Spot'n Scott

In a few days Southeast GrassMOOTS racer Scotty "Monster" McConnell is attempting to complete the TNGA race. I headed over to his place after work to lend some equipment, advice, and words of encouragement. Also to let him know that I am severely jealous.

Being without a second car, Monster commutes to work by bike and was running a little behind me. No worries though as lil' Monster was around to entertain me with his sweet new bike tricks.

Poppa Wheelie!

Dad coming home, greeted by a bipedalling kiddo.

Monster's well traveled and well loved MootoX singlespeed is getting loaded down for the self-supported 350mile trek. Revelate Designs' bags adorn pretty much every available space. Why? Because they rock. Just like the ti beauty they're strapped to. Good luck Monster! It's going to be a great weekend adventure.

note: Google recently updated Blogger and the update is pretty cool, but stupid too. Hit the return/enter key when the cursor is in the title box and the damn thing posts. C'mon Google. Oh and while your at it, fix Google maps so when you draw a map and save it, it saves the map you drew and not one with erroneous additions. Gmaps is becoming useless in it's quirkiness. Perhaps the google time has passed? Or perhaps they need better product testers? Or maybe I'm just cranky.

Clack Clackity Clack, Kervin talks back.

The offending heat shield.

The culprit.

The Co-Pilot.

The  Outside Temp.

Be it known H. pulled off the airbag warning sticker, not I. Also let it be known no creek crossings were attempted with Kervin. Just simple gravel, churt roads driven upon to create billowing clouds of dust to cover Parker's shiny new Moots MootoX RSL. At least the thermometer still works in the lemon.

Welcome to Team Tulbag

The other day I received my long awaited t-shirt, tulbag (umlaut sold separately), and secret decoder/cheap beer bottle opener/absinth ring from sending in my 5 MP proof of purchase stamps and half finished bottle of Toby Keith's Wild Shot Mezcal.

Just like it's namesake, the tulbag (umlaut sold separately) is small, quirky, and awkward in that oh so familiar my-friend-is-face-down-bleeding-in-a-strange-town-and-everyone-is-looking-at-me kinda way. It's not as svelte and cool as the dead-before-ever-conceived BR Marsupial Pouch, but it'll make a nice addition to the fleet of handy handbags. I foresee it replacing the vat of knock off MP singlespeed wallet contraptions I've been using from buying King cogs over the years.

Speaking of toolbags, my friend and cohort of the dirt Parker recently received his bitchinly radded out MootoX RSL yesterday.

Despite having the first slider RSL in TN to call my own, I must admit I am a little jealous of the package Parker put together. It was dead sexy sweetness sitting at the shop all nice and clean. I snapped a few photos of it, but regret that Parker didn't get to see it all clean and shiny new.

Sadly for Parker, I got it chock full of gravel dust from our favorite roads before delivering it late into the wee hours of the night to his house while drinking all his bubbly water and leaving with his-not-his Arrested Development DVD set.

It wasn't all fun and games though. Apparently, Toyota Matrixes aren't good gravel terrain vehicles. Somewhere before the hog farm, parts started rattling loose and now the car sounds like an extra from the Beverly Hillbillies auto club. Meh, I'll just call it my Canardian Camouflage.

The Magic of Lucky Charms

Heading to the trails via the horse pasture.

Monday morning set the tone for the week. The warm sun greated JD and I as we headed out early to get an hour of singletrack in before work. It was more for him than me since Sunday had me out on gravel all day and JD left at home with no one to ride with (thanks Kurt). Motivated to get him some exercise, racing around the trails had me smiling and fired up for the week ahead.

Mixing Dish's lucky charms.

Then it was back into the house to start the breakfast ritual. Dish is still not well, but thanks to H.'s science experiment, he's able to get around and doing better (Better as in able to at least move around without pain). He's doing great in his Bailey chair and he seems to be liking his lucky charms mix of food and meds. It adds about a half hour to the morning routine, but seeing him improve from previous weeks makes it all worth the extra effort.

Pumptrack Jim's Moto-Moots

Tuesday night offered up a fun yet painfully hard and fast road ride with a few friends. We raced the setting sun trying to get in as many miles and hills as we could before dark. I love the roads around Williamson county. Not the ones most cyclists ride, but the really bad, chunks-o-pavement missing, loose gravel roads that wind along the many creeks and rivers in the area.

Wednesday night was the finale of the crit series downtown. I got out of work and raced up to watch the fun. Despite not being able to participate in the races due to work's schedule, I do greatly appreciate having a cycling related event happening weekly throughout the summer. It's a really fun time hanging out and watching. I'm kinda sad to see another season of them come to an end. I'm also sad I didn't get over to the Gerst Haus before the kitchen closed. I've yet to try the new Yazoo brewed Gerst beer.

Up at 4 and out the door shortly thereafter on Thursday had me heading to our weekly gnat ride. Dragging myself out of bed and into the car under the cover of dark night skies is pretty hard sometimes, but watching the sunrise over the hills from our gravel grinding perches makes it all worth it. Plus the work commute from gravel-land beats the normal interstate-through-Nashville commute any day. 

Top.

Bottom.

The Cane Creek 110 headset photos above are for Mr. Dicky, the non-believer, and have nothing to add to the weekly wrap up. Move along. Move along.

Finally, Friday came around and the first delivery of the year for Ride for Reading was taking place with a very special guest, First Lady Mrs. Chrissy Haslam (Wife of the Governor). The lucky school this time was Cole Elementary and over 850 kids were lined up outside the school cheering as we pulled in. If you ever get the chance to volunteer for the delivery, I highly recommend you do it. It's amazing. The kids are great and so grateful for receiving books.

Mr. Mathew Portell - the man behind RfR - giving last minute instructions.

OldGreg and The Dook

The First Lady leading the way.

In the day and age of smartphones, wifi, high def and 3d television, video games, and other high tech gadgets it is kind of funny seeing kids get so excited over something as simple as a book. Many of the kids come up and tell you that this is the first book they've ever owned. Kind of sad.

To me books and bikes were the first taste of freedom. I might have been stuck in my bedroom under the guise of punishment, but I could be exploring space, adventuring in the Amazon, or fighting fires simply by opening a book. Likewise, the bike gave me not only the freedom of mobility, but unlocked the imagination. I could be a jet pilot or a motorcycle cop or even Fonzi (Ayyyyyyy!). Both offered up keys to exploration. I still remember my great grandmother reading to me and my sister. And some of my favorite memories from growing up revolve around after dinner bike rides with dad and riding bmx bikes to school every morning with neighborhood friends Eric and Mark.

Maybe, just maybe, these kids who get these books will not only enjoy taking the time to read with their kids, but also enjoy riding around the neighborhood with them on bikes.

Crashing the party.

Then in a very innocent Teamdicky-ish awkward social faux-pas moment, we were told by some teachers that there were refreshments in the conference room and the library. We heard cookies were in the conference room so we booked it there over the banana and granola offerings of the library. We were well into enjoying the snacks when another teacher came in and told us the cyclist food was in the library. Seems we'd encroached on the table reserved for the First Lady. Oops. So we grabbed a few more cookies and split.

When in doubt (and crashing the First Lady's party) remember, pinky out. 

32c hybrid tires rip on singletrack.

Back to the house after the book delivery, I had a few hours of daylight left to run the dog. I caught him outside lounging in the sun reading H.'s nook. Wait a minute, dogs don't read. Ah he was frustrated for being left at home yet again he was taking his frustrations out on H.'s e-reader. Bad dog.

Rather than swap bikes I decided to keep rolling the 32's for the day. They worked well on the pavement rides. Kicked butt on the gravel rides. Why not give them a go on some singletrack. To be honest it wasn't bad. It actually was really fun. The 33x15 gearing while wearing river shoes was a little daunting on some of the climbs, but the skinny wheels were a blast ripping around the trails. We finished up with a 45 minute swim then headed back to the house.

Riding with Dish.

Once back at the house there was still a bit of daylight left. And as if to prove how magical and special this week has been, Dish met me in the yard and joined in for a short jaunt. I never thought I'd look down to see him running beside my bike again.

Carcass

Another gravel victim.

Despite early morning t-storms (complete with full on big lightening and thunder) I headed out before the sunrise. A friend had called yesterday afternoon while I was at work and asked if I could plan a long gravel ride for Sunday since his race he'd planned on didn't go as planned and he had to bail. We were slammed so I didn't manage to get the word out until after 6 while finishing up at work. Out the door by 7:15 and I was on the phone trying to scrounge up victims with very short notice. A few of the regulars were unable to show up, but the dependables were available.

Scene from aliens.

As I laid there in bed thinking the storms were going to cause everyone to bail, I sat upright remembering the dependables (ie: Monster and The Godfather) weren't going to be detoured by a little adverse weather. Images of Monster huddling out in the storm at our planned meeting spot miles from his home (he's carless at the moment and was riding to meet us) waiting for a ride that wouldn't show got me out of bed and hustling to get out. I figured if everyone bailed before we got to the meeting point we could at least get a good breakfast somewhere.

The tires have eyes. 

Luckily only 2 didn't show. Parker - which was good because that meant I was on-time (early even) and Kurt, the person for whom the ride was planned around. Meh.

The rains had stopped and the skies were clearing when we took off. Eventually the clouds burned off to sunny blue skies and warmer temps. 4 miles into the ride as I crossed a creek we saw some deer up ahead then heard a shot. Hunters? Nope, I'd popped a tire. We figured a pinch flat, but it was loud and I hadn't hit anything that resulted in any impact to the frame. Turns out a sharp rock ledge caught the sidewall and sliced a nice nick into the side. Not having anything to hold it in, the tube bulged out and exploded.

Rocketman

I applied a boot and we kept rolling, though with the fear of the tire continuing to blow the entire ride. I only had 3 tubes, had used 2 co2's to inflate/deflate/inflate the tire as we'd not seen the slice until the new tube inflated, and I'd forgotten my tire sew up kit in the car. But as luck would have it, the boot lasted without incident for the remaining 55 miles. Even more amazing was that Monster had absolutely no mechanical issue the entire ride. Talk about your miracles!

The ride was well worth the early hour wake-up. Great new route, great company, even better humorous conversation, and a great post ride meal. We learned a lot about the area and some other routes from stopping to chat with several locals. And found out the newly re-opened Littlelot General Store has special Saturday night events every other weekend throughout the remainder of the summer. Date night set!

Once at home I got greeted by the Monkey and had to make up some playtime since Kurt's request pulled me away from hanging with the pup on my day off. He had his heart set on Monkey Bell too. Good thing Kurt showed up for the... oh wait. Nevermind. Sorry J.D.

Loose

Sign-o-the-times.

Once again I've manage to squeeze more time out of the days outside of work. As such the blog suffers from lack of computer access and time to post. Probably not a big deal for you all, but it inhibits some of my creative outlet and many thoughts, ideas, and some humor gets lost in the shuffle. Instead the dreaded "weekly wrap-up" formulaic faux pas blah blah takes hold. Sorry for the lack of entertainment, but since one aspect of this here web log is to aid me in remembering life when old-timers disease kicks in, I've got to keep myself abreast of what we've done.

 I'll take a tractor jam over traffic jams any day.

gRant, Graham, Carlton, and I woke up way too early Tuesday to take advantage of the cool, spring temps and low humidity to get the day started with some gravel adventure. It was actually chilly when we started off. The creeks and hollers full of fog, while the sunrise slowly burned from orange-red to blue. I loved getting out on some gravel before work, but I really enjoyed being able to take full advantage of the beautiful weather. Summer days such as these are few and far between in the Mid-South.

Inspirational: Should we call it the Gnat ride?

We're going to start trying to get these going weekly or at least bi-weekly. So many friends can't make the weekend rides and having to work Saturdays prevents me from making some of them, that a pre-work weekday ride fits best. I'd rather lose out on some sleep than lose out on some fun. Perfect way to recharge the batteries mid-week and help get you closer to the weekend.

Grinding.

Carlton's new Nakisi drop bar grinder.

Breakfast club.

Temporary wall.

In other news, the construction project to repair the flood damaged / cracked and leaking foundation/bedroom wall is underway. A temporary wall was constructed in the bedroom requiring us to vacate the room until the work is done. The exterior wall will be removed, rebuilt, then the temp wall will get pushed against the new wall and painted. Hopefully fixing the flooding for good.

Temporary home.

So the bedroom has invaded the bike room. At first it seemed like it was a big pain in the butt, but I actually dig having the room moved around. It's inspired me to clean up the bike room. To make it all fit we've begun pairing down some of our non-necessities. Which means: 'Dorfer your mtb is hanging at the shop and Ivan expect delivery of the 1x1 soon.

After several weeks of filling in on Fridays, I actually was able to take one off and enjoy some time with the wife. H. even got out on a bike ride with me this morning. Something we hadn't been able to enjoy together in a long time.

Cruising the Highland Rim's quiet country lanes.

A puncheur rouleur enjoying the rough roads.

Lil' wheelz.

I followed up the road ride with H. with a trail ride. It was JD's turn to get out for some exercise. The back trails haven't had a lot of love from me in a while but to my surprise they are holding up beautifully. Not overgrown and in amazing condition.

Jumping back onto the 26" wheels takes no adjustment period at all*. The biggest thing I notice is how fast the bike feels climbing and through the rocks. Doesn't mean that it is, it just feels that way after coming off the 29'er. I enjoyed the hell out of the change today. Other than that it rides like a bike. How people can claim they are useless and dead in favor of a 29'er only existence then chastise people about narrow minds regarding fat bikes cracks me up. Irony is funny. Ride what feels right. The point is that your riding, not what your riding.

*Remember my bikes are built with nearly identical components (save for rims, spokes, and hubs) and the 29'er weighs a pound and change less than the 26'er. Same fork, saddle, and cockpit measurements/fit. Done on purpose because that's the way, uh huh uh huh, I like it.