My new ride!!! WOOHOO!!!

Well here it is.




For those that don't know I blew up the Honda (piston stuck in the cylinder), so while I have the BRP (Big Red Pig) all in pieces I needed a way to get back and forth to work and what not. Also the Wife and I have been talking about buying a sport touring bike for awhile. So here it is.

WOO HOO!!

Ta for now

Brian Y

Surviving

Well I survived the Chemistry class from Hell. Now it is done and I am kind of left swimming in how I managed to still get an A. I guess turning all of the homework and doing your best for the algebra part helps somewhat.

Been doing some riding, and working my ass off at work. Crazy with repairs and not nearly enough mechanics.

Trying to figure out when and how I can get out for a dual sport ride at some point. The motorcycles are getting kind of fed up with pavement and they need some real dirt.

thats it for now.

Brian

Black Magic, and sickness

Now not that I am saying I particularly believe in curses or anything, but damnit. Okay so first I get sick and then Dan Frayer calls me to tell me about this evil green Voodoo, that is somehow cursed and he cannot keep it. Hmm, sounds good I will take it!!!

So here it is I am the proud owner of a Voodoo Dambala (steel for real)29er.




Of course it gets the Bandit seal of Approval


Also with this bike Dan and I have started an interesting dicussion. "The Forever Bike"

What is the forever bike? Well this is the bike that you love. It is not just some bike that you have for a few years and then pedal off to someone else.

As we are well aware (well some of us are), the bike industry is a fickle lot that changes it's mind more than Dan Frayer changes bikes... sorry Dan. Like Dan says on his blog, they are constantly reinventing the bike in order to keep sales figures up. Year after year people constatly eat this stuff up and buy the "latest thing", only to sell it two years later when it now "sucks so much ass!!" Of course you do have the guys that still rock the Trek Y-bikes, and the Schwinn S-series, some Homegrowns are still out there, but these were from the hey day of Moutain bikes, and also when I got started in the industry. I can't remember a cooler bike than the Bass Boat Homegrowns from 98-99. Made by Yeti and schwinn was still cool.

Now Schwinn sucks, cannondale is owned by Pacific, and Trek is making a name for itself in the world of Mtn. Bikes again. You have to love that change but what lasts and lasts and lasts.

1. Bikes have never really changed, two wheels and the double triangle frame is still the basis for all bikes designs. (Lasts!!)

2. Aluminum has kind of become the alloy of choice for the industry, but it doesn't last and doesn't have any sort of staying power. The fatigue life is so short maybe 5 years of steady riding. Steel is in fact real. (Aluminum doesn't last :(

3. Gone are the Trek 990's and 930's of yore. We do still have the Ferrous from Fisher and that is a bike that makes me feel funny in the neather regions. Steel lasts:)

4. Fads come and go but bikes will forever be here, correct me if I am wrong on this one. Whether is be a road bike made of fancy carbon bits, or that old Schwinn StingRay the Bicycle lasts :), and that is a very good thing.

But what is this idea of the Forever bike... I shall discuss more in the future.

TTFN

A Long winter

Okay so it has been a long winter that just won't frickin let up. So this is what happens when I have a long winter...





You make your cross check into a Monster Cross mountain bike, and you finally finish that bike rack you have been trying to build for a good long while. I also spent a good while getting my Yamaha ready to sell. I don't know that I want to sell it as it is an awesome bike. But I would really like a lower credit card balance. With all of the mods I did to the Honda it shouldn't be that bad off road anyhow this year.

So what are my plans for this summer:

May 11, Spring Ahead 40 (road tour)
May 17, 12 Hours of Addison Oaks (solo???)
June 12, Lumberjack 100 crewing for Dan and Brent
June 18-22, Ride with Zigman from Advrider, on a Dual sport adventure.
July 9, Turn 30 years old and drink some beer
July 14, Celebrate my 30th birthday with friends and family at my brothers place in Kzoo

July 26, go see the frickin Police with Elvis Costello.... WHOOO HOOO (Thank you sweety for my sweet birthday present)

August 17, 12 Hours of Pando with Dave Schnurstein (my bro inlaw)
September 5, ODRAM (one day ride across Michigan)
October 4-5, Tour of the White Pine Trails


Plus several rides up north on the motorcycle, and a ton of moutain biking around the Detroit metro region.

Man I better start riding my bike these are some long rides. Well I plan on starting to commute to work and that is almost 50 miles round trip so a few days of that a week and I should be good to go in no time.

later,
Brian

My maps

Hey all (probably just Dan and Jason), here are some maps I created.

Also American Cycle and Fitness decieded they were cool enough and even put them on their website.
http://americancycleandfitness.com/page.cfm?pageID=29
I am now a published map maker.

The inspiration for these maps was that I was constatly going to MMBA.org and then looking up where the trails were. Now I can just go here and click on the trail click "to here" and then I have a map.

Just click and go no waiting.

Riding outside

Okay so I said screw the trainer and threw the old Planet Bike fenders back on the Cross Check this morning and braved the cold. I forgot how wonderful it was to ride in some water without being covered by mud and water. I mean you can just ride right through the water and not even get wet. This I am sure is an amazing discovery. I am gonna be frickin rich...!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Got a Chem test tomarrow and I can't say as I really understand what it is I am studying, which is about par for this course...(golf joke, and I don't even play golf).

After almost a year of love and many great rides (actually not that many), the Gary Fisher Hi Fi should be meeting its new owner tomarrow.

For me well lets just say this...



Surly Cross Check+ Bontrager Jones 29 x 1.8+ Cross top levers= loads of fun and a do everything bike.

Listening to the Constantines, and Flaming lips... Yoshimi battles the pink robots.

Diet... not to bad, didn't drop any weight this week, but I am not trying very hard. Just trying to eat better and ride my bike more. Hopefully get to go swimming tonight with Laura.

Til next time,

Brian

MMBA expo and fork spring installed...

Alright then, so today was the easiest day of overtime ever. I got to hang out at the MMBA expo up in Davisburg Michigan and get paid to talk to people about the cool mountain bikes. This was an alright time. Lots of people just hanging out looking at cool bikes and a few even going over to get some awards. I was stuck in the ACF booth most of the time so I didn't get much of a chance to go see people speak.

There were some really good deals on stuff, but I restrained myself from shelling out the cash for parts that I don't really need. All I am craving at the moment is some big ol meats for the Surly Cross check.

After that I finally got the chance to install the new fork spring for the motorcycle. Not hard to do at all. I question the weight of the suggested fork oil but hey I'll give er a try and if'n it aint workin' I's just changer on out again. That part was super easy. Some pics of that if it will work this time...???

And now for project "Put a bike rack on the motorcycle MK II" This time IT WILL WORK. Well actually it worked last time, but it was a little on the long side.

Oh yeah, week 1 of diet 1.5 lbs. Kinda question that with water weight and all but hey. Didn't do too bad, rode 4 days and used the flex bands for several more.

Woohooo...

Til, next time.

Brian