I Am Handy As Fuck

I replaced this busted-ass starter selenoid in my boat. By myself. And it worked. Holy shit.

Handsome Half-Haircut

Only In St. Cloud

This tiny 4-wheeler, which was likely designed for a single 10-year-old, was occupied by 2 grown adults. They were pulling this leaky gas can - and their two small children - in this wagon with a wheel that was about to fall off. All so they could make a family stop at Fantasy Gifts. Yes, it's the kind of store you think it is.

Buy/Take My Stuff

I realize it would have been easier if I had gone through all my stuff before the bike swap, but that's life. I've got some stuff for sale, and some stuff for free. All you cheapskates, free stuff's at the bottom. Here we go:

Brand new 2010 Shimano 105 double crankset, 172.5mm length. $125.
Specialized Comp MTB shoes, size 45. Used very sparingly. $20.
Cranks Bros. Candy SL pedals. Used for maybe 5 mountain bike rides. Cleats included. $40 SOLD.

Two pairs of older shimano MTB pedals, used but functional. $10/pair.

Surly Fixxer, new in bag. $30.
Black Salsa Goma handlebar tape, brand new. $5
Dura Ace 9-speed front downtube shifter, brand new. $5.
Profile Century aerobars, used for a couple of triathlons. Includes computer mount. $15.
Rav-X Swift X saddles, brand new. Didn't fit my tushy. These have the same dimensions as a Fi'zi:k Arione. $30 each.Tufo S3 Pro tubular tires, brand new. $50 each.
Planet Bike fenders. Yes, they're pretty. Used for a month or so of commuting. $10.

From here on out, it's all free. You can pick it up at my house or I can bring it to the track next time I'm there.

Old-ass avid rim brakes.

ITM handlbars. 25.4 clamp area, 42cm width. Used one season.
Sette ergo bars. Used 2 weeks. 25.4cm clamp area, 42cm width.
XT front shift/brake pod. GONE.

Make offers on anything you think is overpriced. Hit the 'Contact Me' link over on the left side to send me an e-mail. I'll keep this post updated as things get sold, so if it says it's available, it's available. Don't e-mail me and ask if it's available.

Finally!

Addi has been trying for weeks to ride without training wheels, and could never quite get it. Until this weekend.

We had lots of practice in the grass.

But she kept a good attitude and kept trying.

We tried pushing her, but she still couldn't quite get it.

Finally, we realized that she couldn't go straight because she was looking down at her front wheel. I ran in front of her and told her to keep her eyes on me, and off she went!

Have you ever seen anything cuter????

Then we celebrated.

Kid On A Leash

Gotta love Granite City Days!

Sick Of This Shit

Some of you may have noticed that I was missing for several days. That's because I was up in Canada fishing. I'll get to that later, but I've got some bitching to do.

Let it be said: T-Mobile fucking sucks. I've been with them for almost 10 years, back when they were Aerial, then VoiceStream, and finally T-Mobile. I've stayed with them because the prices are good, but I can't deal with their worthless service anymore.

Of the 9 people I was with in Canada, only those with T-Mobile didn't have service. In fact, we had to drive over 4 hour into North Dakota until my phone worked, and we were in Fargo before I had any data coverage.

This is unacceptable. What's the point of having a cell phone that never works anywhere? It's probably fine if you don't travel a lot, but I trek into the middle of nowhere too regularly.

Plus, they've really dropped the ball on their phones. The best phone they actually sell is still the Cliq, which is 8 months old. All the other carriers have new, pimp Android phones (or the defective iPhone 4, yippee!). And the fucking Cliq is still running Android 1.5, so I can't even run all the available apps.

Like I said, I'm sick of this shit.

So, I'm on a mission to get out of my contract. I tried calling and pleading my case, but they want $200 per line for early termination. Suckageawea. I think the only way to do it is to find someone to take over my plan...kinda like a sublease. Anyone interested? I'll throw in my Cliq for free.

Stunt Riding On A Carbon Road Bike

I'm not quite so concerned about breaking my carbon frame anymore

Maybe I'd Be Faster If I Didn't Hold My Breath

And maybe Franz would be faster if he did more bicep curls.

If You Wanna See What You Missed...

Here's a video overview of the Fixed Gear Classic from NSCTv . The last half of the video is some golf shit, so you might wanna skip that.

Hey, I Remember You...

I rode my road bike for the first time in months today. It felt awesome. I won't tell you how long I rode because it's rather shameful. OK, OK...I'll tell ya. I rode for 1 hour and 4 minutes. The last time I rode for over an hour, my hip was so sore I had to take almost a week off. Today, I feel great! This is encouraging.

Since the velcro on my good shoes went to shit, I had to use some older shoes. My feet were really bugging me during the ride, so I had to stop and adjust my cleats. I need new shoes. I'm thinking about some Bont a-two's, but will likely end up with a pair of Specialized. They're just so damn comfortable.

Oh, and this is what I look like after a road ride.

Awesome, right?

Then I came home and had to mow the lawn. We have a fucking swamp back there! Seriously, we've got mushrooms and shit!

For Sale

Cane Creek 50mm carbon rims on Dura Ace hubs, laced up with Sapin Cx-Ray spokes. Vittoria Corsa Evo CX tubulars are glued on. BRAND NEW, NEVER RIDDEN.

This is a light, stiff set of wheels built using top-of-the-line components. Let's face it, I just don't need carbon road wheels. But guess who does...you! Hit me up if you're interested. Otherwise, they're going up on E-Bay next week.

I would consider partial trade for Ksyrium or similar in like-new condition.

This Is What I Look Like After Doing Intervals

I wanted to ride outside today, but the rain wouldn't stop and I'll be damned if I'm getting my pretty bike wet. My love affair with the ergo has been rekindled.

Madison Warm-Up, Trinidad Style

I dig Emile Abraham. He's one of my favorite pro bike racers. Here's why:

Dude's got some moves!

Much Better

It's amazing how much of a difference an attitude adjustment can make. I had a great day today, despite sucking in my first race, and I even pulled out a win (with a little help, of course)!

I started out with a 6-lap sprint for 9th. My racing tactics have gone out the fuckin' window, and for some reason I felt that I had to close every gap myself, so I was cooked by the time I should have been sprinting for the line. I ended up getting 2nd-to-last. Yay.

So, there are a few things I need to work on desperately. Tactics and patience. I really paid close attention to what the best riders were doing today, and it sure ain't what I'm doing! I'm guessing (hoping) this will come back with more races. I used to have the killer instinct for this shit, I just need to find it again. A little endurance wouldn't hurt, either. And being less of a fatty.

I then sat around for like 5 hours until the Team Sprint. We ended up getting the win with a horse-shit time of 51.1. Our 3rd guy was overlapping my rear wheel a bit when I pulled up, so he had to backpedal and re-accelerate, which probably cost us a second or so. That could have ended badly. I felt like I faded pretty hard on my lap, but every effort I do will make me faster.

The racing was awesome today. Usually I get bored watching races I'm not in, but I was truly drawn in by the action today. 19-year-old superstar Boltin' Colton Barret kicked some serious ass, winning the men's overall endurance omnium. He's got a big future ahead of him. I'm not certain he realized how good he is. Colby Pearce took 2nd, and Adam Bergman took 3rd. It's nice to see the local guys score some results.

In the sprint omnium, Ferris took 3rd, Jason Garner took 2nd, and Matt Baronoski took the win. Here he is lying on the ground after the madison. I'm sure glad I didn't race that shit.

In the women's omnium, Cari Higgins dominated the whole weekend. Yep, that pretty much sums it up. Here's a shitty photo of the women's podium.

I came away from this weekend with a new motivation and several things to work on. It should be a fun summer. It feels good to have goals again.

After Some Consideration...

I'm feeling a bit better about myself. I'm generally not the type of person who is encouraged by setbacks. Much the opposite, actually. I know that's not a good way to go through life, so I'm trying to have a more positive outlook and see that, hey, I've got nowhere to go but up, right?

I don't know what I was expecting, or why it's such a blow to me to have one bad time trial. Honestly, I've really just been going through the motions this Spring because my heart hasn't really been in it. Maybe it's leftover mental weirdness from my crash...I dunno. Today was a wake-up call that maybe I do care.

My coworker has this quote on his office wall:

"Happiness is reality divided by expectations. In order to be happy, either improve your reality or lower your expectations."

Since I'm not willing to lower my expectations, I guess I've got some thinking - and some work - to do.

Well, That Went Poorly

If you had asked me to lay out a worst-case scenario for today, it would have been significantly better than the reality of my suckage.

The last time I did a flying 200 was at Elite Nationals in 2008, where I rode an 11.1. I figured I'd be a bit slower today, maybe 11.4 or 11.5.

I rode a 12.06 and didn't even make the top 8 that get into the sprint tournament. No shit. I've never failed to qualify for a sprint tournament, even at nationals. I can't even think of an excuse to justify it, and I'm usually awesome at excuses.

I have no clue what happened. My power has been on par with my best ever. I had a good warm-up, I felt strong, and my 200 felt relatively fast. Hell, I figured I could ride sub-12 with one foot. I guess not.

No one likes a sad sack, but I'm really pretty dejected and questioning whether or not I want to keep training to race at this level. I don't have the time or energy to train any harder than I am currently, and it's obviously not working.

Anyway...

We got rained out after 2 events today, so we went to Trader Joe's and then attending the rider's dinner, catered by Buca Di Beppo. Their food sure is a lot better at the restaurant.

Anyway, all the events got pushed till tomorrow. I'm not sure if I'm going to ride the "1 mile sprint for 9th". First of all, I think it's stupid to race for 9th. Secondly, 6 laps is no longer a sprint. I'll probably do it, but I won't be happy about it.

We've also got the Team Sprint, and our chances look pretty good. Our 3rd rider had the fastest flying 200 today by 3/10th of a second.

So, yeah, today sucked. On the plus side, I looked amazing once again. So there's that.

I'm hoping to find better form tomorrow. I'm not going to shave my legs, either. You can all be jealous of my manliness.

Sexy Bitches

Built and glued by my fearless leader, Sickboy. Happy now?

FGC, Here I Come!

I missed the first night of racing of the Fixed Gear Classic because today is my Max's 8th birthday. I'm not going to miss that to get my ass handed to me in a keirin.

I had read that someone would be live-tweeting the event, and was excited to check the results when I got home from Chuck E Cheese. Boy, was I disappointed. I kinda-sorta got the results, but it would have been nice to know things like who was racing against each other in the sprints, who made the keirin finals, and maybe some interim updates from the longer races. Tweeting "Scratch race qualifying" is useless. How about naming who won? Anyone who is bothering to follow you is going to want more info. If you're going to do it, do it up hardcore. This is me trying to be constructive, but I'm probably coming off like a dick. It's just my way.

Two years ago at FGC, I participated in too many events, which hindered my success. I will not make that mistake again. The sprint field looks to be pretty strong, but I'm excited to see how I stack up after such a long hiatus.

Franz and I practiced our Team Sprint starts yesterday to make sure I'm not going to get dropped with him riding his baby gear. I won't. Jonnycerious is sick, so we've got Jon Linchetz riding 3rd wheel. He comes highly recommended, though I've not heard of him before.

I've been watching the weather forcast like an OCD freak, and it looks like we may be OK. Hell, there's only a 40% chance of rain. There was a 60% chance tonight, and not a drop. I've got the car packed and will be rocking my new EDGE wheels tomorrow. I can't wait.

I'm too tired to proofread this shit.

Wendy's Menu Fail

Jumpin'

Franz and I did our final gym workout for the Fixed Gear Classic a couple days ago. It included power cleans, box jumps, and ergo spins. Since I didn't really have a "box" to jump over, we used my kids' toy drawer thingy.

This was not tall enough, so I added to it. With Lincoln Logs.

OK, I admit it, they're not real Lincoln Logs, but a cheap knock-off.

Then, we jumped.


And Ergo'd

I Haz A Camper

My wife has been pestering me for over a year because she wanted a camper. I never wanted to deal with the hassle, and I've always been perfectly happy sleeping in a tent. But, she persisted, and we eventually found a killer deal on CraigsList.

Last weekend we went camping with my cousins at Baker Park Reserve. I've never been much for campgrounds, but the place was really nice and had some great bike paths.

Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate and it rained all day long on Saturday. We ended up drinking a LOT, since there wasn't much else to do. I actually had to take a 3-hour nap in the afternoon. I know, rough life.

The camper is awesome, except for the fact that the AC/DC converter stopped working. Basically, everything in the camper is set up to run on DC. When we're running on battery power the converter does nothing. When we're plugged in it converts the 110v to 12v. It turns out, converters are like $300. Since it essentially is only doing the same thing a batter charger does, I purchased one for $30, and will hard-wire it in place of the converter. I'm very resourceful.

Other than that, everything pretty much went to plan, which is strange for me.

I've been off the bike for a few days and weather isn't looking very good for today so I'll probably end up riding the ergo in the basement tonight. Big fun.