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.