Chillin the Most

Work:
After a few days off, getting back to the grind was a chore. I had two days to make closure on several custom orders that have been sitting open and RC sent his fit data in while I was gone. Now we can move forward with the 650B project I mentioned some time ago. David has nearly finished with the tandem jig and that is one serious piece of equipment. Not sure if I can post photos of that one yet, due to some potential competitor espionage. I will save that entire rant for another day. I have mentioned this to a select few, but I have to be careful. Desperation causes people to do crazy stuff, even in the bike scene.

We are planning a social gathering with the Scenic City Velo race team and club next week. That is going to be fun...I always love a party. We will have our handmade show bikes on display and if I can get my R320 built in time, that will be on display as well. I am going to build it up with Chorus but I cannot make up my mind on the wheelset. I would not think twice about getting a new I9 road set, but I don't want to push my luck or my wallet, at least right now. There are a handful of pimpy wheels at the shop and I will probably run some 202 tubies for the time being while I make up my mind. I am looking forward to a new road bike. I love my custom road bike from the guys in upstate NY that starts with the letter S, but it doesn't look good from my job standpoint. How's that for bad ass, I "have" to build a $8000 road bike for work purposes. I need to call my accountant and see if I can write off race fees, bike parts and gear as well. If it is possible, I will have an entire entry on that subject.

Ride:
Thursday and Friday were pretty low key. An indoor roller party was as exciting as it got. I woke up early this morning and made my way to Raccoon Mtn for 3 hours at threshold. It started off pretty crappy because my breakfast was trying to escape my body. The weather was cold and with 90% humidity, the air was thick. I was sure that the trail was going to be messy and slick from the recent rain, but despite a few select sections, the trail was hooking up beautifully. It was perfect conditions to turn 2 laps as fast as I could. I reinstated the speakers today and I forgot how awesome they are for a solo ride, or any ride really. The first lap went well and I easily rocked out a sub 1.5 hour lap with all the outers and inners along with the perimeter. The second one was a little tougher. I was pretty cold and sweaty so it made me have to work hard to warm back up and by the time I was comfortable again, I was more than halfway through the second lap. I wrapped up the lap and went back to the car for a few minutes to warm up.

Suck Creek and Bear Creek Bikes were hosting a dirt demo at Raccoon so I decided rather than driving to Laurel Point, I would suck it up and jump back on the bike and ride over to check it out. It was about a 15 minute ride to that portion of the trail and right as I rolled up, Moose was wandering around the trail head. We hung out for a few minutes and then went up to the lot to check out the fleet that was there for the punishing. Lots of cool bikes and the only one I rode was an IBEX 650B full-suspension rig. While I liked the 650 wheels, I cannot dig on full-suspension. I keep trying, but I just don't like the squish. Full rigid is the way for me. I like riding the razors edge, what can I say. I will always keep giving it a whirl for kicks, but I have yet to find one that I would throw cash at. The search continues.