Thanks, Buddy....

Thanks for having my back last night, Jackal.... You did good!

If you could have seen the look on your face as your Mom tried to bring you into the "discussion"....

I am still laughing when I think about it. A look of total ignorance of the subject, a look of innocence while you were trying to get out of the kitchen and into the basement. You were obviously listening good since you were able to repeat "...since October". That was priceless. You may have saved my life with that comment!

You really should consider acting. You'd probably be good at it. I thought I had the situation pretty much under control until you guys walked in the back door. That's when it escalated again. Probably for your benefit. You know, to drag you into it and have you gang up on me. (I have to stop typing for a second so that I can wipe the tears from my eyes....) I'm sure she thought you'd side with her.... ;) (nah, not really. she wouldn't expect that..)

I don't know if you noticed it or not but her eyes were shining. They get that way when she's having fun. She thought she had me over a barrel and she was enjoying it. She was going to make me squirm as long as she could. She was enjoying herself. (has to be a woman thing ;) lol...) You should have seen the look on her face when she was counting them in the basement. OMG!!!! That was good stuff. I'm not going to tell her, but she missed one. The Schwinn Voyageur.... She didn't see the black C-Dale, either. Priceless.

I'm not sure how long I could have defended myself on my own. It was good that you walked in when you did. You may have saved me from Lord knows how much abuse!

Anyway, thanks....

Ride safe,

Peace out, yo!

Pump Haus....

Ride safe.

Peace out, yo!

Do you ever....

On the way to work this morning....
The Queen in the toob....

....get tired of the games your co-workers play? Especially the ones who know better? You know the ones, the "adults". Have you ever wanted to fire someone just because they are difficult, argumentative, obnoxious, manipulative, deceptive, and sneaky? How about the one who always has to be playing a game to show how smart/stoopid he or she is? Or the one who plays a game until he or she tires of it, then starts with a different game? Ahhh well, such is life.

It snowed a bit last night. I'd guess about an inch or so. This morning is cold (14F) and windy. Kathy at the convenience store asked if it would ever be spring? She's a funny lady, about my age, who gives everyone who comes through the door a load of crap. It's always different, always funny. That's probably why they're always busy.

Anyway, I have a small crew working this morning to finish a couple of big jobs so that we can get them out the door. I also have a proposal to write regarding whether or not to keep a big press that's sitting in our former Georgia plant. I'm struggling with it because, quite honestly, my feelings toward it are relatively neutral. I don't want to sell it because machinery brokers are crooks and I know that we'll be able to use it again in another year or so. I shudder at the thought of keeping it because I know that it will be a serious pain in my ass to get it moved and rebuilt, then re-installed halfway across the country. Training a new operator won't be fun either, but that part of it won't be my problem. I'm just going to put a bunch of numbers on paper and see what I come up with. I've been gathering data for a week and presented the raw information to some of the other managers yesterday. Two of them want to keep it and bring it here to Iowa, two want to keep it and send it to our plant in Utah. The other two want to see what I come up with prior to having an opinion. Yeah, right. One of the last two is my boss, the President of Operations and the other "undecided" person is the President of the company. Yippee! We left it in our Georgia plant when we moved that part of our business to Florida last year because no one other than me thought it was worth keeping at the time. I'm going to sit down with the president of the company on Monday and pitch it one way or the other.

Jackal brought The Queen of Cross to the house yesterday evening for a little visit. Judy was still at work and Moo was out shopping so it was just the three of us for an hour or so. She sat in my lap and listened while I read "The Pink Panther and the Haunted House" to her. I'd read, she'd turn the pages. Too funny. Her timing was off just a little bit on the page turning but we got through it just fine. She sure does love her daddy! She usually gets my pennies for her pig when she comes down, but yesterday she got two nickels because I had no pennies. (I have some today, after buying coffee on my way to work...) Of course she doesn't know the difference in value yet, but she still likes her coins. Good stuff. I remember the smiles on my grandpa's face when I was a kid, and the smiles on my parents faces when my kids were small. I understand now what it was all about. We're truly blessed with the 3 Super Hero grandsons and The Queen.

Well, I better get to tabulating data and putting the proposal on paper. I don't want to be here all day. I'm thinking that an hour or so on the trainer will be a good thing for me when I get home. I hope everyone has a great weekend.

Ride safe.

Peace out, yo!

Thursday....

Fatty at Finchford in 2007....

It's cold outside this morning. 8F as I rolled into work at 6 in the toasty warm Passat. The weatherman mentioned this morning that we'll be seeing 40s and 5os soon. I like the sound of that! He also mentioned that a Waterloo city official made the comment on this day last year that there was virtually no chance of major flooding. Hmmmmm..... They say that the flooding that hit Iowa last year was the second largest natural disaster in U.S. history, right behind Katrina. Just goes to show that even city officials can be wrong.

I noticed this morning that the eastern sky isn't quite as dark at 6 a.m. as it was even a week ago. That must be a positive sign. I'm sure it is.

That's gonna be it for now. People are starting to show up here at the plant and they'll be wanting my attention soon. Sometimes it's almost like raising your children. Oh well. It's what I do.... :)

Waiting on Jackal's ToC update. C'mon buddy! It's getting to be a morning ritual for me. Coffee and the update. Mmmmmm.....

Surf on over and check out G-Ted's new CX bike... Sweet! Really sweet!

Have a great day!

Ride safe.

Peace out, yo!

Relieved....

I've sent Fat Albert about 30 emails over the last few weeks and never received a response from him to any of them. I figured that either my armpits stink or he's ignoring me. (why would anyone ignore me?) Either way, i was feeling a bit left out and a little bit sad. I have to say that I feel better now because I just had a phone call from him and I'm sure it was actually the real deal because I know his voice. I had to test him though, just to make sure, and his response was that not only was he going to kick my ass on the Second Street roll out, he's going to kick Tony's ass too. That's proof positive that it was the truly delusional Fat Albert on the other end of the phone call. Like I said, I feel better now. I mean, I was almost worried after I'd sent at least 75 emails to him with no response.

You're gonna suffer on 2nd Street, Buddy!

Ride safe.

Peace out, yo!

Happy....

The gold CX bike....
The blue CX bike....

I'm pretty happy with the finished product. The gold bike weighs in at 1 ounce less than the blue one. Not too bad for a CX bike with clinchers and gears. Definitely not the lightest tires around. The blue bike has a 36T chainring on a compact crankset, the gold bike has a 38T chainring on a standard crankset. The gold bike is all ultegra whereas the blue bike has one 105 shifter and one ultegra shifter and a 105 rear derailleur. Everything else is the same. I hope no one would buy Ultegra over 105 just to save some weight. Can't be more than 3 or 4 ounces for the entire gruppo.... (the blue bike was originally all 105. Oops! A boo-boo at Jingle Cross '07 required the replacement of the right side shifter. Ultegra was available, 105 wasn't. It works)

It's raining outside right now. Looks miserable from my window. It's supposed to change over to a "wintry mix" later this evening, then snow tomorrow. Less than an inch. 40 mph wind gusts. Yeah, Baby!!! I'm going to guess that you'll start to see some cyclists on the roads in a couple of weeks. Well, cyclists other than the Bike Tech crew. Most of them have been out all winter.

G-Ted is nearly finished with his Raleigh Ranier SSCX bike. I'm here to tell you that it's gonna be one sweet ride! Gorgeous!!!!!

Ride safe.

Peace out, yo!

Coming soon....

Check it out here.

The Belgian Superprestige series for 2008/2009 is now over. Sven Nys won today's race, as well as the series championship. As always, it was great racing brought to us live on Belgian Channel 4.

Bart Wellens took the hole shot from the start and built what appeared to be a substantial lead for 2 or 3 laps but the field was just too strong today for him to stay away. Nys rode the first couple of laps in a small group of 5 or so and on lap 3 started moving up with Albert (not to be confused with Fat Albert). They caught Wellens and dropped him. In the end it was Nys and Albert with a nearly 20 second gap over 3rd place finisher Erwin Vervecken. Wellens finished 6th. A hard fought battle to the end with Neils Albert and Sven Nys sharing the work up until the last quarter of the last lap. It looked like there would be a sprint finish until Nys passed and dropped Albert at the 180 degree turn near the exit to the pit area. Albert was obviously spent and Nys rode in alone for the victory. Definitely good stuff!

The gold Colnago is finished, save the installation of the Cateye Micro Wireless computer. I put the clear plastic chainstay protector on yesterday to finish the last bits and pieces of the build. It turned out to be a pretty nice bike and it was fun to collect all the parts and build it up myself. Thanks to The Thin Man and Jackal for their help and advice along the way.

I hope that Rory is enjoying himself with Team Liquigas in California! Best of luck to you and the team!

Enjoy your Sunday.

Ride safe.

Peace out, yo!

I was hoping....

...to avoid anymore of this. Oh well. Spring is not far away. I hope.

Ride safe.

Peace out, yo!

For Fatty....

12-27
38T Single with guard....

Chris King and Frogglegs ....

Ass nirvana....

Black & White....

The cockpit....

For a fat ass....

What happens when Surlys and Colnagos mate....?

2008 Colnago World Cup cyclocross frame and fork 54cm

Geax Blade 700X33 tires

Weyless Korso aero wheels and hubs

Ultegra shifters

Ultegra rear derailleur

Ultegra 12-27 cassette

SRAM PC-1030 chain

N-GEAR Jump Stop chain keeper

Cyclocrossworld chainring guard

FSA Gossamer Mega Exo crank 172.5

FSA 38T chainring

FSA Omega bars 42cm

FSA OS 150 stem 110mm

FSA SL 290 seatpost

FSA Mega Exo bottom bracket 68mm

Shimano PD-M540 pedals

Frogglegs cantilever brakes

Fizik Microtex bar tape

Fizik Arione CX saddle

Chris King NoThreadSet

Jagwire Racer Pro cables

Cateye Micro Wireless computer

More pics soon.

Ride safe.

Peace out, yo!

So....


It was 54F when I left work at a quarter to 5 yesterday evening. 54F!!!! I got home and Judy asked if I was going for a walk. She was fixing supper and didn't want to start if I was going out. I said "sure, why not?", and changed my clothes and headed out the door. A quarter mile west of my house is Jackal's house. I looked across the street when I got there and The Queen of Cross was standing on the couch looking out the picture window at the world outside. When she saw me she started bouncing up and down and waving and apparently she was telling Jackal "Papa, Papa" and pointing out the window at me. Well.... I walked across the street to say "Hi" and asked Jackal if he had her stroller. He said that it was in Amy's car so we put The Queen's jacket and cap on her and Little Miss and I headed up the street on foot. She wanted to walk and she wanted to run. She never stopped talking. We were gone for probably 45 minutes or so and she wore me out! LOL. Well, not really, but we had some fun. She's an inquisitive little thing. She notices everything! Walnuts, acorns, pretty stones.... Anyway, I carried her on my shoulders for awhile and she apparently thought my head was a drum or some other percussion instrument that needed to be tapped on. It was good! We went up to River Hills and walked around the school building and she climbed on the playground equipment for a few minutes before we headed back. When we were back on the sidewalk along Rainbow she decided that she wanted to run again. All the way home. I kept thinking she was going to end up with a big scrape on her chin or something because I just knew she'd take a header, but she never did. She was happy to see her daddy and told him that we had a good run. LOL. It was too funny. I guess you'd have to have been there.

Anyway, cool air returns today. It is February, after all. Spring will eventually get here and the world will change again.

I was a bit surprised when I read the paper last night. I figured that surely Obama's speech of the night before would be on the front page. Much to my surprise, it was in section C. Hmmmmm.......

Fat Albert was sending me harassing emails last night asking about the new CX bike. I think he was calling me names for not finishing it yet and for not posting pictures yet. Soon, Little Fat Buddy. Soon. I need to count the links of the chain on the blue bike so I can make the chain for the gold bike the proper length. I'm struggling with that since I have trouble counting beyond 10. :)

That's it for now.

Ride safe.

Peace out, yo!

Hoogstraten....

Top 10 in today's race....

Next 10....
Muddville....

Superprestige 08/09 overall standings....

Isn't the internet great? I've been watching the Superprestige series live from Belgium this year on Belgian channel 4. Great racing, always. Wish I spoke Flemish.... Zdenek Stybar, who is from the Czech Republic, must not speak Flemish either because his interviews are always in English. He finished 4th today.... One more race to go this year. Next Sunday. Good stuff! I want to go to Belgium!!!!!

I've almost completed the build on the gold CX bike. It's set up with 1 X 10 gearing like the blue bike. All that's left is to install the shift cable and chain and to make the final adjustments.

I have to admit that I wasn't too thrilled with the gold color but it does grow on you. It doesn't seem so bad after looking at it for a month or so. You don't have a lot of choice in colors anyway, especially when you're buying used. I have never seen a used 54cm frameset in blue for sale. Only a few in gold. The '09 frameset is available in black, but heck, I wasn't looking for an '09.

This bike has a 38T front chainring on a standard 130BCD FSA Gossamer crankset. The blue bike has a 36T chainring on a compact 110BCD FSA Gossamer crankset. Both are Mega-Exo cranks. The cranks are the only real difference between the two machines. Pretty sweet. I'll post pics when I'm finished with it.

That's it for now.

Ride safe.

Peace out, yo!

Interesting day....

Hi there!

Papa's girl....

The Queen of Cross....

I got up at 5:30 this morning to watch the Cyclocross World Championships. Sent Jackal an Email to tell him that I was set up to watch it on the 'puter and that it started at 7:25. He rolled in at 7:24. He'd been out of bed for 10 minutes and happened to check his email and high-tailed it down here to watch the race. Awesome racing, BTW. Good stuff. We wondered what happened to Ryan Trebon. Turns out that he got knocked off his bike by a cameraman's boom and hurt himself so he dropped out. Wow. Neils Albert was unstoppable and made his win look easy. The average speed for the race was near 19 mph. I can't imagine riding that fast in a race like that for 62 minutes. They're machines!

We went to lunch at Toad's before the football crowd started to show up. Went to the carwash on our way home and hosed off all the brine solution that had been accumulating on the Passat. Have I ever mentioned that I'm beginning to dislike winter? A couple of days of cold weather coming up then some warmer temps again. It's been in the 30s all weekend and pretty nice. I could get used to it!

I watched the second half of the Superbowl to see my Steelers win it. I'm not really a football fan. A 60 minute game that takes nearly 4 hours to complete and tallies up a total of about 11 minutes of actual play isn't my thing. Still, if the Steelers are in the Superbowl, I watch. I can't help myself. Besides, I got to see the 1 second commercial! I wondered what it would be ever since I'd heard about it. Miller beer. Memorable spot:) Springsteen was pretty good at halftime.

Anyway, that's about it for now.

Ride safe.

Peace out, yo!