bike29.com

It Begins…

Mon, 25 Feb 2013 12:30:19 +0000

Heard this song on the radio, seemed really appropriate…

My life is filled with less hair and less Jaguars these days, but the message is still true.

I’ll see you on the other side.

T-Minus 1 Week

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 14:07:19 +0000

Holy crap. I can’t believe how quickly the time is going. I remember stiring in this very spot at the beginning of the month, wondering how I was going to fill the time between then and one week from now, when I put the Green Mountain State in my rear view mirror. I’ve been busy, paring down all my personal effects, trying to lighten the load. It actually feels pretty good to see all the last little bits of my excess personal baggage go away. Letting go of things isn’t always easy, but it is a worthwhile exercise.

long live rock

My record collection, which hasn’t been listened to in over 20 years is now sold. While the amount I got for it barely covers beer, I no longer have to worry about lugging it around with me anymore. I havent had access to a device to even play a record in at least that long, yet I have moved them across country twice, and then sat them in the basement for 10 years. No more.

My superfluous outdoor gear, all gone or on consignment.

All my bikes. I’ll be headed west with my road bike and Kermit, the only two complete bikes I have left.

And then there is the saying of the goodbyes. It’s a tough process, especially when you have roots in a place for 10 years – my longest run anywhere. Lots of folks to see, including family, friends and my old haunts.

shredding the gnar, and the gnar was good

I was surprised on Friday by Daddy Nat, who had texted me to find out that my plans were. I had some organizing and packing on my schedule for the day, and was very happy to blow it all off to go snowboarding at Stowe. It had been about 2 years since my last time out, and about 4 years since I had been to Stowe.

Turns out I didnt forget how to ride, but as the day went on and I got my confidence back, I really had to reign it in. I was starting to get waaay to comfortable on the board. Conditions were great, and our familiarity with the mountain allowed for good choices for trails to hurtle down with minimal people. It was good that we stopped when we did, because I was getting tired, and was beginning to have the feeling that I was going to get really hurt if I didn’t stop. Headed out west for a new beginning with a torn ACL would be less than ideal.

my skill level 19 years ago, in Colorado no less

I used to have Jedi like skills, but now my powers are weak. Still, it was a really nice thing of Nat to hook me up with the lift ticket, and it was a nice send off to the mountain where I had spent so much time sliding sideways.

But now it’s crunch time. Shit to do. No screwing around. I leave in a week.

The METALPOCALYPSE Approacheth

Tue, 12 Feb 2013 13:54:13 +0000

Remember kids, 2pm today is when I will melt the face off the Mad River Valley. I’ve spent my free time over the last week or so arranging the playlist. True METAL aficionados will appreciate the mix, and those that merely dabble will be pleasantly surprised.

You can stream the live show here, or tune in locally to 95.1 FM. Remember, 2 pm EST. There is a cool global listener map on the site that I wanna see light up!

Last year’s show was a blast, and I featured many of the greats. Later today, I’m gonna share last year’s playist on Facebook via Spotify. This year, I will be doing more of the same, with a completely new set of songs, and I’ll eventually get around to posting that playlist some time post show.

Keep it METAL.

Two Weeks

Mon, 11 Feb 2013 14:49:12 +0000

I’m starting to get my pre-trip tweak on.

The reality is beginning to settle in that I have to pack every thing I own, and either store it or drag it across country. In 2 weeks. Exciting times for sure.

Some of the stuff I posted last week has found a new home. The Gozarian will be relocating to Australia, and my old singlespeed wheels will roll once more in PA. There have been many nibbles on the Trundleraptor, so that will be sure to go soon. I had debated selling off some of my tools, and I decided that I am going to get rid of one of my truing stands.

You too could own a pice of B29 history with one of my Park TS-2 truing stands. It includes the mounting base, wheel extenders for 29″ wheels, axle adapters for all the various axle types and a rotor truing gauge. All this for $200.

And don’t forget that tomorrow is the METAL show. Tune in on the web here. The playlist is just about done.

Keeping it METAL

Thu, 07 Feb 2013 14:19:35 +0000

Some of you might remember that I was a guest DJ at a local radio station last year.

Well, I have been asked to participate again this year. This is a small community radio station located in the Mad River Valley, which is peaceful, serene and quintessential rural Vermont at it’s finest. Until I get behind the console. Then I will transform the airwaves from the funky jam band local flavor to a face melting METALSTÖRM. It is destined to be awesome. The show details are as follows:

2-4pm EST on Tuesday Feb 12th. Click HERE to stream over the world wide web. Locally, tune in to WMRW 95.1

It also happens to be during the fundraising cycle, and last year there was a slight uptick in donations during my show. So please at least tune in, and donate if you can. Independently owned radio is a vanishing thing, being taken over by corporate media giants that force feed you whatever crap they feel should be “popular” It’s little stations like this that have a voice, and you hear the best programming this way.

May the METAL be with you… always…

Yet More Stuff

Wed, 06 Feb 2013 13:46:56 +0000

I told you there would be more. These are just a couple of stragglers I couldn’t round up in time for yesterday’s post.

First up are a set of I9 singlespeed wheels. You may recognize these as the wheels I built up for Kermit when I went to SSWC09 in Durango. These are great wheels.

They are laced to Arch rims with DT Aerolite spokes and alloy nipples in. Looking for $400. They are high mileage, well traveled wheels, but they are in excellent shape, and I think these might be the quickest wheels I’ve ever built up. These spin up so fast it’s mind boggling. I think it has to do with the spokes in conjunction with my mass, but one thing is for certain, they have earned me the title of best “coaster”.

Then I have this 17.5″ Trek Superfly frame.

The direct mount for the front derailleur is broken, but I bet it can be epoxied. Or run it as a 1x? and not even bother with it. Looking to get $200 for it, pretty darn reasonable, and if it were a larger frame and I was sticking around, I’d probably keep it and build up a winter dirt road cruiser.

Schwalbe 700x35c tubular tires.

I don’t even know why I have these. Actually I do. Anyone remember BikeCX? These are the tires that used to retail for $150 each. Now I’d like $50 for the set. It’s the older Racing Ralph pattern, and they are tubular, meaning you have to glue them on to the rim. My experience with tubulars has not been good., but some people swear by them. The last time I mounted up a set, it took me 2 days, and I glued my fingers to my hair. Not pretty.

Oh yeah, I said there was an announcement to be made. You’ll have to wait until tomorrow, because it has nothing to do with bikes, and I can’t figure out how to segue into it. But it will be worth tuning in to

Chopping Block

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 13:38:22 +0000

OK, so if you were reading yesterday, you will know that today’s post features a bunch of stuff that I am getting rid of. For money. All the charity stuff is gone, but I can assure you that the prices are tantalizing, you know I like nice things… Some of this stuff I will be sorry to see go, other stuff can be replaced. But for now, it makes the most sense to let it make someone else happy being used, rather than making me unhappy and broke by sitting dormant.

The Trundleraptor

Shocked? Well, they say last in is first out, and this is true. This bike is fun as fun can be on snow, and has definitely saved my mental bacon, but where I am headed, this bike is unnecessary. Know I’ve been geeking out on it’s replacement…

Build spec is: 20″ Pugsley frame + fork, DT370.Surly hubs laced to Rolling Darryl 85mm rims with DT Super Comp spokes, alloy nips, Nate knobby tires, Surly Mr Whirly cranks with xtra wide spindle to clear those huge tires, WTB Vigo saddle, Thomson seatpost and stem, Easton EC70 bar, SRAM X9 shifter and derailleur, Avid Elixir CR brakes. Oh, and a very rare Chis King purple headset. It’s sort of a maximized Pugs, and I’d like $1500 for it. Would like to sell it locally as shipping this beast would be a small fortune.

The Gozarian

Yup, seeing as how all the cool places I used to travel to ride are going to be within a day’s drive, I won’t need this frame any more.

$650 – worth it for the S&S couplers alone. Plus you can run a belt on it if you are so inclined. The frame is a large Niner SIR9, modified to be single speed only.

SRAM XX 2×10 group

$1200 OBRO and you can tell me what size rotors (180/160/140) to send with it. Brakes are the World Cup model. Crank is the BB30 version, cassette is the 11-36t, and includes a new in box BB30 bearing set up. Very, very low miles on this group.

Rock Shox Reba SL

Enduro seals, fresh rebuild and oil. 159mm or ~ 6,1/4″ steerer. $200

Formula Oro Pro brakes

No rotors, used but twice. These are good stoppers and are perfect for riders with smaller hands. They didn’t work for me ergonomically, so they got stashed in a corner a long time ago and forgotten about. $150, remember – no rotors.

All of this stuff is good stuff that needs a good home. I take Paypal or ca$hmoney. If anything here tickles your fancy, please let me know and I can arrange to have it in your hands as expeditiously as possible.

And if this ins’t enough stuff, I’ll probably find more to post tomorrow, along with another announcement that is completely not bike related.

The Waiting

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 16:08:19 +0000

Much like that Tom Petty song, the waiting is beginning to get to me. With 3 full weeks of VT life left to go, I am making lists and checking them thrice. A lot of the things require a lot of hurry up and wait, something I’m not that good at. I’ve been filling the time in between by dividing my worldly possessions into chuck/keep/sell piles. Then there is the bring/leave pile that is to be divined from the keep pile. the immediate needs vs what I can wait a few months for, or to be more specific, what fits in the 4runner.

It’s the sell pile I need to work on right now though.

People have a tendency to hold on to way too much stuff, and I am certainly no exception. I’ve really been making an effort to pare everything down to the necessities. Having the shop gave me an excuse to have excess bike baggage, and tomorrow I’ll have the list of sellables ready to present. I need to organize them into an easily accessed location, as everything is scattered. There are some goodies…

The youngling is looking forward to his first big road trip, so far I have a few roadside attractions planned along the way. This will be a great opportunity for me to do some fun stuff as a parent, and open a little kids eyes to the vastness that is this country. Niagra Falls, The Air Force Museum in Dayton, the Arch in St Louis, but then I’m coming up pretty blank. Does anyone know of any kid friendly things to do in Kansas City and points west? Gladly taking suggestions for things not too far off the 70.

Come back tomorrow to see what I’m getting rid of, there just might be something that I can live without that you might need.

Westward Ho!

Tue, 29 Jan 2013 13:49:42 +0000

There have been many rumblings and speculations about what I am up to exactly. Well, now I can officially tell you. I am leaving VT.

It all started about 2 years ago, when my life underwent a pretty radical change. My 3 week road trip of the southwest awakened me to the fact that I was in fact, completely miserable where I was, both mentally and geographically. However owning a business, and more importantly, being a parent made “just picking up and leaving” very unlikely. So, for a long time, I waited. Patience is a Jedi trait I lack, but is definitely one I have been working on.

Well, it seems as if my patience has paid off. The business is no longer a factor, I have gotten rid of all but a few remaining items of inventory, and have placed B29 in carbonite, until such time as it might be needed again.

The parent part, well, that is ongoing, but negotiations have been made and long term plans set in motion. The subject has been broached with the little guy, who was both excited for the new opportunity for a new life in a new place, and sad that he would miss his friends that he has known since he was a baby. It was a very hard thing to do, break a little kids heart, but I know he’ll be OK. These next few months will be difficult, but the best things in life are seldom easy. These last few months have certainly been hard on me, but I have chosen to think of them as the universe’s way of purging all the unnecessary crap out of my life. Kind of like jettisoning the garbage before making the jump to hyperspace.

On February 25th, I put the Green Mountain state in my rear view mirror, and point towards the Rocky Mountains. This isn’t the bummer ending of Empire, rather a new beginning in the wake of life altering change. Plus I hear there is some good mountainbiking out there…

More updates to follow, stay tuned…

2013… Off to a Good Start?

Mon, 07 Jan 2013 15:54:09 +0000

I’d say so. In fact, the last day of 2012 was pretty darn good. The saying goes “out with the old, in with the new”, and this was the case for me in terms of my vehicular transportation. Face friends know that my car was backed into and dented pretty badly, enough for $1200 worth of repairs to the door. Well, the Saab was a good car, by far the best I’ve ever owned, but she was getting a little long in the tooth. 8 years is a long time to have a car, I’d say I got my money’s worth. With insurance check in hand, I decided it was the time to make my move. On Dec 31st, I bought a 2006 Toyota 4runner. I am stoked.

Also got my first good trundle of the year in. Mandy and I headed out on the VAST network near the old homestead, our goal to see how close to Middlesex Notch we could get in the amount of daylight we had to work with. Conditions were pretty good, a little soft, but manageable. The snowmobile tracks are definitely packed down enough, save for a few spots that required some walking. The terrain was rolling, with a few rotten fall line climbs, but hey, these trails aren’t designed with bicycles in mind.

cheers big ears

It was a pretty grueling slog on the way out, mostly uphill, but we stopped at a nice little clearing and hoisted a couple of PBRs that I had stashed min my jersey pockets. The trail kicked up pretty sharply just beyond, and with an hour of daylight left, we figured this was a good turn around point. As it was mostly up on the way out, it was mostly down on the way back. Riding the Trundleraptor fast is pretty exhilerating. You never really can be sure that you will have grip at any given time. The best practice is to have a good attitude, and be totally OK with ending up in a pile on the ground (I did).

dropping in

when I says woah, I mean woah!!!

All in all it was a good outing, and the ride definitely fueled some winter bike stoke in me. My brain got to thinking about some sort of ridiculous snow bike enduro… Oh yes… I’m hatching some sort of hair brained, night time, point to point race, involving bacon, booze and likely, fire. After all, you have to do something in VT in the winter to stay sane.