semaphore

It's official!

2012-01-22T11:49:00.001-08:00

I fuckin' hate working here. The cold ass winter weather. The spineless management. The dirtbag co-workers. Correction. Co-worker (singular). You know who the fuck you are! The work hours. The demanding "me, me, me!" customers. Bitch! Back the fuck off!

I'm counting the days til the end. Then it's "peace out bitches" like a bad ass mofo! Feel me son? That's what I'm fuckin' talkin' bout!

Two sides

2012-01-22T00:16:00.000-08:00

I've seen and experienced both sides of the government as one in uniform and a civilian contractor. I can authoritatively say that is sucks. Working late shifts, weekends, and the manangement sucks. Some of the customers (green suiters) suck. some are OK. I need to get back into the civilian sector.

The benefits of working as a civilian contractor here in Germany no longer outweigh the suckage of work here. This shop sucks - managemnt, coworkers, the network... I've had enough. Come August it's "peace out bitches" for real!

Good times...

2012-01-21T02:21:00.001-08:00

Here's a pic from the good ol' Google days. Taken from the Street View car when they went around campus. (click on the pic to enlarge)
*on the wall from L > R:
(CHendy) Chris Henderson
Russel Beck
Me!
Joe Peary
Prat Patel
Paul Thomas
(Braveheart!) William Wallace

Pic of the rest of the team around the corner,

*in the wonky pose* Rafael Acevedo
*behind Raf with the pale asian arm throwing up the peace sign* Stephanie Leung
Bill ???
*grey hoodie *some dude, forgot his name
*orange sweater*Karl Allen
*behind Karl and his sign* John Sheldon
Enrique ???
Nick Shepherd (RIP brother)
Angelie ???
Bill McAtee
guy from India (forgot his name)
Leo Voskyboynik (probably hosed that last name, sorry dude)
Sanjay Murthy
Kahn Nguyen

Damn... I'm bummed.

2012-01-18T02:12:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I got news from my friend Mark that a good friend of ours passed away. Nick Shepherd passed away in his sleep this past Sunday, January 15th. We both worked with Nick at Google... those were some good days...

I first "met" Nick as a co-worker at Amgen. I started working at the ASF office in South City and Nick worked at the Thousand Oaks ATO office. We spoke and collaborated several times over the phone, VC and chat about AV issues and just shootin' the shit. Even though didn't work with him face to face, I took it that he was a capable technician and that I could go to him if I had any questions. Later when I left Amgen, I got the pleasure to work side by side with him at Google as our manager, who had worked at Amgen, poached us to build the team at Google. (he also poached Pickles)

Anyways, our work lives spilled over into after work social lives. We would occasionally hang out at his house, our house or at a local establishment. We would go on long bike rides - riding from Mountain View up to SF, camping trips or riding our bikes to a bar, restaurant or movie showing. He was like the friend you had when you were a kid riding around on your bikes. I considered him a friend for life and not just one you have when you live in a place temporarily.

He will be missed. RIP Nick Shepherd

A little more than 6 months left.

2012-01-16T01:03:00.000-08:00

Yeah. By next month, February, I've got about 6 months on my contract here. Will have to make it count. Ride to new places this year. Then head back CONUS. Get a job back in the Bay Area. Or go back to school to take advantage of the GI Bill. Maybe get into another career field.

New pet?

2012-01-09T13:28:00.001-08:00

Dog or chimera?

sans hubris

2012-01-08T00:25:00.000-08:00

I like the smell of rubber. There are new rubber mats in the foyer of the building at work. I got new tires for my truck. I put on new chainstay guard tape made out of self healing rubber. I like the smell of rubber.

Laundry, pack up the Ibis frame, clean up some. Shit I gotta do today. What does the previous have to do with the post title? I have no fuckin' clue...

Damn...

2012-01-07T10:15:00.000-08:00

No mercy shown, no quarter given!

New Year's Resolutions, 2012 edition

2012-01-01T02:14:00.000-08:00

So in the weeks leading to the end of the year and the beginning of the next, I've been thinking about and compiling a list of Resolutions for the New Year. In no particular order, I present my 2012 New Year's Resolutions:

-buy bike parts
-Conquer the world
-collect women for my harem
-get a mullet
-then get a samurai haircut
-buy a rack of bier
-Discover the next "big thing"
-Invent a new word
-Search for the elusive cryptid in the local woods
-Start building a pyramid, coffins in the ground suck
-Enlist a slave labor force
-Renew drivers license
-Consolidate financial investments
-Learn Mandarin Chinese
-Prepare for the imminent zombie apocalypse
-Prepare for the arrival of extra terrestrial beings
-Immigrate to another country to avoid the zombie-alien war
-change motor oil in the truck
-Stop buying bikes
-Ride my bike more

OK, so there's some stuff in there that's more of suitable for a "to do" list but who cares?

2011-12-31T02:47:00.000-08:00

An example of a typical ride on the S Bahn.

New Year's Eve

2011-12-31T00:43:00.000-08:00

Uhh... what am I gonna do?

Probably gonna stay in, watch TV, surf the world wide web, eat junk food, veg out. I'm looking forward to seeing the Germans get uncharacteristically crazy this evening by going out into the streets and lighting off fireworks. I don't even have to leave the comfort of my own apartment.

Grrr...

2011-12-28T07:42:00.001-08:00

I'm disgusted.

That is all.

Bottom brackets, making sense of it all.

2011-12-26T08:59:00.000-08:00

Here's a really good article about all the different bicycle bottom bracket "standards"

http://blog.treefortbikes.com/index.php/posts/1473#more-1473

LA the armpit of civilization?

2011-12-25T03:42:00.001-08:00

So surfing the inner webs I spy a pretty cool vid on another blog (chuckibis) and wanted to share.

Who'd ever thought Ice Cube was into architecture?

It's Chrismas bitches!

2011-12-25T03:02:00.001-08:00

It's Christmas morning! Yay!

Another day of the year. At least we get Monday off. Like we need to recover from another day. I bought myself some tires. From tirerack.com because I need new tires for my truck that are snow rated (we will see how they perform). Damn, my writing sucks but this is a blog not an english class for school so Fuck it!

It's cold and dreary outside. What am I gonna do today and tomorrow? Why veg out! What else? I may feel saucy and decide to give the house a cleaning and do a load of wash. maybe...

Homesick

2011-12-22T22:59:00.000-08:00

Lately, I've been feeling a bit homesick. Could be the winter weather that's keeping me indoors and the fact that I go into work and its dark. And I leave when it's dark. Not seeing the sun and being on the bike eats at the soul.

I like living here. I like living in Schoenaich. Access to the woods and trails is awesome. Commuting through the woods is awesome. German beer is ok. I just prefer the micro brews back home, much more variety and flavor (more on this in another future post).

I think the time has come to cut loose and head back home - the US. Besides the awesome riding and cultural opportunities here, I've got no stake here. Family and friends are back home. Familiar things are back home.

Another reason for going back home is to go back to school on the GI Bill. Perhaps a career change is needed.

Daydreaming...

2011-12-14T22:51:00.000-08:00

Well, not really daydreaming with my head in the clouds. More like thinking of cool unique bikes I could build with stuff I see on the inner webs. So what piqued my interest?

http://www.parafork.com/ & http://www.ewrbikes.com/

The last one.

2011-12-12T12:29:00.002-08:00

I bought *another* bike frame. On ebay. Seems like ebay has been a den of sin (gluttony) for one such as me. Me being a nut about bikes. Mountain bikes. I see bikes or frames and think about how I'd build it. I need a nice bike. A "halo" bike as it were. I have quite a few bikes and each has their charm and features I like about them. Carbon comes to mind. Big wheels is another but 650b or 29er? I just had to wait for a good opportunity to come up. Which leads us back to ebay. I've been trolling ebay for just the right bike.

Then the other day, one came up. It was a Breezer Cloud 9 carbon HT frame. In a sweet looking black/white/green scheme and, more importantly, my size. The seller listed it with a reserve and it ended at around $700. The last bid didn't meet the reserve and didn't sell. A couple days later he re-listed it. This time without a reserve and he had it with a BIN option for $899. The retail is around $1800. It was a no brainer. Click-ity click on the "BIN" button and I done sinned again. But I'm happy. Now I can start thinking about how I'll build it. Hells to the yeah bitches!!!

Yet another check up.

2011-12-09T03:20:00.001-08:00

So yesterday I took my little friend into see the doctor for a check up. Little bastard is still dead and shrinking (even though they previously told me that it can't physically shrink just stop growing). Whatever. Bottom line is that the remaining tumor is pretty much a dead mass. No longer growing or doing anything. Which is a good thing.

The doctor there said I need to get another check up in nine months and asked if I wanted to do it closer to my home. Of course bitch! I enjoy traveling by train but its a bit of a chore when appointments are early in the morning. Waking up at O'dark thirty sucks. She referred me to a doctor at Katerinen Hospital here in Stuttgart to see and the admins gave me CDs that had my records on them to hand over.

Been working lates this past week. Pretty uneventfull as things go. Except that I had a sit down with John and basically told him "WTF"! With all the drama going on in the office I'm seriously considering not re-upping. Bitches!!! or rather "BITCH!"

I'm home!

2011-11-19T03:13:00.001-08:00

Got in yesterday and had some Five Guys. Ok. Nothin like In-N-Out. NorCal bitches!
I forgot to hit up Handels so I'll have to go twice today. Actually it was more like I was tired and fell asleep.

Two weeks

2011-11-03T04:23:00.001-07:00

Two more weeks before I hop on a plane back to the States. I'm really looking forward to seeing the fam this holiday.

That is all...

I aint no HCR bitch!

2011-11-01T09:32:00.000-07:00

I've been assigned to cover the events in the HCR. Which sucks. Even worse than working at Kelley. Bitches! So I left work early. Got home and decided to go out on a quick ride before the sun went down. About 60 deg F out and wore warmers and a vest which kept me comfortable throughout the ride. Rode the zombie apocalypse bike. Damn that ride is stiff, even with the Noleen fork. I think that will be the bike I take on the Turkey day trip to VB.

When the world goes to hell in a hand basket....

2011-10-25T09:56:00.000-07:00

I'll be cycling away from the hoards of mindless zombies on this bike,

It's a classic Alpinestars e-stay frame fitted with new bits,

On a similar note, I picked up (yet) another bike frame. Yes, I go some problems. Anywho, it's a late 90's Ibis Mojo Ti frame. No handjob and definitely not the re-issue done by Lynskey. Hopefully, I should be able to check it out and ship it back to Germany when I go home to Mom's for Turkey Day.

Oh fuck, I forgot... I finally got my pimp ass iPad cover from Dodo Case. By far the best looking solution out there. Those guys in SF rawk!

Abort mission!

2011-10-22T07:09:00.001-07:00

What do you need for an enjoyable bike ride?

Sunshine. A bike. Nice weather.

Sun is out in its full glory, check. Zombie apocalypse bike finished and needs a shakedown ride, check. Weather forecasted to be in the upper 40s F, sorta check.

Why "sorta"? Because 50F is my temperature threshold for riding.

My intention was to ride to the commissary for some groceries while giving the new bike a shakedown. I got just past Panzer before I succumbed to the cold. I'm a wimp. And I hate suffering in the cold.

Jumped into the shower and warmed up. Damn it felt nice.

I'll go grocery shopping tomorrow. But I'm driving instead unless the weather miraculously turns warmer.

I hope the weather isn't cold in VB for Turkeyday.

iPad2!!!

2011-10-21T09:48:00.001-07:00

My new iPad rocks! The blogger app doesn't. It's the fuckin size of an iPhone. Retarded. This needs to change. Will use the web version instead.

Alpinestars, iPad, stuff...

2011-10-20T23:26:00.000-07:00

My Alpinestars zombie apocalypse bike is finished but I haven't had the chance to go on a real shakedown ride on her. Perhaps this weekend if I HFTU and ride in the chilly weather.

I received my iPad2 in the mail yesterday. The excitement for this nifty device is a bit muted. Much more than getting bike parts. Guess that just shows where my priorities lie... even though an iPad is cool... I haven't actually played around with it yet. I only plugged it in to fully charge up the battery. That and I'm waiting for the cool cover I ordered for it from Dodo Case. Truth be told, I think I only bought the iPad2 for the Dodo Case.

I hope you're safe. And happy. And safe...

Have bag, will travel

2011-10-18T11:57:00.000-07:00

I got the EVOC travel bike bag in the mail today so I'm all set to travel back to VB with bike in tow. The bag looks pretty good in person and a preliminary looksee is impressive in terms of quality and design. I'll take my zombie bike so I'll have to do a test fitting this weekend after I pick it up from the shop.

Sorry, no pics. I'm lazy and quite tired as I didn't get much sleep last nite. Hopefully, I can get some quality Z time tonite.

Trike!

2011-10-17T09:49:00.000-07:00

So I stopped into the local bike shop in Boblingen to drop off my zombie apocalypse bike for service this afternoon and I spied a tasty bike. It sat low and was clothed in a sexy red paint. It was a new HP Velotechnik Gekko recumbent trike. I looked it over before I sat on it. The low position just seemed natural and really comfortable. Something I could really get into. Especially on my commute to work.

The trike is an entry level model in the HP Velotechnik line and they have a much nicer equipped Scorpion model. I drove home and looked up the website, which sucks btw, and checked out the bikes. Will definitely have to put a trike on the list for possible bikes for next year.

Going home

2011-10-14T02:02:00.000-07:00

I'm going home for Thanksgiving this year to my mom's house. The whole family will be there since Sis and her family are living there til their house is built - only a stones throw away in the next neighborhood from my parents! Ryan and Mary should be there too and I'm looking forward to spending quality time with the family.

I've also made it a point to immerse myself in American culture and cuisine while I'm there. Mainly cuisine. I've make a list of places to hit while I'm there. I'm gonna eat as much American food while I'm there since it's sorely lacking here in Germany. All I can think of recently is all the ice cream flavors to be had at Handels. I'm gonna be a fat bastard when I return back to Germany. Good because I need to fatten up for the cold winter.

Custom paint?

2011-10-11T14:51:00.000-07:00

Surfin' the inner webs for subjects I'm into, namely bicycling, I come upon eye candy that just piques my interest. I'm expecting a new-to-me Klein frame that I'm planning on building up as a single speed. It's a lower end Pulse that has http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifexternal cable routing, not the signature internal cable routing that Klein is famous for.

Anywho, I was doing some research on Klein bikes and came upon a guy in the UK that refurbs and repaints Klein bikes. He specializes in recreating the unique eye-candy paint schemes of Klein in the 80s-90s. Currently, there's a lovely "night storm" Attitude on his webpage that looks absolutely delicious. My mind starts to wander... maybe I can send my lower end Klein and make it something special.

I've spent too much on bikes this year. I gotta stop looking at bikes online. It creates a dent in my wallet every time I do.

*edit* forgot... here's the website, www.kleinspainted.com

For my ninjas!

2011-10-10T00:26:00.001-07:00

Ninjas is cool son!

ohh... it's cold!

2011-10-09T11:29:00.000-07:00

I didn't ride like I (sorta) wanted to today. Why? Because it was cold today. And I was a bit lazy. And I wanted to veg and watch TV.

Fall has arrived

2011-10-07T23:22:00.001-07:00

The weather here has turned. It's going to be a high of around 50 deg F this weekend with rain forecasted today. Sun tomorrow so hopefully I can get in a long ride tomorrow when it's dry out. Going to try riding the Bro Eddy. Hopefully the new seat post collar will work better than the cheap Ti collar I got off eBay. Dunno how I missplaced the original collar. Must've grown legs and run off to vintage mountain bike parts-world.

I wonder how much snow we're gonna get here this winter. I certainly don't look forward to the winter. Cold rain, sleet and snow? Yeah, I wish I could do the bear thing and just hibernate til the spring.

I'm going to have to try and squeeze riding til it gets to unbearably cold to ride. My road bike is still up on the trainer to get some miles in during the winter doldrums. I do have riding back in VB to look forward to come Thanksgiving. I still have to purchase a bike travel bag and decide which bike to bring. I'm thinking one of the single speeds or my apocalypse bike.

iPhone post

2011-10-05T13:05:00.001-07:00

I finally got around to installing the app on my phone. So I'm posting...

About... Bikes?

Yeah, bikes! Just waiting on more parts to complete my retro MTBs.

Why I ride

2011-10-02T02:45:00.000-07:00

I ride. I ride a lot to get you out of my head.

the inner webs succubus

2011-09-26T01:15:00.000-07:00

Is eBay. Yes the evil temptress is trying my conviction to stay out of my wallet.

There's a rather tasty titanium GT frame on right now. A reasonable price but it never results in a reasonable price once it's built up. Even with some budget shopping for deals on prices. I asked the seller a question about the seat post size and awaiting a reply. Hopefully someone else snatches it up before I get it. It is a rather nice looking frame...

Cold weather creates a wimp

2011-09-22T07:37:00.000-07:00

Yup.

It's been too cold in the mornings to ride into work. As much as I enjoy riding into work, I've been driving instead. I wish I had as much enthusiasm to suit up for the chilly morning weather as I do simply riding.

At least I give the 'ol truck a work out and flush out the tank of gas that's been sitting in it for a month and a half or so. I can also get back to enjoying the tunes on my iPod. Sorta win, win... but not by much.

Yeah... another one.

2011-09-20T04:03:00.000-07:00

Surfing eBay is evil. Or at least, results in evil. As is gluttony. Bike guttony. This time it's a '97 cobalt blue Klein Pulse Comp frame (according to my research via bikepedia). From the pics it looks pretty good considering it's age. We'll see when I get it in the flesh. Or in this case in the metal. Aluminum to be exact.

Comes with a matching rigid fork. I'm planning on making this one a 26" rigid single speed. For winter and wet weather riding to spare my blinged out Ala Carte from harsh weather. A nice simple beater bike.

Never EVER give up!

2011-09-19T04:57:00.000-07:00

Dude... she done HTFU!

I was a wimp today.

2011-09-15T04:21:00.000-07:00

I awoke this morning to my iPhone alarm. Then I checked the weather, 46 deg Fahrenheit. Below the 50 degree thresh hold I set for myself. Anything below 50 degrees and I drive into work.

Yeah, I can suit up with knickers, arm warmers and a vest but why. The first ten minutes I'm cold and miserable having just left a nice cozy, warm bed to make endorphins. I'll probably kick myself for missing out on a riding day once winter comes and I'm "riding" on the trainer indoors. But I hate being cold and miserable. Even if it's for a short couple minutes til I warm up.

10 minutes

2011-09-13T23:33:00.001-07:00

Today I awoke lazy. I didn't feel like commuting to work, this week is a little further and this morning is a little on the cool side. Forecasted to be a high a 66 deg F. These factors led to my decision to drive into work this morning. I drove the route I took when I did swing shifts at Kelley for the Libya support back in March.

There was mild traffic in Steinnenbron, then a little more congested traffic through Leinfelden. As I left Leinfelden, I missed the exit to 27 so I drove on the 8 and got off at the Leinfelden/Fasanahof exit. Guess what? Yup, traffic congestion.

The drive time was only ten minutes quicker than if I had biked into work. Not much of a time savings if you ask me and I tend to get frustrated which turns into road rage the longer I sit in traffic. On the bike a another matter. Totally on the opposite end of the spectrum. It's fun making endorphins.

Coffee, endorphins and a wrong turn

2011-09-13T00:29:00.000-07:00

This week I'm working at Kelley to fill in for someone who is out on medical leave. It gives me a chance for a longer ride to work and back home. It's about another 4-5 km's beyond my regular route to Patch and it's a welcome change. A couple observations: the gym facilities are small, much smaller. The lunch place selections here are limited, more so than Patch. There are several different routes to take on the commute which is nice for mixing things up. Lastly, the morning endorphin rush is mo' betta!

The AFRICOM crew don't do coffee! WTFO! You work for the military and you don't do morning coffee? That right there is some fucked up shit. Guess I'll have to pony up and buy some from the lame ass coffee shop on post that serves up machine coffee. Oh the horror!

I mixed up the route on the way in. Basically taking my normal route to Patch then cutting across east towards Kelley after the Romerstrasse pedestrian bridge across the 8. Took a wrong turn which led to a dead end but it was short and I found my way back on course. The criss cross trails around here can be confusing sometimes.

Regular tires tubeless on UST rims

2011-09-08T00:43:00.000-07:00

I got a new Mavic UST wheelset for my Bro and a set of regular WTB tires that I wanted to run. The tires are WTB Prowler MX (front) and Prowler SS (rear) in 2.3 size. Here are my experiences running these tires tubeless on a UST rim.

Both tires went on without tire levers, I only used my hands to get the final tire bead into the rim channel. A liberal smathering of soapy water on the tire bead and furious pumping on the floor pump got the beads to seat after two or three tries. I always seem to enjoy when the tire beads seat with the distinctive metallic "ping". Satisfying.

I initially used the Mavic valve stem when setting up the front wheel. When I went to add Stans goop via the syringe I encountered an annoying problem. The syringe will not screw onto the Mavic valve stem at all even with the collar removed. The valve stem is entirely too short. I tried to fill the tire without it engaged. FAIL. The valve stem fell into the tire and some goop spilled onto my flor. Gahh! is all I can say. Trying to unseat a tire from a UST rim is maddingly difficult but after some tugging and pulling finally go a tire lever under one side. Need another solution.

Luckily, I had ordered a couple spare Stans valve stems. They are much longer than the Mavic ones so I used them and created a bastard Stans/Mavic valve stem: the longer Stans valve stem along with the rubber o-ring and collar from Mavic. The Stans valve stem is long enough for the Stans syringe to engage fully.

The front wheel/tire set-up tubeless nicely. I'll have to add a little more Stans goop as some of the initial syringe got wasted on the floor. The rear wheel/tire will be another story. The tire will just not sit into the rim channel properly to do the mad floor pump action to seat the beads. Will definitely need to go to a gas station and use the air compressor to get the job done. Seat the beads then insert goop at home.

At the public urinal

2011-08-30T09:43:00.000-07:00

When I'm takin' care of business at a public urinal I want some time in the work day to take some "me" time and I don't want to talk. So why is it every schmuck wants to carry on a conversation. WTF! C'mon really... the public bathroom is the only occasion where the awkward silence is socially acceptable. Don't Fuckin' Talk to Me! I gotta concentrate! Bitches!!!

Woohoo!

2011-08-29T01:24:00.000-07:00

yup. WOOHOO!!!

Animals being dicks.

2011-08-28T00:12:00.001-07:00

Enjoy bitches...

http://animalsbeingdicks.com

Riding on cobblestones

2011-08-25T00:15:00.000-07:00

You'd think that riding on cobblestones would be a bumby ride. It's not. It's more like a steady vibratory ride with mountain bike tires on the commuter. Tires would be the defining factor in riding comfort over a cobblestone path.

The tires I have currently are 26 x 2.1" Continental Traffic tires that have a tightly spaced knobby design with a semi-continuous center tread that gives a fast ride when pumped up to around 40 psi. There's a nice hum from the tires as the bike rolls across the cobblestones on the way to work. Surprisingly it's not a jarring ride.

Riding on cobblestones can loosen bolts on the bike over time. I found out this fact when my LED light engine mounted on my handlebar lost a bolt. Luckily Dinotte supplied some extra mounting hardware that it was easily replaced but not without a healthy dose of Loctite on all the nuts and bolts.

This past week, a creak had developed in the bottom bracket/crankset area that wasn't there before. Rode it for a day til I could get the bike back in the garage to have a looksee. The drive-side crank arm was loose and the fixing bolt needed tightening. I removed the crank arm, applied a liberal amount of grease on the ISIS bottom bracket/crank and re-installed. I didn't notice any creaking noises this morning so assume problem is fixed. We'll see if there's any noises this afternoon on the ride home.

Got a new fork!

2011-08-24T08:56:00.001-07:00

The kind that goes on a bike, not the kind you eat with.

The steel rigid fork I ordered from Igleheart came in the mail today. I'm excited. The craftsmanship on the fork is amazing. When I first got my new-to-me Fat Chance frame I thought long and hard on how to outfit the front end - suspension fork or rigid fork. The former needed to be at most 80 millimeter travel and V-brake only. Why V-brake? Although I didn't want this the bike to be a period correct build I wanted to "keep it real" with V-brakes. And I really wanted to try out the Avid Ultimate V-brakes. My cousin Brian had them on one of his bikes and they were hella nice V-brakes. Finding a fork with 80mm AND V-brake post mounts these days is going to be pretty hard.

I didn't want to spend a lot of time searching for the perfect suspension fork so rigid it is. But what kind of rigid? steel? carbon? I wanted something that matched the frame in terms of ride quality and aesthetics. Another eXotic carbon rigid fork could be had in a 425mm A2C but more research led me in another direction.

Some of the Fat Chance frames went out into the world with segmented rigid steel forks and they looked great with the skinny tubed frames. There weren't any segmented steel forks out in the regular markets online. The solution? Go the custom route. Groovy Cycles was suggested but there was a wait list. "F" that! West Coast builders like Sycip, Soulcraft or Retrotec? No Go - you had to buy a frame to order a rigid fork. Where else can I source a rigid fork?

Further research uncovered Igleheart. Apparently he was a former Fat Chance employee and who better to get a fork from. So I emailed him asking for an appropriate spec'd segmented fork for my Fat Chance frame. He replied back that he had recently built the perfect fork for my needs and would send it to me COD! What company still offers that? I thought it was rather cool and trusting of him to do that in this day in age.

So the fork is a rigid steel segmented fork in 425x25cm and will be perfect for the '98 Fat Chance Bro Eddy I'm building up. I'm really stoked to say the least.

Staying occupied with hobbies

2011-08-18T09:57:00.000-07:00

aka, hobbies.

Lately I've been obsessed with bike projects. The last ones were my single speed and full suspension Niner bikes. I think they both came out great after thinking about the builds and months of getting the parts. One taking longer than the other.

Now I'm undertaking two project bikes. The first is a Fat Chance Bro Eddy frame that I got off eBay. It was originally bought from Top of the Hill Bicycles in Virginia Beach which I think is out of business. In a way I'm bringing it "back home" both literally and figuratively. Once I get it back to riding condition, I'm planning on taking it with me back to Mom's when I visit for Thanksgiving. I'm pretty excited about working towards the end result.

Obviously the riding of a bike is fun but building it up is equally as enjoyable. Right now The frame is sitting in front of me while I type this. Just thinking about the parts I will select to bolt onto the frame to get it in proper riding order elicits something in me. Excitement! Looking forward to the first crank rotations on dirt on the Bro Eddy.

The second project bike will be based off a '94 Alpinestars D900. I picked it because of it's unique frame design - an elevated chainstay frame. I always like the frame ever since I saw one in the early 90s in a bike shop off Norfolk Ave in Virginia Beach. The shop was really small but the selection of Alpinestars frames was just cool way back then. The shop is long gone as is the bike company that bared the name.

For the Alpinestars I also bought a Pro Flex full suspension frame off eBay solely for the Girvin linkage fork that came with it. I'll remove the fork and put it onto the Alpinestars frame to create the ultimate zombie apocalypse bike. I always like the Girvin linkage fork design and the Alpinestars frame design. Marrying both together will produce a rather unique bike.

I'm still mulling about the parts build for both since I just recently finished two new bikes so I really don't expect to be riding either anytime soon. Like I said, just working on them to get to a finished product is enjoyable. Both will definitely be fruitful endeavors.

Regrets

2011-08-16T08:37:00.001-07:00

Should I have made that decision? Should I have included you? What if I had decided the other way? What if I told you how I really felt?

I wish I had the wisdom of hindsight. I wish I still held your interest. Regrets

The music is loud

2011-08-15T12:11:00.000-07:00

Listening to the iPod through my A/V recieiver and it's loud. Gotta turn it down a notch...

OK a little more civilized.

I bought a Pro Flex frame and fork off eBay late last nite. The auction ended 1 AM this morning and I stayed up to place my bid. Sorta sniped it and got it below the BIN price the seller offered it.

I didn't want to get a whole frame. I just wanted the linkage fork for my Alpinestars frame I got off retrobike.com. Gonna plan on selling it locally here to get back some money on the purchase. Hell, maybe I can even it out selling the frame.

Anyways, the cool ass Proflex linkage fork has a coil shock and not the horrible MCU elastomers. I always liked the design of the Proflex fork and bolted on the Alpinestars elevated chainstay frame will make for a unique freak bike. Gonna be pimp son!

In other news... I contacted Igleheart bikes to inquire about getting a fork for my Fat Chance. Apparently he worked at Fat Chance and actually did the tooling for the switch to 1 1/8th steerer tubes on their forks. Luckily he had made the exact fork I need for my resto project, had it on hand and was ready to ship. It'll be a segmented rigid fork. Basic black, canti posts only and 425 cm axle to crown length. To top it off he's sending it COD with a self-addressed envelope to send the payment plus shipping back. How awesome is that?!?! In this day and age, an unexpected exception and very welcomed. Very cool dude this Igleheart guy is.

So how many bikes does this make? Dunno, cuz I need more than two hands to count! Yikes!

Wha da haps?

2011-08-11T06:41:00.001-07:00

I was bored to death on Thursday at work. Had to work in the dungeon supporting a long boring meeting.

Flash Gordon!

2011-08-07T07:52:00.000-07:00

Finished watching Flash Gordon on DVD. The theme song by Queen has got to be the baddest ass theme song to a bad ass movie.

Enjoy, bitches.
http://youtu.be/MS4_Z84-rRE

I'm in love....

2011-08-06T08:04:00.000-07:00

with my bike. The green 650B single speed bike in particular. It rides so nice. I love the wheel size, the gearing, the simplicity. This one stays in the house, not the garage.

Going riding.

2011-07-31T05:47:00.001-07:00

It's cool out. Maybe mid 60s and overcast. I tethered to the on-call phone. I got the RIP halfway done. Took a while to adjust and install the bottom bracket and crankset. Gotta get tires to set on the beads of the wheels. Then I can proceed with the rest.

I don't know but I've been feeling a bit restless. Gonna have to go out on a quick ride on the SS perhaps that'll cure things up.

Gotta go...

Klunking

2011-07-30T22:22:00.000-07:00

Saw this posted by Repack Rider on one of the bike forums and thought it was a pretty interesting look into the early history of mountain biking. Back then, the terminology was "klunking".

Fat Chance!

2011-07-30T07:54:00.000-07:00

Been reading up on Fat City / Fat Chance bicycles to bone up on my knowledge because, you know, knowledge is power. Droppin' some history on ya son!

I got a problem.

2011-07-29T13:41:00.000-07:00

The problems is bikes. I've been obsessed with them lately. I have to have a project and work on a bike to be happy. More so than actually riding them. But I did enjoy riding my new SS yesterday.

Anyways, obsession. Today I was perusing both eBay and the mtbr.com classifieds to see what was out there. A couple Kleins came on the radar - Attitudes, Rascals, Adroits. Then a Specialized/Ritchey NiTi frame caught my eye. Then I was searching for an late 80s/early 90s GT Karakoram/Ricochet - always love the paint jobs of the GTs of that era. Very lust-worthy.

Then I saw a Fat Chance in the classified. More searching on the innerwebs. Then I stumbled upon eBay. That was the beginning of my demise. Typing in "Fat Chance" in the search bar brought up mountain bike porn. There was a listing for a Fat Chance bike. I was only interested in the frame so I asked the seller if he'd part with frame only. He said yes, I bought it.

So less than a week after putting together my SS bike, I now have a Fat Chance Bro Eddy frame coming to me in the mail. My mind is now spinning thinking about how I'd outfit the frame. Yes, I have a problem. A good one at that.

Happy Birthday LAC

2011-07-24T01:36:00.001-07:00

I miss you...

The Hottest Ride in Town!

2011-07-23T10:46:00.000-07:00

I finally got my Green Machine put together!

I had a Big Wheel growing up but never a Green Machine and that's always been a gaping hole in my life. I worked hard earning mad stacks yo! Then when I got enough saved it was bought. Cash money, green for GREEN. Now I'm gonna be the coolest kid on the mutha fuggin' block son! Gonna have to beat off all the women folk as they chase after me. LOL!

I dig Salsa. I dig steel. I also dig the Salsa Alternator dropouts that make tensioning a SS drivetrain simple. The Green Machine color was just a bonus and a bad@ss one at that. I started with the frame then ordered bits to slap on it. Mostly black and white parts along with some ano blue custom bits to bling it out some and personalize it.

The Loop fork came direct from the cool dudes at White Bros in good ol Colorado. Guaranteed to fit 650B and came with a cool 15mm thru axle. Ordered the wheelset from prowheelbuilder.com. I got no clue how to build a wheelset, besides finding a 650B rim here in Deutschland is close to impossible so I figure I'd leave it to professionals who specialize in wheelbuilding. btw, I'd definitely recommend them for a new wheel or two.

Couple more pics I snapped on the shakedown ride.

The build:
frame - F'n Green Machine baby!
bits - mostly black and white
wheels & tires - Six Fiddy B!
gears - one
weight - dunno, don't care
price - a whole lotta mowing neighbors lawns

Winning!

2011-07-16T23:50:00.000-07:00

To quote the infamous Charlie Sheen (that crazy fucked up celeb), "Winning!"

Yeah, that's right. Two ticks in the win column this week - one was a raise at work, the other was a trophy at yesterday's mountain bike race. The raise was unexpected. First one since I've been with SRA and the current contract. It was a rather small raise, but its a raise nonetheless and I'll take what I get. Maybe now I can get that head transplant I've wanted since my recent medical adventures.

The other "win" was a nice little trophy I earned at the Ansbach Knobby Jam Mountain Bike race hosted by the USAG Ansbach Outdoor Recreation. The decision to do the race was a spur of the moment deal. I saw pictures posted of the previous weekends race that was held up in the K-Town area and looked into the series, US Forces Europe Mountain Bike Championship Series and found that Ansbach was hosting a race. Ansbach is about an hour and a half drive from Stuttgart.

I hadn't raced in over a decade and this race was just to test the waters and my fitness. The field was small, maybe about 20 riders in the mixed mens race. Six 3.3km laps in the morning with a 10am start so the weather was good for the race. The first half of the lap was a newly cut track through the woods adjacent to the range which created a rather lumpy track which made keeping up speed a chore. Then the steep granny ring climb that I had to run up on a couple occasions. Crest the climb then shoot down a fast downhill, sharp right then into a gully that paralleled a road. That gully was narrow and didn't allow for passing slower riders. Exiting you then had a slight climb out back to the start/finish skirting the fenceline. I can't remember what time I came in at even though I checked in at the timekeepers table, I guess I was a little out of it trying to get my heart rate down.

Anyways, I earned a trophy for 3rd Place in the Men's Senior category (35-45yo). To come away with a trophy when my only goal was to finish and have fun is a nice surprise.

Racing

2011-07-15T05:57:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I'm driving up to Ansbach to participate in a mountain bike race hosted by the USAG Ansbach Outdoor Rec. This'll be my first mountain bike in a hella lotta years. I think I last did a mountain bike race over a decade ago. I started entering mtb races in Virginia after getting my old Stumpjumper that I currently use for commuting to work. I can't remember why I stopped racing. I think it was because the sandbaggers took all the fun out of it.

Anyways, tomorrow I toe the line and race through the woods of Ansbach. Thinking about taking my Mariachi and Stumpy, pre-ride the course and decide which bike to use. I'm pretty excited and looking forward to having a great time. I've got no specific goals for this race other than to have fun and test the waters of racing.

Based on my experience, I may have to campaign the 2012 US Forces Europe Mountain Bike series. Pretty much all of the races are in Germany with the exception of the one at the beginning of the season in Italy.

Grüne Hölle

2011-07-10T01:24:00.000-07:00

Nurburgring. World famous in motorsports. Yesterday I took a USO tour to the track to take a behind the scenes tour. While we were there, there was a truck race and a sports car race. This allowed us to go into the pit area to mull around to check things out and get some freebies being doled out by pit girls in their skimpy outfits - yumm...

We got to see some historic and still used pit garages, historic displays that could only be found behind-the-scenes and the offices of the time-keepers, race commissars and the race podium overlooking the start line. The race trucks were quite impressive. Basically take your typical euro truck and convert it to an all-out speed machines. They were fast and loud. Then the sports car race followed and that was simply outstanding. R8s, Lamborghini's, Ferrari's, M8s, SLS's, Corvettes and others. The sounds of the race cars were sinfully delicious to the hearing senses. I might hazard to say publicly that it almost gave me a woody. Almost... LOL!

We toured the new track were they hold most of the races but didn't get to the Grüne Hölle which is the famous track that all the manufacturers go to test their supercars. The USO should have arranged it so we could check that part out. Besides that glaring ommission, I had fun there. It's definitely catered to be a disneyland type venue for motorsports fans along with the commercialization.

Shogun of Harlem

2011-06-30T12:02:00.000-07:00

This is the best scene in an awesome movie. Enjoy bitches.

Hawt damn!

2011-06-29T02:27:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I finally recieved my singlespeed wheelset from prowheelbuilder.com. It took a while, about a month but I'm in no hurry as I have a selection of bike to ride. Anywho, the wheels. They were packed nicely and arrived safely. The wheels are built to my spec: white Velocity Blunt 650B rims, Chris King hubs (15mm TA front and singlespeed rear) laced with DT Swiss spokes and nipples. I coulda swore I ordered the Stans rim tape/valve stems as well but it doesn't show on my invoice. Glad I ordered a roll of rim tape and a couple sets of valve stems when I ordered a quart of Stans sealant. They did the two white spokes/red nipples on either side of the valve hole - to easily find it and set the wheel apart. The wheels came on a day I was bike commuting so I had to leave it at work as the box it a bit bulky to strap to my rack. Looking forward to riding SS!

Where are my wheels?

2011-06-26T11:40:00.000-07:00

Wheels. I need them. For my RIP and my Ala Carte. Hopefully, I'll get the wheelset for my Ala Carte. It's arrival is the only thing keeping me from riding my new singlespeed bike. Mailed out last Monday and deliveries via Priority Mail average about a week or so. I should be rolling by this weekend.

The other wheelset is for my Niner fully. The guy I'm having build it should have it shipped by the end of June. Damn... this bike has been on the back burner for a while. Once I get these two bikes up and running I'll tackle my next bike projects. Yes, plural. Bike shit runs through my head all the time. Just as much as nekid women and sex. Almost...

Where your bike was made.

2011-06-20T09:57:00.001-07:00

Feeling lazy today and bored at work. Saw this posted on mtbr and it was interesting,

The information contained in this report comes primarily from Bicycle Retailer and Industry News' Factory and Suppliers Guide, published annually in October. Bicycle Retailer and Industry News is the definitive trade publication in the bicycle industry. Other sources of information include trade show and factory visits, technical writers in the cycling media, and bicycle company employees who wish to remain anonymous.

Some bike companies have a few secrets. And one of those secrets is where your bike is made or who actually made it. The bike companies like it that way because many of them rely upon the same factories to build their bikes!

The big picture is pretty clear: around 95% of the bikes sold in the U.S. are made in China or Taiwan by a handful of manufacturers of which Giant is the largest.

Generally speaking, low to mid level bikes are made in China and mid to high level bikes are made in Taiwan. The exception is carbon; many manufacturers use Chinese manufacturers to make their carbon frames – even their high-end racing frames.

When it comes to knowing where your bike is made, shouldn’t it be as easy as looking at the sticker on your bike or what is printed on the box in which your bike came? After all, how confusing can a label that says “Made in the USA” or “Made in France” or “Made in Italy” be?

Well – in a word – very. It is very confusing because your definition of “made in” is different from the bike industry’s definition.

A typical rule of thumb is that the country claiming origin has to add 60% or more of the value of the final product.

For example, you and I can import an unpainted carbon fiber racing frame from China to Spain which will ultimately retail for $4,000 with Shimano components in the United States.

The frame and fork may only cost $200 from the Chinese manufacturer. In Spain, we will paint, decal, assemble, and box the bike for shipping to the U.S.

Our cost to paint, decal, assemble, and box might be $300 and the cost of the components might be another $800.

So is this bike “Made in China” or “Made in Spain?” According to the bike industry's definition, the bike is made in Spain. The sticker will say “Made in Spain” as will the shipping box to the United States because over 60% of the value will be added in Spain.

Let’s say we take the same frame and have the Chinese manufacturer paint it, decal it, assemble it into a bicycle, and ship it to Spain. When we ship it to the United States, the label will have to say “Made in China.”

Perhaps the best way to eliminate the confusion is for the bicycle industry to follow the lead of the automobile industry and tell the end consumer the countries of origin of all aspects of the bicycle.

After all, if you are led to believe by a bunch of marketing people that your bike was handmade in Spain when it was actually mass-produced in a Chinese factory, would you buy that bike? Maybe – but you wouldn’t pay a premium for it.

With these things in mind, here is an alphabetical brand by brand run down of some key bike brands sold in the U.S. along with a few bits of trivia.

Bianchi - As I was writing this, it occurred to me that Bianchi and Schwinn have remarkably similar histories. Both were turn-of-the-century family-owned companies, manufactured their own bicycles, were popular brands in their respective countries, fell upon hard times, were eventually sold, moved substantially all of their production to Asia, and have seen a resurgence in the past few years under new owners!

In 1996, Bianchi was sold to a Swedish conglomerate (now known as Cycleurope1) whereas Schwinn went through several owners before winding up with Pacific in 2001.2

Under Cycleurope, which owns 11 bicycle brands,3 much of the bicycle production shifted from Italy to Asia, with the exception of some final bicycle assembly (i.e., Asian frames assembled into complete bicycles) and limited high-end production.

Let me take a minute and address Reparto Corse bicycles, because their "Made in Italy" sticker is a source of confusion.

The historic Treviglio factory - a monstrosity of a thing which used to house much of Bianchi's manufacturing before it shifted to Asia - has a section dedicated to Reparto Corse. It used to be that Reparto Corse (RC) meant the race department where high-end bikes were made. Now it is used as sort of a branding logo to identify the upper-end bikes that get the RC design and marketing treatment.

Many of the RC bikes have a "Made in Italy" sticker, which usually means assembled in Italy using a frame made in Asia. For example, the carbon RC frames are made by Advanced International Multitech (a Taiwanese carbon manufacturer of bike parts, baseball bats, golf shafts, arrows, fishing poles, etc.) and the aluminum frames are made by Taiwan Hodaka.

There are some frames still welded at Treviglio. My understanding is that the aluminum frames with carbon rears are either welded there or, at least, bonded there. I also understand that the frames with foam injection have the injection process completed there, even if the frames come from Asia.

Although Taiwan Hodaka manufacturers many of Bianchi's U.S. models, Fairly and Giant have manufactured for Bianchi in the past.

Cannondale - Aluminum Cannondales are made in the U.S. Cannondale, which was owned by founder Joe Montgomery and his son Scott. Cannondale is now owned by its key investment fund after experiencing financial problems. Cannondale's market share appears to have diminished but stabilized.

According to Bicycle Retailer and Industry News in June 2007, low-end Cannondales are made in Taiwan - probably by Fritz-jou. Others are welded and painted in Taiwan then sent to the US for assembly. The Synapse is made by Top Key.

In February 2008, Dorel Industries announced the acquisition of Cannondale and Sugoi clothing in an all-cash transaction of $190 million to $200 million. Dorel purchased Pacific Cycle (Schwinn, Mongoose, and GT Bicycle brands) in 2004.

Cervelo - Cervelo is a Canadian company. Bikes are made in Asia and assembled in Canada. Cervelo R3 is made in China

Colnago - In 1944, when Ernesto Colnago served as a 12-year old apprentice in the shop of Dante Fumagalli, did he have any idea he would become the most famous of all Italian frame builders?

Colnago is, perhaps, the most coveted of all professional-quality bicycle brands - just look at the pages of VeloNews or Pro Cycling and see how many professional riders race on Colnagos!

Frames are still hand-made in Italy, except for three entry level aluminum models made in Taiwan (probably by Giant) and the carbon CLX, which is also made in Taiwan.4

De Rosa - De Rosa is an Italian company that is one of the Italian "big three" that includes Colnago and Pinarello. Ugo De Rosa, along with his sons, have been building bikes for over 50 years. As far as I know, all bikes are made in Italy.

Ducati - Bianchi has announced a licensing agreement with Ducati to produce a line of bikes with the Ducati name. It is my understanding that the frames will be sourced from Asia with the final assembly at Treviglio.

Felt - Felt was started by motocross guru Jim Felt. All production comes from Asia.

Fisher - Gary Fisher is the "godfather" of mountain bikes. After struggling with his own bicycle company, he sold his brand to Trek Bicycle Company. Still involved in designing and marketing his brand, Gary is a popular figure at bicycle industry events. He's sort of a cult figure with an unmatched sense of fashion! Fisher bikes are made in Asia, except for the full-suspension rigs (which are made in Wisconsin).

Fuji - Fuji is now owned by Ideal, who manufacturers most of their bikes. Ideal is one of the key Taiwanese manufacturers along with Giant and Merida. Ideal also manufactures for other brands. Topkey of China manufacturers Fuji's carbon frames.

Giant - You may have ridden a bicycle made by Giant without knowing it! Giant is the world's largest bicycle manufacturer with factories in Taiwan, China, and Europe. Giant, a Taiwanese company started in 1972, manufacturers their own bikes - including the carbon bikes, which is unique in the industry (i.e., most other brands utilize other manufacturers such as Advanced or Martec).

In addition to making their own bikes, Giant also makes, or has made, bikes for many other prominent brands, including Trek, Specialized, Schwinn, and Bianchi. Giant's claim to fame is that they have the most sophisticated and efficient manufacturing facilities in the bicycle industry.

A bit of trivia is that Giant owns 30% of Hodaka, a key Taiwanese supplier for many brands such as Bianchi.5

Giant also sponsors the T-Mobile professional cycling team.

Haro - a California BMX company started in 1977 by Bob Haro. All production comes from Asia. Haro owns the Masi brand. Kenstone, with factories in Tawan and China, is a key supplier.

Jamis - Jamis is the house brand of G. Joannou Cycle, a long-time distributor of bicycles and accessories. The bicycles are designed in the U.S. and sourced from Asia.

Kestrel - Kestrel, an early pioneer in carbon frames, introduced the first production non-lugged carbon frame in 1986. Originally, frames were manufactured in California. In recent years, production shifted to Asia. The frames appear to be made by Martec.

Kona - a California company with all production from Asia. Kona, founded in 1988, is a very small company similar in size to Marin. Fairly and Hodaka in Taiwan are key suppliers.

Kuota - Kuota frames are made in Taiwan by Martec, the same manufacturer that makes Kestrel frames. Kuota is a creation of Sintema, an Italian manufacturer of components. Basically, they designed the frames, had the frames manufactured in Taiwan, and marketed the brand heavily in the U.S., Western Europe, and Australia. Kuota has been a successful brand launch in a very short period of time.

LeMond - Greg LeMond is the first American to win the Tour de France, winning in 1986, 1989, and 1990. LeMond also won three World Championships and the Tour DuPont. His career was cut short by lead poisoning from a hunting accident. LeMond's early bikes were made by Roberto Bilatto in Italy and distributed by a now-defunct company named Ten Speed Drive Imports. The Bilatto-made frames are somewhat collectible.

After an attempt to have an independent bike company, LeMond licensed his brand to Trek Bicycle Company.6 Trek now designs and markets his bikes, which are made in Asia except for the spine bikes featuring OCLV carbon (which are made in Wisconsin).

A bit of LeMond trivia is that he helped develop the first aerobar with Scott and used it in his amazing come-from-behind victory in the 1989 Tour de France.7

Litespeed - Starting in the 1980's, Litespeed was a pioneer in titanium frame building. As their reputation grew, a steady stream of cycling legends came to Litespeed for their titanium expertise. For many years, Litespeed built frames for famous brands such as DeRosa, Merckx, Basso, LeMond, Tommassini, and others.8

Litespeed was, for a period of time, the largest manufacturer of high-end bicycles in the world. All bikes, including the Merlin brand that they own, are made in Tennessee except for the carbon Pavia (which has been discontinued). The Quintana Roo brand is also owned by Litespeed but is made in Asia.

Look - Look is a French company with frames made in France and Asia. Look is also a leading pedal brand.

Marin - a California company with production from Asia, except for a handful of high-end models. Marin is a very small company similar in size to Kona. Key Asian suppliers are A-Pro, Fairly, and Sunrise.

Masi - Faliero Masi was, in my opinion, the "grandfather" of all Italian frame builders, serving as inspiration to famous frame builders like Ernesto Colnago. Faliero sold his company to Americans in the early 70's. Since then, the brand has had several owners including Schwinn! At present, the Masi brand is owned by Haro (the California BMX company)9 and the bikes are made in Asia.

One of my favorite frames was a made-in-Italy Nuovo Strada that I bought from Cumberland Transit in the 80's. Unfortunately, it was stolen in the 90's!

Alberto Masi, Faliero's son, still hand-makes the traditional Masi frames in the shadow of the Vigorelli Velodrome in Milan. Unfortunately, these frames - due the licensing of the Masi name to Haro - are not sold in the U.S. under the Masi name. Instead, these frames are sold in the U.S. under the "Milano" name.10

Merlin - see Litespeed.

Olmo - Olmo is a prominent brand in Italy. Traditionally, Olmo has been made in Italy. I don't have any information on whether any models are made in Asia.

Orbea - Orbea is one of the two large Spanish bicycle manufacturers. It is sort of like Spain's version of Trek or Schwinn. Bikes are produced in Spain and Asia. High-end carbon frames are made in Asia and "finished" (i.e., painted) in Spain.

From Bicycle Retailer and Industry News:

Orbea builds aluminum frames in-house. Carbon fiber frame production, which accounts for half of its road bikes, up from 20 percent just three years ago, is outsourced to such Chinese specialists as Martec.

But unlike many bike makers who are content to tweak stock factory frames, Orbea does all of its carbon fiber frame design, engineering and prototyping in-house. It builds its own molds for new frames and assembles several dozen prototypes before handing off manufacturing instructions to China.

"We need to keep and develop our own knowledge of composites and carbon fiber, and then to find someone who can work with us to build what we want them to build," Joseba Arizaga (Orbea's marketing manager) said. "We make the molds, the first frames, everything here in Orbea. Then, when we are ready to do mass production, we send the instructions to Asia." 11

Pinarello - This Italian company has been producing world-class frames since the 1950's. Pinarello - along with Colnago and DeRosa - is one of the Italian "big three." You can visit their website, pinarello.com, for a nice history of the company.

Some frames are now made in Taiwan, including the aluminum Galileo. I haven't been able to confirm this, but apparently the carbon frames are made in Asia then shipped to Italy for painting and assembly.

Raleigh - A few years ago, the U.S. management team, headed by former Murray exec Bill Austin, bought Raleigh from its U.K. owners. Headquartered in Kent, Washington, production comes from Asia, with key suppliers being Kinesis and A-Pro.

Schwinn - Schwinn was for many years the largest American brand. All bicycles were made domestically until the late 80's.

In 1985, Schwinn management called mountain bikes a "fad" - oops.12 After two bankruptcies, Schwinn is now owned by Pacific, who also owns GT, Mongoose, and the Pacific (and some other brands). Pacific is headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin.

Under Pacific's ownership, the Schwinn brand is returning to prominence. Pacific sells more bicycles than any other brand in North America. However, that includes Pacific brands sold at WalMart, Target, etc.13

The bikes sold in the U.S. are made in Asia, many by Giant.

Scott USA - Scott got its start in Sun Valley, Idaho, when Ed Scott developed the first aluminum ski pole in 1958. In the 80's, Scott developed a bike line.

Eventually, Scott pulled out of the U.S. market and focused on Europe, where Scott is headquartered.14

After an absence of several years, Scott has returned to the U.S. market under the direction of Scott Montgomery of Cannondale fame. Although the company is headquartered in Switzerland, production comes from Asia, with key suppliers being Hodaka and Giant.

Serotta - Serotta is a U.S. manufacturer of high-end bicycles. It competes with Seven and Waterford and is of similar size to Waterford.

Seven - Seven is America's number one custom bicycle brand. Seven Cycles was founded by Rob Vandermark in early 1997.

Rob, previously head of R&D at Merlin Metalworks, decided to branch out on his own and develop a company to build high-end titanium and steel frames. He also wanted to offer the rider custom geometry, without extra charges and long lead times. So Rob assembled a team of experienced craftspeople who all shared a common goal: To build the highest quality, most innovative frames, and therefore provide the cyclist with the best riding experience possible.

All bikes are hand-made in Watertown, Massachusetts.

Specialized - Started in 1974 by Mike Sinyard, Specialized has enjoyed a long-standing reputation for being a leading bicycle design and marketing company.

Several years ago, Merida (a Taiwanese manufacturer) bought a substantial interest in Specialized. Although Specialized is still headquartered in California under the leadership of founder Mike Sinyard, all bikes are made in Asia. Key Asian suppliers are Merida, Ideal, and Giant.

Time - Time produces what is arguably the most advanced carbon frame in the world and all frames are hand-made in France, even the entry level frames.

Trek - It's hard to believe that America's largest bicycle brand had humble beginnings in a barn! Yet in 1976, Dick Burke - with an investment of $25,000 - started making bicycle frames in a little red barn near Madison, Wisconsin. By 1980, Trek built their first manufacturing plant in Wisconsin and the rest, as they say, is history!15

After many years of making its own bicycles in the U.S., Trek moved entry and mid level bicycle manufacturing to Asia.

In 1992, Trek introduced its proprietary OCLV carbon process (Optimum Compaction Low Void) which is still used in its handmade carbon frames. All OCLV carbon frames - road and mountain - are still made in Waterloo, Wisconsin. The all-carbon 5000 (which does not feature OCLV) is made in Asia.

Worldwide, Trek is the second largest bicycle company after Giant (of the brands sold only in bicycle stores). They are one of the most sought-after brands by U.S. dealers because of their strong commitment to brick and mortar bicycle stores (i.e., the brand cannot be sold mail order or over the Internet) and because of their dealer-friendly policies.

Trek owns (or licenses) Fisher, LeMond, Klein, and Bontrager.

Tommasini - Tommasini is a small Italian frame builder in Grosseto, Italy, of similar size to Seven, Waterford, and Serotta. Much of Tommasini's production is exported out of Italy, with their largest markets being the U.S., Germany, and Japan. In September 2006, Irio Tommasini's nieces took over U.S. distribution and are relaunching the brand in the U.S.16

Waterford - Waterford is America's number one steel custom bicycle brand. All bikes are hand-made in Waterford, Wisconsin.

In the late 1970's, a young rider, designer and builder named Marc Muller was hired by the Schwinn Bicycle Company. He brought the experience and innovation from his own framebuilding enterprise and took charge of building the Paramounts, the dominant brand of American-build racing bicycles.

In the early 1980's, Marc moved the Paramount factory to Waterford, Wisconsin and continued building elite bicycles and also created a cycling design laboratory.

Marc and his staff introduced a number of key innovations including oversized tubing (one of the most significant advances in frame design), 26" wheels, cast-in cable guides and a patented full suspension system. These advances allowed them to design and build bikes for National and World champions such as Ned Overand, Marc Allen, Mike Engleman, Tom Prehn and many others.

In 1993, Marc Muller and Richard Schwinn, great-grandson of Ignaz Schwinn, bought the Paramount factory and renamed it Waterford Precision Cycles.17

Marc is now one of the most respected bike designers in the entire bicycle industry. And Waterford, with a one hundred year heritage in bicycle manufacturing, continues to make a winning, world class frames one at a time.

Waterford is 90 minutes north of Chicago. If you visit Chicago, feel free to call for a factory tour.
__________________

Sano wooden bikes

2011-06-17T22:13:00.000-07:00

I saw this article at work. Wooden bicycles produced by a master wooden shipbuilder from Japan. These are truly works of art that can be ridden. Really nice and REALLY EXPENSIVE!!

Article linky:
http://www.stripes.com/military-life/man-re-routes-career-to-craft-bicycles-1.143337

Wooden bike porn to give you a woody :)
http://sanomagic.world.coocan.jp/Lineup/english_sanomagicbikelineup.htm

Nuther Check-Up

2011-06-16T04:10:00.000-07:00

Blood work, MRI and consult with a physician today. Doc said that the scan revealed that the composition of the tumor has changed for the good. I took it that it was dying or is dead as a direct result of last winter's radiation treatments. Good news! wait... fuckin' GREAT NEWS!!!

Fuggin' hilarious!

2011-06-15T09:08:00.001-07:00

I'm positive this kid is a humiliating disgrace to her (gender???) family.

Monday blues

2011-06-13T02:57:00.000-07:00

It's Monday. I've got a lackadaisical attitude.

Thank god for modern medicine.

2011-06-09T01:59:00.000-07:00

A year ago to this day, a German guy gave me BAD news - I had a tumor in my head that was causing some major health problems. After two surgeries and two months of radiation therapy, I'm back to good health. I'm very grateful for modern medicine and the German health system.

what's the skinny?

2011-06-01T09:32:00.000-07:00

So... what's the skinny, eh?

Well, I'll tell ya. I'm surfin' the innerwebs and this article piqued my interest. It was about whether this chick, LeAnn Rimes is deathly skinny or not. Apparently some of her fans thought she was too skinny and wasn't healthy after she tweeted this pic. What say you?

Me? Yeah, I'd hit it! LOL! Seriously. I would. Hit it.

What else? I got all the parts for my single speed and RIP except the wheels. I'm jonesin' to get the bikes built. I hope to get both wheelsets by the end of the month. One 29er fully and the other a 650B single speed. Gonna be some fun riding in the near future.

Killing two birds with one stone

2011-05-27T00:18:00.000-07:00

I'm hungry and want a new puppy,

Don't he just look so cute and delicious?

I'm gonna be the coolest kid on the block!

2011-05-25T03:14:00.000-07:00

And that aint sayin' much considering the small German town I live in. But I'll still be the bad ass-iest kid on the block none the less.

Why? Cuz my Green Machine came in the other day. It's getting some prep work done and I pick it up this afternoon. Here it is,

Just had to say this...

2011-05-22T06:45:00.000-07:00

but Avengers, Earth's Mightiest Heroes animated series FUCKIN' RAWKS!!!

Running

2011-05-22T04:02:00.000-07:00

So on an earlier post I said that I had foolishly signed up for a five mile running race. Why was it a foolish decision? Well, for one and mainly, because I haven't laced up a pair of running shoes in over four years. I didn't even bother to go out for a shake-down run to test to ol' running legs. Just jump into the deep end and find out.

Well, the first mile went well and I was running at a pretty decent pace. Then the first gradual hill on cobblestones. I made it half-way before I slowed down to a walk. I kept running for a stretch then walk some. Running on cobblestones takes a beating and cardio while running is different than on a bike. At least it feels that way to me.

At the bridge across the DB train tracks there was a water point manned by one dude. There was a table that presumably held prepared dixie cups of water but those dixie cups were not empty and littering the trailside further up the trail. When I got to the water zone, I had to wait for the guy to fill a cup and when I got it it was only halfway full. Gahhh! I wanted a bit more water before continuing but I didn't want to spend too much time no pushing ahead forward.

At one point when I planted my right foot, it almost seemed that my right leg wouldn't support my weight and would collapse under my weight. I think my legs aren't use to the jarring weight bearing it needs to do while running, especially on hard cobblestones. This morning, my quads are quite sore and going down the stairs is a bit difficult.

My goal for this foot race: to basically finish and that I did. My tihttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifme, as it really matters to me - just a hair under an hour. I walked a couple portiohttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifns of the trail, I'm not ashamed to say. I was passed by a bunch of people - runners pushing strollers, older women, heavy folks and even a couple of little kids. But I didn't let sparing my ego enter my mind when they passed me. I think I did ok, for not having run in over four years.

The run proved I need to introduce a running program to supplement my cycling which is my main passion. I need to stress my joints with the weight bearing exercise that cycling doesn't provide. I'm thinking at least once a week for a short 1-2 mile loop. Baby steps. Then increase distance and time as I go. Then I'll tackle next years edition of the Tank Trail 5 miler.

Here's a blog post that has some history of the Panzer Tank Trail,

http://lopingsquid.blogspot.com/2008/05/cobblestone-classic.html

**EDIT** 25 MAY 2011
my time and pace:
57:33
11:31

Lions, tigers... but no bears ;(

2011-05-20T08:44:00.000-07:00

Check out this security system???

An owner in Mexico got tired of thugs breaking into his shop so he came up with this idea

And here's his tiger buddy,

The two walking casually on the other side of the fence are dangerously flirting with a man-eating beast of the suburban jungle. Little do they know that their lives could be snuffed out in an instant. Isn't ignorance bliss?

Still on the hunt for a good bear...

gotta hurr cutt...

2011-05-18T23:35:00.001-07:00

So yesterday, after waking up with a mouthful of hair, I decided to get a hair cut. The length was getting a little unruly and the ends were a little haggard. It's also getting warmer out and a little less hair should make warm weather biking a little more comfortable. At least that's my reasoning for getting a trim.

I went down to Panzer the the barber to get the deed done. They charge a flat $10.75 for a cut, don't matter how much they cut. They're usually doing the regulation high & tight military haircut and having someone with longer hair is probably welcome. Dunno, just making an assumption. The same haircut must be boring. Anywho, the last time I got a haircut it was just a trim of my long hair. I went and had it done at the salon (read: where the chicks go) not the barber figuring they'd do a better job with my longer hair. Not really. And it was a lot more out of my pocket for what they did - a basic trim.

My hair is shoulder length now and should be more manageable under my bike helmet. With every major hair cut/styling change, I'm a bit slow to acceptance. It'll grow on me. The style that is, not the hair. Hair growth is a given ;)

ps - I'll post pics in a bit...
**EDIT**
Here are the pics:
Ok, the official myspace bathroom mirror/smart phone self portrait complete with requisite duck face. LOL!

Just being stoopid. I'm diggin' the shorter hair.

I done gone done it

2011-05-15T00:33:00.000-07:00

What you ask did I done?

Well, it's two-fold. I gave in to lust and foolishness, explained below.

Lust. I gave in to it. One of the seven deadly sins. Sweet baby jesus, what have I gotten myself into? So I bought a pair of Magura Marta SL brakes in anodized blue that I thought would match the blue in my RIP build. As with anodization from different manufacturers, it's not the right shade of blue to match my component pick. The Martas showed up in a aqua blue, not the electric or royal blue they were depicted in online pics. So I ordered a matching set of Sram X.0 brakes in blue, guaranteed to color match the other X.0 bits I bought.

So that leaves the brand spankin' new Marta SL brakes un-used. I can't let that happen, it'd be a travesty. So what did I do? I bought a new frame online. Thoughts of a new bike built around the Martas. So as to rationalize the new bike, I'd figure I'd go on the cheap and simple route. In addition, I wanted to try new things. The new bike? A 650b-wheeled single speed.

The Salsa Ala Carte instantly came to mind. Salsa's new alternator dropouts would make tensioning the SS drivetrain simple. A 650b pic thread on mtbr showing one proofed out the concept. I thought about carbon frames as well from ebay, Ibis and On One. There were too many "what if's" with the ebay carbon frames to bother. The Ibis Tranny looks dead sexy and their tensioning system is innovative BUT and it's a big but - there's no frame clearance for a 650b tire. All the pics shown on mtbr show just enough seat and chainstay clearance with a 26" tire. No way a 650b tire was gonna fit. The last option, a On-One carbon 456 frame also had it's con's. High bottom bracket, it's designed as a long-travel hardtail able to accommodate up to a 6 inch travel fork (hence the 4-5-6 designation) which is the opposite end of the bike I want. I want an XC-oriented singlespeed mountain bike. The Ala Carte had all the features I'm looking for in a 650b capable frame with easy set up. The Alternator drop-outs will make adjusting the SS drivetrain easy-peasy and I'll be able to use a quick-release hub on the rear wheel. No muss, no fuss.

Foolishness My co-worker, Pete was, as always, talking to me incessantly about running this past Tuesday. In our discussion, he mentioned he was running a 5 mile (running) race this month being held on the Romerstrasse or the Panzer Tank Trail as it's known by the local US military community. He registered and came back to the office with a nifty race t-shirt. Then I started to get thoughts in my head. "I want a cool "been there, done that" t-shirt". The course is on a familiar trail - it's my bike commute route. And it's "only" 5 miles.

So what's wrong? Well, for one thing, I haven't ran in years. 2007 I think is the last time I put on my running shoes. My gait is the other thing I'd question. Since I broke my leg, I don't have a normal gait while running. At least with my left leg. I don't have full range of motion in my ankle so my gait is all funny. And it's five miles running. I can ride my bike all day, but cycling and running are completely different sports. Yeah they both use your legs and lungs but they use different muscle sets.

I'm going to run it. I've already registered and have the t-shirt. Now I gotta earn the t-shirt. My goal: to finish. I don't have a finish time goal. This is gonna be to see if I can do it.

So, as you see, I've done gone done it!

I got hungry...

2011-05-07T04:18:00.000-07:00

I got hungry watching this,

Hambuster from Hambuster Team on Vimeo.

Very cool commercial

2011-05-03T09:23:00.000-07:00

The beginning of the vid seems like its a BC mtb video. Kinda had that look. It's a commercial for a smart phone made with wood.

Enjoy bitches!

Anime!

2011-04-30T23:55:00.000-07:00

Too bad I can't get the Cartoon Network here.

Voodoo!

A fun little short.

HEARTBREAKER

2011-04-30T07:24:00.000-07:00

HEARTBREAKER Lyrics
Artist(Band):Pat Benatar

Your love is like a tidal wave, spinning over my head
Drownin' me in your promises, better left unsaid
You're the right kind of sinner, to release my inner fantasy
The invincible winner, and you know that you were born to please

You're a Heartbreaker
Dream Maker, Love Taker
Don't you mess around with me!
You're a Heartbreaker
Dream Maker, Love Taker
Don't you mess around - NO NO NO!

Your love has set my soul on fire, burnin' out of control
You taught me the ways of desire, now its takin' its toll
You're the right kind of sinner, to release my inner fantasy
The invincible winner, and you know that you were born to please

You're a Heartbreaker
Dream Maker, Love Taker
Don't you mess around with me!
You're a Heartbreaker
Dream Maker, Love Taker
Don't you mess around - NO NO NO!

You're the right kind of sinner, to release my inner fantasy
The invincible winner, and you know that you were born to please

You're a Heartbreaker
Dream Maker, Love Taker
Don't you mess around with me
You're a Heartbreaker
Dream Maker, Love Taker
Don't you mess around with me!
You're a Heartbreaker
Dream Maker, Love Taker
Don't you mess around with me!
You're a Heartbreaker
Dream Maker, Love Taker
Heartbreaker!

Gerauchte Speck

2011-04-29T00:58:00.000-07:00

That's smoked bacon in German. Damn, I just love me some smoked bacon.

my blogger profile photo

2011-04-27T10:11:00.000-07:00

While we're on the subject of my time in the IZ, I might as well explain my blogger profile pic. We had just arrived in Kuwait just days before the pic was taken late June '03. We were hanging out in Kuwait waiting for the next CAPOC convoy heading up to Baghdad. There was a USO show going on with movie, tv, music and sports celebrities making the rounds and they stopped in Kuwait. So I was just leaving the chow hall and all these people were gathered in small groups. I heard someone say, "hey, it's Lieutenant Dan!" Sure enough Gary Sinise emerged from the crowd with people taking photos with him. Then I saw a couple other celebrities being mobbed by the folks in uniform. Lessee... there was Alyssa Milano from Who's the Boss and Charmed tv shows, Robert deNiro who was bearded and I almost didn't recognize him, the aforementioned Gary Sinise and Rebecca Romijn of Sports Illustrated swimsuit fame and the X-Men movies. There were also two tall athletes that someone in the crowd mentioned were NBA and NFL dudes. But who cares about them, we had a SI swimsuit model visit us in the desert.

Luckily I had a camera with me so I made a beeline to the hottest chick there - Rebecca Romijn. I queued up with the rest of the dudes and got my pic. Luckily the schmuck I handed my camera to did a OK job of framing the shot, could have been better.

The next day we got in our humvee and convoyed up highway 8 up to Baghdad.

Drivin' in Downtown Bagdad

2011-04-27T05:12:00.000-07:00

07/02/03 15:36

Drivin' in Downtown Bagdad

Just about every day, we go out with a small team of CA soldiers, usually about 4-6 folks in 2 humvees to talk to different religious/political parties, government ministries, public utilities plants, prisons, etc in downtown Bagdad and surrounding areas.

Army doctrine of having lots of firepower and being one of the best equipped armies in the world just goes out the window with the Civil Affairs. We travel with virtually no firepower or comms. Most guys are armed with 9mm pistols and M16 rifle and if were lucky we can take along a SAW ( crew served automatic weapon ). Basically a big machinegun with lots of firepower to you non military folks out there. And we dont use Army common SINCGARS radios, we make do with cell phones and Motorola Talk About radios that you can pick up at BestBuy or Walmart for internal/external comms. Some of these guys go out on missions with such a lackadaisical attitude that its scary to ride shotgun with them.

Anyways, off the soapbox and back to the story... Every other day we get stuck in the most crazy traffic jams in the city. Just like any big city in the world, Bagdad's got alot of vehicles on the road and its share of traffic problems. To compound things even worse, traffic signals dont work, so crossing intersections or traffic circles is an exercise in "dodge the big ass truck". The locals make a 3 lane highway into a 6 lane highway. If you get stuck in traffic, you experience anxiety and sickness at the same time. Anxiety: the vulnerability of being stationary and stuck in between vehicles - a prime target for the bad guys if they should have the balls to ambush us and Sickness: being stuck in between big deisel trucks and POS hoopty cars, with no emmissions standard to speak of, suckin down exhaust fumes from tailpipes in our open top/no doors humvee in the triple digit heat of the day.

SO, every once in a while, our little 2 humvee convoy/party just hops the median and drives the wrong way in the opposite lane till we get past the traffic snarls. There have been a couple close calls as far as head on collisions, but luckily the locals give us crazy American soldiers a wide berth. The opposing drivers flash their high beams and honk horns as we approach and a few berate us in arabic. We draw stares of contempt from the locals on the sidewalks as we pass them by going the wrong way on the street. I personally dont give a damn what they think of us, I'm just happy we do it to get out of a situation that could get ugly real fast. BTW, I would'nt recommend our driving tactics in any other city, you might lose you drivers license.

Iraqi cuisine, Mmmm....Yum

2011-04-27T05:10:00.000-07:00

Another email, 06/29/03 17:25
Iraqi cuisine, Mmmm....Yum

It's great riding out into the city and the surrounding areas with the various CA teams. We ride with the Commerce, Government, public utilities, etc teams to different places. So far, Ive been to a couple of jails, several government ministries and various other places.

Best team to go out with is the government team. We meet with local tribal sheiks, political and religious parties and ethnic parties, all trying to get the government of Iraq up and running on its own. At every stop we're witness to the hospitality of the culture. Here's the basic run-down:

-do the 'ol grip and grin
-sit down and start talking business
-someone brings in a tray of something cold to drink, usually a bland tasting orange juice or water (usually skip the water for obvious reasons)
-talk some more
-same guy brings out a tray of really GOOD and sweet hot tea in a small glass.
-talk some more
*AND, if the folks are real hospitable and sympathetic to what we are doing in the country, they feed us.

Let me tell you, Iraqi food is dayammm GOOD Eats!!! Usually barbeque lamb and beef, bread(sorta like pita bread) grilled onions/tomatos, and some other stuff I can't prenounce or remember (except that it was real good). I was joking with one of the guys from the Assyrian National Movement whom we meet today that he would do better back home (in the US) if he opened up an Iraqi restaurant. But I thing it really wouldnt fly since most Americans would look down on it with negative preconceptions.

Gotta go now and watch the nightly movie.

Iraq - "Somber Day in Baghdad"

2011-04-27T05:05:00.000-07:00

Posting some emails I sent when I was in IZ for perpetuities sake:

The following is a copy of an email that I sent to friends and family.
Dated, 06/28/03 14:31

"Somber Day in Baghdad"

Today kinda sucks... A specialist in the unit I'm with, 352 Civil Affairs Command in Bagdad, passed away from a gunshot wound inflicted yesterday morning. I talked with the kid from time to time, as he worked in the next office with the Government CA team. Good kid, he'd lend the other E-4s his laptop so they can play games or watch movies while performing staff duty.

Here's what happened Friday morning as reported by the other CA team he was with at the time:

Apparently he was downtown doing some shopping for DVDs after the CA team he was with finished up with a meeting with some folks at some government ministry. Someone walked up to him, as he was pulling out his wallet, placed a handgun up to his neck and fired off a round. The round exited just below his opposite ear and he fell. Unfortunately, the assailant escaped. I dont know if any rounds were exchanged. He was suppose to be taken to Landstuhl, Germany after having complications with surgery here. I found out he passed away when I came back from a mission downtown and the airport. He was a filipino kid, probably not more that 21 years old.

He is also the first KIA for the Civil Affairs Command since the war started. Just over a month and a half ago, a CA team consisting of a LTC, MAJ and SPC were ambushed. All three suffered gunshot wounds, one seriously injured. The assailants in this case were killed by the same team in a brief firefight. All recovered. One wants to return to duty.

Civil Affairs teams aren't conventional soldiers. They go out in small elements (usually 4-6 man teams/2 vehicles) to try and help the native population in humanitarian assistance, rebuilding the public utility infrastructure (most of Bagdad is without electricity) and helping rebuild a democratic government. I only wish those who attacking coalition forces arent doing it because they dont want us to help them. I'm kind hoping its just remnants of the Baathist regime party and Saddam loyalists who we do need to kill.

My boss and I should be heading outta theatre early next week. Just about got our unit the comms it desperately needs and we've got a better picture of the communications assets (or lack of) of the Civil Affairs units in the Army.

Trying to stay safe in Iraq, Ranier

UPDATE: 06/28/03 17:10

ALCON,

DISREGARD my last... Seems the C1 at JTF-7 got their shit wrong. The soldier DID NOT DIE, he is still alive. thank, God

UPDATE: 07/02/03 14:22

The casualty assistance officer at the G1 got there shit fucked up and gave out wrong info. The kid did get shot in the neck, but thankfully he's alive but in critical condition. The CG of the 352 was pissed nonetheless.

Zing!

2011-04-24T01:59:00.001-07:00

That right there is some funny shit.

and an interwebs classic,

great day for a ride

2011-04-23T09:20:00.000-07:00

I'm on-call this weekend. Received two calls and resolved them over the phone. The sun was shining and the temperature was perfect so I snuck away and rode my 2x9 rigid bike on a quick loop. Early season and my fitness isn't there yet. I stopped once I got to the top of two hill ascent sections to catch my breath. They were really quick breaks and I think I could've ridden over and past the tops of the climbs without stopping.

Bad assery and brakes

2011-04-22T04:10:00.001-07:00

Check out this lil' dude,

A co-worker sent out an email with pet pics and this lil dude caught me eye. He's just oozing bad assery. Don't call him cute or he'll gut you and devour your entrails. And he'll do it not because I told him to, but because it's what he enjoys. He doesn't need to grow up to be a bad ass, he's already a bad ass. One of the rare instances of something or someone being born a true bad ass. He's like the Chuck Norris of pups. Bottom Line: don't fuck with him.

So I'm adopting him. Well, more his interwebs persona to hype up his obvious bad assness. I think he's gonna be the next interwebs sensation.

On the bike front...

I'm acquiring parts to finally build up my Niner RIP9 I got for a song this past winter. I ordered a pair of Magura Marta SL disc brakes because they can in an anodized blue that would match the Sram X.0 blue of my drivetrain. The pics of the blue calipers and brake levers looked like it would match based on the pics online but when I got them in the mail it was a different story. The online pics showed a bright royal blue anodization but I opened the box and it's more of a blue turquios. Color me disappointed. I'll keep them because they're relatively light and I could use them in a 29er SS build for traveling I'm contemplating. So now I gotta order an X.0 brakeset for the build. I'm still thinking of going with blue King hubs and blue nipples for the wheelset.

gross

2011-04-21T02:18:00.000-07:00

I just cleaned out my ears with a q-tip. hella gross. It's been a while.

2011-04-19T10:53:00.000-07:00

I wish I never knew you.

Then it wouldn't hurt so much.

Carbon fiber cross and Celts

2011-04-16T04:06:00.000-07:00

New carbon cross bikes coming out. What makes them different from the past offerings? They're disc brake compatible. Now that the UCI has legalized them in sanctioned races, they're gonna be more common.

Redline,

Felt,

On One showed a prototype on their Facebook fan page and it looked pretty rad.

Today I'm going on a German American Club outing to a Celt Museum that's local. Afterwards, there's a dinner at a local German's place. Should be fun.

Public thievery

2011-04-14T08:25:00.000-07:00

The Czech President got some balls to pull off this heist in public. Just watch as he slyly smirks while he does the deed. Then at the end he gives props to his homies in the audience. Boss!!!

the innerwebs is no longer free

2011-04-11T04:08:00.000-07:00

So for the longest time, most of the content on the innerwebs has been free. Well, aside from porn and shit like that. Now news websites are getting into the "pay to play" arena.

Case in point - nytimes.com Content used to be free. Now you can only access 20 articles a month before a pop up window comes up asking you to subscribe for unlimited access. wtf! In their defense, I can see why they're instituting a pay to read service. With the burgeoning innerwebs, most people are getting their news online leaving the traditional media outlets of print newspaper and to a lesser degree, television. Therefore, The New York Times revenue from it's print medium is probably faltering. If I had an iPad, I'd probably subscribe but as it stands I can live with just 20 free articles a month. I can get news off of other websites.

Handbuilt

2011-04-09T23:43:00.000-07:00

Here's a great vid about custom bike builders. The Jones Space Frame is particularly lust-worthy. It's currently by dream bike.

Check out his website, mind the drool on the keyboard!

Huzzah!!!

2011-04-08T22:37:00.000-07:00

Boobs in music videos! That's like all kinds of WIN!!!

Enjoy bitches!

And here's one for the WTF? file, moobs!

MTV Sucks!

2011-04-04T21:31:00.000-07:00

Yeah, MTV sucks! Hard. Even with their multiple channels, like MTV2 they still blow. They're more of a multimedia channel than what they started out as - a television channel that only broadcasted music videos 24/7. This was the early days of cable TV and music videos. We'd watch the videos then go to school and talk about the cool Michael Jackson videos with our friends. Now, they have junk reality TV to propels social artards into celebrity.

"Jersey Shore"? C'mon, really? Douchebag glorification! The only way it serves society is so that other people can watch these losers and say, "hey, I'm better than these douchebags, life could be worse." Wonders for other people's self esteem. Unless of course, you're a clone of these Jersey Shore losers. "Teen Mom" and "16 and Pregnant" are the other shows with no social value. Yeah, let's highlight teens who can't bump uglies without protection. Is it so hard to use a condom? Dumbasses!

I miss the early days of when MTV first ventured out from just music videos. Great shows like Beavis & Butthead (stoner funny!), Aeon Flux (awesome!) and Celebrity Deathmatch (claymation rules!). After that, they pretty much went downhill. A shame, there are still bands still putting out great music videos but on other venues. My favorite place to scope out is Vimeo and YouTube. It would be great if either of these websites had a dedicated music video channel for official band/record label stuff. Not fan-created junk, though there are some good ones out there. Here are two videos that are ol skool MTV worthy,

Cut Copy

Das Pop