My buddies over at Focus USA have some great news. Their first container of bikes are on the way. Read the whole story here.

Congrats guys!

Hint

Poseidon Look at Me.....

You are welcome.

Well I'm pretty tied up with life's stresses and new fangled media. So here is a new photo for you to stare at for the next week or so.

Bjorn with his newly Campagnolo equiped SyCip Pave.

Nuff said.

Got out in the Subaru this weekend for some rally fun.

It's been pretty busy around the shop lately. Lots of groupo upgrades, new bike builds and complete overhauls.

My night ride has started up as well. The last couple have had 7 or so riders which is still healthy, can't wait for another 14 riders. I've been toying with the idea of moving this blog to my website (Probikesupport).

Mary is racing the Tour Divide again this year!

Remember my links to the "Blue Dot"? Yes? No? Well my friend Mary raced the Tour Divide last year and was being tracked by a GPS based tracker called Spot. It was a really cool feature and it was nice to be able to see where she was on course.

The Tour Divide race is a 2770 mile self supported MTB race from Banff Canada to Antelope Wells New Mexico. Mary raced her first ever Tour Divide last year and was the first female to ever finish. 18 riders started the race and only 8 finished. Last year it took her 29 days to finish the race and that was impressive. She has learned a lot from last year and knows a little about what to expect.

It's going to take quite a bit to race this year (Money & Support). If you would like to contribute to her goals she is accepting checks or paypal at; Mary's Tour Divide 2009

She won't be working (no steady cash flow) and living/ eating through Fast food & gas stations. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

My legs feel less like dead weights today.

Last week marked my first full week back on the bike. I need some type of motivation to get back out there, a new paint job and groupo are working.

Monday and Tuesday last week I commuted to work via Carlsbad (I rode north to Carlsbad then turned around, for some extra miles). Wednesday I had my Night Ride that was a little faster than I had in my legs. Thursday I had an easy paced 20 miles before work. Friday I rode with DB, Bigos & Sean. Saturday was supposed to be my rest day but, I had previously volunteered to ride a spin bike at the annual YMCA Spinathon (This year I got away with only 2 hours on the bike). Sunday I rode an easy 30 miles with Karen. Today thankfully I drove to work. I'm glad I rested the legs. They were starting to feel sore.

Looks like January is the month of Recalls....

• Giant Bicycles recalled their 09 TCR frames and bicycles for faulty carbon steerer tubes.
  
• The FDA recalled most products made with peanuts including the popular Peanut Butter Clif Bar.
• Isaac Bicycles is now recalling all of their frames and bikes that were sold between 2004 and 2009. The steerer tubes are cracking.

If you have any friends still using any of these items, warn them immediately.

Did you get a gift that is a little out of the ordinary? (Tell me).

I have been asking friends and family what strange gift they have received (Doesn't have to be this year). Here are my findings so far;

1) A tap dance kit (received by a 200lb man)

2) A paper guillotine (received by a hair dresser)

3) A brand new paver brick from Mom

I don't want to hear about the LCD tv's or the Wii's. I want to see the odd gifts.

Happy Holidays!

Needless to say the past couple weeks have been hard....Heck it's been a difficult year. First I had a flu for over 3 months, I ran into some financial difficulties.... 

Then my Mom passed away. Those of you, and you know who you are, know the back story. It has been really hard. Hard to realize I can't call or email her, Hard to think about being happy again, Hard to imagine her not being there if I needed to talk. I miss her.

(that is from my sister's wedding, I was an extremely bad usher)

This week I have been dealing with an allergy attack. It's not the flu or the cold, believe me it's different. I still feel rundown though. I even stood on the sidelines tonight while friends raced go-carts at K1 Speed.

I am feeling better everyday. I hope to be riding again next week. I need to get back in the groove, soon.

I smell like smoke and my face feels sunburned. That was fun.

The Englishman turns 41 tomorrow so we celebrated today down at Moonlight Beach. Daggs, The Fitz's, Wallace and the rest of the crew met down at the beach for a fire to celebrate 2 birthdays. Old Brett and Sean clearly had dipped into the Vodka well before the meeting time. Fun was had by all, except my washing machine and hamper.

FIRST ANNUAL CAMPAGNOLO TOY DRIVE AND CHRISTMAS BIKE RIDE

"Mark your calendars for Saturday December 13, 2008 at 8:00am; this will be the kickoff of Campagnolo first annual Toy Drive and Christmas Bike Ride.
The ride will leave from the Campagnolo offices in Carlsbad ( CA) - 5431 Avenida Encinas, Suite C - at around 10:00am and we will head out for a nice ride on the coast; approximately 30 miles.
We will have some breakfast food and drink to fuel you for the ride.

It is not necessary to pre-register.

We ask you to bring a new unwrapped toy for children infant to 17 yrs of age. The toys will be donated to Children's Hospital of SD and Voices for Children- SD Chapter; these are two very deserving charities.

Please spread the word and pass this information along to anyone you think would be interested in joining Campagnolo North America staff and all Campagnolo fans.

We look forward to seeing you here, getting in a fun ride together and making a lot of children's holiday season brighter.

CampagnoloNA staff"

                                              
Every once and awhile I miss home....

Sometimes it's family, sometimes it's friends and sometimes it's the lifestyle. I recently saw an episode of "Thre Sheets" in which they traveled to Louisville to find out the difference between bourbon and whiskey. 

"All bourbon is whiskey but, not all whisky is bourbon."

Wikipedia offers a pretty good description but, I explain that bourbon has to be atleast 51% corn. Anyway during the show the host visits a new restaurant in town called "Bourbons Bistro", From the look of their 2 page Bourbon list I might need to make a trip to the 'Ville sooner than later. They offer 3 versions of my favorite bourbon of all time, Pappy Van Winkle. I have had the fortunate luck to have owned a bottle of 15yr, 18yr and 20yr Pappy. I am nursing a bottle of 18 right now. I will cry audibly when the last drop is poured into my glass (i'll keep the bottle in memory).

"There are no bad bourbons, just better bourbons."  

If anyone finds a bottle of Pappy let me know. I need to prepare for the inevitable.

Project GT is finished!

I took it out for it's shakedown ride this afternoon. Wow it's different. It is exactly as I remembered it back in 1992 but, different. The top tubes back then were short and flat. The wheelbase was long and the headtube is short. I love it!

Specs:

• 1992 GT Zaskar (ball burnished)
• 1993 GT Cro-mo fork
• 1992 Shimano M900 XTR drivetrain 
• XTR M900 Hubs laced to Mavic 517 rims (DT 1.8/ 2.0 spokes w/ black brass nipples)
• Syncros Cattle prod stem
• Syncros seatpost
• WTB SST gonzo saddle
• Onza Porc rear tire and Onza Aggro front tire (currently Continental tires)
• White Bros Titanium riser
• Oury grips
• Shimano Deore XT U-brake
• Shimano XTR M900 cantilever brakes

We had another record turnout at the Night Ride!

9 riders made it out to Lake Hodges this evening. It's great getting out there and riding away the stresses of the day. Thanks guys it was another great ride! See you in a week or so.

Here is a look at a day off for me.....

Get up around 8:30 and do a load of laundry. Get dressed and ride for an hour or so. Drive down to Pannikin. Walking up I noticed a couple guys wearing Slipstream jerseys but, assumed they were "posers" like all the Lance Armstrong's riding the coast on their Klein's. Then I see this.....

2 Team issue Slipstream/ Garmin Felts complete with Argyle Zipps and custom Garmin 705's. Oooops.

I drank my iced mocha under the shade. When they got up to leave I asked them if they were training. No, they rode 600 miles with the CAF Million dollar challenge. I introduced myself to one of the guys who looked familiar. It was Danny Pate! He was a cool guy, willing to talk to a bike geek like me. I dropped a few names and talked about the ride down. Slipstream is definitely one of my top teams, especially now.

Even though it was my day off I decided to drive down to the CAF expo and help at the booth. The expo was packed as usual. I ran into a bunch of friends and clients. Sarah Reinertson was at her booth the "Sarah Bear". Dick and Carlene Lansing from Chicago flew in for the ride. Mark from Ramona borrowed OMR's bike and did the bike leg. Etc. Sonja from Zoot/ Zipp/ SRAM worked our booth. She was selling wetsuits, shoes and compression for us. Problem is the first 3 hours we were told we weren't allowed to sell. Huh? It was worked out.

I walked around and headed to the SockGuy booth. The usual suspects were there. Foley was upset that I had a beer and he was empty handed. He immediately sent one of his lackeys to the liquor store. I think the miss me....

Bigos and I helped Sonja pack the gear and we headed back to Solana. At the shop I met M&M and we decided to go to Pizza Port for dinner. It was M&M, Sonja, Me and DB (Douche Bag for short). After dinner I headed to CVS to get a card for my nephews birthday and then stopped by M&M's house to help setup Mark's new PS3 and Rock Band. I laughed at them for awhile and then came home.

It was a full day.

Socks: Angry Dragon

Song: "Mean Mister Mustard", Beatles

All of us know at least 1 person who has or is suffering from Breast Cancer. 

"Shimano and five renowned bicycle frame builders are offering five custom bicycles being auctioned off to raise funds for the Young Survival Coalition (YSC) this month of October which is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The Shimano Alfine Pink Ribbon Fundraiser is LIVE, lasting through October 30, 2008. It is a special way for people to help raise money and awareness for Cancer research while acquiring works of art. 100% of the proceeds go to the YSC.

Each handcrafted bicycle is unique - with its own flair and personality. From the custom bicycle designs to the custom paint and graphics to the unique accessories like custom leather bags and real wood fenders, each bicycle tells an individual builder's story and reflects their own style. The custom frame builders include, Ellsworth Handcrafted Bicycles, Rock Lobster Bicycles, Sycip Designs, Torelli Bicycle Company and Vicious Cycles."

Please help if you can. 

Many of you have seen my Ti SyCip. Most of you may not know that at the time of ordering that bike, I donated cash to Susan G Komen. That is one of the reasons for the pink ano parts on it (also it looks really good). A couple women very close to me have suffered the disease and any help will count.

For more information on the auction, visit https://www.youngsurvival.org/donate/Shimano-Alfine-Auction or http://ysc08.charitybuzz.com/viewLots.do