Harmonic Convergenss

Harmcom was a blast. Like I said before I wanted to get down to this last year but didn't make it. This year it all worked out and I am so glad that I went. The day started soon after the night ended. As in 3 hours to be exact. I will back track a bit. Friday while on the way to work I crashed my bike yet again. I felt like a bit of a moron. It was raining a bit, the roads were slick and I was exploring a bit, so I was on unfamiliar roads. Intuition was telling me that it was dangerous, and that i had made a wrong turn. As I was turning at slowspeed going downhill i noticed oil on the road, before I could correct i was laying on the ground, and in pain. Everything would have been fine, minus the cellphone in my pocket. I had a really bad charlie horse, the kind that made it really hard to pedal a fixed gear, and walking was an effort. Well as you can guess I soldiered on. Road to work, worked and entire shift behind the bar. Medicated a bit with Vitamin I and you guess it a bit of product sampling, or should I say quality control. Left work, road home, telling my self that using it would force blood though it, thus helping it heal. The bruise had started to show a bit. 3 am went to bed. Keith, my friend and ride to harmcom called promptly at 6:20 and it was confirmed we were headed out. A. the weather looked too nice, B. I wasn't going to miss this ride again. The drive down was uneventful, and we arrived at the said location. There were familiar faces and lots of unfamiliar faces, but the vibe was all good. We caravaned out to the parking location and met up with some more folks. This is when the fun really began. We divided in to different groups and set off. I picked the group lead by Joel, most of us were on single speeds. To say we rode some trail is an understatement he showed us the way. To say we traveled great distances, not so. These trails are slow speed , twisty knotted routes. We had a blast. Log rides, mud, to say I had the wrong tires is an understatement, WTB NanoRaptors were not the best, but not the worst either. We rode around for a long time, then had a mid ride meeting for some barley pop and then some more riding. I met some great people. Oh are you wondering how the leg felt, stiff, and a bit underpowered, but I pushed through and no one else knew the difference, save for when I got off the bike and hobbled around. The black and blue was better than ever. I always mean to take pictures, but never seem to get around to it. I plan to work on this. Photos make all the difference. Heard about some great events coming up, more on that later. This is a worthy event. We had originally planned to stay the night, but the leg needed to be treated with a bit of respect, so we headed home.

All you myspace people out there. I know I caved in a set an account up. my address is
http://www.myspace.com/onegearonemind

as always keep pedaling.

what more to say

I have been occupied with a bunch of things, and am currently working lots while still managing not to have any free monies to devote to such things as bicycles. Why you ask. Well we currently own two houses and are paying said mortgages. The former one in Reno is about to be sold, which will do wonders for us financially. Meaning we can pay back all the debt incurred by having to pay two mortgages. There is money owed to friends for work done that I have not been able to pay back, and they don't deserve this kind of treatment, I thank them for being friends and being understanding. Well back to bikes, this blog in theory is devoted to all things bike related.
Last week consisted of working all seven days, but still managing to get 145 miles in, all but a few on the fixie and on the road. I however need to get some dirt on, which I will be doing this weekend. The Harmonic Convergenss, that is part of the Indie Series, looks to be rolling terrain, maybe I will race the ride is this weekend down the road in Longview, WA. Looks to be back to back days of new trails, and new friends. I am planning on bringing the Skull bike, and coasting a bit. The following weekend there is a short race over on the Peninsula, might take the fixie and see how it rolls out. Why not right. All in the name of getting more fitness back in these legs. Elk had a great post the other day.
Happy to say, I am part of the Bare Knuckle Brigade, cant wait to get the kit, so I can start representin. Hope to make it to some races on the east coast and Midwest to meet some of the other members.
I going to ride at least 10 hrs a week, thats the plan at least. Gonna make my commute to work an hour long and see how the body responds. It is terrible to say, but I am scared to push it too hard after what happened to me, but little by little I am getting stronger and stronger and more willing to push it harder and harder. The goal is to get to 200 miles a week or a bit more. I need to start getting more dirt miles in, as the road gets boring. I am trying to be realistic and just slowly move towards more miles and better fitness. Nothing like look ahead to races and having a goal again. This time the goal won't consume me though.
Looks like Tahoe finally got some snow. Shredder got a new bike, I would like to get one from the same builder some time, but more than that I would like to get some traveling in as well as some good old fashioned racing. Well enough is enough, its time to go track down the last of my W2's so I can get the money I so badly need right now. as always keep pedaling.

Beer and BBQ for Breakfast...

Here is how Wednesday started, 10am beer for breakfast, you do only live once. It was Pete's, in the blue vest, 32nd birthday. B was the theme of the day. First we started with a beer, pictured here, then it was off, on an empty stomach for the next B of the day, BBQ. I will attempt to fill this space with the back story on this event. A year ago to the date of Pete's birthday is when I happened to meet Pete and Keith, I had just started back at the Big Time Brewery, my first night back to be specific. Around 9 pm these two characters walked in and proceed to say they were out celebrating a birthday by riding around to numerous breweries in the Seattle area and sampling the beers, as I a sure you can guess we were the last stop, and they were mildly intoxicated. Keith proceeded to tell the same story multiple times, as he is prone to doing, but manages to make it funny each time. There is intricate math that goes in to finding the real truth in his stories, but none the less he is great, and I am happy to have met them. They truly have made living in Seattle much better than in would have been had I not met them, so thank you gentlemen. Enough, now on to the next stop of the adventure, Dixie's BBQ over on the East Side.
Here again is the birthday boy pondering his choice of breakfast meats. Did I just say Breakfast and meat, other than bacon in the same sentence. ouch. This one left a mark. Sitting like a bomb in each or our stomachs for the remainder of the day. After the experience that is Dixie's was complete, we were off to the Tapeworm trail in Renton for our next B, bikes. We had a great ride, complete with stunts, log rides, drops and even some jumps. Back to the picture, doesn't Pete look confused? he was. After the Tapeworm, which I had heard mixed reviews of, we were off for a bit of lunch, and then I was off to work. The Tapeworm is a marvel of packing trail in to a small area, twisting turning, logs, roots, lots of low speed stuff, talk about a skill improver. Not long enough,or enough elevation change to make for an epic, but fun none the less. Yes I coasted, I had so much fun coasting again, I still love scorchin too. It made for a long day to say the least, but memorable and totally worth it.


So I will follow all that up with a plug to go and sign this, we need to save PBS and NPR, feels like we just did this a few months back. I will ask a rhetorical question, is our president really that much of an idiot? as always keep pedaling.

scraped elbows and strained backs

Yes the title pretty much says it all. I have a bad back strain, allowing me to ride in the saddle, standing is not so much fun, and painful as well. Then on Friday I had the pleasure of crashing my bike on the pavement and getting scraped elbows, yes both. It happened at 3 in the morning and made for a great night of sleep. Pavement is not all that forgiving, but bound to happen at some point. I have been here a year and only crashed a couple of times, considering the amount of rain and time spent riding I am ok with it, however I don't wish to crash anytime soon. Crashing on a bad back did wonders for the pain, Saturday it started raining again and I spent lots of time watching movies. Saw This film is not yet rated. Lots of information about the film industry and the control exerted by a secret group of raters. I suggest you all go out, rent it and watch it.

So I am riding not as much as I would like, working more than I would like and spending more time not in motion than I would like.

As for the upcoming season I am trying to put it all together, but it really depends on the sale of our Reno house going through and how we come out of that, it will be great to be out from under that load, it has been sucking us dry of all our funds. Makes traveling hard, as i need to work all that i can, at least for the time being. I am looking forward to doing some races in BC, and will do some endurance race on a fixie, if everything goes as planned. Tomorrow is my 1 year anniversary at the Big Time Brewery, this is the same day that I met Keith and Pete on there Brewery tour on bikes, to honor the day we are going to go for a ride, I still have to work at night, but we are going to hopefully go ride some trails in the area. This weekend there wont be much riding, but over the weekend of the 17th we are headed down to Longview, WA for Harmonic Convergenss. The weekend after that I am going to race an XC race as "training" over on the Peninsula as part of the Indie Series.

My first 100 miler

I will try to set the stage as best I can. I had been racing Norba races, and competing on 4 man expert teams in 24 hr racing, in fact I had raced duo at one already before this race, but never a 100miler all in one go. I sent off the registration, after talking a friend, Nate Simonson, in to doing it with me, I wanted some company for the 8 hr drive from Reno to Brianhead, UT. I had become bored with the Norba attitude scene, and wanted a challenge. What better way to challenge ones self and endurance than to ride 100 miles off road in a day. Since I had been racing 24 hr races I liked the people more, out for a challenge, more supportive and just plain more fun. More like being part of the event, not the side show as the age group races are at the Norba events. I have always had a lot to prove to myself, kind of a self loathing, hurt to feel good, no pain no gain, looking for the edge kind of feeling. I was quite nervous at this race. This was 2003 and I had only been riding for 3 years to say I was intimidated, wondered what kind of hell I had signed on for is and understatement. Upon arrival I noticed some familiar faces, Uber super hero Steve Fassbinder was there on a 29er singlespeed, Sean Mclaughlin, Mike Janelle, who look veiny as all hell, he didn't look human i remember thinking that. We got there to 8,900 feet checked in to the hotel, registered and then we just had to stretch the legs a bit so we rode the first climb, I was riding gears still, yes it was that long ago. Then it was eat, have a quick drink, I believe we drank Guinness, and then off to bed.
Race Day
Wake up shower, get all things in order, lube chain, recheck and out the door, to ride up to the start. Mill around. Man was I nervous. My stomach was churning and churning. In to the line, an I wearing too much, not enough, ahhhhhhhh. One minute to start and I have to drop the kids at the pool, take the browns to the superbowl, not gonna happen, it will go away I say to myself. The gun goes off and we are off, pacing I know nothing I am just going for it, I want to run out front with the big guns. It is all climbing out of the gate up the pavement and then up to 11,000 ft then a really fun descent all the way to aid 1. I just ride through, it is at this time that I go by Steve Fassbinder, we exchange a few words, mind you we are on fairly flat terrain and I have gears and he doesn't. Big advantage. Through the lava fields, down some more double track, and in to aid 2 where i stop and fill up with water. I think all the descending is going to be climbing on the way back. After aid 2 it is more rolling and flat and I remember a horrible head wind on a road before we hit some ripping single track along the Virgin River Rim trail. Aid 3 m and m's and Sloane Anderson and I are riding together for a bit, we pull each other up and down some of the hills. Aid 4 same as aid two, my legs are really starting to hurt now, and that stomach hurt is really coming on. At 75 miles there is an informal aid station, I am really hurting but keep plugging on. I forgot toilet paper, the woods are super dry, i must wait until aid 5 to rid myself of these hostages that I am holding at this point in time. I get there and not soon enough. I literally drop my bike and run for the port a potty that is in the blazing sun and it is 90 degrees at 9,000 feet, it is like a sauna, before I get there I am fighting with my jersey,It needs to be off, why you may ask, well I made the big mistake of wearing bibs on a 100 mile race, not only do my nipples hurt, but it is a fight to get to the port a potty. I throw my shirt on the ground , jump inside the little blue sauna sit down, and remember that I first need to lower my bibs. I somehow manage to do this and avoid disaster, but I have to hold on to both sides of the box to keep my self in place. I am in so happy, and lighter. I finally am able to get up and out and people are laughing and clapping. Glad I made someones day. Now I must finish this race. 14 miles to go, how bad can it be. It was the longest 14 miles of my life. All up hill save the last 3 miles which went down. Almost two hours. I was dehydrated but determined to finish. I wanted to make it in under 9 hours so I could get my chalice. Well I succeeded 8:40 and change, 2nd in my class, that is if you take Mr Fassbinder out because he was on a single and won that class. 14th overall. not too bad. I felt good, had a few beers, with Sean, Eric Rector, who had done it on a single speed, and a bunch of others. Nate finished a bit later and was in good spirits. After the awards we just crashed anticipating the long drive home the next day. There you have it, if you made it this far thanks. as always keep pedaling. I will revisit races from time to time, next time I will get to my first single speed 100 miler, the Cascade Cream Puff.

tuffness....

I just started reading the book pictured at the left. Quite a tale, light read, and inspiring, Mike is tuff, just like the others mentioned below. From a 255lbs man to 170lbs racer, in two years, gave up smoking and drinking too. Committed to the end result of being faster on a bike. It is a good read. In fact quick as well as I picked it up yesterday before work and am on page 100 already. I suggest it to all you cyclists out there in cycle land. Nothing like having a goal to keep you focused and on track, oh I forgot to mention he also quit eating, all except for 3 shakes a day to lose weight and lost it at a rate of 5 lbs a week. Hats off to Mike and his tuffness.

I thought I was a bit tough this weekend by riding my fixie out to Port Townsend for the day, then I checked on my friend mark Mcdaniel's out of Reno, the land of no snow at this time, who rode his fixie up and down and up and down, without brakes. Geiger Grade on a fixie, Congrats mark. I bet your legs they were a hurtin for a few days. Geiger ain't no joke, and Gold Hill on the other side is 15 or 18 percent. Mark you just plain rock. I will put this one in writing, not as a definite, bu none the less in writing, makes me want to rock a large mountain bike 100 miler on my off road fixie, not sure which one, but I am thinking about it, lots of ups and downs. I am scared to say the least. Rich, any advice???? Mark is tuff, he and rich for that matter are inspiration for the title.
So I rode to Port Townsend this weekend, first time I did it, sure is fun. I will have to get over to the peninsula for some more rides.
I am trying to put together a race schedule that maxes the fun factor, is cost acceptable and I can get work off for. No easy task, also looking to keep it in the managable body wise as I don't wish to get sick again in the form that I was kind of way. Wow that was a run on sentence. Not willing to put anything down on the blog yet as it is all up in the air. I will probably try to fine tune some of my fitness by racing shorter local races, I want to get a 100 or two in, I have family back east. I am juggling right now.

a diesel engine

This is a picture of my friend Eric. He is a diesel engine, not the fastest guy out there, but he keeps going and going and going. He is focused and determined to reach his goals. Now a little back story if I may. I met Eric through my job at The Big Time Brewery, he would come in dressed in his cycling clothing, I saw a brother in arms so to speak, and the rest is what we call history. He is part of the Seattle Randonneur's, in fact I believe that he is a the head of membership, although I could be wrong. As I took out my camera to take a picture of him he got a worried look, as I think you can tell by the picture he said something to the effect of "what do you want with a picture of me?" The answer is simple to the left is a picture of the current record holder for most Randonneur miles in a year, it amounts to 7,500 miles or 12,000km if I remember correctly. I am sure most people that read this are familiar with Randonneuring so I will skip all the details, but basically it is long distance, open course, timed, light cycling touring ranging from 100km to 1200km. Each event counts only once, and he also holds down a full time job at the University of Washington, one can imagine he spends a lot of his free time in the saddle. This year he has set the lofty goal of 10,000 "event" miles, I have faith that he will accomplish his goal. Eric thanks for the inspiration and support. The title of this post refers to Eric a diesel engine and a great guy. Congrats and best wishes in the upcoming year.

down in This here picture is of one dirty Vulture after the ride down in Eugene. The camera didn't like all the sunlight and I was not in the mood to take more pics, but this turned out more artsy than I thought. I kind of like it. The weekend of February 17th is shaping up to be a good time. It is the weekend of the Harmonic ConvergenSS Longview, Washington. I plan on being there. Mark your calenders.

This weekends mayhem

This past weekend was a much needed brake from Seattle. I heard about the Disciples of Dirt's All Comers Meat in Eugene, OR, talked some of favorite riders in to rolling down there for a get away. It all came together and we were off on Friday morning, with the plan of stopping at a few breweries on the way down and making our way to Eugene early enough to enjoy some fun, and still get some rest for the next days debauchery. To say we had a great time is an understatement. While it had rained in the days leading up to the event, the day itself was perfect, sun, I hadn't seen that in a while. Since it was mostly a single speed ride, I thought why not ride the fixie, see how it rolls out on a longish ride. Lets just say I had lots and lots of fun, ran a 36x17 on 700 cc wheels and it was great. It took some getting used to and my back hurt alot the next day, but that could have been a result of the wrestling match that Keith and I got in to in the parking lot later, way later in the evening. Back to the event, which was a well executed event, for just a ride. 88 people showed up for the event, we traveled the longest distance, and it was worth it. The keg was tapped prior to the beginning of the ride and the beer was flowing all day, if you cared to partake. We all decided to jump in with the fast group, and it was the way to go. I was hoping that Wade, of Vulture fame, would be there, but he was not. Instead I met up with Eugene, who I have met before, and a few other folks, we ended up splitting off from the larger group and being shown the trails by Tom, it rocked. I had a great time, I will ride fixed off road again. The story could go on and on, but I wont bore you with the details, but it will be an annual event for the 3 of us. Below is short clip of me skidding my fixie off road while drinking a beer. Sure this could have been shot from a better angle and I could have done it faster, mind you I had a thin plastic cup in my hand and it was the first attempt at such a maneuver, it was shot with a point and shoot digital camera, so I know it is more to give an idea of all the fun we were having. This was mid ride, yes they brought the keg around to different spots and we rode to it. Without further adu:


So I hope you enjoyed it. Here is a link to mtbr and the photos from the event.
Now it is back to the daily grind for a bit and then this weekend I am riding out to Port Townsend, about 50 miles, for Strange Brew, Water Street Brewing's big party.
Looks to be big fun. Well it is sunny here again at least today, so I better get out and enjoy it all. As always keep pedaling.

snow and ice

Seattle has snow on the ground, not the status quo here. Let me tell you I am glad to be riding a bike in this stuff, to think about driving around in a tin can makes me sick. Well in fact I am sick right now so I spent the day downloading music from Emusic, if you don't know about them you should check them out, all kinds of music for your ears. I have been a member for over a year now and am never at a loss for new and old songs to download. And if you end up becoming a member tell em who sent ya. Please. Enough about that snow, when compacted on a cold street becomes ice, bet ya didn't know that, so I have been ripping around dodging the ice and looking for bare pavement, this can make hills somewhat interesting. On my commute home last night I had to walk a hill as I spun out and almost took a spill. The skill as with most things in life is not to overreact, go with the flow. Being sick reminds me of the last two years and I get frustrated and think that I might be headed back there, or not getting better. This truely has been a monumental challenge to keep in perspective, and like riding on ice not overreact and go with the flow. Rest can be good. I am hoping to get next friday off so that I can go to this. I wanted to go last year, but never made it happen. Also, I have signed up for this, I have heard that Dejay puts on one hell of a good time, and I would like to ride with Rudi, get some tips from the master about schorching. But thats enough, I will be sure to bring a camera on either of these excursions ifin and when they happen.
In other areas, I found this site today and liked it,the people at Bicycle Fixation have the right idea. Check it. I spent a bit of time browsing there.
As always keep pedaling. I am going to keep watching the snow come down and rest so that when the weather is better I will be ready to charge it, not that it is not fun out there right now, but the batteries need a little charging and what better excuse. as always keep pedaling.

you'll laugh I hope...

at least at one of these videos. Gonterian is a great guy. I have yet to meet him in person, but when I do I hope to do some scorching with him, of course that is if I am worthy. I have been practicing my fixed gear skills, and hope to get a bunch more off road fixing in real soon. Here is a video he made, I like it. Here it is.

And now that you have watched that, it is time to laugh, this is a test...... I think most will find this funny especially those of us who grew up in the 80's a time that was full of cheese so to speak. So here it is Justin Timberlake hits the mark here. Thats saying something cause for the most part I don't have positve things to say about him. ha ha Like I said this will make you laugh, you may have seen it and I may be beating a dead horse at this point in time, its catchy watch out.

I should have brought a camera....

to document how muddy I got yesterday. I should probably start with a little bit of a back story. Originally Keith and I had planned to go skate skiing/ him wanting to try his new toy out a rather large kite that he hopes will pull him around the mountains. Keith and his new toys, kites, I just don't get it, but then again I don't have to, it would have been hilarious to watch him put skis on hook up, with a harness, to a 7 meter kite and fly it for the first time in 30 mile an hour winds. Needless to say I would have had 911 plugged in to my cellphone and my finger on the dial button at the ready. So that was the plan, as you can tell it is not what happened yesterday. We left town, got on the interstate heading to the mountains and then while in the foothills saw signs that read "power outage at the summit" no problem, then this one was the final straw, "4 mile traffic jam at the summit", that did it we turned around and headed back in to the city. We both wanted to do something active, as it was a sunny, read not raining and too ugly, in Seattle, obviously in the mountains it was a different story, so we decided on a ride at St Edwards just north of Seattle. This is no epic ride, but enough to get an hour or two of riding in, two if you do the loops twice. We had a great time after we got rolling. It was a wake of vulture's if two can be considered a group, we both were riding Wade's master pieces on dirt, well mainly mud. We had a great time. Gonterian was right, fixed+dirt=fun. On a side note I rode in the Swobo shorts, they rocked. It was the first time I have worn baggies in a while and I can say that I enjoyed them. Speaking of having fun, Cubed Meat, down in Oregon is on the 20th, if I can talk a few or even one person from up here to go we will, looks like fun.
Looking ahead to this years racing I am still trying to figure it all out. More to come on me racing. I want to race some of the local Indie series races, some endurance races, the cascade cream puff, maybe 24hrs in the sage, Moab? , I have been tempted by the Ultra Series, and Boris' endurance week looks to be amazing as well. It really comes down to how I am feeling, if I keep feeling better and better, and I can get the money thing in order, I will travel and race more , if not it will be more local. As always keep pedaling.

this is a must listen...

he only forgot to get quicksilver into the song.


could have been a bit longer though. It is raining, and windy. I have to work this evening, sure wish I didn't cause then I would be at Fast Fridays. But then again it is cold, windy and rainy, so it might be nice to be inside pouring beer for the masses. Who am I fooling I would much rather be out breathing. I am off for a run and then to get some beer to the event. I am not the best runner but have been doing it as cross training for the moment, it is an easy way to get a fast aerobic workout in. Tomorrow I hope to get some skiing in, it will be good to get out of the city for a bit.

why is it that.....

I bet you were thinking that I was going to start with a list about why is it that....
I seem to be in my pj's in the early afternoon or
why is it that I wake up with coffee and go to sleep with beer or
why ride one gear when there are other options
or why would I bore you with a list of things that I do, so I won't what I really wanted to say was why is it that those closest to us get forgotten. I thanked everyone except those that live under the same roof with me, and share the same bed. The one person that needs the most thanking and honor for what she does 365 days a year. I neglected to thank the lovely lady in my life for all the support throughout the years. So here is it is thanks so much for all that you do for me Danielle, it it appreciated and sorry for leaving it out of any post for quite some time. I also need to thank my two dogs who teach me new things all the time about love, commitment, and life in general all the time. Moezlee the great who has had hip displasia since birth was given a short life sentence of two years and is in to his 9th, talk about pushing through the pain. Tanner the blissful who is all dog, but happy all the time, he is in bliss, however much I used to think that it was bad in the beginning.
So with that I will go back to the why is it that we seem to take advantage or take for granted those closest to us. They get to see us at our worst, best and in between, and why is it that they get treated worst sometimes. We yell at our loved ones, but not our friends, why.? We forget to thank those same loved ones, but thank strangers for the smallest things. why? So this year I am going to make a effort to thank those around me that are closest to me, hell I will thank those that inspire me, those that I haven't thanked in a while. So thank you Danielle, mom, dad, Manon, Stefan, Genevieve, tanner and Moezlee, grandpa and grandma Pellman, grandpa deal, Carol, Robert, Katie and Annie. I think I will start with the family and move out as it goes. Thank you all so much for taking this journey in life with me, what a twisted, rocky, fun road it has been. I love and appreciate you all. There I have done it, a totally sappy post and think it is only the 4th day of the year. more to come.
On the riding front I have been feeling a bit more invigorated, got 3 1/2 hours in yesterday on the fixie, with a bit of climbing, then off to work i went to stand and talk and pour beer for the masses. Oh in other news I am drying out for the month of January just to see how it feels, should make for an interesting time as well. I also would like to post a bit more this year. Well it is nice again here today or at least for the moment so I am going to sit in the window and enjoy some vitamin d while reading a book and resting the legs. as always keep pedaling.

2007....

Some thoughts on the new year. I am tempted to put up a list, but I don't really do the whole new years resolution list. I set some goals and revisit them throughout the year to check in on my progress. At times I slip and fall of the path, usually to later only get back on. I am a perfectionist by nature, and tend to over analyze the nature of things, of peoples motivations and attitudes, so a list of resolutions seems a bit silly. I like goals not resolutions, the word goal has a lot more positive ring to it. However in the new year i plan to post more regularly and I plan to ride and race my bike a bit more regularly. Seattle rang in the new year with a return to rain on the first day of 2007, nothing out of the ordinary for olde mother nature in the new year here.
I had my brother in town over the holidays and it was fun. He is 11 years younger than me and I realized how much I like being an older brother, we had a lot of fun. He is going to school to become a chef, so we ate well while he was here. Its funny we grew up on the east coast and here we are in seattle ringing in the new year. I was not around for much of his youth, he did have a couple great trips to Tahoe while we were living there, he let me know how much he apprecitated that.
So in the new year the goal is to get out of debt. there it is. There are a few smaller goals, but they all go along with the greater goal, simplify. I have been burning all my cds on to my computer, and will be unloading those as soon as I get a back up hard drive. Less stuff, less headaches, less to cart around. Simplify. That is all there is to it. So here is to wishing you all the best in the new year. I will again thank everyone at a later date, just because, why wait to tell those around you how you feel once a year under all this stress of the holidays. I am also working on a birthday challenge for this may. keep you all posted. as always keep pedaling.

off road fixing...

Is what I am looking forward to. I have ridden some cross races on the fixed but have yet to get a full on xc ride in on the fix. I have been riding it around town a bunch and hitting the trails, but they are more walking paths and such than real single track. I have however been trying to hone my skills on the bike while here in town so that I can be kind of ready when the time comes to actually put tire to dirt. I have set obstacles outside the house and hop up and down curbs, drop off things of varying heights whenever possible, this is all I can do when trapped in the city for most of the time. That and the weather here has been so miserable, rain, rain, wind wind. I wonder how many trees are down out on the trials right now, inside the city it is a disaster. So below is an image of the little obstacle that I have out front. It is 8 inches high and 12 inches wide. I can now bunny hop it on the fixie, soon I will be making it a bit higher to further improve my skills. By bunny hop I mean clear it, no tire touching the obstacle.

On the fit front I have been trying to find the right position and I am getting close. I have tried many different stems, stack heights, and am getting close to feeling great on the road, now I have to ride off road to see how the muscles hold up on the rough stuff. My friend keith thinks that I am going to crash and burn and can not wait to see it. to him I say this, when I beat you down with out coasting, I will laugh sooooo hard. I am not sure that this is possible, but I will give it the old college try. so on one of the first bunny hop attempts I had the pleasure of crashing , I landed a little over the front end and proceeded to land face down on the pavement, I only burised my hand a bit, but I tore my favorite bar tape, concrete is a little less forgiving in the give department than dirt. I have gotten the sticker on downtube. I think it looks good. The bar tape ripped, thats ok I messed up wrapping it the first time so I will wrap with new tape soon.



I am really liking the fixed gear riding right now, cant wait to get out on some longer dirt rides in the near future. enjoy the holiday's. i must say the wade at vulture made a bike like now other, it is soooo fun to ride and beautiful to look at. thanks so much wade. cheers. as always keep pedaling.

holi daze

tis the season, I have been super busy with work and parties, shopping not me, we have decided to go on a diet this holiday season and are abstaining from buying in to the whole buying gifts and giving big presents thing. dont you think it is not necessary and a corporate marketing sceme to get your money. Lets face it the season is not about the gifts it is about spending time and honoring those you love. I would rather save my money and spend it when my loved ones are around. enough about that. I got more eggnog to attend to. to everyone that reads this thank you. I will leave you with this, taking the my other skateboard is a fixed gear thing to a new level is this guy, mind you he must have been a street skater or more likely a Rodney Mullen fan. watch closely as it is impressive. It is obvious to me that he had a lot of time, or he just has really good balance.



Dustin over at Cadence had a link to utube and the above video, I must give credit where credit is due.

I have been riding the Vulture fixie a lot and trying to improve my skills, I can now bunny hop 6 inch obstacles and had the pleasure yesterday of dropping off a foot and a half ledge. I hope to bunny hop some stairs this evening.

A group is meeting up this evening to discuss an endurance race here in Washington, boy do we need on, the trails here are awesome, more on that later. back to the egg nog. over and out and as always keep pedaling. nat

thanks to all

Today is more about thanking those in your life past and present than it is about 12 oz curls and the food coma. So to all those friends and family past, present and to yet be determined I say thanks. To the onespeed family thanks, we are al brothers and sisters to the core. Cyclist lets be a family road, mountain, gears or not we are the chosen few who have seen the answer, bikes really are the answer to most of the worlds problems, ok I am over generalizing it a bit, but seriously they are the answer. Mom, rock on, fight the good fight, this is a heart felt thank you for being in my life here and now. Dad, thanks for putting up with my outburst and becoming a better father and friend because of it. There are too many people to bore you with thanking everyone. Kent Peterson and Dave Nice thanks for the inspiration, we will all have to get together for a ride sometime. Keith L, Pete and Smiley, seattle just wouldn't be the same without you, thanks for the chance encounter on your pub ride to celebrate Pete's thirty first. You have made a difference in my world. Keith Wegner if you are reading this thank you for getting back in touch with me, if you read this will you drop me an email with your contact info again, my computer died and with my connection to you. Same goes for my great friend Sara Lorden hope I spelled it right, if you read this the same goes for you. A big thank you to the internet, which has helped me to connect with my community at large. Thanks to the trails for all the joy they bring me. Ok Ill stop now, as I am getting a little choked up over this all. Seriously thake the itme to thank those close to you today, in this crazy world we all to often forget to take the time to apprecitate those around us and those things that we are greatful for. so here is to us, them and you. as always keep pedaling. over and out

did I die?

Some of you may be asking just that question. It seems that every time I get in to the rythum of posting more often than not life takes the chance to throw a curve ball at me to take me out of that oh so familiar pattern. It started over a week ago, I thought I'd have the weekend to recoup not race, my body was in need of a change of pace. One can race and ride only so much in the cold rain before it becomes a little tough on the body and mind. I already have problems at the change in the seasons, it always seems to take me a bit to get used to it being so dark all the time. I am in hibernation mode, curled up on the couch watching movies, a little bad tv, I dont let myself indulge in the evils of tv too much as it is no good for the mind, body or spirt, or reading books. I just finish GarbageLand, the tale of one woman from NYC following all her and her families waste to it finaly resting place. What an eye opener. It made me mad, sad and glad all at the same time, I dont mean to get on my soap box, but it may seem like that, we as a race and society really need to start taking all things, natural resources, waste and what we are doing to this here place we claim to love so that it will continue to be around. At the end of the day we all need to think about our consumption habits and scale them back. I know that doesnt sound glamerous, and a bit bland, but at the end of the day it is the answer to a lot of our problems, that and not to drive so damn much which is the real killer of the planet. So cyclist ride your bikes more for those short trips around the city, or country. It does make a difference and the more of us that ride the more power we cyclist have, and that is the real answer. Alright Ill stop for now.
back to the title, I didn't die, but I sure as hell did feel like I was going to. I slept and went to work and that was about it, my body ached and my lungs shot goo for days, I could barely breath, which made the daily trip to and from work fun, there I was coughing and huffing and puffing my 5 or 6 miles to and from work in the rain. I am sure that did great things for the cold. Enough of my bitching. I have to get going, but wanted to keep those of you who care informed. Sorry that this blog has become less about cycling lately and more ego centric, but it will get back to the cycling, of which I am doing a bit of, mostly commuting for the moment. as always keep pedaling and enjoying it.

Class, nothing but class

AS the saying goes Holloween is a time for woman to dress sluty and for men to dress as woman and no one thinks anything is out of the ordinary. Wonder what people would think if I wore a dress every thursday, they would probably just get used to it, or I could just keep saying "its not holloween, opps, I thought is was!!!!" So above are some of the photos that my girlfriend snapped of me in my evening wear. The "rocker" in the picture is my co worker Jesse, he can really pull off the 80s rocker thing, dont ya think. There is a shot somewhere of us in a more revealing embrace, but that is not going to show up here, yet. You'll have to wait for that one. The only thing missing from the outfit is a cigarette holder. Class, nothing but class here all the time, every day. Not much else to report at this time, just wanted to show off my best evening gown, it sparkles. I also had the good fortune to wear stockings and let me tell you, I dont envy you woman, those things just wouldn't stay in place. as alway keep pealing.
my friends down in Reno have a new blog, lots of fun stuff. Check it out at www.thebaconstrip.blogspot.com. Mark, shawn, wolfy, etc. its great.

"the immortal class"

Here is a paragraph taken from Travis Culley's book The Immortal Class which I read a few years ago and this morning decided to revisit. I remember liking it the first time around, I don't think I was blogging at the time, and I am not a messenger myself, but the way he mixes words to create great imagery speaks to me. I will get to the paragraph here, it speaks to me because it puts to words better than I can at this time my feelings about the bike, about what the bike represents in our society here and now. A little background, he is speaking about drivers, and the rest of the masses and how the bike is scene and then he gets to this paragraph. So without further ado:

"What these people don't know is that the bicycle is more than a sport and more than a job. The bicycle is a revolution, an assault on civilian territory, intent upon taking, from the ground up, responsibility for the shape of our cities. It is a mutiny, challenging the ever-one-way street. The bicycle is a philosophy, a way of life, and I an using it like a hammerto change the world and to redeem our war-torn cities."

Is that not great. Thank you travis for putting it so well. Like I said I am not a messenger, but I don't own a car at this point in time, so my bike is my transport, and I get to experience some of what it must be like in the urban jungle of Seattle. Seattle is touted as a green city as bike friendly, and it is alright, but it lacks vision and a plan to make it better, to get some flow in it, right now it is a bit disjointed. Thanks to people like Kent Peterson and others at the bike alliance, the Cascade Bike Club things are getting done, but we Americans are so tied to the belief that we need a car, we are entitled to have bigger, more. A car is a symbol of your status, it really says who you are. Right. If you are riding a bike it is either cause you are poor, or you lost your license, not because you are choosing to, it must be for something out of your control. That I think is the common belief among most people, no in ten years when gas is really, really expensive, bikes will be the answer. They already are the answer in my opinion we are a fat, lazy society bent on doing things faster and faster. What would/could change all that..........You guessed it the bike. The bike a simple invention. Most trips are a couple miles, bike. Want to lose weight, bike. Want to feel intimately connected to your environment and meet some people, bike. It is that simple, think of all the extra space we would have if more of us biked. Want to save money, ride a bike. So lets change the world one revolution at a time. Bike.

As always keep pedaling. Nat