OrnothLand

 If you know what life is worth, you will look for yours on earth…

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Red… and Popped!

About 700 riders at the start

How do I even start to summarize my experience of the 2026 Red Poppy Ride?

Let’s start with the ominous omens. Last month I did my first event ride of the year – the Rosedale Ride – and endured a litany of frustrating mishaps, as explained in that blogpost. The only previous time I’d ridden the Red Poppy Ride was in 2024, when the route was terribly marked, and I suffered a flat tire and limped home gingerly (ride report). I also mused about whether my 113th imperial century would be an ominous number or not. And as I got ready to drive to the start at 6:20am, I spilled half a glass of orange juice all over my computer desk. Hmmm…

Counterbalancing that, I thought I was ready to undertake my first 100-mile ride since a very satisfactory Livestrong Challenge six months ago. I’d done 100k »more

2026-04-29

A very sprinkly rollout About 700 riders at the start

Tag & Release

Tag-o-Rama Pickup

Some years ago, I participated in a cycling scavenger hunt game called Tag-o-Rama. In brief, someone posts a photo of their bike in a somewhat-recognizable local location. Then people have to figure out the location and ride there. The first person to take and post a photo of their bike in the same spot then gets to post a new mystery photo of their own devising, and the game continues from there.

I discovered Tag-o-Rama when I moved to Pittsburgh, where the game was hosted on BikePGH’s public discussion group. From 2016 to 2019, I claimed no less than 45 tags before it all fell apart. I quit when one participant started being openly abusive to others, then BikePGH shut down their forums, COVID-19 hit, and I moved to Austin.

If you want, you can read my first post about Pittsburgh’s Ta »more

2026-04-16

Tag-o-Rama Pickup Tag-o-Rama Tag Drop
Austin currently:

Mostly Cloudy 22°C wind N 9 km/h
Air Quality Moderate (60)



Site news:

Site News: Sidebar Cleanup
Added sidebar link to my Discord user profile. Removed link to my Amazon wishlist over security issues. Pointed Reddit link at my new profile after the old one was banned. ;^)
Posted Sat Mar 7th 2026

Most recent blog post:

Homeless on the Range (778 words)
Another kyūdō update, because (outside of cycling, which has its own blog) archery seems to be the most eventful facet of life, at least until I pound out a l…
Posted Sun Mar 29th 2026

Most recent cycling post:

Red… and Popped! (1618 words)
How do I even start to summarize my experience of the 2026 Red Poppy Ride? Let’s start with the ominous omens. Last month I did my first event ride of the ye…
Posted Wed Apr 29th 2026