ALL NEW!!!

"Jewel On The Run" © Mike Moore Studios 2026

I recently turned 60 years old. I'm not real sure how it happened, didn't try to avoid it per se, just assumed I wouldn't get that far. My father had a heart attack, that triggered a stroke, that killed him when he was 60. So between genetics and more than a few less than optimal "life choices" I figured the credits would've rolled by now. I guess I shouldn't get cocky, still not safe til 61 rolls 'round I reckon, but for the most part I'm feeling pretty solid, and stoked.

The bike you see above was my 60th birthday & Christmas present. It's a titanium framed work of art that I "built" from the frame up. I have "built" in quotations, because the only thing I actually physically did was put the water bottle cage on. The good folks at Blur Cycleworks, in Round Rock, TX. did the actual wrenching and fitting. It is BY FAR the nicest bike I've ever owned. It's a Revel Tirade titanium hardtail. I have craved and coveted titanium as long as I've been ogling bikes, to me it is has always been the ULTIMATE bike building material. It's SPACE METAL!

Because I'm me, I've never allowed myself to spoil myself. I've had tons of nice things in life that I'm forever grateful for, but I've never allowed myself to jump in the deep end dollar wise. Whether that comes from a modest upbringing, or what, I don't know. This time though, with the blessings of my beautiful better half, I decided to say "F@ck it". The funny thing is, even with carte blanche to go bat shit crazy, I still bought everything at the best possible deal I could find. Why wouldn't you? I also didn't just get the most blingy, expensive bits you could, favoring reliability and long term track records over the latest flavor.  I piled everything up over the holidays, snatching every Black Friday sale goody I could. I read reviews, counted grams, re-reread reviews, made choices, changed my mind, made other choices, and spent the necessary coin to obtain this dream.

It ain't all about the dolla dolla bills though. The price means nothing if the sum of the parts equals poop, even if you got it on sale. I'm more than happy to report that my sum came to a LOT more than poop. Every part has lived up to its marketing hype, and they all play more than nice together. Can I, as a mid level, upper middle aged, man hope to get EVERYTHING this bike has to offer out of it? Not likely, but I'm more than confident it'll have everything ready for me when I need it. There will not be an issue with the bike holding me back. It is honestly more bike than I need, and do you know what? I don't care! I'm 60, I've put in the miles. Do I deserve it? Does anyone?

Go ride, or doodle, or do something goofy.

Have Fun!

Hills to climb...

Hills to Climb © Mike Moore Studios 2025

 We've all got hills to climb. Sometimes they're quick and punchy, sometimes they seem to go on forever. Even with 12 speeds, the rough and rocky nature of this climb had me tapping out before I made it to the top. What to do? What else? Just keep going! Maybe you don't get to the top of the hill the way you intended, but find a way. Take a deep breath, or 50, have some of that water, then just start putting one foot in front of the other...you'll make it. When you get to the top, take a minute to look back and see what you've accomplished, feel good about it, then get back on and go. There will be more hills.

When I was younger, my only interest in hills was making it down them as quick as possible using whatever tricks I could find. Now, as I'm square dab in the silver years, I'm beginning to see the beauty, and necessity, of all sorts of hills. Not gonna lie, sometimes they straight up SUCK in a make you wanna puke sorta way. The relief you feel when you make it verges on transformative, if you let it. If you don't? Quite likely not the end of the world, it may feel that way at the time, but use your experience to make it up the next hill. Maybe it's a line choice, maybe someone else can help with some guidance, let you know how they made it. Listen and learn, take it to heart, but at the end of the day...the hills are up to you to climb.

Avoiding the hills won't make them go away, trust me I've tried, there will always be another one lurking. Face the hill, have a plan, and start climbing. Being at the top looking down, is infinitely better than being at the bottom looking up. The view from a tough hill you've made it up can't be beat.

Good Times!

Stop 'n smell em...

"Stop 'N Smell Em" © Mike Moore Studios 2025

 Been a minute. Probably shouldn't have been. Probably should've been writing something down, letting things out.

Stop 'n smell em, even if they ain't roses, see something more than yourself. There's beauty everywhere if you get out of your own way to see it. Take the time to escape to sunny places, avoid the dark crevices between your ears.

Good times (if you let em)!

It's that time of year again...

"It's Texas, it's the law" © Mike Moore Studios 2025

I did basically this same thing last year. Consistency is key. It's Texas, it's not hard to get a pic like this this time of year, and it's beyond a cliche'...but you knew that. It was a beautiful day out today, so I couldn't help it.

March had some fun in it. This iMac I'm hammering away on decided to take a dump. Tech guy said it was the hard drive, so we replaced it...then the journey through hell began. Restoring a computer sucks, there's no other way to say it. Trying to restore a computer from Apple's Time Machine is supposed to be super easy...it sorta is, especially if you want it really screwed up. Sometimes new systems don't want to have anything to do with old ones, restoring from a back up of a bad drive can also be problematic. Yippee. Spent a couple days trying to restore from back up, limped along with it...then decided to drop the bomb, gut it again and do a clean re-install. It's working better. Kinda. It's becoming evident that possibly more was wrong with the old machine than just the drive. Might be Mac shopping soon.

Rain. Mud. No trails. Had to get the pedal on. Took my show on the road. I'd almost ALWAYS rather off road then on road...but I had all these lemons and I was thirsty. The worst day of riding is better than blah blah blah, and other catchy and/or motivational type tripe.

Good Times!

Ch-ch-changes...

"Out In The Sticks" © Mike Moore Studios 2025

 New year, new me? Nah, of course not, I've been on this particular road to ruin this long...might as well see where it ends up. I did, however, make the monumental...NAY! STUPENDOUS! I did, however, make the STUPENDOUS decision to change up the accompanying photo style with these here random rambles.

When I started doing this, I thought a cohesive/through look would maintain a certain vibe. Problem is/was, what the hell's that vibe? I was digging the retro oversaturated look...but it also looked painfully like an old IG post. So from here on out...something different each time. Why? The whole point of this little nug of narcissism was to stretch my skill set with writing and picture making. I'll let you, dear reader, judge to whatever level of success.

This shot was taken 2/03/25 at Dana Peak Park in Harker Heights, Tx. My bike is about 6' off the trail, balanced in the aftermath of May 24's flooding. I hadn't been down to this area since right after the floods, when it was still impassable. Ol' mom nature can wreck some havoc when she gets in a mood, but this is an oddly peaceful destruction...a natural upheaval.

Meh, enough of that. Okey dokey Bat fans, strap in and let's take a ride...see where we end up.

Good times!

It's the New Year! Who wants a resolution?

Here it comes, barreling at you like a hopped up spider monkey—2025, baby, and I’m kicking off with my annual anti-resolution resolution. That’s right. Pass on the promises, dodge the self-improvement platitudes, and swerve hard away from the "dang, I didn't learn Origami this year" guilt spiral. Who needs another regret in the dumpster fire of modern existence? Not me, amigo.

One bike ride logged this year. One. And the art? Less than that. Am I sweating it? Not yet. The real world has yanked my leash lately, and while paying attention to it isn’t my A-game, I’m trying. If I learned one thing from G.I. Joe, "knowing is half the battle". The other half? I’m guessing bullshit and duct tape, but don’t quote me on that.

Let’s talk 2024. Oh yeah, it brought its fair share of ass kicks and bitch slaps. Newsflash: 2023 wasn’t a picnic either. And guess what? 2025 will probably come at ya too. That’s the deal, folks. Life shows up, punches your ticket, and rides you around the sun whether you’re grinning or grimacing. The secret sauce? Somewhere in that maelstrom of chaos, there’s also love, laughs, and moments that make you wanna throw your head back and howl at the moon. Focus on those. Ignore the rest—or at least try to.

But wait, let’s circle back—because I lied...

"Resolve This" © Mike Moore Studios 2025

There is one tiny little resolution, buried under all this blather. Not really a resolution. More like a grudge match between me and a chunk of dirt. There’s this 25-foot section of trail I’ve never conquered, at least not this direction. It's not as flat as it looks, weird angles, obbstacles straight out of Beelzebubba’s design catalog. Dozens—maybe hundreds—of attempts, and every time it spits me out like gas station Sushi. But 2025 is the year. It’s not a resolution, damn it. It’s a goal. And goals? Goals are made to be CRUSHED. Good GOB, could I be any more cheesy? Most likely.

Here’s the final scoop: take care of yourself. Take care of others too, if you’ve got the bandwidth. Why slap a time limit on it? Forget “new year, new me.” Just keep trying to be less of a dick every day. Improvements? Sure, let’s sprinkle those in.

Good Times.

2 Wheeled Escape Pod...

2 Wheeled Escape Pod © Mike Moore Studios 2024

 My first memories of riding a bike, other than "Weeee" or "Oh ssshhhiiittt", were "where can I go?" My world grew exponentially with a bike. Boundaries were established by those that do those sorts of things, looking at you mom and dad, and quickly ignored by those that do those sorts of things. If I wanted to go somewhere, and it was feasible in my continually bored prepubescent mind on my Free Spirit 20", I went. I was curious, I wanted to see more, and do more than my normal life offered. I wanted to escape.

I wasn't escaping anything bad. No abuse or neglect horror stories, just good ol' white bread "Merkin" living. I needed to see something else, do something else, so I got on my bike and I rode. As I got older, 12 or so, I had a new love in my life, skateboarding. Until I was old enough to drive I pedaled to spots WAY outside the approved boundaries. My bike and board my constant companions.

When cars entered the picture and the range of my escapes could increase, the bike got set aside. I always had one and always wanted to at least kinda be into them, but my devotion slipped. My board stayed handy, but now instead of the ditch across town I could pedal to...I was hitting something a few towns over.

I'm older now. I still love skateboarding. The friends I made, the things I did and saw will be with me forever. So will the titanium hips. When skating was done for me, I'd already been revisiting my first love for a while. I don't feel bad, it was never an exclusive relationship. I've owned and ridden mountain bikes since the late 80s, but since skating has left me the spark has been relit.

I'm still escaping. There's still nothing bad, but I still gotta get away. The trail in the picture above is 5 minutes from my front door. It may as well be on the other side of the planet. When I'm there, or somewhere like there, I'm gone. The usual melon melodramas may go down, anxiety, like rust, never sleeps, but I've escaped and can contend with them.

The past few months I've been riding with a good buddy. If I'm being honest, I was a little worried about it at first. Riding was MY escape...sharing it seemed high sacrilege. Turns out to be a reminder of those early escape days when I could talk a neighborhood friend into going on an adventure, so that doesn't suck. Still escaping AND sharing a laugh.

I hope to be able, and want, to get on a bike and go for a whole lotta more years. I will always need to escape.