Gentleness

Ah, election season. And like allergy season, it seems to be longer and more painful year by year. Without getting in to political opinions, uninformed thoughts, and the like, I will say that I have found the entire thing discouraging. So instead of adding to the noise, I will leave it with this one thought:

Paul's letter to the Philippians, Chapter 4, verse 5 (NASB):
Let your gentle spirit be known to all men.

With that out of the way, let's move on to more important things: bikes. And to do that, I have to go back, way back, to the summer. So with little narration (warning this will be a picture heavy post)...

RAAM - Race Across America come through Athens each summer, and the riders pass directly in front of my office.

Early morning summer trail ride before work. Mostly I just clear all the spider webs for the rest of the day.

It's Albert Castiglia!

I discovered this small pup, abandoned in a ditch in the middle of nowhere while riding. We came back for him, cleaned him up and found him a home. The kids creatively named him Mr. Puppy Cow. I fail to understand how someone can abandon a helpless pup (vet thought he was about 6 weeks old) with all knowledge that without intervention it would die. Thankfully there were many people willing to take him in.

Eight weeks later, Mr. Puppy Cow is happy, healthy, and growing like crazy!

First day of first grade.

It finally worked out to get a ride with Mr Weswingery on Labor Day. Great weather, great views, windy roads. 

Mountain bike trip to Davis WV.

The view from Beardon Rocks

Burger night at Tip Top!

Morning coffee view from camp along the Blackwater River.

Ah, he is like a little angle.

So this. I forgot my cycling shoes in Athens. Thankfully Blackwater Bikes had a pair of flat pedals. 

Someone left me a message on my truck.

The Hocking River Rumble. My first CX race. Finished 2nd in Masters 35. And, while there were only 2 of us in the class, I did finish ahead of many from the 45 class and only a few seconds behind 1st place. Also, a drop bar 29er SS may not be the best CX racing bike. Fun none the less.

With that, fall is setting in. Soccer season is winding down. Hope you can get outside and enjoy!

Rushed

We are a busy people. While we work with international vendors and customers at work, we have to be aware of their summer shutdowns/holiday. The culture is different in Europe where you are almost chastised for not going on vacation, rather than the good ole USA where the opposite could easily be said. Work, youth athletics, family responsibilities, homeowner responsibilities, church expectations, it all piles up. Even when we manage to get away from it, all we often do is force a rush before/during/after.

Anyway, so a friend was planning a two month dual sport ride across the US, up to Canada, and back. I managed to get get two days to escort him out of Ohio. We rode mostly pavement, but avoided as much highway as we could from Athens to Davis WV. We then rode Cannan Loop Road (a 4WD trail around Blakwater State Park) before getting burritos at Hellbenders. As we usually do, we camped along the Blackwater in the CVI area. The next morning we had breakfast at Tip-Top in Thomas before he headed south and I turned home. Wish I had more time. 500 miles on a KTM LC4 Enduro with knobby tires in less than 36 hours wore me out.

I had to come back as I committed to work the Nelsonville Music Festival to help park bikes. Even though by volunteering I was given a weekend pass, I spent very little time at the festival, mostly just worked my 12 hours and headed for home. I would have liked to do more, but family responsibilities...

A pair of KTM LC4's (Ryan on the Adventure, me on the Enduro)

Leaving Ohio (I'll be right back, not so for Ryan).

Best donuts in WV can be found in Buchanan

Wind turbine installation in Tucker Co WV.

The saddest of signs (yellow sign says they are closed for the day).

Over look somewhere along Canaan Loop Road.

Hellbenders!

Since Tip-Top was closed, had to make camp coffee. Luckily for Ryan, I am always prepared to make a french press pot of good coffee.

Sunrise over the Blackwater.

That's better, they are open the following day. I could easily just sit right there and drink coffee for a long while.

Bye Ryan, see you in two months!

Detour to Audra State Park on my ride home.

Grabbing a milkshake for lunch at the Coke and Float.

Hey, Donkey was at the music fest! Two of my favorites, coffee and bikes.

Speaking of bikes, a quick single track ride around Stroud's Run and Sell's Park before work today. 

May Day!

I have started to type out a blog post multiple times in the past month only to stop, delete, give up, or some other verb. It just hasn't happened. May has that affect at my house.  May feels like we are sinking, just hoping to make it to June before we are full under. May is Shelly's busiest time of the year only made worse by the simple fact of under funded schools and over worked special education groups.  The school is technically out of compliance with respect to work load for Speech Pathology (she has nearly 90 kids!). And at the end of the year, each kid needs tested, reported, plans and goals written, and then meet with each parent to review it all. She has been at work until 11pm multiple times, gone in a couple hours early multiple times, and fallen asleep after dinner exhausted multiple times. By the time May gets here, all our weekends are already planned (crammed?). We manage to get in mother's day (for my mom, her mom, and Shelly too), Brock's and Michael's birthday, Ohio State Championships road (bike) race p/b Team Athens, and Memorial day weekend. Oh, and we managed to have a successful first run of a new cryo-cooler design that I have been working on at work for the last 9 months.  With that...

I used to love to sketch, so much so that I almost considered art as a career while I was in high school. Last year Shelly and the boys bought me a sketch book. So, I did a quick pencil drawing of the old mill at Stockport for mom for Mother's day.  Hopefully this kick me back into gear to draw more, though time will tell.

Two wheel of the motor variety:  I picked up a pannier rack from a friend for the KTM. I had been considering a rackless bag setup (like the Mosko Moto Reckless 80) but with a rack set, I decided to fabricate a system that would allow me to transfer my Pelican cases from the Buell to the KTM and back easily.  I decided on using 1/2" thick HDPE with mitered edges that created a slide on setup. A thumb screw through the case from the inside prevents it from being lifted off (unless I want to). Actually works well and I can move the cases in about two minutes.  I had to park the Buell a while ago due to a leaking fork seal.  A simple repair and since HD still has the updated springs (progressive springs from 2007) available, I decided to upgrade while I had the forks apart.  I placed the order through my local HD dealer for two seals and two springs.  Two weeks later I had two seals, no springs. A quick phone call to HD and the nice lady says the springs are in stock and she does not know why the order wasn't filled. She had my dealer cancel the open order and re-order. Another two weeks and no springs. (Does anyone else see the larger failure of the system here?). I had to cancel the order through my local dealer and order online through a different dealer. A week and half later, I had new springs.  A couple hour job to change out the parts and I was back up and running and happy I waited for springs, the difference was significant.

Pannier rack mounting system

Pannier Rack Clamps

Racks and panniers installed.

Fork seal repair and spring upgrade on the Buell.

Timing cover repaired on the 640.

We celebrated birthdays for the oldest and youngest. Thanks to Fluff Bakery (http://www.fluffbakery.com/) for a special sugar cookie for Brock.

The next weekend I worked as a corner marshal for the previously mentioned bike race. I have raced this in the past, but 1) road racing isn't my strong area and 2) it turns our riding my singlespeed to Fluff for lunch on Fridays to get pie hasn't been the best training plan. Anyway, this year I was the first time I wasn't driving SAG, rather "just" working a corner.  Though it turns out the particular corner I was working has a history with a local 70+ year old farmer. Said farmer ran a barricade and flagger a couple years ago and acted as if he was going to run over the sheriff who had to actually draw his side arm.  This year was slightly less dramatic, though he made several drive by's that included the middle finger and telling the sheriff to f*** off. The story gets better. While telling this story at work, one of the machinists who is a sport pilot told a story of this same guy greeting a group of sport pilots at the Vinton Co. airport with his shotgun in hand because they had disturbed the airspace above his farm. Certifiable nut job.

At some point this month we even went fishing which was interrupted by at least a couple of passing thundershowers. But we did manage to catch a few fish and nearly get our trucks stuck in the mud created by the showers.

Not a lot of patience in this boy.

Waiting out a passing storm.

Finally a fish.

That pretty well catches things up. Not a lot of riding (though I did get almost 40 miles in on my singlespeed on memorial day). Speaking of, we have been reading The Magic Tree House series to Brock. The last two books have been about the Civil Ware and the Revolutionary War. I appreciate that war is presented in a way to shows to Brock that it isn't a game and that people are greatly affected. Too often we have to become a monster to fight a monster. It is sad to recall all the lives lost in just the history of this country as we have fought for what we believe was (is) right. I pray that Brock does not have to learn about war through personal experience.

Here is to a Happy Summer.

Spring Break

School is on spring break this week and with Wednesday going to be a candidate for a Tony Cavalier Top 10'er, I took a vacation day so we could get out.  Ethan has been wanting to get to Lake Hope for some trail riding. Now that I have a geared mountain bike I decided I would ride from home to the lake and meet the family there, then Ethan and I would take a loop of the lake while Shelly and Brock did some hiking, followed by a late lunch at the lodge. Sadly, the lodge was closed so instead we drove in to Athens for some pizza at Jackie O's.

I read a disturbing article this week that pedestrian traffic deaths are up in Ohio by 124%! This is a clear indication that our roads and towns are all planned and designed around 4 wheeled, motorized traffic.  My office is along East State St in Athens, a 5 lane (2 + 2 + 1 turning) street with most of the chain shopping and eating along one side. The other side is residential. Even though one could easily walk a couple of blocks to Kroger, it is safer to drive a car there and thus avoid needing to walk across the street. This is crazy. I understand the need for free flowing transportation, but we clearly need to take a good look at how we could do it in a away that permits walking and biking. 

Stay safe out there.

Great back road ride to the lake.

Controlled burn in Zaleski State Forest.

Fine line between thrill and terror?

Half of a pair of black snakes out getting some sun.

Couple of Redlines post washing.

Spring is Rising

Ah spring. The grass is growing, the days are longer, the time change has occurred, and the Gravel Rouser is in the books.  I'll first back up a couple weeks.

One of my favorite back roads to ride is called Buzzard Den road. Slightly wider than a single lane, it is lined by old coal mine owned land and until last year, acres of pine (Mead paper company just logged it), and only a couple of homes. Within the last few years one of these homes and farm has started to grow. They now have over 50 in their herd of katahdin sheep and another 50+ laying hens. To manage the farm and to keep the occasional mountain biker from steeling sheep they also have two Great Pyrenees and two Shepards.  Find A Way Farm as it is called (http://www.findawayfarm.com/) was nice enough to show Brock and I around. After Brock finished terrorizing the sheep, chasing the chickens, and playing catch with Kira (one of the Shepards) we purchased a couple dozen fresh eggs and headed home. If you are interested in any cuts of lamb or fresh eggs, I encourage you to check with them.

Herding (chasing) the sheep.

Literally just a few hours old.

That brings us up to one of my favorite bike events of the year, the Gravel Rouser. This four day stage event is only slightly competitive and sure to put the hurt on the legs. I again committed myself to be a Wolfman (completing all 4 events) as well as volunteering wherever needed. The first event was a circuit road race. We would complete a total of three laps on some county and township roads with one screaming downhill on a dry-weather only road. I decided to ride my Redline Monocog 29er Flight that I have set up with dirt drops and 34:17 gearing. The back side of the circuit has a long climb with the steepest part (average 8%, peaks around 11%) is about a half mile long. On the first lap, I managed to mash my way up the hill staying in eyesight of the leaders (who brought out the skinny tired road bikes). Following the big climb is several rollers with short, steep shots. By the time I got around the first lap I was tasting blood and had to pull out my asthma inhaler.  The bike was the right choice for the downhill though taking it comfortably but the climb is where it was won. By the second time around, I was hurting and even walked a few yards as my lungs burned.  Finished mid to back of the pack but still had a good time.

The second event was a single track time trial which I was the starting timer (so no official time for me). The trails were in great shape except for a giant mud hole about mid course. As usual, a couple of young and super fast riders took the podium among a largish turnout, but also as usual, the rest of the riders were largely there for fun anyway.

After two days of riding in near perfect March weather, it all changed. Saturday turned to cold with rain and even a bit of snow for the Classic event, a round trip back road ride to Lake Hope from Eclipse Co. Town with a little single track XC time trial in the middle. After helping with registration, I rode sweep on the course out to the lake, again on the SS. Weather was in the upper 30's and cloudy with periods of rain. While moving, it wasn't too bad.  Once I arrived at the lake I moved in to position to help with the TT timing. This equated to standing in the woods, in the rain for about an hour while all my muscles got cold. It was a long ride back to Athens. Kind of a blast, kind of a miserable day on the bike.

Sunday morning was the Grab & Git, a scavenger hunt by bike in the City of Athens followed by lots of coffee (from Ridge Runner Coffee) and donuts. I was making really good time until I realized I skipped a checkpoint and had to make a large detour, finally finishing mid pack. But coffee and donuts, so who cared!

Smiling before the rain really turned on and I got really cold.

The aftermath of the Classic.

This guy showed up just for the donuts.

Event buttons including the Wolfman Award.

And more photos at the Athens County Convention and Visitors Bureau photo site.

That gets things up to Easter. Ethan is finishing his driving portion of AAA school, so Shelly and he were gone most of the day Saturday. We then had to drive back to Pomeroy after Ethan left his jacket in the instructors car, but we made the most of it with a stop at the Court Street Bar and Grill for burgers and fried catfish. Easter Sunday started early as I prepped to get to church for sound checks then off to Shelly's grandparents for Easter lunch, then to my parents for Easter dinner (I did manage to ride from one to the other though, so at least there was some 11 odd miles in there), then back home over 12 hours later.

All the best bars have church pews, right?

Enjoy!

Project 26

Yes, another Redline. I didn't plan it this way, it just happened. We now have four Redline bikes for myself and my son. Last week (thanks to OMBA) I found an original steel fork for the Monocog 26. My plan with this bike is to set it up to have at my office for dashing to the Farmacy for lunch or riding through Sells Park. Next up are tires. The rear tire is pretty worn out and the front isn't far behind. I need to do some measuring, but I hope that I can fit a set of Surly Extraterrestrial 26 x 2.5" tires in there. I also changed the gearing to 34-18T, should be OK for the mixed riding.

Not the best photo, but you get the idea.

A side note: I bought this bike a year ago from a college student who was a "bike mechanic" (he did in fact work at one of the local shops). He made sure to tell me how well cared for it was since he was a "bike mechanic".  The latest issue (there have been others) I found was that he had installed the front caliper mount upside down (these thing even have the word UP stamped right in to them).

Quote of the week

This time, the quote isn't from a 5 year old boy, but my pastor who said (during his Sunday message no less) that he is "thankful God gave him a wife that doesn't expect anything special on their anniversary". Hmmm

I spent last Saturday working the "outdoor Expo" at the church. This used to be the Wild Game Dinner, but as the pastor doesn't hunt and wants to appeal to the larger outdoor rec crowd, we have expanded. This is the first year for the change in theme and I was asked to provide a display for cycling. Both Cycle Path Bicycles and Athens Bicycle handed me bikes to put on display (thanks a bunch to both places!). The crowd was heavily slanted to towards the hunting side of things, but it was good to let folks know the cycling option is here.

Sunday the temperatures rose back to spring time levels, so the kids played outside and I even got to ride my bike. Today, the wood stove is stoked and flakes are falling.

Setting up the bike display.

Cousins