Rolling lifestyle

Return of the 552

2011-07-27T00:20:00.005-05:00

Return to the blog as well I suppose...

Well after 21 weeks I paid a small ransom and got the Remington 552 back from the "Remington Service Center" in Birmingham. Kind of a crock, for the money I spent I received the rifle back in no better shape and with the same glitch it had when I dropped it off. Regardless it is a beautiful rifle and shoots nice tight groups.

Despite the ordeal and the glitches which are still present I am happy to have the gun back. In spite of the mechanical issues the rifle fires very accurate groups. Here are a couple from today:

These were from a standing lane, me kneeling and bracing the gun by hand

Obviously the gun is more accurate than I am...

Same distance, just shooting from a standing position free hand.
Obviously from a standing position with nothing to brace myself on I am a mess and have no business shooting anything smaller than a rabbit out past about 40yd with the 4X scope. I can live with that.

Taking another dump

2011-03-11T09:09:00.004-06:00

Dang constipated blog. Same story, months gone by and the blog goes neglected. Sorry to the 3 people who actually follow this train wreck. Life is really just not that entertaining at the moment. I am not spending much time rehashing on things that I am doing.

That said, life has been moving on. We have had a banner Winter with respect to snow and ice, so much so that I totalled my truck in one of the storms. On a more positive note we have been able to take advantage of the recreational side to all this white stuff.

(Yes, that is a boogie board with a trash bag on it. So what, it works.)

As things have started to warm up a bit I have been able to get out to the range a bit more. I actually managed to complete the test firing of all the guns I brought back in November. That was no small task to feed the guns their desired ammunitions and to find the time. Several of these guns haven't been fired in years, a couple are more than a decade without action, and one had never even fired a round. Good times. Here is my Grandpa Brummett's Remington 721 (probably the first brass cycled through it in 10-15 years).

Then of course there is the 45 Long Colt. Not a cheap cartridge. I will most likely have to invest in a hand loading press for this round if I want to shoot it much. Fortunately the Ruger Blackhawk comes with a 2nd cylinder that is chambered for the more economical 45ACP bullets.

In other news, I have decided to take a short break from cycling. I shipped off the Home Wrecker V8.0 last month to its new home in the NE.

I will miss the riding, but it is a necessary evil. For one it allows a bit of time for the shoulder to finish healing. The second reason is that it is easier not to spend money on bikes if I do not have one.

Last item to hit is the hiatus from woodworking. Yes, there is a trend here. No hobby, no hobby spending. Over the last couple of months I have cleared out most of my large power tools from the garage. Now there is a lot more floor space available for bikes and crap. Yes, we still have bikes in the house. Erin and the kids are riding now. I did put my 20in bmx bike back together to ride with them around the neighborhood.

Dead silent

2011-01-01T10:18:00.003-06:00

Okay, not much activity here. Life has been on hold somewhat since the beginning of October. I put Erin and the kids on a plane on the 7th IIRC. At that time work situation was looking pretty grim with layoffs lurking in the near future. On the 15th of October my contract was canceled with TBE.

On the 16th Clay, Gary, Cam, and I headed out on the ride that was just not meant to be. First off as we are driving up 72 a rock kicks up and cracks Gary's windshield. Then upon arrival in Chattanooga everyone piles out and starts getting bikes ready. A couple of minutes later a better parking spot opens up so Gary jumps back in the truck and ends up running over Cam's back wheel. At this point we really should be careful and watch out for what would be next. However we soldiered on, got Cam's wheel rideable, and headed off down the trail.

Just a couple of miles into the ride we enter the "Chunk" section of the trail, an experts only playground with drops, jumps, and good dh speed. Things start off well and I am finding a groove. We stop and eye up one of the big rock drops up top and I decided to hit it. It went off without a hitch, a good 4-5ft drop into a steep dh landing. I was feeling pretty good after nailing that one, so as we headed down the trail I was packing a lot of speed taking the jumps and trying to remember what comes next. I drop into a valley and pick up speed for an upcoming jump out the other side of it. Well long and short of it is that I ran a lot of speed into a near vertical jump and pussed on the takeoff. This resulted in me catching 5-6ft of air. Unfortunately since I didn't pull up hard enough on takeoff the front end did not get as much lift as the rear. This put my landing fully on the front wheel. I death gripped it and tried to ride it out, but in the end the bars twisted and I ended up pile driving my shoulder into the hard dry dirt.

I knew pretty soon that something was not right in my arm/shoulder. Lifting it was excruciating and I could hear/feel stuff moving around that shouldn't have been moving. The guys helped me adjust my backpack into a sling and Gary and I hiked back out to the cars. I was pretty rough and apparently a bit pale. Fortunately we ran into a couple at the lot who offered to guide us down to the hospital in Chattanooga.

From there things went as expected. Lots of waiting. Some excruciating x-ray contortions. Then a few hours later I sent off with an immobilization sling and a prescription for narcotics. We then spent a couple of hours trying to track down a 24hr pharmacy in TN as we had been warned that AL wouldn't fill the out of state prescription. I gotta hand it to Gary. He was really helpful and nice throughout the whole ordeal. Definitely a good test of friendship.

On the 5th of November I went in for some hardware. I was put under and the doctor made fast work of it. When I woke my throat hurt and my arm was completely numb from the nerve block. It came to life in the middle of the night and the pain really picked up. At least the clicking and thumping of the bones had stopped. I was left looking a bit Frankenstiened.

and still bruised...

The bruising on this side is mostly due to the original crash 3 weeks earlier.

I managed to tough it out by myself up to this point. Lots of pain meds and some help from friends here and there. But by in large I spent most of my time medicated and zombie'd out. Sleep was not very good/comfortable, I was not coherent enough to surf the web much, so I watched a lot of movies.

On the 12th I headed out to CA to meet Erin and the kids. It was my first time back in CA since moving out in 2007. Lots of family visiting over the next couple of weeks. We were able to stay for Thanks Giving, which was nice. After 3 meals I was officially turkey'd out...

I was able to spend quite a bit of time with my Dad, which was one of the main reasons for making it out to CA. Our best conversations seemed to be gun-centric. Guns are something I am starting to get into shooting at the range and hopefully I will be able to do some hunting here in AL as well. We spent a lot of time going over my Granddad's and his collections. I was even able to do a bit of shopping. I brought a few home with me. I gotta say I was a bit concerned about flying with firearms, but overall it was uneventful.

Here is a good video on the topic:

Here is the rifle case:

The shotgun is an 80's vintage autoloader that looks to have never actually been fired. The rifle was Grandpa Brummett's and it originally left the factory in 1952. I am pretty excited to have some family firearms around to use/enjoy. Since getting them home I have been trying to get them cleaned, lubed, and tested out at the range.

Of course Christmas was thrown in there somewhere...

We were spoiled by the family. Lots of presents under the tree. It took a bit longer than I expected to make it through all of them. Mom and Dad gave us a family gift of a game console. Amazingly it didn't get turned on until around 2pm. After that Austin got a bit sucked in.

Erin and I managed to pull off a somewhat more traditional meal this year. We invited the Lawson's over to share the evening and the dinner.

Okay, mix in some vegging out, a trip to Ikea, a lame New Years Eve and you are now up to date with my life for the most part.

Almost October

2010-09-16T18:09:00.001-05:00

and you know what that means...

Squirrel hunting season. Redneck jokes and all. I love this guy:

Uggghhhh

2010-09-14T07:22:00.002-05:00

Okay, really slacking on the blog. Guess I don't get over here as much these days. Oh well, life goes on and the blog is obviously not much of a priority. NBD.

So what have we been up to? Check out Erin's blog. She has been very active in posting since she stopped working at the preschool.

Summer is coming to an end. We have had a taste of Fall weather and honestly I want more. It is nice to have the return of low humidity and temps in the 70-80*F range. We have had a couple of hot and humid days mixed in and the difference is major. Once you get a taste of the cooler weather the hot and muggy is not fun to revisit.

Riding is picking up as the weather waxes to cool. It is becoming enjoyable to get out and ride again. I haven't been too obsessive about riding, which I am sure is appreciated by the rest of the house. The ride log has just passed the 1 year mark and the verdict is in, just over 1,000mi in the saddle for the year. Meh, that's just how it rolls out when the typical ride is <10mi. Oddly I don't think that my ride times are much less than they have been over the last 5-6 years, just a bit more rugged terrain.

I have gone back and forth on wheels and tires over the last 3 years in AL. The terrain really does demand beefier tires, but on the flip side it sucks to push them back up the hill at the end of the ride. If you can handle pinging off the rocks on the downhills and getting a bit beat in the rough then the lighter tires/wheels help keep speed up in the flats while making the uphills a lot less work. In the end I run a wheelset that is heavier than a lot of peoples downhill race wheels with UST tubeless tires. I don't spend much time truing my wheels or fixing flats though, so I guess it all works out.

This weekend I managed to make it out to the rifle range in Madison. It was fun to get out and plink off a couple hundred rounds of .22cal, but also a bit frustrating. The scope on the Remington 552 is way off. It is going to take a bit more time and prep to get it shimmed in. The gun itself is nice, when working correctly. But it was having an issue with jamming/ejecting on missfire rounds, which were plentiful on the 2-3 year oxidized old ammunition I had. It was getting better with use, but I may need to disassemble the gun and clean/lube it for best results. By the end of the day I was pretty proficient at clearing it when it jammed. On the other hand the old bolt action single shot was performing like a champ. Matt and Mike plinked out nearly as many rounds as I did despite the speed handicap of having to chamber one round at a time. Guess messing with the scope settings and gun jams is more of a handicap. Needless to say there were no bullseyes fired with the Remington.

Around the house? Nothing much new. Erin went full-bore on the bathroom face lift. The aesthetic portion is covered in her blog, so I won't rehash it here. Biggest issue turned out to be changing out the faucet. First issue was that Erin neglected to pick up connecting hardware. Not a big deal. After a quick run to HD I fitted it up and turned the shutoff valves on. Crap! Water spraying everywhere from one of the new connectors and a drip out of the valve on the other. Back to HD to exchange the flex connector with the bad seal and to grab some new shutoff valves. Can of worms officially opened. So there I am with water all over the place, cursing and crammed under the sink trying to release 10-20 year corroded swage fittings. I hate this part since the water to the house has to be off until I get valves back on. Instead of cutting off the old swage and nuts I re-used them on the new valves. I ended up tightening the heck out of them and still had some very slow drips. But I was ready to call it a day and grab a beer.

Well about an hour and a half later I walk in to find water spraying out all over. F*%_(_*(&*(^%!! One of the nuts that I over-torqued cracked. This is not good. Basically I have only one option at hand. I can remove the valve and cut back the pipe 1/4-1/2in to get a swage on fresh tubing. Okay, I skipped the step where I cut off the old swage and tried to just swage with a new crush ring and nut. That didn't work due to the mangled nature of the pipe. Obviously I am not the first monkey to wrangle with this pipe. Right about here is where we called in backup. Fortunately Mike was available to come over and solder on a new section of pipe. So by around 9pm we were in good shape. He came back in the morning and extended the other pipe as well. Done deal.

Man, I do hate it when things go awry on home repair.

That's about all I got at the moment. Already a fairly lengthy post at any rate and no pictures or anything really exciting to show for it. Thanks for reading.

Working hard or hardly working

2010-08-27T12:10:00.003-05:00

I started this posting a couple of weeks ago and never posted it up...

I have been thrown under the bus. Seriously, every thing I touch in my new position here at NASA is either behind or on a very tight schedule.

This week I have been fighting with my computer solid for over 40hrs. My current model loads up at over 10gb, so despite my machines best effort the pidly 8gb of RAM just wasn't cutting it. Now I am squatting over in another building on a 16gb machine. Only issue with it, only a quad core.

(yes, that is all 4 cores totally pegged)

Things are going better, but these huge models really to grind PC workstations to a snail pace.

Nuther' One for Friday

2010-08-13T16:22:00.004-05:00

First time on a surfboard. Who would have thought it would be in Alabama :-)

The family headed out at the end of July for the annual company lake party. Like most company functions, the more you participate the more fun it is. I was out swimming, surfing, and chaufering eveyone on the waverunner. Erin and Austin managed to snare a couple of tiny Brim, which is pretty good considering they really weren't biting much this year (maybe the higher temps drove most of the fish to deeper water).

Overall it was a great way to spend the afternoon and yet another reminder of how great of a company I work for. If you are ever heading my way, N. Alabama, let me know and I will forward your resume on to the boss for consideration.

Hey You!

2010-08-13T16:18:00.001-05:00

This one is for all the engineers in the audience...

Hot up in this joint

2010-08-11T11:49:00.002-05:00

In case you are not catching this blog on the day it gets published I have copied the forecast down.

Basically what this boils down to is that by 5pm the temperature should be about 100 degrees and the humidity at 40-50%, which makes it feel about 110*F. Should be a nice day for a ride. Yep. Gonna need to pack some extra water and electrolytes along.

I rode on Sunday at 7am and actually enjoyed the temperature. We did a very manageable 9 miles mostly on the upper end of the park in about 2 hours. It was a nice change from the recent afternoon rides in the 90-100 degree weather.

In other bike related news, Erin has actually been making it out and getting some miles in on her bike. She seems fairly comfortable and content with it as I have built it up. That is a definite plus. Maybe I can get her out in Monte Sano this month.

My bike riding has definitely been pretty weak lately. It has been far easier to hide out at home in the AC or at the pool than to gear up and go out for a MTB ride. Looking at my ride log I went from low mileage to pathetic about the time summer started. The layoff was a good excuse, but I think the weather has a lot to do with it as well. Hopefully we will start to see the temps tapering down by mid-end of the month, then we will go into my favorite time of the year for riding here in the SE.

Nothing else too noteworthy around my neck of the woods. Little bit of mowing, little bike riding, bit of beer drinking, and the rest is family time and lazying around.

Dang, stagnant on the blog

2010-07-15T14:05:00.002-05:00

Sorry to the few who actually follow this blog.

So, what's new?
Laid off:
I got notified on June 21st that my contract with TBE was on the chopping block. After months of wondering when and if my job would be effected by all the doom and gloom surrounding NASA in the wake of Obama's administration. Answer: Yes, directly. June 30th was my last day on the job.
Looking for new work is never fun, but having to do so under duress just plain sucks. I hit the deck running and sent out updated resume to anything that was even partially applicable to my skill set.

Laid back:
After processing out of MSFC on Wednesday I had an interview Thursday morning that ran long. I got home in the afternoon cracked a couple of beers and received a call from my boss in the afternoon. Apparently he had found another TBE contractor spot in another branch and I was going back to work on Tuesday. So I ended up with a 5-day 4th of July holiday weekend that was much more relaxed.

Government inneficiency at its finest:
So the last 2 weeks I have been getting paid to just sit at work. I can't log onto a gov. computer without my badge. So turning in my badge on Wednesday and missing 2 days of work constitutes the need for a whole new background screening. Weird. Beets not getting paid any day though :-)

Home life:
Not much to report. Been hitting the pool up quite a bit lately. It is cheap, fun, and good exercise. Erin and I have used the whole layoff scare as a wake up call. We have figured out a budget that will hopefully have us much better prepared for the next time this sort of thing occurs.

In the garage:
Nothing news worthy to report. More outward than inward tools at the moment. Part of the budgeting and being better prepared meant that some of the lesser-used woodworking tools need to go to put money into savings. So last week I sold off several of my hand planes. More tools will follow. Life goes on.

Working on cars:
Yep, my newest hobby has been embarked upon begrudgingly. I have mentioned in the past that I am really not into working on cars. After spending most of my latter teen years working on them to one extent or another I lived quite happily paying someone else to do all maintenance on our cars. Well, sticking with the budget theme I am having to get out and do more myself. The other motivator is that most of the real issues with our vehicles seem to stump the mechanics. We took Erin's truck in for a full tuneup a couple of years ago figuring that would allow them to get in and really see what was causing power loss and making it run poorly. Not the case. We received a clean bill of health, a bill for about $1000, and a truck that ran no better than before.
Tuesday had me changing the fuel filter on the Tundra and swapping out the brake pads. For $62 in parts and a couple of hours of time I did 2 tasks that would have cost me $300-500 had I taken it in. Not my favorite way to spend time, but it is nice to take care of things myself and save money at the same time.
Today I will be putting in a new air filter, cleaning the MAF, and cleaning the throttle body. Should be fun.

Riding bicycles:
Been hot as hell here in the SE last month and a half. With humidity varying from 50-100% the heat index has had us somewhere in the 90-115F range pretty regularly with actual temps 85-100F. Riding around in a sauna is interesting. 100oz of water doesn't seem to go more than about 2-3 hours even keeping track of consumption. My saddle time has also suffered due to the job hunting and related stress. Thing are starting to settle in, but I am still only getting a couple of rides in each week. That will have to do for now.
I have been riding a set of 777mm wide bars and a 65mm stem. That is nearly 31in for the Americans in the audience. It is amazing the difference in DH stability/control. It rides like the bike did when I had the fork at 150mm, but I am still running it at 140mm. Only down-side I see is that it killed my tech/steep climbing stability. Guess it puts too much weight out over the back wheel. Always trade offs. For the Heckler there is a balance point, on the one side is xc/trail ride all-around stability and on the other is shredding DH stability. You can't get both.

I am diggin on the Hilltop Hoods lately, good music:

Worked over

2010-06-14T08:31:00.003-05:00

Yep, feeling a bit worked over this morning. It is my own fault. Erin put the notion in my head that I could ride all I wanted on Sunday. Sounds good. After sleeping in and missing the 9am group ride, lazying around the house, procrastinating, putting the bike back together, and drinking a couple of beers I decided that I needed to punish myself with a massive ride.

The plan, or notion as it was, is to ride the big loop around the base of the mountain. That nets you a little over 20mi of undulating trail. Most of the hills are short, so it is mainly a sustained pace. The only real climb is about 600 vertical feet to get back up to Burrit trailhead at the end of the ride. No problem right?

So here is what I actually rode (green blaze)...

I started off with high hopes on completing the full loop, but by the third connector off of Flatrock I had to pull the plug (red X on map). But in all honesty I had been contemplating other routes since the first connector. The main problem turned out to be the temperature and not having enough water. It was in the low-mid 90's when I headed out with just under 100oz of water. At the red X I had about 20oz left so I decided the prudent thing to do would be to head straight up. I knew I would be running out of water, but the difference in this route and the planned route (blue blaze) is that I could stop at the park office to get enough water to finish the ride. It was only about 3mi to the water where as the car was still about 8mi away. Easy choice other than the 500 vertical feet up to O'Shaughnessy Point in a mile of trail. Most of that is hike. I ran out of water just after getting to the top, so at that point my choice of route was looking pretty good.

So in the end I think I came out around 18mi of ride, 4mi of that was pavement back to the truck. I am gonna have to write this loop off until the temperatures come back down in the fall. It is just too much time to be out on a 100oz of water in 90 degree plus weather. Total ride time was just over 4 hours. In the last 45 minutes my body went into shut down and really wasn't dealing with the food and water well. I think more electrolytes would have helped. Gonna have to figure that out for the summer rides here since you sweat so much.

This is just getting old now...

2010-06-10T15:17:00.002-05:00

Here in Huntsville we have been blessed with rain just about daily for since my last entry. 10 days into the month and I have racked up only about 20mi on the bike. Fortunately rainfall has not really been all that much, so when you do make it out the trails aren't really all that soggy. Main thing is getting the timing right so you don't get caught in the rain. Of course you also have to fight off the mental block that thunderstorm weather puts on you. It is far easier to grab a beer and hangout than to brave the "potential" of bad weather.

So yesterday with the best of intentions I got off work early, grabbed my bike, and headed out for the Wednesday night group ride. A mile before my exit off the parkway it starts dumping rain. Doug scratches head for a minute and carries on. It was sunny and rain free most of the afternoon, even upon leaving home no 5 minutes before. I keep on driving and the rain lets up to a mist by the time I reach the mountain. It is dry up at the biker's lot. Go figure.

So we geared up and played around at the lot while the rest of the group dragged in. The skills course is always good to spend a few minutes on. It is roughly the same as it was at the FTF minus the teeter.

As we headed out thunderheads were starting to make some noise and were closing in fast. We headed out Family trail at a good clip and decided to make the most of things. Once we hit O'Shaunessey Pt. though we did change our plans and decided to stay closer to the top of the park by riding Mt. Mist. There was light rain and slippery conditions, but there was no downpour. So at the end of the trail we turned down and headed deeper into the park. Once on Goat Trail the rain had settled into a light sprinkle that was not really a bother. Lots of slick rocks, but the soil was still firm all the way up to the climb out where it did get a bit slick in the clay/mud. Overall more of the trail was rideable than not though.

Once we got back up to the point we hit South Plateau back to the lot. About 1/2mi into it the skies became black and within a few minutes the heavens opened. Rain dumped on us as we sprinted back to the cars. A hasty strip down in the lot and everyone headed for home. No hanging out or post ride BS with the rain pouring down.

So it sucked getting caught in the rain again, but again I am happy that I went for a ride instead of huddled up at home waiting for the bad weather to pass.

Return of the Cats and Dogs...

2010-05-27T14:36:00.002-05:00

Yesterday started out as a nice Wednesday night ride. I got to the biker's lot early to check the tires and such. It was beautiful and about 80 degrees with sunny skies. So we decided to once again got top to bottom in the park and hit Flat Rock trail. It was looking to be the perfect day for a longer ride.

Well, the weather had other plans and the 20-30% chance of rain and thunderstorms rolled in on us about 6 mi into the 13mi ride. It was a blessing and a curse wrapped into one. The temperature dropped by 10-15 degrees which made it much easier for me to kick it up a notch and hammer out the remainder of the ride. But the rocks and roots became slick as snot, the puddles went from 6in to over 12in deep within minutes, and the soil turned to mush under our tires. I am still amazed when the skies open up here in the SE. It really is no laughing matter to get caught out in the weather as 1-3in of rainfall in an hour can really make a mess of things.

Fortunately the ride went smoothly for the most part and the only delays we had were waiting for people who didn't know where they were going. Usually when it rains it is every man for themselves. But with new riders on the trail there was a lot more consideration, maybe even too much. I found myself crouched under a tree for over 10 minutes waiting for the last straggler and really wanting to push on. But I would hope that if I were bringing up the back that someone would extend me the same courtessy. Call it putting a bit into the Karma bank for later if you will.

I have to say, as much as it is a pain to get caught out in the rain it is also a lot of fun. Sure you get soaked and traction goes to hell, but at some point along the way it turns from work into play. The whole tone of the ride stops being a training race and goes back to the days of splashing in puddles. It is nice to have that reminder of weather being fun. I can remember back in high school taking off with Rodney or Stuart to go puddle jumping on our BMX bicycles. So long as the temps stayed over 60*F it was always fun. Of course a full bike overhaul would follow. Last night I opted for a hose down and light lube. I think the Heckler can take a little water.

In the news:
Another factory video shot on home turf

Brendan Fairclough and Curtis Keene in Santa Cruz from Taylor Sage on Vimeo.

Sometimes I really do miss the trails off the side of UCSC. Good stuff.

In other news, I have started building up another bike for Erin. I know, I said I would never do it again. But she has been hinting that she would like to have a bike and the quickest/cheapest way to facilitate that is for me to build it up from new and borrowed parts. I have taken a few ques from past failure and am really trying to set this one up for success. So far so good. Initial fitting went well and component selection appears to be approved by the boss. Wish me luck.

Some more of them photograph thingies

2010-05-14T16:13:00.002-05:00

Yes, I did say thingies. What of it :-)

Some photos from Gary's camera on the Tsali trip.

You can always go to the album and view larger images if you like.

Heckler v6.0 for those who weren't paying attention.

Stripped the Home Wrecker down to raw aluminum for 2010. Figure I will be running it into the ground for at least another season, might as well give it a face lift so I look good. It is of utmost importance that bike bling is inversly proportional to your speed on the climbs. Since my speed isn't improving my bike better be looking sharp :-)

Little bit of Oak Mtn for you

2010-05-14T16:11:00.002-05:00

More riding than taking photos. In retrospect we should have taken time to photo the log ride, jumps, BUMP, or even me actually on my bike ;-) Oh well, next time...

Good weekend

2010-05-10T16:38:00.002-05:00

Well, got rousted out of the house by the boys for a weekend of MTB in N Carolina, Tennessee, and N Georgia. Pictures to follow, gotta get them from everyone else as I forgot to grab ours.

Highlight of the weekend would definitely turn out to be Jackrabbit MB/Hiking Trails out by Hiawassee Georgia. Check out SABA cyclings website for the details, maps, and weather conditions.Tons of flow, equal up and down time, little bumps, jumps, and berms all over the place. A must ride trail system IMO. Like most of my favorite trails there are tons of small loops so it is easy to bail out once the legs have had enough abuse. We managed almost 16mi before bailing out. Clay and I were more than willing to just continue riding here and not move on to Tsali just yet.

We started out at Chilhowee for 10mi of near solid climbing. Not sure how that worked out, but in the end we all agreed that this was a trail system we weren't all that interested in riding again.

From there we headed on to a tried and true trail, Brush Creak Trail from Boyd Gap trail head. It is a bit farther down the road and a solid/fun 6-7mi out and back. We rode out and then pussed out for a road shortcut back to the cars in order to make sure to get checked-in and dinner under control. Probably a good thing. Clay snagged some video here, gonna have to see if it turns out. It is another great trail to hit so long as you are passing by.

Next morning we hit Jackrabbit. Just about everyone was all smiles on this trail system. But we packed up sooner than later in order to hit a loop at Tsali before dark.

At Tsali everyone was starting to slow down and feel the 3 previous rides. So getting geared up to go was lethargic. Normally we would start with the 7mi Thompson look, but Jeff and the endurance riders were arguing for a Left or Right loop since they are officially open to bikes on Friday. At any rate as that argument goes on Gary and I go back to the truck, lock it up, and put on our helmets. We look up to find that the lot has cleared out completely and there is no sign of our group. WTF! Not only did we not see them go, but the decision of what trail they were doing was also not made clear. Total group ride communication failure. So Gary and I debate a few minutes and slowly head out the Right Loop figuring that the Left Loop would be too much for the tired riders. After about 1/2mi we figure they would have realized our absence, so when we didn't catch them we called and then headed back to the lot where I promptly cracked a beer.

After a nice nap and conversation with some other nice folks we determined that the group wasn't comming back for us, so we had free reign on our ride choice. So we did a 5mi short loop on the Right Loop. This sent us down the heinous climbs we did last October. I must say, they are quite fun in the "suggested direction" that we were taking. Then a short climb up the Rt. Alt. connector to the fire road and back out. It was a great lite loop to cap the day. We had a couple of beers and about then the group popped out of the Left Loop looking pretty beat. In the end we dodged a bullit by being dropped off the group ride. Sometimes you get lucky.

Saturday morning everyone is moving a bit slow but we head out to Tsali once more to hit the Thompson loop and Mouse Loop. Both trails have fun downhill sections and a fair amount of climbing to earn them. There was some debate once done about doing another short loop, but in the end everyone had a beer and was happy to call it.

In the end:
4 trail systems were hit
~56mi were pedaled
36 beers and 2 half pitchers of Margaritas met their demise
very little blood was shed
I got to do on trail wheel straightening and brake fluid venting to make new pads fit

good times...

blog blog blog blog blog

2010-04-19T17:35:00.002-05:00

Yeah, I got nothing. Weather here in N. AL has been awesome for over a week straight. Temps in the 70's to the 80's. Sunny skies. Beer drinking, mower riding, Spring cleaning, riding the bikes, and just enjoying the nice weather. That about sums it up.

This weekend I got in a couple of 10mi adventures with the local B-Team. Saturday was the 7am dawn patrol out on Monte Sano. Sunday was a slacker Wade Mountain run. Both rides had 4-5 people riding and a pretty well matched crew with respect to speed and endurance.

New parts for the bike? Yeah, I got a few odds and ends but for some strange reason I don't feel like geeking out on it. Maybe another day.

Other goodies? Went out this afternoon and picked up my super Stihl eletric hedge trimmer. Ended up with the HSE71 IIRC. Costs as much as 3 basic Home Depot disposable jobbers, but it has a 24in bar on it instead of a 16 or 18 that the cheap ones have. It also has parts available should it break, so I won't have to throw it away. Not sure if it is worth it, but if my Stihl weed wacker is any indication the brand makes good tools. Time will tell.

All right, I am out of here. Catch up on other stuff later...

heading into the weekend...

2010-04-09T20:36:00.002-05:00

Spring has definitely sprung in the SE

Just try and say that trail doesn't look inviting :-)
In a month things will be looking like a jungle and the Banana Spiders will be dropping huge webs across it, but for now it is good.

Wednesday SORBA ride has been getting a good turnout. We had 11 on our ride. Only caught 8 on camera. It is hard to keep a group that size together. By the end of the ride we were down to 5. It was a great day. Weather was a bit cooler, in the low 70's, so it was very comfortable.

I broke out the Heckler for the first time in a few weeks. Boy, that thing is the magic carpet ride. Super smooth. I really think the effort saved over the course of the ride more than makes up for any pedaling inefficiencies or bobbing. The X-Fusion Vector HLR is still behaving itself. I am amazed at what I can slam the bike into with this shock. Miles of smiles for sure.

Other signs of spring arriving...
- the lawn looks like crap if I haven't mowed it in over a week
- the trees in the yard have bloomed, pink flowers everywhere
- the parking lot at work is empty by 5pm

Day pass

2010-03-28T10:44:00.002-05:00

I have a couple of friends who have been taliking up the riding down at Lake Guntersville. With the recent rainfall it would be a safer bet than the local trails. We ended up riding 2 trails, both somewhat of a flop IMO :(

We started on an un-named trail that is in the process of being built up that flanks the edge of the lake. It has the potential to be a nice trail, but it is definitely a bit green still. Lots of off camber, IMBA would have a fit with the lack of shouldering. The crossings are mostly hike-a-bike.

Clay and Josh

A nice section of trail

Yours truly

the only bridge in the place

From here we jumped back in the car and headed up to higher ground to run the Golf Course Trail. Turned out to be a bummer as they have destroyed a good section of the loop clearing out trees.

Trailhead

Out walking our bikes in the woods

Used to be a trail in here

Nice little overview of the lake

Group photo-op

Last shot, my view for most of the morning...

...should get an update out

2010-03-22T09:38:00.003-05:00

Blog has been a bit stagnant. Not really sure why. I have been riding a bit and things are busy as ever around the house. Guess it is just waiting out the Spring stretch that gets most bloggers a bit quiet, holding their breath for warm weather and dry trails. It has been a bit of a roller coaster this year. Every time the trails get to a stable, dry enough to ride, condition it has snowed or rained again. Pretty frustrating.

I got in 2 rides this weekend and another ride earlier in the week. With all of the weather dodging I am stacking in as many rides as I can when the trails are clear. So my riding is also on the roller coaster. Seems like I go a week or so without riding and then will get 2-4 days of back to back riding. Gotta say that sometimes I really miss the consistancy of riding in Northern California. But for now living in N.Alabama I have to take it any way I can get it. Fortunately there is some diversity in trails so that even when some trails are soaking wet others can be ridden, mainly because they are entirely made of rocks.

As of last week I received my X-Fusion Vector HLR back from the factory.

Looks like the new internals have fixed the obnoxious clunking during the hysteresis. I am happy to report that this shock is working great. My DH runs have been butter smooth and climbing traction is unstopable. As far as function this is the best shock I have run to date. There is definitely something to the Hi/Low speed compression control. It allows for good small bump sensitivity while still being able to take high speed and big impacts without spiking. Looks like Fox's new DHX RC4 has moved to this platform as well. But at this point companies like Avalanche, Elka, Cane Creek, and X-Fusion are already 2 steps ahead. Each with their own spin on the technology and tuning preferences. I am favoring the X-Fusion since the canister pressure and volume are externally adjustable by the rider. Elka and Avalanche are only tuneable by the factory. At any rate, time will tell if X-Fusion is durable enough to get 2 thumbsup.

Just over a week ago I got in the first night ride of the season. I got off work and the weather was warm, too nice to pass up. So I called up Matt and we headed out for a spin. Unfortunately the planning was lacking so my light wasn't charged up. I got by with an LED headband though and we had a nice ride. I do like the focus, intensity, and pace of a night ride. Nothing quite like it. Hopefully I will be able to set a more regular night ride up with Matt out on the Arsenal trails this summer.

This just in...
It snowed again this morning. Melted as soon as it touched anything, but snow none the less. It isn't really cold(about 36F, but feels warmer to me), but I guess up in the clouds it is cold enough. We are still trending up in temperature. Saturday afternoon was my first short sleave ride of the year. Things are looking up inspite of the snow this am.

Bicycle commuting...

2010-03-03T15:22:00.001-06:00

Snow day?

2010-03-02T09:54:00.002-06:00

Yes, here we are days after my "its warming up" post. And, yes, it is in fact snowing. It is warmer, so there is no fluffy powder on the ground. It either melts immediately or turns into slush. That's fine. It should clear up in a day or so. Then onto some more decent weather and continued warming trend.

Time flies...
How did it get to be March already? Weird. The older I get the more that the months seem to melt into each other.

I managed to get out for a nice group ride on Saturday morning. It was a bit nippy at the start. I think Gary mentioned 22 degrees on his thermometer at the trailhead. I was bundled up fairly good. My cold weather kit is something to this effect:
-Top: Hard shell windbreaker or thermal fleece with wind block, a long sleeve jersey, and a base layer (wool or other performance wicking material)
-Bottom: hard shell (shorts or pants depending), thermal tights, and a chamois short
-Shoes: wool socks, standard shoe, neoprene booty over that (next year I would like to invest in some real winter cycling shoes)
-Helmet: just the normal vented helmet with a thermal skull cap under it
With these items I am good for multiple hours down in the 20-30 degree range. Any colder than that and I don't consider it worth riding :-)

At any rate, riding was nice. We had 6 people in the group and were pretty well matched. It was a technical ride at the Land Trust, so despite near 4 hours on the bike we covered only 11-12mi total. There were lots of breaks and conversation. Whenever someone dropped back the group waited patiently and talked about biking. Honestly this is one of my favorite ways to ride. We went fast when we could and took a good steady pace the rest of the time. The Hutchinson Octopus tires proved to be a great tire for the conditions, which were frozen with muck under and thawing about mid-ride. The extra heft provided some good stability in the rocks and the sticky compound did great on the slick stuff. The tread pattern is nice and open, so it shed mud excellent. Wonder why Hutchinson stopped making this tire?

That's all I got for now. I'll check back later...

Now we are getting somewhere

2010-02-25T13:38:00.002-06:00

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I am seeing a trend. Warmer weather is on the horizon :-)

Yesterday's ride was cold and with windchill it dropped another 10 degrees. Hard not to run off and start snagging up base layers and thermal jerseys when things turn nippy. But from the look of it lows will only be down in the 30's and 40's for another month or so. And highs are already creaping up into the 50-60 range. All of the layers will come back off and it will be short sleeves once again.

Other news?
Not much, picked up a set of used tubeless tires for $7. They are Hutchinson Octopus 2.35 with a slow rebound sticky rubber. Out of production now, but I figured for the price they were worth picking up. It seems like several manufacturers were using a 40-50A durometer soft compound on 2.3 UST tires circa 2004-2006. Then about 2007 the well dried up. DH clincher tires, single ply clincher tires, and DH ust tires were the only ones that continued to be produced in soft compounds. The sticky compound 2.3 UST tire was left by the wayside. These octopus tires tipped the scale a bit portly at 1150g.

A few months back I snagged a set of 2.35 Maxxis High Roller UST in the sticky 42A rubber compound. The front tire hasn't been off my bike since I mounted it. Coming in at 900g they are a bit heavy. But they do work well even at pressures down to under 30psi, which is somewhat unheard of for me. Basically it indicates a fairly stiff sidewall, so it doesn't burp or come unseated even at lower pressure than I can typically get away with. I took off the rear since it was a bit slow rolling and didn't shed mud as well as the Continental Rubber Queen.

At any rate when I see these out of production gems on e-bay for dirt cheap I grab them. Most are 900-1100g. The casing is thick and strong. They work exceptionally well on the wet rocks and roots here in the Southeast during the winter. May be too heavy/slow for the summer, but I will post back when the time comes.

I think I have a rubber fettish...

...last season's tire testing

Caught our local SORBA club meeting last night. Not a whole lot going on right now. Looks like a section of Family Trail is going to get some TLC and the South Plateau is officially open to bikes. Another cool prospect, seems that the Land Trust is okay with the building and maintenance of a "freeride/DH" trail on their property. They just want it done right. Some kids have carved in a sketchy, unsustainable trail with no go around or warning of upcoming obstacles. I think the LT response is a great indication of the respect for the trail work and maintenance the SORBA club here does.

Another positive trail growth report. SORBA Huntsville will be launching a fundraising effort to extend and re-route McKay Hollow trail. Not sure how much additional mileage will be gained, but it should be cool. Only $75K. Wow, trails are expensive to build!

That's all I got for now. Ride, rinse, food, beer, sleep, repeat...

Life and other such ramblings...

2010-02-22T14:28:00.003-06:00

Well, last Thursday marked the completion of my 32nd trip around the sun. It was uneventful. I like it that way. But I do believe that doing very little on my birthday really puts Erin on edge. She comes from a family where birthdays never go out of style. So it is hard for her to sit back and go with my flow. After about age 16 birthdays in my family involved a dinner out and maybe a basic gift. Again, I am good with that. I was able to sneak off for a short lunch ride (more on that in a second), got off work a touch early to pick up my mom at the airport, and had dinner out. It was a good birthday in my book.

Gifts?
Not a whole lot, mainly at my request. Mom flew out for the boy and my birthdays, the kids made a couple of cards, and Erin made a cake.

Riding?
Amazingly I have been able to get out on the bike a bit. Mostly squeezed in rides here and there, but Saturday was a longer outing. The weather has warmed a bit, the trails dried out some, and I even got in 3 rides in the sunshine this last week. Crazy. My birthday lunch ride was a bit of a flop. I grabbed the Heckler for the first time in about a month. As I went to check the air pressure at the trailhead the valve core came loose and shot out into the loose leaves. After about 5 minutes I was able to locate it and get my tire reinflated. The arsenal trails were muck and slop. About 2mi in I hear my front tire hissing, so I stop to inspect the source of the issue. I pull out a good size piece of shale that went straight through the casing. Then I tried to get the sealant to fill the hole. I had given up and started to ready myself for a fun muddy tire repair when I gave the tire one last spin. Hmmm, no more hissing. Guess the Stan's finally decided to get to work. Surprisingly I only lost a few psi, so a bit of air from the hand pump and I was rolling again. Fortunately that was the brunt of my ride entertainment.

My other rides were far less eventful. Just good trail rides in Monte Sano. The trails were firming up nicely, but still have enough moisture to keep you on your toes. It is amazing how even a little mud in your tire will instantly combine with unseen moisture on the rocks/roots and send you sliding off course. But I am not complaining. I will take this any day over the weather and trail conditions of the last 2 months.

Forecast looks good to get in a bit of riding this week as well. We did get some rain last night, but by mid-week it should be back to rideable trails and partly cloudy weather.

In the garage...
Still a mess. Too many projects without much activity. Hopefully in the next couple of weekends I can finish clearing it out enough to begin work on the next woodworking project.

I was able to snatch another set of Saint M800 hubbed wheels off e-bay. Sun Ryhnolite/Saint wheelsets have been on clearance since 2006. The big OEM mfg must have made about 100X more of those wheelsets than they ended up actually selling. At any rate, I picked up the whole wheelset with 2 axles for $60. For perspective, the rear hub I got for Christmas was $60 by itself. I didn't hesitate too long at that price.

On Groundhog day I received the final piece of the hardtail puzzle. So as Phil declared 6 more weeks of winter my new frame arrived. Nice timing. This is war you overstuffed rodent!

So that was weeks ago, why wait until now to talk about it?
Well, I am a bit of an ass. What's new? Erin walked out as I was working on building up the bike and commented on it. Only the comment was a half question, and then a compliment on the bike. Either she really thought it was my other bike or she held her tongue. I am guessing the former. At any rate, I have been waiting for her to realize this is somewhat of a Parent Trap scenario.

I do have to admit that this

does look somewhat like this

So I can't give her too much what for. But it has been somewhat of an inside joke in the garage for the last few weeks.

Well, there it is. The Banshee Paradox as pictured above is the culmination of spare parts, online scavenging, and a couple of Christmas presents. It is an interesting 29er. It is very slack angled, designed for a long travel fork, and has very short chainstays (16.9"). Couple that with a fairly low bottom bracket and a short stem and you have a very stable yet nimble 29er hardtail. Check out how tight the rear wheel is stuffed in behind the seat tube.

About the only way to make a shorter rear end on a 29inch wheeled bike is to interrupt the seat tube and use a direct mount front derailleur.

It makes for a very fun riding bike. It carves trails well. Honestly it is the first 29er I have thrown a leg over that actually manuals with ease. At the same time, despite being easy to loft the front wheel, it climbs great too. I haven't ridden a bike that had this light of a front end that would still allow the front wheel to stay planted during climbing. It is still a hardtail though, so it is a bit bumpy in the rocks. But the playful and nimble ride characteristics make up for it. Color me smitten.

For more info on the Banshee Paradox check out the Banshee Bikes Blog or their website at bansheebikes.com. You can always check back here as I get more miles on it I am sure to have something to say about it.

That's about all I got this time around. Keep the rubber side down.

Winter, yup still ongoing...

2010-02-11T15:48:00.002-06:00

With temps fluctuating between 25 and 40 degrees Winter is in full effect here in Huntsville. I have been getting it a little bit of trail time on the bike, but honestly the trails are either frozen or slushie at the moment. So riding really isn't that great.

New and exciting stuff in the garage. Hmm...
I did manage to get another set of wheels in. Back in 2007 Jenson was blowing out Saint hubs laced to Sun Rhynolite rims for about $150. It was a good deal. I ended up swaping out the rims and putting the hubs on my Sultan 29er. Well, in January there was a seller on e-bay tossing out the same wheelset for $60 and throwing in an additional axle. I bought a rear hub in December, *note* I did wrap it and put it under the tree, for the same $60. So a month later to score an entire wheelset for that price got me pretty stoked.

Otherwise not much. I rented a storage unit to try and clear enough room in the garage to function. We do actually have some woodworking projects coming up this year. Unfortunately there is still a sizeable amount of Erin's crap taking up space (she will likely give me crap for that comment since technically some of it is kid stuff, but since she won't let me dispose of it I am going to lump it all together as Erin Crap).

Pictures?
Yeah, wanna see my sweet winter beard? Yeah, didn't think so. That's why I didn't post it.

cheers...

Technique Tuesday

2010-02-02T11:52:00.002-06:00

Nice little video put together by the guys at TBC...

Here is a Bikeskills.com video featuring Greg Minnaar, looks to be filmed mostly in Nisene Marks. Funny, some of those run-ins looks flat on film. In person they are fairly steep though.

Another good stretching video

2010-01-28T12:15:00.002-06:00

Okay, gotta get past the guy in spandex. But otherwise some good stuff.

He addresses some of the upper back and arm areas that can become tight.

I haven't been stretching much lately, but I also haven't been riding much. At any rate I have been a bit stiff without the regular riding and stretching. Check out this and the Luke Wold video I posted previously if you are also getting a bit stiff on/off the bike.

Hibernation?

2010-01-27T13:30:00.004-06:00

Definitely giving in to the winter blues. Weather has been cold or wet. Or when I am lucky enough to get out for a ride it is usually both. Seasons are cool and all, but sometimes I do miss the CA year-round riding. There is year round riding here, but I definitely have to fight the elements a lot more.

Last week we had unseasonably warm weather culminating in odd skies. Living in the SE when the sky gets a weird color that pretty much means one thing, a tornado is brewing.

This is a shot Reggie took looking over the top of my favorite LBS here in Huntsville (borrowed w/o permission for my own vices). A few hundred yards behind the shop it touched down wreaking a bit of havoc on the neighborhood. Just crazy. No direct effect on my life though, just had to wait at work for the tornado warning to subside before heading home.

The bike has been creaking, squeaking, and clunking, so it got a tear down and lube. The clunk is in the new rear shock, so it is on the way back to the mfg for a rebuild on their dime. Hopefully that gets sorted quick as I was really enjoying the shock aside from the clunk. The Heckler had it's longest clean spell since I built it up last year due to weather and owner lethargy. The latter reason is a bit rediculous. I am just not feeling like fighting the weather this month, so I haven't. My mileage for the month is pathetic. I would need to put in about 25mi this weekend just to eclipse last months feeble mileage. With another storm coming in tomorrow that isn't very likely to happen.

My only solice is that I am not the only one getting demotivated by the weather. The other blogs I follow are about as stale as mine. That makes me feel a bit better, but at the same time the lack of appropriate lunch time reading is a bummer.

New parts? Not much love for the Heckler in that respect. I picked up a couple of wrenches so that I can work on the Saint hubs. I ran my M800 hubs a full year on the Sultan and never even needed to adjust them. Now I have 3 wheels built around the hubs, so I should get the tools to work on them. That includes 23mm & 24mm cone wrenches and a 12mm allen key. Still waiting on the local shop to order up the allen.

Playing Mr. FixIt
Yep, been doing a lot of this lately. Erin's truck has been going through a tough spell. The quarters that the kids put in the CD player finally shorted something out, so that the radio would create a deafening squeal without warning. I remedied that situation by yanking the radio. In process I managed to knacker up the hazzard light switch. So for a week I cludged together different methods of holding the switch down. Most failed, resulting in the hazzard lights going off until it killed the battery. During the week I went around to find a replacement switch. Turns out that the hazzard switch is not sold individually, but is packaged as an entire unit of almost every control on the column (hazzards, brights, turn signals, CC, etc). Dealership had one in stock for about $250. God only knows how much they would have charged to swap it out. Judging by my half day of work and complete disassembly of the dash to do so I am guessing it would have been $500-1000 in labor.

I was able to locate an replacement part online for under $100. So I was feeling a little better about things. Big improvement from $250 down to $100. Fact still remains that the broken part is only a $2 piece of plastic. It can be swapped individually, it was replaced under a recall in 2002. But outside of the recall the switch lever is not available individually. Lame. So there I was all morning on Saturday grunting and contorting to get all of the hidden fasteners off of the 5 dash panels that needed to be removed. Then there was the fun of figuring out how to unsnap the panels and release all the electrical plugs. Have I mentioned I don't really like working on cars yet??

At any rate, all things worked out and her truck is back to working as well as it had before the whole radio fiasco. That is, of course, running poorly and sounding like death.

Other fixit lately was our desk chair. I guess it wasn't designed for a 240lb ape to lean back on it. I snapped one of the arms clean through. After putting it in the corner for a week I decided to heck with it and fixxed it up. An evening in the garage, some scrap plywood, and a few fender washers and we are back in business. Not necessarily pretty, but functional. At least we don't need to go out and spend another $100-150 on another disposable chair.

Next up the heat pump decides to start acting up. $350 later it is supposedly fixed. Funny part is the fan that went out is the one that they replaced 13 months ago. At that time the repair only cost $250. Lame. Last night was the first real cold we have had since the service. Guess what, heat pump issues. The heat pump can keep up, but the blower is running continuously. I mentioned this to the tech last week and he blew it off (no pun intended). Well, time for round 2 with the heating and cooling guys. Wish me luck.

2009 Retrospective

2010-01-05T23:03:00.004-06:00

Seems like as good a time as any to throw up a year in review. I am gonna keep this to the bike side of the fence. Lots of pictures, click them if you want to see the larger version.

Well, March was the month riding and obsessing over bikes began this last year. Towards the end of the month a new steed joined me for the season. Up until then I had been without a bike and obsessing over woodworking tools, techniques, and plans. That came to a grinding halt with the arrival of the bike Erin has since crestened "the Home Wrecker"...
HW v1.1

March 29th I took it down to Birmingham's Oak Mountain park for a bit of mud

By mid April HW v2.0 was on the trails (shock, seatpost, rims,and handle bars swapped)

A fun group ride on the same day, rather a motley crew

By the end of April HW v2.1 comes around (another new shock, thanks Stu!)
Took it out for some air on Arrowhead

May came and with it HW v2.2 (new tires, new stem)

Took her for a spin in Chattanooga at the end of the month

June came and went with no pictures
weather may have had something to do with that

By midway through July weather was a bit better. Jim took this picture up on Warpath in Monte Sano.

August and September also slipped away with not so much as a snap shot.
This stupid tree may have had something to do with that...

Once the late summer rains have subsided the riding around this end of the US gets a lot better. Temperatures cool off, rain is more predictible and less of it, trails are great. October was a big month and the start of a somewhat uninterupted riding season.
HW v3.0 rolls into the picture (another shock, tires, fork, wheels, stem, and seatpost)

Monte Sano FTF, always a great weekend of riding

the company isn't too bad either...

Next weekend it was off to Tsali, NC
Great trails and agian a fantastic group of guys to hang out with for the weekend.

By November the leaves are falling and everything is brown, yellow, or red

enter HW v4.0 (different forks, r-derailleur)

self portrait from a ride I caught with Steve out in the Land Trust. Note, they don't name trails "High" in California...

Despite November being my biggest milage month of the year I took no more photos :-(

More of the Same in December. Milage down to about half of November due to the holidays.

enter HW v5.0 (warrantied swingarm, another shock to try out, tires, SRAM derailluer, 31.8mm bars and stem)

and the last ride of the year...
Clay took this picture of me as I showed him one of my favorite mini-DH lines on Warpath

Well, I hope you enjoyed the ride. A couple of things come to mind for next year:
1. More pictures (at least once a month)
2. Less bike part swapping (I aspire to stop playing the shell game with bike parts)
3. Lose some weight tubbie ;-)

Light on the blogging

2009-12-23T09:56:00.003-06:00

As always, this time of year the riding is less. Family and Holiday business takes the drivers seat. The blog gets the short end of the stick. I would say the back seat, but I think it either is in the trunk or thrown out the window. Sorry, not much to write about unless you want to hear the full details on the Holiday shopping, my workday, or random findings on the internet.

I have managed to sneak a few rides in this month, but it pales in comparison to how much saddle time I got in last month. Riding this month has either been cold or wet. I actually rode in snow on the 6th. Still kicking myself for not having the camera along for that ride. The trails have been in a constant state of slippery. You are either on mud, soft soil, leaves, or riding mud-packed tires ontop of wet rocks. It's riding, so I will take it as I can get it. But the pace is slower and the elements harsher so I might whine about it.

Oddly, as I sit here and complain about weather, it has been in the upper 40's and lower 50's all week with sun to boot. There is a thunderstorm prediction for tomorrow though, so trails should remain mucky for a while longer. On a positive note, the days are once again getting longer and spring is again just around the corner.

Happy Holidays. Thanks to all the nice people who have sent cards and gifts our way. They are really appreciated this time of year.

Old School

2009-12-09T10:58:00.001-06:00

Fortunately I just caught the end of this clumsy era in BMX history. Most of this morphed into flatland or vert riding disciplines. Some cool bike handling going on though.

Can't make it here anymore

2009-12-07T13:08:00.002-06:00

Good little tune by James McMurtry

Came across this in my random interweb wanderings. Good for a listen. Sad but true.

Weekend recap:
Erin has been sick the last couple days. Nothing much going on around the house. Jenny and Robert were in town Friday and I dropped them off at the airport Saturday afternoon. It was nice to have some company in the house. Erin truly appreciates any time she can get with her mom.
We managed to get the tree up and decorated. I think this year will likely be the final year of the fake tree. Now that the kids and dogs are getting older we can start back on real trees for the holidays. I somehow managed to avoid doing any additional decorating. But I can only procrastinate so long.
Saturday evening was my company Christmas party. It was a nice gathering. A few more faces than last year. Jim and Brenda always do a nice job of making it a fun evening of fellowship for the employees. I walked out with a nice ornament from the white elephant exchange.

Riding?
I managed a couple of shorter rides up in the Land Trust. Friday was just an out and back up Toll Gate Trail. I ended up off work early due to a software upgrade, so I figured it best to hit the trails :) Saturday was tanked by obligations, but Sunday I was clear for a ride. I ended up meeting up with a group of NASA scientists whom I had not ridden with before. It was nice to get out and meet some new people. Snow was still clinging to most of the horizonal branches of trees, but not much was on the ground. Obviously that means it was cold. Temperature was hovering about 40-43 degrees. Fortunately I do have some cold weather gear, so it was not a major issue. Traction on the other hand was somewhat an issue. The wet and cold made for slick rocks/roots. All things considered I was glad to be out riding regardless of the conditions.

Nice bit of Santa Cruz Bicycles media

2009-12-06T10:27:00.001-06:00

Classic clip of SCB media propaganda...

Glimpses of Hans, John Brown, Nathan Loyd, sweet Santa Cruz singe track trails, even the old sender on the DeLaveaga disc golf course. Sweet.

New duds

2009-12-03T14:19:00.002-06:00

Aunt Bec yet again provides Faith with some sweet new duds for Fall weather. Thank you Aunt Bec

and a handfull of other lovely poses by Faith...

Thanksgiving pictures

2009-12-03T14:15:00.001-06:00

My favorite:

On the grind

2009-12-01T13:27:00.003-06:00

Weather is again heading towards the wet side of things. I can't complain. Just finished out November riding.
Pretty much a banner month:
- 17 out of 30 days I was on my bike
- about 150mi ridden
- Rode Wade Mtn for the first time in over a year
- managed one double-ride day

So yeah, bring on a bit of rain. I can take it. The garage and the house could use some tending to. Things tend to get a bit neglected when all spare time is spent on the bike.

The roof is done. Now we just have to juggle funds to pay for it. Insurance does this nice thing called depreciation where they don't give you enough money to pay the whole bill until the work is done. My initial response to said bill was a bit of sticker shock. The invoice came in about $2,000 over the initial estimate. While that doesn't sound like much it is about a 30% overshoot. Live and learn, the way the job was quoted I basically handed the roofer a blank check for the unseen damage. Looking over the insurance estimate though it is inline with the scope of work, so we should be able to get everything but the skylight covered. So initial sticker shock aside all is well.

Thanksgiving has come and gone in our household. Honestly without any direct family here the holiday is not a huge deal. I got out early for a turkeyday ride. Got back home about the time Erin and the kids were finishing showering up for the day. Then we stagnated for a bit and debated about what to do. We had thought about going to see a movie, but there really isn't much playing right now that is appropriate for both Faith and Austin. So we hit up the Blockbuster and rented a pile of movies. I grilled up dinner, which is turning into our Thanksgiving tradition. Somehow it is just easier. We get just as much relief in not having a huge cooking/cleaning mess as the joy of having the great food. So it works for us. Steaks, zucchini, salad, and croissants made everyone happy.

Otherwise business as usual.

There's a hole in the bucket

2009-11-13T09:49:00.003-06:00

Just putting up a couple of photos of the skylight addition. Hard to capture on camera due to how much light it adds. Glad we decided to do this.

Guys are working on evening out the spackle right now. Hopefully this will be the last of the work inside the house. It is pretty obnoxious having to drop everything to be around while the roofers work.

Faith's birthday request

2009-11-13T00:19:00.001-06:00

...a trip to Chattanooga, TN

Heckler face lift pt.1

2009-11-12T23:56:00.002-06:00

Okay, mentioned I had some changes on the bike front.

Well, here is the main visual...

I came home from my Wednesday ride to find my replacement swingarm in the entryway. Cool. So I forged ahead into the task of swapping out the swingarms and the pivot bearings. An hour later I had the bearings out of the frame. Long story. Basically Santa Cruz uses a machined shoulder in the frame to locate the bearings. This shoulder means that you have no mechanical access to the outer bearing race. So removal depends on the bearing staying together while you beat it out with the inner race. One came out clean. The other decided it would be more fun to separate, leaving me a headache to get out. I managed to get'r-done and installed a fresh set of bearings.

Another discovery, but a more positive one. With the disappearance of Cateye cloth bar tape I was looking for a new chainstay material to protect the aluminum frame from the steel chain. I came across 3M splicing tape. Cool stuff, rubber and tacky. Easy to work with and cheap. Cover that up with white vinyl and you have yourself a very inconspicuous chainstay wrap.

Raw Materials:

Big Thank You goes out to Santa Cruz MTB for the warranty on the original swingarm.

Tuck and roll

2009-11-12T23:53:00.002-06:00

Good stuff right here

I can still remember a crash I had back in high school where I clipped my pedal on asphalt, tucked and rolled through the crash, and came up totally unscathed. The hard part is fighting the natural urge to superman.

Still trucking

2009-11-11T10:13:00.002-06:00

Not blogging a whole lot at the moment. Guess I just have better things to do. Sorry, to my 3 faithful followers. I will try to get back to the 2-3x a week deal. Hard part is having interesting events happen with the same frequency. My life is not so exciting.

Weather here in the Southeast has been great. It did rain yesterday, but otherwise riding conditions have been stellar for the last couple of weeks. Okay, maybe stellar is overshooting a bit. But I have at a minimum been able to get out on the bike with some frequency as of late. The ride log tells the tale. I am getting in about 80-100mi/month (October was high due to Tsali trip). I would like more, but honestly don't really have the time to designate. So that will have to do.

Only problem with the elevated riding schedule is that I keep breaking stuff. This is getting a bit old. Erin gives me the stink eye when I am heading into the garage to "work on my bike" again. Heck, I am tired of working on it as well. I just want to ride. Latest casualty, my swingarm. I have been breaking pinch bolts with some frequency since the purchase of the bike. Well, to liven things up the bike decided instead of breaking another bolt that it would just give up the alloy threads in the swingarm. Willie over at Santa Cruz was very nice to me and has a new swingarm in the mail. Hopefully the new design will be less of an issue. No pinch bolts anyways. I was able to dig up a longer bolt from the LBS and salvage a few more rides out of the damaged swingarm, but I will need to mail it off to Willie when the new one arrives. Can't complain about that. I honestly didn't expect them to warranty the thing, so paying shipping back to SC is a small price to pay.

More on the warranty front. Specialized also ponied up some warranty parts for my command post. After Tsali the post had got gunked up and the sealhead was questionable, so I left it at the shop to be sent in for a rebuild. Specialized decided to just send parts instead. Again, can't really complain. Only thing lost is a bit of time to swap out the parts.

Last breakdown was more of a wear and tear item. The rear derailleur finally gave up the ghost. Shifting has been crap for a couple of months now, but when I swapped over to the Rocket twist shifters I could no longer get consistent shifting across the cassette. Guess 3 years is a decent lifespan for a rear derailluer. It is weird wearing out parts. Usually I replace stuff well before that time arrives. If I sell them while they are still functional I get to play the shell game and apply the proceeds of sale towards new parts. Now I am stuck with a broke down derailleur and have to shell out 100% out of pocket on new. Fortunately I had a spare Saint derailleur sitting about to

Not a breakdown, but still an item requiring attention. The new fork is a bit much. Turns out for my riding the Heckler's break even setup is a maximum of 140mm front travel. The added 10mm has pretty much demolished the steep and technical climbing ability of the bike. I hit the switchbacks on Sunday and had a heck of a time. So it looks like I will be cracking open the Revelation and reducing travel. I don't know what people riding with 160mm forks on this bike do. Either they really like climbing with the saddle up their taint or they hike the climbs. I am not really into either of those options.

Okay, so that's a lot of bunk going on. Expect a new parts breakdown in the next week or so.

Last week my boss sent me a link to this Ares video. Ares 1-X takeoff to touchdown. Pretty neat time to be working for NASA.

Around the house we are finally getting to the end of the whole tree falling mess. The new roof is on. Skylight is installed. The tree is gone. Stump is ground. We are a little bit of paint and a gutter away from sticking a fork in it. I will be glad to be done with that. We ended up going through 4 seperate roofing companies to get things in order and actually get the work done.

Leaves are falling. I have a pile of bagged leaves out on the curb for pickup with the trash. Austin spent a fair amount of time helping me out on Saturday. It did require buying him a rake. He raked, bagged leaves, and even helped mow the lawn. No complaining either. It was nice to have the help.

That's it for now. Gotta do some work...

Shooting stuff

2009-11-03T16:56:00.000-06:00

Another cool video clip of some high speed photography.

Mixed bag

2009-11-02T09:47:00.002-06:00

Weather here in the SE has been unpredictable as of late. At least more unpredictable than normal. Fall has arrived. With a bit of a chill, then more rain, then wind. The trees are dropping their leaves pretty quick. Not much color this year due to all the rain and the lack of any early season frost. Still some beautiful trees around, but they are fewer this year.

Yesterday I snuck out for a quick ride at the Land Trust. I figured even if it was a bit wet in there I could still get in a 5-8mi ride. As I was unpacking my gear up at the trailhead Steve pulled up. It was nice to have some company and motivation to ride a bit harder.

Right out of the gate I pulled the wheel out of the dropout. Kind of a weird sensation powering a climb and having the wheel snap out. Guess you really need to reef down on the Saint axle. My hadley alloy axle doesn't require nearly the same amount of torque. Quick fix on that and we continued on up Tollgate Trail. No rest, straight into High Trail. Maxxis super tacky High Roller 2.35 UST tires are fantastic in the wet terrain. Really loving it. Unfortunately Maxxis no longer produces the tire in this softer, 42A, durometer. They offer it in non-tubeless though. At any rate the compound really grips on the wet rocks and roots. I found myself trying to make it spinout and only managed to succeed once on the entire ride. It doesn't do any better in wet mud, but I try to avoid that stuff anyways.

We stopped for a rest at the junction of High and Bluff Line trails. Snapped a couple of pictures.

the heckler with it's new fork

Steve all kitted out

Yours truly

We headed down Bluffline. Steve was on a realatively new set of brakes, so they weren't bedded in yet. He rode it out with a bit more respect for that issue. I bombed down the trail at a decent clip. The RockShox 2010 Revelation Team model is quite a fork. Despite being a factory tune, intended for someone lighter than my own 240lb, it performs fantastic. It handles big hits and high speed about as well as my fork that I sent out to be tuned specifically for me. At the same time it takes the small bumps much better. The Black Box damper and Dual Flow rebound cartridge are a huge improvement over the 2009 forks.

I had enough time at the bottom of the hill to get the camera out and catch Steve on the final descent.

I had come across the top of that rock, slid about 2 feet sideways, and almost ended up in no man's land off to the Steve's left hand. Fortunately the tacky tire compound regained composure and I was able to get back on course. Again very impressed with the tire compound. Note to self, search out more NOS HR UST ST tires. 2nd note to self, Bluff Line is super slick when wet, slow down a little. Usually under these conditions I would run the trail at about half speed, but the tires made me do it faster. Since I wasn't getting that sketchy loss of traction feeling I just kept on hauling.

Another shot taken the corner up from the last. My point and shoot can't really capture the elevation change very well. I am about 30ft down from Steve and about 40ft away, that's a pretty steep section.

Last one for the day. Just looking up in the trees. Nice day to be outside even if it was a bit slick.

Ares 1-X Launch goes off without a hitch

2009-10-28T14:43:00.001-05:00

Well, a day late and more weather delays but the test rocket launch went well this morning. At about 11:30am est I watched the final countdown and the rocket takeoff.

Very cool stuff. Check it out here...

Ares 1.X launch

2009-10-27T08:42:00.002-05:00

Looks like the first launch window was missed due to a cargo boat in the danger zone. If you are interested in catching the launch in about an hour check out NASA TV.

Cool picture

2009-10-26T15:39:00.001-05:00

Ares 1-X and Space Shuttle Atlantis on their launch pads...

Should be an exciting week for NASA.

Boycott Monster Energy

2009-10-23T11:11:00.001-05:00

Well, looks like Monster Energy did cave and drop this lawsuit. But honestly I am not really stoked to hear about this kind of behavior to begin with.

A bit of buzzz about work

2009-10-21T15:05:00.003-05:00

Well, for the first time in nearly 3 decades a new rocket platform is headed to the launch pad. Fox has a decent slideshow of some of the Ares 1X progress.

While not a fully functional Ares, this is the vehicle to test the solid rocket and the parachute recovery system. The upper stage of the 1X is just a dummy. Still pretty neat to see it go up. Hopefully on the 27th.

Tsali weekend report

2009-10-12T09:46:00.003-05:00

Why is it every time I head off for a weekend with the boys I come back with a sore but and a bit hung over...

Nothing much going on in the days between the FTF and this weekends adventure. I pretty much just rested up for the riding to come. Work days were a bit longer to make up for lost time. I took Thursday and Friday off.

Alright, lets jump right into it. Lots of pictures. As usual, just click the picture if you want to see a bigger version of it.

Riding kicked off just Northeast of Chattanooga off the Ocoee River. First stop is Brush Creek, which is a fun out and back for a total of about 12.5mi. The trail itself wraps around a reservoir and hangs low to the hillside. Sorba Chattanooga also has some trail information. The trail is one that lets you set the pace. Go as fast or as slow as you like. There were mud/water holes all over the place, but other than them the trail was dry and good riding.

.4mi in from the parking lot

Pat climbing up to the sign

View from Boyd Gap trail head

This would be the cleanest my bike would be post-ride all weekend

We packed up and headed to our final destination Tsali

Tsali is another trail system wrapped around a reservoir, Lake Fontana. It has around 30mi of unique trail to it that can be linked together as desired.
We started off by running Thompson Loop. No pictures, guess we were a bit excited to hit the trails again. Thompson is about a 6mi trek, mostly uphill and meandering around the lake with a couple of fun dh descents mixed in.

Up top looks something like this

Clay grabbed a nice bit of video of me on the DH portion of the trail

Tsali - Last Mile of Thompson Loop from Clay Morgan on Vimeo.

Next Pat somehow managed to talk us into another loop. So out the Mouse Branch we went.

Clay climbing out one of the chutes

So how does 28mi for the day make you feel Clay??

View from the overlook

This extra loop put us into a bit of a bind. We finished up as darkness overtook the dusk. We were filthy, needed to wash the bikes, check in to the hotel, and get some dinner. After looping around Bryson City for about 45min we finally located a car wash that was closed down. Fortunately our quarters still fired up the pressure wash and we were able to hose down the bikes.

Then we scrambled off to the hotel The Gearhead Inn. Where we found out they provided a hose and towels for cleaning of cars, or in our case bicycles. Good to know. Of course after checking in everyone snuck in a quick shower. That put us ready to find some grub at about 9pm in a small town in the middle of nowhere. This should be interesting.

Fortunately Gauyuito's seated us. We had the restaurant to ourselves, which is probably a good thing as we were a bit loud. Nothing like a big mexican meal, magaritas, and some good stories to go with it.

Friday was more of the same. Up and going, to the trailhead by about 10am. The day starts with an 18mi combo of the Right and Left Loops.

A bit saddle sore, but with views like this it was easy to get rolling along

Trail leading to the overlook

One more for the record

Jeff, Larry, and Pat talking it up at the overlook rest stop

Renee, Macgyver with the camera (going to have to get his photo album, he took a lot of ride photos)

Nice looking trail

Clay snapped some footage of the Right Loop

Tsali - Right Loop from Clay Morgan on Vimeo.

Lunch break

Back up Thompson loop after lunch, gotta ride while the weather is clear. Forecast for Saturday is looking bleak. No rest for me, I headed straight to the top instead of taking the 2-3 breaks we had the day before.

Bike is a bit muddy

I am a bit muddy

Also a bit faded after the ~25mi for the day so far

Grabbed a few photos as the boys rolled up

Renee never did seem to get tired, this was only his second time ever on a mtb but he is obviously pretty fit.

Everyone gets a bit giddy when the trail is all DH and the day is almost at an end

Back to the carwash, Guayuito's, and off to the hotel to watch the video Clay shot during the day.

Saturday rain showed as we expected. We packed up and headed out. A bit of loitering around at breakfast and then at Nantahala. We were half hoping the rain would stop so we could ride Brush Creek again on the way home. At the same time half hoping it would continue as Clay and I were pretty worn out. We arrived back at Brush Creek to find decent weather and wet trails. We geared up and rode.

The bikes give testament to the wet trails

Overall a great weekend of riding. Made some new friends. Rode some nice trails. Saw beautiful scenery. Even got to do some sweet jumps. Total ride miles on the weekend was 66mi, all dirt. Thanks to Clay and the boys for letting me tag along.

one more for the road...

As promised...

2009-10-05T11:35:00.002-05:00

Okay, Monte Sano Fat Tire Fest went off without a hitch this weekend. Weather on Saturday was fantastic, even Sunday despite looming clouds the weather held out. I think we logged about 18mi on the Rocky Ride Saturday. Clocked another 12mi on Sunday. If you have learned anything about my local terrain it should be that it is tough to cover a lot of ground. Our Rocky Ride lived up to it's name-sake, linking together 18mi of the rockiest and most technical terrain in the park. I lost toll on the body count. I think the end result was something like 7 flat tires and a broken wrist for our efforts. Out of our crew of 9 only 5 of us were rode the entire ride to the last technical climb.

Okay, photos...
(as always you can click on the image to see the full size over on picasa)

nice to see the dogs hanging out and playing, but please pick up the poo before Gary runs it over ;-)

the heckler, ready to ride for the weekend

Nice little tech section the club built up for the event.

Steve looking all business in the morning

Hey Sean, say tubes :-)
All of our flats were from riders on regular tires converted to tubeless and using some sort of sealant. My UST tires, although heavier, take the abuse of the rocks much better.

Dang gadgets. GPS tracks the ride better if you turn it on. Doh!

Yep, bottom of McKay Hollow. Had to regroup here and wait for Rick to patch his tire up. Punctured a sidewall on the way down, instantly flat. It was cool to see a 2ft diameter puff of Stan's escape as it happened.

Rick, Matt, and Rob (Mr MTBby198 )waiting on people fixing flats.

Traci was a champ, cleaned all of McKay Hollow only to have her day foiled when she tumbled sideways after losing traction in a slow tech spot. Who left that rock there anyways.

Richard clawing his way out of the crack. This is what happens if you lose momentum half way through.

Gettin'er Done the right way. Guess Sean and I were the only ones to make it through this tech move clean that day.

Lowest point of the ride. 3 Caves in the Land Trust. All uphill from here boys.

Moving so darn fast I am just a blur in the woods.

Hey, my arse (fortunately still blurred).

Climbing out Tollgate Trail. Almost done for the day.

That'll do. Chilling with Clay and Eric.

Clay even snapped some video. Didn't turn out so great on the trails, but on the playground it gave a cool perspective.

Monte Sano FTF 2009 Wooden Stuff from Clay Morgan on Vimeo.

That's it, I am wiped out from a good weekend.

Some good before and after stretches

2009-10-01T14:09:00.002-05:00

I have been getting a bit stiffer in my old age. Might have something to do with sitting in a chair 8hr a day. At any rate I came across a few simple stretches that counteract some of the lower back pain after riding.

Luke Wold video:

More good news on the riding front

2009-10-01T10:00:00.002-05:00

Beautiful Fall weather has finally hit. 75 degree weather, sun, and dry trails. Excellent. Have been out riding every day this week. Even got caught in an unintentional night ride last night. I met up with Matt, who arrived a few minutes late. But we decided to hit a bigger loop anyways. Normally the loop takes 2.5hr, but I figured if we hammered it out we could get it in 2hr. Well we had a couple of mechanicals. Dusk faded to dark as we hit Arrowhead Extension. It was fun. It was dark, but still light enough with the full moon to make out the trail and rocks. I could see the rocks, but without depth perception couldn't tell how big they were. Always an adventure. Ended up back at the bikers lot in 2hr5min. Note to self, finish ride by 6:30pm or pack a light. We finished up at 7:20pm in the dark. The weather was cool, probably down in the high 50's at the end of the ride. All in all it was an excellent ride. My legs felt good, climbing wasn't fast but it wasn't painful either.

I do miss my home town trails from time to time. Good reminder of the Demonstration Forest trails:

Can't claim to have anything to show other than some riding as of late. Sorry, that's just life. So long as there is riding I am a happy guy.

The weather looks like it will hold for an excellent weakend of riding. This is our local clubs Fat Tire Festival weekend, so many miles and many pictures in store for the weekend. I am going to take a couple of days off to rest up the legs for it.

Good news on the trail side of things

2009-09-22T10:29:00.003-05:00

Well, the weather is conspiring against riding this week. But some good news on the trail advocacy side of the fence. Full story over at Bike Rumor.

Looks like Jackson County is getting the green light to setup a 100mi trail system. Here is a view of the hills around Lake Guntersville, which is on the South side of the county.

That's good for a smile :)

Really, again with the weather

2009-09-18T16:03:00.002-05:00

What's up with this. Rain just about daily in September. Some days it isn't much and others it dumps. It seems to be holding to the West today, so the trails were dry enough to ride out on. I did a short out and back on Tollgate Trail to test out my coil shock. That trail is rough and rocky. It is so rocky that after bombing down it even my forks are warm to the touch from friction.

At any rate, here is what's in store on my 5 day forecast...

And all the punks out in California... How are they looking?

Looks good to me. I don't think I have seen a clear 5 day forecast all summer.

Okay, that's all I got for now. Erin has been sick all week. So I have been catching some double duty on chaufer and Mr. Mom time. Life goes on and the grass keeps on growning...

Link anyone???

2009-09-14T17:10:00.001-05:00

Well, I often read internet blogs and review sites. Check out Singletracks., one of the nicer ones that I view. Lots of reviews and even trail maps.

Yes, I am that picky...

2009-09-11T16:28:00.003-05:00

Okay, some may already know the depths of my anal retentive nature (sorry Erin). For the rest of you here is a glimpse. Yes, since around 2004 I have kept tabs on stuff that I have installed onto my bikes. Everything from tires to seat posts catalogged for later review with notes. Hub measurements. Rim dimensions. You name it and I have probably geeked out on it at some point.

The item that has been most interesting to me is a recent development. I actually weighed my complete wheelsets (wheels, tires, rotors, cassettes all installed). To my surprise my "light" wheels are only about 1lb lighter than the current configuration of the "heavy" wheels. Yes, a pound is a fair amount of mass but off the cuff I expected more. Talking XC width rims and 2.1 tires versus DH rims and 2.4tires. The UST tires are mucking up the works. See true UST tires are thick and actually weigh as much as my non-ust 2.4 tires. Actually my 2.1 nevegal ust tire weights in at 100g more than the 2.35 non-ust nevegal. Doh, actually gained weight in that tire.

Here it sits (note edited from a previously posted picture if anyone cares)

Heavy "light" wheels installed. I am also messing around with a Maverick seat post. Note, don't mess around with Maverick seat posts they are royal pieces of $%*!!. Not sure how or why this design continues to live on under the Crank Brothers brand name, but the crummy design remains largely unchanged. Lots of side to side play and unreliable drop feature with magic creap up while riding. Only positive I can say is that it looks nice and the lever is quite a clever bit of engineering. Otherwise it is set for the round file or ebay.

Okay, I am babbling along about bikes and nobody really wants to hear that so I will sign this post off. Take care.

Weekend report

2009-09-10T09:28:00.004-05:00

As promissed, big news over the Holiday weekend. No, not really. Sorry to dissapoint. Kind of went down like this:
Friday: bail work early to get in a short bike ride
Saturday: hang out, work in garage some
Sunday: hang out, make some salsa, work in garage some
Monday: hang out, eat some salsa, go to pool

Really, that's all folks. Sometimes my life is rather boring. That's okay I guess since I am oblivous enough not to be bothered by what I am missing out on for the most part. I am a bit grumpy that I didn't get a longer ride in, but the weather wasn't really cooperating, actually still isn't.

I snapped some pictures of the garage. I got around to rearranging the benches. The lab cabinets are now where the old cabinets were and the woodworking bench sits right below the peg board (guess I will have to add the pictures for it to make sense). At any rate, it has opened up a fair amount of space in the garage. Next will be some additional organizing. Then I need to get rolling on some more woodworking projects.

I even got around to installing the hose real. Yep, one of those Harbor Freight too good to pass up items that has been sitting in the box for months. Well, no more shall the hose lay coiled on the floor and trompled by little feet. A place of it's own and a quick way to get it there. A couple of small leaks persist in the plumbing, but I should be able to sort that eventually.

We are still in the aftermath of the tree falling incident. At this point insurance has ponied up. Now if I could just get the roofers to get their act together. They were supposed to be getting started this week, but the framer wasn't available on Tuesday to look at the areas we want to add skylights to. So here it is Thursday morning and no progress. I got up on the roof Tuesday evening to secure my tarp and cut out some of the gutter to prevent it from running water into the damaged facia board. Ended up with a bit of a headache when I stood up. Go figure, my body doesn't appreciate hanging upside down off the roof working. Hopefully this will be the last of my rooftop explorations for now.

That's all I got for now. Not likely to be much excitement the rest of the week. Looks like thunderstorms and rain out this way, so not much riding unless I pack it up and head somewhere that drains better.

Going into the holiday weekend

2009-09-04T13:57:00.003-05:00

First off, hope everyone has a fun-filled and safe Labor Day Weekend. Unfortunately this does mark the end of Summer for anyone who is actually counting. Not much to show for it myself, but I am appreciating the cooler (yet still warm) Fall breezes.

Check this out:

What will the guys at Freeride Ent. come up with next???

In the mailbox:
Well technically neither item actually was delivered to my door...

1)Dell Vostro Laptop showed yesterday, but since nobody was around to sign for it I ended up having to go out to the terminal in Madison to pick it up. Darn sharp looking computer. Erin was a bit disappointed that it wasn't lightening fast. I have her somewhat spoiled with the home computers which are both running dual core Intel chipsets that are faster. It is fast enough, but is still restricted to the wireless internet connection which does get dodgy from time to time. I will follow up with more thoughts on the computer once we use it a bit more.

2) My wheelset finally made it back from the builder. I sent off the hubs about 6 weeks ago and said "No rush". Guess he took me literally. Well, not only did it take that long to get the wheels back but he ignored my build spec. Guess he decided to "upgrade" the spokes to butted and used 12mm nipples instead of 16mm. Jeese, doesn't anybody read the directions any more??? I wrote him a pretty lengthy email and spoke to him today to give him a verbal slap upside the head. He was willing to rebuild to the original spec, but I am not into him losing money and time so I will ride them as they are. To top it off they were sent to the old apartments! Fortunately all it took was a bit of time and 2 trips to the apartment office to get them into my possesion.
So now I have heavy and light wheelsets for the Heckler, built around identical hubs so changing back and forth is super quick and easy. The only thing I have to do is dial in the shift cable tension. Rear brake rotors lined right up. I had to shim one of the front rotors, but fortunately my box'O parts has a handfull of .6mm rotor shims so that was easy to fix.
Heavy: WTB Speeddisc XL rims, converted tubless, Maxxis Ardent 2.4 tires
Light: Mavic XM819 UST rims, Maxxis High Roller UST front, Nevegal tubeless rear
Difference in weight?? About 1.25-1.5lb. Not a huge difference, but since it is located at the outside of the wheels it does have quite an effect on pedaling and acceleration.

On the family front things are rolling along. Everyone is settling into the school year schedules. Faith really does like getting up and going to preschool. Not sure that Austin is too stoked on going to church and working on independent studies, but he gets up and goes just the same.

Rides this week? You can always check the ride log (over on the left sidebar). Unfortunately this week has been a bit scrambled. I did do the SORBA Wednesday night ride. Actually had a great ride in terms of climbing. While not actually cleaning the climbs I did manage to make it farther up them than ever before. Guess those big knobby tires are good for climbing traction even if they do take more work. By the end of the ride my calfs were cramped up pretty good. I thought it was a bit odd considering it wasn't an overly long ride. Later I discovered the culprit. My saddle had slipped about an inch back on the post. So I had essentially been riding on tip toes since it had happened due to the increased distance to the pedals. 2 days later and my calfs are still quite sore. Note to self, "Maverick seatpost is a turd".

That's all I got heading into the weekend. Hopefully I will have some excitement to recap on Tuesday. Take care.

Fall is here

2009-08-31T14:31:00.003-05:00

Don't know what to think. This summer seemed too short. Starting with rain and rain throughout really took a chunk of it. This morning as I got Faith dressed for school I noticed a fair amount of leaves on the lawn. It is a welcome change of season, but a bit of a bummer to realize that summer is also fading away.

We had a jam packed weekend at the Brummett house. Saturday was lost to lounging around the house and then we spent the afternoon at Jim's lake house. It was a beautiful afternoon other than about an hour long storm in the middle of our swim time. We caught a few fish, but nothing noteworthy. Austin and Faith both got rides on the wave runner. They really enjoyed it. Ended up getting home after 9pm. I sat down to relax, but got reminded that I needed to finish laptop duty. I had started trying to purchase a new Dell laptop for Erin and Austin to use earlier in the day, but was bothered by some price/promotion descrepancies on the Dell site. Well, three sales reps later I did end up purchasing a Dell laptop. I picked it up on ebay. I was able to take advantage of a 8% ebay coupon, 10% Bing cashback, and free shipping to get an even better computer for over $200 less. Dell.com needs to get their act together. I had wanted to purchase direct, but I do not have disposable income to pay 20-30% more for the exact same item with the same warranty.

Ended up with a Dell Vostro decked out and "downgraded" to XP for $633 out the door and $70 cashback coming in a couple of months. On dell.com it clocked out at about $900 + $100 tax, shipping, and fees. Score 1 for Doug the super internet shopper.

Sunday I woke up a bit late to make the 7am ride. I had to put a few final adjustments onto the Heckler. I had just got it back together Friday night. So I opted for about an 8:30-11am ride by myself. Stopped by The Evil Empire and grabbed a cup of coffee and a sandwich to consume pre-ride. I showed up at the kiosk on Monte Sano empty handed. Normally I have cash in the ash tray for park fees. Another norm is that there is never anyone working the kiosk. Well, this morning there was a nice lady running it. She ushered me in and told me not to worry about the missing dues, "it's really not a big deal" she said. Very nice exchange. I was thankful again to be living amonst such nice and friendly people in Huntsville.

I arrived at the biker's lot to see a fairly full house. The usual suspects were obviously out on the trails somewhere. I checked the tires and air pressure in the suspension. Then I headed out. This was a Doug ride, so I did one of my favorite fast downhills into the heart of the trail system, turned around and rode back up it. I did an out and back on Family trail to get some mileage. Then I hit the downhill again. I didn't find the need to stop on the ride, I took a nice pace and enjoyed the gravity. I finished up by riding out Sinks to Bankhead and up the road to the biker's lot again. Total of about 11-12mi. I ran into everyone else on the trail and again up in the lot. It was nice to talk shop for a bit after the ride.

I got home and relaxed into a beer and some reading on the patio when Erin railed me for not being ready to go. Dang, I thought we wer going to John and Mary's later in the afternoon. Oh well, scramble over and spent the afternoon. It was nice to see them and meet some new friends. In typical form the rest of the day faded away and I find myself at work again today. So it goes.

I saw this today over on Bike Rumor. I enjoyed it and think it worth sharing...

Sneak Attack

2009-08-26T22:00:00.003-05:00

Well sort of...
I have been stowing away spare parts as I built up the Heckler and got it to my liking. Well, what's a guy to do with a box of spare parts? Build another bike. Like the Heckler this bike is also to be a flashback to a bike I had in the past.

In Spring 2006 we had:
21" Rockhopper Pro
Revelation QR fork
Mutt-mix of parts
90mm stem and big riser bars
Decent width (and weight) wheelset

Well time flies, but not much changes.
Heading into fall 2009:
21" Rockhopper
Revelation QR fork
Mutt-mix of parts (a bit tidier this time around)
85mm stem and low rise bars (of course there is a stack of spacers to get them up to about even with the seat)
28mm wide rims on XT hubs (simple)

Check out the bars.

Got these dirt cheap off e-bay to test out some wide bars. These are Woodman Wide&Wild trails bars spec'd out at about 1.5in rise and 730mm wide (that's near 29in for us Americans). I have then tilted back to give a more traditional rise/rake. These are about the stiffest bars I have gotten a hold of. Those trials guys don't fool around.

The width honestly feels good. I may trim them down a touch mainly to get more trail clearance.

I am also liking these Easton Vice stems. Jenson has been blowing them out for $13-18 depending on the size. Burly stems and not that terribly heavy. Easton does good forged stems and at the price it is hard to gripe. Not many options nowadays for a stiff/strong 100mm+ length stem. I have been running a 115mm by 6 degree on the Heckler for the last few months.

Okay, so stiff bars and stem paired up with an aluminum frame. How's that treating me? Honestly a bit rough. I hadn't given my steel raleigh 29er as much credit as it was due. The Rockhopper doesn't have nearly as comfortable of a ride in the rocks. It does put the power down darn snappy though and I do like the more aggressive geometry. Still worlds more compliant than a SC Chameleon in the rough stuff though, so I can't complain too much. I had also taken for granted how lazy the Heckler lets me be. On the hardtail I am reminded quite often to lighten up on the saddle when rolling rocks and roots that I would normally just plow through.

All things considered it is nice to have a second rig up and running. Doing it mainly from the parts bin was also pretty cheap. I have a few rides on it and am pretty happy with the handling. Today was my first ride on the short stem, but that transition was easy since it fixed the heavy and weighted feeling in the front that was bothering me with the 115mm stem.

Okay, that's about all I have to say on that...

The Atherton Project

2009-08-18T13:25:00.002-05:00

Nice little video series covering Dan and Gee during the 2009 season (click the picture)...

From Blog

Little bit of doing for the church

2009-08-17T10:15:00.003-05:00

A couple of weeks back I busted loose the garage cabinets in preparation to get them to their new home.

I pulled the counter top, broke them loose from the wall/floor (they were glued down), and flush trimmed them (cabinets are built with a lip around them to make matching them up easier I guess). At any rate, they are going to be out in the middle of Erin's classrooom, so they needed a bit of work to even things up. Then they sat for a while in wait for the time that they could be moved.

Well, this was the weekend for it. That meant it was a busy one for me. All of the little tasks Erin wanted all piled up in short order. Of course the garage was still in chaos from the whirlwind tree removal. So first order was to clean up some before I made a mess of it all over again. Then I moved onto my best effort to realize Erin's design. Most of the work is rougher, ala contractor style. But I did put some additional effort into the book shelf and hand rail. Pastor Brian referred to it as "custom". I think that was a compliment :)

At any rate, making counter tops and cabinets that have 3 sides designed to be hidden into free standing counters/stations was more work than anticipated. Here is the result of the room divider. Note, we still need to do some painting...

and a couple of shots of the book shelf...

The design is my copy of something in Pottery Barn that Erin liked. I beefed it up strong enough that should a 30lb monkey decide to climb it the shelf should hold up. I also made it 4ft, where the PB ones were only 3ft. That and the PB ones were $60ea.

I didn't take any pictures of the other cabinet. Not much to talk about there. I had to close off the bottom oposite the kick panel. Erin wasn't too worried about it, but I just had visions of all sorts of toys gathering under the cabinet. I was able to scrounge around the garage and come up with some scrap 1/8in ply for the job. I have been trying to come up with a cheap top for the cabinet. By seperating the cabinets the original counter top wouldn't be long enough. Scrap pile to the rescue again! As I was putting some garden tools back into the corner I set eyes upon the steel table that I had adopted when my previous employer had moved the factory. Hmmm, that's about 5ft long, steel, and laminated. I got Erin's blassing to use it as the counter top. It ended up working out very well.

Okay, that's it. Only omissions are beer drinking, watching TV, and a bit of eating. Hope you all had a good weekend.

All about performance

2009-08-12T10:36:00.001-05:00

Too funny...

Rolling with the times

2009-08-10T14:17:00.003-05:00

Weekend recap. Not much going on around these parts. Erin had a class this Saturday, so the kids and I hung out. We lazied around the house for the morning. I had been getting a hard press to go swimming. So off we went. I grabbed some popcorn to snack on. The pool is quiet in the mornings and mid-day, so it was low stress. Spent a couple of hours going back and forth between the kiddie and the big pool. Surprisingly it was easy to get the kids out of the pool. I told them we needed to go get them some new shoes, so it was time to go.

Quick grab and go and we are off to the mall. Stride Rite was a mad house. There were hollering kids and strollers strewn throughout the store. Total chaos. Yet amidst the comotion there was a glimmer of hope. Some bright individual had put a sign in sheet to maintain order to the line of people streeming into the store. After a few minutes we were helped by a very nice lady. Faith and Austin were measured, had picked out their desired new kicks, and fortunately the store had their sizes in stock. Done deal. Wallet is a bit lighter, but we had been putting off the new shoes for too long.

Not really sure where the rest of my day went...

I got a ride in Sunday. Just a 2hr stroll through the Land Trust and Monte Sano. I did the big climb. All 800ft or so :-) from the Land Trust. I hadn't done that climb since fall of 2007. Gotta say it is much nicer at the beginning of a ride than the end. Up top I did an out and back on the Family Trail. Then I turned around and went out the Observatory Loop to Cold Springs. For the first time ever I managed to not miss the turn up to the red gate. It was a good ride and yet again I had the pleasure of setting an enjoyable pace since I was solo. I ran into Steve and Sean at the biker's lot. They had done a similar ride to mine, but in reverse order.

After the ride motivation was low. I drank a couple of beers, then convinced the kids we should go to the pool. And we ended the day hanging out over at a friends house. By dinner the kids were in super grump mode. So a quick dinner and then we sent them to crash out. Of course they were out about as fast as they got into bed.

Okay, weekend recap in a nut shell. Hope everyone else had fun and unproductive weekends as well!

Where is Waldo?

2009-08-06T12:55:00.002-05:00

Or more importantly, where is Doug?

Ride Log on Google Docs

I am going to put a link over on the sidebar as well since this post will eventually get burried.

At any rate, I have created a log where I can put up when, where, and with whom I am riding. So in the event I don't make it out for some reason the boss can at the minimum tell the authorities where to look for me. A bit dramatic there, but it is a good idea none the less.

Weekend recap

2009-08-03T15:51:00.004-05:00

first off, I gotta try this...

Okay, so the weekend was one of those where it is over and I feel like I need a weekend to recover from it. Thursday actually stayed overcast, but dry. So I got home from work and mowed the front yards. I started to clear some of the grass growing in our gutter, but only made it about 50ft into that before the storm and lightening started hitting. It hit hard and fast. Within about 10 minutes it went from regular overcast to wind gusts, sheeting rain, thunder and lightening.

I was pulling the dogs in and watching the trees in the back yard. I was a bit nervous about the way they were swaying and decided I should probably be inside. Right about then I here a pretty hefty thump out front of the house. I am thinking it was a big branch off of one of the trees. I open the front door and find a tree is covering the front of the house. Doh!

That is about a 60-70ft tall Tulip Poplar. The root ball pictured was about 7ft tall. Not exactly the type of thing you want to have in your front yard. Fortunately no one was hurt and only minor damage was done to the house.

Needless to say, I called in sick to work on Friday. Ended up spending the morning on the phone. I had a tree service out to quote. The price to remove this beast was $4500. Yeah, not gonna happen bub. So for the minimal fee of $1000 they came out with a bucket and a crane and removed the tree from the house. That was probably still a bit high, but they were able to come out on the spot and get it done. I spent the rest of the day clearing what they had cut down. One of our neighbors stopped by with a chainsaw and helped cut up more and trim some logs to length. I ended the day by hauling 300lb of sand and a 50ft tarp up on the roof.

Saturday started at about 8am with more clearing. I had a loaner chainsaw from our neighborhood pastor by 8:30am. By 9-9:30am I had been joined by not 1 but 3 other neighbors all willing to help clean up. It was truly amazing to have that kind of response from my neighbors. Yet again a not so subtle reminder of how nice of a neighborhood we have moved into. Before noon we had everything we could clear with the 16in chainsaw either stacked by the garage for firewood or in piles at the curb for disposal.

About that time Eric (another neighbor's son) arrived with Daisy an 88cc husqvarna chainsaw with a 36in bar. The rest of the neighbors departed as he and his girl friend dug into the main trunk and limbs of the tree. As they cut off logs and slices I would haul them out to the curb. At about 3pm the deal was done. All that remains is the root ball.

After a break and some lunch it was back up to the roof to secure the tarp and make sure it was held down well enough to deal with another storm that was rolling in. I finished that up and then raced to get a shower and appear presentable for the company summer party. And then it was off to Guntersville for the party. We arrived late, left early, and I was not in the most social of moods. However the kids got to fish some and get a short boat ride in, so they were happy.

Sunday was supposed to be a crash day, but Erin had to be up early to get some books back to her friend via her husband who was doing the delivery. So we were up and somewhat going. I started cleaning up the Family room. I don't think the couches have been moved in a good while, because there was all kinds off stuff under them. Full vacuum of the room, rug, and couches. Erin hit the kitchen. Austin and Faith stayed out of the way and tried not to make additional mess.

About mid-day Erin and Austin headed out for some school supplies. Faith and I went to get some odd and ends, and a new swimsuit for her. Then it was off to the pool. Finally some R&R. We ended up staying until dusk and closing time. Erin and Austin arrived around 4pm. BBQ'd some hot dogs and called it a day. Done. I'm pooped.

Yep

2009-07-30T16:56:00.003-05:00

...so weather is still being pretty shady around here. Doesn't look to be showing any signs of letting up before Sunday. Biggest breaks in the clouds and sprinkles seems to be a couple of hours. Enough time to kick myself for not being all geared up and ready, but not long enough to allow for any procrastination. That, and the only trails that I can ride wet are the Arsenal trails. The Arsenal trails are still overgrown and tick filled. I ended up plucking one of the buggers off me during my ride and another one about 6 hours later when lying on the couch after a shower. So needless to say I am not overly thrilled to ride there. But it's all I got when the weather turns to pot. The rock and clay composition there makes for some clogged tires by the time I get off the trail. It isn't wet or deep, more tacky so it just sticks to the tires and eventually accumulates.

New parts? Nah, nothing exciting this week. Waiting for some cheap bars to show, but apparently the seller had some delays. They are a set of Woodman "Wide and Wild" bars. They don't have much rise, but are a full 740mm wide. For $15 I figured I could play around with these to see what all this wide bar fuss is about. Going to be a bit tight on some of the trails.

Garage events? Finally busted loose the cabinets by the door. I have been wanting to do some reorganizing to make more room and use of the room at hand in the garage. Erin needed some cabinets for her classroom, so it is a done deal. I had to flush trim the sides, since they won't be in a location to use trim work to hide gaps. I just need to trim down the counter top, build a top for the 2nd cabinet, and a tunnel under the drawer. So stay tuned for a bit of carpentry this weekend and some garage reorganization next week.

More's in store

2009-07-28T12:24:00.002-05:00

Well, check the weather in my neighborhood. Looks like it will be rain off and on all week. I have squeezed in a couple of rides on the fork since getting it tuned, but really I am feeling like all my rides lately have really just been pressed for time. Weather and family obligations seem to be the main offenders. Of course beer drinking, procrastination, and general sloth behavior rank right up there.

We had nice weather this weekend. I did not ride. Close to 8hr of pool time racked up over the last couple of days.

Oh, and how did I miss this. Apparrently AL has legalized high gravity beer. That's right, I can go right down to the local package store and get gourmet micro brews with up to 13.9%abv. Happy days. Fayetteville will likely lose some beer sales over this one. So last night I went out and grabbed a few beers at Great Spirits. Oddly though, I got home and just went to bed. Yep, didn't even drink one.

That's it for me. There is always more babbling to be done, but I am not feeling it right now. Take care.

Weather conspiring against me

2009-07-22T10:43:00.002-05:00

Got my fork back from Push Ind. yesterday. I hastily installed it back onto the Heckler and started bouncing around and turning knobs. The compression side of things is very similar in feel to the way Push tuned my rear shock a couple of months back. It is stiff, yet moves well without spiking. I have been running the compression dial at about 30%. After tuning it looks like I can keep it full open and only need to lock it out for road or fire road climbs. Rebound, also like the rear shock, is slow. I set it to full open and it still is a bit slower than I prefer. The odd thing though is that on the trail this slow rebound feels great. So now I just need to get some saddle time in to get used to the new feel.

Well last night it started raining. Still drizzling a bit here and there today. So much for the Wednesday night Sorba ride. I noticed this weekend that Monte Sano has posted that bikes are to stay off the trails for 2 days following rain. Doh! I will have to go someplace that doesn't have such limitations if I want to get a ride today or tomorrow. Might go home for lunch and grab my bike then just hit the Arsenal trails after work. Nobody there cares if you ride when it's wet.

What else has been going on?
I rode Saturday and Sunday this weekend. Also got a ride in yesterday. So I am getting some saddle time. That always makes me a happy camper. Weekend rides were on Monte Sano. I took advantage of Saturday's solo ride to hit a couple of trails that I always ride past, but in the last 2 years have failed to actually ride. As it turns out I was not missing much. At least now I can say that I have been there and done that. Sunday was a full run repeat of Wednesday's group ride. Instead of racing dark on a 2.5hr pace for the 16mi loop we had a much more casual pace, plenty of breaks, and good fun riding at a 3.5hr pace. I held a decent pace, pushed myself on the climbs, and felt strong all the way to the end. Very satisfying.

After a couple of days off I hit the Arsenal trails with Clay and Jeff. Legs felt a bit heavy and the ride was painful. However I made the difficult climbs and kept a good pace for most of the loop. I even managed to do 2 of the climbs in mid-ring. My legs are definitely getting back in shape. Now if I can just tune the motor a bit things will really be shaping up.

Speaking of the motor, who turned off the beer spigot? I have actually decided to get serious about cutting down on the beer consumption. Who am I fooling, I can't quit drinking beer entirely. But I can curb some of the calories by drinking light beer and also by only drinking in moderation. Over the last couple of months I have been transitioning over to light beer for the majority. This week I am kicking off my beer ration. That's right, rationing my 6-pack to last 6 days. Is it possible? I dunno, but I am trying.

I have also noticed recently that Netflix has been upping the quantity of MTB videos they offer. This week I watched Klunkerz and Fundamentals. Klunkerz is a documentary, very simillar to Dog Town and Z-boys. It is a kool look at how the whole mess of popular mountain biking really came out of the woodworks. If you have netflix check it out. Lots of other good stuff in there as well.

Fuel the engine (you gotta eat)

2009-07-16T12:02:00.002-05:00

Well, yesterday I had one of those rides...

Right out of the gate it was a sprint. Only I could tell that I wasn't able to really put down the hammer. I kept up alright, but was getting pretty tired by about 2mi into the ride. Great! Next comes more sprinting and a bit of DH, but not the kind that gives any rest. But enough to make keeping up and even gapping some of the pack though. Hit the bottom of that section and notice I am breathing harder than I should be. I am drinking water and sweating like a pig. As the trail goes on it is a mix of up and down with increasingly more up. The legs just don't want to put down any power. I am feeling more and more weak.

As the group fades away down the trail I realized that I am about 7-8mi into a 16mi ride. I pulled the plug. I am familiar enough with bonking to know when the conditions are right for an epic failure. So I turn back and hit the connector trail, a straight up the mountain hike a bike. Fortunately I was only a mile or so past it. As I hike along I marvel at the fact that I am really feeling it, totally tired and expended.

As I am moving slow I have plenty of time to think. It hits me. I have been abusing myself. I am not on a diet or anything at the moment. But I have been burning the midnight oil and getting by on 5-6hr of sleep. I also have not put any carbs besides beer and soda into my system in about 30 hours. No breakfast, just coffee. I had an early lunch, salad and a piece of pork tenderloin (left overs from dinner). At around 3pm I drank about 1/2 can of soda. No wonder why I am worked over. I forgot to put gas in the tank

Take it from me, if you want to have a good ride you do actually need to eat something that will fuel your muscles. Hopefully this little ramble will be of use to someone else.

Weekend in review

2009-07-13T12:12:00.002-05:00

Where'd it go?

Friday night Coleman and Amy came over and helped break in the screened patio. Time flew and before we knew it we were finally heading to bed at about 1am. 12 pack of coors light decimated. I am going to blame it on our guests :)

Saturday caught us all sleeping in. Shockingly Faith was the first to stir at the crack of 9:00am. I kicked Erin out of bed rather abruptly as she had plans at 10. I hung out with the kids, then we got bored. I decided to take them for a walk. So off to Kroger to grab some snacks for lunch. By the time we had made it to the North end of town Faith had crashed out. So I just kept driving. Ended up doing a beer run up to Fayetteville for some Hop-Wallop. On the way back to Wade Mountain to go for our walk Faith decided she really needed to pee. Great, so instead of a nice hike we did a beer run. Oh well. Off to the pool. Erin decided upon return home that she was hung over (ahha, she drank all of the beer). So it was just me and the kids at the pool. We did meet up with Amy and Adam.

We ended the day with a date night. Shockingly we ended up with some sitters for the evening, so we booked it out to Bridge Street for dinner and a bit of shopping. It was a nice evening.

Sunday the alarm rang at 6:20am. Dang, hate it when that happens. I did set it intentionally, but only half heartedly thought I would actually get up. After snoozing it for a few minutes I got up, grabbed my bike gear, and headed off to meet up with the Sunday morning 7am ride. No breakfast and no coffee. Just a sprint to get up to the biker's lot to meet Clay and Jim. Turned out Clay is still a bit laid up after head butting a tree just over a week ago, so it ended up being me and Jim. We started off realistic enough, but in the end we logged somewhere between 15-17mi and went top to bottom in the park.

Finally the park is fairly dry, so we decided to ride a couple of trails that have been holding water. After hitting these I got the novel idea that we should just turn down the mountian and ride Flatrock trail. Heck, the day was still young. We are only about 5mi in, so off we went.

I got a clear shot at the downed tree on Warpath. Of course they have cut a notch out of it the day before so clearing it isn't necessary any longer. I hopped it anyways. We took a few pictures at this point. Apparently I am not that easy to catch mid-air.

(look at me squashing my puny bike, using most of the travel just hopping over that log)

By the time we hit the normal Flat Rock connector trail, from Goat trail, I was already feeling pretty spent and starting to slow down. Out to the Flat Rock was slow going. I managed to make all of the stream crossings, but I was pushing a pretty slow gear the rest of the time. Either the heat was getting to me or I was still not recovered from Wednesdays ride. At any rate, hiked up the exit connector and ran out of water at the top. Fortunately we are pretty close to water at that point, so I keep at it up and out to the park office and the fountain.

No broken parts, no crashing, just a solid ride in the books. Ended up back at the car just shy of 4 hours. That meant the rest of the day for lounging around. That I did.

In the end we had this for a complete route:
(looks kinda like a dragon, or a slug)
*start* Biker's lot
N.Plat Loop
Observation Deck
Sinks
Logan Pt.
Kieth's
Goat
Warpath Ridge
Flat Rock
Flat Rock connector
Logan Pt.
back up Sinks
*finish* Biker's lot

Nother day another dollar

2009-07-09T09:43:00.002-05:00

Well, not exactly. Cash flow kind of going the other way. Gotta stop breaking stuff. Last week it was my seat post. Yesterday it was a pivot bolt. For whatever reason Santa Cruz decided to make the new generation Heckler all svelte and pretty at the pivot. In the process they added a highly stressed bolt into the scheme. I had issues with this bolt coming loose when I first purchased the bike. It is a known issue with their design. So I used some higher quality fasteners with more thread engagement and a bit of loctite. I torqued everything to spec and rode off into the sunset. Until yesterday that is...

Hmmm, this isn't supposed to look like this. Definitely gave me a Happy Gilmore moment...

and of course this is where that little bolt head belongs.

Now I need to extract the remains from my frame and get another bolt. Might need to get something off McMaster in a higher grade.

I got in a good ride yesterday despite the broken bolt. One nice feature of the new suspension pivot is that you can ride it out even after a bolt breaks since the axle is fully enclosed. It just makes a bit of noise. Not much of the B-team showed up yesterday. I rode with Steve, Sean, and RD. Jim headed out with Tim S., but I wasn't too interested in climbing up McKay which was the route they were headed. We ended up actually putting in more miles though. It was a decent loop of Family, Goat, War Path, Renegade, Arrow head plus the extension, and then humped it back up the road to get back to the lot right before dark. It was a good amount of ground to cover in the 2.5 hours. Probably about 12-14mi. I was happy with the ride and was able to keep right with Sean and Steve until about mid-way into the Renegade trail, then I fell off their pace a bit. But I was never too far back, always catching up to them within a minute or so at the breaks. Definitely glad I had my fast tires on, they did help with the pace.

I am going to dub the rock line at the bottom of war path the "Sniper Line". Used it to sneak in front of Sean as we were racing down the trail. If I was a bit faster at it I could have gotten Steve too. We had a chuckle about it as we waited for RD. Steve saw me out of the corner of his eye, but I wasn't coming hot enough to head him off. Also made it over that stupid log farther up the trail, despite the others stopping in front of me. I want to hit that with no stop, just j-hop it, but there is usually someone in the way.

All in all it was a satisfying ride. We got back to the lot just as I was about to turn into a giant cramp, so ride length was about perfect. I cleaned all of the sections of trail that I had in mind.
made the rock climb at the bottom of the Arrowhead ascent

climbed up through the crack

it's a bit harder to go up than down this one.

And once we hit the road I got dropped, but was able to keep Sean in sight all the way back into MSSP. Again, glad I had my faster rolling tires on.

Otherwise life goes on. Still getting used to the Erin working schedule. But the kids are getting used to it, which makes it much easier. That's about it. Been busy, but can't really remember what or why. Signing off...

Fun from the passenger seat

2009-07-06T17:45:00.001-05:00

Last bit of the patio

2009-07-04T22:42:00.002-05:00

Okay, still have a few holes to patch. Otherwise we are nearing completion on the patio project. Okay, okay so there is still the sump project but the rain has decided to finaly clear out here and we are near drought conditions here again. Weird!

So at any rate, holiday weekend here. Tomorrow we are off on a family adventure with some friends up into Tennessee. I have managed to seal up the vinyl paneling and built a server/shelf unit at the dining end of the patio. I think once we have the place 99% sealed to the bugs life will be very nice. For now we are enjoying the new living area, but we are still getting random mosquito bites.

Some pictures (everyone likes pictures)

and one from the outside at night. Kinda hard to capture it on our basic point and shoot...

We are actually digging the lanterns. I had to barter a bit with Erin to get them in. In the end I think they really fit the bill. They light the room, but are easy on the eyes.

That's that.

No riding this weekend. I had wanted to, but didn't make it a priority. I did a bit of wrenching. Had to do a bit of repair. Wednesday's ride turned out to be a pain in the ass...

First time I have snapped a Gravity Dropper. It snapped just as one might predict, at one of the detents drilled into the inner shaft. Nice stress circles don't-cha think :-)

I also managed to score some cheap wheels and some fork parts. swapped the front end out to 20mm thru axle. Noticeably stiffer. Between the thru axle an the solid crown/steel steerer things are much more rigid out front on my bike. As a side note I also discovered that my original fork was overfilled and only getting about 3in of the advertised 5.5in of travel. No wonder it felt a bit harsh in the really bumpy stuff.

At any rate, Wednesday's ride turned into a hike and standing pedal back to the lot. It really isn't all that cool to have to ride a full suspension bike standing the whole time. At first it seems like no big deal, but in short order it works over the calves and the upper body. I hobbled my way back to the parking lot, about 6mi, fortunately I was in good company. Clay had wrecked pretty good about a minute before I broke my post. We met at the bottom of Warpath and both decided turning back was the wisest choice. By the time we got back to the lot he was pretty stiff and I was dog tired from all the standing.

Oh, and the end of an era...
I signed up for Facebook. I made it through myspace, but too many friends and family are using facebook to ignore. If you are on it look me up and send a friend request.

That's all I got for now. Erin just gave me orders to look up some info on where we are going tomorrow, so I am outa here. Take care.

Really cool high frame rate video

2009-06-22T14:11:00.000-05:00

I-Movix SprintCam v3 NAB 2009 showreel from David Coiffier on Vimeo.

Amazing what 1000fps will campture. The Jello is at 2500fps.

Father's day in the books

2009-06-22T12:33:00.002-05:00

Well, another uneventful holiday round these parts. Erin and I are somewhat resolved to just buck the system and not celebrate forced holidays. I think we agreed to celebrate some sort of a joint parental holiday on our own next year. At any rate, spent most of the weekend working on the patio. More money. More work. I need a vacation.

Here is how we are looking...
Inside, looking North:

Inside to the South:

View from under the deck:
Faith is using the strategically placed dog door.

Walking out into the back yard:

One more for perspective:

I don't recall exactly when we started the project, Erin would know. I think it has been about a month. Cost is sitting at about $1000. That is more than we had wanted to spend, but it will be worth it in the long run. The room itself is about 10ft x 25ft. Still to do is the final sealing of random holes and the installation of a sump pump. Our lot is slanted in such a way that on heavy rains the patio turns into a lake. A sump pump is the easiest and least expensive way to fix the problem.

Oh, there is furniture, lighting, and electrical to tend to as well. Knew I was forgetting something.

So there you have it. Told you guys I would get some pictures up eventually.

Still not much blogging

2009-06-19T14:42:00.002-05:00

Sorry guys/gals. Not much blogging lately. I am not a fan of just coming over here and babbling along. Gotta have some pictures or news. So when I have not compiled either of the afforementioned it gets a bit quiet around here. I am giving thought to picking up a bike only camera, something so that I can snap pics and video with more regularity on my rides.

I have been riding. Not a ton, but enough to keep me happy, covered in bites, and bruised. Oh, and feeling good. It has been hot and humid here. Talking 80-90% humidity. So despite the rain starting to taper off the rocks and roots are staying very slick. It is like our very own Southern rain forrest when you get out in the woods. By about an hour into a ride everything is soaking wet. Sweat doesn't seem to evaporate so much as it drips to a lower elevation. Eventually it finds its way to something that absorbs it or it just drips off. Okay, enough talk about sweat.

Crashing? Yeah, been a while since I had any noteworthy falls. So I decided to double down and take a couple of good spills. First tumble was last week. I had my dry weather tires on (WTB Mutano 2.24 front, Specialized Fast Track 2.2 rear) so no real traction to speak of. I was heading down Goat Trail and my rear tire kicked off a wet rock. My now altered direction put me right into an off camber root. The front tire decided to follow it right off the trail, taking the bike out from under me in the process. I find myself covered in mud,dirt, and laughing. Later I did discover some poison oak, must have rolled in that too.

Well, that wasn't too bad. Let's do that again! Next crash was on the most tame trail in the park, the family trail. It is a nice rolling 2.5mi out and back. Well if you downshift a few gears and sprint the trail takes on a whole new feel. Definitely get some of that flying, cutting, carving, and ripping through the woods feeling. So there I was ripping along. I was pedaling out of the corners and pumping into them. As I compressed into one corner and grunted a pedal out of it I was struck with a new sensation. With a solid clack the left pedal stopped, triggering a chain reaction of sorts with the final result being me flying over the bars after being ejected clean of the bike. Again, I am on the ground laughing. The bike found it's resting point a few yards back of me. A bit of dirt packed into palces it shouldn't have on the bike and I picked up a few scrapes, cuts, and bruises but the ride went on. We did marvel at the root that had caught my pedal. It was perfectly placed for a low bb bike to get a pedal smack coming out of the corner. Figures.

Wednesday marked the 2nd time since moving to Alabama that I have cleaned the climb back up from Mountain Mist. It is a stinker of a climb up a heavily rooted rock garden. Fortunately the worst of it is only about 50 yards. To make matters worse though it has been very slick lately with the moisture and humidity. So I hefted into it with minimal hopes of success. After clearing the first section of it though I figured I might as well put in 110% since I was still on the bike. I did just that and at the next switchback I was rewarded with an ill feeling and a pegged heart rate. I am not really conviced that some of these rock garden climbs here are worth the effort. They are good for bragging rights, but you expend soooo much energy just to stay upright and moving forwards that it makes the next 5 minutes of recovery pretty painful. Fortunately I was first up and we took a couple minutes to rest before racing back down the family trail.

I have started a tire co-op. Yes, some may not understand it but I have a tire fettish. I like to try out different tires and pick my favorites for given riding conditions. Well I ended up with a few other people who also wanted to try out other tires. Between the group we have 14 different tires in circulation and testing. That's a lot of tires and far more experience with selection than any of us would get out of their own pocket money.
Here is our list
Pretty fun way to get some miles on tires I wouldn't normally buy, but have been curious about.

Still playing contractor in my spare time. I found myself doing the contractor's equivalent of painting yourself into a corner. I finshed my framing and put up the 2x12 pine siding. Towards the end of the day I had the thought that my miter saw and stand may not actually fit through the door in 1 piece. Doh! I will have to give that a closer look this weekend when I have to get the saw out of the way. I swear, pictures will come eventually. Erin has a few of me working, but I don't think anyone wants to see me all sweaty, beer bellied, and plumber cracked. So I will grab some shots of the patio instead ;-)

Austin is still off in CA. Erin is settling into her job at the Church. That seems to be working out well. I get Faith up and running in the morning. After attempting to make her look presentable I shuttle her off to class for the morning and mosey into work. Not all bad. We'll see how things pan out once the school year fires back up at the end of summer.

Other news? Nope, I am pooped. Nothing else whatsoever.

Easily amused

2009-06-12T11:38:00.000-05:00

Yep, this will do

What's going on

2009-06-11T13:23:00.002-05:00

Not much.

Some people have entirely too much spare time...

Me, I am just keeping busy being busy.
Spent a bit of time on Tuesday swapping out my rear wheel and brakes. Always the bargain shopper I managed to score a complete saint rear wheel for $36. How could I say no?

The only down side of the older Saint hubs is that you are stuck with either a 6in or an 8in rotor. I chose a 6in in attempt to get a bit more ground/rock clearance. I nicked my 7in rotor a few weeks ago pretty bad and bent it. So in order to maintain the power of the larger rotor I opted to use a 4 piston brake caliper.

That little purchase did catch Erin's attention. Not supposed to be spending a bunch of money on bikes. Doh! At any rate, Jenson was blowing them out for about 20% off so it wasn't too bad price wise. I thought about swapping just the caliper, but for $20 more they threw in a rotor, frame mount, and the lever/hose. Overall the Code caliper lives up to expectation. Even though I am running a smaller rotor it is right even on the power. Surprising since it is an organic pad. This thing is probably too strong to run with a sintered metalic pad. If I get bored I may try that out for S&G, but it doesn't appear necessary.

Riding?
Yep, here and there. I got a couple rides in this week. Monday was an arsenal loop. I reported about it in my last post, so I won't blabber any more about it here.
Yesterday was a scheduled group ride with the SORBA club, but mid-day rain and thunderstorms scared off most everyone. I rang up Clay and we decided that we would have a go at riding Monte Sano anyways. The rains had lasted about an hour and it had been clear for about 4 hours when we hit the trails. It was mostly dry, but it was very humid. The rocks and roots were just slick as they get. I ended up being the pinball in the rocks. As luck would have it I was anticipating an end to all this rain and I mounted my dry season tires. These have a hard compound and tighter spacing on the knobs (specialized fast track rear, wtb mutano front). Yep, I dumped the bike after about 3 miles into the ride on an off camber rutted section with roots. The back end slipped out, putting me off course, the front wheel tracked right into a root and slid it right off the trail, me in tow of course. I laughed as I pulled myself from the poison oak/ivy and righted my bike. The ride was filled with lots of spun tires, slips, bad bounces, and general good fun. All you can do when conditions are like that is to have good humor and enjoy the challenge. So another Monte Sano ride restricted to the upper trails by wet trail conditions. One of these days summer will get here and dry the place out.

Mowing the lawn?
You know it. Had a good bout of lawn mowing action on Monday evening. Mowed the lawn and did the trim work with the weed wacker. Good times.

Overdue for an update

2009-06-08T13:55:00.003-05:00

Getting close to 2 weeks since I posted up. I managed to sneak in a couple of messy rides at the end of May. The last storm system left things very slick. Of course I had just mounted up a tire that is notorious for being a poor wet condition tire. True to form it didn't disappoint. Super slippery over wet rocks and roots.
The tire in question:

WTB Prowler XT 2.3
At about 850g it is a bit on the heavy side, but it mounts well tubeless and that is about the right weight for a 2.3 tubeless tire.
My last few rides have been dry though. Oddly I really like this tire when it is dry. It has a good compound and low rolling resistance. So I am somewhat torn. Do I just keep this one on and pray for no rain rides? As a side note, do not buy this tire if you have OCD. It will take about 20 minutes to cut out all 600+ of those molding hairs (don't ask how I know :)

I got my shock back from Push Ind. on the 28th.

They ripped out the stock damping piston and shims, replaced all the seals, and added a bottom out bumper. I gotta say it felt a bit overdamped on my around the block test ride. I was having a bit of buyer's remorse. However out on the trail I was quickly won over. The shock no longer wallow or dives too deep into it's travel. On DH sections it is smoother and feels just dailed. It rivals a coil shock for how supple it is. Very good work from the boys in Colorado.

So here it sits, "the Homewrecker" in all her glory

In the background is Chattanooga. That is the river that runs right by the aquarium.
I can't remember the last time I ran this long of a stem, but it feels good. It is what I needed to make the shorter top tube work for me. I have no idea how John, at 6'5", rode this size heckler with a 60 or 70mm stem. Crazy.

Speeking of Chattanooga. Here are some shots from my ride there on the 31st. I headed out there with some of the Sorba crew, Cam, and Clay.

We stopped and grabbed pictures along the way. There is an experts only playground a little over the half way mark. It is dubbed the "Chunk" section. We didn't grab any pictures there, but I will have to spend some more time there next time I am out that way. Some decent 3-5ft rock drops, tech downhill lines, and even some smaller jumps.

I snuck in a short lunch ride today and did the 8mi lunch loop with Clay and Jeff. Weather was great, not too hot but still nice and warm. Oh and SPOON!

Yep, that's right, ticks are everywhere. Not sure what is up. Must be the rain this year. Instead of a gradual ramp up it is a full blown explosion. Every few miles I find I need to stop and pick a few of these critters off of my lower legs. Out on the arsenal I have been picking up 5-10 per loop. Not much out on Monte Sano, but the overgrown trails on the arsenal are ripe. Fortunately I have been catching them before they get anywhere too exciting and latch on.

In other news. I have been playing contractor. Erin decided that a screened in patio trumped her planter boxes this year. So we launched into construction. We are screening in most of the area under the deck. It should go a bit faster now. I spent 3 days so far anchoring 2x4s to the concrete and getting the vinyly roof panels attached to the bottom of the deck. I am moving into the framing and closing it in, then it is just adding netting and a bit of paint. I will get some pictures up once it is in presentable condition.

That's about it. Some riding, some construction, maybe mowing the lawn in my spare time. Time is flying...

Done with the weather

2009-05-27T08:59:00.002-05:00

Yes, the forecast is gloomy again. It has been raining off and on, cloudy, and humid. Pretty hard to figure out if or when to squeeze in a ride. Best bet seems to be just throwing the bike in the truck for the day and hoping for a break in the clouds to sneak out for a ride. So far in May we are sitting on 8-15in of rain, depending on where in N.Alabama you happen to be riding. 17 of the previous 25 days have had rain and the next three are forecasting at about 80% probability.

That is a lot of water to deal with. The ground here is pretty well saturated. So even if the rain is light it still makes the trails too mucky to ride. I have been getting in some fire road rides over the last couple of weeks, but that is getting a little old. Man, I don't know how people in the North West handle it. I'd go crazy living in this rain year round. I like my trails dry and the sun shining.

Sorry, that's all I got today. Just had to vent on the weather. Our Memorial weekend was a bust due to weather, kid plans, and laziness...

Okay, I can't claim to have the most boring blog...

2009-05-22T09:44:00.002-05:00

Sorry Chris, but I gotta call this one out :)

http://codinglifestyle.wordpress.com/

If you know what the heck he is talking about you ought to be getting paid for it. Seriously that mumbo jumbo just makes my head hurt. I had to suffer out a programming course at SJSU for my degree. Fairly rudimentary and more than enough programming to last a lifetime for the average engineer.

Okay, it is Friday and blazing into a holiday weekend.
How about some more MacaskillZ

This guy is sick, throw some Beastie Boys remix into it and you have a good little video...

Being lazy

2009-05-21T10:00:00.003-05:00

Well, I have been finding it hard to post much lately. Lack of photos and significant content doesn't instill much motivation there. Sorry, just the way it goes sometimes.

New gear:
1) Fox Sergeant shorts.

Fox still cuts their gear for bean pole, little boys, and xc racers. They fit my waist, not much room in the trunk so watch for plumber's crack if you are following me. One bonus feature that is interesting, the shorts are stretch material! Crazy. Now I have a stretchy liner and a stretch shell. That's some comfort right there. The fit is athletic, not too baggy. I give them a thumbs-up.

2) Fox Ranger Shorts.

Weird fit on these shorts. I got them a size larger than the sergeants. It is like they only made the waist bigger. Trunk space may even be smaller. So pair up a loose waist and too little room in the rear and we have major crack making a showing. These ones are on their way back to the vendor.

3) Hoss Ponderosa shorts.

I have always heard good report on these. They are about the cheapest of the cycling specific shorts. I gotta say they are comfy. The chamois liner is very well done. Only issue I have is the droopy chamois that is a side effect of sewn-in liners. Not a big deal, it just catches the nose of the saddle on accasion. Okay one more gripe, my 38in waist puts me in a XXXL size. That is just weird as most brands would reserve that designation to 42-46in waist.

4) Kenda Nevegal 2.35 dtc tire.
I pulled the Ardent 2.4 off the bike. It was just too big for my fork, it liked to throw rocks, and if you hit mud forget about it. The nevegal is very comfortable. Weird thing is I never liked this tire pattern in CA. In AL though I liked it on my 29er and now on my heckler. It just works for the rocky terrain here.

I have been getting a fair amount of trail time in. Mostly shorter lunch rides. The legs are finally coming back and I am able to notice that the small elevation climbs here are not too bad. It is a motivational thing to hit that level where the body starts to work again. I have been riding mostly with friends, which is a nice change of pace from the solitude of so many rides last year. I have hooked up with a crew that seems to have regular rides so it is much easier to hookup on a ride with them. The group also has several guys who are of a similar pace and stamina. We still suffer, but there isn't the demoralization of getting dropped too.

The SORBA club rides have been getting rained out. Yesterday there was a large group out for the Wednesday night ride. The biker's lot was packed as full as I have ever seen it. I broke off and rode with the usual suspects and not the SORBA club. The groups criss-crossed several times and even rode Goat trail in series. That kind of split our B-team as a couple of us jumped into the end of the SORBA pack and kept up with them. It made for a nice break at the benches. A pinch flat and a broken chain were the carnage trailside, but it was on other's bikes not mine.

Today was an Arsenal 8-9mi loop. I was running on dead legs, so I took it back a notch and just grunted it out. I am glad I went for the ride despite it not being a fast day for me. I made 4 or 5 new friends on the trail. Stupid wood ticks are really favoring me out there. On the overgrown trails I am picking up several on a ride. Fortunately I have sensitive enough legs to catch them cuising on my shin or calf, usually before they bite. A bit of mud and damp trails didn't help with maintaining forward momentum, but I managed to make all the climbs so nothing to complain about. For the last couple of miles my bike is chirping. No big deal, I probably should have repacked the hub bearings by now anyhow. Out on the pavement I look down and find the true culprit. My rotor is badly bent and complaining with each revolution. I am getting pretty good at rotor truing, but I think this one is a goner. Oh well, I am overdue for a rotor failure. I think last one I bent was in 2005, so I have had a good run. The rocks out here finally struck a blow. One must have gone airborn and slammed my rotor along the way.

Throw in mowing the lawn and some work and you have it in a nut shell. Hopefully your life is more exciting these days. Either way, keep the rubber-side down...

A little something clever

2009-05-11T17:18:00.002-05:00

Okay, I am not an advocate of ipods and riding. But I do like the creativity behind this short video...

All in my head from Mattdevine on Vimeo.

Weekend in review. Lame. More rain. More TV and being lazy. I changed the oil and filters on the mower and that's about all I have to show for the time off. Austin has some crud and was puking all over yesterday. I still am feeling a bit weathered. So we had an unproductive weekend. Oh, got out and saw the Disney nature film "Earth". Pretty cool movie, full of great nature filming.

You'd think there were no more cats and dogs

2009-05-04T09:24:00.006-05:00

Seriously, it has been pouring here since what Thursday I think. About the only good to come out of it is that I got motivated to clean the gutters during a break in the storms on Saturday. Gotta say, the task was not nearly as hard as I had thought. I probably won't put it off so long next time :)

Not much to report since the last blog. I got in one ride last Tuesday, but was still feeling the effects of Sunday's marathon. I am also thinking part of my recent sufferring while riding is due to illness. My guess is that the fatigue is my own variation of the crud Erin and the kids have been carrying. Other than general fatigue on the bike, sore throat, and a bit of crusty flem in the mornings I seem to have done okay. At any rate, the ride was about 10mi around the Arsenal trails. They had finally dried out to the point of a good ride and all climbs actually rideable.

Goodies in the garage? Not a whole lot of action there. Box of goodies from SpeedGoat came in on Tuesday. I got some new tires. Going to give the Maxxis Ardent tires a shot. Picked up a 2.4 for the front and a 2.25 for the back. I mounted the rear with tube chocked full of sealant. The front I mounted "ghetto tubeless" (basically using a smaller diameter tube to seal the spoke bed). No issues there. The front tire is an honest 2.4 and weighs in at about 825g, so it is a decent tubeless candidate. I am not so sure about the 600g 2.25in, it may just be too thin for me to run without the support of a tube.

Other stuff in the box is mainly maintenance items. I got a new granny ring, so at this point I have replaced all the gears on this bike. Figure I should be good to go for the rest of the season. I also scored some derailleur housing. So I re-cabled the rear derailleur with full housing to the back. That should keep some of the crud out of it and make for a bit better shifting. I used a silicone lube in the housing, just to test it out. It might not attract so much dirt/dust.

So in my spare time I have been getting the bike cleaned up and ready to ride some more. Looks like I will have a few more weeks of mud to contend with. I have been liking the White Lightening wax lube. It is a bit more effort to keep up on, but it does keep the entire drivetrain much cleaner. I think once we get out of the mud season I will appreciate it even more.

Speaking of mud and slick conditions, I also got me some new kicks. I sold off a few items from the parts bin and applied the cash towards a new set of shoes. I have been thinking that it was getting on time to retire my 4 year old M182's. They have served me well, but they are not very good for the hike a bike over wet and rocky trails. I am not really sure why all the high-end shoes have hard rubber on the sole, but it makes for very poor traction on wet rocks. So I stumbled onto the M086 shoes. This model has all the features of the M182, but is about half the price. It also has a softer rubber sole and rubber toe spikes, so hiking should be a bit less sketchy and a bit more comfortable. About the only negatives I can see are 1, it looks like a soccer shoe, 2, the toe spikes are not removeable/replaceable (I never have removed or replaced my others, so I guess that is moot), 3, the inner liner of the shoe is white (I am sure that will be remedied shortly and I will give them a nice mud color that will remain for the duration). I installed the cleats, sealed up the sole, and slapped in some gel inserts. Very comfortable. I should have been running gel insoles sooner. I have been using 2 insoles for a long time, but the gel feels way better. I will have to post back on longevity though.

Shocking? Well, I have been testing out several rear shocks on the Heckler. I have decided that the RP3 is where it is at. I like the coil a lot, but the wieght penalty bugs me and also running a coil in back and air up front doesn't agree with my sensibilities. Only issue with the shock is that it rides harsh initially unless I have lower pressure and then it likes to blow through travel. So I am sending it off to get tuned for the Heckler and my riding weight. Push Industries gets the nod. They have a few tricks up their sleeve to get the shock working more in-tune with the suspension instead of fighting against it. Fox has announced a pro-tune service, but it isn't quite up and running yet. So push it is. I swapped out the air sleeves yesterday. Apparently the AVA sleeve, even closed down, is actually a larger air volume than the high volume sleeve. Who knew? Okay, the guys at Push knew. Re-installing the air sleeves confirmed this as it was much harder to compress the non-AVA sleeve and install it. Now I just have to mail off the RP3 and wait about a month to get it back. I am not entirely stoked on the wait time, but this time of year the waits are longer. It will be worth it to have a shock that is actually tuned though. It is an odd notion in the bicycle industry. We have always favored external adjustment. In motorcycles it is the norm to have your shock tuned for your personal weight, preference, and your bike. IMO that is a far superior approach. This 1 size fits all mentality in the bicycle industry is just wrong. Stay tuned for results (probably mid-June).

Other news on the Home front?

Erin is going back to work. She has taken a teaching position at our neighborhood church. It is good and bad. Extra money is good, but there isn't necessarily a good balance of amount of work versus amount of money after you factor in the kids care while she is at work.

We are all a lazy bunch of couch potatoes. Spent most of the day yesterday lounging around and watching TV.

Mowing lawns sucks. The mower seems to be behaving itself once again, so hopefully I am mostly done with the annual maintenance items. I picked up air, oil, and fuel filters this week which I will install when it stops raining.

That's all I got for now, business as usual. Keep the rubber-side down...

This is just getting old now

2009-04-27T16:27:00.002-05:00

So yesterday I get it in my head that I want to do a big loop at Monte Sano. No problem. I have been doing okay on the standard rides. I can handle it. Well, I bogged around in the morning until afternoon working on the lawnmower, yes again. Had a couple of beers. Just general waste of time on a Sunday.

Ended up hitting the biker's parking lot at about 2:30. Gary showed up a few minutes later. We hung out in the lot getting ready and shootin the breeze with a couple of other riders. All in all we weren't riding until 3pm. Plenty of time right?

So out past the lookout we headed onto the N.Platue Loop, down Cold Springs. First missed turn of the day. I always miss the turn off to make it up to the gate. At any rate, we climb back up and then hike a bike for a few to check out an alternative line. No go, just wasted time. Oh well, ride the fire road out to the road and ride up to the gate on pavement into the Land Trust. Alright, first hurdle down, we made it into the Land Trust. Nice blast down Tollgate to High Trail. Stopped at the intersection of BLuffline to grab a couple of pictures.

Gary and some of the weird armoring on the Land Trust.

Looking back up at the entrance to High Trail.

Onward we went, climbed out Bluffline to Monte Sano Blvd. It pops out right by Burrit Museum. I headed towards Natural Well, wrong turn number2. Fortunately Gary had ridden the Arrowhead extension trail before and roped me in. It is a good little trail, maybe 1-1.5mi of single track. In true Monte Sano form the best boulder to launch off has an uphill run-in. The trail winds along the bluff and even has a fun rock channel to go through.

Complete with friends...

From the extension you get dropped right onto Natural Well at the start of the original Arrowhead trail. We take a break and Gary starts talking about some jumps coming up. I look down the hill thinking someone added something exciting. No such luck, but I do notice a couple of rocks in a corner. Those could make a jump I guess. So we proceeded to make a take-off from the existing terrain to gap the corner. Turned out pretty well considering we were working with sticks and rocks, not proper tools. I hit it a few times. Give a little lift, but mainly the slope of the hill gives the height on the way down. Maybe 2-3ft vertical and 10-12ft horizontal by the time you touch back down on the trail.

checking it out for the first time.

Throwing some style at it and pulling a bit more air.

We raced down Arrowhead, stopping at the bottom for a rest. Of course this is not a good sign when you are stopping for a rest at the bottom of a downhill and only about half way through the loop we were on. At this point we are committed and just need to hammer it out. So we trogged on. The next 4-5mi are all in the low end of the park and it is still pretty soft, muddy, and slow moving. Pretty much saps out the energy we had left. At about 7pm we hit the bottom of Warpath. No energy, not much water left, and nowhere to go but up about 800-1000ft vertical to get back to the cars. We rode what we could of Warpath. As dusk crept over us we hiked up the last couple hundred vertical feet to O'Shaughnessy Point.

It was now dark and we were both running on our last legs. Bonked, on the fire road and heading for home. It was a painful couple of miles on a fairly flat road. But we made it back to tell the tale. Overall I think it clocked out to 15-16mi. That is about as much mileage as I have ever put in up on Monte Sano. I felt like crap for the rest of the evening and am pretty tired out even today.

a look at the loop...

Week in review

2009-04-24T14:31:00.003-05:00

Nothing too exciting around these parts. Erin and the kids are still fighting off their illnesses. Poppy was given the stupidest haircut ever. Seriously. The grass keeps right on growing.

I did manage to squeeze a couple of rides in. Tuesday was a slosh ride out on the arsenal. Decided to hit the full loop, about 10mi. Good ride, but a lot more water and slime than I had anticipated. I was finally getting in a groove when out of nowhere a little black flash with white accents. Crap! Skunk. About 2-3ft off the trail. No time to really do anything about it, so I gave a loud cat hiss and shot by. Fortunately I came up on it fast enough that although startled it didn't get a chance to spray me before I passed the danger zone. I pedaled on for another mile before realizing that the sinking feeling I was having was indeed a flat. We have the burliest thorns out here in AL. Looked like someone drove a finish nail through my tube. Nothing like changing a flat on a slimy/muddy tire.

Wednesday found me trying to hang with the SORBA group ride. Steve and Sean showed, both have a lot more saddle time than me this year. I did my best to hang on the Family trail sprint. Then I was given the lead heading down the rockiest descent in the park. I was instantly regretting the additional pressure and lower volume settings in the rear shock. It rode exceptionally bad through the repeat rock hits. I was able to ride the entire trail at decent speed, but at the bottom my hands and forearms were toast. A good indication that my suspension wasn't doing all it was suposed to. We started out again on some unmentionable trail. As Steve and Sean started to drop me I again had that sinking sensation. Yep, another flat. Another thorn. Jeese, these things are brutal. So I did a quick change and tried to catch up to the faster riders. Note, exercise in futility. All I managed to do was kill myself and tire me out for the rest of the ride. I managed to catch up to them at the bottom of War Path. From there it was a combination of hike and ride back to Goat. I was surprised to find the trail was so flat. I had never ridden up it.

By the time I got to the top of Family trail Sean and Steve were rested. They "spun" back to the bikers lot. Of course their spin was a bit more spry than my own. Heck at that point I couldn't even keep up with the weekend warriors on Family back to the truck.

I sure hope these rides are making me stronger/faster, cause they sure aren't doing anything to boost moral or ego. No one to blame for my sloth state. Too much time off last year. Double hard to get back into action this year. Oh well.

Hey, is it beer thirty yet?
So my morning started with Faith bringing me a beer at 8:30am. She had gotten up. Everyone else was down stairs. So she snuck into the fridge to get some strawberries for breakfast. Since she was there she decided that I needed a beer for breakfast. Far be it from me to turn down a beer. It's noon somewhere. Gee, wonder why this beer gut isn't getting any smaller...

happy Friday

FW: Cowboy email

2009-04-21T09:30:00.003-05:00

Well, sometimes you get a forwarded email that is actually worth reading. Here is a cut and paste that someone here at work sent me.

A cowboy named Bud was overseeing his herd in a remote mountainous
pasture in California when suddenly a brand-new BMW advanced toward him
out of a cloud of dust.
The driver, a young man in a Brioni suit, Gucci shoes, RayBan
sunglasses and YSL tie, leaned out the window and asked the cowboy, "If
I tell you exactly how many cows and calves you have in your herd, Will
you give me a calf?"
Bud looks at the man, obviously a yuppie, then looks at his peacefully
grazing herd and calmly answers, "Sure, Why not?"
The yuppie parks his car, whips out his Dell notebook computer, connects
it to his Cingular RAZR V3 cell phone, and surfs to a NASA page on the
Internet, where he calls up a GPS satellite to get an exact fix on his
location which he then feeds to another NASA satellite that scans the
area in an ultra-high-resolution photo.
The young man then opens the digital photo in Adobe Photoshop and
exports it to an image processing facility in Hamburg , Germany .
Within seconds, he receives an email on his Palm Pilot that the image
has been processed and the data stored. He then accesses an MS-SQL
database through an ODBC connected Excel spreadsheet with email on his
Blackberry and, after a few minutes, receives a response.
Finally, he prints out a full-color, 150-page report on his hi-tech,
miniaturized HP LaserJet printer, turns to the cowboy and says, "You
have exactly 1,586 cows and calves."
"That's right. Well, I guess you can take one of my calves,"
says Bud.
He watches the young man select one of the animals and looks on with
amusement as the young man stuffs it into the trunk of his car.
Then the Bud says to the young man, "Hey, if I can tell you exactly what
your business is, will you give me back my calf?"
The young man thinks about it for a second and then says, "Okay, why
not?"
"You're a Congressman for the U.S. Government", says Bud.
"Wow! That's correct," says the yuppie, "but how did you guess that?"
"No guessing required." answered the cowboy. "You showed up here even
though nobody called you; you want to get paid for an answer I already
knew, to a question I never asked. You used millions of dollars worth of
equipment trying to show me how much smarter than me you are; and you
don't know a thing about how working people make a living - or about
cows, for that matter. This is a herd of sheep. ....
Now give me back my dog.

Now that is good humor :)

Here is another one.

Kind of sums up some of the myspace and facebook crowd as well...

Just plain sick...

2009-04-20T11:08:00.003-05:00

This guy is good, very good.

Weekend report?
Austin had a soccer game Saturday morning, so everyone in the house was up and running early. Austin is pretty funny to watch. I will upload a video of it. Basically he is a bit of a space cadet who orbits around the other players. I am going to have to get out and spend some time practicing with him. Was going to work on that yesterday, but the weather was again uncooperative. Another Tornado warning too.

I snuck off for a ride Saturday afternoon. Figured I would dail in my tire and shock pressure at the trail head. Well in typical form I arrive just as a group of familiar faces is about to head out. So of course I just hop on and start riding. It quickly turns into a fast paced ride. Between Tim and Jim we (Clay and I) are getting a workout. There were a couple of short breaks to regroup. Only decent break was at the three benches. I snapped a picture of the crew...

Roll call (left to right): Gary, Jim, Me, Clay, Robert, Tim

Gary was a stragler that joined us for the ride. Turns out he is a pretty good match for our B-team. I ended up chatting with him for a while after the ride. Hope to hook up and ride with him again sometime this week if the weather cooperates.

We kept our ride to the top end of the mountain. The water table is too high to do much of the lower trails. I think the entire ride clocked in at just under 12mi. I am still amazed at the terain here. That ride took just shy of 3 hours and I was totally wiped when done. In contrast in CA I could have covered over 20mi in the same time. The rocky terrain just saps speed and requires full body effort to keep momentum. At any rate, we zig-zagged around the mountain side for a good while. Then we got split up and 2 riders exited for the afternoon. I was left in Tim's dust trying to catch up to the other 2 riders who had taken a different turn. No breaks, just hammered back the direction they headed. I was somewhat releived when I got back to three benches and didn't catch them. I took a well deserved rest before carrying on. Even then I only made it to the bottom of Mountain Mist. I bonked and ended up hiking out the last 2/3rd mile to the bikers lot. Only the second time I have had to walk the climb.

Here is the bike sitting ready for more. Erin has officially dubbed it the "Homewrecker". Ah well, can't win them all.

So there you have it 12mi, 3hr, and totally cashed out. Definitely need more saddle time if I am going to be doing any of the bigger 15-18mi loops.

Friday report

2009-04-17T08:54:00.003-05:00

Well, so what's up in the world of Doug? Dunno. I have been busy, but I can't really be sure as to where my time has gone. Weather around here has been nuts. We had tornado warnings and some damage in the N.Alabama region this last weekend. Most of the week has been cloudy, but no rain since Monday.

I managed to sneak in a ride on Wednesday, but boy was it slippery and muddy. Fortunately riding out on base nobody cares if you ride in the mud and make a general mess of yourself or leave a few tire treads behind. I met up with Clay for a mid-morning 4mi quick loop.

It is a fun loop. Not a lot of elevation change, but there are a few short/technical climbs that will get the heart rate up. I am still amused at the rock gardens here. I don't think I ever climbed up one in CA, but in Huntsville it is fairly common to ride trails that go straight up rock gardens. The stuff never looks rideable, yet if you commit it seems to work out. I will have to get some pictures of some of these for emphasis.

I am still dailing in the Heckler. Probably should snap a picture of it, all clean and tuned right now. I have been trying to get the rear shock to ride better. Stuart hooked me up with an RP3 that has and AVA (adjustable volume air sleeve) on it. That is probably as good as it gets for this suspension design and air shocks. It still blows through travel, but the damping keeps it higher in travel most of the time. I also picked up a cheap coil shock off e-bay. It is a Manitou Swinger 4way, basically the same thing as a progressive 5th element shock. I had forgotten how dead and overdamped these things are. The heckler rides great with the coil shock though. Only issue is mass. Yes, I am going there. The RP3 weight is about 250g. The Swinger with a 550lb spring is 1025g. That is closing in on near 2lb heavier. Ouch!! I am going to have to ask Stu to keep an eye out for an orphan dhx5.0. The DHX with a titanium spring on it would only be a touch over 1lb in weight penalty. I can live with that.

Drivetrain has also gotten some love. One issue with buying a used bike is that you never know how much life it has left. Well on my trip to Oak Mtn I had a ton of problems with the original chain. So I replaced it. Of course the bike immediately started to skip gears as the new chain wouldn't mesh with the worn teeth on the gears. I gave it a few rides, sometimes you can stretch a new chain enough to get it working. No-go. Yesterday the answer to the problem arrived, new cassette and mid-ring. Going to get those bolted up for a ride this weekend.

I also took advantage of a cheap e-bay deal to snatch up some beefier rims. I didn't want anything too heavy, but it needed to be stronger and wider than the XC hoops that are on the bike. I have been having to true them after every 2-3 rides to keep them in line. I got a pair of Sun SOS rims mainly because they would work with the current spokes. I would prefer mavic rims, but price and compatibility was right. We'll see how they hold up. I think they are about equivalent to XM321 rims from Mavic that I like. Swapping the rims went pretty quick. No surprises.

This morning I re-bled the rear brakes. The SRAM bleed method is just dumb. Sorry, gotta say it. They have intentionally created a system that is prone to headaches. First thing you do is de-gas the dot fluid. Next you put bubbles back into it from the caliper. Who came up with that bright idea?? Fricken ingeneous that guy :-) From there you try to keep the bubbles you just put into the syringe from getting back into the system as you pump the fluid up to the lever. It is just a mess. Through and through. Obviously the designer never bled the brakes on a car or motorcycle. Put fluid in, push it through with the master cylinder, cap both ends when done. No syringes. No 5 step process. Simple. Grrr. Well, glad to be done messing around with that for now.

So obviously I have been working on the bike more than riding it the last couple of weeks. We have also had cub scouts, civic meetings, Easter, and yard maintenance thrown into the mix. Life goes on.

a cool space station link for the road...
Click Me

Very nice

2009-04-07T13:08:00.002-05:00

2009 Santa Cruz Syndicate V10 Testing Video Part 2 from Litter Mag on Vimeo.

Always nice to see some SC video with DH racing pros ripping some choice unmentionable single track. Ping me back if you can figure out the trail (and yes, I know it). Audio was acting a bit weird, but the ride clips are good.

Oak Mountain Birmingham

2009-04-02T19:59:00.004-05:00

Okay, probably should have been a bit snappier in getting this ride report up. But life does have a way of slowing these things down.

We set out at a bit after 8am on Sunday morning to Oak Mountain down by Birmingham. It takes about an hour and a half to get down to the park.
State Park Site
View of the loop:

Google Map link
The loop is right around 17mi give or take. Very little elevation gain, yet it feels like you spend more time climbing. It wraps its way up, down, and around the mountain. Some sections are very fast and rolling. There are small berms in some of the corners. This trail would be jedi fast if not for all of the roots crossing and weaving it. Overall it was still a nice change from the rocky Monte Sano trails.

At about 6mi in I knew this was going to be a pedal fest with little chance for recovery. I am surprised my tongue wasn't hanging out...

And of course the bike was already getting a thorough covering of grime.

The chain started to skip and jump. That stayed with me for the rest of the ride, but caused no major issues. I don't like how badly shimano chains behave in the wet and mud. They shift a bit better, but the annoyance isn't really worth it.

Some good company:
Dani (X-racer from CO), she kicked my but all day. It was like riding with Ed and Jeff all over again. She had enough energy that she would do the climbs and then catch the last guy and ride up again.

Chris and Tim both strong riders. I think Tim works out or rides like 5 days a week and he kicks but up and down the mountain. Chris, IIRC, has only been riding for a while and is still learning the ropes.

Clay and Cam good riding buds in the clydesdale class. They are more on my pace, but Clay was hammering better than me this day.

A few more random shots:

Yep, me head down finishing the 2mi climb and Dani smiling as she crested the top for the second time. She only came back down about 1/4mi this time though, so she didn't have it too bad for bonus footies :)

Closest we got to a group shot:

A good ride. I want to get back here when it is dry. Probably a much faster trail that way.

Here is a video of about my favorite part of the trail:

Just when you thought it was safe...

2009-03-31T11:13:00.002-05:00

Ben Stein heads what appears to be an interesting documentary on the beer industry in America.

List of theaters

Oh you gotta love lawyers

2009-03-30T16:57:00.002-05:00

Came across this one and watched it over my lunch break. Wow, just wow. If you have a bit of time to listen to this it is pretty entertaining. Wonder what the 2nd half goes like, have to catch that later...

ever think back on where you come from

2009-03-26T12:51:00.005-05:00

Over the years I have had a ton of bikes. I came across an old post that I had put up on the forums. Here is a snip of that I posted in fall of 2006 over on MTBR:

This could take a while, mostly chronological...

Childhood:
- race inc bmx
- redline proline
- panda pro am
- champion
- schwinn predator
- GT performer
- MCS pro bmx
- Elf doublecross 24in bmx
- redline proline bmx
- Shimano skykomish mtb
- Scott chromoly mtb
- Torker 24in bmx

Adult bikes
- Marin bear mtn
- SC Chameleon (slalom)
- SC Heckler
- SC Chameleon (xc)
- Intense Uzzi SL
- Chameleon (2nd slalom)
- Da Bomb Sputnik urban rig
- Specialized enduro ht (setup as singlespeed)
- Surly 1x1
- Litespeed Pisgah
- SC heckler (new style, 5th element coil shock, AM build)
- SC Chameleon (xc build)
- On One Inbred SS
- SC heckler (AM build, dhx coil, etc)
- Surly 1x1 (basic build)
- SC Bullit (freeride/am build)
- Surly Instigator (am build)
- Specialized enduro ht (am build)
- Cove stiffee fr hardtail, urban rig
- SC Blur LT (am build)
- Rock Lobster road bike (lugged and brazed baby )
- Rock Lobster EBB SS, rigid
- Specialized Rockhopper Pro disc xc with custom build
- SE Racing Assassin 20in bmx bike (for nostalgia sake)

That should just about do it. I may be forgetting something in there but who cares, thats a lot of bikes and fun. Obviously there were some repeats in there. Some frames I tried in multiple sizes and build configurations. I am trying to settle down in my old age and spend more time riding / less time wrenching, buying, and selling

Bikes since that posting (2006-2009)
- Raleigh XXIX+G 29er
- Ventana X5
- Turner Sultan
- Santa Cruz Heckler

I am slowing down. Maybe it is that I have come to a point where I know more about my preferences. Or it could just be that I am not constantly in the bike shop. Could also have to do that they are more expensive now without a bike shop bro discount. Of the bikes since 2006 most have served a full year of trail time. The Ventana was the only dud there. Who knows how long the new Heckler will be around. I imagine it will need to be my ride for 1-2 years. Eventually I want another 29er, but that will have to wait until all the projects and improvements on the new home are done. For now I am resolved to just maintaining this bike and enjoying the ride.

And here is a photo show of most of my bikes since about 2000:

What's up with Kona bikes

2009-03-23T07:49:00.003-05:00

They never seem to change much. Well, here's why...

Kind of thought Dave Turner was of the same frame of mind, but he flipped this year and jumped on the DW-link bandwaggon. Good timing since Iron Horse left a good hole in the market for a new leader in DW suspension last season. Apparently DW didn't renew their license agreement. Now Iron Horse is going belly up. Sucks to be $5 million in debt and trying to push Elsworth ICT as innovation to the cycling community ;-)

I got a good pedal in this weekend with a couple of riding buds. Turned into a 4hr run, but with less messing around the ride should only take about 2.5hr. We had something like 5 flats. Amazingly none by me. Hit Monte Sano top to bottom. First time I have hit Warpath on a 26in wheeled bike. It was a little bumpier than I remember, but no sweat. I am getting my shock pressures dialed in on the Heckler and it is feeling better with every ride. Swapping the bars out really helped make me feel at home. At any rate, about 12mi in the bag for the day and about 25-28mi for the week. I actually was able to pedal and push myself again. It felt like a real ride instead of a panting suffer fest.

Other news?
We went and got Austin kitted up for soccer. First practice is Tuesday. He wore his gear around yesterday and practiced in the yard for a couple of hours. We will see how he does on the field, but overall he actually looks pretty good at it.

I mowed the yard yesterday! Well, front yard. It went very smoothly. Mower appears to be running good. Way less bogging down with the new bearings and sharp blades. I think it needs an oil change, but otherwise should be good to go for another year :)

That's all I got. Time to get to work...

Combining hobbies

2009-03-19T13:19:00.002-05:00

Well, last weekend I borrowed a stand from a friend to put together my latest bicycle. I think I have finally graduated from the stage in life where I am okay working on the floor or on a bike hanging from the rafters. I t was bugging me not having a place to work on the bike. Well, Erin would have my head if I went out and purchased a new stand. So I thought about it for a couple of minutes. Light goes on upstairs. Hey, I could make something cheap and sturdy pretty snappy. I could also use that 300lb work bench as my base.

One benefit of being off the bike and taking up a new hobby, woodworking, is that I can fairly quickly do crude work now. Something like a bike workstand becomes very simple. I am not going to claim I busted this out in 30 minutes, but it took less than 2 hours from brainfart to bike holding

Construction materials:
1 - 2x4x12ft
1 - 3/8in T-nut
1 - 3/8in eye bolt
20+/- - wood screws
2sqft - scrap mdf 3/4in
3 - Washers
1 - 3/4in oak dowel approx 8in
3" - 3/8in steel rod for alignment (so the jaw can't rotate)

Build is simple. Double up the 2x4, or just start with 4x4. Use the mdf to make corner braces. I then used a scrap of poplar to create the clamp jaw. I use an eye bolt and T-nut to create the clamp pressure and a 3/8in steel rod to keep it from rotating. I mounted that up and then drilled through the middle of the clamp joint with a 1in drill bit. After drilling I relieved the outer sides to make getting the bike in and out quicker.

Now of course you have to have a vise that is strong enough to hold the stand. I suppose you could build this stand off of a wall stud or clamp/screw it to something as well. I have a twin screw wood vise on my bench. I can raise and lower the stand in the vise. I can also angle it in the vise to rotate the front wheel up if needed.

And a shot of the whole bench set up in bike wrenching mode:

Then of course there is Zoe, shop helper. She is cool with bikes and likes to hang out in the garage.

Ever wonder...

2009-03-18T15:40:00.001-05:00

how they sell sports drinks and "energy drinks"?

Dude I want to run faster than a Kenyan now. Where can I get me some of that?

The new ride

2009-03-18T08:08:00.003-05:00

Okay, got the bike in at the end of last week. I also got in a few personal effects. I needed to swap the fork out to something that would work with my weight. I didn't want to get into swapping out the front hub, so I needed to keep the fork quick release. I have been happy with my RockShox air forks over the last few years, so it seemed the safe bet to pick up a Revelation Air.

I also needed some better stoppers. 6 inch mechanical brakes are not too impressive. I scoured around and found front and rear Avid Juicy Five hydraulic brakes with 7in rotors. I have been on Shimano hydraulics for about 3 years. Gotta say the Avids feel pretty good.

Still needs a couple of small adjustments, but it is pretty close to right. It is also pretty light, probably under 30lb. That is kind of weird for me.

I have a couple of rides on it now. Compared to the Turner 29er it feels small. The inch shorter top tube length and compact geometry makes it a bit weird to get accustomed to. Overall it is not as much of a plow as the 29er, but it also has it's advantages. I had forgotten how much more effort was required to keep the 29er wheels rolling. With the smaller wheels there is mechanical and weight advantage. It is much easier to maintain speed on slight uphills. Traction definitely goes to the 29er wheel. I find myself spinning out in the mud and rocks a lot more on the little wheels.

So 29er or 26er???
Still up for debate. I will have to cast my vote after a bit more ride time on the little wheels.

Here are a couple shots of my previous Hecklers...

Late 2004, early 2005
My first 2nd generation Heckler
Heavy, but a very capable build

Late 2005
Lighter, the "NEW" DHX coil
it was cheaper to buy a new frame than the shock alone
the crossmax wheels were very temporary, not stiff enough for me

I am still trying to get a photo of my original Heckler. Only photos in existance are with Ed. I think it was about 1999/2000. I rode the heckler for a while, but decided that full suspension was too bouncy. So I rode hardtails for about 4 years waiting for FS technology to get better. Fortunately for us all it has.

Right of passage

2009-03-17T12:03:00.002-05:00

Not sure if this goes as one for me or for the boy. Pinewood Derby time has come and gone here in our house. It was important for me to keep Austin as the head decision maker. He drew up what he wanted the profile to be. I glued that picture on and rough cut it on the bandsaw.

Obviously Austin was thrilled. I helped him use a rasp to finish roughing out the form. Then I turned him loose with sandpaper. It was done when he called it quits. I routed a groove in it and sunk a steel weight into it to get close to the 5oz mass limit.

Last week we finished it up. Austin did the bulk of the painting.

And I did the detail work. Turned out kind of fun.

It was fast enough to qualify as a fast car from our pack, but we did get spanked at the division race last weekend. He was just excited to race and somewhat oblivious to his race results. Good thing. It was a learning experience and I am sure we can make a faster one next year.