niner jet 9

the jet is in it's final configuration. i swapped some important stuff out to get it to where i want it. i put on some x lite wheels, xxx lite bars, x lite stem, a thomson post, and an slr saddle. there's a bottle cage on there, but it's tough to even get a small bottle in and out. i'm going to have to learn to use a hydration pack, for sure. there are mounts on the underside of the downtube, but i don't relish the taste of farm animal dung.

i put on my trusty race face turbine cranks. i'm very weird about my chainring choices, so i dug deep and found that ta specialties makes a 29t middle and a 40t big ring for the 94mm bolt circle. i left the little chainring spot open. if i can't climb it using a 29x34, i'll walk.

i swapped on my juicy ultimates. the red touches are a nice match. i've been a fan of twist shifters for a while, but i don't like the size of the XO stuff. the X-7 shifters are the same diameter as the grip, which i prefer.

so there it is. i might refine it as i go along, but it's hard to imagine big changes. i don't think i have immediately fallen in love with a bike like i have this one.

plus, it's a peanut free zone

i can see the board better with another set of eyes.

and this goes

here, and this goes here, and this choo choo goes here....right rosco?

be like chopper

and HTFU

i can't take any credit for this, but i am the first guy signed up. you can come take my money. in fact, you should.

last chance off roading

after the i-64 tt, the sky was still dark, but dry. that meant there was still a chance for me to hit the trails before it opened up and dampened the trails for the remainder of 2008.

i dropped the family off at home and grabbed the orbea. freshly converted to a geared/front suspension bike, i was eager to try the lanza out. there were a few riders out at the 'wood when i got there, obviously taking advantage of a crazy windy but warm afternoon.

none of the muddy spots were muddy, like they were on saturday. just sweet, tacky trail. i went crazy, and hit just about every trail in the park. the lanza is a bit quicker to accelerate than the jet, but it ain't no magic carpet ride! boy, can it carve a corner, though!

i ran into eric s and thrasher doing some sort of personal epic ride. i also saw todd h as i left, he being a fellow lanza rider (his looks better). exhausted and satisfied, there were rain drops on my windshield as i left the park.

mission accomplished.

I-64 Grand Opening Time Trial

actually, it's only the first half to be Grand Opened. the second half is the city half, from hanley road east to kingshighway.

anyway, today was the day for runners and walkers and bikers to have their way with the new stretch of road. deanna and i, like many st. louisans, have fought with the closure of the main artery for 12 months and it's about time that it's done. so it was nice to go see the festivities unfold.

tons of cyclists were there for the fun ride, but it looked like even more hard core cyclists were there for the 8 mile time trial. i think it officially said 9 miles, but after many cyclists checked their garmins and computers, 8 miles sounds more accurate. there were a lot of ghisallo team people there, which was nice to see.

it was windy. really windy. that made it feel cold, which it really wasn't. it was close to 50 degrees.

saturday is not a day of rest

mountain biking was the name of the game saturday morning. not that i was surprised, but it was a bit soft in places, particularly the roller coaster. avoiding that, the trail was pretty nice. justin's, love, grotpeter climb, you name it.

i rode upon some team seagal guys as well as some iccc riders. man, i can't wait to ride with people more! it's so much more fun. it was short lived, as everyone had some place to go.

there was much action in the chop shop (my basement work shop), swapping parts and pieces between bikes and putting the last touches on the orbea. i'd say that took a couple of hours, about the time it took eli to take a nap.

after that we all went out to noodles. mmmm, noodles.

after that we trekked over to a get together with some friends. once over, they loaded us up with the left overs. i guess that's what happens when you're the last to leave. there is a message there.

MRI~~ouch ouch~~more MRI

had a couple mri's done this morning. the first was the run of the mill "lay down in this tube and listen to all the electromagnetic machinations going on around you". that was followed by a series of injections in my shoulder to inject dye. those hurt. they were using this moving xray movie machine that they used to watch the needles as they went in to insure it was going where it was supposed to go. glad i couldn't see that. after that, it was mri time again, this time with a bad pair of headphones to listen to music instead of the mri noise maker.
.
let's hope that the mri's reveal a tiny village of gnomes living in my shoulder that are causing all of the havoc. i will then evict the gnomes with malice.

brrrrrrrrr~~~~~~~~~

i'm cold! can we just skip the part where we have to wear coats and gloves and move directly into sleeveless shirts and shorts again???

homegrown gets some mileage

the old girl is still a useful machine. some slicks and a rigid fork make it a great commuter.

monday night when the beautiful mrs k and i got home, it was still in the high 40's even though it was completely dark. so i slapped on the nite rider and headed out. i did my usual loops around south city and made a good 20 miles out of it. the wind was atrocious. great in one direction, wicked in the other. great ride.

this morning, i totally expected to ride on the trainer. the forecast was calling for rain and whatnot, but it was only mildly damp and still around 50 degrees. i busted out the homegrown again and battled the crazy wind for another 20 miles. a little splatter? sure, the old girl can take it.

now, the wait begins for some dry earth. i feel a mountain bike ride coming on....

weekend photos

tyson's school holiday program was friday night. here he is with his girlfriends. we made those stars in our dining room last week. when our home is bulldozed under in 2088 to make way for some futuristic shopping mall, that glitter will still be everywhere.

eli is a big micky mouse funhouse fan. i can't give you a reason why he has those micky ears in this photo...maybe the woman in the gown in the background can shed some light on it.

everyone knows the moon is made of cheese....

dance like no one is watching...except dad, with camera in hand.

"this button here is to start it, and this one here deploys the jaws of life in the event that two male occupants over 300lbs each get in...er....."

save the circus jokes, we've probably said them already.

despite shrunken shoulder, mountain biking continues

hey, i may not be able to do much, and i may not be able to do anything without pain, but i can still ride the mountain bike.

i braved the 21 degree morning and rode the jet for about 75 minutes at castlewood. of course, i chose castlewood because i knew the conditions would be good. however, after coming to the realization that it was REALLY FREAKING COLD, no trail would've had much mud. the ground at the 'wood was as hard as concrete. hence, there was great riding to be had.

i rode the fun stuff, and threw in a cardiac climb and three lone wolf climbs. the latter was to pump blood into my rapidly frosting finger and toe tips.

while i'm riding, i don't feel much pain in my back, shoulder, or neck. that's good. the bad news is that i will feel all of that a LOT more later today.

sounds like a fair trade off to me.

kids travel in groups

first, it was popcorn in front of the tv. they look so sweet here, don't they?

then, it was story time. eli was giving the big kids his version of the dragon story i usually tell him. he got some key elements of the story correct, which is a plus, but sort of edited the rest for time purposes.

that old accident just keeps on keeping on

this, ladies and gentlemen, is what a normal shoulder looks like.

mine doesn't look like that. in fact, health professionals call it "very interesting". no one should ever hope to be "very interesting" in the eyes of doctors who have seen everything.

my shoulder droops and pulls on my neck muscles and gives me a helluva back ache. my shoulder droops because it healed really "interestingly". my collar bone sticks up above my shoulder and looks funny. there is some nerve damage, too, which has allowed my once he-man deltoid to resemble that of a 9 year old. and it hurts. a lot.

i hurt. i'm crooked. i look funny. i can't sleep on my side. i'm agry about it.

i want to ride my mountain bike.

i'm addicted again

long ago, i was addicted to mtn biking. when i first started, i would go every single chance i got. out to the old weldon spring hiking trail when it was legal, chubb trail, and greensfelder. sometimes 4 days a week. i didn't own a road bike, and never intended to.

things change. a desire to become more fit and to be able to compete with road racers who would leave me gasping for air on the easier courses drove me to road bikes. and road riding has a way of drawing you in: it's just waiting for you right outside your front door. not so with mtn biking. loading up the car and the inevitable clean up take time out of your riding. and it becomes near impossible to take that time as life closes in.

well, some how, i've gotten into a routine of riding a few times a week. never very long, mind you. it's quite a dream to be able to do an off road ride like mitch the masher and company. but, even a short ride is enough to invigorate the mtn bike soul. and, i'm having so much fun on my new bike that i'm reminded of how it was in the old days.

i'm keeping a close eye on the weather to plot out my next outing. the bike is also quite ready to go...i wouldn't want to miss a ride opportunity.