Warranty....

Hand of Jackal....
Bottke says "I'm in charge here...."

I came home after work to get the front wheel from the C50 to take it up to the shop to show Leans on Wood the misaligned joint and ask if it's waranteed. I hoped so since I had a total of one ride and24 miles on it. Well, when I went to the basement to get the wheel I noticed that the entire bike was gone! Jackal had stopped on his way home from his day job and took it with him to his night job.... Warranty is no problem.... Thanks guys!

G-Ted has laid out a course for TI v.4 that looks to be a masochists dream! I don't think I'll ever look at gravel the same way again after seeing his pics..... Whoaaaaaaa........ Can you say "sufferfest"? :)

The Bike Tech crew did good again last weekend at Kent Park. Congrats to all!

Ride safe.

Peace out, yo!

Rollin' the Hudz....

Rolling with Jackal....

44F in Hudson. Look at all that sand! Is it a beach?

Togetherness....

The C50 with the Hudz....

They are quite comfortable....

I like the color....

Jackal and I took off on a 24 miler yesterday to spin his legs out from his ride of the day before. I always liked riding with him and Kerkove on their recovery rides since it's the only time I could keep up with them. Anyway, Kerkove has moved away to Colorado and Jackal is usually on the road before I get off work so I take advantage of every opportunity to ride with him. Even on days like yesterday when the wind was out of the SE at 20 gusting to 25. He does a great job of blocking the wind for my fat ass....

We rode through our neighborhood and up to the trail along Greenhill then over through Alibar Hills to the trail that goes south to Hudson. Ended up backtracking once we got closer to Hudson and heading down Ho Chi Minh Trail into Hudson. The bike path is still covered with snow south of the John Deere dealer and we were on skinnies yesterday.... CX bikes would have been ok, I think. Anyway, he was sprinting every hill on the Ho Chi Minh so I got to feel a bit of the wind when he left me in the dust. His Cannondale System Six is an awesome ride! I think he maintained his fitness over the winter better than he thinks he did. Anyway, we rode into and around Hudson then came back the same way we had gone out. Nice ride! No issues with 4 wheeled traffic at all! Woohoo! There is still a lot of sand on the streets and some of it isn't too cool so you'd better pay attention out there!

I was riding with the new Campagnolo Scirocco wheels and the new HUDZ brake hoods yesterday. Both are pretty SWEET! I really like the HUDZ brake hoods. They are actually designed slightly differently than the ones from Campy and tend to relieve some of the pressure points. Like I said, my first impression is that they are pretty sweet. I've ordered a set for the CX bike.

I also liked the ride of the Sciroccos. The rear has Campy's G3 lacing and the front is laced radially on this set of wheels. They aren't super lightweight, high end wheels by any means, but they do ride nice. The only problem I have with these wheels is that the joint on the front one isn't quite perfect and will have to go back to Leans on Wood for warranty replacement. They roll true and round and are quite stiff. Nice!

Check out Kerkove's site for Moab Rim Ride results and pictures. Pretty cool.

I think that's about it for now....

Ride safe.

Peace out, yo!

So, there I was....

Just riding along, picking my nose....
Snow pile, west side of the Dome parking lot....

The UNI Dome from the SW corner....

I figure that I better start off easy this year so I rode 2o miles on the CX bike again today. 31F was just a couple of degrees cooler than yesterday, but it still wasn't bad.... The wind was out of the NW at about 12 mph so scooting south on Union Road to 27th Street was pretty sweet! (The roads have quite a few pot holes and cracks but nothing too major and not a lot of snow) The only "incident" occured after I had turned east onto 27th Street and some young bimbo in a silver Cavalier heading west decided to pass the car ahead of her that was turning north onto Union Road. She pulled out from behind that car and saw me there and then mashed the gas.... I slipped all the way over to the white line so she wouldn't whack me. A good 2 feet clearance. She had that "I just did something really stupid" look on her face. I hope she pooped her pants. I hope she looks before pulling out into the other lane next time. Bimbo.

They apparently did a great job of keeping the Dome parking lot clean this year as the pavement was perfectly dry and there are 8' piles of snow along the west edge.

I was just starting to climb Grand on my way home when my phone started ringing. I pulled over to answer it and saw that it was Judy calling.... She asked where I was at. I said "I'm riding my bike...." She said "DUH, I know you're riding your bike. Where are you"? I told her that I was on Grand and that I'd be home in less than 10 minutes. She said "I just wanted to tell you there's a bicycle race on TV". "Which one?" I asked. "I don't know, it's in Italy. I think. Not sure". I said "it must be Milan-San Remo". "Whatever", she said. By now I'm smiling. She's a piece of work :) Anyway, I beat feet to get home to watch the rest of the race. Jackal and Moo had The Queen of Cross at the house in her Easter dress. Cute. Pink dress, pink hat. She wears it well.... (Rod Stewart?)

Anyway, today's lesson learned is that one can take a Kerkove shot while picking one's nose with a glove on while riding in a cross wind.....

G-Ted should be home from Tay-Has sometime today or tonight. Sounds like he's been having a great vacation down in old El Paso.... (Marty Robbins?)

It sounds like the Bike Tech crew had a productive weekend at the Lake Mac Bride races. Congrats, folks!

That's all for now.

Ride safe.

Peace out, yo!

Flashback....

Not much snow left....
Just rollin' along....

Lovin' it....!

Picture of thermometer....

Crazy bike skidding out of control sign....

Buchanandale a.k.a. Jackal a.k.a. Mr. Paintball....

I went out about noon and got in 20 or so miles on the CX bike today. I put the wheels with the Specialized CX tires on it today rather than the Conti Ultrasports.... Much different ride! I like it!

I was rolling back home under the Highway 218 bridge by Pfeiffer Park and had slowed down for a stretch of crusty snow when I saw someone who looked familiar walking toward me with his dog. When we got close to each other he asked a question about my bike so I stopped to chat with him. Man, did he look familiar! We talked for quite a few minutes about bikes and I could tell that he definitely knew what he was talking about. I finally told him that he looked familiar and asked his name. Steve Sorenson. Wow! I hadn't seen him in probably 20 years. Last I knew of him was when he was studying for his masters and working at Europa when it was still up in the basement of University Book & Supply! That's been at least 20 years. He still has his Nuovo Record equipped Paramount. That bike is the same vintage as my Peloton. Pretty cool talking with him again after all these years.

I left and rolled up to the Park to get on Grand and head home when I ran into Jackal on his System Six out riding in the spitting snow. He was heading out to ride 27th. We talked for a few minutes and then went our seperate ways.

I got home and about 2 hours later he rolled in to pick up The Queen of Cross. She was entertaining us this afternoon.... We were watching ancient reruns of Miami Vice and she was standing next to my chair fiddling with her beads. One of guys on the tube said "get out of the car, get out of the car...." As soon as he finished saying it the second time Rhea said "get out of the car" just as plain as day. Judy and I both started laughing and tried to get her to say it again. All she'd do is look at us and laugh. Too funny! That's the way kids are, I guess....

Anyway, that's it for now.

Ride safe.

Peace out, yo!

Punkette....

The Queen of Cross....
On Brother of Jackal's motorcycle....

"I'm a little punk"

Nice day....

Official member of the PRC auxillary....

The Queen of Cross received her "I'm a Little Punk" tees yesterday. So appropriate! They came with a very nice hand written thank you note from Ana Nelson and the girls of Punk Rock Cycling.... I was thoroughly impressed. I didn't think anyone took the time to do that anymore.

Punk Rock Cycling is a women's racing team from Des Moines, the brainchild of Donny Quixote from Rasmussen's Bike Shop. A great bunch of people on a very well run team. If you happen to see them racing this summer someplace in the midwest, give them a hardy cheer! MTB, road, cx.... They do it all and they do it well.

I went out and rode the cross bike for an hour tonight. It's actually the first time I've ridden it outside. I was impressed with the ride and the power transfer to the ground. The handling was just a bit twitchy on the road but nothing scary. Probably has something to do with the skinny tires.... I actually bought it in late October and Jackal rode it for the remainder of the CX season. I put slicks on it and rode it on the trainer and the rollers in the basement this winter. I think we'll get along just fine....

More snow and crappy weather in the forecast for the long weekend but this should be close to the end of it. It's been warm enough that the 5' piles of snow along the roads are gone and hopefully any new snow won't stick.

That's it for now....

Ride safe.

Peace out, yo!

Crazy....

Drug War Goes Crazy, Cyclist Forced to Provide Sample at Son's Cremation
Posted Mar 18th 2008 2:01PM by Michael David SmithFiled under: Cycling, PEDs

This is Belgian cyclist Kevin van Impe. His wife gave birth prematurely this year, and their son died hours after he was born. Last week van Impe was at a crematorium, making arrangements for his son's funeral, when a drug tester representing cycling's governing body showed up. Van Impe asked whether the tester would be kind enough to give him some space during his grieving process, but the tester would have none of it, telling him it was provide a urine sample immediately or be banned from the sport for two years:

"He wouldn't even come back later in the day. It was either do it right on the spot or it would be taken as if I had refused," van Impe said.Van Impe's fellow cyclists have protested, delaying the start of races over the weekend and reading a statement saying, "We'll say yes a thousand times to a determined and responsible fight against doping, but today and even in an even stronger manner in the future, we say no a thousand times against the violation of our rights, the rights of every human being."Much has been said about how the use of performance-enhancing drugs in sports has gotten out of hand. More should be said about the way the war on performance-enhancing drugs in sports has gotten out of hand.

Amazing.

In other news.... Jackal rode the new Ridley for the first time yesterday. Check it out here.

David sent me this link. It's long, but worth watching. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flRvsO8m_KI

Ride safe.

Peace out, yo!

Smokin' dope....

So, there I was....

I left the plant at a quarter of 6 this evening to head home but when I crossed Donald Street I saw the train. One of Jackal's beloved freight trains rolling into Waterloo. I said "crap" and thought to myself that I have nothing better going on so I decided to wait for it. (I waited yesterday, too. And Wednesday.)

It was a long one and I could tell that it was blocking all four of the intersections that I could easily use to get home. I didn't want to add 5 1/2 miles to my trip, and I was first in line, so I waited, watching the grafitti go by.

After about 5 minutes a car pulled up behind me and decided to wait too. 2 brothers in the car. Smoking dope. I couldn't help watching them. After about 20 minutes of waiting they rolled another and fired it up. They were definitely rockin' to the beat. Funny.

I could see that there were about 10 cars left to go through the crossing when the train stopped. I waited. I knew it would roll again soon.... The minutes ticked by. The brothers rolled out, back the way they'd come. I wasn't moving because I knew the train would start rolling again as soon as I turned around. 15 minutes. 20. I left and drove back to Donald then down to Longfellow and across the highway. Still sitting there. It's a main route to the hospital. I waited a few minutes and watched. It had taken 20 minutes to the point at which it stopped. Then another 20 until I left. And 10 more before I finally headed home. For all I know it could still be sitting there....

I do not share Jackal's love of trains once they've blocked an intersection for more than 5 minutes. It's a serious waste of my $3.15 gas. Shoulda ridden my bike, I guess :)

Ride safe.

Peace out, yo!

Big Dummy....

Jason rolling The Dummy....
BIG!

The Thin Man wastes no time in bike building. When we stopped by the shop on Sunday it was simply a frame and fork on the counter. By Wednesday it was a built up bike.... Pretty sweet, eh? Can you say "cooler full of Guinness"? I can see it!

I hope all is well with everyone today. It's 36F here this morning and it feels great! The streets are a bit slick but all will be well soon. Little Jake is in Iowa City this morning to have his halo removed. He was pretty excited last night when I saw him. Sweet!

That's it for now.

Ride safe.

Peace out, yo!

Yesterday....

BLT on sourdough....

I love having my picture taken....

The Thin Man's new ride.... Sweet!

It's HUGE!

The Thin Man says "Dude! This rig is a chick magnet...."

Do these "energy beans" make you hyper....?

Little Jake's new face.... The halo comes off on Thursday.

Jackal and Baby Rhea hit Toad's with us for lunch yesterday. The Thin Man came in to pick up a grilled cheese sandwich while we were there and mentioned that his new ride was in at his shop. I asked why he was working on Sunday.... He said he had an appointment with a group of people from Cedar Rapids. He had sold them 8 new bicycles and they were coming to pick them up. Yes, 8 new bikes! Pretty sweet, eh?

Anyway, we went over after we'd finished eating to check out the Big Dummy. Whoa! He says he's going to take it mountain bike racing. It looks to be the ultimate shopping machine. I mean, it's cool as hell and it's a Surly. Y'all know how I love my Surlys! Sweet! I'll bet that it would easily haul a large cooler full of ice and your favorite Irish stout! I guess that we'll see about that as the summer gets here....

Rhea walked trough the shop like she owned the place. Didn't knock over a single bike! She knows how it is!

Little Jake gets his halo off on Thursday. Everything is going great there! He looks different!

That's it for now. Temps will be in the 40s and possibly 50s starting tomorrow. YES!

Ride safe.

Peace out, yo!

Just for fun....

Got my beads....
More beads....

You need 60 psi, Daddy....

Ride safe.

Peace out, yo!

Happy Daylight Savings Time....


What does it mean? Only that it will be dark later in the morning and daylight later into the evening. Oh! And short bike rides after work. Yeah, that's what it means....

**smiling**

Ride safe.

Peace out, yo!

Feel the love....

A friend sent this video to me. The first thing I thought of was "family reunion in June, brother Brian", then I thought of "Moto GP in September, Brother of Jackal". This is going to be a fun summer....

The thermometer on the dash of the Jetta said 6 below as I drove to the plant this morning. Spring is almost here!

Ride safe.

Peace out, yo!

Coming soon....

13 MAR 07....

Yeah, one year ago. I wonder when we'll see temps like this again....?

Ride safe.

Peace out, yo!