Happy Birthday Jeremy

My buddy turned 33 this past week. Happy Birthday Jeremy! We've been busy going out the past three nights. Glad to know you Jeremy and to many more stories in 2012!

You know it's cold when...

When you're biking to the trail to meet your buddies on a Saturday afternoon and the wind is so fierce that you shed a tear. And then the tear freezes to the inside of your Jawbones. Yeah, that's cold! Aaron was back in town to take care of some business and he decided to bring his bike. Man Aaron, you really know how to choose the best day for biking. It was darn right cold out. My phone said it was 22 degrees, but with the wind, the "RealFeel" was 6. We met up with Paul and went for a go at Tranquility.

This was Aaron's first time at Tranquility since the new north side has been built. We all had a good time. We attempted to stay out of the wind as much as possible. Problem is that you sweat on those more intense sections, then it just turns cold and dampens your clothes. Most of the time, I was fairly warm. I think the coldest was riding to the trail and coming back. That wind!

Where did the trail go?

Down by the creek, close to where the finish line is at for the races, there has been a lot of dirt and rock dumping. We were joking and guessing where the dirt came from. They take away the dirt at Tranquility then they bring it right back. Good riding with you Aaron and thanks to Paul for feeding us.

Mt. Crescent this Sunday?

Buddy Jeremy and I were possibly going to head out to Mt. Crescent this Sunday. They've been making snow and if the temps are below freezing then it could be a good weekend to go. We both took advantage of the Groupon a month or two back, basically it was half price lift tix out there. I have no clue if we'll be getting any real snow in the near future, might as well enjoy the fake white fluffy. I'm dying to get on my snowboard this winter! Get a hold of me if you want to go hit the slope (hill!).

Ice biking video!!!

Oh man, this video is cool. Why more people don't have fatties to ride, I'm not sure. Despite the super cold temps outside right now, I really want to go ride! I like the camera mounted at the back of the top tube. Might have to give that a try! Really cool at 36 seconds until the end.


Ice Chips and Salsa from Bob Allen on Vimeo.

http://vimeo.com/34920433

"Are those tires real?"

Temps were warm, it was sunny, and I had nothing else going on last Sunday. Why not go for a ride? The wind was almost strong enough to make me rethink my decision, but a ride on the Big Papio proved to be a good idea. I started off at Hefflinger Park by Blondo and rode out to the shooting range by Harrison. Lots of interesting things to see and hear.

This creek almost looked like a watercolor painting with the way the sun was setting. 

I was passing some riff raff on skateboards at Seymour Smith Park. All I heard was, "HOLY SH*T, look at those tires." A minute earlier, I had tried helping a girl with her disc brakes that were rubbing. I rode off after an unsuccessful attempt and she was then questioned by the kids. When she caught up to me at the intersection, she told me that they were asking if my tires were real. We both laughed.

Birds everywhere on the powerlines

It's getting there. As I rode by, I wondered about the windows that would be going up. No pattern at all to them. Just staggered here and there like a kid piecing together Legos. Check out the windows next time and see what I mean. 

The new Victoria's Secret ad campaign. Instead of putting the word Pink on girl's butts of sweatpants, why not put it on industrial buildings?

This team bus cracks me up

I hung around the skatepark for a little bit. Pretty cool watching the skateboarders and bmx riders hit the pipes. Grinds, ollies, kickflips, you name it. They were doing it. I think it would be cool to get my big camera out there. But then again, I don't want to be that creepy old guy taking pics of kids at the park. No need to relive my moment at the IA State Fair where I was mistakingly identified by the state patrol! Anyway, I really wanted to ride the Muk up and down that skate park. Just to see what it would be like. But I didn't. Maybe next time!

This kid tried over and over to land a sequence of tricks. Never did see him complete it.

I just noticed the kid in red jumping, my goal was to get the kid pumping the wheelie across the top of the turn. 

Tailwind on the way home made for a fast ride back. Stopped to take a few pics, just to break up the monotony of a 10 mile ride back to Blondo. I like the warmer weather, but yet at the same time I can't wait for it to snow again. Carry on Mother Nature!

The same graffiti that I saw at Standing Bear

Chainless bike?

Drive shaft bike with internal gearing on Amazon. Hurry, only 11 left! Made by Dynamic Mountain Bike.
 
http://www.amazon.com/Dynamic-Mountain-Bike-Suspension-Chainless/dp/B0055CY8EM/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1326737337&sr=8-8

Topcaps!

Looks like you can get custom topcaps for your headset. I was thinking the temperature gauge route, but now that I know they can do custom...! I think I might be ordering one from purelycustom. Need to personalize the Muk. If anyone wants to do this, let me know. Maybe we can save on some shipping costs. I already know what I want to have engraved on mine.

Here are some examples on MTBR, they get better as the pages go on. And links below to websites. The picture above is somebody's work on MTBR (by SWriverstone of pictures that riders submitted).
http://forums.mtbr.com/passion/post-pix-your-headset-top-caps-263337-post2662255.html


http://www.purelycustom.com/

http://www.stemcaptain.com/

http://www.fast-freddy.com/

Niner makes a topcap where you can put your favorite beer bottle cap on top.
http://www.ninerbikes.com/fly.aspx?layout=bikes&taxid=123&parts=true

Ahh screw it!

I was browsing the world wide web to look for some ideas for two water bottle cages for the front fork on the Muk. I've been getting thirsty on my rides and one just isn't enough. I came across color painted screws. At first I was like, ooh, I want red. Then found out they are $6.99 for 4 screws. Yeah, you heard me right. I was actually planning to go to the hardware store to buy some screws and some testors model paint. Looks like that's what I'll be doing. The link may or may not work after the auction ends.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-4pcs-Water-Bottle-Cage-bolts-screws-M5x15mm-Orange-/130630374228?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1e6a2d5354

Yup, looks like someone spent some time painting these.

Some good reading for your Sunday morning...

Twitter is nice because it puts interesting articles from various sources right at your fingertips. And by fingertips I mean on your phone. Came across these this morning:

Woman falls 365 feet into croc infested water after her bungee cord snaps. I heard about this earlier in the week. There is video of it, plus a post interview.
http://www.outsideonline.com/blog/outdoor-adventure/bungee-cord-breaks-woman-survives-365-foot-fall.html


A writer for Outside magazine gets his bike stolen, then tries to track another 6 bikes as they go through the same heartless act of walking off in theives' hands. He comes across meth heads, the homeless, and skilled bike thieves in this interesting article.
http://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/biking/Who-Pinched-My-Ride.html?page=1


Minty eye drops???
http://gizmodo.com/5876133/

Hey whatever works!

If you're ever in a pinch...or rather you end up with pinch flats, have no spare tubes and no patches, then maybe try this? Unless you're biking in Omaha and the TH is less than a couple miles away.


http://www.stemcaptain.com/uncategorized/ever-had-to-tie-a-tube-bike-tube-that-is/

video!

Trials! Can't remember if this was posted around here or not, but it's worthy of another five minutes of your life!

Lights, Camera...Action!

A couple things about MNR this past week. It must have dropped about 36 degrees within a matter of three hours. I was worried that by showing up half an hour late that I would miss out on some quality biking. Not so! I rode up the south hill to find the group. Eventually met up with the gang, rode the south hill again, then did the climb. I was content. I had figured with the rumors floating around, that it would be too muddy to ride. I was just happy to be out on the trail! Lastly, I really had to pee on the way home. Never biked so fast in my life! Thanks to Paul for the Buds

Full moon out. Riders on the humps

More fat to hit the world?

The buzz this week has been Salsa's website. They are working, building, and will be riding prototype full suspension fat bikes maybe within the next couple of years. Question is: Is it really necessary? That seems to be the debate amongst many on the forums and website. Those beefy tires already have enough bounce to them. Adding FS will just make it trampoline like if you ask me. Plus the added disadvantage of the extra weight, pedal bob, you name it. At the same time, I would be very interested to ride one. We'll see if anything comes out of it.

There are a few people on the forums that have turned old FS bikes into frankenstein fat bikes. Lots of cutting and welding to come up with the desired outcomes. Word is they actually work. I guess we'll see if Salsa can pull this one off. Surly has their Moonlander, Salsa MIGHT have their full suspension rig. Right now they are taking suggestions for travel, wheel width, tire size, etc.

http://salsacycles.com/culture/prototype_talk_full-suspension_fatbike/

R.I.P. Grandma Wong

My grandma passed away in her sleep the week before Christmas. I guess cremations are a big deal in Hong Kong because she was finally cremated today. She was about 94 years old. She outlived my grandpa by 17 years. My parents made the trip over to Hong Kong, my sister and I did not due to work and the short notice. I've only met her more than a few times, but I still remember making her macaroni and cheese while her and my aunt were staying with us back in Waverly. Also she would always peel her grapefruit which I thought was odd, guess I've never tried it before. RIP grandma.

Picture is from my dad's camera, no idea where he got it from.

Standing Bear sunset photos

I was out at Standing Bear this afternoon, trying to get some biking in. Saw the clouds that were coming in while I was goofing around taking pictures of the bike. Figured that they might make for some sort of a cool sunset. I've been seeing cool sunsets while at work, usually from my office window if not from the operating room. So annoying to be stuck at work, left with a camera phone shooting through a window.

The sun was dropping fast and I decided to see if I could catch some photos. I raced home on the Muk, grabbed my DSLR and tripod and drove back out to Standing Bear. Got what I could. The clouds had cleared back out so the sunset wasn't as spectacular as I had hoped. Oh well, maybe next weekend.

Today's photos

The bike photos. Lake photos coming up next. Need to do some processing.