New Car

Katie bought a new car yesterday. Which is sort of like me getting a new car, except I don't get to drive it much. Then again, I don't have to pay for it, either. It's an Infiniti EX35 and I already tried to put it in the ditch, but the damn traction control took the pleasure out of it for me. That and her yelling at me from the passenger seat. I'll have to try again when she's not around.....

U.S. CX Nats

Went to U.S. Cyclocross Nationals In Kansas City Missouri on Sunday. I am just now thawed out enough to write about it. Yes, it was very cold. No, I did not see the alleged fight between a drunk heckler of Jonathan Page and his brother in law that ended in a heap on top of some Richard Sachs bikes. Andy and Nick went with me, and it was a long drive (10 hours total) to see a couple of hours of racing. The women's elite race was completely dominated by Katie Compton. I had never seen her race before, but it was impressive. She continued to put time on her rivals the entire race. Very smooth, controlled, and powerful. That must be why she is the five time national champion. On the mens side, Ryan Trebon was the ultimate victor, although it was well contested for most of the race. I had a lot of fun watching such a great race, in spite of the low temperature. During the womens' race, I received a PBR from some guy who told me "compliments of mafia racing" I didn't know the guy, but who am I to turn down free beer? Anyway, big props to "mafia racing" and all you are doing for the sport. I hope the free beer never runs out. Brad Huff was there, and he and a friend were stripped down to their underwear and entertaining the crowd and the racers alike for the entirety of both elite races. I was wearing my warmest coat, and was still freezing, but they were running around like it was the beach or something. Other noteworthy sights included: a guy wearing a suit and tie and knee socks, several guys wearing jumpsuits, Sacha White and his helper wearing $75 boots, many people under dressed for the weather, a group of people sitting on a couch and grilling food in the middle of the course, Jeff Williams sitting in a ditch to keep warm while telling me "this is the place to be man", and a guy with a tuba, wearing what can only be described as a "utility kilt". I don't know if the guy didn't know how to play more than one note on the tuba, or if the keys were frozen on it, but I think that only one note emanated from the instrument the entire time. It was signed by many notable people, including Ned Overend, who won the mens 50+ race a day earlier. After the race was over, we all headed to the car get out the cold and decided to just call it a day. I only left with a few pictures, most of them poor quality due to my lack of ability to use the camera well with gloves on. Oh well, I'm sure VeloNews has some good ones to look at.

What's wrong with this picture?

A puzzle for you:



















Maybe you need a closer look:



Big surprise: FSA said they've never heard of this. The customer came in complaining of poor shift quality since installing a chainring purchased at another shop. It took me a little while to figure this one out, since missing pins is not something I usually look for. Ramps are there, but nothing to complete the shift. At least their warranty department is easy to work with. I'll keep you posted on the results.

Happy Thanksgiving

It just ain't Thanksgiving without Turkey Cake.

It doesn't taste like turkey, though, in case you were wondering.

I didn't start it....

That was Josh. But I thought it might be a cool idea for people to post pictures of their bench or work area (or desk, if you must have a real job) and comment on their own use of flair.

1. Poster of Einstein on a bike: Hey, if it's good enough for Albert....



2. Poster of Peter Van Petegem: One of the most gnarled, grizzly bike racers I've ever seen, not counting Steve Tilford. Perennial tan courtesy countless hours spent training on the bike in all types of weather, I'm sure. A real Baddass (that's one word). Now that he's retired, I'll bet his perma- tan lives on. Skin cancer is too intimidated to grow on him. I also like the tag line from Lazer above him: "Use Your Head".. Like he ever needed to.



3. Centerfold from Pegoretti catalog: I can't get the idea of owning one of these pieces of art at some point in my life out of my head. It would have to be custom, with me travelling to Italy and living there until it was finished. Perhaps assisting with the build. I would want the frame custom to my specs, but the finish to be a surprise. I don't even know if that could be done, but that's my idea of a "dream" bike, so whatever. The one in the picture is "Love #3"... because you supposedly have 3 great loves in a lifetime. There is also a goofy poem written in Italian and translated in English about bikes and freedom.



4. Framed CABDA wheelbuilding certificate: Yeah, I mostly put this up to tick Matt off. He occasionally teases me about the methods I use to build wheels, and the fact that I went to school for it. "CABDA style" is when you lace one side and then the other. At least it is around our shop. The frame is to make it look more official, but as an unforeseen consequence, lots of people have asked me how I've been supporting cycling since 1948. I tell them "yeah, I'm sixty". They usually don't ask me anything else.



5. Atomic Clock: Okay, it's not flair, but a guys' gotta know when to go home! Also, I forget to eat (or try to eat) lunch if I don't keep looking at the clock occasionally.



6. Picture of some Phonak racer throwing his bike at the line: Against an old guy on a city bike. Hilarious! I think it was in a Craft ad somewhere.



7. Photo of LA and Floyd on Brasstown Bald: I was there with Dru and took this picture myself. Floyd is leading here, but a few seconds later, LA demoralized him with a surge on the last kick upward. I have never ridden Brasstown Bald, and after standing on that mountain all day, don't care if I ever do. I could barely walk up the damn thing.



8. Bicycle License Plate: That's my name. Don't wear it out.



9. Fortune cookie Fortunes: We get Chinese food almost every Saturday from the place across the street. Nearly all of the fortunes suck unless you add "in bed" to the end of them, but I've saved two. One says "Be broke or wealthy, but never accept mediocity" Obviously, they don't spell check these things, but the sentiment is incredibly powerful. Take it as you will. The other says "You will always have good luck in your personal affairs" A pretty bold statement, coming out of a cookie.



10. Sticker of T-Mobile rider: Not sure who it is, just thought it looked cool. Why is this a sticker, though?



11. Evolution of a cyclist bumper sticker: My friend Nick sent me this, he lives in Portland (OR) now. I don't like stickers on my car, but above my workbench is fine. Go figure. I want to come out with one that says "Start seeing Cyclists" like the motorcycle people have. I might put that on on my car.



12. Picture of guy in tent with bike while girlfriend sleeps outside on ground: Katie actually gave me this one, so I guess it's okay to have it displayed. She would probably try to do the same thing to me, so if I ever go camping with her, I'm bringing two tents. Posted long before this image made its' ten million rounds on the internet, so I'm leaving it up 'til it comes back in favor.



13. "Cluelessness" inspirational picture: My mom gave me this as a present, and I think I mentioned it in a previous post. Lots of questions fly around the bike shop, and most of them have no direction. What a waste of time. I'm not sure if looking at this sign everyday is helping me deal with that, or fueling the fire.

Well, as you can see, I didn't even make it to the minimum fifteen pieces of flair. I guess I'm fired. Unless you count me flipping you the bird as flair. Wait, that's still not enough.

Efficiency

I like to do things right the first time, so that I don't have to repeat them. Also known as "I hate to do things twice". Efficiency appeals to me. Maybe it's genetic- I am of German descent. We all have a limited amount of energy and resources we can devote to a task. Budgeting these resources can be one of the most difficult things we do as people. Even time devoted to writing these words could be spent in other ways, but it's hard to tell which would be the better pursuit. Cycling appeals to me for many reasons, one of which is its' close relationship with efficiency. With relatively little wattage to work with, a human body strapped to a machine with wheels and gears can accomplish much more than the body on its' own. Still, the rider is faced with many choices and must decide where and when to expend his energy. In a race situation, this can mean enduring painful feedback from the body for a certain amount of time, with the knowledge or belief that the pace will eventually ease and recovery will be possible. There are some events where this is not possible, where a rider must exhaust himself completely, and one of them is cyclocross. When I line up at the start, I know that approximately one hour of pain is about to be unleashed upon me as my heart rate and energy expenditure flirt with red line for the entire duration of the race. Minimizing mistakes through smooth technique over the barriers and difficult sections of the course can help make you faster, but you will always be bouncing off that virtual barrier of hurt. So why does cyclocross appeal to me? For me, it eliminates that extra choice of when to spend my energy. The time to spend is NOW- and for the next hour. No budgeting needed, other than to last for the duration of the race. No matter where I place, I know that there's no need to go back and do anything again, because there is no energy left to do it with. That's when I know it was a good race.

Cheddar Bunnies

OK, while I was sitting here typing I was eating these. I just ate the whole box. I have to admit that I only bought them because they are rabbit- shaped, but they are really good. Apparently, they are made with organic wheat and also have no trans fat, which i guess is good if you're going to eat a whole box of something.

My Head Hurts

Todays race was crazy. I don't know what else to call it. It was mentally challenging. (Or is that me?) I started out fine and felt pretty good for about half of the first lap, and then everything changed. I should blame it on not pre- riding the course, but when I saw what was in store for us, I made a point of NOT pre- riding it in order to keep me from bailing on the whole race. The thing that I'm talking about is pictured here:

It was a flyover, and though I've seen them in races before, I've never actually ridden one until Sundays' race, middle of the first lap. What you can't see from this picture are the stairs on the back side of the ramp. Also, there was about a six- foot area in which to remount your bike before you barreled down the ramp. The transition area at the bottom of the ramp turned out to be a little too harsh for some, and resulted in several broken seatposts and saddles. Dru was one of them, and on about the 4th lap, his race was over, and he was at the tent getting bandaged up. He told me later that another racer was struggling to clip in at the top of the ramp, and swerved in his direction, causing him to change direction and miss his pedal. When he hit the transition at the bottom of the ramp, he came unclipped from the remaining pedal and sat down hard on his seat. At this point the seatpost snapped, he slid backwards and the remaining seatpost shards gouged him in the stomach. I noticed him out of the race at some point, but I didn't know he was injured until the finish. I had my own problems with the flyover on the first lap. I had finally made it to the top, and was clipping in and waiting for the ramp to clear, when I noticed a guy running down the ramp on the right side (I was on the left side). As I started down the ramp, he proceeded to run with the bike to the left side of the run out area at the bottom of the ramp. I had already started my descent and could not avoid running into the back of him. I collapsed in a heap at the side of the course, and said a few words for anyone listening before righting and remounting my bike. Luckily, I only had a few scrapes on my right leg and a bent in shifter, which I remedied later in the race. After the race, I had plenty to think about, but I was so exhausted mentally that I just put the events out of my mind. I know the flyover took some work to build, but if you're going to try to be like the big boys, you should build it right. I don't know much about building it, but it took me all of one ride on the thing to figure out that it was built incorrectly. The stairs were too steep to allow a smooth dismount and climb. The top portion was too short to allow for slower riders to get clear and for all riders to get clipped in, which caused a problem when coupled with the too- steep ramp and resulting hard transition at the bottom. It was a cool idea, but poorly executed. I'm sure that the people who built it can address the problems for the next race, and the flyover will be all that it can be in the future, but this time around, it just gave me a headache. On the plus side, Justin (descending the ramp in the picture) led most of the race, and finished in 2nd place. A great individual result, and a big showing for the team. I continue to be impressed by his ability to improve at every cycling discipline.

Flickr

Another Race Recap

Today was a tough race. Come to think of it, every race is tough. I should stop bitching, but I probably won't. The course was really rough, and took its toll on me early. I felt like I could barely hang on to the bike in the last few laps. The tires worked well on the grass sections- lots of traction- but not so well on the pavement. I guess they are technically mud tires after all. I could have run a little less pressure too- maybe my arms wouldn't be so sore right now. A few people showed up in costume to do the race. One guy(or was it a girl) was in a bear costume in the "c" race, but I think they only made it a lap before they had to take it off. I don't know how they even did a lap in that thing. Dru did both the "c" and "b" races, but when the start whistle blew for the "b" race, I didn't see him at the line. A few seconds later, I noticed him standing at the side of the course, just past the start line. I yelled at him to "get the hell out here" and he jumped in as soon as everyone had passed. I guess he didn't care too much about results at that point, because he never passed me, and after the race I learned that he was taking beer handups from some guys on the hill. On every lap. I was sort of pissed, because the only thing they offered me was a $1 bill hanging out of some dudes' fly. No way was I taking that.
Flickr

A little late

A little late, but Katie and I carved pumpkins (jack-o-lanterns?) for holloween. Mine is the one on the left- the scared rabbit. Maybe you get it. Going to the STL to race tomorrow, but I've felt a little low on energy lately, so we'll see if I can beat my requisite one person this time. I finally got the new Challenge tires glued up, but they're mud tires and I don't think there will be mud. They don't look too aggressive... maybe they'll be OK. I don't have a front wheel to go with the rear I just bought, so I'll have to put off gluing the Tufos 'til I get a wheel to glue them to. 'Cross season is gonna be over before I get the equipment sorted out, I think!

Race Day

Last weekend, the team (Dru , Mike and I) loaded up in the car and headed up to the Chicago cross cup race in Hawthorne woods. We had to leave at 5 am in order to make the masters' race at 10. I did my best not to fall asleep on the drive up. I was already worried about the race, being so tired and finding out the night before that my rear tire was coming unglued from the rim in a spot. I had to stay up a little later than I had planned, mounting some clincher tires and a cassette on a set of wheels. I am pretty spoiled, but clinchers just don't handle the way that tubies do, especially when it comes to 'cross racing. We got to the race with no problems, got the bikes out and set up, and went for a quick lap around the course just to check it out. That's when I realized I was out of breath and here's a picture of the reason why:

No, not the rider, the imposing mountain behind him. They called it a "tobaggin hill" on the course description, and we got to climb and descend it not once, but twice per lap. I saw two people crash on the descent just warming up, so it was gonna be fun....

I spent the entire race in a oxygen- debt- induced haze, but managed to finish. I think I even beat at least one person. I guess you know it's a good course when you contemplate whether you'll live through another lap or if your heart will finally beat itself out of your chest cavity and flop onto the grass that makes up most of the hardest parts of the course. I managed to take a few shots of the next race following ours, and then we got on the road and headed home. Driving eight hours to race for just under an hour is not usually a good thing, but in this case, i was not wishing it were a longer race.

Flickr

More Cowbell

Well, I'm back in buisness with the internet connection. So now I can post (easily) again. This week, I have a three- day weekend off work. I took Katie to her friends' house at three o'clock this morning, so they could drive to St. Louis to catch a flight to Las Vegas for the friends' birthday. What I'm trying to say is, I'm all alone with nothing much to do this weekend. Sounds like a good chance to get some time in on the bike! So I met Mike at the Koke mill trails this morning. I had a hard time getting out of bed for the second time, so I was a little late. He was too, so it worked out fine. We rode the trails for a while and then headed out on the road to Lincoln Park, where we rode the cross- country course around the outskirts of the park. After one lap and a stair run- up, I was pretty tired, so we rode back to the trails. This is my second ride on the new Alpha Q fork, and I have to say that I am very impressed. The problem I had with the stock fork was that it dove so much under braking that it was almost impossible to control. I found myself unable to use the brakes heavily into corners, causing me to enter corners very slowly or risk crashing or running off the trails due to excessive speed. I swapped it out for my brothers Specialized tricross fork, which was much stiffer, but it had too much rake and handled poorly on my bike. It was also fairly heavy, which was why it didn't stay on his bike. I think he weighed his bike with carbon wheels on and it was around sixteen pounds! My bike won't get that light, but it got a lot lighter with the new fork on it. Plus it's got this curved, weapon- like look to it that makes it scare other riders off the start line. At least that's what I'm hoping for. Now I'm debating weather I should put the dura- ace crank and shifters on it to lighten the bike even further, but I might be too worried about crashing it, then. Which happens a lot in 'cross. To other people, not me.
Sunday, Dru, Mike and I are heading up to Chicago for the ChiCrossCup race. I know I'm out of shape and practice so I'm hoping for a little luck and a lot more cowbell.

No Internet

I don't have internet access this week. This is difficult for me. I want you to see my pictures from Jonathan Pages' Planet Bike Cup in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin 2 weekends ago. They are on my Flickr page here I actually raced- check out the results page if you don't belive me. I had more fun up there than should be allowed, and now I'm all pumped for 'cross season. Who's with me?

Retail

Working in retail is a tricky thing. Working in specialty retail is even more so. You need to sell something to as many people as you can that come in the door, and resist the temptation to tell them to get lost via the door they recently entered by when they ask pointless questions or don’t listen to your answers. I really love it when someone comes into the shop and can carry on a normal, functioning conversation about what their needs are. I look forward to it. The problem is, these people are few and far between. We are currently experiencing a drought in our area in this respect. I’m not sure if it’s the time of year, or just random occurrence, but the questions I’ve been getting asked lately have been nearly unanswerable. Maybe it’s my own shortcomings. I have a sign, given to me by my mother, hanging above my workbench that reads: “There are no stupid questions, but there are a lot of inquisitive idiots”. In tribute, here are some of my recent favorites. No, I am not making any of these up.
Top ten:
“Is this (accessory) hard for me to put on?”
“Do you have a tire/tube for me? I don’t know the size”
“Is it always this quiet in here?”
“Are you always this busy?”
“Are you busy right now?”
“Is this seat comfortable?”
“I just want a bike to ride around- do you have that?”
“Do they have this at Wal-Mart?”
“Why are these bikes so expensive?”
“How much is my bike worth for a trade- in? I don’t have it with me, but it’s blue.”

Ding Dong....

The shop is dead. What happened? I left for a week, and returned to.... nothing. No repairs to do. No one coming in to buy bikes. It's like mid- winter in here, minus the cold. Wait, the phone just rang.... just someone wanting to know if we buy bikes. Answer: NO! ...and no I don't know who does. Actually, I do, but I'm not telling them.


Instead of doing something lame like putting together another comfort bike, I decided today to figure out why our Xtracycle had a non- functioning headset. I put it in the stand and took the fork off only to find that the lower headset bearing was not even there. I had to laugh about that one. You might wonder who would put a headset back together without including one of the bearings, but I already knew the answer. We used to have a kid that worked at the shop when he was in high school. His name was Mike, but we all called him only by his last name: Douin. Why? because it was funnier, I guess. We had some fun times with that kid, because he knew where he ranked in the hierarchy of the shop: dead last. I get all teary- eyed (with laughter) when I remember all the good times we had shoving him in the trash can (headfirst) when he screwed something up. Or the time when his friend bought a part from a competing shop and Matt told them (straight- faced) that the only way to make it right with him was to kick each other in the groin. Douin volunteered to "take one for the team" and gingerly kicked the friends' leg, prompting us to call "foul" and forcing him to repeat the action. Which he did. Then it was the friends' turn, and he must have been a former soccer player, because his foot landed squarely between Douins legs, sending him to the ground in pain, and the rest of us to the ground in uncontrollable laughter. Why he felt he needed to go through with that, I'll never know, but I guess that's just the kind of guy he was. Douin was indeed a ding- dong, a bonehead, but he knew his place, and we could function together knowing that. He took the bikes out of the boxes and I put them together. He cleaned up dirty repair bikes and I repaired them. Knowing your place in life is difficult for most people, at least it is for me, but we all must accept our station in life weather it is temporary or permanent. Sometimes you have a job to do, and you just have to do it, no matter if you like it or not. Hopefully, you can find something interesting or rewarding about the job, and that makes it worth it in the long run. I often feel like maybe I should be doing something more with my life than fixing bikes, but I haven't yet figured out what that is. Until then, I'll just keep doing what I do to the best of my ability and try to be satisfied with that. I really feel pretty good about my place in the shop right now, and I can be sure of that... because my co- workers have never once tried to shove me headfirst into a trash can.

Time well spent

So, if you haven't noticed, I've been absent for a few weeks. Last week, I was in Southern Illinois as mechanical support for the Illinois Great Rivers Ride. I had never done anything like this before, but it was a lot of fun as well as work. I also purchased a digital camera to document my trip, so now you can see what I see. The first night, we left the campsite on busses which dropped us off at a lock and dam on the Mississippi river. We then boarded a barge which was set up with tables and chairs for dinner. We dined as the barge/riverboat assembly went up the river, through the lock, under the Alton bridge, and made the return trip. It was a pretty fun way to start out the week. Two days later, we were set up in front of a reception center after having breakfast, busy airing tires and adjusting derailleurs.

It was a busy week, and we drove sag while we weren't wrenching. Up at 6:30 most mornings and working 'til 9 one night, but that was the latest. Almost everyone was really nice, and I found it really rewarding to be able to use my skills to get riders back on the road again after a mechanical problem. Plus, most of them tipped pretty well. I originally questioned whether taking a vacation from working on bikes to.... work on bikes..... was a wise choice, but after the week was over, I don't think anything could have been better for me. Did I mention I also got paid?......

Saturday was the last day we were on the ride, and we ended up back in Alton- where we started. Since we were so close, Katie and I (we're back together... more on this later) decided to check out the last stage of the tour of Missouri. We stayed at a hotel in St. Louis and walked in the morning (technically afternoon) to Union Station where we had lunch. We took a seat in the restaurant with a window view of the entrance to Union Station, and had just been served our food, when Katie started giggling and told me "look at that guy.. he's got a number on his bike and everything" I turned to the side, since the rider was now just feet from us, though we were separated by glass, and looked right at the person she was poking fun at. I waved and gave him the thumbs up sign, and Katie stopped laughing as I told her "That's not just some guy... That's Tom Zirbel!" It seems he needed a caffeine fix, and rode from the course over to Union Station, through the doors and into the mall to get to a Starbucks near the entrance. Later, we saw a Symmetrics rider do the same, (without even dismounting his bike) and some Rock Racing support guys with a whole tray full of tall Starbucks cups full of pre- race caffeination.

The race was not that exciting, and was shortened to 52 miles due to flooding on the course, but I still managed to get a few good shots (I think) of some riders. Like local boy Brad Huff, pondering the finish straight and thinking of how not to crash on it this year.

And Jeremy Powers smiling because Kirk O'Bee let him get the primes on EVERY lap.

The obligatory arch shot

Cavendish blowing the sprint or Chicci making a BRILLIANT move (however you want to look at it, but those Italians...)

Mike Sayers in tears at the end of a long career.

And a shot of my next bike, although the guy in yellow kept eyeing me and soon moved the bike behind the fence- I'm wasn't gonna steal it, I was just trying to get a look at what I'll be riding as soon as it's available to the general public!

Incredible week, and just thought I'd share a little of it with you.

Boxed on the Curb

I answered a call the other day. The voice on the other end asked for a trainer. I asked if he wanted a stationary trainer or one he could mount his bike to. He told me he wanted one to mount his bike to. I told him all about the models that we had in stock, including one model which I personally owned and had been using for six years. He asked me which one I would get if I was buying one. Trying not to sound like an asshole, I told him that I would probably get the one which I had been using for six years. He said that was the one he wanted. Then he asked: “what it would take to have that boxed on the curb for me?” I was not sure I had heard him correctly, so I asked him if he wanted it in a box on the curb. He told me that was correct. He wanted to give a credit card number over the phone, and for me to put the trainer, in its box, on the curb for him to drive by and pick it up. I asked why he would possibly need to do this, and he told me that he was late for an appointment in town at noon, and it would take him thirty minutes to get there. I glanced at the clock and noticed that it was twenty minutes before noon. I suggested to him that it would take literally thirty seconds for me to run his credit card when he arrived at the shop. I managed to refrain from asking him why he couldn’t just come by after his appointment.

What's Wrong With The World

While standing at the counter today, I watched a guy pull into the parking lot at the shop. He proceeded to drive his newish- looking Nissan truck directly into one of the bright yellow concrete poles protecting the building. He backed up slightly, got out of the truck and checked out the damage. I could see he was wearing a rather large Bluetooth in his ear, but he was not talking on it. Next, he got his brand new Specialized Sirrus out of the bed of the truck and struggled to get in the door of the shop with the bike in hand. I was thinking he might have trouble with the door, so I walked over to help him inside. He told me that he wanted to have the bar ends wrapped with bar tape. I thought this was a silly request, but kept my opinion to myself. Looking at the cyclometer, I could see that the bike had only twenty miles on it. He told me to go ahead and check it over while it was in. After some brief conversation, the guy turned to leave. He put his hand on the door handle and pulled. The door didn’t move. He pulled again and jiggled the handle. Still nothing. The third time he pulled on the handle, I started to tell him, but he changed over to pushing. The door opened, and he left. I would estimate that my salary is less than a quarter of what this guy makes working for the State Police. I will now commence drinking heavily to try to balance out a world that can be this askew. And if I drive later, I hope it’s him that pulls me over.

Everything in it's Right Place

At a shop I used to work at, we had an old guy that worked in the back. He had been there for years, and knew a lot about old bikes, but drank a lot and was rude to customers, so eventually he was put out of sight. One day I heard him cursing something and went back to see what it was. He was assembling a piece of fitness equipment, and when I asked him what was wrong, he told me “the damn holes don’t line up”. Apparently, the 2 pieces were made in separate places or something and just didn’t quite line up, thus rendering the assembly process impossible. I still remember that quote today when I am working on something that doesn’t quite fit correctly (quite common in the bicycle industry) I think his quote can also apply to life- sometimes things just go smoothly and “the holes just line up”.
Work went pretty smoothly today. Repairs all got done in a reasonable amount of time and nothing gave me any hassles. Only one customer of note. I don’t know what his name is, but he had called us many times before about a tire for his recumbent. Finally, about 2 months ago, he bought one, and today he called again to tell me that it had a hole in it. I told him over the phone that he would need to bring in the tire for us to look at and while he was at it, to bring in the whole wheel so I could determine the cause of the flat or replace it if needed. About an hour later, a guy came in, wheel in hand and said “here”. I realized this was the guy who had called earlier, but I had to ask him what the problem was, since the tire was currently fully inflated. He told me that it had a hole in it. I checked the tire over, and found a few small cuts in the tread, but nothing abnormal, so I asked him if he wanted me to change the tube, to which he replied “what?” I repeated myself, thinking that he hadn’t heard me, but his response then told me he was just being difficult. After a few more exchanges of words, we were at a stalemate. He wanted to know why there was a hole in the tire that he bought 2 months ago, and I had already told him several times that he had run over something. The tire was not currently flat, and so there was obviously nothing wrong with the tires’ casing. He got angry and started to leave while I was in the middle of explaining that, so I stopped mid- sentence, waved to him, and said “OK, see you later”. It usually irritates me when people interrupt me while I’m explaining something to them, but I really didn’t mind this time. I found it rather humorous that he couldn’t stick around for what I had to say. Later on, he called and complained to Matt about the whole thing, but Matt told him pretty much the same thing- what could we do? The guy bought a tire, went out and rode it, ran over something and apparently developed a slow leak. This was something akin to the kid that came in a few weeks ago, bought a tube, installed it incorrectly, punctured the tube, then came back in and wanted his money back. I’m sorry, but we are not in the business of replacing items that you break through normal wear or just plain stupidity. If you take a car and back over the bike you just bought from us, we will not replace it either. Sorry! Soon it was 6, and the Monday mountain bike ride was great: nice weather, good trail conditions and lots of fun. I even managed to take a ridiculous header at the entrance of the North trail at a very slow speed. Everyone was behind me, and really enjoyed seeing me make an idiotic mistake and not get hurt. What I think happened was this: I was entering the trail, when someone yelled that they were stopping. I slowed down to a crawl, and looked back to see what was going on, couldn’t see, and when I looked back, I was on top of a couple of logs laying about a wheelbase length apart. I pulled up to clear the first log, lost most of my momentum and put the front wheel in the trough between the two logs. Next, my back wheel came up and continued to rise, until it was about even with my head, and then I fell over sideways. A little inattention at the wrong moment at slow speed. I guess it could be worse, since I only got a little scratch on my knee. Later on, I went to my Grandmothers house, since she was having a computer problem, and I told her I would look at it. She fed me dinner first, and within a few minutes of trying I had the problem apparently remedied. Not sure what all I did, but it was working again when I left, so you might call it luck, but I called it fixed. Also she gave me some really good peaches when I left. I didn’t even know peaches were in season yet, but they were really good. I ate them both within an hour of getting home. In all, a pretty damn good day. I guess the holes just happened to line up.

Rainy Tuesday Treat

For the second consecutive week, the team ride was rained out. Now I’m home and wondering what to do. Ride the rollers? No, I really need to, but that’s such a hard thing to do when it’s not wintertime and I only have the choice to ride indoors or not at all. Maybe I’ll fire up the old PC and update the blog. But what to talk about? Lately, religion has been on my mind again, but I know better than to bring that up. Surely I can think of a less polarizing subject on which to state my humble opinion. Someday I will publish a treatise on my beliefs and change the world forever, but for now…
Butterscotch pudding is good! I just made some tonight, and although it’s just the instant kind, it’s still pretty good stuff. Just two cups of milk and a packet of flavor/ coagulant of some sort. I really don’t know if this orange- colored gelatinous substance is very good for me or not, but it sure tastes good. My diet has been severely lacking in decency lately, and every day I start with the intention to change that, only to fail miserably. With my tendencies towards late morning wake- ups and lack of an actual lunch break, my daily caloric intake often consists of pop- tarts and McDonald’s dollar menu fare. I loathe myself for this, but can’t seem to get out of the rut. I wasn’t always like this. In fact, I used to be pretty serious about my nutrition. Just a few years ago, my brother and I had a “competition” of sorts, with each of us trying to one- up the other by giving something “bad” up. I finally stopped keeping track one day when we were talking and he casually told me that he had given up refined sugar. How the hell do you cut out refined sugar? It’s everywhere! I still think he may have been making this up to ratchet up the stakes so high that no one could follow. I fall short of calling him a liar, though, since I had visited his apartment and seen the contents of his refrigerator and the gram scale on his counter he used for measuring out food. At the time, I thought this constituted commitment, just to demonstrate how serious I was about the whole nutrition thing. Over the years, I have tried, without much success, to alter my body type by gaining or losing weight. In 2002, I weighed 143 pounds after training for 6 months to run the Chicago marathon. At 6’ 2”, this is a pretty good weight for me to be a runner. Being a cyclist takes much more power, though, and at some point after that I got the idea that I needed to gain weight. I was briefly at my heaviest by making it to 160 lbs. It took a lot of work to get to each point, though, and I didn’t really enjoy being at either extreme. So now I’m back where my body likes to be, right around 150 lbs. Now that my diet has nothing to do with my weight, though, I‘ve stopped being so concerned about what I eat and that’s where the problem is. I know that my calories should be coming from more healthy sources and I aim to change that soon. But for now… yeah, I just finished my pudding.

Tri- ing Weekend

… So this was my weekend: Saturday I got up at 5:30 AM, left the house at about 6, got to the grocery store at about 6:20 and picked up some muffins, bananas and Gatorade for the time trial. Then I drove down to my Grandmas for breakfast. My family (dad’s side) goes on vacation every year about this time and they were leaving for Table Rock Lake this morning. I wanted to wish them a safe trip, since I would not be joining them for the first time in many years. I just feel like I’ve got too much going on here this year. So I had breakfast with them and then hurried out the door to get to New City a little early. I arrived about 7:40 and noticed 3 cars in the lot. Good, I thought, maybe more people will show up today. Only 3 people showed, though and one was my brother, Dru, who apparently is also not going on vacation. No matter, since I’m already there, but I wish more people would show up, since I had to get out of bed early and all. Started everyone at one minute intervals, since we had plenty of time. Listened to Neil Diamond while they were out on the course. After the TT, Dru and I headed to the shop to catch the end of the Tour, where they were riding their own TT. That was about 9:15. I don’t like getting to the shop early too often, because customers always show up and knock on the door before we open. As I was talking to the first guy that did this, another showed up, and I decided to go ahead and take out the used bikes, even though it was about 15 minutes before we officially had to open. I started taking the used bikes out the door, which pretty much block the entryway until I get them outside, but this guy had to force his way in anyway. He said something like “there’s not much room in this place” and before I could bite my tongue, I had already said “yeah, until I get these bikes out so we can open” oops…. I was a jerk again. In my defense, I had some of the lights in the shop still off, since we weren’t actually open yet. And I was still a little asleep from waking up so early. Work was busy all day, but only one triathlete dropped off a bike for same- day repairs. Turned out that they just got it out after storing it since- get this- last year’s tri. She said the chain came off last year, and jammed in the pedal. This is where the chain currently resided when I got it in the stand. Thankfully, all it needed was a front derailleur adjustment and a new bottom bracket to get it working again. I’m not really sure that not riding your bike for an entire year is good training for triathlon, but I’ve been wrong once or twice in my life.
Actually, I saw her on Sunday at the Triathlon. She was way behind after the swim and I never saw her again before I left. I had ridden out to the beach house on my city bike loaded down with about 40 pounds of stuff including; a boombox, a six bottles of 312, and a lawn chair. Unfortunately, I had no takers on the beer and couldn’t really bring myself to drink alone while I watched, so I rode back home later with all 6 bottles still in the cooler. Maybe 9 AM on a Sunday is not conducive to drinking, but I was a little bummed that I rode all the way out there with so much untouched alcohol. To cheer myself (and the volunteers and a few runners left on the course) up, I fired up the boombox, blaring Neil Diamond to everyone I passed on my way back home. I think I can even take credit for motivating at least one woman on the course who started singing along to “Sweet Caroline” as she was walking along and she started running again as I passed. Once I got home, I pretty much wasted the rest of the day, but it was good to have some down time after such a busy weekend.

Customer Service

We deal with a lot of different people and repair many different types of bikes at the shop where I work. Rarely do we turn someone away, although many repairs are not worth the time it takes to complete them. For instance, we change those silly electric scooter tubes, but now we charge $20 to do it, because they are extremely time consuming to do. I stopped working on the electronic portions of these things last year, when I found myself soldering the circuit board on one, only to find out that the speed controller was also shot and a replacement couldn’t be sourced. I couldn’t complete the repair and we couldn’t charge them. Several hours of work down the drain. My time is the shops' money. So I try to make sure that every repair that we take in is reasonably assured of not being a losing proposition for the shop.
Some repairs are simply just not worth the mental stress accompanying them. An old lady came in about a month ago with a 3 wheel pedal cart (adult sized) that had a flat front tire. We repaired the tire the same day for her and she came and picked it up. She returned to the shop (before opening hours) 2 days later complaining that the front was flat again. She gave me a story about how she had “barely ridden it” and I caved. After I got all the bikes outside so that I had a place to work on it, I replaced the tube and reinstalled the wheel at no charge for her, even though I pulled a large cinder that there was no way we missed the first time out of the tire. After I wheeled the cart outside, she complained that it “didn’t shift right” and pretty much demanded that I fix it on the spot. What I did had nothing to do with the shifting, but I obliged her, and adjusted the 3- speed hub hastily in the parking lot, (also at no charge) since the cart is very difficult to get in and out of the shop and I needed to get rid of her so I could assist all the other customers now waiting for me to help them.
So last week, when she again showed up (before opening hours again) and complained that the cart wouldn’t pedal forward, she wanted me to look at it while she waited. I explained to her that it would be impossible for me to look at it right now, but if she wanted to bring it back or drop it off, I would be happy to look at it for her. She muttered something in an angry tone about how she couldn’t ride it so she would just leave it. I had repairs all day, and looked at it for her at the end of the day, when I realized that it needed a part that had fallen off to make it work. I called her the next day to tell her I would need to order the part and that it would be a few days to get said part. She was very short with me and said something like “well I guess that’s all you can do” before the call was ended. I surmised that she wanted me to complete the repair, which I did as soon as we received the part.
Fast forward to yesterday. I had just gotten the bikes outside and already helped a few customers when she showed up again. She started telling me that the cart didn’t shift and she was trying to ride it on the road and was going to get hit by a car because I didn’t fix it. I calmly explained to her that I didn’t work on the shifting, because that was not her complaint. Her complaint was that the cart wouldn’t move, and I repaired the problem. I proceeded to tell her that the shifter was now broken and would need replacement. I could tell she was getting angry, and I tried to remain calm while explaining to her that I was once again covered up with repairs for the day and I wouldn’t be able to complete the repair until tomorrow. That was when she lost it. She started yelling at me about how we had just kept the cart for a week (actually 4 days) and now it didn’t work and we shouldn’t have returned it to her if it didn’t work (it did when we returned it to her). Soon, she was demanding to see the manager (ME) and then the owner. I explained to her that Matt was attending to family responsibilities and could not be reached, but I would have him contact her. She was irate about this also, and eventually she said she was going to take the cart to another shop. I told her that was fine, and that’s when it happened: this 5 foot nothing old lady loudly told me to “fuck off”. I had heard enough and told her that I would not tolerate that kind of language, especially after I had gone out of my way to help her in the past. Then I told her to take her business elsewhere: we did not need customers like her in our shop. I have dealt with POCs before and usually when it gets this bad, there’s no turning it around. I was actually pretty happy with the result and how I had conducted myself. But it wasn’t over yet. She came back and told me she’d apologized for her language and asked if I would still work on the cart for her. I felt uneasy about agreeing to do any work now, but I was tired of dealing with her and I agreed. After which she promptly returned to her old ways and asked me if I “talked to my mother that way”. I was dumbfounded and didn’t know what to say. I just walked away and she eventually left. She obviously thought that I had spoken to her in a way I shouldn’t have, which is not what happened. She was just a crazy old lady, but she really gave me a rough start to the day. It’s one thing to be unable to understand the repairs that were made, but when you’re stupid and angry, you can come to the bike shop and ruin my day. So next time she comes in (if ever) will I be inclined to give her a high level of customer service? Not likely. It’s just not worth it anymore.

Perfect Shave

Someone asked me the other night "so you shave your legs?" like I was some sort of wierdo. I thought it was funny, because I haven't been asked that question in quite a while. I guess it has been a combination of me not being around new people and not really having much time to get out. I used to get asked that question a lot, but I have been shaving my legs for about nine years now, so I guess most people that know me just accept it now, or are cyclists themselves. I would like to think I have even "converted" a few people. I was trying to think back to the first time I decided to shave. I think I started shaving because most of the really good riders that I knew did it, and I wanted to see what it was all about. After that, I really just realized all the benefits and sort of liked the look. There are some downsides to shaving, mostly the time involved in maintaining smooth legs. I've heard some guys use depillitory products, but I don't think I would ever try that, although I don't really know why. I think it is something about the process of shaving that I have grown to like. Because of this, I have tried several different combinations of products and settled on a few I like. I currently shave with a Gillette Mach 3 razor because nothing else has really ever worked for me. I also ran across an incredible product pretty much by accident: Shave oil is the best thing out there. Forget the shaving cream or gels- they are messy and time consuming. The stuff I am currently using is Tranquille black spruce shave oil. It is supposedly hand made by a lady in New Mexico and has an incredible scent. The best part about shave oil is that it doesn't wash off easily like the creams, so shaving in the shower is much simpler. In fact, the oil actually needs to be wet to function well. Also, you can really see what you're doing, since the oil layer is clear. I'm not getting paid or anything, but I really like the stuff and just had to pass along the info to the select few who would read this blog. Just go to the website tranquille.net or give Carol a call- she's really nice and she'll make you up a batch.

Team Ride

So I finally started the Team ride that I have been threatening. Tuesday nights at 6pm. Team only. Leaves from the shop. Anyway, only 3 people showed and one was my brother. I'm not sure how to approach this, but I'm looking for a little more committment from people on the team. Don't get me wrong- It's entirely my fault for the poor turnout. I'm thinking now about how I can turn it around. Tuesday night means that it will compete with the Team Mack ride, which is really more of an interval night. I'm looking to show new riders how to ride a paceline and position themselves correctly, and give the more experienced guys a chance to practice these same skills. It's not as flashy as doing sprints, but I still think those are usually better done on your own. That's just my view. Bike racing is done as much with your head as with your legs, I think. Nearly all these skills are covered in a great book "Racing Tactics for Cyclists" by Thomas Prehn. It's a great book to refer to, and although I don't think there is a large amount of information contained in it, what it does say is very important. I'm currently reading it again, just to refresh my memory from the last time I read it years ago.

Not very happy

For some reason, people look down on you if you are not happy all the time. I often feel misunderstood for this reason. Why must everyone be so happy all the time? Personally, I don’t trust them. I have been on this planet for a short time, but I don’t think that constant happiness has been the norm throughout history. What about the Depression? Medieval times? The Dark Ages? Suffering and sorrow were rampant then. Not every country is like the US in this respect either, and it’s only recently that WE started to demand happiness from others in this country. I think that this expectation of happiness causes unforeseen problems with everyday interactions between people. For instance, say you ask me “what’s wrong with you?”, because you see me as unhappy. If I reply truthfully, you will be put off. I should just lie, so you’ll like me better. Even though your liking me is not really paramount to my existence. Not that I don’t care, but I don’t feel that I need to relearn how to conduct myself at this stage of my life.
So let’s bring back pain and suffering and unhappiness…. The world will be a better place for it.

refrigerate after opening

My Ex- girlfriend used to have a pantry full of food consisting mostly of expired or redundant items. After we started dating, I suggested she organize and throw away some items to make more room in the pantry so I could leave some cereal there. I was helping her with this and noticed many items which could have been in the refrigerator in there. I asked her why she couldn’t just put them in the fridge. She told me that she could, and proceeded to open a jar of salsa, and then put the cap back on and put it in the fridge. I asked her why she did this, and she told me that the jar said “refrigerate AFTER opening”.
Sometimes I wonder how people can get through their lives carrying on with this sort of misinformation. I’ve tried to think of something that I believe is true that may not be, but I can’t think of anything. Another ex once told me that I shouldn’t not believe in something just because it doesn’t make sense. I say screw that- if it doesn’t make sense, you shouldn’t believe in it. I am an analytical person. And I deal in reality. Get used to it.

Day off

Got 45 in today in the heat and wind. I noticed the roads are starting to bubble up with tar in places. I really don't like riding down melted roads, since I made this mistake many times before, and it usually results in my having to clean up the bike afterwards. Road tar is really difficult to clean off. Once, I rode through a chip and seal job that caused my tires to pack up with rocks and tar so much that the wheels wouldn't turn anymore. That time, I had to replace tires, spend hours cleaning the bike, and replace my cleats, since I had to walk that section of road back to the point where I could ride home again. That sort of thing can damage metal frames and ruin carbon ones, so my advice would be not to ride through that stuff if you can help it.

Comedian?

I said something to a friend about how much Dane Cook sucks. “You don’t like Dane Cook?” he said. “No” I said. “He’s pretty funny” he said in an awkwardly informative tone, sort of like he was telling me my view on comedy was incorrect. Only problem is, Dane Cook is not funny. Should we still be friends?

Value

So, the other day a guy comes into the shop. He looks like he rode in, and still has a (slightly askew) helmet on when he comes in. I’m in the back working on a bike, so Matt comes out to help him. I can hear the whole conversation from where I’m at, and it goes something like this:
M: can I help you with something?
Guy: Yeah my bike makes this clacking noise
M: Do you know where the noise is coming from?
Guy: I think it’s from this back part. From the gears.
M: Okay…
Guy: (interrupts Matt) Can you do that now for me?
M: Um.. we have a few we’re working on right now, but we can do it for you in about a half hour.
(We actually have a morning full of repairs. And judging from the looks of the bike, it probably needs more than just a quick adjustment. Like a new cable or chain and cassette. Some parts are definitely going to be involved.)
Guy: (annoyed) Can you just look at it now?
M: We have several people who have brought in repairs before you, and it wouldn’t be fair to them to put them off now. I offered to do it as soon as we can- maybe if you have something to do in town or since it’s lunchtime, maybe you could go across the street and get some lunch and come back.
Guy: (incredulous) Well, I can’t do that, I don’t have any money!
(cue laughter from me in the back- just loud enough to not get caught)

Just so you know, we run a business, not a charity. It never fails to amaze me how many people come in thinking we will do repairs for free. We actually do many services for people and do not charge for them. People come in all the time and have me adjust handlebar positions or saddle height and I don’t charge them. Or they come in with the trunk rack they bought at Wal- Mart and can’t figure out how to put it on their car. Even though I’ve taken my time to do a service for them and that has kept me from finishing a repair or delayed me from helping an actual customer when they come in. These are the same people who rarely even give a “Thank You” to me after we’re done. I’d like to know what actually goes through these peoples minds. Do they think they are owed this level of service for free? The worst are the people with department store bikes. I would like to make a rule that if you are dumb enough to actually purchase your bike from a department store, you are on your own. Unfortunately, we make a lot of money from repairing these type of bikes, since they have substandard components and are rarely put together safely, let alone correctly. So we will continue to fix these type of bikes, even though they often aren’t worth the money it takes to repair them.