The Brisk New Year Start

First off a huge Thanks goes out to the 7 brave riders who braved the cold and bitter winds. All to make the inaugural I.F. Memorial ride a success.
Thank You So Much
Damon, Brian, Bill, Mark, Kenny, Tony, Steve

Honestly I had no idea who or how many folks would show up. With temp in the 30*s and winds around 20mph. With only 39 miles and 20 sections of dirt, this would become an epic ride. A unique blend of riders and bikes. Including 1 mtb(29"), 2 road bikes, 3 cross, 1 hybrid & 1 fixed road.

No wrong turns, no mechanicals, no flats, no dog bites, no crazed red necks, low traffic and only one body slap to the Lexington Co. clay. Two maybe three sections were hike-a-bike due to sand. No one even whispered any complaints. It was a chill ride and no one had any agenda and we all stayed as a group the entire time. So with that I thank you once again and just maybe we will plan another outing in April. Just Maybe.

Something Old > Something New

This is mainly proof that I still do own bikes and yet still do on occasions ride them.

So Jaime here you go I made it out for a pleasant hour on Sunday. Made it out to Old State Rd. to see if it was under water or if the reds have destroyed it. The rain water has receded but the reds are working on destroying the only kickin' dirt road in the metro area.

In other news, a first attempt at a new hobby. Flying R/C planes. Bro-in-law has gotten me all fired up on the hobby. He introduced me to the world of cheap builds. PDF file + Blue Core Insulation + hand me down parts + time = a steep learning curve. Picture below is the direct effect of nose first to the ground. Good thing it's easy to cut the parts off and build another.



Now the new fleet has been built. First test flight on Friday and it made it home in one piece. This would be only the second time this has happened.

081609 build up

Finally a week of fitness worth blogging about. Some of you folks know I've been running a good bit instead of cycling. If you didn't now you know. This May marked a full year of running for me. This month will mark my six month sabbatical from cycling. Something I really needed to miss the sport. Slowly I've been filling the void of cycling with a few rides here and there. Mostly to keep from the overuse of running through out the week. Finally it feels right. So now that I've fine tuned a proper run to cycle amount that will fit my needs and schedule.


So now what. Keep up the weekend trail runs. Yesterday, I knocked out a steady 11 mile run out at Harbison. Today a leisurely stroll around the Cayce/S.Congaree area. Three good dirt road sections to open up on. You gotta love the multi-surface approach to riding. Anywho just wanted to let all my old riding buddies know I'm not dead. Till next time.

060409

Wow it's hard to believe it's been a month since my last post. Where has the time gone. Believe me when I say it's been a productive month. The Captain & I have been pondering the thoughts of selling our house and moving into town for a change. To date we have walked through around 15 houses in the last 2 months. That's a lot of pros & cons to shuffle through. It's been fun to a certain extent.

So now we have been working on our house to fix up the little projects I've neglected over the past winter. It's amazing how a handful of small fixes can snowball into a large project.


Notice the safety procedure displayed while balancing on a handrail. Luckily it's just bushes below. So to date the project list has dwindled down. The completion is near and soon we might put the "For Sale" sign in the yard. So if anyone is interested.

As for the riding of a bicycle, it's been almost 3 weeks. That was not a great day on the bike. Hooked up with Big J and his early am Saturday ride in Dutch Fork. It was the 4th road ride of the season for me. To say the least I was not prepared for the time spent chasing. The group was kind to wait for me at many intersections as to wish me good luck on catching up on the next surge. Think I rolled back to the truck with 70 miles. That would be 20 more than my idea of a good ride for the day.

Ever sense the NYDR beat down, my road time has been limited to occasionally. It probably would not be so bad if I were to get fitted to the road bike. Plus it seems every time I go solo on the road some unforeseen misfortune rears it's nasty head. From the frequent babbling of some jackass ordering me "get off the road". My patience is gone for this form of southern hospitality. This is my running excuse for not having the road legs to keep up.

In good fashion I would like to end this post on a positive note. I'm back running again. The sport of running seems to better fit my schedule and mindset for now. The time involved and the convenience of the exercise. Plus the fact that my dogs get super pumped when the shoes go on, puts a smile on my face.

Rollin Down Shakedown

Out on the trail today with an old friend. Back out of retirement my trusty Independent Fabrication Steel Deluxe. This has to be one of the best riding bikes I've every ridden. It's hard to top the ride of Reynold 853 steel. This frame has been in my possession since 1996. Many epic rides on this bike. It has gone through many fads and trends of mountain biking history for the past 13 years. Since 2000 it has found a home hanging in my garage. About the time the 29er revolution hit me right in the head. Since then it's morphed into several garage projects, but nothing I've been completely happy with.
So for now the build up has been one of patience. Looking for deals to get the project up and running. Scored a nice deal on '07 Rock Shox Sid Team. HBW had a stripped down Bontrager Race GXP crankset with no rings sitting at the shop. Took some old wheels and set them up with Stans. The single best thing for 26" wheel bikes. Also trying to keep with the simplicity of this ride. I decided to set up a 1x9 drivetrain. Since I've been riding a SS for the past two seasons. The whole front derailleur thingy distracts me. Mostly wondering what gear to be in. Now with this 1x9 setup it's much more straight forward. As for the rest of the bike Bontrager, Avid and King parts make the bike complete.