End of the Cyclocross Season

Well, another cross season has come and gone. I'm happy with my first year in the GACX series. Hopefully next year will be better. The last two races i finished in 6th place. The last race i lost fifth in a sprint. The top 5 guys were still way out in front, but maybe next year i'll find a little more speed. Now is the time to ride more for fun than for training. Time to hit the gym to build a little muscle. Sara, Katie and I are going to explore some of the state parks nearby. Heck we paid 30 bucks for the annual pass, we need to get our money's worth out of it.

Here are some pic's from the weekend:

bumpy grass downhill with a steep run up at the bottom
the tougher of the two sets of stairs, i hate uneven steps!!
Here I am Sprinting for the finish, I got a late jump since i didn't realize when i passed this guy going down the bumpy downhill that he was ahead of me and not just lap traffic. If i had a kick like Russell the Muscle i could have taken 5th.
My folks made it out to this race, it's like being in High school again, except where did all that gray hair come from?!?

Sara and Katie at Amicalola Falls for our post race hike.

Katie and me on the hike.

Sara and I got all gussied up for here company Christmas party. I just noticed that i had my coat buttoned in this pic, you can tell i wear a coat and tie all the time. Sara looks great!

GA aquarium and i am finally back to "normal"

Sara's folks came to town for Turkey day. It was a nice visit. My folks took them to play golf Wednesday. (Sara and I don't do golf) Saturday morning we got up at 0 dark thirty and headed downtown to the GA aquarium. This place got all kinds of press 2 years ago when it opened. Now that we are living in GA we figured we should have a visit. We were very impressed. The walls of the tanks are made of acrylic so they can curve and bend anyway the designers wanted them to. Some of the areas had fish windows overhead as well as windows in the wall. Although the price was kind of steep, we had a good time, and will probably take our next visitors there too...if they want to go.

I spent the whole last week under the weather. After the race in Augusta, i was sick to my stomach and nauseaus all week. Not sure what i caught, but i finally had my appetite back on Sunday. Oh it feels good to be "normal" again. It was weird not exercising or riding my bike for a week. I wonder how bad the race will suck this weekend after my week off.

Georgia Cross Race 5, Augusta....I am the King of 8th place!!!

Wow, what a long drive it is from Jasper to Augusta. Apparently it wasn't quite far enough so sara and i added another 4 hours to Sumter, SC to see her cousin.


I felt like crap the morning of the race, maybe it was bad food the night before, maybe it was the people arguing in the courtyard of the hotel at 2 am, i'm sure i caught some sort of virus. I'm still not 100% on Wednesday, boy i sure hope i get my appetite back by tomorrow.





The race course was at the ASU sports complex, it was rolling grass with some pavement. I few steep short pitches that were rideable and two sets of barriers. I felt tired during my warm-up, so i didn't have high hopes for the race. The race started as normal, i fell back a ways in the group and then started to work my way back up. After three laps the front 7 were gone, and it was me and two other guys. They seemed content to just follow my wheel. I was a little concerned since i was feeling really tired, and i didn't want to do all the work. I let them go around on the tight grass section and they managed to pull a little bit of a gap. With 2 to go, i started to catch back up to them. I decided if i wanted to beat these guys, i would have to try to get a gap on them half way through the lap when we hit the pavement. Once we hit the pavement, they seemed to slow up a bit, I hit the gas and tried to get as far away as possible. When we came through the start/finish i had about 50 yards on the next guy. I managed to keep the gap and held my position. It just happened to be 8th. I was happy i didn't give up and let the two guys go. But i was done after the race, i let sara drive home, and once we got home, i just sat on the sofa. I'm hoping this is my one illness this winter. Knock on MDF. The next two races are close to home. Hopefully there will be lots of people i know at the races.

This is my office

Can you tell we make plaques?

One step forward, two steps back

9th place yesterday. Kind of disappointing. I felt okay before the race, we stayed in Macon Saturday night instead of driving 2-1/2 hours early sunday, so i was able to sleep till 7 get up eat and get to the race. I think i ate too much, too close to the start, since i was feeling a little full before the start. The fullness didn't bother me much once the race started, i pulled my usual anti-hole shot (need to work on that) and i started passing people to move up a few spots. The soil in this part of the south has a lot of sand in it, and it doesnn't take too many bikes going over it to start loosening up. Some of the tight turns became slick pretty quick. There was a long sandy beach run followed by some switchbacks up the embankment with a steep finish. I was surprised that i could ride the steep part each lap. I thought these old legs would have given up by lap 4. Next week we go to Augusta, it should be a fun weekend. We are hoping to see sara's cousin in Columbia on Saturday. i hope the legs are faster.

On the way home from the race we stopped off at the Summit Racing Equipment store. I was checking out some new headers for PAPA, trying to figure out a way to keep the truck from eating starters. I think Ceramic coated headers and a high torque starter (smaller) should do the trick. We will probably give the motor a thourough check to make sure it's all good....did someone say new cam....maybe... I need a truck that goes whump......whump.......whump.... at idle.

no pictures this weekend, i forgot the camera. Maybe i'll find some on the web again.

Busy Busy weekend, football, concert, family, party, bike race and b-day

Wow, what a weekend. Thank goodness we had an extra hour to squeeze it all in. Thursday night I watched my team SUCK!!!! Friday night we went to see They Might Be Giants in little five points. (Thanks for the tickets Lisa and Paul) Saturday afternoon we had a big family gathering with my moms side of the family. Saturday night we went to a party at a friends house. John and Veronica had a fun little shindig, Sara and I were a little disappointed that there wasn't any Spotted Dick though. Oh well.

Sunday i rolled out to Monroe, GA for the third race of the GA Cross series. Fun course, really flat though, lots of tight turns through the pine trees. (anyone know of a tread pattern that will hook up in pine straw?????) Even though i wanted to get a better start, i was still pretty far back right at the start, but i worked my way through the crowd and even passed my usual spot and finished 7th....WOO-HOOO!!!!

Sunday was also my dad's b-day, so after walking the dog, we went to my parents house to cook them dinner and help celebrate. 66....yikes!

HALLOWEENIE!

MMM, another halloween another year of not dressing up. Someday maybe we will have kids so we can get some of the excitement back in the smaller holidays. If i were to dress up, maybe i could wear the same costume i sport every weekend....the fat, 35+, slow, wanna be bike racer. Do these shorts make my ass look big?? I should study guys like Cippo and learn the italian way of making everything look cool. This guy even looked cool asking people to help push him up Brasstown Bald. That is truly a gift.


I don't think i could have looked any dumber in this picture, at least Mark had the good sense to hide behind the microphone. LA was at the TDG that year, but who cares about him, Cippo is a god.

Georgia Cross Race 2, Fort Yargo

Another week another 8th place finish i think (I didn't update the blog after the last race, but i got 8th instead of ninth) I didn't stay around to see the results posted, but Sara thinks i was 8th again. The race was at Fort Yargo State Park in Winder Georgia. My friend Chris lives right down the road so he came over with his dog Mia to help Sara and Katie cheer me on. (Nice bag Chris) The race went well, I got off to a strong start and passed those pesky folks that always out sprint me at the start. The course was much more technical than last week, some roots, lot's of off camber turns, a sand pit, and a short run up after the barriers. My only dissappointment is that i seem to be in this "no mans land" between the really fast guys and the slower guys, actually i guess it's just that i am off the back of the fast group. I need to work on this, next week i will really focus on the start and see if i can stay with the front bunch for a bit. Sara took pictures again this weekend, the battery died, so there aren't many.

I saw Mr. Russell's IF planet cross doppleganger yesterday, from a distance the Orange/white/black team paint scheme could have been confused for the Orange/white/blue. This bike had a carbon fork, which would be nice, apparently it dropped 3/4 of a lb from the bike weight. gotta get one.

More pics

Georgia Cross race 1, Horse Park

So i had my first Georgia Cross race today out at the Georgia Int. Horse Park. Fun course, very fast, but very long. We only did 5 laps in 45+ minutes. I raced the 35+ group and finished 9th(i think) out of 24+ people. The tubular tires seemed to work pretty good. I felt pretty strong, i just need to get a better start. As usual.

Rambling Wreck Parade, like many things, it isn't as good as it used to be

Sara and I went down to Georgia Tech this past weekend for the Rambling Wreck parade (homecoming parade) When i was in school, I was always involved with building the wreck. Jim, Chris, Tate, and me were the main people that worked on the wrecks, but we always had help from others. When we were in school the wrecks were noisy, everyone had a vehicle in each class, and people actually put a little effort into them. I told Sara stories about the Ford with a 351 windsor, the Belair with the upside down headers (pointing forward), the pontiac, the mercury with the 429, the chevy with the 4barrel 350, the dodge aspen or the renault 1.8 (although this wasn't actually a wreck....we wrecked it) We had a bunch of really nice, loud wrecks that we actually spent time making. This year....almost all of the wrecks sucked!!!!!! Come on, anyone can attach a frame to a car and put cardboard on the side. The contraptions were just as bad...bicycles are not wrecks...we need engines smoke and noise. Some people actually used their own cars with just paper on them so sad. I guess i might have to see if i have the time next year to get involved with all 10 members of my fraternity. Looks like they are having some issues with membership. I think they should start letting the alumni enter wrecks, at least we could get the parade back the way it used to be.
One more sad note...the only cars to spin their tires were the GT motorsports cars. Very disappointing. The picture is of one of the few fixed bodies, if not the only one, that was like they used to be.

If that is what jet setting is like...I'm too old.

Whirlwind trip to Miami this past weekend. Went down to see Georgia Tech struggle through another motivational struggle and come out with a Victory. A High School friend of mine flew in from California for the game. He went to Miami. It was a fun trip, good to see Steve, and nice to meet his friend Ric and his family. I spent only about 24 hours in town, stayed up late drank more beer in a day than i normally do in a month (and sadly that is not that much). I was worn out by the time i got home. The Orange Bowl isn't the nicest place to watch a football game, but at least they sell beer during the first half. It seems like most of the people that go to the football game that sit outside of the visitor's or student's sections are not actually Miami Alums or students. I think the Miami fan base is similar to that of UGA or VT...(insert your prefered second rate college that every redneck in town roots for), about 90% of the fans you see, didn't go there. I'm not trying to be a snob or anything, but it is easier to take crap from a fan who actually went to the school rather than some guy that picked his favorite team out of peer pressure or because Wally mart had a sale on VT stuff. I know it is a money making proposition for the schools to sell the stuff, but if you want to pick a sports team purely on color scheme, geographic location, or just because they are good that year, stick with pro sports. (now if you chose to attend your school based on color schemes, good season, geographic location, or because they offered AG 305 - tractor backing i that is okay...at least you went there.)
It has been my experience that the "blue light special" fans are usually not positive representatives of the school. So in that aspect....I'm glad that you don't see that many fans of my school in these parts. You know that 9 times out of 10 you can walk up to them and actually talk about Tech. Maybe even throw in a quick..."What's the good word?"

TO HELL WITH GEORGIA!!!

Parting Ways With an Old Friend

It is one of those difficult decisions we have to make. Do we hang on to our old stuff or do we get rid of it. Now that i work in an 80,000 sq. ft. building I'm sure i could find a place to keep everything i own and lots of new stuff. But what good would it do me. I've toyed with the idea of hanging on to the Audi, it's a fun car, fast(for a 4 cyl. turbo) and still in good shape. But what is the point of hanging on to an extra vehicle that you won't drive much. I don't think the Audi would make a good project car, I need something older with fewer computers and electric gadgets. So it is with a heavy heart i have decided to sell my faithful car of 4 years. It will be sad, but maybe to make myself feel better....I'll buy something new for my bike. I would go so far as to say a new bike, but Sara reads this blog, and i'm not sure she would agree that another bike is "needed". (you don't have to be hungry to want a doughnut, you don't have to need a new bike to get one.)

I'm flying to Miami on Saturday morning to watch the football game with my high school friend Steve. Wish GT luck.

Cylcocross....the next level. (over-coming fear of the nut cracker)

Yesterday i finally turned the corner on my re-mount. For years it has been my not so private shame. I always dabbed my left foot on the re-mount. Sad i know, i have been sooooo close for soooo long, but i just couldn't let go. Something deep down (actually about right in the middle of my body if you know what i mean) wouldn't let me make the leap of faith. But yesterday i told myself, just do it you big wuss. It works!!! I still cringe each time i do it, but maybe that will go away with some more practice. A few of my attempts i was missing the inner thigh and landing squarely on the saddle with all my tonnage. This led me to another first....I rolled my first tubular off of the rim. I'm looking forward to the availability of the Hutchinson tubeless ready tires now. Seems like it will be much easier to run stan's than to glue tires to rims.

4/5/08 RVV with SST

Saturday April 5, 2008 is the day of the cycletourism version of the Ronde Van Vlaanderen. A day where 18,000 people (mostly waffle makers) head out on the famous race course that covers the north west part of Belgium known as Flanders. (Hi dily ho neighbor) I did a shortened version of this course in 2005 with Mr. Russell, but i have always wanted to go back the weekend of the actual race to do the full 260km. In 2007 the entry fee was 15 euro ($20) i assume it will be close next year. It turns out there is a shuttle from the finish to the starting point in the morning. This is a relief since i was trying to figure out how to get back out to Brugge after the long ride. I had this image of sitting on a train all stinky cruising back from Brussells. (That would have been soooo euro) After the ride on Sat, I want to head over to some of the climbs and watch the actual race go by on Sunday.

Here is my time schedule so far. Let me know what ya think:
Thursday 4/3/08 fly to belgium and arrive morning of 4/4/08
4/4/08 put the bike together, visit with friends, drink beer, eat fries (mmmmm fries)
4/5/08 get up really really really early, head to the finish west of Brussells and catch the shuttle to Brugge. Do the ride...it's only 160 miles. I was thinking it would be cool to get a group of 4 people to go, that way we could have a decent paceline and show those Waffle makers what for!!!
4/5/08 evening more beer...lot's and more fries maybe some waffles
4/6/08 head back out to watch the actual bike race (note to self: bring beer and fries) maybe a little bike ride on sunday morning/evening

After that i haven't quite figured it out. There is another race on Wednesday, and it may be fun to spend a few more days in Belgium, riding and sight seeing.

I know airfare isn't cheap, but at least it isn't too bad in April. Let me know if you're interested and maybe a probability of being able to do it. We can try and keep the cost as low as possible, maybe just airfare, food and and a rental car. oh and about 30euro for the bike ride

How I spent my Labour day weekend - by Sam Thompson

It was the usual sticky hot summer afternoon last Friday when Sara, Katie and I jumped into the Audi with 3 bikes on the roof headed for the Valley for the Labour day weekend. We each had different plans for the weekend, Sara was planning on visiting friends in Richmond while i was planning to visit some friends and suffer with them for many hours on the mtn bike.

SM100: This was my third time doing the Shenandoah Mountain 100, the two previous times i finished at about 10-1/2 hours. The funny thing was, each race seemed so different (pain in different spots, trouble on other spots) but i got the same time. My goal this year was to get into the nines. I was vague about this goal, I said in the nines, but in my heart i was hoping 9-1/2. I didn't really make any special effort to train for this above my normal training. I have been riding my mountain bike more this year than previous years, and most of the races i have done were around the 30 mile mark. I figured i'm a little faster than i was two years ago, i should be able to improve my time. On the plus side i did break into the nines, 9:59:20 was my official time i believe. But inside i'm a little dissappointed, i wanted to do it faster. I should feel good about it though, i was dead tired at the end and everything hurt. IF i do it again, i will train a little harder.
RACE PREP: Rule # 1 don't mess with stuff like your shock pressure the night before the race, Especially if you descend like a little girl!!!!! I added some air to my F100R the night before cause it felt soft when i was riding my bike around on the road. (WHAT AN IDIOT!!) the front end seemed really stiff and just shook the hell out of my arms. I've been riding this bike for a few months and i feel like i can descend better on it...with the softer air setting.
THE RACE: Mr. Russell was nice enough to ferry me out to the race early sunday. We arrived about 6 so we had a few minutes to hang around before the start. We did learn that if you want to dress as a baboon for halloween, you can wear your PI shorts inside out so the red pad is showing....It's a good look. (good show Bill) The race went off at 6:30 the usual mad dash of crazys that think that the .25 mile gravel road from the campground will make or break their race. Once out on the road i started to pick up the pace to try and beat the traffic on the first single track. There was still a good bit of fire road and climbing before we got there, but the fewer in front the better. I saw Kevin from Tri-power on the road, and Bill from tri-power just past with water crossing with the first flat of the day. As i was moving through the crowds on the dirt road, i saw a few other folks i know, had a few brief words. That was about all of the fun for the day, soon it was up the grind to the radio tower, down narrow back, pace line down tilman and up the road to the dam. Lynn was like a long slow conga line. I walked most of it, since i was able to keep on the wheel of the person in front of me and if they bobbled, i didn't have to worry about falling. I shot down Wolf in my usual pokey fashion (is that smoke coming from my brakes????) Hit tilman, blew through aid station 2 and over the paved climb and up hankey. I was also slow going down Dowells. (i'm sensing a theme here) Filled everything at aid station 3 and headed out to 250. I passed Floyd Landis coming out of Braleys....at that point he was about 1.5-2 hours up on me...kind of sucks. After the mountain house/braleys loop, i started the death climb, which i actually did okay on this year. I was tired, but i stuck on a guys wheel and let him pull me up. It was nice to see Mark (the lube man) at aid station 5, and the cola hit the spot. The climb after Aid station 5 sucks....I can't say this enough...it is just mean for people to tell others that it is rolling....it is a climb...plain and simple. Once at the top i knew what was left, i just focused on getting through the last two climbs. At the bottom of the last descent, my watch said i had 10 minutes to finish, i hamered that fire road and the single track through the campground and just barely made it.
All in all it was fun. Thanks to the Tri-power folks and support crew for letting me linger around. Thanks to Mark for transport and support. I'm glad that race is over....sheesh.

New Wheels...

Here are some pics of the new Company Truck. 6.4L diesel, 4wd, 20" wheels. Who needs those Testosterone patches anyway

Here is a pic with the offices of BRMW in view.

Warm up for SM100....RAMPAGE!!!

To warm up for the SM100 I decided to do the Black Bear Rampage in TN this past weekend. It was a 42 mile race on lots of fun single track near the Ocoee river...where they did the olympic kayaking (or so they tell me). I don't know about you, but when i think of rivers and the south only one word comes to mind....Deliverance. Fortunately, when you get enough cyclist together, the spandex scares away the bad elements. The race rolled off about 8:30ish.(actually 9) The first wave was pro/expert/pathetic 36 year old thinking he is faster than he really is class. I hit the woods about 8 back and kept a really nice pace for the first 7 miles of single track. This was the only part of the course i had done before. I hit the first descent and i was trying to go as fast as i could, unfortunately i tried to change lines and kept moving till the right until i moved off the trail. I guess i scrubbed enough speed prior to hitting the tree since neither my bike or me were hurt. (my butt hurt the next few days, apparently that is the part that hit the trail) I was still moving along pretty good until the rain started. I'm not very good in the rain, and i had not prepared my bike for rain so this was when my race slowed down. With all of the dirt/sand in the drive train, i felt like i was on the verge of chain suck anytime i was in the middle ring. Fortunately it didn't happen, but i was reluctant to really push the rpms on the cranks. I took it easy over the roots and ended up rolling in at 3:28 i think. 6th out of 9 in my age group. I know if it had been dry i would have been much faster. I had to save my self for the SM100.

I'm not sure what i was thinking by wearing a white jersey...I'll check the weather this week so i don't make the same mistake again.

dry start

muddy finish

Check out the cheesy smile underneath all that mud....Russell eat your heart out.

HAPPY B-DAY MR. RUSSELL

Boy these youngsters seem to grow up soooooo fast. Just a few pics off of the old hard drive:

I need to work on my cheesy smile

It's a 185 miles to DC, we've got full bottles of water, half a can of Dip, it's dark and we're wearing sunglasses....hit it!!!
Apparently it takes about 190 miles or so to keep Mark from cheesing it up for the Camera.
Hope you have a great day.

Dogless Dog Days

Here we are halfway through August, the mercury just seems to stay at the top of the thermometer. This has been the hottest summer in a few years, next week it should cool off....I hope. It's been tough talking myself into heading out for a ride at 5 in the blistering heat, I guess we are lucky Katie is still at Camp Michigan, otherwise she would have to suffer in this as well. She is coming home this weekend hopefully this will be an end to the Dogless days and the Dog days.

I'm heading out for a ride tonight, I'm debating between a road ride with lots of hills, or a mountain bike ride with lots of ...uh...mountains. With the Black Bear Rampage and SM100 coming up, the mountain biking seems like the way to go. I'm hoping i make a good showing at both races, I know lots of folks doing the SM100 so the pressure will be on. But as both of my blog readers know....I always look good. It should be a good time.

Here is a little pic to help think of cooler climates. This is the summit of the Col de la Croix de Fer (in the French Alps) in May of 2005. 80 degrees at the bottom, brr cold at 2067 meters. I froze my butt off that day going back down. That would be a welcome feeling today.

I was watching NASCAR...SOBER!?!

Pretty scary stuff. I'm really not sure what caused this strange behavior. Back in college, i did watch a little nascar. I've always been a car nut and i love racing. I love all kinds of racing, off-road, WRC, F1, ALMS, IRL, CART, Touring cars, and even the big trucks in europe. But as many people realize, there is a certain quality to your average die-hard NASCAR fan that is not so desireable to the Bathing masses. I like to go to the races as long as the tickets are free. The crowds are such a hassle....
But back to the reason i was watching Nascar this past Sunday. Sunday's race was at a road course, and it's much more exciting to watch cars turn left and right than just left. But the road course alone wasn't enough to get my trigger happy remote control finger to stop on the race. I wanted to see if Juan Pablo Montoya could upstage all of the Nascar regulars and win another race. The weird part about this is that I didn't like JPM when he raced F1. I am a schumacher fan, mainly because he drove a ford early in his F1 career, but later just because he was so dominant. I always felt that JPM was out of control and would crash people out of the race or run into other cars. Those "qualities" came to mind when they announced he was leaving to race cars with fenders. I thought to myself....this is the perfect type of racing for him. I really hope he keeps improving, it would be great to see a foreign born Nascar champ. Maybe they should play the national anthem of the winner at the end of each race like they do in F1.
JPM was knocked out of the race this past weekend trying to block a car for position, I'm surprised that Nascar turns a blind eye to all of that contact, but they seem to be more like NBA officials more concerned about TV and scoring than really a fair contest. Just look at all the mystery cautions that go up.

Anyhow, I have no idea what the Nascar schedule is, but if there is another road course, i'll be pulling for JPM. I can't believe i'm rooting for him...but it's not the end of the world.

36!!!

Another year has passed... In the grand scheme of things i realize i am not that old, but i am now twice as old as i was when i graduated high school...OUCH! In two years i will have been out of high school for TWENTY years. It's all good tho, i have a wonderful wife, a family that cares about me, and some really great friends. What more could you want (except maybe a 953 SS road frame). I hope everyone (both people that read my blog) has a great day. Got out and eat some Mexican food tonight in honor of my b-day. You know i am.

I'm on top of the world!

A few pics from the trip

I had already successfully exited the boat when Sara requested that we get back in for a photo...that is when i took a little dip in the prince william sound. Brrrr.
the bob worked out great, it was little top heavy tho. It was pretty chilly, a nice change for July cycling.
Denali (Mt. McKinley) came out of the clouds at 4 am. Not very dark for that time of morning. We didn't see the moon for 2 weeks.
this is the harding ice fields. a 4 mile hike straight up past the Exit glacier leads to these. There is a great restaurant at the end of the road near here. Salmon Bake. mmmm good food.
Julie, Jerry, Sara and Me standing on the Root Glacier in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park

ALASKA!

We have been up here in AK for a little over a week. We've been all over, Denali, Valdez, Seward, Anchorage, we've been having a good time. I didn't bring the camera cable so i can't post any picks today, but sara took a couple of me on the Stickel towing the bob with 50lbs of camping gear back to Wonder Lake Campground in Denali. Lot's of mosquitos there....lots of them. And don't just try to spray the Deet on the bare skin parts, they will bite you through your socks....it was just nuts. We did get to see Denali mountain while at the wonder lake campground, it came out of the clouds around 4 am and stayed clear till about 11 am, lot's of pic's were taken. There was also the excitement of a moose walking through the campground one evening. The thing was HUGE!! We didn't see any bears in Denali, but while we were gone the last week, Sara's sister had two in her back yard in Anchorage....we could have stayed here to see them... We've been doing a lot of the camping thing, not too much bathing going on, we are lucky if there is running water at the campsites, and there are never showers. We payed $4 each last thursday to shower at a laundromat...(a highlight of my life) We are back in Anchorage tonight and we are heading to Wrangell mountain tomorrow with Julie and Jerry. We fly home on Friday...hopefully i'll get some pics up next weekend.
BTW...the BOB Ibex is very cool, with 50 lbs on it you know it's there, but i did do some riding with only about 30 on it and you barely knew it was back there.

Hope all is well in the lower 48, i'll bring home some mosquito bites for ya!

MOVED!

We have settled in to a little (actually tiny is a better word) place in Jasper, GA. It sure is nice to have the wife and dog around full time. It is also nice to not see my parents every night after work. Don't get me wrong, i love my parents, but I think my parents will agree that there is a reason your kids move out.

Oh, i also think that i could have gone the rest of my life without living in an apartment again. Now this place isn't as small as my place was in Belgium, but it is quite the shock after living in a house for the past 8 years. Boy i hope someone buys my house in VA soon so that i can start looking for one down here. I need to have one by this winter so that i can talk my friends from VA into coming down to ride with me. Maybe watch a little TDG. We don't even have enough space for me to keep my bike stuff here. I'm only allowed to have one bike in the house at a time. On the plus side...I keep the rest at work...uh...i'm gonna go out in the shop to work on something, don't come looking for me.

Here is a pic of our apartment building. We are on the top floor. Swimming pools...movie stars...
here is a pic from the parking lot in front of our apartment. The building on the right is the local hospital. The red brick building on the left, with the green roof, is where my wife works. Must be nice huh? It's like .2 miles. And she has been a good girl too, she rides her bike to work every day. LUCKY!!

We are off on Holiday starting this weekend, heading up to AK to do some camping, biking and hiking on our own and with sara's sis and b-n-l. should be fun. I got the Stickel back just in time to take it up there. We've also got a B.O.B. waiting for us to use there too. I would take my computer and try to post pics as we go, but i seriously doubt i'll have that many chances with an internet connection.

Sara's Big Day

Sara flew in last week on her birthday. Being the awesome husband that i am, i made her two(2) birthday cakes. Below is a picture of one of them. I won't tell you how old she is...you do the "math". I surprised her by meeting up with my whole family at a restaurant in Atlanta. Then up to my sisters for some cake.


Here is Sara with our nieces getting ready to blow out the candles. (Gotta go with the number candles, individual candles equalling the age is a fire hazard)
We even had a little bit of entertainment at the party.

IT'S NEVER TOO EARLY TO THINK ABOUT CROSS SEASON

I decided i would give those tubular tyres a shot. I was able to convince my Brother-n-law that i could make better use of the Helium Clinchers that he had in his basement. With some help from Les at ECBA i was able to get new Helium Tubular rims and build up the wheels. Les also helped me out with gluing up some used tyres so i could give them a shot and break in the wheels. Might have to buy a fancy new set of tyres for the race season. I wanna be that old guy bringing up the rear of the Masters race with some high $$ tyres...wonder if Costco carries Dugast??