Ready to Ride!

One sick kid and then one sick wife meant no overnight trip for me this week, which left me with time to build the new bike. And it didn't take long. I had been acquiring parts over the last six months thinking I'd either upgrade the old Rig or buy a new frame. John at Cyclewerx hooked me up with some Race X Lite's on closeout last fall, Dwayne gave me a deal on the Juicy Ultimate's he took off his Superfly (in return for me ebaying the rest of his take-offs), and somewhere along the line I picked up a new set of XT cranks, King cog, and chain.

All the new parts I scored had been sitting in the basement since last fall, but I just couldn't get myself to put them on the Rig. After 4 seasons and 2115.0 miles, the Rig was tired. But, everything on that bike just kept on going... and going... and going and didn't seem to need replacing. So why waste the good stuff when those parts deserved a better home anyways? I tell people all the time, but I'm still quite amazed at how well everything held up on the Rig. I never once touched the stock hubs and the rear wheel was maybe trued twice. I had the same chain, cog, and chainring on the entire time (wow!), and the original BB7 brake pads are still in place (who are these people that wear out a set in a race?!?). Even the Reba held up beautifully, requiring only one change of oil and an upgrade to Enduro seals around the 1k mark. Still, it was time for a new ride.

Using the above mentioned new parts and the WCS stem/handlebar and Thomson post from the Rig, I had everything on the new bike last night minus the brakes. I dropped it off at Alpine Shop this afternoon for Chris to install those and cut the steerer tube and picked it up tonight after bedtime. Before I left, we put it on the scale. Dan told me over the weekend that his 2009 (with rigid fork) weighs in around 18 lbs. He even made me pick it up to see he wasn't bs'ing (even if he usually is). Still, Chris and I took guesses and I went conservative and said 23. My Rig stock was somewhere around 27 lbs and with my setup around 25.5. The Superfly weighed in on Alpine's scale at 21.5 lbs complete. Wow!

Not one to be one-upped, BLM was walking into Alpine as I was on my way out. He (and Chris too) couldn't let me be the only DRJ guy on the new SS so he ordered one up last week only hours after I did, but in some silly huge size of course. Brenden's should be built tomorrow and he seems to think I need to wait for him for the maiden voyage, in memory of old times I'm guessing. So the first ride will either be late tomorrow night at Lost Valley or Chubb Friday afternoon. Either way, I can't wait!

Superfly SS...YES!!!

I had to post about this. Two years ago, Gary Fisher raised the bar for geared 29er hardtails with their full carbon Superfly. I wanted one, but didn't need it as I rarely ride geared. Last year, they released a Superfly SS, and I "NEEDED" it. But, the catch was you had to be a dealer or employee to get one. And getting one was tough, even if you were a dealer or bike shop employee. I found out about them the day orders were due and begged owners and/or friends at 3 different shops to order up an extra size Medium. But, afraid of the Gary Fisher Police, no one was willing to help me out.

So, I've waited the last year for GF to make these available to the public. I am sooo glad I waited. The 2010 Superfly SS's have new graphics and (much more importantly) a vastly improved sliding dropout system. Thirty or so (in all sizes) were made available late last week and not even a week later I've got one. BIG thanks to Chris and Traci at the Alpine Shop for this!

The bummer is I'm travelling for work the next couple of days and will have to wait until the weekend to get it built and take it for a ride! Oh well, I waited a year just to get the frame...

Big Bike Weekend

I'm way overdue for a post and this weekend revolved around mountain bikes, so I get a turn to write for a change.

Paul (aka Grand Master Geezer) recently turned 60 and his wife Alisa suprised him on Saturday with a group ride/birthday party at the Ranch. Wives, kids, and dogs were all invited, so after breakfast Erin and I loaded the girls in "Dad's big truck" and headed west to St. Clair. I never counted, but I'm guessing there were 30+ riders, double that or more for the party, and at least a dozen or more four-legged friends. Ranch rides are usually a hammerfest, but this time the GMG took it easy on us and allowed everyone the opportunity to enjoy the ride and the beautiful weather. I wish I'd brought a camera as the views of the Meramec were stunning.

While I was out riding, Erin and the girls took a walk around the lake and Madeleine swang, and swang, and swang some more. Gracie made friends with some labs and took a swim. I'm thinking she might have had the best time of all of us. Dog heaven for sure.

After the ride, beers were drank, food was ate, and a good time was had by all. I didn't want to leave, but we'd delayed nap time quite a bit and I had to be at Schlafly to pick up a couple kegs for the Cyclewerx gang.

This morning was a repeat of yesterday's. We ate breakfast, loaded up the girls and bike, and were back on the road. Today, however, we were headed south to Cape Girardeau for the Cyclewerx race. Teammates Bob, Wes, Chris, Tom, John, and Mark made the trip as well and kicked butt as usual. With such a good group of guys, it feels good to be back racing. Now I just need to find some fitness...

Last October, I did the Burnin' at the Bluff 12 hour race with John Dodd (owner of Cyclewerx) and the two of us had a fantastic time, taking 2nd in the singlespeed class even short our (injured) third teammate. John's a class act and puts on a great race every year. He and his gang suprised us this year with a new course they had just finished building at Klaus Park. The course was all singletrack under a canopy of old growth hardwoods, with little brush amongst the trees. It was a mix of fast and flowy and tight and twisty but all of it was super fun. Without much brush, and with the super-compact course design, visibility for spectators (and racers) was excellent.

This was easily the most family-friendly race I've done. Erin and the girls had a nice spot in the shade and they could see several spots along the course at once. I was a little disappointed not to be racing the old course, but everything about this course and race was perfect and much better than expected. It will be on next year's calendar for sure!

As always, pics from the weekend:

Waiting for the b-day boy:



Suprised:



The B-Day boy sporting his B-Day gifts:



Group shot:



Gracie in Dog Heaven:



Madeleine, now a big fan of saying "cheese" for the camera:



Madeleine's favorite thing about the ranch... swings!:



Bob the Chef:



Geezer Juice:



COO-KIE!:



Madeleine loves bikes and loves motorcycles, but a bike ON a motorcycle was confusing:



Dad and Hadley:



Lunch:



"See guys, in the old days, bikes had steering wheels.":




The closest I would get to the winner (seconds after the start):



The course:



More of me and the course:



My fans:



Madeleine, watching Sesame Street as we were loading up. Moments later she was out:

Happy 6 Mth Birthday Hadley!

Hard to believe but Hadley was 6mths old on Friday. She celebrated by trying some rice cereal. It was not a big hit. Yesterday she got some sweet potatoes and seemed a little more interested. At 6 mths Hadley is very smiley and Madeleine can really get her to laugh. She sits up but not good enough to really leave her alone sitting. As soon as you put on her on the floor she rolls right onto her tummy. She is a very easy-going baby although she does have one bad habit... a tendency to wake up and want a bottle in the middle of the night. That is the only time she is a really good eater. She also grabs anything she can get her hands on. Jim experienced this firsthand last Sunday when Hadley grabbed his beer pint and dumped it all over him!

We went to Grant's Farm yesterday morning for some more fun. Grant's Farm has added a carousel so of course that was the main attraction for Madeleine. Hadley took it all in from the stroller. The highlight for me was the pretzel and cheese. That was lunch everyday when I worked there and I always look forward to it.

About to try rice cereal

I don't like this... I will just grab the spoon and play with it

Madeleine really is my girl... she picked out her Lilly dress to wear to Grant's Farm

On the tram at the end of our visit to Grant's Farm

Catch Up

It has been awhile since our last blog post so I thought I should update with a few pictures.

We enjoyed a fun visit to the zoo with Laura, Lee and Emily. Madeleine loved seeing the tigers and penguins. She also thinks no visit to the zoo is complete without riding the train and carousel.

We celebrated our birthdays with our families... Uncle Todd is starting to get good at holding the babies. He actually picked Hadley up out of the exersaucer and looked comfortable holding her. I had to get a picture of that!

Karen, Ray and Chloe stopped to visit on their way to their new home in PA. This is the best picture I got of the two girls. I find it a little funny because Karen and I used to enjoy having some drinks together too.
We spent a long weekend at the lake with Jim's family. It was nice to get a way and we also had fun with Bart, Tanya, Ella, Owen and Georiga. Uncle Dave made Madeleine a sprinkler that was a big hit.
Jim and Madeleine also enjoyed a brief ride in the tube.
We have gone on lots of walks and enjoyed the mild weather we were having before this weekend. Hadley can now ride next to Madeleine without being in the carseat. She finds the straps almost as fun as her toy. Madeleine has also gotten Hadley to really laugh. It is pretty funny.

We got a new backpack (not pictured) and tried it out. Madeleine seemed to like it but also decided she wanted to do a little hiking of her own. She did pretty good and I'm sure Jim enjoyed a break from carrying her.