A Saturday Saved

A smiling Hagan at the end of the spiral

Harassed about not updating the blog, I defended by stating all I've done is work. Then I thought about it, and while work was more than the average 40 this week, there were lots of life outside sprinkled in. The week started off with helping a friend pick up a new to him motorcycle. Literally. We loaded it into the back of the Hippie truck and delivered it to his place since it wouldn't start. Friday ended with a few hours in the cold sipping some cask ale and tearing into the bike to try to get it to start. A new starter is in the works. But the parts all went back together and the beer tasted good.

Thursday found me in the passenger seat of the Hippie Mazda with H. driving me and the pups down to the 'boro after work for the annual Christmas cookie cooking night. I'm the press man. This year was special as Hagan was around to help us eat, er, make the cookies.

Didi (EMIL) and H. mix the dough while Hagan looks on.

H. and EMIL take care of the mixing and the baking. I've taken over the pressing and the color mixing of the cookies. The artistic fun part of the job.

Cinnamon Imperials allowed for some extra creativity on my part his year.

Artistic Green.

A little Carnadian Maple Holiday Leaf for my alien friends up North.

For the new baby. How is it spelled again Scott?

Before working on the motorbike after work Friday, I stopped into the OB ward to see Monster and Jamie's new baby girl. Cade was there enthralled with the Race Against The Sky teaser and other "bike races" on Scott's laptop (If you think Monster is unstoppable on the bike, wait till you meet Cade). The new baby girl was sleeping while Grandma quietly rocked her in the chair. The family is doing well and the new baby is precious. I'd spill the beans on the name but I'm not sure if the spelling has been decided upon yet. It's a gorgeous name, even if Scott can't spell it yet.


Saturday had plans to ride Stanley the Legend's private trail Sykes. Not an everyday invite, I was stoked to get out there to ride again. The last time being a night ride post Fall Creek Falls with Hennessey over 2 years ago. After getting the motorbike back together, I headed home to prep the Moots for Saturday as it was still mud covered and geared for cross, untouched after Sunday's races.



I started to just knock the dried mud off the frame, but couldn't just let it be dirty and hand washed the frame. Cleaned the chain and waxed the frame. Since I was swapping gears and had to remove the wheels, I installed the new quick releases I won at Saturday's race. They are white and look pretty dope on the Moots. I expected them to hold the wheels on, but didn't realize they'd resolve a brake rub issue I'd been suffering with the dtswiss wheels for a while now. Turns out the Salsa skewers I'd been using aren't as stiff as the new white Sette MX2 ones and were the cause of the flex. Extra bonus.


Saturday the alarm went off at 6:30 and I set about getting up, but I didn't feel right. Headache, sweats, nausea. Maybe it'll wear off. So I headed out to feed the horses, the cold fresh air helping the headache some, but the nausea wasn't waning. Cheerios didn't stay down and I couldn't shake the sweats. Try as I might, I just couldn't seem to fix the nausea. I had to bail on the ride. I can't believe it, I was feeling great Friday night.

always time for some tug wars

I went back to bed and hoped I'd either just sleep the day away or wake up better. Luckily I woke up better. Some chicken soup and a cup of coffee later and I was feeling back to my old self (not that I'm old). I'm thinking the cafeteria food at work last night probably wasn't the best choice and the spewing and illness was a little food poisoning. That or the 5 hour flu.

heading up from the lake pond

Not wanting to drive an hour to a trail with the chance that I might not really feel as good as I think, I opted to suit up and head out back to ride with the pups in the back forty. I spent about 40 minutes clearing some of the dead fall and opening the perimeter trails back up that the girls ride the horses around. Then got in 3 hours of riding with the pups.

Dish, always attentive.

Whew it was close, but I managed to save the Saturday. Why waste a perfectly good weekend day being sick when there are so many more work days available and perfectly suited for sick days?