Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Nov 28th Commute - crossing it up



A good buddy of mine loaned me his cyclocross bike to try.  I finally decided to give it a try.  He had graciously added a rack to the back so I could strap my messenger bag back there and get it off my back.  Thus stopping the sweat build up under the bag.  Having gears was different.  My trip time was still about the same.  I blame that on the fact that I haven't ridden in a few weeks.  By the top of the hill I was suffering pretty good.  Not terrible but, you can defiantly tell I haven't been on two wheels in awhile.  I need more time on the bike but for one I think I'd want wider bars.  Maybe this weekend I can get out on it a bit and see if a CX bike is in my future.

Temp - 18 degrees

Me:
Head - 6 OK(Used a lighter balaclava and fleece buff neck wrap)
Hands - 8 Cold(I have no idea why, but my fingers were fine today even thou it was cooler.)
Chest - 8 Hot(I wore on jacket over my tshirt and it was fine.  Still a little sweating going on)
Legs - 7 fine (They were chilly until I warmed up)
Feet - 7 fine (Keen boots with bike socks)
Overall Physical feel - 5 (Wow I haven't been riding in a bit)

Bike ratings as follows.  One will mean total equipment failure.  Ten means it totally served it's purpose and I need to write more positive reviews on it.

Bike: Redline Conquest Pro
Tires - 8(Skinny and fast)
Brakes  - 8(Not a sound)
Drivetrain - 7(Shifting was sluggish in the cold)
Overall/Other - 5(Not sure if I like the CX bike or not.  It's the first ride but it's a much different position then I'm use too.  The Monocog is much more like a easy chair.)

Total Score: 69

Things to change - Ride more, gloves are fine.

Things I noticed -  Wow, that was a great sunrise.

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Nov 13th Commute - getting chilly



Finally got out on a colder day.  I wimped out yesterday at 12 degree's.  Figured I needed to get out this morning.  I doubled up my jacket which was unneeded.  Just my windstopper would have been fine.  About half way thru the ride I could feel my fingertips getting cold.  The fingers still worked fine, just the first digit and a half were cold.  Overall a great ride up the hill.

Temp - 25 degrees

Me:
Head - 7 OK(Cool to start but once I warmed up it was fine.  Just a buff under helmet and another around my neck and up over my chin.)
Hands - 5 Cold(Finger tips got very cold about midway thru the ride.  Columbia omni-tech med weight gloves)
Chest - 6 Hot(I doubled up in fear of getting cold.  Windstopper jacket and UA light workout jacket.  Way too much.)
Legs - 7 fine (They were chilly until I warmed up)
Feet - 6 cold (Keen boots with med weight sock)
Overall Physical feel - 8 (Felt awesome to be riding)

Bike ratings as follows.  One will mean total equipment failure.  Ten means it totally served it's purpose and I need to write more positive reviews on it.

Bike: Redline Monocog
Tires - 8(Rear was a problem in the garage but sealed and stayed up all the way to work)
Brakes  - 6(squeeky but fine)
Drivetrain - 6(BB needs replaced)
Overall/Other - 7(Replaced the FuBar and went back to a std bar.  Need to move brake lever down a bit.  Put on a new seat and it still needs a bit of adjusting.  Nose is too low.)

Total Score: 66

Things to change - Adjust seat, change BB, look at other gloves.

Things I noticed -  There's a lot more snow and ice out there, then I thought last night.

Friday, November 2, 2012

Nov - 2nd Commute

It's a warm one for November.  Gotta ride on a morning like this.  This morning a question arose when I stopped before the climb outta town and checked my tires.  My rear tire had gone low.  Not low enough that riding would do damage or even low enough that it unstable in turns.  Just low enough that there was a noticeable change in rolling resistance.  So does one stop and air it up or just ride?  I choose just ride.  Yea, for better or worse I made it to work.  Little more sweaty then I'd like but I made it.  Low tire and all.  I suspect it'll be fully flat by the end of work today.

Temp - 55degrees

Me:
Head - 9 ok but fine (Just Helmet)
Hands - 9 ok great (riding gloves)
Chest - 7 Hot (Fox DH jersey)
Legs - 9 warm (jeans)
Feet - 9 warm (soconey running shoes with thin biking socks)
Overall Physical feel - 6 (climb felt like a lot of work this morning.  Either a low rear tire makes a huge difference of I just need to ride more.)

Bike ratings as follows.  One will mean total equipment failure.  Ten means it totally served it's purpose and I need to write more positive reviews on it.

Bike: Redline Monocog
Tires - 4(rear tire lost some air on the way up)
Brakes  - 6(squeeky but fine)
Drivetrain - 6(BB needs replaced)
Overall/Other - 7(Replaced the FuBar and went back to a std bar.  Put on a new seat and it still needs a bit of adjusting.)

Total Score: 72

Things to change - More slime or better tire sealant, change BB.

Things I noticed -  A lady in her knickers dragging a overly large dog to the back yard as a cat ran to the front yard.

Monday, October 22, 2012

Oct - 22nd Commute

I've been off the bike for about two weeks.  I've barely touched a bike let alone thrown a leg over one.  I still cough like mad if I take a deep breath.  However after being around so many bike enthusiasts(Veloswap) this weekend, I was pretty pumped about giving the work commute a try.  Here's how it went....

Temp - 41degrees

Me:
Head - 9 ok but fine (Helmet and thin head sock)
Hands - 9 ok but functioning (New Columbia gloves)
Chest - 9 warm (Underarmor pullover)
Legs - 8 warm (jeans)
Feet - 7 ok I can feel my toes (keen boots/tall but thin biking socks)
Overall Physical feel - 7 (little gaspy on the climb)

Bike ratings as follows.  One will mean total equipment failure.  Ten means it totally served it's purpose and I need to write more positive reviews on it.

Bike: Redline Monocog
Tires - 5(front tire lost some air on the way up)
Brakes  - 7(chattery but fine)
Drivetrain - 6(BB needs replaced)
Overall/Other - 6(liking the Fubar less and less.  The angle of the bar just isn't right.)

Total Score: 73

Things to change - Change out FuBar?, More slime or better tire sealant, change BB.

Things I noticed -  I like the smell of pancakes much better then the smell of diesel exhaust.

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Winter Commuting

This was the lowest temperature commute so far.  It was 32ยบ when I left the house.  Luckily I had a tailwind of about 5-10mph.  It made the trip up the hill much more pleasant.  I did get a taste of the wind when I turned at the top of the hill.  I don't think my hands and feet would have been as warm if I'd have had to deal with a headwind.

My head was also preoccupied thinking about this blog post.  Kept my mind off of being cold.  Here's what I was thinking about.  I figured I'd rate my winter/cold weather commutes on a 1-10 scale.  All the factors will be added up and the rating for the ride will be that result.

For the Head, Hands, Chest, Lets and Feet : One will be useless frozen hunks of meat.  Ten will be Normal, warm functional appendage.
Overall Physical feel : One will be, legs and body fried, can't move.  Ten would be a great ride with energy to spare.

Me:
Head - 7 ok but fine (Helmet and thin head sock)
Hands - 5 ok but functioning (light fleece gloves)
Chest - 8 warm (med blue fleece jacket)
Legs - 7 warm (jeans)
Feet - 5 ok I can feel my toes (keen boots/tall but thin hiking socks)
Overall Physical feel - 5 (legs tired)

Bike ratings as follows.  One will mean total equipment failure.  Ten means it totally served it's purpose and I need to write more positive reviews on it.

Bike: Redline Monocog
Tires - 3(pretty sure they will both be flat for the trip home. Lost a lot of air on the way up)
Brakes  - 7(chattery but fine)
Drivetrain - 6(BB needs replaced)
Overall/Other - 7(lights great, Fubar??)

Total Score: 60

Things to change - Heavier socks, Windstopper gloves, More slime or better tire sealant, change BB.


Monday, August 20, 2012

New Shoes for the first day of school.

New shoes for the first day of school. They always made that first day just a little better. Made you feel just a bit better about giving up summer. Mom and Dad made you wait to wear them. Hatched out of that crisp new box, bright new laces, that new shoe smell. I know today isn't my first day of school but I still saved these for today. Have a great year kids.



Thursday, August 9, 2012

Winter Park trip Reviews

Our little trip to mountains to get some riding in put us in contact with a few different places and things.  For my record as well as trying to help out others, I though I'd try to write a few thought out reviews. 


Redstone Cyclery - http://redstonecyclery.com/
I know I've sung the praises of Redstone may other times and places, but I feel I need to stress how good this shop is.  Dave and his employee's never disappoint.  I needed a some advice on rides in the Winter Park area, help in fixing a super tight formula brake, and a bunch of misc parts.  It was a one stop shop.  I filled all my needs in one place.  When we were almost in the car I remembered I needed shifter housing for son's bike.  Dave made sure I got the correct length and just in case gave me a extra piece of housing to make sure the job got done.  He's always going far beyond the normal bike shop.  He wasn't totally sure on the condition of Granby Ranch's bike park so he told me to stop in at Totally Wired Cyclery and ask there.



Totally Wired Cyclery - http://totallywiredcyclery.com/
It was suggested to us that we talk to Doug at Totally Wired Cyclery and ask about conditions at Granby Ranch.  Rumors were flying that it might be in a state of disrepair.  Doug quickly dispatched that idea and said it's a good place to ride.  He did add that we'd probably enjoy the single track in the Winter Park area more thou.  We had planned on lift riding for a day so we stuck with the game plan.


Elevation pizza - http://www.elevationpizzaco.com/ 
We needed to stop for lunch so I put "pizza" into google maps to see what sort of reviews the local places had.  We were still in the parking lot, outside of Totally Wired when the prefect 30 review come up for Elevation pizza.  So I just turned the car back off and we got out and went inside.  It a good deal past lunch but they were still very busy.  We ordered a specialty pizza and a custom made pizza.  Both were awesome.  So good in fact we ended up getting more pizza from them the next night.  The reviews are all true.  Great pizza, good price and pretty fast also.  Try the Adam Bomb....soooo good.



Stillwater Campground -
We spent two days at Stillwater campground.  The camp ground is very busy, however it's not that noisy.  The camp sites are spaced well and other then the occasional thrum of a generator it's pretty peaceful.  The camp hosts were very kind and helpful.  The showers were hot and the bathrooms were clean.  For the money you can't beat it.  However since the beetle kill has taken all of the tree's it's a tad windy.  Were from Nebraska so it wasn't that bad to us.


Granby Ranch Bike Park - http://www.granbyranch.com/colorado-mountian-biking-trails-terrain-parks.html
While we were at Totally Wired Cyclery Doug pointed out that there's a coupon in the Winter Park trail map for a free junior lift ticket with the purchase of an adult ticket.  We just happend to have two adults and two juniors.  Total with tax was $52 dollars for four of us to ride the lifts and bike down.  That's an insane deal.  So with our lift tickets in hand we headed for the trails.  Lines were short and the lift was fast.  The DH trails are very well marked.  The cross country aren't bad just off of the lift but further down the path, it starts to change.  The XC stuff at Granby ranch has hardly been touched.  We rode some XC stuff till we went down Silky Johnson.  Then we rode that for the rest of the afternoon.  What a fun run.  SOOO much flow.  We would have needed some serious bikes and even more serious balls to ride some of the other DH runs at Granby.  There were some excellent riders sending it big down there.  Great stuff to watch.  I just don't have that skill set.



Eagle's Camp Dome Tent - http://www.cabelas.com/product/Eagles-Camp-Crystal-Canyon-Backpacker-Dome-Tent/715647.uts?Ntk=AllProducts&searchPath=%2Fcatalog%2Fsearch.cmd%3Fform_state%3DsearchForm%26N%3D0%26fsch%3Dtrue%26Ntk%3DAllProducts%26Ntt%3Deagles%2Bdome%26x%3D0%26y%3D0%26WTz_l%3DHeader%253BSearch-All%2BProducts&Ntt=eagles+dome&WTz_l=Header%3BSearch-All+Products
We picked up this little tent for my GF's son.  It had good reviews and didn't break the bank.  It won't get used a ton so we didn't want to spend a ton of money on it.  The reviews on Cabela's website were decent so we gave it a try.  It was easy to set up(even in the dark).  Plenty of room for a taller camper like her son.  For the money it had quality parts and decent materials.  Don't believe me?  Buy one and spend a little time outdoors.  You'll be glad you did.



Mountain House Wraps, Breakfast wrap - http://www.cabelas.com/product/Mountain-House-Wraps/1232711.uts?Ntk=AllProducts&searchPath=%2Fcatalog%2Fsearch.cmd%3Fform_state%3DsearchForm%26N%3D0%26fsch%3Dtrue%26Ntk%3DAllProducts%26Ntt%3Dmountain%2Bhouse%26x%3D0%26y%3D0%26WTz_l%3DHeader%253BSearch-All%2BProducts&Ntt=mountain+house&WTz_l=Header%3BSearch-All+Products
I've eaten a lot of freeze dried food.  This is one of the best I've ever had.  Sure it's simple and that is probably why it's so good.  Add a few tortilla's to your load and you'll have some smiling faces in the morning after breakfast.  It says it feeds 2, but I'd say it's closer to 3 or even 4.  It's a good ratio of eggs to hash browns to onions and peppers.  Add a little hot sauce or cheese and this is darn near perfect.  This one is always on my list when car camping.



Yakima Highroller - http://www.yakima.com/shop/bike/top/highroller
This tray is quickly becoming my favorite one to load when it comes time to putting bikes on top of my car.  It's fast and holds tight without lots of fuss.  My only issue is that the riveted pivot on the upright holder has developed some slop in the last year.  There is a clicking sound it makes from time to time when the bike sways a little.  My initial displeasure's with the tray was how poorly the plastic fit and the broken quick drop button.  Both of these problems still remain, however it makes up for these deficiencies in loading and unloading which are effortless.



Exped Megamat - http://www.exped.com/exped/web/exped_homepage_na.nsf/0/B5536B3C0E79A3D7C12578480022B0C2?opendocument
I purchased this mat before I left for a Fruita Mtnbike trip.  I liked the reviews and the info I found online.  The first night I spent on this mattress was epic.  It's like sleeping on your bed at home.  It's that good.  If I hadn't been in a sleeping bag I would have thought I was at home.  It's not the smallest mattress.  It's a car camping mattress.  It's not light either.  What you lose in mobility and weight you gain exponentially in comfort.  It's adjustable for firmness and self inflating.  It comes with a pump to get the ride quality you desire. 


Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Commute - 7.17.2012

This mornings commute was awesome. Could have been awesomer(yes it becomes a real word if I type it on the internet) if I'd just had a tad more gearing on the single speed. I came into the climb up the hill this morning about 20yards behind a roadie in full kit. He was keeping a nice easy pace and I thought, maybe I can catch up and say hi. The idea of me on a rigid single speed mountain bike catching up with this guy just made me smile. So I threw some extra coal on the fire and opened up the steam. I was spinning as fast as I could and just didn't have the gearing to catch him. If I'd had the slingshot, I would have but, it also wouldn't have been as sweet. Gears make it feel like cheating. So it's time to change the ratio on the SS. Something to give me a little more top end.

Thursday, July 5, 2012

The 4th of July - Bikes, Barns and Booms.

A short sweet ride ended at Luke Fasoldt's house.  Where his barn had tried to fly a few nights earlier.  Bit by bit, slice by slice we moved the barn from it's new resting place to a pit.  Much quicker then we all expected we were done.  We enjoyed some fireworks, friends and food.  Can't ask for more.



Monday, July 2, 2012

The Hammer - The rise of a bottle opener

A good buddy of mine came knocking yesterday afternoon. He has a small forge and recently has been wanting to make some bottle openers to sell at fairs and gatherings and such. The problem is my buddy doesn't drink. So he had to come to me to test it out.

The design works very well.  I was successful in opening multiple beers for myself and friends.  It has a great look and becomes quite the conversation piece.  I'm guessing he'll eventually want this one back and I'll have to commission him to make me a few.  Till then this one will keep opening beers and spreading joy to the world.

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Fruita Trip 2012

Text and pics.  Video to follow.

This is the third annual Fruita trip.  It's my first.  I've had a Fruita trail book for over a year.  I had want to go last year but just wasn't able to pull it off.  This year however worked.  Plan was to leave Wednesday, drive to Fruita and set up camp.  Ride Thursday, Friday and Saturday.  Then pack up and come home.  Packing list and planning was pretty much the same as most bike trips.  Helmet, bike, camelbak, beer...etc.  Only a couple of things were different.  It was suggested that I pack ear plugs.  Also Luke brought a cordless hammer drill with 12" masonry bit.  We were all bringing a different type of bike.  I was on my Turner Five-spot.  Five inches of full squish.  Curt on his Slingshot.  More or less a hardtail with front suspension.  Then Luke on his fully rigid, single speed.  Punishment on two wheels, but It does get the girls.

We set out at noon on Wednesday.  Bikes loaded on top of Curt's truck and the back filled to the brim with camping supplies.  I wasn't driving so the trip across Colorado seemed to fly by.  Good friends talking about mtn.bikes makes for a fast trip.  The drive up the Monument was beautiful.  Our camp site was the same.  I got to find out why we had packed the hammer drill and masonry bit.  In previous trips they had trouble getting stakes in for the tent.  So this year the hammer drill helped set a few stakes.  There were still places where the drill wouldn't work.  Darn tough rock.

The plan for Thursday was to get in as many trails on Road18 as we could.  I woke up before everyone else and made some coffee.  Took a walk around the edge of the Monument.  Heck of a way to take in the mornings coffee.  The view was stunning.  Only made better by the rising sun.
 Trip to Road18 was quick.  We proceeded to ride Primecut, Kessel Run, Joe's Ridge and PBR.

Then in maybe one of our poorer decisions we decided to ride the 18hours of Fruita race course....backwards.  We didn't know we were going the wrong way.  We just went the wrong way by chance.  The course was beat, rutted and hot.  I can only imagine what it was like for the racers the weekend before.  Yes I said the weekend before.  Another minus.  Most of the route was covered with what felt like six inches of flour.  It was like riding on flat tires and sounded the same.
Lukes leg and dirt line

My mood soured pretty quickly after only getting a third of the way in or so.  Once we were done however I was in for a treat.  We went to the local pizza joint.  The Hot Tomato.  Wow, what great pizza and beer.  Awesome place.  If your in the Fruita area and don't eat here.  Your missing out.  Try the Stinky.  My favorite.




I can't remember if it was my idea to run to Moab or if it was someone else.  Whoever it was, that was the plan made.  Luke told us stories of Slickrock and other trails they had done on four-wheelers years before.  I had a deep want to see the 220grit red rock of my youth.  On the map, the drive to Moab isn't that long from Fruita.  For some reason it felt like a eternity.  Once there we hit a bike shop and a convince store for post ride brews.  We rode a bit of Slickrock trail and then a bit of Porcupine Rim Trail.  We needed to get back in time to meet my Cousin and her husband for dinner at the Ale House in Grand Junction.  I think most of the way back to Fruita I talked about returning to Moab and riding there.  I will return.




Saturday we were headed to Kokopelli trails.  We warmed up on Rustlers, then headed up Mary's Loop to Horse Thief.  What a awesome trail system.  When you can make a climb as enjoyable as the one on the end of Horse Thief is.  You've done amazing things.  Great rides I can't wait to get back and do again.  Ended off the day with a soak in the pool at Fruita and eat's from the Hot Tomato again.


Sunday we packed up, had breakfast with my Aunt, Uncle and Cousin Andy.  Then sprinted home.  Fun time had by all.  What's the date for next year?

Link to some other misc. pics from the weekend....Fruita weekend
The END

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Why Station Wagon's are cool.

Like many mornings here at work the topic turns towards cars.  Today's discussion went from "good gas mileage" to classic station wagon's.  How did this this noble people hauler get such a bad rap in America?  Why do the words "Station Wagon" conger up images of the green, wood paneled bomb from American Vacation?  How did the wagon loose it's battle to the Mini-Van?  MPG, Comfort,  Drive ability, maybe one or all of these but don't tell me it lost on account of it's appearance.  Sure there have been a few ugly wagons.  Tell me how many good looking minivan's you've seen lately thou?  Take a look at the 2012 line up.  Which one looks good?  Further proof...

Which would you want on appearance alone?


Saturday, April 14, 2012

Bike Email

Good friend of mine sent me this the other day and I just had to share it.  Great responses by all.  Enjoy....

Simon - Aesthetics.

It's no secret bikes now are ugly.  Fat hydro-formed square plastic tubes, 15 colours stripes, racing stripes and anything else they can come up with to make this years new, and last years out dated.  Need an example? The new rocky mountain element or just about any road bike you can buy.

As you all know I am playing with the idea of a ti true north road frame.  Smaller tubes, no paint, no decals.  clean. 
I don't want the bike to be outdated, but classic.  So my question is...silver or black bits?  15 years ago, black components on a road bike were rare. now, everything is black.........but is it worth finding old stuff?  Like silver square taper cranks.  stem, headset.  build wheels with silver hubs, spokes and rims.................
Does a grey bike need the black for contrast or would silver make it classic-ier?

Todd - Silver!!!  Enough said.

Me -  Long reply to follow soon. 

Gerald - Simon, I’m  drinking a Tank House right now, and now I’ve got to think about aesthetics. Silver all the way, but perhaps a bit of anno with a seatpost collar and headset. Definitely silver for the cranks, hubs, rims, seatpost, and stem. Don’t forget the chrome pegs for the front and back.

Me - Simon, you know I have to disagree, thou on some points your totally correct.  I don't mind some of the hydro-formed frames now days.  There light, strong, flowing lines, good looking bikes.  Do I agree with all the stickers and misc stripes that adorn some of the same bikes...no.  I've included a few examples.  I know you like the nice symmetry of a couple triangles.  I get that.  I'm just saying it's not that bad.  Not bad at all really.  So just remember what a old friend said when your in a bike store next time and some Hydro-formed, 29er, 1.5" headtubed, tubeless bike is raising your blood pressure.

"It's all about two legs, turning two cranks, turning two wheels. Its just too simple for most people to comprehend." - Chris Cannon

Enjoy your Friday bud.




Simon - i'll let gerald answer................

Gerald - Hey I’m still laying in favor of more traditional straight tubed frames. I don’t mind a bit of hydro forming and understand that it does provide a function in some circumstances, but when I checked out the photo’s Garrett submitted, I could not help but think Chris Bangle on acid.
Whether you like it or not, Chris Bangle upset a lot of BMW fans with his ice and fire hydroformed  body panels. For some strange reason Car+Driver like a bunch of other wankers love the styling of the new Sonata which to me is taking  Chris Bangle to the extreme as if they are on acid.  Unfortunately I see this on the way the big boys design their bikes. As far as I can remember, Rocky Mountain was one of the first in not the first that took hydroforming to bike frames. A lot of you will not know this, but a lot of the first hydroforming of tubing was  pioneered right here in Woodstock Ontario. Rocky’s tubesets were Easton RAD tubing.
At first these tubes added a certain cachet to the look of the bike and then everyone else jumped on board, and this is where they started going ape-shit to outdo the competition. If I think of some of the current frames that have toned down the use of hydroforming, I think of the Ellsworth Truth, the Titus FTM and Ventana. I really wonder what we will think of the Santa Cruz, Yeti and Uzzi ten years down the road.  I just have to think of the old curvy framed Cannondale Raven from the past and think who in the hell would want one today in their collection. It might be a collectors item, but it sure is not a thing of beauty.
I have a question. Imagine you have a custom built or for that matter, just a high end frame. You have the frame for a very long time, say 5-10 years, and it shows no signs of fatigue. The  frame  can be  straight tubed steel, straight tubed or mildly hydroformed aluminum or a wildly hydroformed aluminum frame like the Santa Cruz, Yeti etc. Which one would you send to a frame painter for a custom repaint?   I’ve had several repaints over the years.     
If you want to see some classic frame design, new and old,  pick up the current edition of Paved. In this issue they have a interesting interview with Sky Yaeger and then add a pictorial of some of her faves. She does have good taste in her builds.

Simon - let me put it this way.  james and i hit ray's in december.  me on a 98 element, him on his pivot..............i love the pivot, it's a great bike.  but the rocky got the comments.

Me - This email is going on my blog. Awesomeness. 

Simon - I'm just saying......the pivot is definatly a better bike.  100000% better.   

Todd - My official response to all of this nonsense is brewing.

Gerald - Come on Todd,  it’s  shitty outside and we have nothing better to do? 

Todd - Fine.

My official response?  You all suck. 

I have never been a fan of hydroformed tubing.  Take a traditional American-made Reynolds tubeset, make it from aluminum instead of long-lasting quality steel in one of 4 factories in Taiwan to "save on manufacturing costs," and then just for fun, square the tubing with high powered water-jets or however the hell they hydrofrom them and THEN weld them together?  i am just not convinced that makes for a better made frame.  

But whatever floats your boat I guess.


So why do you suck?  Because I own such a bike.  I have always known this.  One of my bikes is an 08 Trek 69er,  a ridiculously expensive single speed that if I'm not mistaken, was one of the first hydroformed bikes.  I say this because there is no other apparent reason for that bike to have cost as much as it did OTHER than to have incorporated state-of-the-art manufacturing processes that were not used on less expensive bikes of the day.  Admittedly I bought it a year or so later at half price because it didn't sell, but that's another story for another day.  And now every $400 Trek 800 has similar tubing, but what the hell.

Having said this, I have always preferred the more classic designs.  I prefer the simplicity of a good hardtail.  When I finally did purchase a full-squshie, it was a older design that had a more classic look.  It does NOT have hydroformed tubes.
So because of this email I went downstairs to go determine why I like my bikes  as much as I do.  And then my eyes wandered towards my favorite bike.  The bike the rides better than the rest.  The bike I've put more money into that any other.  The bike I reach for when I ride for escape and comfort.  That's right - my Santa Cruz Chameleon.  And then I looked at it a bit closer.  It's a little squared off in the back.  Hey, those rear tubes are squared!  Oh shit - those are hydroformed.

Apparently I own two such bikes.  Damn.

Which I suppose validates Garrett's comment, which is that it is not necessarily the tubing, but the horrible paint jobs and pin striping that is on most all modern bikes these days.

Which I apparently don't own.

So I take comfort in the fact I still love bikes with bits anodized in lots of color - just like high dollar bikes in the 90's.  Thus making me old school cool. Except fo the fact I am apparently decorating hydroformed tubed bikes, making me a big old loser.
Sigh.....

Oh, and Simon?  Back to your original question?   Use silver parts.  More classy.  More elegant.  And all the hydroformed bikes come with black parts as you know.  So go against the grain my friend.  Stand out against the common $5,000 boring carbon Trek.  Be one with the titanium and use parts that are not only long-lasting, but compliment the color and appearance of a classic road ride. 


Todd - I just read what I wrote.  Somebody needs to take the keyboard away from me when I have drunk too much vodka.

Sigh.....

Simon - dude, i woke up to it, and it had me laughing.  true to form todd.....loved it!

Me - Same here epic.

 

Monday, April 2, 2012

Curt Gowdy - EARLY 2012

With such a mild winter and very dry spring so far we were able to get out to Curt Gowdy before April.  Here's the vid...

http://vimeo.com/39627192

Gowdy_00 2012 from Garrett Olsen on Vimeo.


The film doesn't show the blood and gore that happened.  Josh was showing off in the parking lot and found a way to open up huge bloody patches on his hands and knees.  Joab tried playing with his older brother and managed to clothes line himself on a strand of barbed wire.  Jake came out pretty much unscathed as did I.  Fun time had by all.

Friday, March 23, 2012

The Sweet Sweet Smell of the Commute

That is some high quality O2 out there this morning.  Dropped the car off for tires this morning and rode to work.  It was slightly foggy, moist, cool and perfect.  It was a nice steady ride into work.  Totally uneventful.  However, here's the funny thing.  Maybe it's like this for most riders and I'm just now talking about it.  If a car passes me and they are smoking.  I instantly feel like I just took a tug on a cig too.  I can't believe how much it smells.  When walking into the building I noticed the smell of a woman's skin creme.  It smelled like she bathed in the stuff.  The heightened sense of smell does subside.  I just found it odd that it does that.

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

The Toshiba Thrive and me.

I should really be doing this post from my thrive to test out it's blogging capabilities however there is something to be said about a real keyboard.  So the story.  Well it all starts when Jenn needed eye surgery.  We had to be in Denver the day before the surgery.  She had a brief consult with the doctor that was doing the operation.  After that we had the rest of the afternoon to ourselves.  We had a beautiful fall day in front of us.  We decided on Beau Jo's for lunch.  Ate our fill at the buffet of awesome pizza and while we were there found us a hotel.  So we checked in to the hotel and then drove around a bit to explore.  We didn't get far before we found a Best Buy and Ross.  One for Jenn and one for me. 

Here's the thing.  I've liked the idea of a tablet since they were introduced.  Liked there idea, but hated there price.  I couldn't understand paying $600 plus for a tablet when you could buy a really nice laptop for that.  Plus the laptop would do so much more.  My price point was around $300-400.  That's where laptops end and the price gap in technology existed.  A friend loaned me his almost new Ipad2 for a weekend.  I wanted to know what it was like browsing the web from bed.  Playing with apps on the couch.  If you have ever owned a ipod touch, you know what a ipad is like.  It's the same thing except bigger.  Your inside a very pretty white fence, with a beautiful groomed lawn to play on.  Problem is you can just sit back and watch the party going on outside the fence.  I didn't like the ipad.  Apps felt limited, couldn't see the file structure, couldn't manipulate the look of the front pages, it just wasn't what I was use to.  I wanted a bigger version of my phone.  A Android tablet.

So Jenn went to Ross and I headed into BestBuy.  I already had a pretty good idea of the specs on all the tablets.  I knew there memory capacity, physical size, OS version and current price.  After spending time with the Ipad I thought I wanted something smaller.  However after flicking thru and playing a bit with the small Asus, I rethought that.  I spent a hour holding, touching, and playing with all the different tablets.  Even if they were out of my price range.  Just to see what a higher price might add.  Jenn found me after she was done and we went back to the hotel.  She knew I wanted a tablet.  So for the rest of the night and even then next morning in the waiting and recovery room it was a joke with us, about me getting back to Bestbuy.  After Jenn's surgery the doc asked us to stay one more day.  We were prepared for it.  Everything except for the green peas which we needed for Jen's face masks.

We had a Natural Foods grocery store next to the hotel but I ran to Target and grabbed some.  Then hit Ross for some more spatulas that Jen wanted to give as Christmas gifts.  Temptation got the best of me and I went back in too Bestbuy.  I did a little more playing and then decided.  I called Jenn to make sure she was doing fine and told her I'd only be a few more minutes.  I found someone to get me a tablet and ring me up.  Jakob called while I was checking out so I didn't get the hard sell on the optional insurance, memory card, cables, etc..  Got back to the hotel, took care of Jenn and put the peas on ice.  I didn't get to actually open it till later that night.  I needed the hotel's wifi and a little time.  So when Jenn took some pain med's and nodded off for a bit I unwrapped it and fired it up.  Didn't take long for it to register and get signed into my google account.  Most apps from my phone ported over.  I browsed thru some forum's getting suggestions on "must have" apps for tablets.  Used some and uninstalled others.  Battery time was excellent.  I also loved that fact that in the future I could replace the battery myself if I needed.

Fast forward to the end of Febuary.  I've had my Thrive for a few months now and can say that I am totally happy with it's performance and ability to replace a laptop.  I love the ability to draw on it.  I've mocked up several watercolors I've done.  Adobe has a ever expanding suite of apps for it.  Some are good, some better and some need a lot of work.    However for the most part it's great.  If your looking at any tablet be it Android or Apple, weigh what your going to use it for and then make a decision on what to get.

Monday, February 6, 2012

2012 Video's

Trying to get my feet wet and use Premier pro 5.5.  You can watch tutorials till your blue in the face.(and they will turn you blue in the face)  I like to experiment and get a feel for things then have someone instruct me a bit.  I need a reference point to expand on.  Anyhow...here ya go....

A day at the farm.  Some time around mid January 2012...




I wasn't totally happy with the video quality of Youtube so I switched to Vimeo.  So far I'd say much better everything.