Posted the first teaser a year ago, well things have continued to creep forward, and now we are closer than we've ever been. Most will still have no f'in idea, but it might plant a few... final editing has begun, and it is gonna blow some pants off. check out the sister site for Updates, Song of Sandra. and check out the new trailer to wet the appetite. Thanks

back to producing after a stint off. hopefully this is the beginning of some fresh momentum.

My friends, if you are reading this your time is valued. In some small way you legitimize my chronic need to report and expulge. So I create this entry to ask you to keep that interested momentum rolling... I am quite sick and disillusioned with the MySpace universe and have decided the regular log ins are not worth my time when a ginormus McDonalds arch is thrown in my face. So I will continue to occupy my space, my domain, www.piratedh.com Here you will find a blog rich with media and radical rants. Have a lot I want to share but two blogs and two logins are too much. I like photo commments, I like the pics, etc. but visit a land where i can be an autour.
Thanks
Love
JG

Planning a big backwoods partay for my quarter century burial ceremony this season. I want everyone to show up and get shitty, on a bike or off. There will be races for those who race, and other stuff for other people too. Will have more hype as the countdown continues, this is just an early warning.

Well I may not have had my game the tightest ever, but the team's game is making up for it. Just back from three days in Ashland for the old Spring Thaw festival and had more fun up there then ever. PirateDH humboldt was myself, Paul Wilson, Jared and Ryan Delong. A more fun and disfunctional crew there has never been. Constant entertainment, and constant riding from the time we pulled into town at 4:30pm on Friday till we left at 7pm on sunday we were burnin it up. The race is good but we were focused on fun and did hella runs on the mountain's other trails, focusing on maximizing T.O.B. and fun, versus over teching the straight forward race course. Once again , much like the seaotter, my main goal was to ride rather then place, and ended up deciding to race my first Pro heat up there rather than Semi just to help me remember it is me against the course and not the other cats. Was feeling great in the trails rock section, in Sunday morning practice. The rocks appear not ten seconds into the run, and then it is pretty smooth sailing, had some of my best campaigns through that morning but towards the end, clipped derailleur just a hair and twisted that old SRAM parallelogram so that it wouldn't drop into my two high gears, and got punky in the others. Had to roll with it, was spinning out my 34 -12 (bad choice) in the first straight away, so I tried not to think about the time I would be giving up being unable to crank for a minute or so. Also got a front flat in my last practice drop in, inverted my bike to replace before run... That got done, and the run started well, but the inversion had shook some bubbly loose such that after killing a bermed corner out of the freeway my front faded to bar almost sending me off the edge of the narrow benched trail. rear end bit and drifted over the edge just in time, a second to recover and I was back on it. the rest was smooth until the finish sprint, have been afraid to replace my worn cleats for fear of altered feel, but as I cranked to the line to make my time back my right foot blew out, missing two pedals strokes and much momentum. Came in with a Personal Best, but frustrated with my gear, lots of compliments, glad I upgraded though as I would have handily won semi pro this year. nice to hang with the bigger boys even with a 7 speed. The rest of my Pirate DH riders did great, though as racing goes, all had some minor issues. As usual though J Rad Delong took the BRAAAAP award, 2nd semi pro by half a second with a flat foot out drift mid run that left ankle burned and bleeding at finish (are you kidding?! and his finish sprint was about as fast as Mark Weirs!). Paul Wilson went from rust to thrust, two days of riding and he ripped down smoothly to his first expert heat and first expert Podium. Ryan Delong... what can I say, the technician killed the rock section up top as it has never been killed, I repeat nEVER been killed, then put in the smooth run, sick. Ryan and Jared opened a new launch line in practice that morning which had spectators scrambling and cheering with surprise. Good stuff. Other riders represented too. Austin Hoeft cruised to victory in the 14 and under, his pops Todd was third in older expert, and nick rossow was third in a very Tight Jr.X race. Good times, now back on the work a day for the next two to pay for my fun. TUC a few days away gonna have to be good and rest well.

Almost two months ago now I received this mysterious message. In a post "Song of Steven" world it makes some sense, but at the time who knew where this would take us.

Director’s Synopsis

P.S. don’t worry about Tom’s lil warning about linking out of myspace, this is to my site piratedh.com, its safe.

Lately all I can think about is my foot print.  How not owning a car improves my footprint, how driving all over the country to recreate in cycling events is not good for my footprint, border line irresponsible etc...  so here is a document I was forwarded with some interesting numbers on oil import and some simple ways to get more from a gallon that I never considered.

"But my line of work is in petroleum for about 31
years now, so here are some tricks to get more of your
money’s worth for every gallon. Here at the Kinder Morgan
Pipeline where I work in San Jose, CA we deliver about 4
million gallons in a 24-hour period thru the pipeline. One
day is diesel the next day is jet fuel, and gasoline,
regular and premium grades.  We have 34-storage tanks here
with a total capacity of 16,800,000 gallons.

Only buy or fill up your car or truck in the early morning
when the ground temperature is still cold. Remember that all
service stations have their storage tanks buried below
ground. The colder the ground the more dense the gasoline,
when it gets warmer gasoline expands, so buying in the
afternoon or in the evening....your gallon is not exactly a
gallon. In the petroleum business, the specific gravity and
the temperature of the gasoline, diesel and jet fuel,
ethanol and other petroleum products plays an important
role.

A 1-degree rise in temperature is a big deal for this
business. But the service stations do not have temperature
compensation at the pumps.

When you’re filling up do not squeeze the trigger of the
nozzle to a fast mode. If you look you will see that the
trigger has three (3) stages: low, middle, and high. In slow
mode you should be pumping on low speed, thereby minimizing
the vapors that are created while you are pumping. All hoses
at   the pump have a vapor return. If you are pumping on the
fast rate, some other liquid that goes to your tank becomes
vapor. Those vapors are being sucked up and back into the
underground storage tank so you’re getting less worth for
your money.

One of the most important tips is to fill up when your gas
tank is HALF FULL or HALF EMPTY. The reason for this is, the
more gas you have in your tank the less air occupying its
empty space. Gasoline evaporates faster than you can
imagine. Gasoline storage tanks have an internal floating
roof. This roof serves as zero clearance between the gas and
the atmosphere, so it minimizes the evaporation. Unlike
service stations, here where I work, every truck that we
load is temperature compensated so that every gallon is
actually the exact amount.

Another reminder, if there is a gasoline truck pumping into
the storage tanks when you stop to buy gas, DO NOT fill
up--most likely the gasoline is being stirred up as the gas
is being delivered, and you might pick up some of the dirt
that normally settles on the bottom.  Hope this will help
you get the most value for your money.

DO SHARE THESE TIPS WITH OTHERS!

 WHERE TO BUY USA GAS, THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT TO KNOW. READ
ON

Gas rationing in the 80’s worked even though we grumbled
about it. It might even be good for us! The Saudis are
boycotting American goods. We should return the favor.  An
interesting thought is to boycott their GAS.

Every time you fill up the car, you can avoid putting more
money into the coffers of Saudi Arabia.  Just buy from gas
companies that don’t import their oil from the Saudis.
Nothing is more frustrating than the feeling that every time
I fill-up the tank, I am sending my money to people who are
trying to kill me, my family, and my friends.

 I thought it might be interesting for you to know which oil
companies are the best to buy gas from and which major
companies import Middle Eastern oil.

These companies import Middle Eastern oil:

Shell.........................

forget this week. gooooood daaaaaaamn! what a pain, imagine having to put aside fun and games and training for "real world" responsibilties?! w.t.f.?? was moving a whole five blocks this week, but still resulted in a charisma crash as the weight of address changes, bill cancellations, physical moving, rental apps, house cleaning etc. brought me to a screaching hault. it was a party hardy weekevd this last, rolled deep to celebrate my new cheap rent situation, and wound up wiped physically and finavcially, but of course well worth it. wed. i died and was then reborn to compelte the move thursday and friday. then last night cinched the noose as i cleaned till 1:30 am... worked. woke up at seven this morning to go race a road time trial, had hoped to prep for it all week and set a new age group record but oh well. 20 seconds slower then last october, on the new bike, oh well. at least the move is behind and life can start anew... now celebrating with mariachees and a margarita biggger than my face, which is disturbingly stiff (i never say that...) and it's just about tapped. so headed to s.f. in a few minutes to drop a friend at the air port and to shake hands with one i haven't seen for years. was supposed to go visit steve, but he died this week, still reeling. was working with him to negotiate a ride this year, now all is condused. one day at a time until the world ends, that's what I say. party like it is here next weekend at paul W's b day, then we''ll see.

The Epic That Started The Evolution. To Understand "Song of Steven" (in production) you have to at least try and fail at understanding "Keep The Change" from 2002.

After a fabulous week, full of startlingly sweet turbulence, the mystery grows thicker this morning. All around me the apathy of months has been melting, as I have been assessing and fixing broken things that have been put off for far too long. Yes that is the theme, overcome the apathy, risk failure and try for success. This mantra is one I constantly struggle with as I often surrender for fear of failure before trying. Part of this awakening has encompassed all the trails in this area, and roads, which I have yet to explore in my twenty something years here. Yesterday held our Sunday road ride down with Anthony Kahn, Winston Sauber, B-Rad, Jessica, and Euro Chris. Fifty glorious sunny miles later, Checked one route off my list. Butler Valley was explored and found a place in my heart. Was pretty cooked after the ride, but following a short recovery session Arieh popped in amped to head into the woods, so I went along. Rode up through the forest, across the new six, across the 11.5 three times and then set about checking a second secret route off my list, the Community Forest to West End Road drop. Awesome. Have know it was there since highschool but never explored... Then took it easy in front of movies last night. Rolled out the door to get a cup of coffee this morning, and low and behold, there are my two unmatched shoes sitting back on my porch, saoking wet, but none the worse for wear! Two weeks!!! Exactly two weeks they were missing, had just given up! WTF?! How I wished they could talk and describe their adventures, and or unveil their captor. So now I ask you who! Someone I know, an acquaintance at least, is my guess, but really I have no leads and only a couple vague hunches. If anyone wants to come clean I will buy you mad drinks in exchange for the story. Just glad their back, it's been a good week. Below is the moment captured just as I found them this morning, border line creepy.

well one thing has come off the sidewalk, and another will be turned out to take its place. found a scrap of poetry on the street a few days ago that I wanted to share, then today I will announce my intention to move out of downtown apartment and put this scrap of walking word back on the streets. gonna ride the couch wave, and hope the weather agrees. sacrifices must be made...

"It doesn't interest me what you do for a living.
I want to know what you ache for, and if you
dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing.

It doesn't interest me how old you are. I want
to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love,
for your dream, for the adventure of being alive.

I want to know if you have touched the center
of your own sorrow, if you have been opened by
life's betrayals or have become shriveled and
closed from fear of further pain! I want to know
if you can sit with pain, mine or your own,
without moving to hide it, or fade it, or fix it.

...It doesn't interest me to know where you live
or how much money you have. I want to know if
you can get up, after the night of grief and
despair, weary and bruised to the bone, and do
what needs to be done...

It doesn't interest me who you know or how
you came to be here. I want to know if you will
stand in the center of the fire with me and not
shrink back."

Excerpts from Oriah Mountain Dreamer's Invitation

yesterday saw snow as I have not seen in humboldt for nearly 20 years. snow on the ground in blue lake, and snow on the lawns of arcata... incredible. a shop ride, of sorts, put five of us in willow creek today; myself, sean t., nic the quick, james the cypher, and code jo-el-o. horse linto campground to be exact. no snow until the last run, when it began to fall. at that point conditions were a bit slippery, as would be our drive home. but how fantastic to see the cleansing snowflakes again grace the coast. to boot the tish tang championship course is alive and ripping. a few wind falls have created a bit more single track and a bit more off camber... nice pace breakers... and old mother erosion has continued to deepen her ruts to man eating size... so basically it's perfect. never better. can't wait to race 'er, the slopppier the better.
ice fell from the sky intermittently all night last night. no frosting left on the community forest's trees this morning, but a generous amount of hail on all the autos. heavy drizzles continue. Looking forward to a long training day tomorrow, don't mind the cold as long as it isn't too wet. would love to ride up to the snow. with the staggered work schedule I have this month that's all my work days are, looking forward to the next ride day, my days off being sunday, tuesday thursday. In other news was so cold last night some needy body stole a pair of my shoes right off the porch! pretty pissed cause it was actually one shoe each from two pairs, rendering both pairs useless! one of my worn out filters which are my mud flats, and my fresh pair for dh clip ins... they also took one of my swampy team bigfoot socks! w.t.f.? gonna be scanning feet all day today. didn't need new dh shoes, so now i do, that's a pisser cause the budget is tight and first thing is first I've got to move in the next month. bloody cleptos...

Driver sues dead crash cyclist for damage

Fri Jan 25, 10:37 AM ET

MADRID (Reuters) - A Spanish driver who collided with a cyclist is suing the dead youth's family $29,300 for the damage the impact of his body did to his luxury car, a Spanish newspaper reported on Friday.

Businessman Tomas Delgado says 17-year-old Enaitz Iriondo caused $20,500 of damage to his Audi A8 in the fatal 2004 crash in La Rioja region, the El Pais newspaper reported.

Delgado, who has faced no criminal charges for the incident, wants a further 6,000 euros to cover the cost of hiring another vehicle while his car was being repaired, El Pais said.

The youth had been cycling alone at night without reflective clothing or a helmet, according to a police report cited by El Pais.

His family won 33,000 euros compensation from Delgado's insurance company after the firm acknowledged he had been driving at excessive speed and this could have contributed to the incident, El Pais reported.

"I'm also a victim in all of this, you can't fix the lad's problems, but you can fix mine," Delgado told the newspaper, ahead of a January 30 legal decision on his suit.

The family said they had previously pitied Delgado for the guilt he must feel at killing their son but were now disgusted that his greatest concern appeared to be money.

"This was the final straw, a kick in the teeth," the youth's mother Rosa Trinidad told El Pais.

Graves Cross Country Log
Brought It Off The Dusty PirateDH page to you tube to see if we can quantify the interest in such methodical mayhem. Give it a watch if you haven't already, parts 2-4 coming soon...