more stuffs

Besides the sweet seat post, which I've hopefully remedied with a new Niner collar.  TheMutt mentioned he might have one for me, but since he had just helped TomTom build up his Niner I figured it may have already been gifted, so I stopped by The Cycle Path to get my own.  When I got home I received the following text:

I certainly do appreciate TheMutts generosity (or just over abundance of seatpost collars...), but I'd already supported my LBS, so I installed my hard earned collar - fingers crossed this will be a more effective part than the piece that came on the frame (not a Niner).  

Other new bits that I got the other day... and are still sitting uninstalled in the same exact place where I took pictures of them...

I wanted a red chainring to bling out the Silk Worm, but alas the cranks were 110, and the red stuff were 104... (to the laymens, basic difference is one has 5 bolts, the other has 4).  In any case, I got a more trail friendly, and climb friendly, chainring so I can start grinding down some mountainsides.  I also tossed a garmins mount in my virtual chopping cart so I wouldn't have to continually swap mounts between bikes.  not overly difficult, but enough of a bother that throwing a few bucks at the problem seemed worth it.

Clement X'Plor MSO, for more cushion (40) in the front.  It's like the Ardent of the gravel world.  I'm going to run the Silk Worm like the Glow Worm, fatter up front and "normal" in the rear.

Pink Twin Six water bottle... another virtual shopping cart good price grab.  Plus it's pink.  Figured it would go nicely with my Cx Pistols kit.  

White water bottle cage.  Not for the Silk Worm.  I cannibalized a black cage from Georgia so that I could stow two bottles on the Silk Worm.  I had been running one white and one black on Georgia to meld with the paint scheme, but figured two white might look right.

5 Hour Energy - not ordered.  FREE.  And the puppy approved.

so much FUN!

While Saturday was about the kids, Sunday was about me!

I headed out to Fisher Farm for a Niner Demo hosted by The Cycle Path.  On the way to the demo I noticed that TheMutt was behind me... what perfect timing!  That was until TheMutt used some local knowledge of the roads that my garmins apparently couldn't figure out, so he beat me there.  He made up for his sneaky driving skills by introducing me to Mike from Niner.  I guess knowing a douchebag pays off... I mean an "industry insider douchebag."

Anyway, this day was about ripping around on way fun (expensive) bikes.  The first bike I took out was the JET9 RDO.  A full suspension carbon bike that will run you $8699.00.  This was my one and only time to ride such a beast.

Can you say a bike is too fun?  I don't think a bike can be too fun, but this one comes damn near close!  Fast?  Why yes, it was so fast.  So fast it had me hitting jumps and catching air all over the place.  Seriously, I was hitting things faster than ever, I had never gotten so much air out at Fisher.  But, I might have got a little too fast out there.  The front tire was a little soft and it burped as I was landing on a turn, causing me to slide out.  Luckily I had my pump with me so I could get things back up and running.

I loved everything about this bike... good thing I'm not in the market for a full suspension bike.  This thing would be the ultimate race bike.  It had the perfect geometry for me, loved the aggressive stance it had me in.  The bike just begged to go faster.  With it being carbon it was so damn light!!  I was flicking it all over the place and it was right there with me.  The suspension had me floating over every rooty mess out there with little effort.  I couldn't find a fault with it at all.  It handled all aspects of the trail with ease... and speed.  Always with speed.

TheMutt caught an action shot of me as I first hit the trail with the JET9 RDO
 - bluriness isn't the camera operators fault, that is just how fast I was on that thing 

Next up I had to try the RIP9 RDO.  Another carbon full suspension bike, but this one had a bit more travel (120-140 up front vs the 100-120 on the JET9 RDO, and 125 in the rear vs. 100 on the JET9 RDO).  The RIP9 RDO comes in at $6499.00.

Honestly, I wasn't into this bike as much.  As soon as I hit the trail something felt off (later TheMutt noticed that my fork was almost locked out... so that might have been the cause of some things...).  I just didn't feel as in control of the bike as I did with the JET9 RDO.  Totally different stance on the bike.

I felt like the bike took the bigger hits better, but for the smaller normal trail stuff I felt more chatter with the RIP9 RDO.  Again, that may have had to do with the suspension set up (which I didn't think to check).

I felt slower on this bike, but when I compared my times on both bikes they were pretty close... so that actually might be saying a lot there.  A bike with a less aggressive stance, more travel, but almost as fast??  I did have to stop and address the front tire on the first ride, so that likely skewed my times a little... but still, this bike was fast.  I could see this one being a TON of fun out in the mountains, but just wouldn't be my cup of tea for the majority of trails it would see time with around here.

Such a fun day.  Big thanks to Mike from Niner for hanging out for the day and letting us play with his toys.  Thanks to The Cycle Path for hosting, and cooking up some hot dogs...

I guess that was the theme for the weekend... bikes and hot dogs - the kids have it right after all!!




 

I'll start... somewhere

This won't make any sense right now, but it has to be said: there were butterflies!  This isn't said for really any purpose for today's post... or for this blog, necessarily.  But, throughout my adventures this weekend there was a situation where there were a number of butterflies flying around me for whatever reason... and it might come up over here... and if it does, and you see it, I just want you to know this one thing: there were butterflies!

Thursday I hit the Booty Loop for a quick spin and spent most of my time chasing people.

Moots rider, I was happy to follow him because he absolutely hammered the longer hill.

Thursday also marked the arrival of my EBB II from Niner.  I waited to install it until Friday, because that's how I roll.  I consulted with TheMutt and threw some Oateys on there, "just in case."  

While I was at it I also stole my XT pedals off the HiFi.

Now the HiFi sits sadly in the corner... naked.

Niner included a sweet little something something when they shipped me the EBB II.  I don't know if they even knew they sent it to me.

A cell phone bag!!  Now I can keep my cell phone dry while eating up mountain trail.  And that was the plan.  The Glow Worm was now ready, and hopefully slip free, for a ride out at Dupont.  The only question left was... could we get there?

But, I'll save the rest of that adventure for tomorrow.  I will say this - ZERO slippage with the EBB II installed.  I'm back to 100% singlespeed!! (I was down to about 98% singlespeed with the annoyances I was experiencing with the EBB slippage).  

service with a smile

There are a lot of bike shops out there.  Each has a different focus population.  Some cater mostly to high end roadies, others to the average family wanting hybrids, fewer hone in on us mountain bikers... but more, do a little of everything.  So, with so many shops, with an array of bikes and gear, how do you know which is the right shop for you??

Well, if you have a "brand" then that can narrow it down right there.  Not unlike car dealerships, bike shops are "dealers" of certain bike brands.  So, if you are a Trek guy, or a Niner girl, then that right there will narrow your shop search down as not everyone will carry these brands.  Sometimes proximity will be a limiting factor for you.  Maybe you are just looking for ease of accessibility, so the closest one will do.  After all, who really wants to drive far to a bike shop??  Well... I might.

For me, what it all comes down to is personalty and communication.  Would I love a shop that has EVERYTHING I could ever need/want right there available to me at a moments notice... well yeah.  Is that realistic, uh... probably not.  It's just not the nature of the business to be able to have everything available at all times, and that is ok.  It's more important that the guys/gals at the shop talk to me and understand what it is that I need/want.  That they talk to me about it (they might just know a little more about my bike than I do) and that they work with me to figure out how to get said item for me.  Really, customer service is what it all comes down these days with all the "super blowout deals" that are going on everyday with the online stores like Price Point.

In Boston I was a fan of International  Bicycle.  Not only did they take the time to talk to me about different bikes, and how each would fit the riding I was intending, but they didn't pressure me.  I ended up buying 4 bikes from them.  Got all my services done there.  They were great.  I could bring in my bike with a small issue, they would take a look and I was always confident that they would come back with an honest answer.  Many times they would handle it right there in front of me and charge me not a whole heck of a lot!  Confidence... it's important that you are confident in the skills and knowledge of your shop.  

Down here in Charlotte I've visited a number of shops for various things as I've been feeling them out to find "my" shop.  For most service needs I've been visiting Uptown Cycles.  The shop has a training center right inside, and the owners are some serious cyclists themselves - so that could be a bit intimidating to some.  But their service has been stellar.  Quick turnaround, great communication, and a general sense that they do care about you and your bike.  

Yesterday, I stopped in to pick up something at a new (to me) shop that is up by my new job.  I'd heard good things, but the shop just wasn't all that close to me, so I had never visited.  Yesterday I dropped by The Cycle Path to see about some spacers so I could get this chain line of mine in order.






I was greeted promptly by the mechanic and he grabbed me the spacers I needed.  He even threw in a lock ring "just in case" for free.  Now that is service!  Even though I have one, and was pretty sure it would do the trick, he gave me one for free so that there wouldn't be any issues.





When I got home, my lock ring worked (and was the same as the one he gave me) but it was nice to know he had my back.  Next time I'm in the shop, I'll be dropping off that lock ring - that's just good biking karma man.  I didn't take the time to look around the shop on this trip, but I will certainly take a little look around next time I'm in there... who knows, maybe I have a new shop?  At the very least, I can enjoy the view - they are a Niner dealer and have a couple Kermit Green Air9s in the window.

fixed with beer?

Some people have creaky EBBs.  I did, once.  But I was able to fix that issue... and it was just a cleaning thing - gritty as F down in there.

I have a slipping thing.  And I don't know what it's all about.

As mush as I'd like to think it is a wattage thing (cause, you know, I'm a beast and all...), it can't be.  How do I know?  Well, because Thom P rides the same damn bike and he's a monster.

classic...

Since the EBB wasn't staying put, I started my way up the ladder of fixes.  I got myself some Oatey's as recommended by Niner and my Niner insider.  I got my bike cleaned and in pieces and headed out to the Deeps (Home Depot).  Wouldn't you know it, my neighborhood" branch didn't have what I needed in stock so I hustled my ass over to the local ACE (cause it's "the place") getting there 7 minutes before they closed.  They had it.

Back to the bike haven to see if it would do the trick.  This time, things would be done right.

Cleaned the chain while I was at it.  Greased up everything proper and hopefully got the cure...

That isn't something nasty like MountainDew in that koozie.  I did bike maintenance correctly this time, with beer!  It only too one beer (less than one really) to get the EBB coated and back in there.  Will it do the trick?

I hope.  If not, EBB II will be purchased and on the way.  After TheMutt had to warranty his frame due to BB issues I don't want to take too many chances with the Glow Worm... it's the last of it's kind, dontcha know?

It's supposed to be hot as balls this week, maybe that means trails will be open??  Hey hey, let's not get ahead of ourselves here!

Cat One or Bust

I wake up this morning to find this in my blogger feed:

Sorry joe aguero.... I don't need to "Lose Weight Today."  Why the hell has this taken over my blog feed??  I did a little investigating, cause I'm all crafty like that, and it appears TJ has neglected his blog for far to long and Mr. joe aguero snaked his address.  Hence, the flood of weight lose tips of uncertain validity.

Whelp, looks like catoneorbust.blogspot.com is coming out of the rotation.  Ahhhhh, all better.

Ok, race report time (finally)!!!

The Riverfront Classic is on my home turf I suppose, with it being at the Whitewater Center and all.  I figured if I'm gonna race it, this would be the race to break out the Glow Worm.  I had ridden the Glow Worm out at the Whitewater Center once before making the decision, and felt that I was able to clean everything on it.  But, to decide if I was going to race it I felt I should get back out there to really test if the 20 in the back would be too spiny on the vertically challenged sections.  On it's maiden voyage out there I had skipped Carpet, so when it came to Goat Hill I was fine and dandy - even enjoying it.  On my "pre-ride," pushing the pace, I hit everything that would  be included in the race... and the Carpet - Goat Hill combo produced less than stellar results - namely dry heaving 3/4 the way up.  You can read about that ride here.

Strava told me I PR'd a whole bunch of stuff on that ride, so I figured I'd be able to stay competitive (fingers crossed) on the Glow Worm.  A few days before the race someone on the local forums posted that the course was being adjusted and Figure 8 would be out and the powerline climb on the back side of Goat would be added.  I didn't know how to take this as this wasn't coming from the race promoter and I was figuring/guessing/HOPING this was just someone busting balls on the forums.  You see, I NEEDED Figure 8 to help thin the pack and allow me to pass/build a gap on the extended climb out.  That was my master plan really!!  Get up that thing fast, put in some time and then just go.  Hoping it would give me enough cushion to make it to each subsequent climb to gain more time...

I arrive at the Whitewater Center feeling tired and TomTom (who was course marshaling for the day - even though he could have killed it out there, so I guess thanks for not racing against me!!) confirmed that Figure 8 was indeed out.

CRAP.  Not even with an exclamation point.

I was deflated and my brain was scrambling.  Great, now how are things going to shake out?  I registered and headed out to see what the beginning would look like sans Figure 8.  We lost about a mile on the overall course.  We totally by-pass that extended climb I so badly wanted/needed (there was still a glimmer of hope we'd somehow still maintain that) and instead take a short climb to the fire road on top of the ridge line before descending.  The climb wasn't bad, and pretty short, so I was sure it could keep me competitive - especially with the fire road and downhill to follow.  I also checked my top speed - max at about 15/16 spinning my brains out... not going to hold anyone off in the flats, that's for sure.

I took off as fast as I could at the start and got into the first section of singletrack probably about 8th or so.  Things are slow going as people are bunching.  We break out into the open by the whitewater and spin city commences.  I'm surprised no one flies by me here so I hold as close as I can to the guys in front of me as we pop into the new section bypassing Figure 8.  I hit the climb and instantly pass the two riders in front of me.  I put in as much as I can to gain some space as I'm thinking they will retake me on the ridge.  They don't.  I hit the downhill and blast any incline I see.  I can see riders in front so I keep on keepin on.

I pass another rider and I see in front of me a familiar rider, John Dooley.  He's a regular podium contender so that is a shot of energy right there.  I'm guessing that puts me in about 4th then so I try to reel him in.  I gain ground on climbs, but quickly loose ground on anything going anywhere but up.  The last rider I passed has stuck with me - and this is where I start cursing not having that initial climb out of Figure 8 to give me space.  He asks to pass at the beginning of Carpet, and I let him... but am then stuck on his ass as we start climbing.

He wipes out as we approach the sharp switchback at the bottom of the actual carpet climb and I am able to squeeze by on the off camber trail.  I clear the carpet, passing two riders of unknown category on the climb and keep moving.  I still think I can see John up there so I push.  Dread starts to set in as I know I've been pushing too hard this early just trying to maintain my place on the flats with Goat Hill up next.  I'm not so worried about Goat itself - it's the straight lined climb up the backside on the powerlines I'm not looking forward to.

They took us into Goat up the fire road instead of the more straight and rocky singletrack approach so I had to make a hard right turn up and over a steep root to get into the climb, my back wheel spins out and I dab.  I pull to the side for the rider that has been following me and hop back on to pursue him.  He dismounts at the next switchback, forcing me off my bike.  As we get back on our bikes and start climbing I yell to him that I'm going to need to pass when he can, we are approaching another switchback so I figured he'd wait until after.   He doesn't, he suddenly pulls to the side to stop.  I was close to him trying to maintain my momentum and my front wheel rubs his as he swerves off to the side - sapping my energy.  I somehow maintain my balance and regain some semblance of momentum and power over the roots on the switchback.  By this time two riders had caught up to us and one jumps the inside line forcing me to pause to let him go.  I had to hold a tree to stay up and I let his team mate follow behind him.  I jump on their wheel and again need to pass as they aren't pushing as hard as I need to - but I'm stuck.

I follow them down the backside of Goat and we exit to the powerline climb where my heart drops.  "Spin as far up as you can and stand and power the rest."  I don't make it nearly as far as I know I need to sitting and that cracks my willpower.  I stand and power but decide to save my legs as I still have Toilet Bowl coming.  I hope off and hike it, jumping back on for the last quarter of the climb so I can carry something (speed... dignity) back into the trails.  I've lost the riders who passed me on the switchback, and I'm uncertain how many spots I lost on the powerline climb (wasn't sure what classes those passing were in).

The "deceptive" climb getting into the fire road before Way Station was brutal, but I forced my way through and tucked and spun to Way Station.  Did what I could to keep speed up but I didn't feel like I was catching anyone.  I hit Toilet Bowl with all I had and caught and passed two riders there (I think one was the rider who had gone down before carpet and had been yo-yoing with me) pushing through the exiting climbs.

At this point we are pretty much done.  Some descending, sharp armored climb then a short singletrack climb out to the finish.  I'm behind a rider,  who I don't believe is in my class, going into the sharp armored climb so I back off to give him space so that he can hopefully clean it so I don't run into it as I power up.  We both cleaned it and I take him instantly as we hit the open fire road.  I'm not sure if he knows how close we are to the end or not, but I put it all down.  Into the singletrack I hit the drop carrying as much speed as I can and I don't stop.  I just keep pushing to the point that I don't even feel the climb out - the Glow Worm is just eating trail up!!  I have to hit the brakes exiting as the trail winds between some close trees and there it is... the finish.  I push the cranks until I could spin no longer and I coast through the finish.  I find a place to ditch the bike and try to do a quick headcount to guess where I finished.  I see about 5 guys I know were in my class and had finished ahead of me so I'm thinking 6th in best case scenario.

I was close with my guess.  Came in 7th.  Would I have finished differently on the HiFi?  Maybe.  Maybe better, maybe worse?  Bottom line, I'm happy that I raced the Glow Worm.  In the end I was still able to push myself and have some fun out there.

Next race is Uwharrie.  I wasn't sure I'd be able to race this one (we close on our new house on the 30th of this month - holy shhh!!) but I just got the go ahead from Annie so I'm in.  Although I'd love to do the climbing with the Glow Worm - I think the HiFi will give a better advantage when it comes to opening up on the downhill sections there.

It's in the name

Yesterday's race was probably my "best" of the series.  But, I'll get into that tomorrow.

Today I want to talk about the acquisition of another piece of the One9 build.  At the race, Good Guy Greg (of the B-43 cast of characters) proved just how true the monicker is.  Riding a rigid Niner singlespeed (of the Air9 variety) I've chatted with Greg about my own build.  Along the way to setting up his rig Greg happened upon two sets of spacers through an order debacle.  At yesterdays race Greg handed me a set of spacers.

Let me back up a second there, he didn't just hand me a set of spacers, he handed me an Endless Bike Fibonacci Spacer Kit.  The very kind that has been approved* by Dicky.  What is a spacer kit?  Well, it fills the space (YES!!  super definition!) left with the use of only one cog instead of the 8-10/11 that you may find on a mountain bike.  Of course, when building a ss specific wheel that space will be even smaller... but there will still be space needing to be filled.  In my brief foray into looking at which kit to get (before dropping the idea until I get wheels) I surmised that this very kit seemed to be the badassest of them all.  So many sizes of rings to help produce the most important function of a spacer kit, yes, even more important than filling space...  providing for a straight chain line from the front chainring to your lone cog in the rear.

So, I got this from Good Guy Greg, all from the goodness of his heart.  Heck, he didn't even know I needed one.  He just brought it to the race and offered it up if I hadn't already gotten one!!  That's mountain bikers for you - generally* good people.  

Big THANKS to Good Guy Greg - I owe you one... or 6/12 really good cold ones.

*Dicky doesn't whole heartedly "approve" things... and didn't give this product any sort of seal to that effect (that I am aware of).

*Generally, somewhere in the realm of 90/10 good/dick ratio.  But I'll have an example of the 10 in my race recap tomorrow (if I remember to include it).

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)

I've been good!

Media Fridays

We'll post videos or photos that will hopefully inspire trail shredding weekends.

All week Niner has been posting giveaways on the facebook, with challenges attached of course.  I've been participating every day as some Niner swag would be SWEET for the One9 build.

Thursdays challenge was to "string your Niner up with Xmas Lights"

Mission accomplished.

Clark Griswold would be proud!

The shot I submitted to Niner

I'm not sure that will inspire riding in the post apocalyptic world, but Happy Holidays everybody!

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. 

Mini trails

Friday I went for a mid-day ride over at North Mecklenburg Park.  I'm really digging getting to hit up fresh new-to-me trails.  North Meck is one of the stops on the Charlotte Mountain Bike Series which is a race series that happens on Wednesday nights at various trails around Charlotte.  A pretty sweet idea if you ask me.

So, from what I gathered it was a short track - 3.5/4 miles long.  I was getting closer to (the shorter side of) 3 miles per lap.  So after the first lap I was worried I missed a section.  I poked around a little and used the intelligent resources given to me by my phone but it looked like I was hitting the trail correctly...  I ran through 4 laps.  It was a fun fast place.  A few rooty sections but mostly the fast buff flow I've been seeing thus far.

As I was tearing around I did have to wonder how they hold races here... there were passable sections here and there, but for the most part I could see getting stuck on the wheel of the rider in front of you for far too long.  So many switchbacks to maneuver at speed - throw in trying to jockey for position and you have a recipe for disaster.  I guess it would all come down to good communication with your fellow racers and good sportsmanship on their part to give up a line when appropriate.

As I was leaving the trails Sean texted inquiring about an after work road ride.  As the sweat poured from me I pondered the proposal.  Might be a good idea with the impending day on the lake and pulled pork to follow coming up on Saturday (not to mention the adult beverages to be enjoyed on the lake and afterwards...).  As I pulled into the driveway at TH the skies opened up and it started to pour.  Had ourselves a righteous little thunderstorm - had the whole house shaking.  So that was that, no road ride that evening.  

This week I expect to hit some more new trails.  Between looking at houses and searching for jobs I've been looking at single speed options.  Since I started riding I've always been mesmerized by the kermit green Niner One9.  Now that they've gone on to a new design the older kermit green models are on discount...  I don't know if I can justify the money that would cost, or if I'd be fast enough to merit a Niner, but that doesn't stop me from drooling!

Bare Assed

Thom P's ride - before he blinged it out in pink.

Of course there are many other bikes I've been mulling over... more financially "responsible" bikes.  And of course, nagging me in the back of my mind, do I want to drop a lot of cash on a bike that I may end up not enjoying... Although, to be completely honest I could see ABSOLUTELY loving running one speed on the trails down here.  So far everything I've faced I could see railing with a ss.  

mmmmmmm.  Don't you just love biking?