Weekend Racing

So last weekend was the first time this year I was able to get out and get a long ride in really. We had a pretty good size group on saturday doing laps around stony creek. It felt really good to get out and ride, but it didnt feel so good to get smoked by some guys on mtb`s while I was on my road bike. But I was able to get just under 70 miles in for the two days.
On sunday Tim had a great idea of starting up a weekly TT series. Just a low key thing for fun and to get everyone into shape for the racing season that is quickly approaching. I posted the idea to the TSB site and lot of people sound pretty pumped about it. I also mentioned it to few other people as well and they thought it was a great idea. Hopefully this takes hold and we can get a good turn out. If you are reading this and are interested just check the team site for details.

I plan on getting some pics and will post up.

DDX Build Up

Well my slingshot DDX project is almost complete. Just a matter of switching my Ritchey WCS crankset off of my orbea with the R-700, and taping the bars. I picked up some bright red bontrager bar tape which should look really nice on the bike. When it gets closer to cross season I will pick up a pair gray Tufu flexus tires for my Helium rims. That should make the bike look pretty darn cool.














Just waiting for the final touches.














Cant wait to get the bike done and take it out for a spin. It was going to be my bad weather bike/pit bike but I dont know that I can subject to her that...

Crystal Mountain

We took advantage of a long weekend to get up north to Crystal Mountain for snowboarding this past weekend. I thought we had a lot of snow down here, but we have a lot less than they do. The drive up was interesting on Thursday afternoon. I got out of work a little bit early and we were on the road by 4. We decided to go a different route than I-75-M-72 like we usually take when we head up the Traverse area. We went across 10 to M-115 that took us all the way to Crystal Mountain, which seems like a more direct route. We were making good time until we got onto 10, then it started to snow. The further north and west we got the worse the roads got. By the time we got on M-115, we couldnt even see the lanes, road or much of anything else because it was snowing so hard. The WRX handled the snow great though, and I was able do 40-50 all the way up.
Friday we got out on the mountain for snowboarding for most of the day. What a great resort, at least for michigan. They have a lot of longer green and blue runs that were quite a bit of fun and the snow was great. It didnt take me too long to get back to feeling pretty good on the board. It was a cold day, and turned out to be very crowded. We planned on getting some more time in on sunday, but it rained all day and was warm. So at least we got out on friday.

Saturday we spent most of the day in TC, we checked out the caterer for our wedding. The food was good, and we will probably end up going with them.
I found a great deal on some keen winter boots, we were planning on going snowshoeing later in the day, and I needed some winter boots. Back Country Outfitter had some on sale, and they even had my size. We went to quite a few of the other shops in the area, but I am happy I found these. They worked really good and kept my feet nice and warm. They apparently didn't have any trails at the resort that weren't for XC skiers so we just went back to house that we rented and tromped around in the snow there.
Later that night we went and rented some skates. This was the first time I have been on skates in a few years, and probably the first time in 10 years that I have not worn goalie skates. It took me a few laps around to get the feel back. Noelle was starting to get the hang of it pretty well to, being that it was really her first time skating. I guess I miss hockey more than what I was thinking I did. Maybe one of these weekends I will have to go play some drop in hockey and see if my knees hold up or not.
It was fun, but sure feels good being home.

Do we need more snow?

Just sitting here on the couch, and the snow is still coming down. We probably have at least a foot of snow right now. I got home from work and had to shovel the driveway after getting the car stuck. Apparently the snow removal company thought it was a good idea to plow the road, and leave a huge pile of snow in front everyone`s driveway. At least I got a good upper body workout in. Also rode the bike for about an hour tonight. I was really hoping to get outside on the road this weekend, but it looks like it is going to be another wet weekend. Hopefully the snow will let up and it will dry up there enough to get a ride in.

Riding the rail trail

We didnt quite get the 11" of snow yesterday that was forecast. We probably got 3-4 inches though, so not too bad. I figured being that we lucked out and it was fairly warm out I would get out for a ride on the macomb orchard trail. Usually I head south on the trail to stony creek or bloomer, but today I decided to head north east to see what was new. I stopped and took a few pictures along the way. I rode the 69er again today, thinking that the bigger tire would help with the snow. Some parts of the trail wasnt too bad, but there were a lot of snowmobile and 4 wheeler tracks on the trail. Good thing it is a non-motorized trail, at least I didnt get run down by one.

This picture is on the tressel bridge that crosses a small river. The river is probably 30 feet below the bridge.















This is a shot looking south from the bridge.
















Close to the Coon Creek road crossing.

Stupid Murphy

Why cant I ever get my canti`s set up right. Every time I try, I end up just making more of a mess out of it than where I was. Tonight I decided to put the new bar on the ciclocross, and swap out the stem, and put the old stuff on the slingshot. First problem, the new bars are not round so the cross top bars dont fit. Hmm, well I dont use them that much anyways, put them on the slingshot. Alright, so now I have to undo my canti`s. Well shouldnt be too much of a problem, just clamp it back down where they were before. Hmm, now the housings are a different length and so are the cables at least in relation to the carrier. The front went fairly smooth. The rear cable, though started to fray, then it wasnt long enough. Now it is fraying even more and still isnt long enough. So into the shop it will go tomorrow. I need a new front der. cable anyways, might as well have them replace them all. Why does it seem like everytime I try to do a simple project it turns out to be a mess? I guess that is the beauty of having a bunch of bikes though. Always something else to ride.