gigo = garbage in/garbage out. One of those lovely programmer sayings that is true in many ways. As much as i'd like to blame my pre-ride meal of a little debbie cake for my stellar performance at l&c, it was probably a bit more of too much tranq, not enough hills.

Rolled out the first lap learning the race loop. It was pretty funky. Rode with Dale and Dave? Crap. i am so bad with names. He did really well for his first time there and i hope he comes out to ride it again with us. It is a tough place unless you know it pretty well. I don't anymore, so it takes a bit before you can dive into the turns. It was also pretty overgrown. Might head out Sunday for some trimming. Also ran into the bike way guys, the tailgater crew and several others out trying to learn the race loop. It was pretty fun. Lap number 2 started with exploring the unused section of trail then jumping back in to ride the lap. Started to unravel about 1/2 way through but still made it up neverrest. i've never cleared it on an SS, got it twice last night. I am happy...

Headed out to tranq to finish the trim. 3ft tall sticker bushes make for a long mow. Used the push weedeater and got the inner loop climb to the gravel road all done. 2 tanks of gas and 3 stops to re-string got me out of there in an hour n a 1/2. Not too shabby.

Have the weekend off, kids are out of school. The big kids are going job hunting tomorrow, hope they find something close to home. It is nice for them to have their own spending money. Helps me out quite a bit. Also have one wanting to practice driving more so he can his license. The other is wanting her permit so she can do the same. Teaching 2 at once is going to be interesting. So weird, i don't remember anyone teaching me how to drive. With all the motorcycles, bikes, odessey, etc we rode as kids, it just came naturally...

Bacon ride starts Sunday. Not sure if i'll make the first one or not. I'd kinda like to sleep in for once. I do realize now that i need to ride hills atleast once a week if i'm going to get stronger. The spread out there would definetly make it worth the ride...

Pic stolen from Dale. Thanks! People always ask why i'm never in the pics. This is why...

MNR was sweet! Good group for the ride. Lots of people out enjoying the trails last night. I played the silly big gear game again last night and came apart on the last time up the inner loop climb. 2 laps 36/13 for the majority of the lap isn't too bad. Only popped it into the 15 for the inner loop and rode most of the time in the 12. I've been riding with out the sportlegs/heed/endurox that i usually use to fight cramps. So far, so good. Maybe there is something to this drinking water stuff. Last 2 rides have been powered by strawberry kool-aid! Woohooo!!

WNR is at manawa this week but i think i will probably head to l&c for some recon laps. All are welcome that want to come along. Meet at the monument at 6 and roll on out. Good time to ride before the hammerheads start doing hot laps to prep for the race. I'll be a good boy, my legs are shelled from last night...

Tranq haircut is complete! Thanks to Dale, Paul and Marc for all the hard work today. Trail will be super sweet for the MNR. Hoping to make it out myself. Gotta get some rides in while the weather is good and the legs are feeling good.

School ends this week, i guess it is time to go sweet talk my way into a commuter. All the money i had saved went to bills, so i will have to try and talk my way into payments i guess... Not sure if it is worth it. Got 4 weeks of summer school to haul kiddies to, along with back and forth to their jobs, etc. Gonna be another long summer...

MNR was a blast, going to have to make this more often. I missed the main group and headed out with a few folks. Stopped part way in to close a section off that someone had re-opened on their own. Really wish people would stop doing that...

Caught up with the BM crew at the end of lap one. Rode with them for another lap. Felt really strong last night. Good snap in the legs and the body was liking rolling a big gear. First time i've been able to ride and climb in 36/12. Rocked that from the top of the south hill all the way to the inner loop. Might actually get to put the 38 on the front like was originally planned.

Trail day tonight, wnr tomorrow. I'm liking all this riding...

Little riding but fun stuff today. Built some moto inspired stuff up on the blue section. That's aboot all i'm saying till i get some pics of it. that or someone destroys it...

Got to chat with many people today. Had a nice couple that had just bought bikes at Bike Masters trying out the trail. There were really gung ho and having fun. Had a group of guys out for a hot lap. Must have been 10 in the group. Even got to chat with OPD bike cops out on the trail. they were doing some training in full gear. Wild to see them packing heat on the trail. Might scare off the vandals tho...

Got a half lap in before the rain started. I was pooped anyway. Gonna save it up for the MNR tomorrow if i can get the kiddo to go for the Chica Ride.

Ever have one of those days where you just know you should have gone back to bed? I think today might qualify as 2 of those days....

Woke up to someone smearing a burrito or something from taco hell all over the front storm door. Gotta love having teens in the house, right? Got that all cleaned up and breezed into work a few minutes late. Work actually went ok. A little slow but not too bad.

Head for home and as soon as i walk in the door get greeted with "the laundry room door fell off." Ummm, no. Door don't fall off by themselves. Especially when the screws are pulled out of the door jamb.

Screw it, gotta meet Franco in a few to get some equipment for the trail day on Tues. Bail out, pick up the monster weedkiller and signpost installer and roll over to petco for birdy food. Not really a bad thing but i used to pay $40 for a 25lb bag of parrot food from a feed dealer. I could get 3 macaws, a conure and 2 meyers parrots fed for a month on that. They closed down and now it is that much for 8lbs of food and barely lasts a week for 2 birds. Ugh, i need wholesale macaw chow.

Swing by to get my haircut on the way home. Gal butchered it so bad, i just told her to grab the clippers. Ya, i'll be wearing the hat alot so my dome doesn't get burnt. Go ahead and laugh, i still am. Shoulda known better...

Get home, feed the kids and fire up the dishwasher. 30 sec later i hear "dad, it's raining in the downstairs bathroom". Greeeat. Look in the upstairs bathroom, toilet is clogged and backing up into the tub. Pull the toilet, grab the snake. Whatever it is, i can't reach it. Call Mr Rooter. I am number 60 in line. Mention that i have a contract, he will see me in an hour. Well, things are looking up. He rolls up 20 min later and is happy he doesn't have to pull the stool. This is only going to cost me $270 sense he doesn't have to do it. Less than a minute later, he is done. Damn, i wanna make 300 bucks a minute. Grumble grumble, write the check...

The bad luck seems to have left along with most of my paycheck. Easy come, easy go. I was gonna go for a ride tonight but i think i knew better. At least all the bathrooms are clean now. Just need the landlord to come fix the pipe that leaks into the lower bathroom everytime the plumbing backs up...

Sounds like Platte was fun. Wonder if the bro went. Think i will play a bit with some things tomorrow then ride in the afternoon. Anyone wanna ride with the timebomb?

Woohoo, got to ride again. It was really shocking to find tranq bone dry and dusty after a day of on and off rain showers. Did a little trimming and got out for a lap and half with Dale, Josh and Bob. Felt pretty good. Endurance is getting better, recovery is much better. Still looking foreward to commuting this summer to try and help things along. Kiddo has summer school so not sure how that is going to work out the first month of summer for riding to work.

Still saving my pennies for a bike. Not sure what to do there. The langster has track bars and cross brakes. I like riding on the hoods. I suppose i just need to ride it and see how i like it and change up as needed. I also like the steamroller and it already has regular road bars and hoods but it is a little out of the current budget. The thought of doing a monocog 29er with skinny tires was also a thought but i'd like to get a road bike to get some more milage on the weekends.

Oh well, more awards stuff for D tonight. the kid is so involved in everything. Wish the girlies would get more into it. It really looks good come college time...

Who ya callin a turkey?!? Our turkey family has been very active in the creek and nursery areas this weekend. There were a mess of feathers on one spot of the trail. Hope no one nailed one of our buddies...



Inner loop bypass and re-route are in. Still need to buzz the bypass to dirt. Had some ladies out on path bikes this weekend and they were having a hard time thru the grass. The nettles are also out in full force. Time for a little hair cut for the trail to keep the pokey things at bay.

A note from the city: Do not ride the gravel road between the inner loop entrance/exit! Signage will be up soon to let everyone know. Please use the bypass if not climbing the inner loop.


The south hill descent is open and rolling pretty well. Need to tweak the exit of the wall ride a bit. It shoots you to the very outside of the trail. I might just open up that section a bit.



Got out to Swanson to watch the race. No pics, my camera jammed up on me. Maybe i'll poach some from the bro when he put some up. Amazing day, very fast field. Great to chat with everyone. Great job to all the racers that participated. I probably won't race till Norfolk. I'm just not that into it again this year.

Got in a nice solo ride Sunday and will probably be riding Platte wed if the weather holds out.

Much kiddies stuff to do as the school year winds down. I never knew there were so many award ceremonies. Had 1 last week and 3 this week. Ugh...

lol, love what ya can find on the net. The mustang on the last run is me. Bagged him good out of the hole, but his 150 shot did me in mid track. Still ran a low 12 with a passenger. We were the last 2 car ever to run at scribner before it closed. Man, i want that car back!!!





The indy nationals 1969. If you watch the weird montage at 26ish seconds of the striped dragster, that would be my dads'. I watched all 5 parts of the series hoping to see him make a run. No such luck. heh, guess i can see how it is in my blood to race. I was all of 2 at the time of this video. Thanks Pops! You gave me my drive and competative spirit.



I'll have another drag car someday. Man, i made alot of money on the streets with that stang. I need another one....

Anyone wanna buy a bike? Got the kids gf tarpon up for sale. probably toss it on craigslist this weekend. He never rides it anymore and i'm funds building to get a commuter. $150 obo..





WNR was freakin sweet. Nice crowd for a couple laps of Manawa. That place is way too much fun. I can't see why i don't ride there more often. For my third ride this week, i felt really good again. Maybe i should keep this upsome how...The pic below was of the great bike swap. Trevin got mine and i got a monocog ss that i could barely reach the pedals on. It sucks being the short guy somedays..I think everyone ended up on something else by time was all said and done.




Amazing that i could keep a reasonable pace and still chat while riding. Usually i am sucking wind by time we hit the trail. Had a few that got left behind, i should have waited up. It is rare to have good legs on one of these rides, so i was giving it all i had. Oh yea, happy B day Trevin!




Time to check my auctions and see if i got anywhere... Hopefully Swanson Sunday with paul and couple other peeps. Race is next weekend and i haven't even ridden there yet...

This dude ought to have his ass kicked. It was an accident...ya right...watch the yellow jersey on the left bottom of the screen...

man, i rode 2 days in a row...wooohooo!

Got out to tranq for a short lap due to wind, time and a new rider. Rode with Dale and Chris, a new rider. We took our time and gave him a tour of the trail and got to chat a bit. With the 30+ mph winds, i opted out of the south hill and just cruzed around. I rode a big gear, slow cadence to give my knees some more strength work. feels pretty good...

Checked out possibly putting the wall ride back in. It would be a lot of work and i don't know how much speed you would have to carry to clear a 10ft wall of dirt directly after a corner. Might have to go walk it again to evaluate it... It would really suck if we built it and they came out 2 weeks later and backfilled everything. That and you would be shooting blind across the road they use to haul dirt. Don't need anyone getting mowed by a semi...

Wed night ride this week is lake manawa. Come one, come all. I'll be in the back with the slow group. We roll at 6, depending how late Trevin is....

Good day! Finally!

Must be the company i was keeping today...heh, i'll catch some crap for that one.

Went out and helped at the kids old elementary school doing some landscaping in their garden. Then i headed out for some trail work at Tranq. Spent a couple hours out raking corners and trimming some head smacking branches. While i was fixing an erosion spot, Paul and Marc rolled up. Guess they sent out an email for a ride at 3:30. oops, didn't check this morning. Finished up some dirt work and met them back at the truck. Rolled a lap and a 1/2 with the gents and felt great. Good snap in the legs, descending smooth and fast. Just like it should be. Marc got a new Trek and it is sweet. He should be banging out laps like a madman in no time...

Shooting for the MNR with the BMCC tomorrow eve. Hope it all works out. Ex's twins are having a b-day dinner and i get to get some seat time. Hope i feel as good tomorrow as i did today...

Tossed a bunch of stuff on fleabay tonight. Scored a bunch of foglamps from a body shop auction and dumping some spare stuff laying around from when i set my Sycip up. Come on fixie money! Daddy needs some milage!

wnr was a lewis n clark. Not what the old, fat, slow guy was looking for. I went anyway and got my ass handed to me. There were 3 fast guys, a semi fast guy and me. At least i made it out of the parking lot without being dropped. We tried the new entrance which has you back tracking the trail to the bottom then riding a normal lap. I'm happy i made all the climbs but i really need to do something to stop riding like such a puss.

2 years and 30lbs ago, i was fairly quick. I railed corners, bunnyhopped thru root sections and had no fear of getting some air. Not anymore. When the trail points down, i pucker up. I wish i had some coal, i'd had diamonds by the time i finished that lap at lewis. Arms locked, brake pulled and i think i am going to die. What the heck am i so scared of? I've crashed plenty, it's part of riding hard. Ever sense crashing and blowing my shoulder, i have backed way down. There are occasional glimmers of hope but they are short lived.

Looking back at my less pudgy, faster me makes me realize what i am doing differently. I rode alot. Waaay more than now. Wed night bike way ride at Platte. Sunday morning bacon rides, sun after noon roadie rides with Matt, Scott, Ed and Steve. BMX track 2-3 times a week on my cruiser. Sneaking out for a lap or 2 of tranq at lunch. Riding to the store with the kids on the tandem. Man, i rode alot..

Weapons of choice at that time.
Monocog 29er, 30lbs of rigid steel, crappy braked single speed. 40 x 15 @ manawa, 34 x 15 everywhere else. That bike was pure fun and i could rail it. That was about the time i started dropping matt for the first time.
Cracknfail roadie. 100 dollar craigslist score that got some heavy miles on Sun afternoons.
24" cruiser, the shoulder killer. Bike geared so huge that everyone told me i'd never make it around the track. I rocked that sucker and proved them wrong.
The explosif 29 that i hated with a passion but was beautiful. Broke that sucker in a month.
The Kula 29 that replaced it was my favorite bike ever. 36 x 16 ftmfw everywhere.
the mighty death tandem. 80lbs of ss, coaster brake, mustache barred hell. Me and k rode it everywhere. Picked up a 50lb geared one and it just wasn't the same.

All those steeds but the gt cruiser are gone. My Sycip is my lone weapon of choice for now. The renewed quest for milage has begun. Schools out in a month and it is time to commute. I can't afford a roadie in any way. Found a left over fixie/ss langster for dirt cheap. I am thinking this is the way to go. Get rid of the goofy ass track bars, gear it to be unrideable and hammer it ss to work. Flip it to fixie for path rides and see how long till my knees fall off. I can jump on papio trail a mile from work and ride a bit on the way home to get a few extra miles.

next is the bountiful gut that i have bestowed upon myself. Back to slim fast 2 meals a day, no snacks and a sensible dinner. I dropped 20lbs in a month that way 2 years ago, i can do it again. Smokes also have to go. 60 bucks a week that is being wasted. That is my fixie fund to get it bought by next months end.

Hmmm, back to 165lbs, in shape. All i'd have to do then is re-attatch my balls and start riding like i used to. It's a nice dream, we'll see how it works out....

ugh, happy easter!

Off for trailwork today. Got my roller section adjusted, rides much better now. Also roughed in a re-route on the north hill descent. It is much faster, we will see what the rest of the crew thinks before we open it. After seeing alot of people making their own routes thru the south hill descent, i trimmed the grass down to give them a path as opposed to everyone riding all over. A full lap is possible again if you watch for it. It is not flagged. Legs were made of stone today, i rode a few things for flow and went home to take a nap.

I managed to wake up at 6am this morning and watched the paris-roubaix on steephill.tv. Amazing race. The punishment these guys take is incredible. Congrats to Boonen but i was rooting for Hincapie. I really hope he wins it once before he retires. I thought i had bad luck...

Finally, a good ride!

Went out an hour or so early for the WNR to play with fork, bars, stem, etc. Got the fork close, changed the stem, then rolled the bars back a hair. After some fiddling around and a 1/2 lap, i think i got it nailed. Ended up with 3 laps of the nursery, 1 lap of the south hill and 1 lap around the meadows. Not too bad for my first time out...

Bike is much quicker, i am not. Going out this weekend to tweak some trail stuff and hopefully ride again... I hurt today....

man, if it wasn't for bad luck...

Playing with setting up the fork and i hear "crack". That can't be good. Try and pedal again and my shoe just folds...


I knew they had hairline cracks last fall, guess it was time. 15 years out of a pair of shoes isn't too shabby. Headed down to the Bike Way and got another set. If i can get another 15, i'm happy. I put the Crank Bros shims under the cleats to help protect the soles. The got me another few years out of these shoes when i wore a groove in them.





There be the Sycip with the sexy new fork. I called Fox tech support and was told to add another 10 psi to the fork, set everything in the middle but the blowoff valve. Set it at 1 click from the bottom and give it a shot. Playing around on the street feels much better till i shut the lock out off. Man, it is still uber plush... Tech support said that most ss guys run them in lockout all the time and let the blowoff do it's job. Guess i'll give it a shot tomorrow at Tranq or Manawa. Have to see where the boys are riding...

Don't ya love it when a plan comes together? Heh, i'd love it to work just once...

I figured i had it made Friday evening to bag a ride. Kid 1 was busy with school play practice till 6. Kid 2 and 3 were at friends. Grab the bike after work for a quick blast around tranq. I got about 20 feet out of the parking lot and kid 1 calls, done early. Tell him be a bit, figure i'll get a 1/2 lap in. Another 20 ft and the phone rings again. Kid 3 needs to be picked up. Grrr... Pack it in and begin the kid taxi service. Hoped to snow ride today but it is freakin cold.

I need to figure this goofy fox fork out. It is uber plush, not what i am looking for. With the 1x9 geared huge, i am out of the saddle alot. With my old reba, i could set the air pressures to where the fork was stiff enough for out of the saddle riding but still bomb the downhills. Not so with the fox. I've played with air pressures, all of the settings and still can't get it to be stiff, even when locked out. Guess it is time to let the pro's at the shop do thier magic. I really want to love this bike but it has been an uphill battle. My Kula was perfect and i was wicked fast on it. Never should have sold it... I can be fast on the Sycip but it only lasts till my hands fall asleep. Maybe a carbon bar would help, i was hoping the fork would but my thumbs were toast in what little i rode Friday night. Maybe i should just go back to roadies....

Tranq trail day was a huge success! Nineteen people came out to get the trail ready to ride again. The drainage issues have been repaired on the inner loop descent. Add 3 re-routes, 2 alternative lines, a dozen water bars, edging, trash pick up and everything else completed to make a very productive day. Thank you to everyone that worked today!

The trail day for Tranq and Swanson on Tuesday March 31st has been cancelled. Tranq is set and Swanson is in excellent shape as well. Let's ride!

Tranquility is open!!!!!!!

Another fun day at the trail. Made it out around noonish and met up with Marc and his boys. We got the first 2 re-routes mowed and wacked. They had to head out, so i kept rolling. Weed wacked for a bit and stopped to top off the tank, ripped the start cord and ended up with it in my hand. Ugh, ran to home depot and grabbed another wacker to keep going. Got the s downhill cleaned up and headed for the north loop for the last re-route. Got the final re-route put in and the bumps shaped for flow. Ended up fooling around and building another wall ride sense our big one is no longer rideable thanks to city dirt work. While i was building that, i eyed another wicked line coming out of the wall ride. It would be a crazy, lumpy line but i doubt it is useable. If it didn't go across the main trail, i'd probably consider it for an alternate line. It would be sweet. Maybe after we get the rest of the trail back open...

As far as the trail being open, we might was well take the closed sign down. Better than a dozen riders out there today and none of them cared if the trail was closed or not. What sucks, is someone is going to get hurt and it will be our fault. Evidently 4' X 4' closed signs at the entrances and caution tape around the trailhead are not obvious enough to stop riders from doing whatever they want.

Rain tonight and the next 2 days. This will be a good test of the erosion control barriers we installed. Gonna head out Wed night and see how it worked and make a final checklist for Sunday trail day. No pics today, kid had the camera shooting video for his gnar kill metal grind whatever core band. 6 hours trail time today, hurt like hell... I'm going to bed...