The new steed...

A while back, I sold my Vassago Optimus Ti. It was the second generation of the Optimus, the first generation with Paragon Sliders. I really wanted to love the bike, but it was never love. Don't get me wrong, it was sweet, there just wasn't that connection, so off it went. The funds from the Optimus as well as my King wheels were used to fund a patio in the back yard. Some time later, I got the bug for a full suspension bike. Small wheels, chi-chi build list.... rode it for about 1.5 months and just hated everything about it. The small wheels stalled on everything I had gotten used to cleaning, I could never tell where the front wheel was going, and the rear end liked to act like an old VW beetle and squat down every time I'd get on the gas, even with propedal engaged. Off it went. So I saved a bit and looked high and low for a good deal. What I found was a 2008 Lynskey Custom (very similar to a Pro 29). It was love at first sight. Nice swoopy top tube, hand made in TN, by people who have been in the Ti game for a very long time. I jumped!





Spec's are as follows.

Frame: 2008 Lynskey Custom 29er size small paragon drop out for SS or gears
Fork: 2007(?) On-One Rigid Carbon Fork (bought it from a friend locally)
Sus. Fork 200? Rock Shock Reba something or another for those lazy days
Headset: Chris King Black
Stem: Thomson Elite 90mm x 5* 25.4 clamp
Bar: Salsa Moto Ace 660mm x 11* 25.4
Brakes: Hayes El Camino 160 ft & rr
Crank/BB: Raceface Deus XC 22,32,44 geared 32 with Anderson Bash Guard for SS
Pedals: Time ATAC XS Carbon
Wheels: King ISO laced 3x to Stans Flows with DT Swiss DB spokes & green nipples
Seat Post: Thomson Elite
Saddle: WTB Silverado

I did my typical Madrone trail shake down ride. I was having some serious disc rub and couldn't isolate it on the trail. This happened only while weight was on the bike and I feared that I had the dreaded Ti Flex causing the chain/seat stay to flex making the rotor rub in the caliper. I disconnected the rear caliper and loaded it up and sure enough the squeaking went away. I then noticed that I had a tremendous amount of chain tension. When I got home I replaced the BMX chain with an 8 spd Shimano chain and made sure not to preload the bearings too much with chain tension. I then noticed that @ the BB, that was installed in a hurry, I neglected to add the 2.5mm spacer on the non-drive side which also could have been the culprit in the "flex" and rub. I installed the 2.5mm non-drive spacer, put it all back together and am ready for shake down ride # 2. Of course, being fall/winter in Texas means that we were blessed with a ton of wet stuff last night, so the second shake down ride will have to wait for the trails to dry out.

In other news, only ~ a month left for school. I've really had a hard time getting back into the swing of things and am afraid I bit off more than I could chew with my sciences. While I'm doing well in Chemistry, Anatomy & Physiology is suffering and I'm afraid I'll be repeating that course. At least I'll have a solid base for next go!

Cheers,

Rain...

We finally got some rain! I've never been so excited to see the wet stuff falling from the sky. We all went outside and did a little dance. E actually put on her fancy boots and ran around nude... yep these will be the photo's we bring out in those dark teen years to knock her down a peg or two.

The rain barrel filled up quickly and began overflowing. The temperature fell. It was a beautiful thing. We had several days of rain that followed, and I was glad for it. The little riding I get to do has been on very dry dusty trails, the rain will bed things down nicely. All of this time in the sun really has made us appreciate seasons and weather so much more. It's not that we don't appreciate nice sunny warm or hot days, just that variety is the spice of life, and it's been too long that we haven't had any variety. Thank you rain gods!

English Composition, Anatomy, Physiology, and Chemistry...

.... so I've been stupid busy over the last week and a half or so. Started classes full time, no time to read other blogs let alone post to my own lame blog. For those that are following along:

English Composition. Can I take a moment to rant? This class exists solely to justify to those that wasted their time in this major, why English Composition is important. I've held some mid level positions in some very large corporations, and I can tell you that nothing I ever put my hands on adhered to the MLA standards. Also, has anyone noticed that the fields that once were so prominent and probably used this garbage regularly are going away? It's called evolution folks, colloquial language is the majority, MLA is a minority and shrinking ever day.

On a positive note, I love Chemistry so far, and although there is a ton to absorb, Anatomy and Physiology are excellent as well.

On the bike front, the most riding I've gotten in since school started is pulling Ella in the trailer to the pool. I'm going to have to take advantage of my small window on Tuesdays to ride off road. I'm also thinking I need to utilize some night rides around town.... sigh, such is the life of a broke, student.

Busy week....

So this week was Kathy's birthday. Her folks came to town from MS on Sunday, which means I spent last Sat & Sun cleaning and getting ready for them. I don't know why we go to such lengths to clean and de-clutter, when her folks arrive the house gets trashed in 0.0005 seconds. Keeping up appearances I suppose.

Monday was K's official B-day. I got her two dozen roses, and some aqua globes... yep those cheap ass infomercial things... that's what she wanted. Instead of running around and trying to make her happy all day, she & her mom went to San Antonio to do some sushi for lunch and did a little shopping. That opened up the afternoon for me to ride, and I wasn't about to let an opportunity like that slip away. I had a nice quick lap around the lake... life was good. When I returned, we all got cleaned up and headed back to San Antonio to some seafood place for dinner, thank you father-in-law for picking up the tab!

Tuesday was meet the teacher @ E's school. Her PK4 teacher is really nice, and I think E will really thrive in a scholastic environment... I swear I don't think she's my child!

On Wednesday I had an in person interview for a job that would have been perfect. Sadly I was cold, and haven't really had work on the brain, and have had too much Noggin on the brain, so I failed horribly. I suppose this is just further reinforcement that I need to just get my damn RN and be done with corporate America.

Thursday we loaded up the van and headed to Concan, TX to the Frio river. Kathy had seen an ad in some magazine that showcased this park on the Frio, and it looked wonderful. It was a hellishly long drive, and I honestly don't know if I could tolerate driving that horrible van full time... but I digress. After over 2 hours in the car the river was quite a relief. The water was a little low, but this was a good thing as Ella thinks she's an Olympic swimmer and can't stay out of the water. We had a great time and played and swam in the river for a little over three hours. Then another 2+ hours in the van home, only to shower, change and go back to E's school for a Parents orientation class... that's an hour of my life I won't get back.

Friday morning Kathy had to go back to work, and her parents headed home. My plan was to have a nice quiet day @ home, but a friend we made recently wanted to go to playnastics, so we met them there, then went looking for a new car seat for our friends new foster child, then headed to Chick-fil-a so E and 'bella could play. Got home checked email and got the reject letter from the gig on Wednesday... I knew it didn't go well.

Pretty good week with the family, gotta get focused and get this RN program done so I don't have to deal with lame interviews for job's I'm over qualified for.

Hitting Madrone early with Michael, camera phone pix until I pick up the Audi this weekend.

yeah, yeah keep yer pants on!

Ok, so I'm lame and haven't kept up lately. Not much really to report. Wife is working way too much, I'm going cray @ home with the rug rat, virtual school is much more challenging that I originally thought, can't wait for actual Nursing classes (still have a full semester before I can start).

I haven't been on the bike nearly enough, and I really can't take it much longer. On the weekends when K works late, I can't even sneak out for an early ride because if E wakes up early and K has to watch her, I'm a jerk. I try to go later in the day, but I'm a jerk for not spending time, so no matter how you slice it... I'm a jerk for wanting to ride. Thing is, riding makes me much more mellow, and a better person to be around. It is a healthy thing to do and it could be worse. I could be one of those NFL network guys that stays glued to the TV Saturday-Monday night. I could have a bunch of rowdy drinking buddies over to "watch the game". Or I could be like a lot of my friends who have a "fantasy league"... Then there are the friends I have that do this, and gamble... the way I see it, I'm much easier to deal with.... no?

Have the in-laws in town until Thurs, and am driving mom's "shag'n wagon"... I left my little point-n-shoot in the Audi, so no pix (well maybe camera phone) until next week.

Inflatable Wonerland...

Got a call the other day from our neighbors, they were going to take their son to the Inflatable Wonerland, and wanted us to join them. We did, and boy did E have a blast. She had been to the pool earlier that day, so this was a full on Funday!

Irresponsible parenting....

... so I'm not the best parent. I never claimed to be. I do the best I can with what I have and try to be as good an example as possible. Today, I felt like the best parent in the world. Took E to the pool in the morning, and we were about to wrap it up (after 11 the sun/heat become too much)when a mom, granny and their 3 kids come in. I waited around for a few minutes to see if there would be any chemistry between E and their little girl, who looked younger.... none. The mom, seemed pretty scatter brained, granny didn't have a clue.... typical Texans, nice as can be but not much going on between the ears. So, mom let's the middle boy hit the pool with his floatie ring thing... he's 2ish years old.... typical boy, just wants to be there yesterday. So, he hops on his floatie, but it's an around the waist style, and he's mounted it like a chair.... begins to float away. Granny is too busy looking off into space, while mom is dealing with the youngest..... ~1 year, when it happens... Jr flips forward launching the floatie and leaving him face down in the water... I look over and granny is oblivious and mom has her hands full, but not a word is said, I'm in the water, shirt, flip flops, glasses, hat. get Jr up and out, give him a couple of back pats until he cries, and walk him out to mom.... again, not a word. I'm kinda freaking out a bit inside because if I hadn't jumped it could have gone really bad... I look over @ E and thank the stars above that I'm not that clueless... at least not all of the time ;^)