26 November 2008 - 1:51A Reverse Rant?

Do you ever have one of those days when you are sure that you have nothing but an uphill slog ahead of you, with nothing at the top to greet you except another huge pile of crap you have to get through?

Well, today was not one of those days.

I spent most of yesterday dealing with a recalcitrant fork, a project that I didn’t get finished. I always feel beaten when I have to leave a job incomplete. But this morning, it took just about an hour to finish up that little project. Sometimes, some time away can give a level of clarity that never seems to come when you are frustrated to the point of throwing tools.

With my new freed up schedule, I had time to help Nat build his very first set of wheels. Which incidentally were on his old WTB hubs (from his first set of 29er wheels ever). He laced up a set of Stan’s 355s with DT Comp spokes and alloy nipples. The wheelset ended up at 1650g with yellow tape and valves. The color combo, well, I like to call the “iron cross”. Picture alternating groups of 4 silver and black spokes. They pulse when they spin. Sweet! This is now an option on our Bike 29 Custom 29er Wheelset, but don’t worry, Nat won’t be building them for you.

I will give him credit, he did a great job, even if he did take about 6 hours to build them. 

I also spent a very good portion of the day on the phone talking to folks about their next next bike. Sitting around yammering about various components and set-ups is what I do best. All of the folks that I spoke with were potentially looking at their first 29er ever. And I got to thinking about my first 29er ever, the Surly Karate Monkey. That bike that changed it all for me, and maybe these new bikes will change the way these folks look at riding a bike.

And then, I get a phone call from one of these unusual characters.

I was very surprised to get a phone call from Mr Deejay Birch. I haven’t seen Deejay or Fuzzy since Interbike, and I often think about these guys. Hopefully they will make the trek out east again for the 09 version of the Vermont Mountain Bike Festival.

Deejay also told me about a little shindig he’s having in AZ in January, SSAZ09. Tempting, mighty tempting… 

So in the grand scheme of things, many positive things happened today. I have a nice little 3 day break from the shop. A family day, Thanksgiving, and a trip to Auburn NH to ride the 14th Annual Turkey Burner. This will be my second time, and also Kermit’s second time too. Kermit and I will be headed down there bright and early on Friday. We’ll be easy to spot.

Let the good times roll!