well...

There is news.  Some exciting news, some "everyday" news, and some not so fun news.

Everyday:

Got a couple applications in - so that's good.

Annie is a champ and got everything together to get our car insurance transferred down here (whole new carrier - as you can imagine, that was a lot of fun!).  Next step is to get our licenses, then back to the insurance company to get a form so we can get our license plates - what a freakin production!

Not so fun:

Although Maggie is recovering well, she has a long way to go before she can chase squirrels and run down tennis balls with the vigor she has... so it looks like we will push back the arrival of the puppies another month to ensure her recovery goes as smoothly as possible.  Big thumbs down to that one.  We are dying to have the puppies here, but we have to do what's best for Maggie - hence getting the surgery in the first place.

Exciting:

Certainly not planned, but after submitting a couple job applications the other night I happened to check the price on the One9 I had been eyeing.  The site I had been tracking gave me a scare as the price went back up....  ugh...  so I did a quick google search and found another site with a HUGE discount on the frame.

Exciting in that I'll have the frame I've been drooling over for a while now... but with this not being the optimal time for me to start dropping wads of cash all over the place, this is going to be a long term build - so that is going to be a killer.

Gives me more then enough time to pour over each and every part, weigh my options, throw out my build list and start again, and track the "deal" sites and classifieds like a maniac for the foreseeable future.  While seeking out deals on the parts I do want I'll likely be tempted by things I don't want just to keep costs low and get the build done quicker.  

In the end I know I will take my time and get parts that I want piece by piece.  After all, that's why I'm building a bike up - to get it the way I want it.  For a lot of it, I know what I want and it's basic, so I'm not worried.  But of course the whole fork argument/discussion will be a big one when it comes time to pull the trigger.  I do enjoy the fork on the HiFi, so the easy thing would be to get pretty much the same thing.  So some research will have to be done on that end.  Of course, there is the rigid avenue... part of me likes the idea, but having not ridden a rigid mountain bike since 1997 (maybe 1996 even) I dunno.  I guess I could always grab a steel fork to save some money and try it out before going all in on a carbon version.

As plans/parts come together I'm sure I'll share - and of course I'll welcome any feedback from the single speeders out there.  Parts you love, parts to stay away from.  Advice, suggestions, personal preferences, I'll take it all.  Other than the fork I'm thinking the crank/bottom bracket will be my biggest challenge due to lack of experience in that department.