Not that anyone will miss it or even know that it was gone for awhile. I am working on a new ProBikeSupport.com site. I want to host my photo's and possibly some of my artwork there as well as info about me.

Go check it out in it's infant stage. 

G

I am afraid to admit this on an open forum but,.....

I am really enjoying catching up with old friends on Facebook. It's not nearly as slimy as myspace but still. It's easier to chat and catch up with friends, you should check it out. 

The shop has been slammed lately, thank god. I love it when it is busy and we are overbooked, I have my work cut out for me. We have been receiving loads of new product including new bikes which helps.

I worked the Encinitas Century again this year. This time I was in the WRX and JRowe was in the B&L truck. This year seemed to have more amateur cyclists than last year if you know what I mean. Either way I had fun, it's great to help people complete a goal. Lots of flats, a couple weird repairs (including duct taping someones sole to her shoe) and really hot temps. 

If you haven't heard through the grapevine... I am moving to a new apartment soon. I am really excited for a change in scenery. I never really wanted the cottage I live in, it just worked out best at the time. The new place is in Cardiff-by-the-Sea (west of the 5) and has an ocean view if you stand on your toes. Plus it has a garage that I have needed badly for awhile.

****UPDATE****

I forgot to mention that I will be living next to the coolest guy in California. Not to mention his friendship was instrumental in me getting the apartment.

That's about it right now. 

G

THIS is what it should look like.

What's the issue with this picture?

I somehow came into contact with something I am allergic to. For the past 6 days I have had itchy, burning red eyes. It was pretty bad Monday & Tuesday, I stayed home from work. Thanks to Zyrtec and Allergan Eye drops I'm beginning to feel like myself again.

I stopped by Squadra to fix Doughboy's BB creak. After repacking the BB, Thile and I noticed the above mentioned "issue". Always check your mechanics paperwork, make sure he is proficient in all bicycles. Dough brought in some Teriyaki from Surf Brothers. It was tasty. There is one in Encinitas, I'll have to try it out.

And they say Neon colors are dead.....

Here is T-Bag and his newly re-built, re-painted Cheeta DH bike. NIce scheme!



Now when he shows up wearing a fanny pack and a Vaurnet T-Shirt i'll start worrying.

Stubby finally purchased a new MTB just in time for his Santa Cruz trip.

He came into the shop yesterday and bought a 2008 Stumpjumper Expert. It's been 6-7 years since he has had a new geared MTB.

I am sort of glad the writer strike happened, they have brought new life to the office.....

Last Friday Geri, TeeBag and I rode Lake Hodges. Too most that doesn't mean much to me it means a lot.

It was my first MTB ride of 2008. The flu, food poisoning and various other sicknesses kept me from riding my bike. I am glad I waited, if I had gotten sicker it could have been worse. Needless to say my tired old legs were out of shape. Plus it was blazing hot out there (90 degrees). I told the guys it was going to be a slow ride but, they had other thoughts. I decided to explore.

I rode out to a trail near the boat docks that I hadn't ridden in 10 years or so. Last time I had been out there my buddies and I got stranded after night fall and had to be rescued by a passing boat. Luckily for T and G, I didn't relay that story as we adventured down the trail. The beginning was tight singletrack followed by some treacherous off camber. Around the bend was a burned out Nissan Pathfinder (I can't remember if it was there the last time). The trail became a little more loose than I remembered and turned uphill. Geri began to huff and puff. TeeBag was blazing a trail for us and I was sweating my ass off (literally).

The views were spectacular, the trail was superb (other than some hike-a-bike sections and the day was exactly how I envisioned it. Geri ended up turning around early but, TeeBag and I headed east to the 15. Most of the trails are closed but, we rode as many as we could before I started bonking. BTW the new Powerbar Fruit Smoothie bars are really tasty.

I don't know whether I have rekindled my love of MTBing or not but, I can say it was a great day.

I love California.


This was my view most of the day.

I'm jealous....

JRowe asked me to work the Redlands Classic with him. To most that doesn't sound too strange. JRowe volunteers for the Mavic Neutral Support Crew (SSC) and he needed a jumper (someone who jumps from a car to change out a wheel for a racer) to help out. I'm in!

I drove up Thursday afternoon and met the team at the hotel before dinner. It's amazing how such different people can come together and make a solid team. Most of the guys are shop mechanics hailing from St. Louis to NorCal. 

Who hasn't noticed the yellow cars and moto's in large pro races. Take a look at some of the photos on Velonews or CyclingNews, you'll see yellow. Although unfortunately I didn't have to get out of the car I was stoked to see the race from that vantage point, the radios, the commraderie between cars and closeup view of the racers.

Stories soon....

The Del Mar Crit was last Saturday. I kind of wish there had been more this year. Saturday's race was epic though. My day started at 7:00am, setting up the tent and my pit.

The first few races were junior races and they were pretty harmless (a few flats, a derailleur adjustment, etc.). Lots of friends stopped by throughout the day which is always good. Stubby and Vanilla stopped by during their ride. Chris Allen from Specialized, BigAss stopped by after the Swami's ride, TeeBag hung out with his camera most of the day and loads of our team riders (DeWalt, SDBC and Jensifer) hung out in the pit between races.

During the 45+ race one of the UCCyclery racers wrecked pretty hard. He was taken to the hospital. Unfortunately the ambulance had to return before the next race could commence. That left the 35+ riders to warm up on course for close to 45 minutes until the ambulance returned. 5pence flew in from Jersey (the island off UK) a couple days before and decided to do the race. In spectacular form he pulled a fourth place finish. Good job little man

.
The Pro 1/2/3 race included a few Rock Racing guys, Jelly Belly and Toyota United. A Team Type 1 guy came into the pits looking for a neutral wheel, the pits are wheels in/ wheels out (riders bring a spare set of wheels to me, if they get a flat on course they ride to the pit and I change wheels for them). How can a pro show up at a race and not have a spare? It turned out he had his wheels at his car he just didn't want to use them. One of the Toyota United guys rolled in with a flat, also no spare. I offered him my trusty crappy 9spd spare. He was in the break so he took it. I rolled him back in and he stayed with the break. As soon as he was off I decided to fix his flat, it was a good thing he was back after 10 laps or so. I installed his wheel and rolled him in. He ended up getting third! 

I was completely surprised when he came by the pit after the race and thanked me for the help. That completely made my day.

It was a long day but, a good one.

Good God how long has it been.....

Wow the shop is kicking right now. Saturday I had a line out the door waiting for yours truly to work on their bikes plus we had 7 or so scheduled repairs to do. Tis the season!

So I was rocking my "Evil" T-shirt today. M&M, The Queen and I are sitting at the Tide and a bunch of people are staring at me. You'd think I would be used to it now that I am famous but, it was kind of wierd. I realized they were noticing my shirt. It's kind of funny people treat me differently when I wear anything that says "Evil". They are just jealous. 

I am getting back on the bike tomorrow. I haven't decided which bike though, maybe the Javaboy. We'll see if some exercise will cure me.

Today's links:

iPhone Atlas 

Software Training by Lynda

Alan Casagrande's Bongo Bay Studio

SyCip Headquarters

The Queen of Neoprene and I drove up to Solvang for the Tour of California.

I love road trips. Whether they are day trips or week long trips I am in. The Queen and I left after work on Thursday night. We drove up the Belmont Shores to stay at her friends house. On the way The Queen introduced me to Pinkberry.

I normally don't like frozen yogurt but, it was excellent! Too bad the closest one to San Diego is in Temecula. In the morning we left early enough to miss most of the traffic and made it to Solvang an hour before the Time Trial started. The atmosphere at the ToC races is pretty unique. It's not the spectators you would expect to see. Groups of kids, dogs and families milling about. There was the usual smattering of bike geeks, shop geeks and industry people. The race was fun to watch but, the best part for me was walking through the team areas. They had grouped the teams in a large parking lot and it was opened to the public. Thankfully not everyone knew it and it wasn't packed. We were able to stand 3 feet from Boonen, Bettini, Hincapie and everyone else while they were warming up on trainers. All the racers we saw were happy to talk to the fans and sign autographs.

The sickness has passed..... for now.

Two weeks ago most of San Diego and I caught the flu. The strain was impervious to most medication and is still lingering with me in form of a cough. I hate being sick. Most of the time when I get a cold, it lasts a few days then withers away, not this time. I missed 4 days of work and many times thought overdosing on Mucinex might be better. It took a little over 7 days to get my energy back. I am not yet up to riding but, soon.

Well do the math. I did not go to 24 hours in the Old Pueblo this year. It's the first time in 7 years that I missed it. Although I wouldn't go straight to "missed". The forecast had snow, rain and cold temps. With my flu condition there was no way I was going to risk a pneumonia. It looks like it was a good decision. The guys were held up getting out of town because of black ice, snow and mud slides on the 8 east. When they arrived in Tucson it was snowing and cold. Yuck.

At least it let up for the race. Unfortunately the weather was the only good change during the first lap. Elliott went first for the guys. On his way out the fire road toward the first climb, a jackass nudged his handlebar and he flipped over the bars breaking his collarbone and fracturing his elbow. Poor SOB. For the complete story and xRay photo's checkout the B&L Blog.

Jens turned 40 last night (at least thats what are waitress thought)!

Great turn out for another Jens slam-fest, sorry buddy. Dainty, RL.com + his better half, Kaiser, Tracy the neighbor, Mike &J, Aaron & Heather, Mattallica, BigAss, The Sheppard, Me and Tater Tot celebrated Jens' birthday at Masuo's.  

Fun was had by all, at little strange and confusing but, fun. 

Well.... where to begin. Here is a synopsis;

1) Had a nightmare date last week. She might have been an axe murderer but, I escaped narrowly. (Long story)

2) I started working out again to get back some fitness. I rode in the YMCA Spin-a-thon again this year and had my ass handed to me, I am still sore. I rode my bike Saturday, Sunday and Monday (I think I am riding to work today as well).

3) The Queen of Neoprene and I went to 4 Super Bowl parties on Sunday. I ended up back at #1 (The bearded ladies house) for beer pong spectating.

4) My new MTB cranks should be in this week! With Old Pueblo so soon, it might Tucson where I try them out.

I am officially jealous of Geri.....

(Any guesses what this is?)

Just my luck. As soon as I start feeling the urge to ride...It starts to rain and I get a cold.

Today was eventful to say the least. I was able to hammer out all the repairs for today, start a big one for tomorrow (Complete overhaul including new parts), Specialized calls to tell us that they are hooking Geri up with a new frame (Huge upgrade, pictures tomorrow) and I made it the entire day without coughing. Yay.

I am really lucky to have a kick ass job, a million friends (I think that is a literal number, everywhere I go I know someone) and a clean house. I have been noticing that I am happier than I have been in awhile. Oh well...I 'm sure things will change.

The project is 95% complete! It's a great thing being able to see your floor. 

Whenever I turn on the iPod or iTunes lately I go directly to this band. I probably will play it so often that I get sick of it (like TV on the radio, etc. DB puts that band on repeat all day. ugh.). Have any guesses who it is?

Wednesday's night ride was a success! The 6 of us explored Lake Hodges and found that the "upper" trails are still closed and the Highland Valley Trail is closed as well. It still was a blast. 

This photo was taken during the day but, you can tell the trails are coming back.

 This weekend Jensifer and I are cruising up to Vail Lake for another 12 Hours of Temecula. This is the cold one. I have to remember to bring every piece of warm clothing I own. Tommy T is also racing this one. It will be his first solo 12 hour race. Luckily he has the mental power, we'll see if he has the leg power. Good luck Tommy!