Ya its a repeat....get over it.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Fridays should be renamed to Greatdays...
The morning started a little cloudy and hazy, but in true Texas fashion, the Weather changed. And with a little luck, it turned out to be for the better.
My company, no not like a firm, and I decided to check out the Dam loop (about 50 miles). It is one of the standard road rides here in Austin, yet neither of us had done it. I was pretty confident that I would figured out the 4 roads that make it up. I had looked at a map, it looked pretty simple. Well....we got lost.
Not once, but twice.
First, I missed, or didn't see a major turn. That automatically added like 10-15 miles. Then, I tried some funny stuff and got us lost in a neighborhood/country club. That added 5-10 miles.
Including the miles to get to the loop, we did in the area of 70-80 miles.
Whoa.
It was well worth it.
And here are some pictures so you know I'm not lying.
My company, no not like a firm, and I decided to check out the Dam loop (about 50 miles). It is one of the standard road rides here in Austin, yet neither of us had done it. I was pretty confident that I would figured out the 4 roads that make it up. I had looked at a map, it looked pretty simple. Well....we got lost.
Not once, but twice.
First, I missed, or didn't see a major turn. That automatically added like 10-15 miles. Then, I tried some funny stuff and got us lost in a neighborhood/country club. That added 5-10 miles.
Including the miles to get to the loop, we did in the area of 70-80 miles.
Whoa.
It was well worth it.
And here are some pictures so you know I'm not lying.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Name those bars...
Thursday.
Ive been meaning to take a picture of this mural.
Unfortunately, riding on the grass to take it resulted in me practicing my patching skills.
My skills are as sharp as ever.
I rewarded myself with a pint at the old Gingerman.
Since they will be moving the old Gingerman to make a new Gingerman, I took some pics.
That is a study table.
It will be missed
Ive been meaning to take a picture of this mural.
Unfortunately, riding on the grass to take it resulted in me practicing my patching skills.
My skills are as sharp as ever.
I rewarded myself with a pint at the old Gingerman.
Since they will be moving the old Gingerman to make a new Gingerman, I took some pics.
That is a study table.
It will be missed
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Now then, back to Monday
Austin was destroyed by The Mist. BTW, that 7.4 rating is bullshit.
But that did not dissuade me from busting on the greenbelt.
A homeboy and I did a web of back trail stuff. We also ran into some gnarly freeride shit out there. My 80 mills would not cut it.
We also came upon a bum and/or meth camp out there. I once heard a story about 2 night hikers that were confronted by bums and relieved of their hand-crank flashlight/radio.
Tuesday had much nicer weather.
I went out with a friend to ride some west Austin hills. A little Lake Austin. A little Scenic Drive. A little Mozart's. A double dose of Mt. Bonnell. A dash of 2222. Just the right amount of beer.
That is the recipe for a sweet day.
But that did not dissuade me from busting on the greenbelt.
A homeboy and I did a web of back trail stuff. We also ran into some gnarly freeride shit out there. My 80 mills would not cut it.
We also came upon a bum and/or meth camp out there. I once heard a story about 2 night hikers that were confronted by bums and relieved of their hand-crank flashlight/radio.
Tuesday had much nicer weather.
I went out with a friend to ride some west Austin hills. A little Lake Austin. A little Scenic Drive. A little Mozart's. A double dose of Mt. Bonnell. A dash of 2222. Just the right amount of beer.
That is the recipe for a sweet day.
No bueno...
Something bad happened in front of the bob bullock museum today (2/25/09). I saw no ambulance, no person sprawled out on the floor, but I Did see this.
See that police cruiser with the trunk open? There is a bike in there. It is a fixed gear. And I am 95% sure there were no brakes on it. I hope all are ok, regardless of fault.
See that police cruiser with the trunk open? There is a bike in there. It is a fixed gear. And I am 95% sure there were no brakes on it. I hope all are ok, regardless of fault.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Sunday! Sunday! Sunday!
I took Sunday off, which means I only rode 20 or so miles out of necessity. That checkpoint race had me pretty sore.
I got my goodies in!
New cables have been necessary on the roadie for a while now. I figured I might as well go all out.
Power Cordz are a new chichi cable company. The cable is not steel, but a synthetic fiber made by DuPont. They are light, corrosion-proof, and do not stretch.
Of course, I had to go with Nokon to round out this baller-ass cable system.
Dirt side I got a new single speed cog by Rennen.
I haven't had a chance to try out the cog, but I have tried out the cable system.
I have noticed much better modulation and more power, but its hard to say if it is mainly due to the housing or cable.
I got my goodies in!
New cables have been necessary on the roadie for a while now. I figured I might as well go all out.
Power Cordz are a new chichi cable company. The cable is not steel, but a synthetic fiber made by DuPont. They are light, corrosion-proof, and do not stretch.
Of course, I had to go with Nokon to round out this baller-ass cable system.
Dirt side I got a new single speed cog by Rennen.
I haven't had a chance to try out the cog, but I have tried out the cable system.
I have noticed much better modulation and more power, but its hard to say if it is mainly due to the housing or cable.
I lied...
so sue me!
Alrighty then, lets start with Saturday. Weather nerds got it wrong again. On my way out to the greenbelt I got a decent soaking, the only benefit being it made my brakes quiet. The rain stopped pretty quickly, but the sky was looking suspicious.
In the spirit of Mr. Forrest Gump Esq. I said to myself, "Well since I've come this far, I might as well keep on going. "
I did just that. I did the main trail and session'd this bad boy for a little bit.
The weather really turned around.
Only they way out of the 'belt, I stopped at the good old Taco Deli. Mmmmm. Mole. Al Pastor. Mmmmm. Bass Pale Ale. Mmmmmm.
Exiting the trail at Zilker, I noticed a cool looking bike. It turned out to be one of my road bike's cousins from Wisconsin.
I spent the next few hours relaxing and sending a reinforcement of Ale to my stomach.
3pm comes around and its time for a race. I figured it would be pretty short (15-20 mile) and casually paced so I bust on the Panasonic.
Every bike niche was represented. Brakeless fixie, freestyle fixie, braked fixie, roadie, drunkcyclist, crossracer, chillin biker, etc.
The race turned out to be a real bitch. Thirty five or so bitchy miles actually. The wind was about 20 mph the whole time. There were about 12 checkpoints setup all over town.
Alright! Finish! Top third, not bad.
Now everybody....look cool.
Luckily there was ice cold beer waiting for me. Unfortunately, it was the pride of Texas....Lonestar. Nonetheless, I disposed of two like they were Sierras.
Alrighty then, lets start with Saturday. Weather nerds got it wrong again. On my way out to the greenbelt I got a decent soaking, the only benefit being it made my brakes quiet. The rain stopped pretty quickly, but the sky was looking suspicious.
In the spirit of Mr. Forrest Gump Esq. I said to myself, "Well since I've come this far, I might as well keep on going. "
I did just that. I did the main trail and session'd this bad boy for a little bit.
The weather really turned around.
Only they way out of the 'belt, I stopped at the good old Taco Deli. Mmmmm. Mole. Al Pastor. Mmmmm. Bass Pale Ale. Mmmmmm.
Exiting the trail at Zilker, I noticed a cool looking bike. It turned out to be one of my road bike's cousins from Wisconsin.
I spent the next few hours relaxing and sending a reinforcement of Ale to my stomach.
3pm comes around and its time for a race. I figured it would be pretty short (15-20 mile) and casually paced so I bust on the Panasonic.
Every bike niche was represented. Brakeless fixie, freestyle fixie, braked fixie, roadie, drunkcyclist, crossracer, chillin biker, etc.The race turned out to be a real bitch. Thirty five or so bitchy miles actually. The wind was about 20 mph the whole time. There were about 12 checkpoints setup all over town.
Alright! Finish! Top third, not bad.
Now everybody....look cool.
Luckily there was ice cold beer waiting for me. Unfortunately, it was the pride of Texas....Lonestar. Nonetheless, I disposed of two like they were Sierras.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Sorry to my one reader...
Hi Mom! The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated. I have tales to tell, but my camera and it's cord have been avoiding each other like Guinness and Harp for the past few days.
See you tomorrow mom!
See you tomorrow mom!Friday, February 20, 2009
Good and Bad and Good
Had a great urban ride with 3 great views. Ton-o-fun. After that, I moseyed on to the bike shop to pick up some parts I was expecting. My Powercordz accessories came in, but the stuff it was to be paired with did not. I called our handy dandy distributor to see what the scenario was. Turns out the shipping company straight up lost my package. BTI came through big time though. The rep made moves that exceeded my expectations. Bottom line, BTI is awesome. They carry stuff the other dudes don't, are super cool to deal with, and very reliable. Ask your LBS to order your stuff from BTI!
Saddlebags are for the birds!
In this case a saddlebags is a bird's nest.
That should be enough to tell you how much love this bike needed to get back rolling.
That should be enough to tell you how much love this bike needed to get back rolling.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Great ride, great company, and great food
The rain and humidity got their asses kicked to the curb by a dry front on Wednesday morning. Perfect for a ride out on 360, coming back on Shoal Creek. I went out with a friend preparing for Texas 4000. The weather was great, as was the conversation at over pizza, bruschetta, and a pair of IPAs (Live Oak and Lagunitas).
Looking for great pints and plates after a ride in Austin? Zax's Pints and Plates has a killer bike friendly patio for your smelly self.
Looking for great pints and plates after a ride in Austin? Zax's Pints and Plates has a killer bike friendly patio for your smelly self.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Buildin' a wheel and a song in the brain
I built a wheel for a friend. Hope Pro II hub on a Salsa Delgado Race rim. I built a SS rear of the same components a little while back.
Tools of the Trade:
The glob is beeswax
Bling Blang!
Song in the brain...
Tools of the Trade:
The glob is beeswax
Bling Blang!
Song in the brain...
Monday, February 16, 2009
Another weekend
A friend got out of work early and we headed out to 360 for a short ride. We went tot he base of the bridge so he could take a few pics of his new ride or "whip".
I took some of my own
Dang' ol' birds livin' under the bridge
Those are some fine vehicles
Texas has the best winter sunsets
And some pretty good BBQ
That was a quality ride.
It being Friday and all, I had to get my drink on.
I warmed up with a sierra or two and I took off on my Panasonic.
I was riding on the sidewalk listening to Punky Reggae Party when, with a foot to react, I saw a mass of branches where there is never any.
It seems the storm during the week tore down a huge branch and placed it neatly on the sidewalk in the darkest of spots.
Here is the branch:
Here is where it was:
I got a few boo boos, but the bike was alright, and I continued on my way after moving the bastard and breaking a few of it's fingers.
A friend from my hometown was in Austin and his newly 21 GF wanted to do the 6th street thing. So we went to this lame ass shithole known as Library. The frat crowd loves this place. I could only stand to be there as long as it took to drink my negra modelo.
Feeling a little fancy, we headed to the Omni hotel bar. I go there for one thing.
Jack Single Barrel. Quality stuff, and the Omni is the only place downtown with it.
Still not alcoholed enough, and not wanting to spend more money, I met up with roomates at a party by campus.
It wasn't "all that", but I got my fill and was ready to head home.
Saturday morning was Greenbelt time.
Did some trails that were new to me.
I took a nice 5 hour nap after that.
Sunday rolls around and its time for a road ride with friends
We ended the ride at Austin Java. I always thought of it as a standard coffee house. I saw the signs that said lunch and dinner, but was always skeptical. Man, I've been missing out. I had the black and blue burger (peppercorn sauce and Gorgonzola) and it was amazing. I look forward to trying their pasta and other dishes.
Evening rolled around, and I was looking around for my handy dandy lock. It was nowhere to be found! I've almost lost it before, and it felt like shit. This time I thought it was gone forever. It is strange how attached I've gotten to my 4 year old lock. I began thinking about where it could be. I figured it may have fallen out of my belt on Saturday night when I was riding home and decided to make a pit stop in town lake.
I went to go check it out.
It was there!!!
A happy ending to a great weekend.
I took some of my own
Dang' ol' birds livin' under the bridge
Those are some fine vehicles
Texas has the best winter sunsets
And some pretty good BBQ
That was a quality ride.
It being Friday and all, I had to get my drink on.
I warmed up with a sierra or two and I took off on my Panasonic.
I was riding on the sidewalk listening to Punky Reggae Party when, with a foot to react, I saw a mass of branches where there is never any.
It seems the storm during the week tore down a huge branch and placed it neatly on the sidewalk in the darkest of spots.
Here is the branch:
Here is where it was:
I got a few boo boos, but the bike was alright, and I continued on my way after moving the bastard and breaking a few of it's fingers.
A friend from my hometown was in Austin and his newly 21 GF wanted to do the 6th street thing. So we went to this lame ass shithole known as Library. The frat crowd loves this place. I could only stand to be there as long as it took to drink my negra modelo.
Feeling a little fancy, we headed to the Omni hotel bar. I go there for one thing.
Jack Single Barrel. Quality stuff, and the Omni is the only place downtown with it.Still not alcoholed enough, and not wanting to spend more money, I met up with roomates at a party by campus.
It wasn't "all that", but I got my fill and was ready to head home.
Saturday morning was Greenbelt time.
Did some trails that were new to me.
I took a nice 5 hour nap after that.
Sunday rolls around and its time for a road ride with friends
We ended the ride at Austin Java. I always thought of it as a standard coffee house. I saw the signs that said lunch and dinner, but was always skeptical. Man, I've been missing out. I had the black and blue burger (peppercorn sauce and Gorgonzola) and it was amazing. I look forward to trying their pasta and other dishes.
Evening rolled around, and I was looking around for my handy dandy lock. It was nowhere to be found! I've almost lost it before, and it felt like shit. This time I thought it was gone forever. It is strange how attached I've gotten to my 4 year old lock. I began thinking about where it could be. I figured it may have fallen out of my belt on Saturday night when I was riding home and decided to make a pit stop in town lake.
I went to go check it out.
It was there!!!
A happy ending to a great weekend.
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