Bad Day

It has taken me this long to get over the bad day I on 3/12.  It should have been a great day of training, but despite a feeling good through out the workout I came away feeling horrible.  You see, I forgot to put the front wheel of my new race bike in the car before leaving the trail after I was done riding.  I heard a crunch I thought was loud gravel, but no, it was my wheel.  I'm taking it in to the shop this week to see if it can be salvaged before the race this weekend.  Part of me hopes it can, part of me may be secretly wishing for a reason to buy a new wheelset.  I'll let you know what happens.

what's left of my new Salsa flip-off

New Bike

After weeks months of waiting for a nice sunny day to setup the work stand outside and wrench in the sunshine, I finally accepted that I don’t live in the southwest and it wasn’t going to happen. The rain, gloom, and cold weather show no sign of relenting anytime soon. This mean that my new GF Cobia that has been hanging in the garage collecting dust hasn’t seen a ride or any work since late fall. With a busy work, training, and coaching schedule I haven’t found the time, or the energy, to setup in the garage and do what needs to be done. That all changed this weekend when the wife graciously suggested I bring the work inside and slave away on a lazy Sunday afternoon. Check out the new slideshow with before, during, and after photos. While pretty handy, there is some work best left to your local bike shop, so thanks to Travis and the guys at Biker’s Choice for putting the finishing touches on my sweet new ride. All I need now is for some of the trails to open!

The New Bike

After finishing 5th at the XTERRA Lock 4 Blast on my Gary Fisher Rig single speed I decided I might need some gears if I was going to race competitively in 2008. Last fall, while I was "just looking" in my local bike shop Cumberland Transit, I saw a number of the '07 Gary Fishers on clearance. Among the group was a beautiful Gary Fisher Cobia 29er. While an entry level 29er, the deal was too good to pass up. My wife found me in the parking lot putting the bike on the rack and could only shake her head. Because I saved so much money on the bike, it meant that I could splurge on all new components to make it "race ready" for spring. After a busy fall and winter holidays I am just getting ready to throw it on the stand and start wrenching. I'll put some before photos up soon as I get ready to ring in the new year on a sweet new ride