All is good...

Memorial Day weekend Annie flew down to Austin to visit a friend.  This left me with a couple options.  1. Take the dogs and bike down to Connecticut for a family cookout and explore trails down there.
2. Do the unthinkable and go ride Kingdom Trails with the masses that were sure to arrive for the weekend.
3.  Stay in Southie, get some rides in, find some activities for the dogs, and surprise my lovely wife by fixing up the back "yard" after the mess of a state it was in post-winter.

I went with lucky number 3.  I wasn't the only one to stay in Southie for the weekend.  Lot's of fun had by all.

I got one ride in... and it was a haul of a ride.  I went down to Oxford MA - almost 3/4 the way to my parents house in CT - to ride Hodges Dam (the site of an upcoming race).  I searched the internets to find any clue as to a race course, but alas I came up empty handed.  I figured a long weekend was a good excuse to take an hour drive to ride and explore the area, at least I'd get a feel for the terrain.

It was a fun ride, a hot ride.  A lot of motorcycle activity, but the trails were good.  Nothing technical, although it was littered with rocks and roots.  In about an hour I rode most of the trails.  I found myself back at the car so I called Annie to check in on how her trip was going before I hit the trails again to catch an option I hadn't hit the first time through.  I didn't want to end with just an hour on the trails when the ride out was an hour.  I created a new rule.  Ride time must be greater than half of the commute time.  I thought about equalling commute time, but I did have to get back to do parts B and C of my weekend.

Ran to Home Depot and got a bunch of mulch and top soil.  

Maggie checking our the new ground cover while Scout...
who knows what Scout is ever doing?

I had built some planter boxes at the end of last summer but never got around to actually utilizing them... so I got them ready for planting with some fresh top soil (I'd let Annie decide what she wanted in them).  While working I noticed our dwarf pear tree, which I planted when I first did major work on the "yard" two years ago, is finally showing signs of pear production.

mmm fresh Southie produce

After I got the "yard" in order I ran to the package store to pick up some beers... needed a refreshment after a good ride and some solid labor.  Then off for a walk with the dogs.  They were super excited, but did well on the walk.  We made our way down to a local dog park to find that the gate had been chained up and now adorned "no trespassing" signs... oh well.  The dogs were panting from the heat so we continued on to make a big loop back home.  They rested well that night.

Update:  The pterodactyl is back and road worthy, and it was covered by my extended warranty so I get to keep my $1100 - hells yes!!!  But of course you never escape unscathed.  My rear shocks are leaking (quoted as almost $700 for parts and labor) but they didn't have the parts, and my front brakes are down to 25%.... so sooner than later I'll be back in there.  Blarg.

Annie picked me up as it looked like I'd be sitting there for a while and we grabbed some lunch in the area.  Close by was a bike shop... one that I normally like to keep away from (just not the best experiences there in the past) but decided to check out what tires they had there.  Grabbed this guy for the rear.

you can see the sealant doing it's thing.

 As you see, got the HiFi all set up tubeless and ready to go.  I'm not going to lie, I'm still not 100% confident with the whole deal.  I'm worried there isn't enough sealant in either tire, only time will tell (I used all I have thus far... I'll likely add more at some point just to be certain).  I did take a quick spin around the neighborhood, hopped some potholes and took it over some curbs and so far so good.

The guys at the shop had good things to say about the Ignitor, and it looks a tab more aggressive than the JonesXR I had, so I went with their recommendation.  If things go well, may find some new rubber on the front wheel before the end of the season - only time will tell.  

After I got my bike all set up I threw on some new fun on Annie's Wahoo.  You won't get any details from me here, (I've learned my lesson!) but look for Annie to give you the low down sometime soon.