Devil Went Down to Georgia

I went to Georgia this past weekend. Lots happened.
Tues: Start to leave; Car leaking Differential fluid.
Wed: Go to sister's. Ride from Sisters; car ready at 9pm; Drive to harrisonburg Va. 1:30am Drafting truckers. Use Nick Waites Bed. Fellow Floyd beater, Schalk in other room.
Thur: Drive to Asheville. Stay with Trish Stevenson and Sam. Night ride with Si and Sam. Trish cooks better Indian food than Indian's.
Fri: Visit Industry Nine Factory to get new 08 wheelsets. Flashty with a capital "T".
Drive to Blairsville GA to stay with cousin Adam and his wife Lisa
Sat: Race Snake Creek Gap Time Trial. 34mile trail. point to point, 90% single track. Wish all races were this fun. Got 4th place after flatting 2x. Adam came along and was sweet enough to drive and holla. Cousin Jess comes to town. We eat, drink, shoot guns.
Sun: Eat big, drive to Asheville, ride with Trish, Si, Becky, and Mike. My 2nd taste of Pisgah trails. Stay at Sam and Trish's again. Sam unloads power tools on me. Hello Planer, finish nailer.
Mon: Drive to Harrisonbug. Ride the intown Hillandale trails. Ride Justin Wimpy's pump track. Eat with the Carps.
Tues: Drive to Michaux: Do a 3.5 exploratory Mtb ride in the 55degree rain. Fog obscuring everything within 30ft the whole time. Stay at mom's. eat everything in fridge. Pet dog.
Wed: Back home. House still there. nothing stolen. Week a success.


How about a factory tour? Industry Nine is an Asheville Co. Everything is USA made. In house. Anodization takes place elsewhere. They also make some slice ya thin knives. I got one of those too.

Those are my wheels: top right: Set of Stan Arch's, one Stan 355 front and one Flow Rear.
Jake and I used to jam out to DJ Shadow in Harrisonburg. Now he jams spokes in wheels for me.

Lots of bearings. Brandi at INine told me they had about 400 wheelsets waiting to be built. So I have to say thanks for putting my up on the list, and sorry for those who have to wait for their pieces of bike jewelry.


Each one of the pawls gets buffed by hand on the wheel. And then when it's all over, you get nifty wheels like these.


Oh and the boys in yard are always having fun. Those backyard peaks are behind the factory.




Riding Pisgah with animals.



Stay off Meth.

Warning you not to hit the link above. And whatever you don't click on a video.

Tradition Vs Obligation Vs Ritual

Work is an obligation. Unless you do something you like till someone pays you. Then it's a balancing act between obligation and ritual. A good ritual leaves you cleansed. Traditions can involve rituals. Traditions are not repeated daily, because they're reserved for special occasions. Buttering your bread the same way each morning is a habit. Brushing teeth is a habit/obligation/ ritual. Habligationul. Waiting for the bus is more obligation than anything. I think for some people tho, it's part of their daily ritual that moves them from one day to the next.
It's time for the traditional SpringClassics. Three weekends of mounting playground ponies on stakes before setting out on the urban road ride from filthadelphia. The Spring classic is a 25yr tradition. It's a tradition/ ritual. Rituadition! Rain or shine, the same loop as always. 11 of us left the water tower, and before mile 4 we were down to 10. Consider it a group ride. Consider this tho, one week cross bike might be the weapon of choice and the next is slick tire dominance.
Somewhere between Manayunk and Jenkintown.

Dirt Channel.

Biding my time?

During these times of convalescence I'm finding the time to catch up on a few back episodes of LOST. In some way's it does for the mid 2000's what Twin Peaks did back in the day. Of course it's not nearly as creepy or awkward as a David Lynch production. So though it will never satisfy that dark side of my id, it has definitely managed to keep my brain spinning, with complex character structures, and a narrative that flashes back, repeatedly revealing new details that intertwine the lives of the passengers before boarding the plane.
What's fun is trying to figure out the the "Name Game".
Jake Shepherd: He's the doctor, reluctant Leader: Shepherd=Flock care giver
John Lock: Hunter, sees the potential of other characters: John Lock=JohnLocke seventeenth century philosopher. "Locke was the first philosopher to define the self through a continuity of "consciousness".
Charlie: heroin addict: Charlie=slang for heroin.
Sawyer: Troubled southern boy: Sawyer=Tom Sawyer
Kate Austen: Fugitive, Smart, independent, not overtly sexual: Kate Austen= Jane Austen? Might be a stretch

Okay enough of that. This is how you spend time in bed for three days. Oh and I've found a new love for BikeSnobNYC. Hilarious. Worth the read.
Sam, I should call, but it feels like forever away to the other side of the city, when everytime I get in the car I like i'm just as likely to hit the gas as the brake. I feel loopy.
And yes it's much better to do drywall in the cool than the itching powder enhancing effect of sweaty summer.

Sick!

The first racing of the season is down the drain. I've been a real flake lately. I signed up for the Mas or Menos in Texas a few weeks ago. Then realizing the amount of money it would be, and finding out that the 12hrs of Razorback was being replaced by 12hrs of Santos I decided to go to FL. That's home! Stay at my parents, eat some good food. Seemed like the right choice.
Then I had to get ready for this..Drywall. So I spent the week not getting much sleep, working a lot then trying to ride my bike on a normal schedule.
So I could stop living in a place like this. I realized that there was no way I was ready to go race a 12hr race and recover. My fitness is no where near where it was at this time last year. I've been on the bike a lot, but not as much, or as consistant , as last year.
So then I figured okay, I'll skip 12hrs, go ahead and go to Texas and get in a shorter race, stay a few extra days and stay on a good training sched. I made sure Ernesto still had a place for me to sleep, and I talked to the promoters letting them know I wanted to come. That was Tuesday. By Tuesday night the nagging headache I had earlier in the day became a debilitating mind splitter.
So I've been in bed for going on three days now. No racing, no riding, no working on the house. It's rather depressing. Can't say this year is really shaping up as neatly as past years. I haven't been writing a lot because it's been a little depressing, and who wants to read about it? Me I guess.

We Got it Together

This past weekend was spent in the chilly Boston area with a brotherhood of IF cyclist. I got to hang out with the IFRacing under 25 development road team. We did nifty team building stuff together. Like hitting balls suspended above ground and practicing holding ropes in a line.
Check out the new team website IFracing.org.
Climbing the pole!


Touring the IF factory. Watching Jill carve a bike out of a single piece of steel. And making it look like a lugged Indy Fab stainless steel bike. Never!

A good amount of time was spent at the bar trying to figure out why "not" was underlined twice.

Getting back to normal: Schedule

Merry Festivus: Hope you didn't over do it!Happy new year!Seriously, Thanks to every one for your support over that last few weeks, and last couple of years. You know I really couldn't do any of this without the moral and financial support of those in my life. My friends and Family are incredible. Next time you get a chance treat yourself to a little snowboarding behind your friends car.
Went to WV for News Year with friends Tim and Sue. The scene below was what I was meditating on when I hear a ting, and as I looked down I just caught the sight of Sue's camera bouncing off a rock, over the edge and into the thick mountain laurels below. It took about half an hour to find it buried in leaves. Glad we found it cause the next day say 4 inches of snow cover. See sledding above.