On the Fourth Day He Rode

Rain finally hit up North. Not a lot, just enough to wet the ground, crank up the humidity, and offer up supremo traction out back in the pit. I got home late-ish from work - just before dusk - but aching to get out for a spin. It's been one of those weeks and next week is already something I don't want to think about, so I'm going to get my play time in whilst I can. Since I've practically bought the firm one MiNewt at a time, I figure I probably should get some use out of the lights rather than let them age in a cabinet.

I mounted a MiNewt mini on the helmet, the MiNewt.X2 dual on the bars, grabbed the pups, and headed off into the drizzle. Dish opted to roam and explore the horse pasture before returning to the cool, dry, and comfy chair filled indoors. JD was as amped to get out on the trail as me no matter how dark and dank. It was go time.

Awesomely fast-ish. 

Sprouting veggie tation.

We've had some isolated showers in the area the past few weeks. Some areas have been deluged by stagnant showers that don't seem to move, other areas just get a few seconds of rain then it passes. Up North we've missed out on most of the rain. It's been so dry that the trail has become sketchy in some areas due to the dust. I'm not sure the horse fields have grown since tractorgate either. Monday and Tuesday's rides looked almost high desert-y in trail brownness. Add in one short afternoon shower and boom, every thing greens up almost immediately.

My IronMan repulsor is ready to fire.

Having a pup whose coat perfectly blends into most backgrounds and not having night ridden with him before I had to arm him with a safety light. Both so he could be seen and be found. The Backcountry Research provided REI sold SpotLit (specifically for pets) is the natural choice to clip to your pup's Dragonslayer collar (a damn fine collar, JD's has been thoroughly abused (tugged on, chewed on, swam in) for a year and is still as fresh as the day he got it). SpotLit comes in white and red. It's also water resistant (thankfully) and works just fine underwater as we found out when JD took it for a fully submerged swim test tonight. A side benefit: it allows you to track your night swimming pup as easily as it does on dry ground.

JD's SpotLit & Dragonslayer in action.

Centerlockness Monster Crossness

All Hands on Deck: Handmade mug, handmade frame.

Today started off innocently enough. A nice lay in after a night of Primus at the Ryman with the Clays of Clayetteville. Some routine bike maintenance and prepping for a mid-morning ride with the pup.

Are we gonna ride ride sometime today?

A lil' taste of PMBAR for today's ride. 

A short catch up chat with a sleepy H. who's working her 4th weekend in a row and whom I'd not seen nor spoken to since early Friday morning, then off to ride. Initially I'd planned to do a 30-ish mile road ride then grab the Moots, the pup and head out back for an hour of trail riding capping it off with a swim. But the temp outside was way too nice to waste on pavement and it was time to run the pup down, or at least attempt to.

Seriously, sometime today?

I've had to make some changes due to my work schedule (or lack of schedule) and it's taken me a while to adjust to the changes. My annoying stomach issue has also pushed the change along. No more can I enjoy the long hours on the bike or the ample time to ride. An hour here, forty-five minutes there, maybe two hours over there is about all I can regularly get. I also have a very active and bored-with-yard-captivity year old pup who deserves (demands) some attention, along with the daily chores of life and maintenance needs of many things. The short free hours are stretched thin, but I'm adapting.

Woohoo!

With all the endurance races passing me by due to work weekends, I'm trying to adapt from long distance / endurance / steady-eddie rider to short (shrinking isn't easy), fast, power rider. Which is something with which I'm not really all that adept. The focus now is on preparing for the self flagellating that is cyclocross racing. I'm probably sabotaging myself with my regularly irregular "training" regime too. One that looks more like something taken from the book of T.roy training methodology (50k run plan, eh?) than of the more proven tactics, but you use what you have available and I've got irregularity galore (no not that kind).

It's still several months out before cross season, but it's all I have to look forward to at this juncture (though I'm still anxiously awaiting a date (edit: Nov 27th, book it!) for the gravel grovel and will be keeping to some distance work to try to defend my rock). I don't really have much faith in my transformation. I've never been one who can just pin it from the gun for as long as needed. I pretty much rev it up, hold it as high as I can and try to out steady the other contenders. Sometimes this works as they pop from pinning it and sometimes it fails and The 'Dorfer gets the 'W'. Since I can go an hour without eating or drinking, it's what works out best with my current health situation and my un-allottment of allotted free time. I wonder how the 3 days of "specific training" over the past 2.5 weeks is panning out for my goal? Like I said, Book of T.roy training.

Then I got a few words of encouragement from recently returned from the woodwork KRS1. He reminded me that before I became an enduro nut I had a pretty good cache of ye olde XC racin' wins based not on skills, but pure power and speed. Ah, those were the days. Back when my power and speed quickly (and vastly) overshadowed my skills and wrecks were often and colossal. Back when I used to regularly whoop up on Todd "at least my wife has a World caliber engine" Park (aka Pepe) all around the Southeast on a 34 lbs $400 hardtail (4900: race proven). Then (thanks to folks like T.roy, Jut, and Ivory) my skills caught up and then quickly overcame my power and speed. And I've pretty much been a slacker ever since.

I am Hour Man!

But that is all about to change. I'm destined to return. I shall become the Hour of Power once again. I'll retrain my "steady as she goes" pacing brain to only think "you've got to pin it to win it!"  No more watching the 'Dorfer collapse into a heap of cramping fast twitch muscles at the end of a cross race with jealousy and still-able-to-ride-for-several-more-hours comfort. I, too, want to collapse at minute 61 into a knotted up mess. Show up at a mtb trail and only ride 1 lap. Have to be helped off my trainer or wiped up off the floor next to my rollers after pinning it for an hour and one minute. Legs up and cytomaxing. Maybe even sleeping in a hyperbaric chamber and learning to pee on my bike. Goodbye Hours Man, hello Hour Man. Think of all the extra un-free free time I'll have at my non-disposal?

 Co-pilot Riley

So after and hour and a half of trying to wear out myself and the pup and a relaxing 1/2 hour of swimming laps around the lake, I loaded up the truck and headed to Beverly, er, Jeanie, that is. Tommy and Riley are getting to spend the weekend with Uncle Thad and all the pups were heading down to MOAB with me to waste some hours swapping stories and sniffing grease.

SS specific this time. BAM!

Several years ago Hodge build me up a set of "will only last about a season" stupidly uber light weight set of wheels. They've been bomber even with my ramming speed, wheel casing, charging rhino style. Amazing really. I think they've only seen 2 or 3 dry races the entire time I've had them, all the rest have been the worse mud conditions out side of the Mohican (DSG 2011 motto should be: "DSG: At least it's not the Mohican 2010"). They'd never been serviced. I did have Mark and Rick at MOAB take a peak inside before I headed off to Kanza with them to make sure since I'd had some noise worry me, but they were good to go and put back together without any work done to them. They're still going strong even with my recent nipple breakage. So long rambling cut short, they've been more than stellarly fantastic. 

Look Dicky, even more centerlock-ness (FTW!) and I don't even fly! 

But if I truly want to emerge from this interwebber vanity cocoon as The Hour of Power, I needed some decent FRO (for racing only) hoops. I mean you can't be all that and a bag of chips with years old hoops that might or might not have been stressed in such a way as to pop a spoke at the most inopportune moment in a race. Nope it was time. I've not purchased a set of wheels since late 2004 when I got a set of dt hoops for my old 4900. It was time to reward myself. And I spared no boneheaded requests. I asked for the SS specific bolt on hub (the price of which rivals other big name sky high priced hubs and prompted such remarks as "wow, I've got new respect for DT Swiss hubs now") vs the geared quick release hub I'm rolling now which has proven to be plenty strong, but I want it stronger-er. Plus bolt-on is great for quick cross style wheel changes (doh!). I also asked for XC light but all-mountain strong. And brass nipples because strength tops weight and weight carries momentum.

FRO wheels when you're not racing = Best Wall Art Ever!

Now if only Miss Phat would get on with the Misfit Parody Fork realizational rationalization incantation I can up my FRO fear factor to eleven...

Hoping I don't drop the phone in the lake while swimming with the pup.

Temps being 99 with a heat index of 104 while the humidity leveled out somewhere in the bagillion percent range, a night of swimming usurped the planned ride. It was cooler and less wet in the water than in the air. Again, luckily leech free.

Work being more regularly regular hours this week I'd planned to ride in today and tomorrow no matter what the heat warnings had to say ("Excessive heat warning in effect until 7 PM CDT Thursday - NWS"), however the truck is in dire need of a diesel oil and fuel filter change (recommended every other service, btw) and today was the only day in which it fit snugly within my planned plans. Tomorrow doesn't work because they are showing "Chasing Legends" at the Belcourt (hurry and get your tickets now, they serve Yazoo beer there!) after work and Friday is Taproom/Sushi/Primus @the Ryman night (no room for servicing diesels then).

So it was a mixed mode commute today. Diesel to South of town to drop off the truck then cycle back into town and Westward over to work. Urban factories and train tracks make for a nice change of commute scenery vs the hill after hill of the normal route. I even get to ride along one of the old cable car routes, how historically exciting. 

Ramming speed!

Though getting out of the driveway proved a bit awkward. I really need to discuss the parking situation with the other tenant chuds.

Wanted: Spiderweb Clearer

Barn flowers.

I got out for an amazing 8 mile jaunt with the pup tonight, it was amazing because I actually had legs on my ride (unlike Doug "The Dick Crusher" Jenne). The pup was super wound up and in need of a run, I was super lethargic and headache-y after work and in need of a nap. Both were accomplished. Victory!

Now if I could only teach the pup to run in front of me with a long stick to knock down all the damn spiderwebs it'd make evening rides that much better. Icky spiders.

Bluetail, My Pet Dragon

The best summer days are the sunny ones that follow the big severe thunder and lightening storms only summer nights can conjure up. The pups and I enjoyed a spectacular display of lightening last night and the welcomed coolness offered by the storm front passing through. This morning temps were cooler and the humidity even lower. The sun was hot but the shade offered a breezy respite from the heat. A perfect day to be in the woods.

Having spent most of their time Saturday supervising, the pups were wound tighter than a Swiss clock and in dire need of some romp time. After a lazy morning of chores, bike maintenance and a filling hippie breakfast provided by ye olde slumlord chef-xtraordinaire Joe, the pups and I hit the trail. A trail whose conditions were perfect after the much needed rain. The dust was low and the trail dry with perfect traction.

Dish making sure the camping/cycling laundry drying in the distance doesn't do anything sneaky.

The penalty of living out of town is a longer work commute complete with traffic hassles. It also prevents me from partaking in much of the in-town shenanigans on a regular basis due to always having to make the long haul homeward late in the night. But the upside is being able to have singletrack and a swimming hole in the back yard. No leaving. No loading up the car, driving 45 minutes, unloading, riding, reloading, driving back home, and unloading again just to get a ride in. It doesn't replace the regular trails, but it does allow for days like today where I can get a good ride in, a swim, exercise the pups, finish lingering house chores, and most importantly...

Get home with enough time to enjoy a catnap in the shade. All the digging, trail building, and riding combined with the back to back to back late nights had taken their toll. So after our ride the pups and I sacked out in the back and enjoyed some outdoor downtime.

Dish has a nasty bite on his back. We're not sure what he got tangled up with, but it got him good. 

Wet pup drying and dozing off in the sun.

The pond has attracted it's first inhabitant, my pet dragon Bluetail. He's just a lil' guy right now, but I'm feeding him and soon he'll be big and strong.

My Car's Name is Krvin

Krvin is strong enough to haul gravel, big enough to swallow an in-ground pool, and able to leap small raccoons in a single swerve. 

A long list of honey get done's has besmirched my Saturday. It started off innocently enough, a late lay in after a late night of burlesque, kinetics, and arial fabric acrobatics featuring The Amazing* Molly Graves with Pops and Kamini. We started off meeting for drinks and food and more drinks at Bosco's for a send off to our dearly deported friends Kevin "Pops" Glynn and his exuberant wine pusher and witty wife Kamini, then ended up at the Rutledge enjoying some burlesque-ness.

* - it's now a prerequisite to include "The Amazing" whenever referring to Molly.

Melanie, Kevin, T.roy, and Kamini

I'd awoken with plans to run the puppy down riding in the back then getting some more trail and dirt jumps built. T.roy had hooked me up with new nipples (gotta love a buddy like that) to fix my broken spoke from last Sunday's adventure. I'd managed to get the spoke fixed, tensioned, and the wheel trued up. I was just getting it back on and adjusting my chain tension when H. came in from the barn inquiring as to my plans. I told them to her as she let out a sad sighing "oh, I was hoping we could go into town together." Since town was on my list of errands planned for the day it was pretty easy to just swap the order of the plan and maintain marital bliss. (I'm told ignorance is bliss too, perhaps that'll be my route next time)

one broken, one brass, and 3 aluminum too

X marks the spoke and I owe myself seventeen fifty

We have a mud bog. The A/C drains out by our door amidst H.'s cannas. It's a bog. A stinky, murky mess. It's been bothering H. for a while and she's been trying to think of a way to remedy the situation, not just divert it. We were heading to Lowes to get some dryer bits and took a walk around the garden area to see our options. We'd like to capture the water to reuse it to water the plants, but a hose wouldn't really solve it and it leaks out several gallons of water over the course of the day (estimated from the 3/4 gallons collected within an hour and a half) which would quickly over fill a jug small enough to fit underneath the drain pipe.

The solution: A pond. A puppy pond to be more precise. It'll capture the water which the pups can then drink or wade in and also allow us to use it to water the plants. Items purchased the only thing left to do was dig. This is where my day went off course. The plans didn't include digging a 2.5' x 4' by 5' hole in the brick, concrete, and rock filled murk.

The pups were full of their typical helpfulness. Damn supervisors.

Hours and a second run to Lowes later, the pond is installed and filled with cold water. Being a hot and muggy day the "pond" resembled more of a redneck in-ground pool to my heat exhausted mind, so in for a dip I went. Ahh...

To the victim go the spoils!

Don't make me go medieval on your ass. 

On a side note, while I was zooming back to Lowes with the windows down I was reminded of an issue that's been haranguing me of late. Krvin has a plastic interior vs the dog hair catching velcro carpet of ye olde swamp car which is great for 99% of my needs except one. The dog beds slide around while driving with the dogs and fly around the interior when driving with the windows down without the dogs. During the introspective opportunity hours of digging afforded me, I remembered my Awesome Rumble B's from Backcountry Research. Situation resolved. That's 2 down in one day, somebody stop me!

Inside I've been working on installing the new to us washer and dryer and re-organizing the wash room. The washer and dryer are another beneficial side effect of our dearly deported friends. Also the cause of H. not partaking in adult beverages Friday night. See what started out as a quick trip over to pick up a washer and dryer quickly deteriorated into several bottles of wine, beer, and a feastly game of "what's in the fridge." Luckily we escaped just as the margaritas were being threatened. Thanks be to the slumlord for helping me unload the washer and dryer as somebody else was elsewhere. hmm...

Spaciously crampy.

Anyway, after wrestling with the loading/unloading/installing of the new and the un-installing/moving/squeezing around the still-in-the-way-but-hopefully-headed-to-the-barn old ones I've made myself a promise that if I ever have to move a washer and dryer again I'm hiring it out. Screw wrestling with this crap, isn't that what they make kids for - moving washer/driers and mowing the lawn?

One serendipitous side effect of doing the honey get dones is I've happened to catch an episode of House of Hair on the radio. I'm not a frequent listener to House of Hair as I frequently forget when it comes on and which station, but if I happen upon it I usually rock it out. Tonight is just such a night with a twist, it's the six hundred and sixty sixth episode. Yup the 666 episode of House of Hair and I heard it here first. Children of the night, are you ready to rock?

It's been 12 hours since I started working on the bike so I could ride. I've still not been back to turn a wrench and finish up the project. Looks like tomorrow morning will begin like this morning: coffee, music, and bikes. Hopefully, tomorrow afternoon will lead to actually riding a bike.

A prize for myself. Figured I'd earned it.

The Rise and Fall of SuperFowl

JD's new Kockadoodle calling SlingChicken, SuperFowl.

The 60% chance of T-Storms disguised itself as a perfectly sunny and high 80's (50% humidity!!) summer day. Perfect lake temps, not swampy muggy nor roasting heat. Work and traffic actually worked with me rather than against me for a change and we made it to the "beach" shortly after 5, plenty of daylight left to get our swim on.

Photographic evidence for OldGreggars.

H. settled into the hammock pretty quickly. We hung it over the water to up the flip over penalty. It also allowed Dish to constantly fling water all over her when he shook off on the beach. I waded in with the plan of just tossing the retriever dummy for the pup, but the water was too inviting and the line tied to the retriever dummy too awkward. It wasn't long before I was swimming with the pups.

Retriever fun, Catahoula style.

JD and me swimming our laps.

More photo evidence for OG & Freshie. The Hammock Rocks (and swings).

I have plans for a rope swing and a dock or floating swim platform. The lake drops quickly to around 10 feet near the beach entrance, but gets much much deeper as you approach the earthen damn. Plenty deep for airborne shenanigans. Maybe even a water slide with a launch at the bottom? I need to borrow one of those fishing fish finder sonar things that show the outline of the bottom and tell you the depth. Would be cool to have a map of the bottom. For now I just use the action hoe to find the bottom. Perhaps goggles and a waterproof highbeam flashlight are in order?

Hounds of Play.

It was a leech free kinda day. I've been enjoying the "beach" for a few weeks now but it was fun to be able to finally drag H. away from the barn and get a little weekday R&R in, even if it was only in the back yard. I've got the location for my yurt all planned out, just have to talk the slumlord into selling me the back for cheap. Perhaps he'll trade even up for a Yaris and babysitting throughout the playoffs?