17 January 2009 - 1:17Man Day 2009, and the rest of the week…

I’ll recap what I can remember about Man Day 2009. 

7 of us got together for a day of skiing/snowboarding up at Jay Peak, followed by aprés, more aprés, then dinner and then several beers. Not necessarily  the best behavior from a bunch of “mature” adults. Actually, I’d be surprised if any of us would be allowed to ever do something like this again.

Dr. Jones (who is not really a doctor) presented the group with the new Bike 29 shop shirts, cool Oakley mechanic shirts, with the B29 Jet logo above the left chest pocket, and our individual names over the right. Our group consisted of Ham Fist (Davey, named for his riding style), That Guy (Shaun, if you’d ever had a beer with him, you’d understand), Token (Jay, the token roadie), Daddy Nat (we couldn’t print what we normally call him on a shirt), Dr Jones (think Short Stop in Temple of Doom), and myself, The Monkey (very self explanatory really). Also present, was young Will Hansen from Sugarbush Resort, and our guide at Jay for the day Dean Zorn. The shirts are a very royal blue, and the Jet logo is the love child of NASA and Boeing.

Well, our first bartender at Jay thought we were from NASA, so we decided that we were from that point on.

The night ended up with all of us getting home safely, thanks to Token, and his amazing ability to be responsible. He looks like he’s having a good time right?

When Monday is the highlight of the week, you know that things are way off. A giant Arctic air mass swept the region late Tuesday night, and the temperatures have fallen ever since. Last night we had a record low of -33°F. That’s pretty cold. I have no problem admitting that I couldn’t cut it in the Yukon. 

I would like to give a shout out to the products (in no particular order) that have made my life a lot easier these last few days.

1. Flannel lined Carhartts

2. Burton AK LZ Down Jacket

3. Keen Summit County Boots

I can’t even tell you how stoked I am to go to Arizona next week, even if I am going to get my ass handed to me. It will be good to ride the bike again, and also to develop a taste for having my ass handed to me. SSWC09 is only 8 short months away!

The pup is doing great. He is really fitting in well at the shop. When he isn’t greeting the visitors of the day, he mostly sleeps under my desk, but can be found sometimes people watching out of the front window. He’s so very cute. This weather is tough on a pooch, I haven’t been able to take him out to get thoroughly tired since Sunday.

I’ve been staying warm at the shop by building wheels like a fiend. Among the many sets that have been twisted up, are a set for one of Vassago’s team riders, and our very own Mike Maggs. I’m lacing his SSCW09 Victory Wheels, King hubs (natch), 355s, Super Comps and GOLD nips. 

I’m also sorry to say, that our man in the woods at Jay, Dean, suffered a catastrophic biff on Tuesday, and lost the use of one of his collar bones for a while. We’re all bummed to hear the news, but glad that we all got a chance to play together on snow with no injuries. Without Dean, we would have been stuck on lame, in bounds skiing/snowboarding, instead of the secret ultra-local stashes we tore it up on. Heal up Dean, two wheel season is coming!