Back in the Saddle Again

I have left the world of blogging to the professionals lately as I have had very little to mention other that the day to day workings of life. I have spent a few weeks working in the machine shop learning the titanium fabrication trade and while it is a complex arena, I have held my own quite well. For the sake of quality and safety, my duties have been somewhat limited but necessary. I can successfully drill a hole in just about anything. I also learned how to set up mitering jigs and run other machinery as well. Not sure where that will take me in the future, but I have a whole new appreciation of the fine steeds I ride the shit out of on a regular basis. My hat is off to the fine fabricators of titanium.

Tomorrow I embark on a trip to Knoxville for the 12hrs of the Hill of Truth. I am having high expectations for our crew this year. We took 2nd in the Open Pro category last year and I think that we have a solid shot at first this year. I guess it will all depend on the level of competition that shows up. We are going with a 3 man crew to minimize our down time and hopefully keep us from getting lethargic due to the waiting game. There is a healthy purse on the line which is always a motivator in my book. To stray from the smack talking fiasco that is usually left to Dicky, we will just show up and give the locals utter hell and see how we fair in the end. The event is always fun and it will be good to see my friend T-Gaines and his whole K-town crew. I wish everyone the best of luck and I will be the guy screaming "on your left!!"

Interbike Pre-Show Breakdown

I have been messing around the shop this week. With Interbike right around the corner and the last few items trickling in, I am now looking to have some fun in Vegas. I think that I am going to work in a daily show update on the blog with pictures, video and a quick run down of what happened. Monday we will be traveling, setting up the booth and building bikes. Tuesday is Dirt Demo and I plan on going out to Bootleg Canyon to hang out with some of my West Coast crew. Wednesday the show starts and later that night we will be hanging out with the Alpha Q boys at CrossVegas. Thursday will be more show action followed up with the Crit Series Final and I expect to kick it with Willo and Sulli that night. Friday should be a welcomed day as the show wraps up and we pack our items back into our boxes and ship them home. Saturday morning will come quick with the red eye flight back to Chatty. Sunday morning I will get up way before the sun to pack my bags and head down to the Cohuttas for the Black Bear Rampage, being hosted by Scott's in Cleveland. So there it is folks, the week before it happens...check back through out the week and see what is going on in Vegas. I will keep it PG rated, well at least I hope so.

What Can I Say?

It has been a long time since I have pounded away at the keys for anything other than work. I have been swamped with bicycle trade show details as well as the 2009 Lynskey Product lineup. While I have been surrounded by bikes, I have not spent a ton of time riding them. I have sent all materials to Germany for Eurobike and my guys are there now drinking mass amounts of high-quality German beer with our distributor and hopefully attending the show and selling some bikes while they are there. I am a bit jealous, but with Interbike on the horizon, I am glad to be here in the states right now. The Interbike shipment is being picked up on Tuesday, so I will finally be in the clear for a few days to regroup and get focused for the bicycle circus in Las Vegas.

I kicked off my return to the bike on Monday after a long weekend of moving in to my new house in North Chatt. It feels great to have a home again with enough space for company, racer friends and plenty of bicycles. Jason and I went out for a ride with no apprehensions or objectives and wound up doing over 80 miles and hit two of the local mountains. The term trial by fire crossed my mind a time or two, but it was what I needed to get back on the horse. Now I cannot wait to ride some more and get my fitness back up to where it needs to be for a killer Fall mountain bike season. I have been traveling and lounging with the best of them in an attempt to enjoy the summer months like I used to in college. Lots of low key sunshine and water sports like cannonballs, water slides and sun burns. All that is behind me now and I am excited about the turning of the leaves and epic mountain bike rides. Hope to see you out on the trail...you know I will be there.

Summer Time is Fun Time

It is official, no summertime racing for me. It has finally hit the too warm for me point and I am now taking my "winter off". I plan to ride a ton still, just not feeling very competitive. There may be a few appearances at some local 12hr events, but it will strictly be for fun. I have a wedding to attend in Mid July so the ORAMM is out. Kinda bummed but that further enables me to chill this summer. A steady plan of commuting, road biking and some epics on the mountain bike preferably at trails near the river is what I have planned. I spent this Sunday working the SORBA Outdoor Expo and followed that up with a killer late-afternoon boating extravaganza. Dr. Mark was kind enough to invite a few of us out to his pad for some water sports after the Expo. What a perfect way to wrap up a lazy work weekend.

I ordered the misses a new scooter for her birthday. I was trying to be all sneaky and get it here and then have my guys custom paint it for her. But her persistence and detective work, blew my cover and I had to spill the beans. I was trying to be strong, but if I was not careful, she would have bought herself one and I would end up with 2, so I filled her in that I already ordered it and it should be here soon. So if you are in Chattaboogie and you get passed by a crazy brunette on a tangerine Buddy, that was Mrs. P.

Back in the Saddle Again

The weekend is over and the new work week has been rolling along. The weather is warm and humid here in the deep South. The best plan is an early breakfast and early ride with all efforts to return home before 1PM. I have been riding to work as much as possible. I drove in to the office on Tuesday and actually felt a bit of disappointment. It was more like I missed out on something, so I rode in today and will probably do so for the rest of the week. What started out a once a week has turned into nearly everyday. For that I am happy and satisfied. Not only am I saving money, nearly 10 bucks a day, but I am also getting at least 2.5 hours of riding in, plus anything else I do after I get back on my side of town. Looks like my next bike project will be commuter oriented...I have a few steeds in the basement that will work beautifully and my road bike is working well now, but something a little more comfortable my be just the ticket. Fancy pants commuter style coming soon.

New Sponsors

I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to my 2 new sponsors...White Brothers Forks and Dedicated Athlete. I look forward to representing their products with pride and professionalism. So the days of bikes being thrown and fights taking place in the singletrack, jonny mac style are over...as Pisgah Bruce so eloquently puts it, "I might be serious". In all seriousness, I am grateful for their support.

The heat and humidity has slowed the training significantly, so to make up for it, I have started commuting to work on the bike. I have been wanting to do this ever since I first moved here, but for a small town, the roads are pretty sketchy. At least where I have to go. The first or last part depending on the direction is all nice greenway travel, but the roads through the industrial sections are much more dangerous. I have yet to feel threatened, but I do have to pay very close attention to the traffic. I am hoping that the daily travelers in those congested areas will get used to seeing me and start paying attention. A fella can hope right?

Summertime is Here

Work:
This week the boss man was out of the office on vacation with his family, so us flying monkeys have been forced to fend for ourselves and try to knock out as much stuff as possible before his return. While it has been quiet and peaceful, I do miss the excitement he brings to the foundry. I received confirmation that our Dirt Rag review is scheduled for the July issue...looking forward to hear Andy's thoughts on his ride. I am building a sexy new bike for Sugar Cycles, a new dealer, that I am going to shoot for a Velonews Ad. Should have a sneak peak photo up on Monday. We are working on some killer new stuff for 2009 and it looks like my bike is on the selling block so I am going to be in the market for a new ride...something to think about for a few days. I have been wanting to build a belt drive 29er SS, so looks like here is my chance. I think that I am going to take the summer off from racing anyway and just kick around on the road bike. Maybe even pick up some type of water sport while it it crazy hot out. I actually hate the summer time...it was only cool when I was in school, or out of school for that matter. But it is all part of our yearly trip around the sun.

Ride:
The past few days on the road bike have been rough to say the least. I have been consumed by the heat and feeling slow and sluggish. I guess this happens, but it is not something that I am used to, yet. After much thought and deliberation, I am going to bag the Disc Burner 12hr race this weekend for a more low key trip to the Whitewater Center for a repeat of the Big Frog 65 ride followed by some time in the river, then an over night camping escapade. I think this will be the new summer style for myself...pick trails to ride that are really close to water. Ride, Swim, Chill...my version of a triathlon.

On a separate note, I have a new mountain bike project in the works. My old school school steel Yeti is back from paint and is glorious. It will be built up as a 2x8 with some old school XTR stuff that I have. Seeking out some new cranks and maybe a suspension fork. This is the last steel Yeti ever made in Durango as far as anyone knows...I bought this from a former Yeti employee back in 2001 and he had it made in 1997 with the last of the steel tubing that was lying around the shop. It was once powder coated red and is now metallic pearl white with a sexy metallic black panel...I have been hanging onto the decals for many years and was actually surprised they worked with the clear coat. I will post the complete build ASAP. This will be my off-road cruiser bike unless someone wants to put it to better use, then I am open to offers. This is the best riding mountain bike I have ever been on.