Tuesday, June 27, 2006

lots on my plate.,....

It may be some kind of blessing in disquise that i have not been able, due mostly to life circimstances at the moment, read that I just moved, changed jobs, and have a house that I am trying to sell, that I have not been able to race this year. I am trying on a new hat, that everything happens for a reason. I got ill for a reason, it is supposed to teach me something, when I learn the lesson I will be able to move on, and maybe just maybe it will make me a stronger, better person, cyclist, human being. So each day I am looking for the silver lining, I hate to be that guy that used to be fast, used to be strong, used to be, I dont want to live in the past. Certainly all those experiences have helped me to grow and change and have been good, and are still part of who I am, but now I am who I am. I get to commute to work on a bike, that rocks. I dont get to mountain bike like I used to, but I am working on getting two or three mountain rides a week in, so far it has been about one. Last weekend the weather broke here, it was beautiful, what did I do, flew to reno on no sleep and cleaned my house up to get it ready to sell. Lots of work, but I did get to see the lake tahoe, some friends and eat the best sushi on the planet at Hiro's sushi in Kings Beach. silver lining. MInd you life is all about perspective and perception. I tend to see myself as less than right now when in some ways I am more than i was before, just in a different arena. I am not the mutant singlespeeder at the races, but I am coming back and I will rise agian, I am making plans, loose one for next year, and some for later this year, lets see what happens. I would like to do one tour, a couple big races, 100 milers, I would really like to get to Boris' 12 hour race. So I am coming back ever so slowly. I feel better on the bike, but I am also a bit more flexible in the training, and listen a bit better to the body for now at least. so there you have it, my brain fart of the day.

In other news I am feeling a bit sad today, Dave Nice aka Cellarrat, is out to the GDR his bike was stolen while he slept along side the road. I can not imagine how that must feel. Dave my heart goes out to you. there are a lot of people on your side and you will be rolling agian. Scott Taylor at a bike shop in Denver has set up a paypal account for those wanting to donate to get dave back and rolling. Lets show him we all care about him. Lets all be family, like we are. Those who ride should show a kinship. I found myself putting limits on it i.e those that have done a 24 hr race or this or that, but those who ride are part of a family. so those wanting to give should paypal money, any amount will help to scott@salvagetti.com

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

so awhile ago....

So awhile ago I wrote about fixed gear bikes are they the next hot thing. It appears they are, but is that necessarily a good thing. For those of you who dont know I am part of the Twin Six family. I like what these guys are about and what they are doing. I wont even try to pretend that I know the history of how messengers started riding these bikes. as part of a counterculture, those looking for the next thing to market may find it in the messenger culture. The rebels those who decide to live by their own rules.
I like fixies a lot, and after spending time on one it becomes very apparent why they hold such a dear place in the heart of those making a living delivering packages. They are simple, you are connected to the bike with your legs, thus minor adjusments in speed can be made with out using brakes, you are, at risk of making too mcuh out of it, one with the machine. So one of the other members of the twin six family wrote an opinion of the month about just the subject. The popularity of fixed gears and what it is doing to the messenger community in Milwakee.
I remember when skateboarding went big, it changed it, it made it harder to skate the streets because parks were built and why the hell werent we there. Similarly with the newspapers taking an interest fixed gear bikes they are brought in to the consiousness of all able to read the paper. The lawlessness of the machine gets highlighted. The law states that a bike must have breaks, most fixies dont, hence the long arm of the law now has some ammunition, and due to the exposure in the papers, they have the education of what to look for to determine what the bike looks like. So with the popularity comes the backlash. I am not a messenger, but riding fixed here in seattle certainly has its benefits, I dont ride fixed all the time and brakes can be tempermental, and minor adjustments to speed are not as easy to make, is it for everyone, no. Is it just for messengers, no. Just fly under the radar. Here is a link to James Lalonde's article, while your there poke around a bit. Keep it simple.

On a side note, I am selling a 26 inch rear wheel. new never been ridden. It is an white industries eno disc hub laced to a ritchey rim. unsure of spokes or nipples used in the build as it was built by my old team manager. if intertested make an offer,we will go from there. over and out, keep pedaling.

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

In theory....

I should be able to post more. But life takes over and I even have trouble getting an email off to old friends. Some may say I need to learn to manage my time, but after being sick I have a new found appreciation for doing things in their time. Some things just take longer than you wish they did, but then again perfection is not possible. Or is it? Does it really matter, imperfect may be perfect. Well I wont bore you with that babble of new age nonsense. New age or not things just happen when they happen and that has to be good enough. Dream and figure out the details later. Or maybe the dream is just good enough. There I go getting all new age again. Or is it just matter of fact. Ring a bell Pete. Peter Peter the...... Well those that were there can finish the rest of that sentence, or should I say adult nursery rhyme. I'll give you a hint think one with the natural order of things. Good times. So enough with the inside jokes.
My dad and step mom are in town.

Raam is about over, and the great divide race is about to happen. Good luck to Dave, matt and rudi, representing the fixed side off life. The build is in effect just trying to get all the right parts here. The color is exactly what I asked for. Wade really is the man, I can not wait to get out and hit the trials fixed. I am concerned that I will spend too much intimate trail time, i.e face in the roots, dirt, mud or what have you. And how will my body hold up over the miles, more so how bout the legs.

On the health front I am feeling better, and better, but still not whole. I almost said better, but that wouldn't have made a lot of sense. Here I go again. When ever I say that phrase"here I go again" I cant help but being reminded of Whitesnake, a car and a red head in white wrything around on the hood of a car. Yes I am feeling my age right now a victim of growing up in the 80's. "on my own goin down the only road I've ever known, like a twister I was born to walk alone, I made..... So I am riding more, and more miles, thank god for Whitesnake, not really, it reminds me of being on an endless climb with a wander mind and having that filling it urging me on faster and faster in an attempt to make it hurt so bad I forget about the stupid sound loop that I am playing in my mind. Oh I have spent many hours with Ozzy Osbourne's Crazy Train in my head, and I cant say I always enjoyed it. I have played whole albums in my head during a race before. Its tolerable in a race, but in real life at work it can push me over the edge. Back to the world

so hopefully the off road fixie, I haven't yet named her, with be internet ready here in about 2 weeks. Sorry for the delay. I know you are all just holding your breath in anticipation. Well don't. I hope everyone finds the humor in that sentence and doesn't label me some kind of ego maniac.

So family is the theme this week, my parents are here, keiths parents are here. I am told father levitt went down on the road and has some battle scars. Heal up, heal up.

I rode trails again rigid and am thinking about staying that way for awhile. cialis really works. haha, rigid is simple, roots hurt and line selection is key. I imagine if I get really accustomed to it going back to a suspension fork will only increase the fun. Its all about skill building. So I have more energy and am dreaming of racing again, but probably not until next year, I don't want to rush anything, and only then for pure shits and giggles.

Looks like Rich of team dicky had a rough weekend, next time my man, next time.
so the weather looks to be getting better and soon I am hoping that life will stop taking over and I will have time to really get out and ride and recover. Patience it never has been my strong point

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

What am I supposed to learn....

I am trying to come up with one of those life is.... sayings to sum up in a few words succinctly how life has been feeling lately and am at a loss for the correct words. There is the ever present and over used "life happens" which to me describes just that. This life that we lead comes with inherent resposibilities and they happen, is one definition. Things take longer than we as a collective want them too. Plans change. Schedules change. What is the saying "the best laid plans fail, fall short" something. Life has a way of providing road blocks, or challanges, puzzels if you will to slow us down, and possible teach us lessons. That is if we listen and pay attention. Patience is a Virture. How many more uphemisism can I throw in here. Anyways life tends to throw situations our way to teach us more about our selves and just quite possible more about the collective human condition. We are as much as I hate to admit it only human after all. I would love to be mutant freak, and not bound to the same collective restrictions, but at the end of the day, I am faced with the fact of being a human after all. Sometimes while out riding in traffic I feel above it all and on another plain, but then I get to work and have to deal with boss, and the customers and all of this has a way of bringing me back to earth. There is simple not enough hours in the day to do everything I wish that I could do. So being part of the collective is the answer and understanding personal motivation may help me understand the motivations of others and might just possible make it easier to come to terms with being human. Well now that i have totally made no sense and danced from topci to topic, a glimpse in to how my brain works, I will attempt to describe what is happening.

Communication, now I think I am quite good at it, but as of late that has most definately not been the case. The real question is: Is it what I say or might it be what I expect people have heard. So Sunday we went for an what was supposed to be an epic ride and that is was, but not for the same reasons that i initail thought. I was under the impression that the route had been ridden in its entirety and therefore would not involve exploration. wrong. first 6 miles amazing ups followed by amazing downs, then lots and lots of fireroad, gravel road and pavement with many stops all the time lost. oh yeah then some hike a bike insert 2000 vert in under a mile and a half. riding in 6 inches up mud more being lost. ok you get the point. a 3 to 4 hour expected ride turned in to a 8 hour where are we going fest. But we got back on track adn the final descent was out of this world.
Tuesday: The day I was supposed to get my bike frame back from the painter. Car trip to, lots of traffic. Frame looked awsome paint just what I wanted. had a long conversation when I dropped it off about taping of the head badge, understood, 1 of a kind,etc etc. Well you can imagine where this is going. Head badge got painted. fuck, now they have to re do it. there is an hour and a half wasted in the car, for a conversation I thought was well understood, it was noted every where.
I wont bore you with more, but that is they way it has been going. What am I supposed to learn, not so sure, but under all this I am looking for the silver lining. because there is always a silver lining under all things, or am I just supposed to change my level of expectation, ask more questions and maybe be that guy, the guy that asks to many questions and wants to control the outcome too much. This post was less bikeing related and more just a vent if you made it this far you are a trooper, if not you really missed out. as always keep pedaling and enjoy

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

6/6/06

that was yesterday. I had a great day, while enjoying the Supersuckers live I heard the greatest thing about the whole 6/6/06 thing he was talking about telling his mother about the day this and that and she said "its just stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid. it like the easter bunny, santa claus and all that, and if it werent for that stupid movie the omen(the first one) no one would even know about 666." I had a good chuckle and just thought I would share that little moment with you.

So yesterday I participated in an alleycat race, in the daylight this time, with two stops, I did better but made some navigation errors. I really dont care how fast you are if someone can plan a better faster route than you they will win, that is unless you take the same route. I am still new to this city and the checkpoints are not always the easiest for me to find. That said this is how it all went down. The race was to start at 6pm at 666 stewart st. a fiction address. As riders started to appear from traffic we moved to a near by park, those that knew the promoters call them and they eventually showed up. 6 dollars was paid, and we were given 3 tickets, one for a beer, one for a hotdog and the other a raffle ticket, that was for a PBR bike. We crossed the street to a parking lot the 1st checkpoint was announced and we were off to Mobius Cycles. This is where the fun begins, just after 6 in downtown traffic we tore off, splitting lanes, running red lights, as you can imagine when 45 riders take off at once headed to the same place just a short jaunt away mahem is the order of the day. Not havign been to mobius I hung back a bit and followed we made it there in no time, ran up two flights of stairs, did a shot of the nastiest burbon ever, got a cd, and back to the bikes with the next checkpoint, where 520 and the arbortetum meet. Here is where I made a slight navigation error, avoidign climbing up and over to Madison I went towards the udistrict and around, slight navigation error. More running of red lights and going all out. I was aboard the fixie so top speed was a little limited but not much. Arboretum, bridge to no where, chug a rainer, grab a doll part and off to the Summit ale house. Not know where that was I mad the biggest error of the day and went all the way up to the top of Captial Hill instead of around it and up the other side. I ended up 6th, the winner, VT SEth was get this on a BMX bike. 36x12 gearing, but none the less on a bmx bike. oh the shame. AFter that I waited around, met the cadence clothing guy and then went off to the supersuckers and Zeke show. good times were had by all. Cant wait to do another.

Monday, June 05, 2006

Monster cross history...

This is my brief understanding of what a monster cross bike is: a bike that accomadates up to 44 or 45 cc tires, on 700 rims, usually has drop bars, can be geared, single or fixed, but for the most part is of the one speed variety. The term was coined by wade as far as I know as a way to talk to costomers about what they were asking for and to have a common ground for discussion, with them. Here is a link to an mtbr fourm talking about it: http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?s=763305814b65232ac5dbe4005990e599&t=192307

As for the story of mine and how it came to be. I ordered a bike from wade, the skull bike, just over two years ago, a 29er single. I was hooked on the vulture, best ride I have ever had. Wade really works some magic. At the time I wanted to help promote Vulture cycles, to help spread the gospel, but there existed no merchendise to do so. I took it upon myself to help a brotha out, I had shop jackets, hats and socks made for wade and vulture, with Jessica, wades woman, we had wool jersey made recently, so it is coming together. Wade wanted to show his appreciation so he presented me with a frame of his choosing, a monster cross frame with no rear brake boss and a front disc brake. I am forever greatful, and eager await getting it back and built up so I can take an off road fixie ride.
My health not being what I wish it was will keep those trips relatively short for the time being, but I think that it will be another great way to enjoy the trails, and challanging at the same time. I have yet to get the parts totally down, but I am going to keep it simple. It is probably only a few short weeks until I get to have a ride report for everyone. I need to get out and enjoy the local trails soon. Life has been happening and keeping me from getting out as much as I would like, but sometimes thats just the way it is.
As far as the post about irony it was just an observation, as are many things posted on this blog, it is a way for me to put things in perspective, sometimes my writing is my thoughts as they come out, I sure do wish that all my parents ability to write had been passed down and I could put thoughts to paper or in this case thoughts to screen in a more artistic manner, but then again this is practice to becoming a better writer, it is fun, it will be fun to look back on. Memories. All the hats we wear throughout life, all the experiences life is so dynamic, and I have these great thoughts and ideas and sometimes I hit the mark and can express them and other times what I imagine things and ideas to sound like is nothing like what they come out like. Life is not a spectator sport. sorry for all the cliches. Irony exists, and what was said the other day was just half a thought, and as dave nice said we do have to pay for tires and bike parts that were shipped half way around the globe, and like he said, beign aware is more than most people are doing, it is a starting point. as always keep pedaling.

Sunday, June 04, 2006

Ironic?

the other day I had the pleasure of driving my bike to the powder coaters, such irony in driving to do bike related stuff, but to ride the frame there would have taken more time than I had. I always find it a little akward to put a bike in a car and drive it someplace close by. I can't really even justify putting my road bike on my car burning some petro to get to another place to ride my road bike on roads. There is just something about it that seems so counter productive, so just not the thing to do. Of course to sample somesweet singletrack I just about have to put my bike on a car and drive, this I have come to terms with, I would really love to live someplace again where this was possible. In Reno I could leave my house and be on trails in 5 mins or less, same in tahoe. Here in seattel I have to drive a minimum of an hour to get to some worthy trails, and longer a lot of times. So there is irony that I have to use gas to enjoy my bike, if only cities where designed with bikes and offroad use in city. Think about it systems of trials in greenbelts, less roads and more dirt, it could have been possible, and there is probably some way to have more trials in city, it just takes shifting towards allowing bikes in parks, and making bike specific trails. I know I am dreaming but with out dreams where are you really. Back to my above point, there is irony in the fact that we as cyclist think that we are doing much more than the average citizen and are somehow better, that our riding of bikes somehow cuts down on our gas consumption, when in fact at times we burn more gas to get to those places that we want to ride our bikes. The only trips that conserve or cut down on our gas consumption are those that replace a trip that we would have taken in a car. Think about it. I am in no way advocating that we dont go riding or that we are bad for this, it is just there is inherently some irony in the whole equation. My current riding partners and I always car pool, as two of are for the most part carless ourselves, that leaves one or two others to do all the driving. but it eases my mind to know that we are not all driving to the trailhead individually. That is what I thought about as I drove my girlfriends car to the powdercoater on Friday, and I will have to drive back to get it when it is done.
So the rain is still here, will it ever stop for a good stretch of time I hope. I have a few pics of wade building my bike that I may put up later, I may just wait until it is powdercoated and built and then share all stages of pic that I have. there you have it.