Making friends

You may not know this about me, but I'm a pretty shy dude.  I'm not generally super outgoing, so if I don't know you I'm pretty laid back and reserved.  Once you get to know me, not so much.  Biking makes it easier though, gives a common ground to just be able to talk to random people in the parking lot, on the trail, in a shop, on the street, and wherever else bicycles might be found.  

Sometimes, I even make the types of friends I'd rather not have...

I hate spiders!  They creep me out.  No, I am not scared of spiders.  I am just not a fan of them on a ride.  I don't enjoy their webs in my mouth.  I don't like to think about the fact that a spider may now be on my back, or in my helmet because I just got draped with a big ass web as I'm flying down a trail.  I DO NOT like to feel them crawling on me.  And least of all, I do not enjoy them biting me.

I found this guy AFTER my ride crawling up my thigh... so he was on there for the long haul.  Thankfully he didn't molest me (at least to my knowledge) and was a silent passenger.  His white markings look kinda ominous though...  my limited search could not identify him... but he lives in Dark Mountain if you want to go find him.

I also met a father and his two sons while I was on the trail.  Much more pleasant interaction than with Mr. Spider... had a nice chat with them.  In the parking lot before the ride chatted with a family about the trail.  Between loops talked with two guys interested in how trail conditions were - gave them the run down: good, some puddles here and there, roots a bit slick, but good.

And then of course the "how are ya?"(s) and "thank you," "have a great day" whenever I met someone on the trial.  I like to be as courteous as can be when on the trail... people complain about bikers, so I want to give them as little as possible to complain about.  We are all ambassadors of mountain biking, whether we like it or not.  Be nice; we are all out to have fun - whether that is on foot, two wheels, or yes, even horseback.    

    

THE build(up)

Ok... so it's not there, but it's getting there.

Over the holidays I was able to acquire some more stuff for the One9.  Due to snow storms, and orders after Christmas it took a bit for everything (so far) to come in... it's in.  And I'm more excited than ever.

So, without further ado, enjoy the part show.

The first to come in:

Maggie was psyched to see what it was

32t stainless steel crank and ss bolts

Kermit green Reynolds rigid steel Niner fork

Yup, it's a match!

Next to arrive:

Fresh white grips and a carbon seatpost

with ridges - for her your pleasure

And then the wait......  

While I waited I did a little tinkering... and now that I just took a picture I might have to make an adjustment.

The "Surly" is at the top of the picture... with SRAM being upside down.  The anal perfectionist (which comes out at odd times) wants to take it off and put it back on so the Surly and SRAM can be read at the same time...  ugh!

And finally, Ritchey got it's ass in gear and I got:

The cockpit

4-axis comp stem (100)

Carbon WCS... insanely light (620mm)

And then this happened...

pretty snazzy

 So what's left?

Plan is:
Cane Creek 110 headset (black likely).
Avid Elixir 5 in white (although I've seen some great deals on the 7 in carbon...) (180 up front/160 in the rear)
Wheels...  I'm looking and thinking and weighing options, but likely will end up with Stan's Arch EX (white) with Stan's singlespeed hub.
Tires will be likely Ardent up front and Ignitor in the rear.
Then we got chain and cog (still have to figure out what size to start out with around here) and we should be good to go!

Saddle, I'll either grab the Selle Italia off the HiFi or use (for the time being) the take off from the HiFi.
Pedals will be off the 4300 - Shimano M540s
(Both os these items will be upgraded later as/if needed)