Is No Luck Better Than Bad Luck?

This is definitely not my month for front wheels. Going over my bike tonight in preps for this weekend's Cowbell 12 hour, I found a little ditty about the size of Jack and Diane...


Son-ofa-bitch! Just when I thought I was finally able to graduate from the Rhyno-lytes. At first I thought I could just pry it up so the tire bead seated better, but there is one hell of a hop in the rim too. Hopefully the wheel guru's at Harpeth Bicycles will be able to get me rolling straight enough for the weekend. Otherwise it's rolling front brakeless with my commuter rim brake wheel.


My backup wheel is out being rebuilt after the whole Kanza mud rut/charging cowbull episode. Erg! 4 rides on the supa-fast wheels and I've already tweaked 'em. 5 years, 2 wheels, guess I'm not doing too badly, but it's definitely no jut luck. Hey McLovin, send some of that mystical luck my way, would ya?

Post Lunch HourUpdate: Henry @ Harpeth Bicycles got my wheel fixed up and ready to rock. I saw a sweet Serotta 650B Ti bike in there that seemed to not need it's front wheel, so I'm borrowing it for the weekend. (That's cool, right Fred?) Thanks Hank!

p.s. Click this link. (if I can get over 25 hits I'll get 20% off my next tube purchase. (Maybe a titanium tube?? Ah, one can dream right?) Seriously click the link there's no discount, I'm just competing. Thanks!

Beer & Bike Movie Bike Night

Tonight was the Walk/Bike Nashville & Clif Bar 2 Mile Challenge's FREE screening of Seasons, a film that follows 7 of the world's top mountain bikers through the course of four seasons of one year at the historic Belcourt Theatre. WBN folks and Cliffers were out challenging people to try to ride within a 2 mile radius of their home. Lower their carbon footprint, live healthier, save gas, help Mother Earth.


The movie rocked. More so than I expected. We rode over from T.roy's place (after some pre-movie home brews) and enjoyed a Yazoo Pale Ale at the theatre (yeah they sell Yazoo beer on tap IN the theatre), watched the movie, hung out with the movie goers and the Clif folks, then rode to Broadway Brewhouse for another pint and some Santa Fe Stackers (no worries about eating too hard this time) before heading home. Great night of beer, bikes, movies about bikes, and hanging with friends.


Funny how a movie about fullsup bikes, gap jumps, 78mph downhills, and stunts makes me crave getting out on a rigid singlespeed bike. I'm pumped for this weekend. Even got a free Collective CD soundtrack from the Clif folks (others got t's and dvd's). If you get a chance to visit the Clif tour, hit it up. You'll be glad you did.

Nothing to Fjear, Please Disperse

The rest of my goodies came in today: new stem and brake cable housing ordered from JensonUSA, pads and cables from MOAB (along with my minty new Bontrager bar). All arriving just in time to prep Y.Pestis for the weekend's N.C. invasion. While the country is obsessed with fjearing tomatoes, Black Death will be spreading in the Charlotte vicinity. Carnage will be high, mortality rate through the roof, the competition buried, I really should look into a Funeral Home sponsorship...


Check out the stem crack. I almost rode it like this Sunday, but luckily Adam "Meanjoe" Monkey Rider let me bum the face plate off of his orphaned 1x1's stem (since he's fallen in love with the free speed of the 29).


Now check out the non-cracked side. See the line present in the aluminum? Yep, the crack follows it perfectly. Each side has a line. Kinda crazy. Anyway, this faceplate will be shipping off to Thomson so they can look at it. Hopefully I'll be able to just purchase a new face plate, shame for the whole stem to be a wash.


Got out on some dirt Sunday with Adam the Valet, Scott Monster McConnell, Hot Pants Mike, Jeff "monkeying with my monkey" Scott, Joe Swoopin' Sweeney Todd, and Duvall (don't know him well enough to nickname plus he wields a chainsaw). The trail was perfect despite scattered showers the day before. It was almost too loose in spots, over grown in many others, and muggy as hell, but we had a great time racing around the course. Felt good to be back in the woods again after so many gravel grinders and long haul trucker rides. The instincts are coming back, the improper braking in turns, washing out the front wheel, losing the rear wheel to a root, carrying too much speed, bumping trees, oh yeah the deftness of a ninja and the ferociousness of a viking embodied by one of the 3 stooges. I'm back!

Home is where you plant your flamingo (or Flamingo Bells)

A cold front moving through brought overnight and early morning showers along with muggy 84 degree temps. Mooch (aka fixie 8-ball but he "mooched" another meal today) sent a text early morning asking if the ride was still planned. Hell yeah, no rain here, but we pushed it back an hour to 9 instead, hoping to give the rain time to move on through. Having time to kill, I headed out to bring the boys in and feed them breakfast.



Last night I swung by REI to pick up some new sandals. My Shimano ones with their nogahide uppers stink to high heaven. They're new design sucks and includes even more odor breeding nogahide material than the 2 strap versions I have. I always wished Keen made an SPD sandal, with their toe cover they'd offer more foot protection for when you were rolling urban or on the trail in comfort (possibly while riding off-road fixie). Well, they do now and REI is the only local dealer I know of, so I hit them up. Picked up a new helmet too, hopefully it'll last until my Xen gets warrantied.



So far the Keens feel really good. I haven't put a cleat on yet, but the interface looks nicer than cutting away the rubber of the Shimano system. Plus I can go back to cleat free and not have a gaping hole in the sole. Even replaceable anti-bacterial foot beds. Sweet.


Mooch showed up around 9 and we sat and chilled with some fresh brewed coffee before suiting up to roll the road bikes around the inaugural "local" loop. The first road had a killer hill less than a mile into the roll. Our legs (not having ridden much since last weekends epic) felt like lead, but we managed to grind up it. Across the ridge and many, many good climbs. Only one messed up turn which turned out to lead to some spectacular roads so I'll count that as good things coming by way of "going with the flow". One king of all creek crossings (nearly knee deep) with a rear wheel spinning mother of the bitch and the bastard (Mooch's nicknames for painful climbs) right after. 4 hours and change and the loop started 100 yards from the drive ended less than 400 yards from the drive (which is on a sketchy, fast and heavily trafficked road). Perfect day. It was even muggy, overcast, and rained on us. Ideal road biking conditions.


I also think I'll be giving Curtis a call soon.

ps. Thanks again Mike for helping us out with the farm chores this afternoon and rewiring the dryer. I guess you "earned" your meal. Jumbaliffic!!

Cracked

Damn. What are the odds. Hopefully I can get a new face plate before the cowbell. Preferably one that's not cracked. Think Thomson warranties bull attacks?

Sometimes you just gotta grab the bull by the bell

Hey Dicky, need some more cowbell? I think ya do. See yinz in Davidson. One question, Pale or Dos Perros?

Fjear the Bilateral Index (Blister) Brigade.

Change of Scenery (and a Man Cave)

Due to circumstances outside of our control, we had to leave our beloved farm in Franklin. A week of 94 degree heat and no A/C upstairs in the apartment above the barn made packing and loading a sweaty endeavor. It's an unexpected move with heavy hearts and conflicted feelings. We miss our barn family already.


The good news is that the A/C is on and I have my bike rack rebuilt and serving it's purpose once again. A bike/pool/bar filled "man cave" is in the works and the bathroom has saloon doors!!!


The "kitch"en has sweet turquoise push button stove and oven from the Hee Haw era and a breakfast nook to sit and eat.


The bedroom is HUGE-humongous with an enormous walk-in closet. I even have my own cavernous closet in the hall. The dogs are able to roam and wander at will thanks to an electric fence and the horses are frolicking in the front yard paddock. It's quite a change and my wondermous 12 mile perfectly scenic commute by bike has been replaced by a much longer drive, but I'm searching out options for riding.


Since we finished well ahead of schedule, Fixie 8-ball Mooch Mike and I snuck out to LBL (45 minutes closer now) for a North/South trail out and back. There was a race at Mousetail (congrats Adam!!) but with similar drive time plus $40, we could ride for 2 hours or we could head North and ride for 9, we chose 9. 64 miles of 94 degree heat and humidity. The first 15 were pretty comical and pathetic as I struggled to get my trail eyes, handling, and speed back. Eventually the handling came back, then the speed, but the trail eyes took till about mile 29 to kick in. I was struggling a bit for the first 31, with Mooch able to keep a faster roll and was usually off the front. 3hrs 45mins. 30 mins off pace (mostly my fault)

A good head dowsing and water refill at the North Welcome Center and we were back on our way. I'd downed an Ensure at the stop and the calories were a welcome addition to my day. (Neither of us brought enough food). A group of about 10 cyclists left the Center just as we were preparing to roll out. I thought they were off for the 11 mile canal loop, but not far up we got stuck in the procession. Gearies in grannies spinning up the short steep ups while we grunted trackstands behind. Eventually we got passed half and were in the mix with the steadier traveling front of the pack. We discovered they were indeed heading to the South end. I sure hope they realized it was 31 miles, had enough water and food, and possibly lights. We got around and quickly settled into a brisk pace. I was feeling rejuvenated after the stop.

The ride was uneventful and enjoyable and I was finally feeling good and able to ride, despite the heat. That is, until we had about 8-10 miles to go, we both ran out of water. Miserable. On the verge of bonking and dying of thirst (only because we kept thinking about being out of water) we championed on and finally made it to the trail head, the car, and the Powerade machine. Quick clean up, some Mexican food, and a shower at home and now it's time for bed.


Caitlin, get the iChat going so we can video chat. We miss you guys!