in absentia

well, it never fails.

this time of year rolls around, and I say I'm going to stay on the bike, keep up the training, yada yada yada..

I'm lucky to get on the bike twice in a week. Nice days like we had yesterday end up getting relagated to those must do's before the cold really sets in.

so sunday was spent organizing the garage. my folks had dumped a bunch of their stuff in the garage, as they're trying to sell the house.. they got most of it moved to more permanent storage, but some of it was left for me to use. mostly some cabinets to add storage. but for the last several weeks they've sat in the place normally occupied by my car. with the snow just around the corner, that had to change.

so I took advantage of the sun and nice temps to empty the garage, and put things back in some semblance of order. the car is snug in it's home again, and I've got the workings of a nice bike workshop as soon as I get the tools organized and workspaces cleared.

and I guess I don't feel too guilty.. I don't really have a bike to neglect right now, but I want to rock the iceman! so gotta put a few more miles in!!

oops.. there's the 5 o'clock wistle.. I'm outta heeeeeeeerrrree...

PSSWC 2006

Hell(riders) Yeah!

PSSWC 2006 was a blast. I wasn't even riding a single speeder last year for this event, but I heard how much fun everyone had, so I was eager to check it out this year..

Most of us staged in the parking lot at Hudson Mills Metro Park. I was running late as usual, but just managed to meet up with the entire group under the N. Territorial bridge over the Huron. Jajones gave his instruction, we got our tiles, and we were off on a short "parade" to the trail head. The Chief explained that this ride was what you wanted to make of it. If a race was what you were hankerin' for, then once we hit the trail, you could put the hammer down. Otherwise, you could make a social day of it. Despite the likes of Lummis, Q, and the Chief himself in the lead group, I decided for the former.

Running a taller gear than I've ever run at Poto, I was concerned for the first couple climbs. Add to that about 45 other single speed junkies trying to scraggle their way up those two bastards, and it was challanging to say the least. I had a small slip requiring a quick run up to the top, and I was back off to the races. I traded spots with a guy named Dan for a while. I think he was running a smaller gear, and slowed a bit on the climbs, so I asked to pass going into the Hills of Hell, and put a little space on him.

I eventually caught up with the Chief himself. Since the Keg of Jolly Pumpkin Bam Beire was in his truck, not to be freed until he finished, I figured I'd found just the right spot.. :D We rode together, also trading spots, for another few miles. We shared the trail that day with a butt load of Boy Scouts out for a fall colors hike. On my two very favorite down hills, we had to slow for the gaggle of scouts we encountered. I was still able to put a little bit of air under the tires off some of the water bar drops, so all was not lost! We were eventually caught up by another rider, possibly Dan, not sure.

All along my ride was feeling a little squirly. Just now and again it seemed to shimy a little more than it should out of a corner. But now, pushing to stay ahead of the two nuts on my tail, I could feel the fker really start to wander all over.. I mean it felt like the thing was dog tracking down the trail at points. I kept looking down at my rear tire, sure that it was flat. But not only did it look good, but root confimed there was pleanty o' O2 in there.

So I pulled over to inspect, letting the Chief and guest go.. Didn't take long to see this:



So, may day was done (the riding part, anyway.) All that was left was the walkin'.. Took just shy of an hour to get back to the parking lot (and the BEER!) There was lot's o' sympathy, and much head scratchin'.. In the end, I'm sure I'll get a new frame from Soul Cycles, just not in time for Iceman. =(

So, Wednesday I'll be pickin' up a Bianchi P.U.S.S. from Keving P, that crazy fixie kid.

Laters!

This post is useless without pics!!

Ok.. Since photography is somewhat of a hobby of mine, it's a little sad that there's nary a picture on this blog.

Actually, I started this whole blogging thing a while back with the intention of taking more pictures to post on a regular basis. Well, that flopped, then I started it back up again for the race season. Now that racing and riding is slowing down a little bit, I'm going to try to go back to the original idea. Perhaps if I succed i'll spin off another blog!

Monday night my kickball team (yeah, that's right, I said kickball) Team Tree Farm won it's first two games. Ok, so the first game was by forfeit, but the second won we actually won by scoring more runs that the other team!!!

Afterwords we celebrated with $.25 wings at the R.O. Brewery.. Some of us just couldn't get enough!!

Great job team!!

Looking for a new home.

I am looking for a new home for my dog Nero.

He's a really great dog. Easy going, though he is a bit of an attention hound. He's great with kids and adults alike. Scratch his ears and he'll be in love forever.

I'm just not able to give him the time and attention he needs. Living alone and with a busy schedule, he spends too much time at home alone.

He's a black Lab. He weighs about 93lbs. Not sure how old he is. I never got his papers from his first owners. I was told he was 4 when i got him a little over a year ago. He looks like he's about 7-9, but has the energy of a 4-5 yr old. He's due for his shots, but is free of any health issues that I'm aware of (just treated an ear infection that seems cleared up).

He really is a great guy, and I hate to give him up, but he deserves better than I can give right now. Please feel free to PM me with any questions, and pass this on to friends and family.

Full Circle

This weekend brought an interesting completion to my summer mt biking season.

To start the season, I did a few pre-rides out at Yankee Springs in prep for the TT race out there. After our first group ride out there, a few of us made it over to the Bells Brewery for the first keg of Oberon of the season (we were there they day it was released). Then, this past Saturday night, I ventured on over to a Bell's Racing team party, where they were said to have the last keg of Oberon from the warehouse! And to top it off, I followed that up with a ride at Yankee on Sunday!! It's really funny the way those things seem to work themselves out sometimes.

Paula and I were on our way out to Grand Rapids for Kisscross race #2 at Richmond park. Both of us being planning and time management challenged, we didn' t get out there with enough time to comfortably suit up and warm up prior to the race. So we watched from the sidelines, though I did manage to get a couple laps in with teammate Jon Ressler between the B and A races..

If you're the sort of person that enjoys the out doors AT ALL, I hope you got outside this weekend. It was absolutely gorgeous out. It was likely the last time I'll be able to ride in shorts and short sleeved jersey this year.. =(

Well, good week all.

soup