Dang!!!

Met Lumpy yesterday for some laps at Tranquility. I got there early, so I decided to do a half lap warm-up. In that short period of time, I managed to convert my straight seatpost into a layback seatpost. Why me?!?! I was bunny hopping and my left foot came unclipped. I managed to ride it out, but when I came down on the seat, it very smoothly moved back on me. At first, I thought that it just slipped and rotated back a little bit, but then I remembered that this particular post has a bolt in the front and one in the back for angle adjustment. If it had rotated, one of those would've been broken. Then I thought I bent the rails on my seat. When I arrived at the trailhead, I got off the bike and saw this: Are you serious? This is the second seatpost I've broken on this bike since I got it in May. Who are they trying to kid? A 26.8 diameter post on a 28 lb steel bike? Did they really think this was a good place to save weight?

Well, now I'm in the market for a clyde-worthy seatpost. If anyone has any good leads on a Thompsen, let me know.

Next order of business

I just bought new shoes. Nothing fancy, just Specialized BG Sport. The thing I was thinking about is whether or not it would be helpful to give my old ones away or loan them out to people who are thinking about getting clipless pedals. I know it is a big commitment to buy your first pair of pedals and shoes, so I thought maybe having a tester pair available would be nice. They are size 43 (size 10.5, I think) Adidas Pingora's, pretty dirty, the soles are cracked, sounds really enticing, right? I have pictures if someone wants to look at them. Anyways, they're there if anyone needs them.

Jerseys riding high on 72nd St.

Who was the crew riding on 72nd street a little before 6pm? There were about 8 of you guys, all jersey'd up. I followed you until about Blair High Road, when I headed East. I'm assuming you guys were heading up West?

Dangerboy Levers

Wow!

A.B.'s new bike

Hey BrownOne, Is this the new gear set-up on your bike?



If you would like to read the story of this bike, and see lots of other crazy pictures of old bikes, check this out

BitterSweet

Since the first week in January I have been training with J.A. for the Lincoln Marathon. Two weeks ago, I got pain in my knee that made it nearly impossible to run. Long story short, marathon training is over. That really stinks. I have never run a marathon and was looking forward to it. J.A. and I ran in some horrible conditions: freezing temps, blowing snow, rain, etc. Was all that for naught? On Wednesday I tried running and couldn't make it 1.5 miles. Does this mean no adventure race? That would be more disappointing than missing the marathon.
On the bright side, all those running miles will help with mtn. biking endurance (I hope). Also, it freed up a lot more time for riding. Yesterday was my first trail ride of the year (wow it is already March 23rd).

Art-Bike

What happens when the world of Art collides with a bike builder?



It's a hybrid - it can either be peddled or run on a small gas or electric motor.
Read more here.

On a totally different note, I have a small growth under the skin on my tricep that's been there for years. I think it's harmless, but whenever I show it to people, they say "eeewww! you should get that removed". After reading about this guy, I think I might.

TNR

J.A. and I finally made it out to a TNR. Tranquility was perfect. No mud at all.

J.A. and I rode the first lap with Dale. We started the second lap just before everyone else started, so I'm pretty sure everyone got a chance to pass me at least once. J.A. rode the climbs of the second lap in one gear to simulate a single speed. I think he could do really well with one gear. He had no problem dropping me. After he left, I stuck around and did one more lap for good measure. By the third lap, I was actually able to ride everything (slowly) taking breaks on the climbs. I switched from a 32:20 gear combo to 32:18 this week. Man, that hurts. Hopefully I can stick it out and be in better shape this year.

New Santa Cruz Superlight

I don't usually lust after full squish geared bikes, but this thing is looking hot!

Spotted on the Bike Way's blog

price $1600

Un-Tranquil Tranquility I

I think the Bike Masters group increased the incline on the Tranquility climb this year. It couldn't possibly be that I'm out of shape.


The Bike Masters guys were out working the trail today - thanks for all your hard work guys! We owe you some labor time on some upcoming trail days if you want it.

Got some vice-grips?

Well, the Urban II ride pushed me over the edge to buy this:


Hopefully I can figure out how to make minor adjustments and keep riding, so that I only have to take my bike in for more major stuff.

The post title is for Skinny D.

Urban II

Alright, so I added the lens flare to the last one. I usually think that's cheesy, but I liked it on this one.

Trails Rideable Today?

Are the local trails rideable today? Tranquility? I'm thinking about calling Bike Masters later in the day to see what their take is.

Let's make this official

I think we can safely say that the '07 Biking season has finally arrived. If the weather cooperates, I think we should be on the trails in another week or two. Until then, the pavement belongs to the Goatheads. I say we do an official '07 kick off ride and post ride BBQ this Saturday. I haven't asked the women that holds the keys to my heart and my house, but I think we can do it a mi casa. I know that the Goathead marathon team is in the midst of their prime training days, but they should have thought about that before they decided to run a marathon during riding season.

I'm thinking late afternon departure time. Let me know if that works.

Expedition pulls semi out of snow

Alright, this has nothing to do with bikes, but it does have to do with things on wheels. Some of my co-workers caught footage of a Ford Expedition pulling a stuck semi out of the snow on an on-ramp across from our office building.

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