Back on the Bike

Well, where to start......

First, news of my mountain bike. I was able to get the receipt for my original Gary Fisher from The Bike Lane in Springfield, VA. I gave that to the Trek store out here and I am hopeful that they will process my warranty claim on the bike without too much trouble. I'll keep you posted.

Second, I am finally done with all the parade stuff at work. We had a Change of Command ceremony last Friday; in the Marine Corps this means we have a parade. I was chosen to be the Commander of Troops for this parade. This is sort of cool since parades are always nice to see, but it is a lot of work. I was having to show up for work an hour and a half early everyday to practice the entire ceremony. On top of that I lost my voice because I was having to scream the various commands all week as well. But the big day came and the parade went off perfectly, if I don't say so myself.

So now we get a four-day weekend for Memorial Day! WooHoo, four days to hang out with the kids! Oh God, four whole days to hang with the kids? Seriously, it's not that bad. We were actually able to convince them to help us re-arrange the garage. This included a new contraption for hanging the bikes which is awesome and saves a ton of space. It is basically an extension pole that wedges in between the floor and the ceiling and has bars sticking out that you hang two bikes on, one of top of the other. So now the kids don't have to worry about knocking the bikes over when they come and go, which is nice.

I finally got out for a ride yesterday too; but the news is not so good there. I set out for about 50 miles but right away I knew I was not going to be able to make it that far. There was a vicious head wind along the beach and that just sapped the energy right out of me. I also had not eaten alot prior to starting so that did not help. But I suffered through and made it home without any mechanical problems, so that is good.

I think today I will take my youngest on that bike ride I have been promising her.....

A Mighty Steed Down

So another good day/bad day for the kid this weekend.

I finally got the old Mtn Bike out of the garage and back on the trail, and it looks like this might be it for her. After a great ride at Daley Ranch in Escondido I brought her home and started cleaning her up. Wouldn't you know it I found a crack in the frame! Looks like a spot has worn through the paint where the seat tube and top tube meet and has started to rust, and now there is some cracking in the rust. It was obviously fine to go almost 12 miles today, but I don't think it is going to make it for many more rides.

So this got me thinking. The wheels, fork, handlebars, and drive train on this bike are all fine; and I have always wanted to build a bike from the frame up. Here's my chance! If any of you (Brent T.) have any experience with this PLEASE get in touch with me. I am going to need all the help I can get for this project. It will be fun to tinker with it though!

Anyway, that's it for today. Don't forget to click the link over on the left and support my Ride or injured service members. Thanks for your support!

Back on the Dirt!!

So I had one of those good news, bad news type of rides the other day. Now that the sun is setting later in the day, I am able to go for a ride after work sometimes. The other day I was so excited to get out on the bike when I got home. But, I had to do some quick maintenance on the handlebars. I discovered last time I rode that one of the four bolts that holds the handlebars in position had come loose (perhaps in the crash a few rides ago?). When I tried to tighten the other three down I could not get the bars to stay in position. I got is as tight as I could and headed out.

I only got about 10 miles down the road and I knew it was not going to work. Any pressure at all on the bars and they would slip out of position. This is not particularly safe since I could not apply pressure to the brakes quickly; not good for riding on the streets. So I headed home disappointed.

When I got back home and put the bike in the garage, I realized that my trusty mountain bike was all ready to go. I had been fiddling with it the previous weekend and tuned it up. So the good news part of the story is I was able to go from road bike to mountain bike without even cooling down at all! There is a small city park near the house that has a few trails and I was able to head over there and get another 12 miles or so in! Workout saved!!

I had forgotten how much fun riding on the dirt is. The next few days at work I was able to round up some guys to go for a dirt ride this weekend. Can't wait for that!

If It Wasn't For Bad Days....

If it wasn't for bad days, there wouldn't be good ones. Or so the saying goes. Recently I have been proving that addage true. First I had the crash last Saturday, then yesterday I was having a great ride and had a mechanical.

I set out to do a 30 mile Time Trial in less than 1.5 hours. I knew this would be tough as it would require me to maintain a better than 20 mph pace. I got to the half-way point in 42 mins, right on schedule. About a mile after turning around though I got a flat tire. Darn it all! Why do things like that only happen when one is having a really great ride?! Oh well, I thought. I can change a tire pretty quick and this will give me some time to reflect.

So I whip out my fresh tube, tool kit, and CO2 cartridge. I get the old tube off no problem, but I had a devil of a time getting the tire back on the rim with the new tube inside. When I finally get it on I blast the CO2 air into the tire and go to put the wheel back on the bike. That's when I notice that the tire has "burped" off the rim! This is bad. It means I have to let the air out of the tire, put the tire back on the rim, and re-inflate the tire. Only problem is I have no more air. The CO2 cartridges are great, but you only get one shot. Once you use it, it's done.

So now I had a flat tire, and no way to fix it. Time to call in the emergency back-up plan. My lovely wife was kind enough to pile the kids in the car and come rescue me. She has in fact been incredibly supportive of this whole endeavor and I definitely would not be able to do it without her support. Hopefully I have learned my lesson and I won't have to abuse her support like this again.

Thanks or checking in on this post, and don't forget to visit my donation page on the left if you haven't already. Thank you very much for your support!

Testing the Legs

So after the crash I had yesterday, I thought it would be a good idea to get out for a ride to make sure everything was still working.

We took the kids down to the beach for some fun in the sand and my lovely wife was kind enough to let me bring the bike and take a ride from there. I did about 40 miles and the legs felt fine. Tired from the 53 miles the day before, but still fine. I guess that means I am okay! Sweet!