Posts Tagged → random

No Flesh Taken

15437260026_9dea5df852_c

The photo you see above is not from today, it’s actually from Saturday’s ride at MMCC. I sadly didn’t have a chance to ride today, but I did have some time to cut a little off of the EXTREMELY wide bars that came on the Farley (utilizing the dullest hack saw blade known to man) and to run over to the bike shop and pick up a pair of ESI grips. As luck would have it, for the first time EVER I installed the ESI grips without taking a pound of flesh off of my hands. Joy.

It’s looking like I’ll have the chance to get out for some fat on fat on dirt road action tomorrow. As you many have gathered, against my better judgement (judgment, what’s that?) I plan on using the Farley. I figure since I didn’t ride today, I’ll force myself to work harder and ride the fatty on muddy dirt roads as sort of a penance for being fat and lazy. Of course if we get more rain tonight, it might be just the ticket to handle the soft dirt roads.

Sleep beckons.

Later.

 

I Feel Wham!

15428291421_02c9efdd05_c

It’s been some time since my last post. I figured it was best not to post since the weather has been windy, rainy and crap-tastic, I haven’t been riding and I’ve been taking the Black Dog for a long, LONG walk of late. People barely want to read about an old, fat dude riding his bike, let alone read about an old, fat, depressed dude NOT riding his bike. Sigh (drink)… Those days are now sort of, almost, not quite behind me now, and I have moved on (sort of) by getting a new bike that I have no right to have really got (Is that right? It doesn’t sound right… gotten?..purchased?… fuck it, we all know I’m an ass hat).

Thanks to selling some shit, a generous Wifey and the amazing bare assed folks (don’t ask) at Terry’s Cycle in beautiful downtown Alma, Michigan, my winter racing and riding plans are now as solid as a post-Golden Corral buffet bowel movement: KAPLUNK!!! Yep, today I took delivery of the very black and very anodized Trek Farley 6. It’s sort of like Jay Z and Wham! guest starring on Drop Dead Diva. I have to say, I am pretty darn, nonplussed about it.

Continue reading →

The Falling of Fall

AcornNationB

Apparently today is the day that Fall falls. I’m OK with that, especially since the temps are nice, there’s plenty of green left on the trees and very few leaves are covering the trail. However it seems that the acorns don’t give a shit about what the leaves do and decided to go ahead and rain down upon the trails. This made for some interesting handling in a few hard pack corners. It was sort of funny to be riding along and hear things bouncing off my helmet.

Welcome autumn, feel free to stick around as long as you want.

Finally Back At It

15138879669_893eb3e59f_c

After six days off the bike due to illness and a quick weekend get-a-way to Chicago with my family unit, I was FINALLY back on the bike today. If you’re reading this blog you most likely ride bikes, OR you got here Googling photos to satisfy some bizarre, crap covered chamois fetish you have. You disgust me! Welcome to the blog.

No matter how you got here, bike ridin’ type folk know that time off the bike sucks, and that it sucks even more when you’re off the bike due to coughing up snot and sludge for five days. Most will also know that the first ride back from such a break simultaneously rocks and sucks.

Continue reading →

When Two Became Three

IMG_5043

My plan to take a couple days off the bike for family stuff and to rest a slightly sore knee has rapidly turned into three days off the bike after coming down with an illness of some sort on Sunday. I woke up yesterday a bit achy, rocking a cough, a raspy throat and little to no desire to ride. That illness and apathy carried over to today and was compounded by a depressing, cold drizzle most of the day.

The weather is suppose to be better tomorrow, so I am hopeful that medicating, resting and hydrating today will allow me to head north and roll some fatties on wet and sandy ORV and snowmobile trails for a few hours, or at very least get out on the mud bog dirt roads outside of town.

I could blather on about some sort of bike crap, but I’m opting to turn in early instead.

Photo: Soiled Chamois file photo from an ORV road fat bike ride early this summer (or is it “last summer” now?).

The Rebound Ride

IMG_5350_d

After last week’s brilliant (for me) return to the saddle and near daily riding, this week has be quite the opposite. As of mid morning today (Saturday) I’ve ridden twice this week. Tuesday’s 42 mile road/gravel ride and Friday’s quick “better than the trainer” 23 mile gravel ride. Sigh.

Continue reading →

That Meadow

15198474472_70431284e2_c

It’s set to piss down rain all day today in Michiganderburgh, so I headed to the basement this morning and dug up a disc of film scans from a 2002 trip to Crested Butte, Colorado. The shot above is another (better) view of the mountain meadow I mentioned in yesterday’s post.

I could seriously look through the photos all day. That area–and much of Colorado in general–really is heaven on earth to me. No wonder Wifey and I found our way out there about five summers straight.

Here are a few other photos that I dug:

Continue reading →