing matter is that this sketch was intended to be for a campaign of "vikings against fascism", and there was a Nordic warrior cliché depicted with a huge broadaxe (winged helmet and bronze age sword and all;-)) standing over a pile of tiny severed heads with swastikas tattoed on, with the severed head of Adolf Hitler on top. The heads (they were tiny heads, did I mention*ggg*) were drawn like the alien skull to make them more demon-like. It´s a constant laughing matter and a queer joke that in the past, when I was still second chairman, there were some individuals with tiny heads doing the old "we are better than anyone else, we are aylienz" stunt and acting the Gestapo with people who did not join the club... not so funny then, but, in retrospective, a reason I might laugh on my last bier still about that. Nothing wrong with symbols, nothing wrong with caring for each other, but I hope to have contributed with that tale to a sense of awareness that the club´s not the only one in the world and a reminder to be careful.

A lot of flaming jerseys frequented the podium... er... is that Max?

Merlin finished 2nd on the podium, and to be true, Heike somehow belongs to the team, too, for even if she rode in a MBC Bochum jersey, she started as an Aylien... and you don´t become an Aylien. You are one.

Pardon me, did that guy not state he was against dogmatism and symbolic cult but some lines ago?

It has something to do with some finer points. It does not make you a better person. As mountainbikers, we have a rare opportunity. As one advertisment in 1990 read "Those who said you can´t run away from your problems obviously weren´t going fast enough". I remember a Yeti ad saying "Faster and faster, until the thrill of speed overcomes the fear of death". Mountainbiking as a sport is but a surrogative activity, and as such serves a civilizational purpose. But there is more to it. Many riders experience a soothing and healing effect when riding out into the woods, or even a race or some extreme stunts. Your problems are still there, but if you do not live the moment, i.e. if you are not alert all of the time, if you don´t pay attention, you might die. You have to pay attention to your bike, to your body, to your performance.

But this is merely the step towards the real thing. If you have got your technicals and your technique wired, if your body is trained, you develop a very special mindset, and this mindset might give you the opportunity to experience a very unique psychological condition, namely the flow experience. My long years of research towards that topic hint towards a connection between the concepts of flow, satori, kairos/metakairos, and the concept of Awen (poetic inspiration in the Welsh tradition, and also found in the manuscript "The cauldron of poesy"). That is not to say, they are all the same, and a mountainbiker certainly will not always be a druid, although I know some druids that ride mountainbikes. What I say is, that the experience is based on similar psychophysiological matters, and it must suffice for now that it is something special and unique. You cannot quite talk intelligently about it. Either you experience it or you do not. If you do, you might use it for your own benefit. How you do that, is your business. But I have the feeling that many members of this club have that feeling, and some of them recently felt like joining hands with their fellows to create something great and unique. And since it comes out of the flow experience they all have experienced in one way or the other, and, most important, any act of creation is an act of inspiration in the first, and creating this club is a constant process, that makes it something special, and that makes the people involved special. It might be just that they feel responsible and aware. They are freaks, of course, and we do not always agree. Some of them have tiny heads.

Some of them are focused, some of them are narrow-minded, some of them are morons, and in that this club is nothing special. But they create something beautiful by riding a race and having a beer afterwards. For that, I have to say "thank you!".

Now back to that murder attempt. I counsilled Dirk to press charges against unbeknownst for murder conduct, but how realistic is that the police will even take any action? Those were just some sticks in the woods. But there´s something else we can do. By closing shoulders with the clubs and mountainbikers and shop owners in the region, by hard work and obeying the IMBA rules voluntarily, by keeping in contact with the forest bureaus, we can better the image of mountainbikers in general, and, let´s be honest, the bad image we got is not given utterly without cause. We can use our unity and our harmony against the violence. Then those lunatics will at least not claim a victim. And the race and, more important to me, the festival can still take place. As a meeting place for people in peace, not in civil war.

For more photos, look here!