Upward swing?

As with most things, the first thing I'd do is remove the Campagnolo stuff...

Rollercoaster! This road, with a tailwind, would be more fun than a pillow fight at the Tri-Delt house...

Good pavement, but the climb out looks a bit steep-ish.

Cycling v. Futbol and Rugby. You decide...

Getting about 7 percent better daily, which if we count today, brings me to about 56%. Just damn tired. I'd planned on riding tomorrow, but the pollen count is supposed to be nearly maxed out, so I think I'll occupy the couch for another day. I'll definitely be out Saturday morning. Probably won't do the whole ride, but I need to get the body moving again. Not gonna do my normal shit after being sick and jump back on the bike like nothing happened. It always ends in me getting a bounce-back ass-kicking.

Peace...

Picture post

Eddy is displeased. Somewhere in the Flandrian countryside, someone is gonna wake up in the trunk of a large Mercedes.

Is you're gonna commute, commute HARD!! (pic courtesy of Firefly Bicycles)

Hey Cav, we get it, you're WC. Can you not wear shorts and a t-shirts to build a chair?

Another 'Back in The Day' test. If you don't know who this is, quit saying 'back in the day'!!!

Signs of life today. The aches are sub-siding, and judging by the puddle I woke up in this morning, the fever has broken. Still feeling pretty puny, and my head is swimmy. No ridey until Thursday, at the earliest. Even then, it'll probably be little more than an hour or so...

The Downward Spiral

Oy!

I knew I felt bad Saturday, but fell into some sort of flat-spin on Sunday. Racked with aches, sweating like a rented mule, ripping sinus headache that, in turn, produced waves of nausea that rivaled Teahupoo. In the past month, every member of the house has had one sickness or another. I think I got an amalgam of all of them...

No sleep at all last night. Toss...turn...sweat...breathe deeply and heavily to ward off the sick. Rarely do I tap out, but I couldn't see myself parenting today, so the Boss stayed home. My strength is gone...a nap will occur in the coming hour.




And I'm torn on these shoes. Rapha has produced some of the best looking shoes out there. Made from yak leather...yeah, I just typed that. They also employ Easton EC90SL soles. These were made in conjunction with Giro, who can do no wrong in my eyes. And the price you ask? No, they aren't $1000, nor are they over-priced just for the sake of it, like most Rapha stuff.
They're $450!! That's LESS that most high-end shoes.
I bet they feel like slippers...

Time for my nap...

MSR 2012

Can we start calling Ernesto "Goldmember"? I love gggoooooooolllllldddd!

Cancellara wrecking skulls at Strade Bianche. But more importantly, look at his watch!!! Oh, and he's on Trek's answer to the Roubaix. Look at the size of the downtube...and the skinny seatstays and fork. Funny that the bottom race of the headtube stayed 1-1/2" though.

MSR 2012 Poggio & finish (looking for better quality)




Brunyeel said the strongest guy didn't win. He was right. Fabi didn't win, but he sent a message to the bunch that they better get their collective shit together in the next few weeks.

Rode yesterday and felt like complete shit. I turned off from the group and rode home solo. As the day progressed, I went downhill. This morning met me with a full-on sinus infection. My head is like a football. Calls will be made shortly...from the comfort of my couch...or bed...

As an aside, I don't care WHO shows up to the Saturday morning ride. The more the merrier, BUT, and it's a Kardashian-sized butt, if you are going to show up to the standing ride, that you usually cannot be bothered with, show up on time, period. 5-10 minutes late (by regulars), when calls are made, is begrudgingly acceptable. 20 minutes late is ignorant and disrespectful, and isn't going to happen again. Go try that shit anywhere else in the World...
And if something I've said has offended you, maybe it should!

And keep Bond in your thoughts. He's finally getting his bum knee taken care of this week. From the way he explained it to me, the surgery is somewhere between reconstructive and having a bionic leg installed. Big fun....

Ok, enough...
I'm sick and grouchy. You don't want none!

Y'ever?

Y'ever had one of those rides? Probably...

Thursday was one of those for me.

I worked in the yard all afternoon, and evidently forgot to eat or drink anything. I knew I was in trouble on the way out 12th. when it was entirely too difficult to hold 40kph. Things started to go South on the climb out. I tailed off the back, but chased back on, which completely shot me in the ass.
On Gator, I tried to go with the group. The heart said "Go", the head said "Go", the legs said, "nope, sorry homie, we're out of gas". I was done. I watched the group ride away on 302, and went into survival mode. 45 minutes to get home, and 37 minutes of energy in reserve.

I got home, before dark, but was wrecked when I hit the door. Not a full-on, where-am-I sort of bonk, but I was definitely on the far side of a simple hunger knock.

Food, drink and sleep followed soon thereafter.

Then today, instead of relaxing and re-fueling, the entire corporation loaded up and went to Patriot's Point for the day. Nothing helps crampy legs and a grouchy disposition like running around an aircraft carrier with one's children. Seeing that parenting isn't about ME, I went Rule #5, and had big fun with Junior Management.

View from the Captain's chair on the bridge of the USS Yorktown (CV-10)


The real Captain around here.

Have a good weekend!

Check yo self

Let's see, what do we need to take on this ride...

Balls? Check!
Extra balls? Check!
Third set of balls? Check!

Happy Pi Day

This is the way sign in at races should be. USAC could learn a few things from the Belgian Kermesse circuit!

One of these things is not like the other...one of these things is totally different.

The boy is 7 months old and already knows what tires to ride. Smarter than most 'grown' folks around here...

And Jessica Biel for no other reason than, well...it's my page and I feel like posting a shit hot picture of her!

Really good OSR ride last night. Probably 45 folks rolled out. The front group got slowly whittled down throughout the ride, but stayed together, even though it was steady and fast-ish the whole way. Il Prof and TVH both rode really well, with the latter not letting Captain Red Shorts get any more than about 6 bike lengths away at any time.
It was what a ride should be. Hard enough, fast enough and fun enough...novel ideas all, I know.

Oh, and I'm thinking of unloading my White Industries wheels. 32h/3x on Kinlin XR200 hoops (less than 400g each). Hubs are WI H1 polished. Front wheel has Sapim CXRays and the rear was rebuilt with 2.0/1.8 round spokes. Wheels were built by Tim Wellborn @ CC, who has built more bulletproof wheels for me than I care to remember. They weigh @1450g, which ain't heavy for a bulletproof wheelset.

Anyway, enjoy your Hump/Pi Day!

Back to the Grind

Finished the Helium Friday night @ 10. Rode it Saturday morning @ 9. It needed a few tweaks, namely the shift levers needing to be moved further up on the bars, but the shakedown ride went well. The 7900 stuff works really well, and the Rotor cranks are the sheezy. Very stiff. Felt immediately stiffer than the old 7800 crankset. I did switch the 53 out for a 52 though. I couldn't get comfortable in the 53 after riding a 52 for the last 5 years. I always felt like I was in the incorrect gear. And the new rear wheel that Uncle Shrews built is perfect, as usual.

Yep, riding out on the Front Range can get hectic. Be prepared...like this guy!!

First neon yellow...now, burnt orange. These, I would rock ALL DAY!

As I babbled about above, Saturday was the shakedown for the new bits on the Ridley. Installation and setup was a breeze on Friday night, but I missed the placement of the levers by a wide margin.
The 7900 levers are flat (and longer) across the top, unlike the pronounced curve on the top of 7800. I placed them where I thought they would be kicked slightly up. Wrong answer. I struggle through the first half of the ride with old Sean-Yates-Double-Wrist-Bend thing happening. Between the incorrect placement, and the greater length of the 7900, I felt REALLY stretched out. After an 90 minutes of this, I stopped and rolled the bars UP, much like the old-school stolen Schwinn 10-speed style. It looked completely oaf-ish, but solved the lever issue. It did, however, render the drops completely useless.
We rolled a nice 90km in the sunshine, so it was all good!

Il Prof and I went off this morning, sans the coffee drinking, scone deliveryman, aka TVH. IP had a 6 hour ride planned...I did not. We rolled out together for the first 90 minutes, where I turned right for the ride home, and he turned left for a tour of Fort Motte, SC. As you can see, Fort Motte is just Southeast of Columbia, in a part of the State where the is NOTHING!
I can say with some degree of certainty that I'm really tired of driving it into the ever-present headwind. Every which way I turned on the way home today was a fucking headwind! It's like it knows...
Another 80km and 2:40 racked up.
Upon hitting the door, the thought of driving to Blythewood to watch the race passed through my head, but a better opportunity presented itself. It was a good nap.

Alright that's enough...Have a good Monday...

Last urban ride

Kristen Armstrong shows proper TT position. Yeah, that's why I posted it...

Handlebar Mustache just dropped a new shirt. At last, a candidate I can get behind!

Cancellara getting chased by a fan from decades long past, on roads laid out by the Romans. I changed it to B&W. It just looks better that way!


Yep...it was last night. Time changes this weekend and the road ride begins next Tuesday @ 6.
Anyway, the "A" group was pretty big last night. The loop got modified because the river trail was polluted with the normal fair weather walkers.
Out Old State, thru SCANA and back in.
It was punctuated by a HUGE house fire back in the neighborhood near the train yard. Scary stuff. The group rolled up before the FD got there, but it was too late to save the house. To say it was 'fully involved' would be a bit of an understatement. Flames were shooting 50-75 feet in the air, and the heat could be felt from one street over. Here's hoping the folks who lived there got out okay, because fire doesn't play reindeer games!
Once thru Cayce, I split off from the group and came home. As much as I like riding with those guys, I gotta get home by 8 to see Junior Management off to bed.

The 7900 shifters hit the door yesterday, so the Ridley will get built this afternoon/tonight. The Salsa will be getting the 7800 once I figure out what to do with the paint.

Happy Friday!

Sexy Time

Rotor 3D with SRAM Force 53/39 rings. 670.5 grams (observed) complete. Just waiting for the 7900 shifters to hit the door, then the real fun begins...

What. The. Fu......!!!

First we hear that Snooki is going to have a baby Oompa-Loompa...

And Now...THIS!



It's official, the World is, in fact, going to end very soon. Colnago is showing a disc brake C59 at the Taiwan Bicycle Show.

Time to start up-armoring the Yukon, hoarding guns and bullets, and collecting canned goods...

Ahhh...Monday!

So, this is an overlay of Wiggo's TT position compared to Andy Schleck. Will someone PLEASE take Schleck to the damn wind tunnel? Christ, I'm 42 years old, could lose (more than) a few pounds, and have a bad back. Even I can get more aero than Schleck!
Never win the Tour with that position...

Cav's scooter is, in fact, cooler than yours...

This should help any gloomy Monday thoughts you have...

So Friday night, it became quite clear that any Saturday ride I chose to do would be an affair that involved water, sand, dirt and grit. Lo and behold, I was correct.
I slept in, and got on the CX bike @ 10, right when the big part of the storm had passed. The WeCola Remix Dirt Loop got the call. The rain began anew when I got to the end of 12th St., and continued for the entire dirt section around Eastman Chemical, down Old State. As soon as I got to the new waste treatment plant, it stopped.
As it happens, detritus that had accumulated on my exposed, embrocated flesh dried out. I returned home wearing what amounted to a light meringue.
Even so, a ride in 63 degrees and rain still trumped the turbo. I should really clean the CX bike today...

Sunday, we headed into Calhoun County. The ride was pretty uneventful, other than the summary ass-kicking we took from the wind. There was no headwind...no tailwind. There was just a cold, swirling maelstrom that made 90km feel like much, much more. Coming in on 12th St., I seriously considered getting off the bike, sitting in the sun, and calling the Boss for pick. I wasn't bonking, or out of power. I was out of the want to ride anymore for the day.

When I got home, I just wanted to put the bike away and eat a nice proscuitto and mozz sammich on a hard roll. Upon rolling to Service Course, I noticed that the key to the front door was hanging at an acute angle. I tried to gingerly coax it back to prime operational position, only for it to break off CLEAN in the lock. Strike one for Management Trainee #2...
After chastising #2, cooling off, showering, and making the aforementioned sammich, I sat down in front of the 50 to eat. What did I spy with my little eye?
#2 thought it would be amusing to toss the rag he was using to "help" his mother (The Boss) clean, at the TV. Well, it found it's intended target, and left a big schmutz of who-knows-what on the screen. Have I mentioned that I do not own a plasma TV cleaning kit? Consider it mentioned...
Strike 2!

One more, and he would have been the inaugural student in the new kindergarten program at Valley Forge Military Academy.

A trip to Lowe's for a new door mechanism and lock, plus a 1x3 and a trip to Target for the cleaning kit immediately followed consumption of my oh-so-good sammich.
Construction and installation and cleaning filled the next hour. No rest for the wicked...

On the upside, my new parts are beginning to trickle in. Just waiting on the Rotor Cranks and shifters to hit...

Breath deep people, Tuesday is on the way...

SPARTACUS!

Hey, EuroDogs, be afraid...

Friday...finally...

It's been the longest week of seemingly short days, ever. And of course, the weatherman says it's gonna be completely shitty tomorrow, which means it'll likely be 75 and beautiful.
Either way, I'm riding...

Anywho, as my last post explained, new 7900 mechanical D/A was purchased. "Why not electronic?" I can hear you say...
Well, as I sold the Blazer, cash flow isn't an issue, BUT, I told the wife I wouldn't piss all of the money away in one fell swoop. Thus began, "Operation D/A on The Cheap". I'm not going to say exactly how much I dropped, but let's just say that it was considerably less than one would imagine.
I did, however, sell out, and get the Rotor 3D cranks...with round rings. No BioPace for me, thanks!

Now to hurry up and wait for it to hit the door. Then I'll have two bikes to build...

The question at hand is what to do with the paint on the Salsa? So many things are swirling around in my skull. Sounds like pennies in a coffee can...

Nice CX ride last night. 2 hours on the 1st of March in shorts and a SS jersey. 75 degrees when I left @ 6, and 68 when I hit the door @ 8:15. You folks of Northern persuasion can have your culture, liberal politics, and season changes. I'll take the warm sunshine of the South, thank you very much.

It's dreary today, and supposed to be the same tomorrow, so here's something to brighten your day a bit...

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!

It's all mental...

After 5 days off the bike, yesterday started out with a bit of a whimper. The action of riding felt weird, and the legs were very curious as to what the hell was going on. For the first two hours, I felt like someone had slipped an IV of Quikrete into a vein. The word 'sloth' comes to mind...

Once we made the turn onto Double Homey, things sort of woke up. The run down Pineview was quick, and once onto Shop, putting the power down seemed to come pretty easy. Who knew a 2-1/2 hour warmup was necessary? No matter, it was nice to get back on the bike, and out in the fresh air.


Yeah, the fields are greening up nicely...in February...

The rain started late last night, and continued into the morning, so I slept in. The plan was to watch Oostmalle, then go out into the weather on the CX bike. Well, the best lain plans of mice and men...blah, blah, blah...
The rain let up a bit, the fenders went on, and I began to gear up. About the time I was airing tires, the bottom fell out. Figuring that a rainy Sunday morning, just after the pious (truly and otherwise) were letting out of church wasn't the best time to get hit by a vehicle, I opted for the turbo.
I hate the trainer with the white, hot passion of 1000 suns, but I hate hitting the ground more, so I stayed in the ManHole(tm), spun the legs around @ 80%, and watched La Course en Tete for an hour.
An hour is literally all I can take anymore. As I sat and spun, I kept looking out the door of Service Course, thinking that the weather really wasn't that bad.
A decision was made about 47 minutes in...
The turbo will not be ridden again. Fuck it! I don't care. I'll be cold and/or wet. A new rain jacket will be ordered this evening...
Rule #5 will be adhered to from here on out!

Now, on to this week's tech tip!

Check your stuff!


The above pictures are of a Deda handlebar that was removed from (redacted) bike. Yes, you are correct. Those ARE holes! I'm shocked that the bar stayed together. Needless to say, calls were made, and a new bar (and stem for good measure) was procured.
Seriously though, when changing your bar tape, inspect your bars. A lot of sweat, as well as other moisture, soaks into your tape. Synthetic tapes just do not dry out quickly, and that collected funk will eat your bars. I'd like to say that this is the first time I've seen this, but I'd be lying.
Change your tape often as well. It's a cheap, and may just save your life!

Where's my Tyvek suit and biohazard breather? This is some of the funk that came off, and OUT OF the bars.

Speaking of mental toughness, the Management Trainees are out of school tomorrow. Oh joy! The Boss better bring her ass home early...

Namaste...

Random shite

Well, that answered that...

Think your bars are low? Cadel begs to differ. I'll need to go see Renick just for LOOKING at that picture...

Enjoy the video

Timmy & the Entourage from Brad Walton on Vimeo.

Nothing to really report here. I've been off the bike since last Sunday. I was starting to feel really beat up, and just bone tired. No reason to grind it into powder. Too much to do in my off-bike life...

Back on the horse this weekend...rain or shine...

Stupid is as stupid does?

I've said it before, and I'll say it again...
There's a fine line between hard and stupid. My buddy Robert is the impetus for this post. He gave me mad props for my treading of the aforementioned line.

Sure, sometimes I ride my bike in shitty weather and/or conditions just so I can say that I did it. It's the 'why does a dog lick his balls?' theory. Does it mean I'm hard? Sure...a little. Does it mean I'm stupid? See the previous answer...

The main reason I go out solo in the soup/cold/wind/hail/meteors/frogs? I like to ride a bike. Doesn't matter what bike...doesn't matter where. As I've grown older, I've gotten back to the base enjoyment of riding. It's about the little things...the experience. You never know just what you'll see. or run into, while out on the bike. Could be a boring ass loop of Fort Jackson, or an adventure, or a comedy of errors.

I've seen things from the saddle of a bicycle that 99% of the people in the World may never get to experience. Hell, not just ME...we've all seen these things.

Sunrises, sunsets, wildlife, epic (yes, I used that word) weather, anger, fistfights, love, hate...

I'm not as fast as I once was...who cares? Hell, the fastest guy in this town has an injury that has effectively ended his racing career. Does he care? Sure, a little. Is it eating him from the inside out? Nope. He's probably fitter NOW than he was when he was breaking our collective legs. His exercise of choice has evolved.

I'm a married, nearly 42 year old father of 3. There are no pro teams watching me. Well, BMC and Omega Pharma/Quick Step might be, but that's just because I know both of their social media directors, and they want to make sure I'm not TOO harsh on their boys!

Now don't get me wrong, I still like to taste the pain once in a while, but it's not the point for me anymore. If I want to ride hard, I still can. I still know the location of the Pain Cave. The hieroglyphs are burned into my memory.

I'm also confident in both the size, and efficacy, of my male appendage. There's no need to pull it out every time I throw a leg over the top tube. Sometimes you can be social AND ride hard. If the point of your ride is to leave someone out in the country, then, well...

My point? Love your bike! Well, don't LOVE your bike...that's just sick! Enjoy the ride and the moment, because that's EXACTLY what it's about.

Conversely, if you wake up in the morning, swing your legs over the side of the bed, and sigh mightily about the fact that you HAVE to get dressed and go ride...re-assess.

Everyone has moments of pissing and moaning on any ride. I do it. It's okay in small doses. If the pissing and moaning begins to control the where/when/who/why/how you ride...re-assess.

Notice I didn't mention 'what'? Yeah, what you ride is pretty immaterial...as long as it keeps you happy and relatively sane.

Ride and smile peeps...ride and smile.

Nothing to see here...

Well...a few things...

So, can you just call it 'Stuey Street"?

Much like road tubeless, hydraulic road brake are an answer to a question that no one asked. Have YOU ever had issues with cable operated calipers? No? Me Neither...

No, the bike that these came off wasn't chained to the Myrtle Beach Pier for 12-18 months! Yes, I wore latex surgical gloves when removing it...

Hate to see you go, but love to watch you leave!

Nothing much going on...as you can plainly see.

Time to order some spokes for a wheel build...

Peace!