ieve's Squall of Consciousness

Entry 11 - Dog gets a pup cup, and I plan a moto venture

(Jan 25 2026)

Seven learns where the new pup cup shop is

Walked dog up to the coffee shop and back - that's after his actual first thing in the morning walk. He was a little confused why we were going back out, I think he thought we were gonna go in the car (since that's what we would usually do at parents house, take car up to starbies and back, even though it's the same distance.)

There was some girl sitting at the coffee shop patio with her dog who lunged at Sev - he didn't bark growl, he was just ... not polite. I dunno lady if your dog is kinda reactive do you need to be sitting two feet away from the counter where people order? It was wearing a choke chain collar so, I guess that's her alternative to teaching it good manners. And there was a cop lady there with a grumpy face waiting for breakfast or something, Sev was obviously looking at her trying to get pets but she ignored him, stoic and bored behind her mirrored cop sunglasses, and then once we left I saw that the cop did pet the *other dog*. Hmmm ya'll are fuckin weirdos. Sev is obviously the best boi in this situation.

Anyway Sev got hims pup cup, I got ... a not great cappuccino. I have gotten a cortado there before the day I came to tour the apartment, it was also not amazing - but this is one of the shops where you can walk up from outside. The other coffee shop around here I've been to, there was a guy in line in front of me with his puppy, but ... not sure if he got away with it just because it was a puppy. They did have a 'service dogs must be on leash' sign in the window, thought about going in there, but ... maybe once I've been there a few times without the dog and they recognize me.

Sev did jump up on the counter at the coffee shop we did to. Hims front feet anyway, to say hello to the guy working there, and to ask about pup cups. Guy just said hello and gave him scritches (and a pup cup). Yes at least *he* likes you, bud.

OOok. Well now dog is settled for a nap. I'll probably finish my episode of itchy boots and then ... I dunno. Maybe write, maybe read, maybe play game - there are so many options.

Ugh or I could hack. When I don't have my computer but I have free time I want to hack. When I am here, I ... only sometimes hack.

(...)

I meaaaaan. My V60 brew isn't *amazing* by any stretch of the imagination but ... honestly it's way the fuck better than that cappuccino was. Maybe it's the sorta coffee shop where you need to get sugar added to make it worth anything.

Motorcycle Adventures, or a lack thereof

Hrmmmmm. Watching itchy boots. If you're not familiar, she's SO FREAKING COOL, Dutch lady who just rides solo across the entire freaking world in places most of us would not dare to go, across terrain most of us would consider impassible. In this season, she has just entered China from the west, having ridden from Turkey across central asia - although I'm a few episodes behind, back in Kyrgystan.

Itchy Boots on Youtube

...

I want an adventure. I havent' been on a proper adventure in like, 1.5 months, between holiday stuff, and moving, and weekends are spent trying to get the dog acclimated to our new apartment slowly moving toward being able to leave him for short periods of time.

Actually dang it might be 2 months. The last log I have from venturing is Nov 30 when I went to boulder creek (and dropped the bike because I tried to stop on an off-camber road on my left leg, and the bike leaned too far left. lol. "Dropped" well really she got laid down very gently, but I was past the tipping point and there was no way I was going to get it back upright without going down first.)

I really need to get out and practice intentionally stopping on my right leg. I keep meaning to practice it while I'm just out riding but there's a barrier I need to get over, where it's too much for my lil brain to think about when I'm actually out in the world. I start trying to think about how to activate all the muscles to balance and come to a nice stop on the right side, spend about two seconds before realizing it's not gonna happen, and abort.

But ... yah ... it's obviously an essential skill I'm missing, even if it only comes up in edge cases ... I'm gonna hit those edge cases.

(...)

I don't know when I'm gonna find time for an adventure considering ... life. I need to just ... do it and not wait for the perfect time.

Maybe I'll just start with like, an overnighter. And build from there.

I have been doing a decent amount of exercise since November - I ran a 5k, now I'm training for a sprint triathlon, and doing ... honestly not enough strength training but doing what fits into the overall budget of energy and time. Some core work. I wonder if that will translate to being able to ride for longer periods of time ...

Hmmm... Maybe motorcycle camping is the way ... It's basically backpacking, except ...

Where could I moto camp? I guess Anza is one obvious answer, especially since it's winter and it's a good time of year to be in the desert.

Ugh except I have no gear. Any gear I do have leftover from boy scouts is (a) like 20 years old now and (b) Has been sitting in a shed / garage with spiders and mice and god knows what else.

Maybe that's too much friction. Maybe just an out and back and stay in a hotel for the night.

Meh. Borrego Springs? Nah Borrego Springs is within my normal within-a-day venture range. I want to go somewhere new. Slightly further. Push the adventure a little harder.

Maybe Idyllwild. It'll be chilly but ... really my hands are the issue. Maybe I just need warmer gloves... or glove warmers. My torso is fine with my three layers. My legs are typically fine because Florence keeps them warm, despite only having mesh pants.

It's still not THAT far but, I typically get distracted or tired and don't make it all the way there. (There's a lot of good riding between here and there, and I don't like to take the highway, it's its own kind of exhausting. So by the time I ride the twisties on the way there, I've decided ... meh I'm tired, perhaps we're not going all the way up to Idyllwild.)

Then maybe I can take the 74 across to OC the next day, cruise around OC for a lil while, then head home via the 5. I've always wanted to drive/ride the 74 (Ortega Highway, between Lake Elsinore and Orange County), apparently it's a great driving road if a little bit treacherous.

Of course I decide this on Sunday when I absolutely cannot ditch work any days this week. Maybe I'll work from home a few days to get the 'dog acclimation to new home' time in, and bring him to my parents and start my adventure on Friday. Maybe I can just work a few hours on Friday and then go.

Just need to get a disc lock, since the U-Lock I bought is ... actually useless for me. And a drybag, so I can get some practice in strapping gear and figuring out how to mount is / tension it so it ... hopefully doesn't fall off lol. Idea being, of course, to build up to larger adventures where I will actually need multiple bags.

(...)

Finishing up on reading Long Way Round right now, in which Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman ride from London to New York ... the long way. (That is, East, across the entire freaking world.) It's a great adventure full of ups and downs and absurdity. It doesn't scratch the wanderlust itch quite the same way as Itchy Boots though, because Ewan/Charlie had an entire support crew and sponsored bikes from BMW, whereas Noraly (Itchy Boots) is alone (although sponsored and makes her living from the travels), which is a lot more relatable for a loner guy like me.

- 🜌

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