Ride With Chris 🏳️‍🌈

From quickmap.dot.ca.gov, an online representation of one of the variable message boards on I-5 near Camp Pendleton. The text: FED GOV, S 5 FWY CLOSE AT CO LINE LIVE AMO, 12-3P

Yup, that's my cue to check out of the news for today and hope my country doesn't collapse by tomorrow. Let this sink in: *Our* government is firing *live ammo* over one of the nation's busiest freeways to terrorize us. California had no choice but to shut down I-5 to prevent civilian casualties.

Screen shot of three elements in Strava: 1. Map of today's 40-mile ride. 2. Zoomed-in photo of big red word "NO" on a sign. 3. Street sign that reads "KINGS" with the rest mostly obscured.

Way too many serious cyclists (at least around here) are full-on Maga and/or Nazi assholes. So I love to post stuff like this to Strava, especially today. And it's another reason why I don't ride with any southern Utah cycling groups or in the big local events anymore. But hey, 40 miles is a win.

Tame Impala: Deadbeat review | Alexis Petridis’s album of the week The producer combines an uneasy marriage of four-four beats with catchy hooks and candid lyrics suggesting his rise to pop’s upper echelons may have come at a cost

Tame Impala's outstanding previous album, The Slow Rush, is forever etched in my mind as the soundtrack to my last happy memories of pre-Covid life. 😥
www.theguardian.com/music/2025/o...

Take a beautiful 14-karat gold P with the latest Game Show Body Swap. What happens when a beloved game show wakes up trapped in another game show's body?
#gameshowbodyswap

Strava map of today's 20-mile ride.

Bicycle dashcam image of lightning in St. George UT. Timestamp reads "2025/10/15 05:19:51".

Bicycle dashcam image of a muddy intersection in St. George UT, with rain streaks visible in front of the lens. Timestamp reads "2025/10/15 05:26:39".

Bicycle dashcam image of a muddy intersection in St. George UT. Timestamp reads "2025/10/15 04:36:36".

I waited too long to start this morning, and I got caught in some moderate rain with just enough lightning to be worrisome. But after I "raced" back home, the rain let up just enough for me to make one more tiny loop to get my house-minimum of 20 miles. So that's a win, I guess.

I'm ever-so-slightly considering the SFAF ride because, amazingly?, I never did all that much riding north of Petaluma, and nearly all of it was pre-Strava (and pre-Wandrer). I've done LA-SD (not all at once, of course), and roads were nice enough but always busy.

News photo of an Indiana demonstrator holding a sign that looks like a poorly done puzzle from Classic Concentration: stop sign, green text "TRYING TO", the word "STEAL" being said by, um, a thing, red text "OUR", and text "VOTES" in red, white, and blue.

The new GSN reboot of Classic Concentration apparently doesn't have much of an art budget. 😜

Photo of me getting out of my car, which has a "vintage" National Coming Out Day sticker affixed inside the lower left rear window.

I first came out on a National Coming Out Day, so it's always been important to me. It seemed to fade as a "notable" day, but now it's back. In the face of fascism, cruelty, and hatred, #ncod is a powerful message against those who would re-marginalize us. Whatever it may be, "take your next step."

Strava map of today's 40-mile ride.

Photo of flooded Virgin River Trail at Sullivan Park, Washington UT.

Photo of flooded Riverside Drive, St. George UT.

Photo of flooded Virgin River Trail east of River Road, St. George UT.

Last night's storm dumped a massive-for-us 0.68" of rain at the airport. Flooding around metro St. George isn't as severe as I expected, but it's a lot more widespread, and the Virgin River Trail is impassable in many places. But hey, I got 40mi on a day I thought I'd get 0 miles, so a win for me!

Strava map of today's 35-mile ride.

Photo of my bike upside-down with the front wheel removed to fix a flat.

Bicycle dashcam image of a debris-filled intersection in St. George UT. Timestamp reads "2025/10/10 03:45:21".

Bicycle dashcam image of a waterlogged trail junction in St. George UT. Timestamp reads "2025/10/10 04:44:45".

Today was supposed to be a Priscilla washout, but I ended up with 35mi, although my front tire went flat early on from some debris. Official rain total from yesterday was only 0.02", but the mud/gravel I ran into this morning says most of the area got a lot more than that. Rain is about to resume.

Strava map of today's 50-mile ride.

Bicycle dashcam image of the nighttime sky lit up to almost daylight by lightning. Timestamp reads "2025/10/09 05:04:56".

Bicycle dashcam image of a lightning bolt in the nighttime sky. Timestamp reads "2025/10/09 05:04:36".

Bicycle dashcam image of event signage for the Huntsman World Senior Games, happening now in and around St. George. Timestamp reads "2025/10/09 03:51:48".

Pulled off a consecutive 50mi day, but things got much more interesting than I wanted! A strong storm erupted, but it stayed at the easternmost edge of the area before it moved NE away from here. I didn't get wet, but I scurried closer to home for the rest. Next two days could be Priscilla washouts.

The ridewithchris Format Lab ("Better Content Through Chemistry") presents another episode of Game Show Body Swap! What happens when a popular #gameshow is inexplicably possessed by the soul of another? We've got the video from an alternate reality ...

Strava map of today's 50-mile ride.

Bicycle dashcam image of Virgin River Trail South in St. George UT.

Bicycle dashcam image of Southern Parkway in Washington UT.

Selfie of me on a bathroom (and dashcam-recharge) break.

✅ 11,000 miles in 2025.
A surprisingly decent (but chilly!) ride that brought me to within just 6 days of last year's pace. With all The Horrors getting more horrible every day, I'm doing about as well as could be expected, and it's vital for me to keep up these rides for as long as it remains safe.

Bicycle dashcam image, rendered in black and white, of me pointing to an "Arizona State Line" sign in a dark sky lit by the full moon. Timestamp reads "2025/10/06 03:01:19".

On this exceptionally bright #mcm Moonochrome Monday, I briefly escaped Utah.

HOUR 1: Colourbox, Punch Sharpe & Numan, New Thing From London Town (12") Xmal Deutschland, Matador (12") The Armoury Show, Glory of Love The Sinatras, Betrayal The Danse Society, All I Want Gene Loves Jezebel, Desire Clan of Xymox, A Day (12") The Sisters of Mercy, Nine While Nine Cocteau Twins, Orange Appled HOUR 2: New Order, All Day Long The The, Heartland The Bible, Mahalia Brilliant, Ruby Fruit Jungle Movieland, Lament / Postcard To New York Shriekback, Accretions Joe Jackson, Memphis The B-52s, Girl From Ipanema Goes to Greenland Fra Lippo Lippi, Regrets (12") The Pale Fountains, Hey The Railway Children, A Gentle Sound The Woodentops, Traveling Man The Stars of Heaven, Sacred Heart Hotel The Lover Speaks, Face Me and Smile HOUR 3: Microdisney, Dreaming Drains The Apartments, Sunset Hotel The Doobie Brothers, For Someone Special Indoor Life, Lullaby David Sylvian, Laughter and Forgetting / Before the Bullfight Chicago, Inner Struggles of a Man / Prelude / Little One Everything But the Girl, Cross My Heart Rickie Lee Jones, The Real End Rosie Vela, Boxs Lowlife, Wild Swan Throwing Muses, Delicate Cutters Jackson Browne, Disco Apocalypse

From 39 years ago today, the amazingly diverse and awesome (and humble, too) Sunday night playlist from 9pm to midnight on WISU Terre Haute from October 5, 1986.

It's another Freaky Friday, and that means it's time for another Game Show Body Swap! What happens when one game show wakes up trapped inside the body of another?

Kevin Olmstead, a previous Millionaire winner of $2.18m.

Screen shot from a 2004 episode of Super Millionaire showing the "three wise men" for that episode: Jenny Eliscu, Kevin Olmstead, and Neil deGrasse Tyson.

TIL that SiriusXM's own @jennylsq.bsky.social was one of the "three wise men" on a 2004 episode of Super (Who Wants to Be a) Millionaire.

Strava map of today's 35-mile ride.

Sunrise over the Virgin River in St. George UT, with clouds obscuring all but a narrow but very bright sliver of light.

Bicycle dashcam image of the new gate on the Hell Hole Trail in Washington UT.

Bicycle dashcam image of the new I-15 interchange at Washington Main Street.

I finish September with 1,180 miles, up slightly from 1,165 miles in August, so I can't complain. Today was fun because I was testing parts of a new Randonneurs USA permanent route ... and having a slightly unfamiliar route loaded into my Wahoo to follow brought back fond memories of great rides.

#GSM2025 - The Big Showdown - gameshowmarathon on Twitch gameshowmarathon went live on Twitch. Catch up on their Talk Shows & Podcasts VOD now.

Watch this year's charity game of The Big Showdown as it happened live. There's actual strategy involved in the main game!
www.twitch.tv/videos/24828...

YouTube video by Adam Nedeff The Big Showdown - July 2, 1975

Freshly discovered, an episode from the short-lived daytime game show The Big Showdown. Only two other full episodes are known to exist on video! A surprisingly strong format that's never been rebooted; was one of the games played at this year's @gameshowmarathon.com.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAs-...

The Dream Academy, Moving On Eye to Eye, Time Flys Rosie Vela, Magic Smile Leon Russell, Will O' the Wisp / Little Hideaway Andreas Vollenweider, Night Fire Dance Little River Band, Light of Day Jean-Luc Ponty, Individual Choice Everything But the Girl, I Fall to Pieces The Wolfgang Press, Hammer the Halo Lowlife, A Year Past July Triumvirat, Spartacus Kayak, Daphne Grace Jones, Don't Cry (It's Only Rhythm) Cocteau Twins, Multifoiled

From 39 years ago #otd September 28, 1986, the playlist from 11pm to midnight on WISU Terre Haute. A truly eclectic mix that somehow seems to flow much better than it should! Is there *any* terrestrial radio left that would even come close to playing this in one hour?

Direct from the ridewithchris Format Lab ("Better Content Through Science") on this Freaky Friday, it's Game Show Body Swap. What would happen if a well-known and beloved classic game show woke up trapped in another game show's soundtrack? Sometimes it ... works?

This is excellent news and continues the proud legacy of #aidslifecycle, where I spent years helping others and changing the course of my life.

YouTube video by Cartoon Cartoons FULL EPISODE : Rosey The Robot | The Jetsons | Cartoon Cartoons

From *63* (!?!?) years ago today #otd, The Jetsons S01E01 for September 23, 1962. This was the first TV series that ABC showed entirely in color.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rVe...

Hour 1: The Belle Stars, World Domination (12") Killing Joke, Adorations The Woodentops, Get It On Dead or Alive, Brand New Lover Les Rita Mitsouko, Marcia Baila (12") The Wake, Talk About the Past (12") The The, Heartland (12") The B-52's, Communicate A Flock of Seagulls, Who's That Girl (12") Brilliant, How High the Sun General Public, Faults and All Hour 2: This Mortal Coil, Drugs (10") The Wolfgang Press, Dig a Hole The Sisterhood, Colours UV Pop, Serious (12") Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Rage Hard Colourbox, The Official Colourbox World Cup Theme (12") Book of Love, Yellow Sky Belouis Some, Walk Away OMD, (Forever) Live and Die Gene Loves Jezebel, A White Horse The Jesus and Mary Chain, Some Candy Talking Far Corporation, Stairway to Heaven (12") Hour 3: The Bible, King Chicago Rosie Vela, Interlude Steely Dan, Haitian Divorce Throwing Muses, Green Everything But the Girl, Don't Leave Me Behind Group 87, A Career in Dada Processing Heaven 17, My Sensitivity (Gets in the Way) Fra Lippo Lippi, Crash of Light This Mortal Coil, Come Here My Love (10") In Tua Nua with Clannad, The Ballad of Irish Love Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds, The Artilleryman and the Fighting Machine Hipsway, Long White Car Wings, Treat Her Gently – Lonely Old People

From 39 years ago tonight, the playlist from 9pm to midnight on WISU Terre Haute #otd September 21, 1986. Some absolutely wild segues in there, such as Throwing Muses to Everything But the Girl!

Strava map of today's 47-mile ride.

Bicycle dashcam image of me feeding goats at 4:40 in the morning.

Bicycle dashcam image of me feeding goats at 4:41 in the morning.

Bicycle dashcam image of me feeding goats at 4:41 in the morning.

Sure, I rode another 47 miles this morning. But you don't care about that because, yeah, it's #Goaturday again already.

Early morning photo of my bike leaning on the large digital display outside Summit Athletic Club. Display reads "5:51 75°".

Always happy to show my fat clock on another #fcf Fat Clock Friday.

YouTube video by uberzine GaMe ShOw FOrEnSiCs! An anally annotated analysis of anagram-savant Neil Bines on Caesars Challenge!

If watching two folks spend an hour dissecting every detail of a poor-quality VHS of an obscure '90s game show is your idea of entertainment -- and it should be! -- here ya go. Hosted by Lingo US record-holder Robert McKee, a great friend and connoisseur of the genre.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZI9...

Strava map of today's 57-mile ride.

2x3 montage of six photos with signs spotted on today's ride: *P*aparazzi, *E*nviroGuard, *D*el Taco, *O*nset Financial, and Walmart pickup spots #4 and #7. No secret meaning; just happened to be things I saw and felt like taking pics of. :)

The news has my head in a bad place, so I headed out especially early and rode especially long (by recent standards, at least). But this wasn't about speed; it was a photo tour! And every photo from today's 57-mile ride initially tells a story.