Jump John
Wednesday, July 9, 2025
Go with it
Go with it
Whether you go with the flow
Or fight upstream against the current
Just relax, enjoy and let go
For the joy of just being in it.
Two looks
The two approaches
I’ve spent a bit too much time in poor light, too dark and shady, to get a sharp capture at the 4000 speed. But then, I like the ethereal look out of focus too.
Burning of daylight
Burning Daylight
by john Clare stokes
i paused upon the Still Road
track to look down infinity and
the many who have traveled
on beyond the heat of this
July and the burning time
we could never quench all
the way up to Moniac, daylight
aflame, and i was in this heat
grateful for the ones who
led me through it,teaching me
the lessons of riding in burning
daylight, allowing me to draft,
while learning the craft,
never dreaming that i would
this July day be standing here,
alone, for in my mind we would
always be single file and pulling
one another along.
Pass prime
Ghost of a rider...
grizzled, gasping past his prime,
zig zag zig zap up the slight incline
the cogs worn smooth jumping chain
friction down tube shifters frozen
miles to go before he sleeps
miles to go so awfully steep.
Fools for gold
Fools for Gold
by john Clare stokes
by night they marched on Zion
the gold to mine
but no treasure did they find
breathless they turned from Zion
the streets of gold did wind
tramping on gold
the entire time.
Ott Lee
Ott Lee Blues
There’s a man down in Scott County
Mississippi
Goes by the name of Ott Lee
Now the folks of Scott County
Don’t take too kindly to Ott Lee
For you see
Down in Scott County Mississippi
They have this office of Coroner
A mighty powerful position for sure
Now you say, what’s so powerful
About an elected Coroner?
Don’t he just come and pronounce
People dead?
Well, not exactly
For you see Ott Lee
He has the power to pronounce
The living dead
Walk right in with the certificate
Declaring them dead
No longer part of the family
No plea for mercy
No payment under the table
Pea Ridge Cemetery dead
So you see
Folks don’t like to see Ott Lee
Coming around family in
Scott County Mississippi
It’s little wonder lately
So many from Scott County
Mississippi are relocating
To places as far away as
Orange Beach Alabammy.
No cobbles no falls
No cobbles to jar today...smooth pave...a steady tailwind...some days the roads your friend...
July is Tour de France time and today the tour went over the rough cobblestones. My ride over Pounds Hammock was smooth and free from fall.
The Stoked life
The Stoked life
It's not all poking at embers
Stoking them into flame
But it's akin to that
Only with a internal
Poker.















