Rain, rain, go away! Jeez, enough already....

Good weekend! Got to see some family at the pap crit. Big bro won his class and worked the pro race for his team. Played some soccer with Curly and Pinky and just hung out and talked with some friends.

Worked tranq yesterday. Got the new section trimmed up but it was too wet to cut the berms in. Hope it drys up enough to finish the berms wed night. Ended up fixing the water bars and cleaning the drains on the north hill/fort st loop. Alot of standing water on the trail. Saw some people trying to ride, lucky for them, i didn't catch them. I had some major rage going on seeing the cars in the lot with bike racks. They were tearing the trail up pretty bad. I just don't see the fun in it...

Sitting here waiting for the ac guy. Wonder what this round is gonna cost me...

Oy yea, took the kiddies to Despicable Me. Great movie, gotta a lil too sweet at the end but the minions were worth it...

Good things today, got alot done. Beetle got the frame and little bits pulled as well the dents in the roof done. Got the headlamp brackets and all installed. Now if the painter was ready....

Then i headed out to tranq and got the last few berms done as good as they are going to get for now. Going to head out this weekend and cut the faces in, do a lil weed wackin and some benching and it should be good to go for now. I'm going to let it get ridden in a bit before adding the humps...

Some kids in an integra were sitting in the bottom lot surrounded by cops as i was leaving. 4 police cars seems a little much for a mip, wonder what they did. They were all cuffed on the ground and the cops were talking to a couple adults i assume were the parents. Weird...

Lots of baby turkeys out playing on the trail. Be careful, momma turkey is pretty mean...

Just got one thing to say to all the people that told me that i'd never finish the new section by hand....you were right.

Finished back building berm 3 and dumped another layer on berm 2 wed night. Got to chat with some friends that i haven't seen forever. My new bike is done, i wanna ride again...

So my current decision is to dump another load of dirt on berms 3 to 6 and do a little shaping, then open the section. I'd like to add the bumps the next weekend when i've got some people to flow the bumps in. If enough people like the section, i will then petition thor for a bobcat to finish the section the way i originally visioned. If response is not favorable, i can cut my losses now without putting another 100 hours into the section.

i thought about things while playing in the dirt the other night. I'm kinda being selfish on my new section and neglecting my duties as a trail leader. There are some things that need to be done before the race and my section is not one of them. Time to buck up and focus on the important things...

Got some good berm work completed today on turn 4, 5 and 6. Paul came out and helped a ton. Much faster work with 2 shovels over 1. Probably going out wed night and finish turn 3. It is the only one not back filled yet. Thanks again Paul!

Good progress on the beetle today. Front suspension is fixed and straight. Got some of the bent metal back in place. Now it is off to the body guy and painter. Have all the parts ready to go but the front bumper cover. It should be here monday. Don't want to hurry too much. She really doesn't need the car back till she can find a job...

welp, the pics below depict what happens when a teen is easily distracted and drives into a pole @ less than 20mph. $6400 in damages was well over the cars value, so it is totalled. Bought it back to rebuild. Gonna be a long road this time. I'd really like her to pay for it but i'd like the car out of the shop before she is 40. So the bone yard hunting begins. Anyone got a lead on a 98-05 beetle with a good front clip? lol

Went out and played in the dirt again today. Talked with the city and decided the dirt offered wasn't as good as what was in the area i'm working in. So i just kept digging. Hit an awesome area of clay. Good thing about clay is it packs really well. Bad thing about clay is that it packs really well, which means it takes alot to get anywhere.

This is berm 2 back filled about 1/2 way. That was 30 wheel barrows worth of dirt.




This is berm 1 after close to 40 loads of dirt. I'd say it is about 1/2 way done. I'm going to get each berm this far then go back and start back filling again. If i can get 2 berms a week done, i should be ready for flows and bumps by the end of the month. Here's to wishfull thinking!

Oh man, think the city will let us build this?

Flow and berms are amazing. Wonder what kind of soil was used? I know i'd never have the guts to ride it but a smaller version would be interesting. Had at least 4 people this weekend ask me when the bsa is going in @ tranq. Wish i had an answer. A couple of them work construction and were offering the use of equipment to get it done...hmmmm...

i don't know where this sign went but i wasn't gonna find out. I've spent enough time "otb" lately...



Swung by genoa, il while out in chitown to snap a pic of pops old house. Neighborhood is huge now. I remember when you turned off the highway there was just a sign pointing to the golf course. now there is a light and houses all the way to and around the course. Crazy considering this is in the middle of nowhere. Even Sycamore is huge now...



Got back to town and the pump track gave me inspiration to go work on the new section @ tranq. Got berm 3, 4, 5 done sunday and berm 6 done today. Figure i am going to need around ten pickup loads of dirt to finish the berms then 2-3 more to build the humps in the straights. Looks like crap now but i think it will be a blast once the berms are built full and are hit-able. Still need to mow and get sign posts put up. Sure were alot of new, lost riders out today.






pics from the joliet jump park are on facebook and grad pics are on the family blog.
That's aboot it for me. I'll post on the bike park findings later. Gotta go mow my own yard!

jeez, does anyone ride bikes anymore? The blogs have been pretty dull as of late. Must be that everyone is riding so much that there is no time to blog!

I'm stuck in Denver for work. Weather is amazing today...mountains are so sweet. i could wake up to this view everyday with no problem. To bad no one is hiring and i can't leave anyway. Besides, if i'm getting hurt this much in nebraska, imagine how it would be here....

Bummed that i found a conure like the one the passed away a few years ago out here and i have no way to get him back.... I want a new Milo....

Gravecandy Vampire hits the studio!!!!!

got a sweet virus and had to format my drive. If ya'll could send me an email so i can get your addys again, that would be peachy!

Stolen bike!!!!!!

Dale's Haro Mary from the shop yesterday. Bronze fixie, front brake only, fenders and size large. Pics on bmcc and mtbomaha blogs. Anyone eyes his bike give him a call at bike masters or give me a call and i'll get ahold of him. Really need to get his bike. There is no one that works as hard for the mtb community as Dale. Time to go search the neighborhood around tranq for his ride...

nothing much to blog about...

Trail day went well at Adams Park. Much more to do before the end of May. Sounds like they want the first loop in and the pump track done by then. Should be interesting...

Shoulder is doing pretty good. For some reason it hurts sitting or hanging down but feels ok when over my head. Weird...

Silverstein concert is this Wed. It's GcV's first big show and it should be wicked. Looks like i will get to roadie the show. Kinda fun being onstage building the kit before the show...

That's aboot it. Got on facebook. Kids told me no one blogs anymore and i needed to get with the times, so be it. Don't post much on there either but i do get to chat with my niece and that is pretty sweet. Look for buc onine if you wanna at me on...

the good and the bad-ish.

shoulder is healing good. 1 more week in the sling before weight limited work release. 2 weeks after that he expects a full release and self pt. 2 months before i can ride on dirt for sake of re-injury. looks like i will be a roadie most of this year.

good thing the classics are on. it does make me want to go riding pretty bad tho...

suppose i should go get the sycip from Paul and check it over for damage. From what i remember it took a pretty good hit... still pretty fuzzy tho. heh, i remember hitting the lip, saying oh sh*t in my head and then Paul asking if i needed an ambulance. lost about 30 seconds somewhere...

thanks again everyone for the help and support. i'll see ya at the imba class on sat.

opinions needed:

remove the lips on the last 2 camel humps or leave them alone? heh, that sounds dirty...

with that section getting packed in and smooth the effort to climb the wall of the 3rd hump is gone. that was the first time i've been up the wall without a pedal stroke to get me up and over. with no real breaking room, the lip is kinda sketchy. that and hearing from the ladies at the appts that they see lots of crashes there makes me think some adjustments may be in order. let me know your thoughts and we will adjust accordingly...

typing sucks, so this will be short and not sweet. crashed at tranq on the mnr. grade 3 ac separation and a couple bruised ribs. thanks to all that helped get me off the trail and to the hospital. nice to know the tube sling actually works and it helped a ton for the drive to the er. get final decision from doc on healing path next wed. wish me luck!

augh, what is wrong with people in this town. My daughter got her license and has driven the beetle twice. She came home from school the first day with a 6" crease in the door from a hit an run in the parking lot. Came home from a job interview last night with a huge door ding in the same door. Doesn't anyone have any respect for other peoples property anymore? Love to catch someone doing this just once. That car was mint...


On a better note. WNR at tranq tomorrow. Ride rolls at 6, weather permitting. Hope the rain holds off. Might be there if my car deal doesn't go thru..

I've been plotting some rides for this season and i thought it toss them out there for you guys to look at. Mindless babbling here Lemme know what ya think!