digitalMoto.net

Work was work.

Things didn’t go right. Nor did everything go bad. I have been struggling with a series of programming problems, one right after another. But that is what I do. I write software to solve other people’s problems, make thing easier, smoother, faster, and even, on occasion, prettier.

I rode my YZF to work and as the sun was starting to set, I headed toward the hills. I took my new “usual” loop taking 26 to the south end of Skyline, then following it to the end near Scappoose. Today, I had the pleasure of watching a near collision between a Cooper Mini S and an oncoming motorcycle. The mini had already pulled out in front of me at Thompson. In an effort to give a cyclist plenty of room the idiot driver pulled directly in front of an approaching. Yeah. I shook my head. The motorcyclist gave the “WTFa!?!” gesture.

A few miles later, at Germantown, I saw a motorcyclist sitting on the side of the road. Not on the shoulder. Not in the road, but at the edge. I stopped asked if he was OK through hand signals. I didn’t get much response and since I had my headphones in, I couldn’t hear shit. Oh well. He flipped his visor down and I took off. My pause had opened a gap in the traffic and I was in the mood to close it.

And so it went. I rode hard. Not psychotic, but hard. My fellow travel stayed with me until I reached the end of Skyline. I pulled off within sight of the end of pavement. He continued to the end then had to turn around without the shoulder where I was stopped. I pulled around and waited.

The joys of experience on this road.

After a moment, a Honda 929RR pulled next to me. Jesse. “You saved me ass back there when you slowed down. I would have taken those last couple of corners way too fast.” “Yeah. The road really changes after we crossed Rocky Point.” And that was that. He split and I took a moment to turn on my music.

I continued my back-road trek home, skirting North Plains, trying not to jump the railroad tracks.

The motion of my journey, the speed, the tight corners, even the bee sting on my right shin, helped to calm my restless sprit.

Now, I home.

I snapped a few pix today. The color balance is a bit off. Simply, put I keep my house too dark to take good photos inside and with a strong sun today, the camera ‘sees’ the windows and ignores the dark foreground…

I picked up a couple more parts last night from Fat Tire Farm. My Titec Pluto Carbon bar-ends arrived and I bought a XTR rear derailleur for the Cannondale. It is now attached.

Needed parts to finish the Cannondale:

• Shimano XT crank set 170 mm (link)
• Shimano XT 11-34 cassette (link)
• Shimano XT brake/shift levers (link)
• Titec 118 Ti handlebar (link)
• Saddle – Undetermined.

I know I am forgetting something…

I want to ride the saddle on the FSR for a while to see if I like it. If I do, then I will buy another for the Cannondale.

I know I want bar-ends on the Cannondale. I have not made up my mind about putting the Pluto bar ends on the FSR. I asked Tim to order me the inserts that Specialized recommends for the carbon bars that came on the FSR. Once those come in, I will try out the Pluto’s on that bike. The sweep and rise of the riser bars might have a negative impact on that idea/implementation. In which case, I will migrate them over to the Cannondale. Otherwise, I will probably order another set of Pluto’s. I was impressed by the way they fit in my hands.

I REALLY like the Titec stuff. I got hooked on their gear years ago and have stuck with it whenever possible. Speaking of which I do have my prefered brands. I like Avid, Ritchey, Shimano, Titec, Mavic, Chris King, etc. I dislike Rock Shox because the ‘end of life’ their forks after a 3 or 4 years. I still have a ’96 Judy SL Long-travel and I can’t find parts for it.

Finally, I picked up the new Queensryche, Operation Mindcrime II. As usual, I need a few listens before I decide if I like it or not. On the first pass, I was neutral. Not Mindcrime, but then again it couldn’t be. I need more time before I decide.

It was an interesting day. The sky was so blue and I was trapped in my cube… Then it rained, while I was at Fat Tire Farm waiting for my bike to be finished.

I picked up my new mountain bike tonight. I got a Specialized S-Works Stumpjumper FSR Carbon to replace my dearly departed (stolen!) Kestrel Rubicon Comp. I have mixed feelings about the new bike. On one hand, it is an incredible machine and I am sure that I will love it. On the other, I wish I had my Rubi. Such is life. One thing I must say is that the guys at Fat Tire kick ass. Tim, the manager, picked up where Mike left off and helped me get my bike taken care of. They talked to the insurance company, took care of my required replacement cost estimate, made the changes I needed, etc, etc, etc. Tim listened to me and adapted to my style and desires. Case in point: I wanted a Chris King wheelset like I used to have. The S-Works comes with a Mavic wheelset. Don’t get me wrong. It was a very nice wheelset, but it wasn’t what I wanted. I wanted Kings. Tim took care of it. I wanted black. Tim made sure everything was black: black hubs, black Mavic rims, black alloy nipples and black spokes. Everything. All without me having to specifically request each and every part. I needed a longer stem. Done. A different crankset (175s trash my knees). A set of 170s appeared. All of the way through the process, Fat Tire Farm did everything I needed them to do without BS, drama, or complaint. Mike kept reminding/prodding/nagging at me to turn everything in to insurance so I could get my bike. When I finally did, they got my bike into my hands in under 2 weeks. That time includeed a week of me being wishy-washy, ordering all of my special parts, building my wheels, installing and tuning.

I started rebuilding my Caonndale in earnest. I have had a few parts set aside for it, but I never bothered to put them on the frame or work to acquire any more. This week, I started doing just that. I bought a Chris King deevolution headset to drop my 1 ^1/4” headset down to the stardard 1 ^1/8th“. I bought tires and an XT front deraileur, then mounted my existing wheels, XTR V-Brakes on it, Titec Ti stem, Ritchey seatpost… I need pedals, cranks, handlebar, brake/shift controls, rear deraileur and a saddle. Another $400-$450 and it will be done. Not bad for a frameset that I have had for almost 10 years… It was my first ‘real’ mountain bike.

So, Yeah.

I’m happy. I miss my Kestrel, but it is gone. Hopefully, someone, somewhere can appreaciate what they have and ride that bike like it deserves to be riden. I really like this new bike. It is different and it still feels very strange under me. It will take time for me to adapt to it, but I will. When it dries out a bit, it will be time to hit the trail. Anyway…

The woman left for the East coast tonight. She has family on the ‘other’ coast and her Spring Break starts tonight. My new toy arrives at the same time my lover leaves for vacation. Tomorrow is supposed to be a beautiful day, but I have plans that will keep me away from my two-wheeled passions. I have been trying to put together a group ride for Sunday. Unfortunately the forecast is for rain. So, I don’t expect that to happen. Oh well. I should stay home, (re)organize my office and gather my tax crap. That day is coming too quickly.

The cycles of life…

Death and rebirth.
Kestrel stolen and FSR Carbon delivered.
Weekend arrives and Woman flies away.
Blue skies and plans to be caged.

The phoenix rises again…