Yes I am!
I set the bike up as a single speed super sprinter. It is gerared with a 52 tooth chainring (the biggest road ring) and a 18 tooth rear. It can be a pain to pedal up long steep hills, but I mainly use it for the 20 mile, hour and fifteen minute haul ass to work. Pictures to follow...
The welding also started on my full custom 29" wheeled single speed mountain bike. Oh yeah, two new bike in one year! I guess this makes up for riding the same bike for the last five years.
Monday, April 17, 2006
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Pictures below...
Okay, before this turns into a bike only blog, a little update on what is new and exicting off a bike and outside of the shop...
School is sucking, which is especially disappointing since it is the first semester I have been enrolled Bio-only classes. Nothing great to report; no papers, no research, no projects, basically no challenge.
The wedding plans are moving along. The wedding party has been set, bride and bridesmaids dresses have been selected and invitations choices have been pared down to a chosen few. Amy says hello to the three people that may end up reading this. We are thinking we are flying home in early to mid May, we'll start planning that trip soon.
Below are some pictures of a ride two Sundays ago. It was an epic ride, that included many crashes, tacos and beer, and me on a bike with no gears or suspension riding the shit out of it.
The bike is a singlespeed 29" wheel size (the same as road bikes) mountain bike. The group started a dozen strong and worked its way down to 6 guys on five and six inch travel full suspension bikes and one hippy on a steel rigid. I outclimbed everyone, but I even think I did a great job keeping up on the downhills. But Amy did an even better job staying with the group and rode a bunch of sections that suprised me, anf maybe even her.
Enjoy the photos!
School is sucking, which is especially disappointing since it is the first semester I have been enrolled Bio-only classes. Nothing great to report; no papers, no research, no projects, basically no challenge.
The wedding plans are moving along. The wedding party has been set, bride and bridesmaids dresses have been selected and invitations choices have been pared down to a chosen few. Amy says hello to the three people that may end up reading this. We are thinking we are flying home in early to mid May, we'll start planning that trip soon.
Below are some pictures of a ride two Sundays ago. It was an epic ride, that included many crashes, tacos and beer, and me on a bike with no gears or suspension riding the shit out of it.
The bike is a singlespeed 29" wheel size (the same as road bikes) mountain bike. The group started a dozen strong and worked its way down to 6 guys on five and six inch travel full suspension bikes and one hippy on a steel rigid. I outclimbed everyone, but I even think I did a great job keeping up on the downhills. But Amy did an even better job staying with the group and rode a bunch of sections that suprised me, anf maybe even her.
Enjoy the photos!
Monday, November 14, 2005
Monday, October 31, 2005
The Dirt Demo
Ok, time for some more.
Vegas was a blast. I had to take a test and a quiz on the first day of the riding demo, so I ended up leaving here at 10:00 pm, driving to Vegas by myself and then sleeping in my car at the parking lot of the site. The guys from the shop had been up partying the whole night so I they slept in, then woke up and got breakfast, etc. I was anxious to ride so I headed in as soon as the gates opened. The first bike I rode was a Surly Crosscheck cyclocross bike. Basically, a 'cross bike is a heavier version of a road bike that you can ride on dirt, gravel, and easy trails.(http://www.surlybikes.com/bikes.html) I rode it on the 3 mile closed road loop they had set up fopr road bike riding. After that brief warm-up I returned to the Surly tent and checked out the most unique bike at the show, the Pugsley. This bike has giant 3.7" tires (I run 2.1" or 2.3" tires on my mountain bike) so you can ride it on sand, snow, loose gravel and if you pedal really, really fast it can probably go across water. I took it out for a really short ride, but it was fun to ride across loose gravel that would sink a normal bike. And you CANNOT burnout the back tire, no matter how hard you try to pedal. The Surly guys were really fun to hang out with and after talking about riding around the Cities (they are in Bloomington) I headed over to the Redline booth to ride another cyclocross bike. It was ok, but I liked the Crosscheck much better.
Now that I was warmed up, I headed over to the Turner booth to ride the newest version of their 5 Spot mountain bike (dual suspension with 5 inches of travel) I wanted to try out a 19" bike (which is generally considered too small for someone who is 6'3", but I like smaller frames.) The woman working insisted on a 22", so I took it out. The dirt riding consisted of 3 loops of varying distance and difficultly, with the number 1 loop being about 1.5 miles with rollercoaster type hills, some pretty sharp corners and some fast banked turns as well as a few little jumps.
The very first turn, I came into it too fast and the long ass bike did not react like I am used to, so I went straight through it. I wasn't hurt, but I felt like a dumbass, especially since I had sat and waited at the start for some chubby dude to get a headstart, thinking that I was faster than him. Anyways the 5 Spot experience sucked, due to being unfamiliar with the trail and the bike feeling really big and unresponsive. From there I headed over to the GT booth. Our shop does not carry GT but I wanted to try them out. I rode a I-Drive 5 4.0 which has the same 5" travel, dual suspension set-up as the Turner, but costs the about $300 less as a complete bike than the Turner frame alone costs. After climbing up a gravel road for a mile or so I turned around and took it out on loop #1 and ripped through it twice, even catching some air on the jumps. I liked this bike and it was really easy to jump. I went back and picked up a I-Drive 7 2.0. This bike has 7" of rear suspension, and a triple clamp front fork like a motorcycle, meaning the front fork is held in place by three clamps, not just one like most bikes. This thing is heavy and is meant to go fast and jump high. I peddled it up to loop #1 and did a lap. The jumps at the end were so sweet, (I was higher than I have ever been on a bike, which isn't saying much but it was a awesome feeling.) I decided to do the loop and again and really hit them. The first one was fine, the second bigger one wasn't so fine. I pulled up on the bars at the lip of the jump and realized right away that I was way too sidewise. I tried to correct it but pretty much fell 6' out of the sky going 20+ mph and ejected myself off the sidewise bike. I didn't get hurt too bad other than some nasty shin and arm road rash and a big bruise and sore ribs. It must have looked bad because the rider behind me dropped his bike and came running up to me as I was dusting myself off and laughing. My jersey, shorts and the bike all suffered though. Rips in the clothes and I twisted the fork and handlebars pretty badly so I rode back with the wheel pointing straight, and the handlebars about 40 degrees to the left. I located a booth that had good old plain water and not some new fangled sports drink, washed my wounds out and took off on a Norco Shore 2. http://www.norco.com/ts/pass/templates/bike_model.php?lang=en&loc=fs&sloc=fr&tabloc=1&id=shoretwo&col=matteblack
I thought I was getting on a 5" travel bike that was just built heavily. It pedaled around very well, which surprised me because it looked and felt very heavy. I did the #1 loop and yes, I did try the jumps, and felt so good on the bike I took off on the 4 mile #2 loop. I stopped at one point to let some riders on lighter bikes get a headstart down a hill and noticed I the bike I was on was actually a 7.5" travel beast! And I had been catching people going up hills while they were on hardtails and short travel bikes on this thing! Needless to say, I was impressed. Going down hills and into rough sections was unreal. It was like a motorcycle, and I could FLY. I went back to the booth and talked to the reps and met some of the guys from the shop who were getting ready to ride the shuttle truck up to the top of the big downhill run. I didn't have and pads, and the thought of waiting in line for 2 hours to ride a truck up a hill and then come down really didn't interest me. I like to pedal bikes, that's why the have them. So I wandered around, grabbed some bars, gel packets and sports drinks, tried to choke down a beer and then rode the Redline 'cross bike again. I was starting to feel tired and hot (I wonder why, riding for 4 hours non-stop in 90 degree weather.) so this little "break" was nice. After that I found a booth serving some turkey dogs so I chowed that as I walked to the Marin booth. I took out a lightweight, four inch travel Mount Vision. I climbed the long gravel road that lead into the canyon and the steep, twisty trails back there. This bike was a a lot of fun and really is the only mountain bike that I rode that I would consider buying. It is was a real climbing machine and you can lock the rear shock and front fork so it doesn't bounce around (and rob power) when you pedal hard uphill. It was a lot of fun and I rode it probably 50 minutes or more before heading back. The wind had picked up at this point and there was only about an hour left (some booths were already closing) so I picked up the Crosscheck again, but this time took it out on the #1 loop. Once again, I was surprised. I could ride this bike very fast on a rough, winding mountain bike trail. Fast enough to catch other riders and have them pull aside to let me pass. Fast enough to pull away from some leg-shaver on a hardtail racing type bike. It was a kinda scary experience riding through corners on dirt all hunched over and using the drop bars of a road bike, but fun. And yes, I did jump it! I even hopped off a 3' drop-off with it. After two laps, I was tired, dirty, bloody, and was ready to go home. BUT, I am buying a Surly Crosscheck.
Bye for now, I will report on the tradeshow and other events next time.
Vegas was a blast. I had to take a test and a quiz on the first day of the riding demo, so I ended up leaving here at 10:00 pm, driving to Vegas by myself and then sleeping in my car at the parking lot of the site. The guys from the shop had been up partying the whole night so I they slept in, then woke up and got breakfast, etc. I was anxious to ride so I headed in as soon as the gates opened. The first bike I rode was a Surly Crosscheck cyclocross bike. Basically, a 'cross bike is a heavier version of a road bike that you can ride on dirt, gravel, and easy trails.(http://www.surlybikes.com/bikes.html) I rode it on the 3 mile closed road loop they had set up fopr road bike riding. After that brief warm-up I returned to the Surly tent and checked out the most unique bike at the show, the Pugsley. This bike has giant 3.7" tires (I run 2.1" or 2.3" tires on my mountain bike) so you can ride it on sand, snow, loose gravel and if you pedal really, really fast it can probably go across water. I took it out for a really short ride, but it was fun to ride across loose gravel that would sink a normal bike. And you CANNOT burnout the back tire, no matter how hard you try to pedal. The Surly guys were really fun to hang out with and after talking about riding around the Cities (they are in Bloomington) I headed over to the Redline booth to ride another cyclocross bike. It was ok, but I liked the Crosscheck much better.
Now that I was warmed up, I headed over to the Turner booth to ride the newest version of their 5 Spot mountain bike (dual suspension with 5 inches of travel) I wanted to try out a 19" bike (which is generally considered too small for someone who is 6'3", but I like smaller frames.) The woman working insisted on a 22", so I took it out. The dirt riding consisted of 3 loops of varying distance and difficultly, with the number 1 loop being about 1.5 miles with rollercoaster type hills, some pretty sharp corners and some fast banked turns as well as a few little jumps.
The very first turn, I came into it too fast and the long ass bike did not react like I am used to, so I went straight through it. I wasn't hurt, but I felt like a dumbass, especially since I had sat and waited at the start for some chubby dude to get a headstart, thinking that I was faster than him. Anyways the 5 Spot experience sucked, due to being unfamiliar with the trail and the bike feeling really big and unresponsive. From there I headed over to the GT booth. Our shop does not carry GT but I wanted to try them out. I rode a I-Drive 5 4.0 which has the same 5" travel, dual suspension set-up as the Turner, but costs the about $300 less as a complete bike than the Turner frame alone costs. After climbing up a gravel road for a mile or so I turned around and took it out on loop #1 and ripped through it twice, even catching some air on the jumps. I liked this bike and it was really easy to jump. I went back and picked up a I-Drive 7 2.0. This bike has 7" of rear suspension, and a triple clamp front fork like a motorcycle, meaning the front fork is held in place by three clamps, not just one like most bikes. This thing is heavy and is meant to go fast and jump high. I peddled it up to loop #1 and did a lap. The jumps at the end were so sweet, (I was higher than I have ever been on a bike, which isn't saying much but it was a awesome feeling.) I decided to do the loop and again and really hit them. The first one was fine, the second bigger one wasn't so fine. I pulled up on the bars at the lip of the jump and realized right away that I was way too sidewise. I tried to correct it but pretty much fell 6' out of the sky going 20+ mph and ejected myself off the sidewise bike. I didn't get hurt too bad other than some nasty shin and arm road rash and a big bruise and sore ribs. It must have looked bad because the rider behind me dropped his bike and came running up to me as I was dusting myself off and laughing. My jersey, shorts and the bike all suffered though. Rips in the clothes and I twisted the fork and handlebars pretty badly so I rode back with the wheel pointing straight, and the handlebars about 40 degrees to the left. I located a booth that had good old plain water and not some new fangled sports drink, washed my wounds out and took off on a Norco Shore 2. http://www.norco.com/ts/pass/templates/bike_model.php?lang=en&loc=fs&sloc=fr&tabloc=1&id=shoretwo&col=matteblack
I thought I was getting on a 5" travel bike that was just built heavily. It pedaled around very well, which surprised me because it looked and felt very heavy. I did the #1 loop and yes, I did try the jumps, and felt so good on the bike I took off on the 4 mile #2 loop. I stopped at one point to let some riders on lighter bikes get a headstart down a hill and noticed I the bike I was on was actually a 7.5" travel beast! And I had been catching people going up hills while they were on hardtails and short travel bikes on this thing! Needless to say, I was impressed. Going down hills and into rough sections was unreal. It was like a motorcycle, and I could FLY. I went back to the booth and talked to the reps and met some of the guys from the shop who were getting ready to ride the shuttle truck up to the top of the big downhill run. I didn't have and pads, and the thought of waiting in line for 2 hours to ride a truck up a hill and then come down really didn't interest me. I like to pedal bikes, that's why the have them. So I wandered around, grabbed some bars, gel packets and sports drinks, tried to choke down a beer and then rode the Redline 'cross bike again. I was starting to feel tired and hot (I wonder why, riding for 4 hours non-stop in 90 degree weather.) so this little "break" was nice. After that I found a booth serving some turkey dogs so I chowed that as I walked to the Marin booth. I took out a lightweight, four inch travel Mount Vision. I climbed the long gravel road that lead into the canyon and the steep, twisty trails back there. This bike was a a lot of fun and really is the only mountain bike that I rode that I would consider buying. It is was a real climbing machine and you can lock the rear shock and front fork so it doesn't bounce around (and rob power) when you pedal hard uphill. It was a lot of fun and I rode it probably 50 minutes or more before heading back. The wind had picked up at this point and there was only about an hour left (some booths were already closing) so I picked up the Crosscheck again, but this time took it out on the #1 loop. Once again, I was surprised. I could ride this bike very fast on a rough, winding mountain bike trail. Fast enough to catch other riders and have them pull aside to let me pass. Fast enough to pull away from some leg-shaver on a hardtail racing type bike. It was a kinda scary experience riding through corners on dirt all hunched over and using the drop bars of a road bike, but fun. And yes, I did jump it! I even hopped off a 3' drop-off with it. After two laps, I was tired, dirty, bloody, and was ready to go home. BUT, I am buying a Surly Crosscheck.
Bye for now, I will report on the tradeshow and other events next time.
Monday, September 26, 2005
Another mostly worthless update
Hmmm.... what's new?
Not a bunch work is going very well. I really enjoy working on and selling bikes; this week is the InterBike trade show in Vegas. After class tonight (a quiz and a test, I should be studying) I am driving out there. The rest of the shop is already there and spent today riding on the latest '06 bikes and gear. The riding is held Bootleg Canyon (one of IMBA's "Epic Rides) has become the meca of product testing for the industry. Tuesday is more of the same, so all and all it adds up to two days of great trails, open roads, and thousands of bikes and products. The trade show portion opens on Wednesday and fuses 1,000+ brands with 10,000+ buyers from 60+ countries - the ultimate blend of industry leaders with innovative products in the bicycle business, should be a lot of fun.
I spent the day in Sacramento last Friday for a wedding. It was short but very fun. We flew in early in the AM so we had time to explore a bit and grab some lunchg before the wedding which was held in a converted Victorian mansion right near the governor's mansion. No, the Governator doesn't live there, it is now just a museum.
Other than that... school is going well, nothing exciting though. The wedding plans are moving smoothly. While in Sacramento we stopped in a sweet jewelry store and looked at some very unqiue rings for myself. Nothing else to report, back to hitting the books. And I am so sick of studying, I probably will punch and possibly punt them.
Later
Not a bunch work is going very well. I really enjoy working on and selling bikes; this week is the InterBike trade show in Vegas. After class tonight (a quiz and a test, I should be studying) I am driving out there. The rest of the shop is already there and spent today riding on the latest '06 bikes and gear. The riding is held Bootleg Canyon (one of IMBA's "Epic Rides) has become the meca of product testing for the industry. Tuesday is more of the same, so all and all it adds up to two days of great trails, open roads, and thousands of bikes and products. The trade show portion opens on Wednesday and fuses 1,000+ brands with 10,000+ buyers from 60+ countries - the ultimate blend of industry leaders with innovative products in the bicycle business, should be a lot of fun.
I spent the day in Sacramento last Friday for a wedding. It was short but very fun. We flew in early in the AM so we had time to explore a bit and grab some lunchg before the wedding which was held in a converted Victorian mansion right near the governor's mansion. No, the Governator doesn't live there, it is now just a museum.
Other than that... school is going well, nothing exciting though. The wedding plans are moving smoothly. While in Sacramento we stopped in a sweet jewelry store and looked at some very unqiue rings for myself. Nothing else to report, back to hitting the books. And I am so sick of studying, I probably will punch and possibly punt them.
Later
Monday, August 22, 2005
Beer
OK, I have a couple minutes before class, so here is a lit of beers that are wonderfully tasty:
Redhook ESB (Redhook Brewing; Seattle, Washington)
Fuller's ESB (Fuller's Brewery; London, England)
Molson Canadian (Molson Brewing; Somewhere in Canada)
Shiner Bock (Shiner Brewery; some town in South Texas with a German sounding name)
Papst Blue Ribbon (Pabst Brewing; Milwaukee, Wisconsin)
I will review and describe this in my next post, I promise.
Redhook ESB (Redhook Brewing; Seattle, Washington)
Fuller's ESB (Fuller's Brewery; London, England)
Molson Canadian (Molson Brewing; Somewhere in Canada)
Shiner Bock (Shiner Brewery; some town in South Texas with a German sounding name)
Papst Blue Ribbon (Pabst Brewing; Milwaukee, Wisconsin)
I will review and describe this in my next post, I promise.
More wedding woes...
Well, at last notice I have not attacked the woman in charge of events at my wedding site with a tire iron... not yet anywise. But I am going back down there on Wednesday of this week to "discuss" things more. But it is not looking good, and I would prefer not to deal with the bitch. This means that we may be forced to change the date. If that happens, it will only be one or two weeks after the original date of August 6th.
Other than that, not much to report. School starts today. I am taking three biology courses, athletic training, and an online math class.
I also have an interview at The Home Depot tomorow. The management at the gorcery store is just tooo much to deal with, especially when you consider my 42 mile daily commute and the $2.84 per gallon gas prices here in Southern California. The owner of a the local bike shop also offered me a job today, and I was only there to buy a new pair of gloves. I am going to talk to him tomorrow also.
Off to class...
Other than that, not much to report. School starts today. I am taking three biology courses, athletic training, and an online math class.
I also have an interview at The Home Depot tomorow. The management at the gorcery store is just tooo much to deal with, especially when you consider my 42 mile daily commute and the $2.84 per gallon gas prices here in Southern California. The owner of a the local bike shop also offered me a job today, and I was only there to buy a new pair of gloves. I am going to talk to him tomorrow also.
Off to class...
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
Proposal night
Proposal night 
Yes, that is an original River Falls Girls Softball t-shirt, minus the sleeves. I actually proposed during a rest break on a mountain bike ride, hence the sanzy duds and slick 'do.
Yes, that is an original River Falls Girls Softball t-shirt, minus the sleeves. I actually proposed during a rest break on a mountain bike ride, hence the sanzy duds and slick 'do.
The big day...
The date is set for my wedding, Augst 6th, 2006. The ceremony/reception venue was set but the management tacked on some additional fees; fess which were never discussed in four separate meetings and which were handwritten on the contract we were given. We have gone back to complain, but now it is a wait and see type thing.
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
Kersarge Pass Trip
My June 24-26th trip is on. I will be hiking over Kersarge Pass (11,000') and then a lake 8 miles in at an elevation of 10,400'. The snow is melting pretty quick, but we are still going to see a lot of it...
I am off to a ponderous start, but least it is something. Not much new to report, my mom and sister are drving back to Wisconsin tomorrow. They are going to spend a few days in the Yellowstone area, lucky shits. The three of us just came back from riding horses. It was fun, but my horse kinda sucked.
Off again already...
Off again already...
Sunday, June 12, 2005
Trip Mammoth Lakes area
This is near the begining of the hike. The trail is visible on the hill in the foreground as a brown streak in the snow. We ended up in the valley past the peak on the left. 
My girlfriend Amy, sister Steph and myself hiked just south of Mammoth Lakes, CA to do some camping. The weather was great, almost too hot even and we stayed overnight. The trail lead us up 3,000 feet and four miles into the Sierras.
More pictures are below
My girlfriend Amy, sister Steph and myself hiked just south of Mammoth Lakes, CA to do some camping. The weather was great, almost too hot even and we stayed overnight. The trail lead us up 3,000 feet and four miles into the Sierras.
More pictures are below
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
