Simple flow chart....

This went to a new home last night which lead to this...

Stacks...which today will lead to this...

Which will, in turn, go on this....

No, I'm not doing electronic stuff. I have enough shit on my mind as it is. Remembering to plug my bike in once in a while will likely slip through the holes in my sieve-like mind, and I'll get to experience the joy of riding home in the 12.

And seeing how 'Trickle Down Bicycle Economics" works, the 7800 D/A will get transferred over to the Salsa CX frameset. And depending on how much I actually spend, may get a new fork and a fresh coat of powder.

The buying began last night...

A new 7900 F/D is already on the way. The rest will be purchased in the next 12 hours.

The question that stands is D/A 7900 cranks, or Rotor 3D? Decisions...

Ah Monday, you glorious S.O.B. !

Edit : And top put a cherry on top of a rainy day, we've discovered that the rear rim of my ROL Race SLs is cracked in about a half dozen spots. Greeeaaatttt....

I know I posted the finish, but here's the last 5km of K-B-K.




Firefly makes me feel warm and funny. Check their Tumblr page for more bike porn.


Champion System Pro Cycling Team wearing Chuck Taylors at their team launch. As they're based in S.E. Asia, what's the bet the shoes are knock-offs?


Gnarlube. Don't know about their product, other than the fact it seems to be bike lube, but they have the whole 'marketing' thing down pretty well!


These are the cobbles on the Molenberg. Looks like a good time, eh? Pic credit goes to the brilliant Jered Gruber.

And for those who bitch about living in Columbia, you could live in the bicycle mecca of the upper Midwest. It's a balmy 22 degrees there, and a blizzard warning was issued for tomorrow and Wednesday.
Not so bad here, huh?

Anyway, happy Monday.

Wrap-up

As you've seen already, the Spring Classics have begun. I'm as giddy as a little girl...

Much like Spinal Tap's amps, Dura-Ace now goes to 11! Oh, what to do? As soon as the old truck sells, I'm pulling down on new parts for the Ridley. I guess I'll just stick to 10 speed stuff, as I have a SHITLOAD of it.
And to be honest, we probably won't see 11 speed Shimano for a long while, and as the article tells us, it's Di2, so an offering of a male offspring will likely be necessary to procure the groupset.

Good Saturday ride, the wind notwithstanding. We pretty much stayed in the trees until the right turn onto Shop. While forward momentum was arrested, it was certainly slowed. Nothing like grinding away into a 40kph headwind, killing yourself to maintain 30kph. Even on the false flat down to the bridge sprint, I was only turning over 38kph. It was just brutal.

I got out of the shower and my face was just burnt. The wind had it's way with me...

I missed Il Prof and TVH this morning, as the wife neglected to make it home from her workout until 0930. I can make up 10, maybe 15 minutes out into Lex/Cal, if I know the route. 30 is just not do-able. Instead, I vacuumed and washed both trucks, put the white truck on Autotrader, and messed with the M.T.s. About noon, it became clear that I needed to go ride, so I geared up and rode the Jericho for 2 hours. It was breezy again, but nothing like Saturday!
I decided to cut through the location of the new Flying J truck stop, and nearly had a spectacular get off in some VERY soft LexCo sand. The vacuum created from my sphincter slamming shut was possibly the only thing that allowed me to remain upright.

I rolled home to discover that Mother Nature had other plans for my Florida-sourced TV watching. Translation? It was raining in Daytona.

Instead, I broke out the heavy tools and affected repairs on Service Course. Translation? I fixed the bad wood on the ManHole(tm). Wow, that sounded really NC17, eh? 3 hours, and a trip to Lowe's later, SC is once again buttoned up tight.

Big exciting weekend, huh? Hey, they can't all be winners!

K-B-K 2012 (That's Sir Cav to you!)

Last 2km of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad (video Saturday)

Boonen said the race was 50m too long...

No Boom Boom, you timed your sprint wrong, period. Flecha drew you out, and Vanmarcke made you pay for it.

And Hoy winning the Keirin from a few days ago...



And Vicky P puttin' it DOWN...



And the GBR ladies beating Canada and taking the WR from the Aussies...

Achtung!

Disc brakes on the road...NEIN!
You ever thought, I wish my wheels were heavier?

Tubeless tires on the road...NEIN!
An answer to a question that wasn't asked. Not faster, not lighter, and more fiddling...

Electronic shifting on the road...JA!
This, I'm fine with...

Fun ride last night. Rolled around with the night group. Made a couple of good efforts and got the legs going back around. 77 degrees when I left the house @ 6. 72 degrees when I got back @ 8:15. You guys up North can keep that shit...

0900 Saturday @ Brennen
0900 Sunday @ Greene/Laurens

Motivation

You want something to motivate you?

Plan a route that takes approximately 2 hours with about 90 minutes of daylight left. That's exactly what I did on Tuesday afternoon.

The H.O. got home at 4:30. I got on the CX bike @ 4:45 with the plan to go out through the Fort, dive into the woods, and ride the trail all the way back to the gate. The first part of the ride was great. Just rolling along without effort. Looking back, I probably should have dialed it back for the first 30 minutes or so, as the climb out on Hartsville Guard was pretty miserable. Of course, I WAS riding 33c tires (measured 36-37) with 50 psi in them. Standing to climb was a washy affair, at best.

Once at the trailhead, a second wind hit, and the hammer went back down. The trail was in perfect condition, but again, I rode the file tread Clements. Fast, but no likey the slippy turns.

As I jumped out onto the road at the end of the trail, the sun had fallen behind the trees...time to go.
The access road lead me to the gate, and off the base. The sun was dipping below the horizon at this point. Did I mention I had on my dark Oakleys, and did NOT have a headlight? One was by plan (headlight), the other was just poor decision making. Note to self : put in the contacts and wear the yellow lenses...

I ran it home thru Heathwood and Shandon, and rolled into the yard @ 6:30...it was dark-ish.

No matter. It was a good ride, and big fun. I got a little mud on me and no blood was shed.




And yes TVH, neon is BACK! Manufacturers call it 'hi-vis' yellow, but make no mistake, it's neon!

And, and here's a lap of Oostmalle from Christian Heule's bars...lovely little course...

Tuesday Newsday

News-ish:

File Under : No Fucking Way! Roubaix without Arenberg? That would be like peanut butter without the ladies!

AND, if the threat of Arenberg's removal isn't enough, the classic/traditional route for the RvV has changed...
Pulling out the Muur Van Geraadsbergen because it's 'not convenient'? Jesus, racing in Belgium...in April, isn't exactly convenient.

Voeckler fails to repeat at Haut Var...announces that he's begun training for the sequel to "300".

File Under : No shit? Really? Garmin delayed it's powermeter pedals...again? $1500 pedals? I'll pass...

Albert finally decided to win a race in the WC stripes last weekend. And it was a good one...

And for the rest of your Euro fix, head on over to Pez and burn the rest of your day watching the videos...

Now, onto my drivel...


Not much to say here, other than DO WANT!!! If you're gonna be a bear, be a Grizzly! And that's the exact backdrop I would build to store the bike on when not in use!

I'm no physicist, but I do understand that both of these guys are about to have the momentum arrested at an alarming rate. Or, in the parlance of our friends in Lexington County...Bad shit's about to happen man!


Dirt climb out of the valley anyone? A single trip up and down would likely be enough to fill a ride. Let's be frank. I'm a fatass, and no climber, but dragging myself to the top would be fun. Of course, we all know that my idea of fun is sometimes really warped...

Have a good Tuesday!