A day trek to Wind Wolves Preserve off Highway 166, remembering some good men who died too early and who remembers full service gas stations?

 * ... WIND WOLVES: How is it possible that I have lived here for more than 20 years and never set foot in the Wind Wolves Preserve off Highway 166? At the invitation of my friend Bob Smith (not the city councilman or the builder but the retired endodontist) we drove out to this 93,000 acre piece

of heaven owned by the Wildlands Conservancy. We hiked 10 miles and enjoyed some incredible vistas on a day that was as clear as it will ever be here in the southern San Joaquin Valley. You don't have to hike, or mountain bike, but simply drive out and enjoy the day. With permission you can also camp, picnic or attend nature hikes. If you haven't checked it out, you need to do so.

 * ... GOOD MEN: I spotted a remarkable old picture on Facebook the other day, snapped while Action Sports owner Kerry Ryan and others were competing in the 1995 Race Across America bicycle epic. The picture showed two good men alongside a race van: the late Norm Hoffman and the late Alton Saceaux. Ironically, both were killed while riding their bikes. Hoffman was killed by a distracted young driver in 2000 and Saceaux died in 2009 when he was hit by a driver who had been drinking. Good memories of two good men who were taken too young.

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "My workout plan really only consists of me wandering around in parking lots because I forgot where I parked."

 * ... FULL SERVICE: Bow Porter wrote in response to Gene Bonas, a Navy veteran, about the days when gas stations offered full service. "And yes, I remember this, and miss it. I am  a San Diego old timer, who remembers sailors in bell bottom trousers, with 13 buttons, pea coats, blouses with big square collars in the back and a dixie cup on the head. Bet Gene remembers those days... Not a Navy veteran, but worked for the Navy at San Diego and Third Fleet Headquarters at Pearl Harbor."

* ... MAIL SERVICE: Joe Moesta wrote about something that has puzzled me for a long time. Consider this: "Has anyone ever ordered something on line and wondered why it took two weeks to receive it? Out of curiosity I followed a package in the FedEx tracking system. Our order was made to a company in Virginia on Dec. 7. It went from Martinsville, VA, to Concord, NC, to Hayti, MO, to Grover City, Ohio,  back to Joplin, M0., then to San Jon, NM,  to Lake Havisu, AZ, to Chino, CA, finally arriving in Bakersfield and delivered on Dec. 21. Another good reason to buy locally if you can find the product you want."

Bako bits: a video tribute to a fallen friend, the shame of Roy Ashburn and a holiday weekend

We're heading into a holiday weekend with temperatures (mercifully) down a full 10 degrees to the high 90s. (You know you're from Bako when a weekend high of 98 sounds good). Let's wrap up some news around our town:

* TRIBUTE TO A FRIEND... I'm still mourning the loss of Alton Saceaux, one of the tribe of avid recreational cyclists around town. (see my previous post here) I was moved by what he told Californian reporter Steve Swenson some years ago, that you simply have to "assume you are invisible" to try to stay out of harms way. I do a good bit of riding and can't count the number of times when you hear the truck behind you and wonder if your time is up. You simply can't worry about it and have to concentrate on holding a straight line. There will be a memorial ride Thursday evening starting at the Bike Bakersfield headquarters downtown (everyone is asked to have lights on their bikes) beginning around 6:30 p.m. One of Alton's friends posted this moving video tribute which I'd like to share. Keep his family in your thoughts.




* THE SHAME OF ROY ASHBURN:.. Columnist Sandy Banks of the Los Angeles Times took Bakersfield's Roy Ashburn to task today for being one of two state senators to refuse to join others in agreeing to a voluntary 5 percent pay cut. Ashburn is already in the hot seat for voting with the Democrats to break a budget logjam and I can't imagine this will endear him to his constituents. Roy gave a Times reporter a pitifully lame excuse for failing to do so, saying the money may simply go back to the budget controlled by Senate Democrats. Really Roy? I'm just stunned how these guys just don't seem to get it. Folks are being laid off, struggling, and everyone I know (including employees at The Californian) have suffered pay cuts as well as cuts in the 401(k) match. Roy's earlier move was hailed by some as an act of courage; I see this an act of self serving cowardice. (Photo courtesy of Justin Sullivan/Getty Images North America)



* SKEET CHAMPIONSHIPS ... Can't get enough of explosives this weekend? Head out to the Kern County Gun Club next to Lake Buena Vista Recreation Area for the California State Skeet Shooting Championships. Two hundred of the best skeet shooters in the state will be on hand for three days of busting clays. There's no cost to come watch these incredible shooters. Among the stars will be some junior shooters from Bakersfield who have made names for themselves, including Brian Foley, a recent Ridgeview High grad headed to Lindenwood University in Missouri on a skeet scholarship. Brian is the reigning world champion in the 12 gauge. Also, Bakersfield High sisters Brooke, Emily and Rachel Shuford will be there shooting the lights out of the targets. Shooting runs Friday through Sunday all day.

Cyclist run down and killed on South Union; the second Kern County cyclist killed within 72 hours

Received some horrible news this afternoon when I learned that Alton Saceaux, a 55-year-old local cyclist, was run down and killed on South Union Monday night. I didn't know Alton well but did know him from the occasional ride (I am also a cyclist) and last saw him in Starbucks on California Avenue and Stockdale about a month ago. Alton was always - and I mean always - utterly upbeat and effervescent. The guy loved cycling and personal fitness was a his lifelong personal mission. The cops say the guy who ran him down was likely drunk. This is a tragedy of enormous proportions: we lost a friend, a good man, a father of a couple kids, a husband, a good citizen. Kerry Ryan, owner of Action Sports over off Brimhall Road, knew Alton since 1994 and described him as "incredibly upbeat, high energy type of guy, always trying to get people into cycling, kind of a Norm Hoffman kind of guy." Norm of course was the longtime cyclist and Bakersfield College professor who died when his bike was crushed by a driver off Fairfax Road in 2001. (no alcohol involved in that) Added Kerry of Alton:

"He crewed on the 2004 Race Across America (which Action Sports won) and he was just always upbeat and willing to do anything. He'd come into the store and say 'Kerry we need to get so and so on a bike! He wants to get in shape.""



Alton is the second Kern County cyclist to die on a bike in just a few days. The other death happened in Malibu and has yet to be reported by the local press, but it involved a Tehachapi man who was completing a "double century ride" (that's a 200 mile ride) with his 14-year-old son on the back of a tandem. According to a story in the Ventura County Star, Rodrigo "Rod" Armas, 45, died at the scene after his bike was hit about 1:30 a.m. Sunday on Pacific Coast Highway. His 14-year-old son was injured but is expected to recover. You might ask why they were riding in the dark so early in the morning. The reason: these 200-mile rides take all day and last into the night, certainly dangerous in any circumstances. Once again, the cops say the man who hit the cyclists showed signs of being legally drunk. And so it goes. We lose another one. Thoughts for the families. (photo courtesy of The Bakersfield Californian)