Since We Were Together Last . . .

Since I last bothered to update this blog I've done a few things. 
Here's a few of the highlights in no particular or chronological order:

 

 Little and I spent some quality time together.

 

He loved going out an rallying dirt trails  on his push bike.

 

A three year old working on his no handers over the table top in the 

backyard is enough to make a parent worry about what the

 adolescent years have in store.  He also showed off his 

Superman seat grab more than once.

I got the realest job I've ever had.  I'm talking Mon-Fri, 

8am-5pm, shirts tucked in real.  

Did that for a couple months and tried to quit.  

Reached an understanding with my employer, 

now I work part time.

 

Got LoL to join me for a fatbike beach 

ride I've had on my radar since 2005.

 

Ever since I talked to Pat after he and Kathy did their pioneering beach ride I've wanted to find this cabin.  

The riding, nor the cabin, did not disappoint.

 

 

This little dude mastered the combination of pedals and balance.  

Never had training wheels.  He loved it and so did dad.

Still need to work on mastering the concept of 

speed control through braking.

 

My parents came to visit and my dad left 

with his first new bike in 25 years.

(A Surly Ogre.)  We went and rode it in 

the mountains, which made him smile. 

He's been taking it out for lots of 

fun adventures since he got home.

 

We welcomed a sweet little girl into our family in July 

(part of the motivation for my parents' visit.)

She is happy, healthy and awesome. 6 months old this week.

 

I continue to perform much of my own bike maintenance.

Occasionally with interesting results. 

 

Did some fishing, but not nearly as much as we'd like.

He wanted to keep every fish we caught that day. 

I let him keep this one.

That kid devoured every last crumb of that little trout

 

Did I mention fatbiking on the beach near Nikiski?

That was awesome.

 

My brother came to visit.

We rode bikes.

 

Pink

Spring is most definitely in the air (you can smell 6 months worth of dog waste melting out of the snowbanks) and we have been blessed with a good long stretch of beautiful cloudless days.  The trails have remained in fantastic condition, freezing firmly on the cold clear nights and staying firm almost all day long, and I have been fortunate enough to get some excellent riding in on a new (to me) bike.

That pink fatbike you see is now legally mine.  The previous owner was kind enough to allow me a good long window to test ride and think about the purchase.  Mrs. was in love with it the minute she saw it and has no qualms about being married to a man who rides around on an XL pink bike.  Getting her stamp of approval was not insignificant.

The bike fit me amazingly well as soon as I threw a leg over it.  It's not often I hop on another person's bike and don't feel the urge to fiddle with one thing or another.
The story is that the bike was originally built up by a local shop/fatbike company employee.  He put in the special request for a XL frame in pink and then decked it out in the parts you might expect from guy who gets a shop discount:  XTR rear derailleur, SLX front, Mr. Whirly crank, cut out Speedway 70mm rims,  Thomson stem, etc.
Apparently he moved out of state not too long after finishing the build and a casual friend of mine scooped it up for a steal.  However, it seems that for my friend the lure of 800cc snowmachines trumped pedal power and the bike saw almost no action for the past two winters.

Long story short, he was happy to let the bike go to someone who would ride it, the bike fit me and Mrs. approved.  I initially hesitated, but encouragement and sound advice from a couple of fellow bike junkies pushed me over the edge.

It may be pink, but it rides like the darkest black of a moonless night.

I'm secure enough to enjoy the obvious jokes that will ensue. My favorite so far was the woman on horseback asking if I had borrowed my wife's bike.
I've actually had a thing for pink frames ever since I first saw Pat Irwin's pink 1x1 eight or nine years ago.
I figure with one kid and another on the way my manhood is adequately accounted for and I shouldn't let a good deal pass me by.

Changes thus far:
The bike came with a horribly narrow carbon bar, so I swapped it for an On-One Mary bar before I rode it for the first time.  The Mary bar is nice, but I think I'll ultimately change it out for something with a little less back sweep.  I was thinking a Salsa Whammy bar would be nice, but it seems no one is selling them these days.  On-One Fleegle perhaps.  To be determined.

It also had Endomorph tires front and rear, which had amazingly awkward handling characteristics.  I've since swapped those for (27tpi) Larrys.  I picked one Larry up cheap at the local bike swap and acquired the other from a guy on craigslist who wanted to trade a Larry for an Endomorph, don't ask me why.  Handling was noticeably improved by the tire swap.





Down the road I'll likely get the MWOD rings for the Mr. Whirly crank.  I have absolutely no need for the big ring, and wouldn't mind moving the chain out from the rear tire a bit.

The little ski hill in town has closed for the season so I snuck over there one evening this week after a quick singletrack ride and goofed around on the groomed slopes.
Good times.

Tweed Ride 2012

While I am generally not all that into changing into special clothes just to ride my bike I do like my friends and am inclined to take part in most any bike related shenanigans they might initiate.

AK Tweed Ride 2012 was a success.  I'll spare you too many more words and instead bombard you with pictures:

We saw people partying all over town. This party had sumo suits and plans to smash a car.

Some blue sky and one strange building on our ride to the ride.

A couple of the ride's co-conspirators.

Didn't take long and the kids in the crowd were imitating these moves.

The man behind the ride showed up with a new toy for himself.

Pashley Guv'nor. He's been eying this thing for a couple years now.

Gotta let the friends try the new bike.  I rode it.  It was very nice.

Rickshaw lets everyone get in on the action.

Softride tandem and heels.  Never thought I'd see all that in one place.

Handlebar mustache and one rockin' trackstand.

Mid ride regroup.

The Guv'nor himself.

Just a bonus when you can hook the kids up with some bouncy castle time.

Argyle and green grass.  Must be summer.

Moment of Clarity

I realized this week that my parts bin has almost enough parts to build a 26" mountainbike. Just need a frame to hang them on.

There is a Surly 1x1 frame on Craigslist for $300 in my size (it's even green).
Comes with a bottom bracket and cranks, two of the three things I don't have in the parts bin. $30 more for a headset and I'd have myself a rockin' singlespeed.

Here's the part where I realize how bad I've got the bug. . . the dishwasher is broken. It conked out a few days ago. I'm pretty sure there's no way I'm going to resurrect it, but I'll fiddle with it a bit. So we should buy a new dishwasher.

Given a choice between the 1x1 frame and new dishwasher I would choose the 1x1 in a heartbeat.

I would rather have yet another bike and have to do the dishes by hand for the foreseeable future, without a doubt.

Fortunately (?) I have a wonderful wife who won't let this happen. At the moment we don't have the money for a new dishwasher, much less a bike frame. Grad school, one income, student loans, a toddler and I'd still rather be doing the dishes by hand.




Maybe if I offer to wash ALL the dishes for the next four years she'd let me buy the frame. I'd do it to you know.

Two Days, Two Bikes

'tis the season.

Two days in a row I got messages to the effect of "got a new bike, mind if I drop by?"

Saturday LO'L swung by with a sweet Kona Major Jake he scored off of Craigslist. He already owned a Jake, but the new bike is a lot lighter with a few carbon bits and bladed spokes.
We did a quick brake job and went out for a rally in the valley.


Then Sunday afternoon Cousin RyeN came over with his long awaited Salsa Fargo. Salsa did a fine job with this rig. Comfy and utilitarian are traits I can definitely appreciate. And Cousin RyeN certainly seemed to enjoy ripping around on it.