Snow Pony

Well, we got a couple of inches of snow during the day today, and I couldn't resist busting out the Univega for some snow action. Some of the streets weren't plowed yet, so it was a good test. For the most part the 32c Ritchey cross tires sliced through the snow pretty well with only a little bit of "snow planing." The fenders worked great to keep the slop off and the laid back geometry was super stable. The thing is a downright certified Snow Pony. Here's a few snapshots of our ride.

Commuter

I just bought a pair of full on Planet Bike fenders for the Univega this weekend at Momentum. The front fender went on like a breeze, only to be followed by cursing during the attempted installation of the rear. Turns out that Univega wasn't satisfied using wimpy 4 mm tapped holes for their rear fender mounts, but preferred beefy 6 mm units to keep the fender rock solid. After some digging, I finally came up with some relatively short bolts, added some washers, and bolted up the rear fender. Here it is in all of its fendered glory. Cyclocross tires are on their way........

Bike Rack Complete

I finally got around to building my bike rack tonight. Here are a few pics, more to follow.......

Bike Rack

Well, I've been saying for quite a while now that I need to build a bike rack in my garage. The bikes are stacking up and I need to get them up and out of the way to free up some work space and allow easier access to the bikes. Tonight I finally went down in the garage and started measuring things up. And being the fine engineer I am, I began to lay everything out in AutoCAD. I think I have a solid plan to work from now, and I'll hopefully be getting some lumber on Wednesday.

Upgrade

Well, I went to a wedding of some high school friends this weekend, and I must say it was pretty fun. Nic tore it up as the best man with the hottest Michael Jackson dance moves I've ever witnessed. We stayed in the hotel connected to the reception hall and it delivered one of the best free breakfasts I've had. Between the wedding and the reception, I managed to stop into Wheel & Sprocket in Oshkosh and picked up two sets of Avid Shorty cantis. So tonight I threw them on along with some grips and a different seat I had lying around. The commute should be fun tomorrow.

Project X

I'm finally back on the blog a month later. I'm sure you've all been anxiously awaiting my next post. Well, I saved it up for something good. I present to you Project X. Now, I know what some of you are thinking, and no, it's not a dishwasher. It is none other than the Univega Gran Turismo touring frame I got free from the swap in Madison a few years ago. I finally rounded up a deserving fork for it earlier this year at the Recyclist in Kaukauna. I also traded one of my very own hand built wheels to the bro in exchange for the Shimano road wheel you see here. Everything else is a hodge podge of parts I had laying around. It's currently operating in true dirt jumping style with a single speed drivetrain and a single rear brake because let's face it, this thing has some nice relaxed geometry for ripping up the local jumps. I'm planning to get some nicer canti's and some cross tires for it as well as a different seat and post in the near future.

Workin Hard for the Money

Road America

Yes, this was the first weekend I stayed at my apartment. It was Road America time. Sully, Pinto, Breen, and J came up for a weekend of vintage racing. The event was pretty laid back, not many people and very relaxed. There were definitely some sweet cars, though. Some of the pre war stuff was amazing to watch fly around the track. There were also a heavy dose of 60s and 70s Trans Am Camaros, Vettes, and Mustangs, as well as Porsches, Alfas, Datsuns, and the ever present Brits. There were several sweet original Mini's tearing it up, with the number 8 car producing the most noise I've ever heard out of a Mini.


We also hit up the track touring session, so Breen and I got to lap the course in the Camaro and MINI, respectively. Wow, was that a blast. I've been come to Road America since I can remember, and it was truly amazing to get to see the course from the driver's perspective. They pretty much let us go as fast as we wanted, and I touched the S over a hundred a couple of times. The car was rock solid and performed like a champion. Breen had to take it a notch slower, as the brakes on the Mullet Machine faded like a pair of acid washed jeans. Apparently that made for a few "interesting" moments on the track, but he kept it tidy and brought it back in one piece. All in all an amazing weekend.

Bath Time

I spent a bunch of time with the MINI tonight. I finally dug into the iPod hookup to see if it is possible to hook up a regular MP3 player to the stereo. After some investigation behind the stereo and internet research I believe I have found the solution. Since there is no easy way to hook directly into the stereo as it uses some uncommon connections and also runs power to the iPod for charging, I'll have to utilize the iPod hookup. So basically, I would get an iPod shuffle dock adapter (adapts a male iPod connection (existing iPod cord) to a male USB connection (MP3 player cord). This way I'll be able to use the standard cord that comes with the MP3 player of my choice to hook into the MINI stereo. Not only will this transmit the music, but it will also charge the MP3 player. Sweet. Now I just have to invest in an MP3 player. Right now I'm leaning towards a SanDisk Sansa e series (either 2 or 4 GB).

I also gave the MINI it's first bath tonight. Unfortunately I spent a lot of time figuring out the whole MP3 connection thing, so by the time I was done it was almost completely dark out. I think the mosquitoes got about a pint of blood out of me by the time I was finished. After I filled the MINI up in Madison Monday night, I've been keeping track of the MPG on the onboard computer. After a mix of highway and city driving, I'm averaging 34 MPG. Thank you German engineering.

MINI Mania

Ladies and gentleman, the moment you've all been waiting for. I would like to introduce you to my Mini. The insurmountable obstacle has been overcome; I finally own a cool car. Wow, how exactly did this happen. The reality still hasn't quite set in. I have had a blast driving around all weekend; I've racked up 500 or so miles on it already. This thing is seriously like a go kart with four seats. Taking corners at speeds that would put the C-ride up on two wheels seem like nothing in this thing. Plus, this thing gets ridiculous fuel mileage. I averaged 37 mpg on the way home from Madison tonight. Pretty much superior to the C-ride in every way. Nic was even impressed with the size of the cockpit; no head or leg issues at all. Here is a starter picture right after I got it. More pictures to come..........

Loan Approved

Well it has been a week since I last posted, and a lot has happened. Right after my last post a phone call to the parents left me pretty dejected as they stalled on the car loan. They basically pulled every excuse in the book: we're too busy to fill out a loan app until next week, Dad should really look at the car, what are the maintenance costs of a Mini? what if you need parts?, how much is an oil change? $50, $60, maybe $70? I love how some people automatically assume that imports are more expensive to maintain. Yeah I checked with the Saturn dealership in Fond du Lac and the most an oil change would cost is $50. Plus, since the Mini runs synthetic, I'm looking at all of 2 oil changes a year. Plus the reliability of the Mini will easily surpass the beloved C-ride. But anyhow, I didn't talk to my parents after that until Monday night. Expecting more loan stalling, I was in a pretty crappy mood. Come to find out, my mom went the the credit union and got her end of the loan figured out on Friday afternoon. I quickly went into hyper mode and filled out my loan app. I headed out of work at 3pm on Tuesday to run it over to Fond du Lac and get my end tied up. This morning the loan officer left me a message that I was pre-approved for $17,000.

Tomorrow night the Zimbrick dealership is open until 8pm and the parents have actually agreed to go look at the car with me. Unbelievable. I also found out that they would like to trade in the C-ride, so I've spent the last two nights getting it in tip top shape. I should probably do a few more brakestands with it before it gets traded in. So if all goes well, I should be able to get a bill of sale faxed to the credit union tomorrow night or early tomorrow morning. Then my mom can sign for the loan on Friday at lunch and I will check out work at 2:30 make a pit stop in FDL to sign the papers and rip to Madison to pick up the Mini. My fingers are crossed, wish me luck.

Subaru Cup

Sorry it has taken me so long to get on this blog entry, but I've been super busy these past couple nights. This past weekend was the WORS race at Nordic Mt. Thankfully, my dad was able to get a running faucet and toilet going for the weekend, so we were able to camp at the farmhouse. Friday night Josh, Joe, and I all camped out on a pretty much perfect night. We even had some campfire action. Saturday morning we chilled out and grilled up some lunch. Then the rain started. I finished up lunch and headed out to Nordic before everyone else, since my race started at 2 and Joe and Josh weren't scheduled to start until 3. I got warmed up and ready to go under a steady rain. Then they announced that due to the course conditions, Comp would be starting 15 minutes late and would have a lap cut from the race, bringing the race down to 3 laps. I got lined up and who should I happen to see but none other than Erik Carlson and his buddy Andy from Marquette, MI lined up on their Rigs in Comp Singlespeed. The course was definitely slick, but the Dambala seemed to grip quite well. The three of us pretty much stuck together on the first lap with Carlson and I almost crashing on top of each other on super muddy chute. The course gradually got worse and worse as the rain continued. Coming around the start/finish line for my final lap I discovered that they were already starting the Sport riders on the course. So I spent my last lap picking through Sport riders and trying to keep it rubber side down. I ended up finishing in fifth in Comp SS with Andy coming in fourth and Carlson ripping to a podium spot in second. This was probably the funnest race of the year. The mud was a blast as I would have to ride around people falling in the middle of the trail. It was probably my best finish in Comp ever as well; a pretty good showing for the first WORS outing of the Dambala.



Tonight I headed down to Milwaukee to check out another Mini. This particular car was a 2002 with 47,000 miles and a leather interior. I got to test drive this one by myself again (what is with car dealers trusting me?), and I ripped up some city streets in the rain. Jeez, these cars are fun; I'm definitely not regretting narrowing my search to Minis after having a chance to drive one. All in all the car was pretty nice, just not quite as nice as the one I test drove on Monday in Madison for about the same price. Yesterday after work I called the Porsche dealer in Appleton to see if they could search for a Mini that would fit my criteria. The manager should be getting back to me tomorrow afternoon with his results. Depending on what he can dig up, I'm feeling pretty good about the Mini in Madison. We shall see what tomorrow holds.

Car Shopping

Ok, time for a quick blog post about tonight (I'll cover this last weekend tomorrow). I cruised down to Madison tonight to check out a Mini at Zimbrick BMW. The car was Pre-Breen-o Certified so I thought I'd go check it out. I made it down there by 5:30 and Breen and I headed in to see if we could find the salesman he had talked to previously. Unfortunately Dave wasn't there, but another lady opened up the car for us to check it out. And believe it or not, she was actually dumb enough to let me and Breen take on a test drive by ourselves. So, there was no holding back on the test drive. The interior is surprisingly spacious with a nice layout. We headed off on Rimrock Road for about a 15 min test drive. It was definitely zippy, though sadly it is probably the fastest car I've ever gotten to drive so I don't have a lot to compare it to. Either way, it seemed to pull harder in 6th gear at 40 mph than the Cavalier can on its best day. The thing handled like a freaking go kart. When I was taking the John Nolen cloverleaf exit off the belt line it seemed like it could take the exit flat out. Needless to say, I had a huge smile after the test drive. Breen, Jolene, and I then headed to Pizza Hut for some delicious stuffed crust 'roni action to round out the outing to Madtown. Hopefully I'll be making a trip to Milwaukee sometime later this week to check out another Mini there.

Check out the authoritative window switches.

High Speed Dirt

Ok, so maybe my ride didn't quite live up to the Megadeth song. It must have been at least moderately fast, though, as I knocked out four full laps (about 25 miles) in around 2 hours. Needless to say, I haven't been training like a maniac this year, so I'm trying to pack in a solid week of training before the Subaru Cup. Boy am I beat. I'm seriously thinking about changing out the grips on the Dambala. Those Salsa grips must be the hardest grips I've ever ridden and the the rigid action and hard diamond grip pattern did their best to to deliver sore hands and blisters on my palms. Tomorrow and Thursday I plan on doing some easier rides of like 2 laps. The farmhouse should be ready for some camping action this weekend as the toilet should be completed on Friday. Too bad I didn't have time to throw in a pump track this summer..........

This Old House

Last Thursday I made the trek up to Appleton to hang out with Sully, Kim, and Tim and also check out some cars. Sully and I chatted it up with the Porsche sales manager for quite sometime when we were checking out the Mini the had on the lot there. It was out of my price range, but he said he could look for something more specific for me when I got a loan lined up. Then we went to Cinders for eats and then headed DT for some pool action in the Prizm racer.

This weekend I went up to the farmhouse to put in some more work on the bathroom. By the end of the weekend we had most of the insulation in and the drywall hung. All the rough electrical is done and the floor is ready for tile. Hopefully my dad and bro will be able to head up there sometime this week and finish up the drains so we can at least have a working john for this weekend's WORS race at Nordic Mt.

With the race coming up, I decided I needed to put in some solid rides this week so I can hopefully improve my thus far lackluster results. I went out to Evergreen tonight and put in about 15 miles. Hopefully tomorrow I will be able to put in four full laps (about 25 miles). Then I'll probably put in a couple lighter rides on Wednesday and Thursday nights to taper down for the race. I'm sure I'll still be bringing up the rear in Comp again, though...........

Home Improvement

This past weekend I went home to work on the farmhouse. We are frantically trying to finish up the bathroom and accomplished quite a bit this weekend. We knocked out a window insulated and drywalled, ran electrical, and reinforced the floor joists. Hopefully we can have it at least operable in time for the Nordic Mt. WORS race.

Some of the fam came and visited the apartment tonight. It was my first real family supper here with the menu consisting of spaghetti and salad and fresh bread. We followed it up with some excellent custard over at the Point.

The car search continues as I'm getting more and more excited to get a different car. I've been tirelessly searching all the online classifieds for S4's and Cooper S's. I plan on checking out the credit union in Sheboygan tomorrow for loans, so I can be pre-approved when I find a car I want. Hopefully something good will turn up soon.

Back in the Saddle

After resting the body for a couple of days after 24-9, I returned to the saddle once again yesterday. I hit up the Wednesday night ride at Evergreen and got in two easy laps with a few sprints to get the heart pumping. All in all, a nice recovery ride. I headed back to Evergreen again after work tonight. I managed to meet up with AJ Brandt on his 1FG again as I pulled in the parking lot. As we were getting ready to head off, a pack of 4 guys including Bill Street pulled in after some riding. We ended up B.S.ing for about 20 minutes before the two singlespeeds hit the trail. We blasted off 2 pretty quick laps, swapping pulls every couple sections. The Dambala just keeps feeling better and better. Running the tires at a little lower psi seems to really help it out. I felt pretty good, and AJ said he was struggling somewhat to keep up when I was out front. Whether that's true or not, it at least made me feel good. After a string of disappointing races this year, I hope I can use 24-9 as a stepping stone to give my self a bump in the race results. Hopefully I can make it happen in time for the Subaru Cup at Nordic Mt.

In other news, I'm seriously considering getting a car loan sometime soon. With Chris and Joe both hooking up sweet new whips in the last couple of months and the bike buying splurge out of the way, I'm ready to replace the trusty C-ride. I found a very nice 2003 Mini Cooper S with John Cooper Works package in green on the internet last night. It's in my price range and even under Blue Book value. I can just picture myself carving up some tight twisties while blaring some Nelly Furtado. Almost tastier than the delicious cheddarwurst I grilled up tonight.

24-9

Well, 24-9 has come and gone for another year. Team Thunder Clutch consisted of the Fab Four (Carlson, Dookie, Puker (aka Giffey 1), and me) and our new addition for the year, Matt Appel. Joe's friend Brett taped off our trademark campsite on Thursday night and the bro got to Wausau by 9 to seal the deal. The site was set up sweet with two hammocks, three workstands, an easy up, and a new and improved fire pit. We headed to Benji's parents for a pre-race carbo load of salad, spaghetti, garlic bread, and most importantly, ice cream. Saturday morning came and once again I was relegated to starting duties. The run treated me well as I passed people on the inside of the corners. Then for about 20 seconds I couldn't find my bike, but then I was on my way. I threw a wheelie across the start line much to the excitement of the announcer, my droves of devoted fans, and of course, the ladies. Unfortunately they yanked the first bit of singletrack for the first lap, so we were wide open for a couple miles. I spun my gerbil heart out, but just couldn't compete with the gears. I returned home after a disappointing 1:15, but luckily I didn't kill the team. Rob and Carlson were strong all event long; throwing down some seriously fast times. I feel Rob's quickness was due at least somewhat to his wardrobe choice on his second lap: shoes, heart rate monitor, helmet, bibs, and a smile, with no silly jersey to slow him down. In the end, we repeated as 3rd place in the 5 Rider Open Division, despite my horrible lap times. We got cups this year instead of medals, pretty lame if you ask me. After a confusing meal stop at Noodles and Co., we headed our separate ways.

Once I got to the parents house, I showered up and had some delicious french toast. I made it to bed by about 8 I think and was dead to the world until 9:30 Monday morning. I was pretty much a lazy piece the rest of the day and making it back to Sheboygan Falls was the big accomplishment of the day. My legs are still a touch sore today, what a sally.

All Revved Up and Ready to Go

Well I think I finally have everything ready for 24-9. I finished up my food shopping, laundry, and packing tonight and shoved it all in the faithful C-ride race support vehicular. The new light is charged and ready to rock and I even threw some new brake pads on the Dambala tonight. I'm eager to see how it performs under race conditions. I even polished up the Trek to bring as a backup bike. Go team Thunder Clutch!

Eagle Riv

This weekend I headed up to Eagle River with Tim, Chris, and Joe for some Northwoods craziness. I checked out of work at 2:30 and met up with Tim in Appleton and headed for his parents cabin on Scattering Rice Lake. The Prizm Racer burned up the road passing cars and Dutchmens left and right. We got some pizza and decided to hit up the lakes for a quick speed run on the new Sea Ray. Once Joe and Chris arrived it was time for some billiards action (Combo Basket) and some DT Eagle River. I got the privilege of driving the Passat home from the bars, and I must say it is pretty sweet. Chris finished off the night with some sweet eyes closed pizza eating and near water spilling.

Saturday morning meant water time and we headed out to the chain. We started off with some intense tubing which left Chris's swim attire around his ankles. For lunch we hit up some delicious eats right on the lake followed by some food settling lake touring. Then we parked the boat and had some swim time highlighted by some bottom touching pencil diving. Next up was some water skiing courtesy of Joe and Chris. Everyone was getting pretty hungry, so we headed in and checked out the 12 Pines Restaurant. They served up some very delicious broasted chicken. After that we decided to hit up the go kart track for some intense racing. Joe narrowly beat out for the win on the road course with some very strategic blocking maneuvers. Then we headed into Eagle River for some night life.

We hit up the water again on Sunday morning for some wakeboarding. Tim impressed with his mad skills and Chris took a nice face plant. Joe was up next, trying out wakeboarding for the first time. After many failed attempts and water fist-pounding, he finally arose from the water. We decided to check out the rope swing on the island next, which turned out to be quite intense. The water was quite shallow so dismounts had to be taken quite carefully. Joe decided to man up and go for the high mark, but unfortunately didn't get high enough on the rope and smoked his ankle on the shore quite nicely. After a few more death whips on the tube, we pulled the boat in for the weekend. After one last meal at Sweetwater, we called it a weekend and went our separate ways.

I got my light for 24-9 in the mail today after much debating on Thursday. I've fully charged and discharged it once already, and Sigma's claimed burn time seems to be pretty accurate. All in all it seems to be a pretty solid little unit, but what does one expect from Deutschland.

Grip It and Rip It

I made it out to Evergreen once again today to further test the limits of the new steed. I even managed to hook up with two guys to ride with. We did one medium pace lap, as one of the guys was pretty new to the whole MTB thing. But after that, the other guy (who happens to ride a gray and pink 1FG in Elite) and I headed out for another lap and a half of singletrack rippage. The Dambala responded nicely and ripped it up. The legs even felt pretty good today with plenty of power for the climbs and flats. The dude was even impressed with my climbing skillz as I ripped it all the way to the top of the Eliminator. The hands and lower arms were a little sore by the end of the ride, but I'm sure they'll come around as I get used to riding rigid again. I got an email back from Sigma today that they have no more lights to rent for 24-9. Frick. That means I'm gonna have to start scoping the net for a good deal on a decent light real soon. Maybe I should just strap one of these puppies to my helmet.........

Cherry Time

I took the Dambala out for her first ride tonight at Evergreen. I put in a couple of laps and ripped it up. I ran a 32:18 gear ratio which should be about equivalent to a 2:1 ratio on a 26. The thing absolutely flew on the wide open flats and seemed like it spun out way easier than the Trek. Otherwise, the gearing felt good in the singletrack, with the bike accelerating nicely out of corners. The thing just begs to go flat out in corners with spot on handling a tons of grip from the Maxxis Ignitors. Bunny hops were also a cinch as I noticed I got way more air than with the Trek with barely any effort. Climbing was good as well with the Dambala ripping up the Eliminator on its first try. I plan on hitting up the trails again tomorrow night for 3 laps and find out endurance of the new ride.

Here are some more pictures. So dirty.............

Completed Specs:
Frame: VooDoo Dambala
Fork: IRD
Headset: Cane Creek S3
Hubs: WTB Laser Disc Lite
Spokes: DT Swiss double butted
Nipples: Green alloy (oh yeah)
Rims: Sun DS-2
Tires: Maxxis Ignitor
Cranks: Truvativ Stylo Team GXP (with Truvativ bashguard)
Cog: Some old 18 tooth from Momentum with the backside painted yellow
Spacers: Gray plastic
Seatpost: Thomson Elite
Seat: Selle Italia Cuda
Stem: Truvativ Team 31.8 100mm
Bars: Truvativ Team Flat 31.8
Grips: Salsa Pepperjack
Brakes: Avid Juicy Seven

29er

Well, I finished up the 29er last night. Here is a quick pic of the build. Details to follow............

Hammer Time

I suppose it's time for another blog post........ This past weekend I hung out in the Dells at the Chula Vista for my neighbors wedding. How perfect; the hottest weekend of the year and I'm right next to a water park. The water park consisted of an outdoor section and indoor section called Lost Rios. (I think I'm going to have to open a resort called Fiesta Cancun with an indoor water park called Los Chipos.) One of the rides was 3 equal slides right next to each other for racin'. The best part was the speed readout at the bottom with my personal best being 37 feet per second.

I've pretty much just hung out and chillaxed Monday and Tuesday after putting in some solid overtime at work. Today I finally got out and rode, putting in some time at Evergreen. I finally hooked up with somebody from Fat Kats/PCW and I'm going to be on the official email list. I rode with a guy that also rides Comp (he's actually fast, though) and I ended up putting in over 20 miles on the mountain bike today. I just finished up watching today's stage of the Tour de France with my boy Thor Hushovd bringing home the victory. I think I'll try and bust out the MTB again tomorrow.........

Ridin' the Storm Out

I decided to head down to Platteville on Tuesday night for this Fourth of July. I arrived to an empty house, so I headed over to Momentum to check out Joseph's new cycle. He finally beat me to a bike this time, being the first to get a 29er. We headed to TJ's for some supper and he put the finishing touches on the baby blue GF Ferrous. Then J and I headed to DBQ for some fireworks action. We barely made it in time for the start since they pushed up the start time for incoming weather. We parked in the casino lot and took in the show just before it decided to downpour. I headed out to the Fritz Farm the next morning for a little riding. The place is totally different in the summer. With so much foliage and the raging humidity it felt like a Brazilian jungle.

Today I was back to work harder than ever putting in my first overtime with a 9 hour day. I threw the 2:1 ratio back on the single once I got home and headed out to Evergreen Park for some solid training laps. Driving towards Sheboygan, I noticed some ominous looking clouds over the lake. I was greeted in the parking lot by some gusty winds and distant thunder. I scurried to get ready and headed out for hopefully 3 laps. (Cue REO Speedwagon's "Ridin' the Storm Out".) I was putting some pretty decent speed on the first lap and by the end of the lap, I noticed that the dark clouds were moving inland to the north of Sheboygan. No biggie, I can easily get another lap in. I put down another lap and noticed the clouds were moving south over Sheboygan. No worries, I'll speed through another lap. The thunder grew louder and about 1/3 of the way through the lap, the heavens let loose. The tree cover provided pretty good protection for a while, but the trails soon became rivers of water. At this point I was so soaked and muddy, there was no point in heading back to the car, so I soldiered on. My 2.0 Geax Arrojo's performed their best imitation of their big brother 2.25 (more like 2.35) Sedonas and delivered me back to the C-ride with the rubber side down. I heart Geax!

(Feel free to set this as your new flashy desktop)

Weak End

Thursday night Sully, Kim, and TD came down to hang out. We checked out Firehouse Pizza in downtown Sheboygan Falls for supper and then came back to the apartment and watched a little 40 Year Old Virgin (laughing out loud at comic book). Then we went to the Odyssey Fun Center for some bowling action. And what a deal on Thursday nights, $8 for as many games as you can bowl before 2 am. As nice as the lanes looked, though, they were probably the driest lanes I have bowled on for quite some time. Needless to say, I bowled pretty worthlessly. The Prizm Racer headed back to Appleton amid much tire squealing after 3 games.


This weekend I headed up to the Firecracker WORS race in Eau Claire. The course was dry and fast for the pre-ride on Saturday. It was even drier for Sunday with many of the corners turning to powder. During the duration of the race I think I swallowed approximately 2 pounds of dust. I felt pretty decent for the first 2 of the 3 laps, except for the 5 minute gerbil spins on the gravel and grass leadout every lap. About half way through the 3rd lap it all came Undun (The Guess Who style). I think two or three Comp SSers passed after that point relegating me to DFL in the class. Wow, a new racing low. Needless to say, the overall result was quite appalling as well. Now I sit here and ponder the hilarity of me ordering a new bike when I'm not even competitive as it is.

29er

Time for another post, with this one entailing the events of the past weekend (so it's already Wednesday, no big deal). Anywho, I traveled to Platteville with the broseph on Friday night. We had some Fiesta (los chipos) and played some online Halo 2, followed with some pool action. Then it was off to Decorah, Iowa to check out the Big Wheel Ballyhoo 29er mountain bike event. It was pretty sweet; I put in about 7 or 8 hours of riding in less than two days on somebody else's' bikes. I got a chance to check out Raleigh's 29er single speed, a Niner EMD9, a Salsa Dos Niner, and last but not least, a Slingshot. The was the first time I had had a chance to ride a 29er and I must say that I was impressed. Impressed enough to spend most of my next paycheck on building up a 29er as my next cross country steed. Here's a quick rundown of the parts you can expect to see on this beauty:

-Frame: VooDoo Dambala
-Rims: Sun DS-2
-Hubs: WTB Laser Disc Lite
-Spokes: DT Swiss Coompetition
-Cranks: Truvativ Stylo 3.3 Team GXP
-Tires: Maxxis Ignitor

So needless to say, I'm pretty anxious for all the parts to come in. Did some riding out at Evergreen tonight. Threw down a pretty serious lap with some Comp rider that goes to Whitewater. I pretty much threw down on the single and stayed right with him. But man was it hott; I think I sweat enough to make the Sheboygan River rise about a foot.

Slacker

Ok, I admit it; I've been slacking on the blogging lately. But for good reason, as I have been busy pretty much every day. Let's see where to start. So much has happened since my last post that I think I'll break it up into some separate posts. First off, last Thursday. The C-ride and I made our way up to Appletown to hang with Sully, Kim, and TD. Off course I had to go around the east side of Lake Winnebago since 41 by Oshkosh would be all jammed up due to Lame Music USA (better known as Country USA). The drive wasn't too bad, though; my faithful steed delivered me to Sully's apartment in about an hour and 15 minutes. Then we went to get some Mexican eats followed by a visit to the local Audi dealer. Sully had a young salesman pop open a new S4 for us to take a look at, pretty sweet. The dude was desperate for a sale and took my name and number after hearing I was interested in the 2000-2001 era S4. We'll see how that pans out...... Then it was off to Sharky's for some ultra competitive pool action. After getting waxed in our first two games of Cutthroat, I climbed the mountain of insurmountable odds and achieved victory in our third and final game (Shark Dance!). Then it was time to come home and cash in on 5 solid hours of sleep before heading to work at 6:15.

Preparations

I headed out to Evergreen Park tonight to put in a couple solid XC laps. The trails were money after the rain yesterday. I think I probably set a new 2 lap record out there. That's right, watch out Matter. Came home and devoured some delicious pizza rolls while viewing some A-Team. Hannibal and the boys never cease to amaze me. Then it was time to start getting stuff ready for the Big Wheel Ballyhoo going down in Decorah, IA. I swapped to a super low 32:21 gearing on the single speed in preparation of the steepness that is Decorah. Then I finally started working on fixing the tent pole I broke on my Eureka at 24-9 last year. I got the two broken spans off the shock cord, so now I just have to cut two new ones to the right length and string it back together good as new. Time to enjoy some apple pie and The Office.

Homemaker

I went down to Platteville/Lancaster again this weekend; I just can't seem to stay away. Took the Danger Ranger down and brought 45 W. Pine a sweet orange Simplicity mulching push mower and brought the faithful Snapperizer back home. We went to the dirt track races in Lancaster on Saturday night for some pretty good action. The red 33 B C-ride completely dominated the 4 cylinder class, but would you expect anything less from a Cavalier. Chevrolet obviously bred the Cavalier to boast superior handling prowess and, might I say, downright excessive acceleration. The U.S. Grand Prix on Sunday was pretty sweet with McLaren taking the top two spots on the podium. Tonight I did the Susie Homemaker thing and picked up an iron (just call me Tweet) at Target, a 3 way light bulb for my $5 Goodwill standing lamp, groceries, and did the dishes. I also picked up a sweet Hawaiian Breeze box fan. On high it pretty much sounds like an ultralight, so I can get the feeling of being at EAA Airventure at any time my heart desires. I got my ears lowered as well tonight, by a chick that thought I was still in high school. I wonder how many years younger I look now.

Roadie Action

Well I finally busted out the old Le Tour for the first road ride of the year. Apparently the battery in the cyclo-computer must be dead cause it wouldn't even turn on. Oh well, it's not like I set any land speed records tonight anyways. I headed west on the Old Plank Road Trail and made it to the trailhead in Greenbush before I headed back for Falls. All in all it was a solid 30 mile ride. I came home and fired up some hot dogs on the grill and enjoyed some ice cold Mountain Dew. Then I went to the Point Drive-In for a delicious large twist custard cone and watched The Office. Time to get some stuff rounded around for the weekend in Platteville.

Fat Tires n Beer

So I hit up the weekly ride at Evergreen Park this afternoon. Turns out it's not a big PCW thing. I know you're all disappointed. I guess I'll just have to go into Bike n Ski and talk to Matter about becoming PCW's premiere single speed rider. Either way, the ride was fun. Most of the guys were associated with the Fat Tires n Beer crew, so they were pretty cool. I made it up the Eliminator both times tonight with my 2:1 gearing. Tomorrow I get to sit through a 2 hour orientation about the history of Joa and such. Should be pretty exciting......... But, hey, I guess it beats working. Time for some Double Stuff Oreos and milk.

Grillage

I decided to head to downtown Sheboygan Falls after work to cruise around on the fixie and check things out. My first stop was the post office to pick up some stamps. So I lock my bike up to the railing outside and pick up 20 stamps. Back outside, I realize that I don't have the key to my lock with me as it is on my other keyring. Cute. So I have no other choice but to hoof it the mile or so back to the apartment to get the lock key. So I headed back downtown in the C-ride with key in hand. So I liberated my bike and cruised around downtown and the park by the dam. After that I decided that I definitely needed to get some copies of my bike lock key made, but unfortunately the only place in town that makes keys was already closed. So I decided to check out the public library and picked up a shiny new library card and book simply called "Bicycle" (book review to follow).

I checked the mail once I got home, and lo and behold, I have now officially graduated from UWP, so they sent me an official transcript. Still no diploma, though..... Then it was time to bust out the new grill for the first time. The parents dropped by again tonight to drop off my wheeled toolbox and some endtables, so we cooked up some brats and burgers. I must say that the grill performed quite flawlessly. One day till PCW time.

Evergreen Park

Well I finally made it out to Evergreen Park in Sheboygan tonight. I put it in about an hour and 15 minute ride and didn't see another person riding. The singletrack is fast and flowy and a blast to bomb. I could definitely used a map, though. There are so many different trail off-shoots that it's easy to get crossed up. The 2:1 ratio was pretty solid, but then again I am pretty out of shape.... I'm hoping to make the group ride there on Wednesday night. That's right, it's PCW time. Hopefully they'll ride a good loop that I'll be able to remember. Followed up the ride with some delicious Wendy's. Mmmm......Frosty. I did some work in the garage tonight, as well. Organized everything a little better and finally threw a seatpost on the Univega. Now it just needs a rear tire and some canti's and it will be good to go.

Weekend at Home

Well I went home to Eldorado to hang out with the fam this weekend. Went up to Oshkosh Friday night to pick up a new rear tire for the fixed gear at Wheel and Sprocket. I decided to go with a Bontrager Hard Case since it has a really thick tread. Time to unleash some skids. On Saturday we all went up to the farm house in Mt. Morris (near Wautoma, i.e. "Tick Country") to do some work. I got to bust out my uncle's John Deere to mow the grass field next to the road. Needless to say, the 72 inch deck made pretty easy work of it. Then we went up to Oshkosh to Fratello's for Myron's b-day, and let me tell you, they have some pretty solid white chicken chili. Well, time to throw the tire on the fixie so I can have a fresh tire for the commute tomorrow. Oh, and would it kill someone to post a comment? I'm beginning to think no one reads this blog..................

Back on the Net

Sorry I haven't been keeping the blog up to date. There was a strong electrical storm in Sheboygan Falls over the weekend and apparently it reigned down its wrath on my cable internet router. After a few calls to Charter, they told me my ethernet card or cable was the problem. After trying the ethernet card out of the media box in my computer, the ethernet card in the media box, and 3 different ethernet cables, I still couldn't get internet. So off to the local Target I went and found a Linksys cable internet router on sale for $40. And big surprise here, I plugged it in and my internet was back in a big way.

I cruised around Sheboygan tonight to check out the local bike shops. After visiting 4 lame area shops, I finally found one I liked called Wolf's Cycle and Fitness. The owner was super cool, and I mean his name is Harley, how could you not like him. So that will now be my LBS of choice. Hopefully I'll be able to ride the trails at Evergreen Park in Sheboygan tomorrow if the weather cooperates. Peace out for now.

First post

Well everyone, as promised, I have started a blog of my uneventful life. Just got the Internet and cable hooked up so I decided I had better get this thing started up right away since I'm sure everyone is dying to hear what is going on in my life. I started work at Joa yesterday and busted out the fixie for the first commute today. I've been wading through Solid Edge tutorials to get up to speed. I've got my place mostly set up now; I even have a spare bed should anyone actually visit me. Well, time for me to go eat a delicious supper of Totino's pizza rolls.