Recovery Ride, Petty Theft and a New Year

The last few days have run together and now it's 2008. Wow...I came home from the skyway ride and my wife's best friend from ATL was in town. She has recently returned to civilization from a complete solo thru-hike on the AT. After 6 months of walking and a move to Georgia, she was getting back into cycling and really loving it. An accident on I-75 left her car totaled and her Rocky Mountain crushed between her car and the concrete median. Fortunately everyone was fine and no injuries were sustained. But she had an issue and need a new bike, so that is where I come in. My friend and co-worker Jack had a bike that he wanted to sell and it seemed like it would work for Dana. Jack brought the bike in an I took it home for her to check out. So, on Sunday, Desiree, Dana and I rode.

We had breakfast early, it was rainy and cold outside. Being unsure about the weather outcome, we opted for a city ride through town and out the greenway. The main goal was to get Dana out on the bike and make sure that the size was going to work and that she was happy with the way it rode. We cruised down the hill to the Walnut Street Bridge and rolled up to Bluff View to pick up the greenway. We just had a really casual ride and talked the whole way. It was quite chilly and overcast but the rain was gone.

I got a call from Ivory and he was coming down to ride Raccoon Mountain. After a quick assessment of ETA, the ladies and I busted a move back to the pad in N. Chatt to pick up Gunnar and grab some helmets. We jumped in my ride and headed to Raccoon. We met up at the Power Station and Ivory gave me a New Year's present, which was really nice. A framed photo of the crew at a race. That was awesome, thanks again. We rode around for a couple of hours and it was really nice out. The sun finally came out and the trail was so great.

Everyone had a nice time and it was great to ride with my wife. I always like riding with her...she helps me remember not to take it all too seriously. Gunnar loves to ride as much as he likes to eat and he was trying to lead as always. It was fun to watch him give Ivory a hard time on the trail. At the end of the day, we had all worn ourselves out and Dana loved the bike and took it home. The best line of the day came from her as she was checking out her new ride, "This bike is so bad ass, I think I'm jealous of myself." I believe we have another happy Lynskey owner out there. More photos here.


I worked on Monday and it was a relatively uneventful last day of the year at the shop. We finished some painted frames and shipped a couple of pallets to the UK. I had made dinner reservations on Sunday and everything was all dialed in for New 's Years Eve. All I needed to do was wrap up a few loose ends before the end of the day and cruise home to hang with the wife. At 5:15 I jumped into my car and started it up to the sound of a motor boat...totally freaked out at this point I shut it off. It sounded like I had a hole in my muffler. so I looked under the car to find that someone had climbed under my car and sawed off my catalytic converted and stole it. I still cannot believe that it happened. What the hell? Who steals a car part? Our shop is in one of the crappiest parts of Chattanooga, but come on? Sawing off a catalytic converter...that is crazy. A strange swing for karma that day...but while driving home I laughed a few times while trying to process the theft. I did have some fun in the city revving up the motor and hearing the straight header sound of the engine echoing off the buildings on Frasier...how can you not laugh at that. Someone really need a car part, I suppose. Now I need one too.

Des and I went to a killer little tapas restaurant later that night which really hit the spot. The place reminded us of a spot we visited in Vancouver. We spent much of the evening talking about the various events of the past year and what we hoped to accomplish in the year to come. It was a really nice evening, one I think we both needed. We watched the ball drop in Times Square on the tv. Followed by the Family Guy until 3am, having to register for the SSWC at 3am kinda sucked, but now we wait to see if I am in. 7 to 10 days may not come soon enough. I slept in until 8:30 and chilled around the pad most of the morning. The family and I walked to downtown and stopped for a cup of coffee to warm up before making the trip back up the hill to the house.
Bring on the OCHO!