Bits and Pieces....

Ass nirvana....

Was Deerslayer here?

Just me and my shadow....

West on 27th....

The Blue Colnago

On the way back from Hudson

Took 27th street west from Cedar Falls to the Dike-New Hartford blacktop then south to the Zanetta blacktop, went east to Hudson and back north to Waterloo. 42 miles.... It's all good!

Good luck to all the Trans Iowa V2 guys and gals this weekend. Everyone be careful and have big-time fun! Kerkove, G-Ted, Jackal and the rest.... Be safe.

Jackal's here.... Says he has no words of wisdom tonight.

Peace out, yo!

Yes, it's pink.....

Brother of Jackal's pink Mazda

Kinda cool, huh? An extended cab long bed Mazda pickup. Not something you see everyday.

Peace out, yo!

New Bars and Tape.......

Riding to Hudson this spring with the old bars and stem....

Jackal adjusting the rear shifting...

It was skipping, hopping, and jumping but with a little bit of cable housing and a few adjustments.... Voila'!

Making sure everything fits....

Fine tuning....

Jackal starting to wrap the bars..... He does nice work!

Making sure it all looks right....

Everything is straight and snug....

Jackal displays the finished product!

Thanks to The Jackal for all his help....

Jackal and I spent a couple of hours Saturday afternoon replacing the bars and stem on the Colnago. The bike started life with me wearing 3TTT Ti bars and a 130mm ITM carbon stem which we replaced with 3TTT Carbo-palm 2X2 bars and a 120mm 3TTT 2X2 carbon stem. I think it looks great after all of Jackal's work swapping out the parts and I'm looking forward to riding it this afternoon! I think the old bars and stem will find a new home on Jackal's single speed Bianci, which should be pretty cool! They're 44 cm bars (3TTT measurement outside to outside) and will replace his old 38 cm bars. With Jackal being over 6 feet tall, the old ones are a bit narrow. He also replaced the cable housing for the rear derailleur and the rear brake cable and housing on the Colnago. We replaced the brake pads because the old ones were getting noisy and worn. It should ride like a brand new bike after all that work. Thanks Jackal!!!

We went to his garage and worked on removing and replacing the water pump on the Exploder after we fiished up with the Colnago. Got the old one out and the new one in last night then had pizza with Moo and Judy. It was all good. We have to finish up a couple of small details and the Exploder will be ready to hit the road for the first time in about 6 months.

TIv2 next weekend and then Jackal's race at Ingawanis the following weekend. He'll be busy!

That's it for now, folks. I have to get out in the sunshine for awhile. Have a great Sunday!

Peace out, yo!

Saturday.....


Ok, it's Saturday morning and I'm at the plant working. What's wrong with this picture? It's beautiful outside and I'm not there! I'll ride the yellow bike for awhile after I leave here at 11. It'll be good!

Jackal is going to install my new bars, stem, and tape this afternoon as well as replace some shifter cable housing. Hopefully we'll figure out the rear deraileur problem on the Colnago and life will once again be sweet. Got the new jerseys (not to be confused with New Jersey) yesterday. Jackal was right, they're nice!

Michelle is standing outside my office making faces at me so I suppose I better go straighten her out. Duty calls!

Peace out, yo!

It's Friday!

I need to ride out somewhere and find a Kwik Star so that I can grab a Polish Sausage with onions, mustard, and ketchup for the ride back.

New jerseys came in at the shop so Jackal will bring them to me today after he's off work. He says they're pretty pimpin'" Gonna install the new bars and stem this weekend sometime. Pics to follow. Should be pretty cool! Did you see the weight of Kerkove's new bike? 18 1/4 pounds! Sheesh! Mark's new 29er looks pretty sweet too! Woohoo! Check them out!

Alright, gotta work now.

Peace out, yo!

The Package....

The package I've been waiting for from Vancouver arrived today. 3TTT Carbopalm 2X2 bars and 3TTT 2X2 carbon stem. All I need now is the pink tape, Jackal. Hope Jeff doesn't mind. It's all good!

Peace out, yo!

This and that......

The Good Friday ride included Tom Hartson, Wayne Blaisdell, and myself. We headed out of town through Pfeifer over to Gateway Park then out around Big Woods Lake to hit Dunkerton Road and old 218 north to Janesville. From there we headed up to Denver then over to Waverly, where we had some munchies. Tom and Wayne were afraid to eat the Polish Sausage with ketchup, mustard, and onions so I had this delicious snack by myself with a small bottle of milk while they each ate a world famous Kwik-Star cookie and drank gatorade or water. Neither of them wanted to ride behind me on the way back to Waterloo, which wasn't a problem since I played catch-up almost all the way home anyway. My feet were on fire by the time we got back to Denver so I took off my socks and loosened my shoes a bit and kept pedaling. The Advil that Wayne gve me didn't hurt either! It was a good ride with friends I hadn't ridden with for quite some time. Wayne used to own Wayne's Ski and Sport in Mason City but is now in Real Estate in Clear Lake. If you need a property up that way, give him a call. Tom was riding his new Madone 5.2 and Wayne was riding a new Klein Q-Carbon. Nice bikes! The ride was 60 miles, give or take.

Training for The Tour between gigs.... (No, It isn't Bob Roll)

Tom and Wayne heading into Waverly on Good Friday....

Warm and sunny day. A bit windy.....

Wayne replacing a tube near Denver....

The Wednesday morning ride with Jackal and Kerkove was supposed to be a "recovery ride" for Jeff. We went down to Hudson on the bike trail then back out of town on the Ho Chi Minh Trail up to the Shaulis Road Trail and then headed back into Cedar Falls on the bike path near the soccer complex and through the "Intersections of Death" on Highway 58 by Wally World. Jeff wanted to stop at the Pronto in Hudson for some "Chubs" (?) but Jackal said "no way" and rode right by the store. Kerkove looked disappointed but stayed with the peloton. We rode 26 or so miles. It was a fun ride and The Twins didn't beat me up like I thought they might. Thanks guys!

Kerkove takes a flyer on the Ho Chi Minh Trail....

The Swiss National Champ leading the peloton....

The twins plotting a breakaway.....

Happy Easter everyone!!!

Peace out, yo!

Finchford-Roubaix....

Post race strategic planning session....

Cheese Queen, Jackal, Kerkove, Ron

Kerkove "stylin'"

Is that the Swiss National Champ, incognito?


Clowns to the left of me, Jokers to the right....

Finchford-Roubaix... A good time was had by all.

Peace out, yo!

Out of Hibernation.....

Kerkove doing repeats on Lookout Park hill a couple of weeks ago...

It's amazing who I run int0 on my Sunday morning walks.....

Ran into Jackal on my Sunday morning walk a few weeks ago.....


Jackal on College Hill....



Jackal and I went for an early morning ride in the drizzle back in early March....

Well, my 'puter has crashed on me 3 times while working on this post so I guess I'm supposed to leave it for now and come back to it later. Look for pics of Wednesdays ride with the twins (Kerkove and Jackal) as well as Friday's ride with Tom and Wayne....

Peace out, yo!