In addition to this blog, I write a daily column on Facebook under the same name, The Spoke And Word. The premise is the same — I write short anecdotes and stories which take place on the road each day, and also about the absurdities of life I contemplate while I ride. The only difference between those columns and these essays is that my Facebook posts are written each evening in 20-minutes or less.
I was recently called out by a reader claiming that I’m prone to exaggeration, hyperbole, and writing all-out falsehoods with those daily posts. This came on the heels of a post I wrote last week after getting bit by a wolf — well, a wolf-husky hybrid. And as extraordinary as that sounds, it actually happened.
That assertion that I’m prone to lying and exaggeration was made by the same reader who called me out three years ago when I wrote about the carload of stoned teenagers who threw a whole watermelon at me as they slowly drove by laughing. They missed. And, it was the same guy who didn’t believe me a year or so later when I wrote about stopping at a red light and using my helmet to head-butt the driver’s side window of a guy who pretended to run me off the road a few minutes prior.
See the pattern here…? Not one of me embellishing or making up stories, but the pattern of this man reading my stories consistently for a few years now — even if he believes them to be works of fiction.
On the opposite end of things are the people who suggest I’m a magnet for drama. They believe what I write, but suggest I set myself up for that drama, hunt for it, or that I might even manufacture it. Although I admit I’m a magnet for drama, I never hunt for it, and certainly don’t manufacture it.
I spend roughly 13-hours each week riding a bicycle between the rural (and quirky) communities of Fallbrook, Rainbow, Pala, Bonsall, and Oceanside. That’s the amount of time many people dedicate to a part-time job. Only the part-time job, in my instance, is to expose myself to experiences beyond my sofa, to observe what I see, and to share them with anyone interested.
I expose myself to fast-moving cars, roadside hazards, and the risks which are inherent to riding a bike in those surroundings. And I observe the landscape, the structures, the people, and the behaviors of those people who transcend and occupy that landscape.
And from all of this, I fulfill my need for a creative outlet by reporting to anyone who’ll read and appreciate those experiences and observations — even if they think they’re works of low fiction.
I’ve written many times that living in Fallbrook is like living in a David Lynch movie — where everyone knows a secret I haven’t figured out yet, where the laws physics don’t really apply, and where eccentricity is an actual form of currency. Spend 700-hours a year riding a bike in an environment like that, and strange things are going to happen — like getting bit by a wolf, having a watermelon thrown at you, and seeing the occasional small aircraft land in an empty field. Believe it, or not.
This is what I think about when I ride… Jhciacb
This week by the numbers…
Bikes Ridden: 7
Miles: 179
Climbing: 7,300’
Mph Avg: 15.5
Calories: 10,300
Seat Time: 11 hours 32 minutes
Whether you ride a bike or not, thank you for taking the time to ride along with me today. If you haven’t already, please scroll up and subscribe. If you like what you read, give it a like and a share. If not, just keep scrollin’. Oh, and there’s this from Timmy Thomas. Enjoy…!
The Spoke And Word™ 
Whomever is accusing you of not being truthful has a boring life, lol As you know, I’ve been accused of the same with my writings on Facebook and comments on YouTube where everything I’ve reported was the absolute truth. I don’t like it, especially when I tell them it’s the truth, and they still call me a liar. That’s the tax on social media, I guess.
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I think we share something in that we both get off of our sofas and spend much of our nonworking time doing things. That doing of those things, exposes us to so much more than the latest series to binge-watch or cable news addiction…
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As far as I know, if anyone has accused me of prevarication due to my social media reports, they’ve done it only behind my back, and I’ve never searched for “drama” or hung with the “drama llamas” a day in my life, and yet…..the stories are real. Sometimes it does indeed seem like being in that proverbial David Lynch life plot, but there it is. If you get out amongst it on a regular basis, expose yourself if only by being physically present often enough, you’re going to occasionally get pulled in simply by being on set as an extra. Sometimes you have lines or an extended action scene. Depending on the day’s script, it may be a comedy or a thriller or just plain surreal. There are those who are gifted and/or amused at the retelling. How can someone other than a recluse not relate??
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Thank you, Dawn. Pretty sure we speak the same language and have shared many similar experiences.
Some buy tickets, some sell tickets, and some of us are actually in the show. Break a leg…
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LOL. Wow.
I am guessing the wonder why the Kennedy’s seem to be ‘drama magnet’s.
I put these people in the same category are Holocaust deniers. They try to cut of evidence by using an anchoring heuristic. Poor things cannot deal with life.
Hey, Buddy…it’s called life. And it happens. My friend Mike gave it a name for me: Just Judy.
It’s nice to know that it is not just me. But it’s Just Judy. LOL
If only we COULD tell all the stories!!!
Anyone who is ‘out there’ living life their own way and has a modicum of observational skill, has GREAT stories.
Again, if we could only tell the best ones.
BTW, the photo of your Mother?
Stunning.
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Thank you, Judy. I have a feeling you have volumes worth of stories. As far as deniers of any kind go, they seem to be reproducing at an alarming rate…
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You can’t let yourself be triggered by the naysayers. Then they win. I get the same anonymous assholes teeing off on me in my blog. Delete. Don’t feed the trolls or any other miserable mother. Like getting into a wrestling match with a pig.
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I’ve seen a couple of your battles. I’ve said before, I would not want to be on your bad side. Cunning is your secret weapon…
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Great picture of your mom. Would love to see it in black and white.
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Will work on it. Going to have it printed on glass fir my daughter.
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And I dig the Photos,and music “Why Can’t We Live Together” – Timmy Thomas. Hey man I do the same,You call it The Way You See It ! I don’t discriminate, I seem to be a Nut Magnet as well. True story early ’90’s just enjoyed playing the snow up in Big Bear with the Kids and Susan. Some Dip Shit teenagers sped by,yelling threw a hard object at us. Thank God it hit me and not my kids at that level. What knocked me to my knees,I yelled pain as I saw what hit me roll down the mountain road a Frickin’ Frozen Orange. Again Thank God it hit me and not one of my kids.Keep your head on a swivel………
Brother keep doing your thing,I appreciate your essay’s !
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Band Name: Cabu And The Frozen Oranges.
That’s a first. Glad it didn’t hit Susan or your kids either.
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I can’t understand how people question your stories. The everyday bizarre leads to the best stories. I’m sorry missed how you were bitten by a wolf. You can’t make that up. I have a friend here that has that kind of stuff happen to him all the time. I’ve witnessed several of the events and they become the thing of legend. Again you can’t make it up.
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