Sunday, November 30, 2008

Final analysis


House of Leaves is good. Really good. But enjoying it requires one of two things:
A) Ignore/skim a lot of the semi-relevant information and read only the two main storylines (if you pick this up, you'll know what I'm talking about right away)
or
B)Prepare to spend 2 weeks obsessing over every detail (read the Wikipedia page if you want to find out more about this - but be aware that it has a comprehensive plot summary with spoilers).

I can tell you right now that I went with A. And I enjoyed this book a lot. This is like David Foster Wallace combined with Stephen King, or the kind of book I imagine Stephen King would write if he'd spent too much time reading Sartre instead of too much time watching westerns as a kid. And that's a compliment, I think.

The story is your basic haunted house tale (interwoven with the story of Johnny Truant, the fellow who finds the manuscript and decides that editing it is his life's work) combined with a love story involving a professional photographer and his wife. There's also a lot of related material (mostly in the form of footnotes) relating to a short film created by the photographer about the experience. Various real and imagined literati provide their opinions on the fictional film and the characters - some of this stuff is really interesting, and some is dreadfully boring (and hence I skipped it). No ghosts, no possessed pets - it's an existential kind of horror story.

Apparently the Poe album "Haunted" was created as a companion piece for the novel (Mark Danielewski is Poe's brother). I'm not familiar with the music, but I'm actually interested to hear it now that I've read the book.

Bottom line: this is an extremely intimidating book in many ways, but it's surprisingly user-friendly if you can get past the initial hurdles of the layout, the extremely complicated narrative, and the large amounts of very tangential (bordering on irrelevant) material scattered throughout. I spent about 50 pages hating the book, and then the remaining 350 or so (many of these pages contain only a few words, so it's not as long as it sounds) really enjoying it. If you've got some free time to read this winter, check it out.

Friday, November 28, 2008

Black Friday!


Today only, folks (ok, for those of you not observing buy-nothing day):

Order a frame today (meaning, your $500 paypal deposit has to be here by midnight mountain time, or your check/cash/heroin has to be postmarked today's date) and I'll build you a custom fork for _free_.

Just don't trample me in your rush to the shop.

Need info on how to pay the deposit? Click here for the fit sheet and instructions

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Long semi-rant

A (potential) customer came by the shop to see what happens and get some questions answered yesterday, and after asking lots of detailed questions about S&S couplers, sliding dropouts, Rohloff hubs, and all manner of other esoterica, he asked why he should buy one of my bikes, rather than a (insert name of well-known mass-produced bike here).

It's a fair question, and I think the answer I came up with is a pretty good one. Nobody *needs* a custom bike, with the exception of really big, small, or physiologically different (ie, long legs and short torso, missing an arm, fused vertebrae) folks. If all you want to do is ride, and you're Joe average, it's hard to make an argument that you'll get all that much from a custom bike - mass produced stuff is relatively cheap, available *right now* (no waiting), and fits and rides about right for easily 90% of the general public.

So why would you want to buy one?

-Knowledge. The info I gave the fellow I spoke with yesterday would have taken him hours and hours of research to come up with online - and it's solid info, not internet gibberish. I'm not some 14 year old BMX punk, or 300 pound dude in his parent's basement. I'm available on the phone or email or even in person almost anytime, and I've ridden and built about a zillion bikes in a wild variety of different configurations. Most other framebuilders have equivalent (or better) knowledge of the bike world, and I have no particular axe to grind regarding SRAM vs. Shimano, hydraulic vs. mechanical, etc. I'm not a shop rat working on commission, and I regularly give advice which costs me profits to make sure folks get the most for their money.

-Fit. I've fit a lot of people over the years. Most of them don't need a custom fit - but I can still tweak things to make sure that the way they fit over the wheels is optimized for the riding they want to do. You can "fit" on a 23" toptube with a 130mm stem - but if you're riding around Boulder, you're not going to be too happy. A 24" setup with a 110 or 105 stem is going to work *way* better. And of course, there are situations (Vermont?) that are the opposite. In other words, all fits aren't created equal.

-Handling. Once again, I've ridden and raced all over, and I know quite well exactly how to make a bike handle any way the customer wants. Yes, a Stumpjumper, or a Karate Monkey will ride ok everywhere - but if you're in BC, we can tweak things one way, and if you're in Tucson, we can do something else - bottom line, I can optimize *everything* about the bike to make it work the way the customer wants.

-Cost. It might amaze you to realize that for $3k, you can get a custom frame, full XT and bits of XTR thrown in, and custom built DT/Stan's wheels (that's just an example). Production bikes don't really end up being much cheaper, honestly. In fact, they're often *more* expensive, because to get them spec'd the way you want, you've gotta buy a lot of the parts for retail. Better yet, I can tell you where it makes sense to spend your money (hint, LX cranks are the same as XT - with steel chainring bolts).

-Intangibles. I love bikes, and I love to talk about them, and if you call me for new decals 5 years down the road, or to find out what will happen to the handling if you swap to a 46mm rake fork, or whatever, I'm around to answer the question, and I have all your original fit info in front of me (it's all on the computer) to pull up anytime I need it. I go riding with customers when they're in town, I take people on "tours" of the 600 sq. foot shop (these usually end up at the brewery down the road) and if you ride a lot in CO, chances are you'll see me on the trail someday. In other words, I like to think that buying a bike from me is like buying a bike from a friend - that's how I started this business (building a zillion bikes for my friends) and that's how I'd like to keep it.

Long story short, it's easy to plunk down a few hundred bucks for a frame made overseas. And for most people, that works out just fine. I'm pro-bicycle no matter what, and as long as people are riding, I'm happy. But it's worth considering where you want your money to go - and what you're getting for it, before you make any purchase.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Wednesday mash-up


A movie mash-up, that is. Reading House of Leaves has weirded me out enough (for those who are curious, I'm on about page 300, and I'm still not sure what I think) - so I really probably should have picked something else to watch. Imagine the worst aspects of Aliens, The Matrix, and Captain Planet - and add a lot of mud and grunting. Congratulations - you've ended up filming Eden Log.

So for those who can't read between the lines, I would have preferred a swift punch in the nuts.

No bloggage or work tomorrow, as it's some kind of holiday. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Funky stuff

Shot of Wayne's front triangle - set up for a C'dale lefty fork, complete with 1.5" head tube. IMO, the head tube looks pretty silly on a steel bike, but then again, I'm known for my terrible taste.

Honestly, I think the adapted 1 1/8" crown is the way to go here, but whatever.

Another weird little thing - David had Jen Green make him a badge with some gangsta bling - pretty neat. It would probably be cooler without the little round mount, but Jen says this is the only way the cubic zirc... I mean, 10 carat diamond will stay on there.

Monday, November 24, 2008

Waltworks ZERO

I posted this over on the MTBR framebuilder's forum (of which I am the moderator, for some reason). Thought people might like to see where it all began.



I built this as a birthday present for my wife, and it took more than 2 months to complete. I had NO idea what I was doing, but had access to a frame fixture and a TIG machine and free time on my hands.

My goals were:
-Safety. I built and broke a ton of practice joints before putting the bike together. The welds certainly don't look nice (in fact, they look like they were done by a 6 year old) but they have held up to a lot of abuse over the years.
-Durability. It's made from .049" straightgauge 4130 cromoly, and the frame alone weighs over 7 pounds!
-Relaxed townie style handling.

I had no interest in trying to make it light, or trick, or spending much money, because I figured it would basically suck, since it was my first attempt.

And while it didn't suck as bad as I had thought it would, it has some hilarious flaws.
-Alignment is (visibly) terrible. The bike, however, seems to ride in a straight line quite nicely.
-As I mentioned earlier, the welds look awful.
-Stays are very crudely bent and not symmetrical, chainring and tire *barely* clear.
-Brake bosses aren't aligned with the wheel, the frame, or each other (that's what you get when you eyeball the boss location)
-I didn't know how to braze, nor did I have a torch or any supplies, so the rear brake line is ziptied to the frame. Several cable stops met an untimely end when I tried to TIG them on.
-I doubt the dropouts made from 1/4" plate and stay "mitering" (ie smash flat with a vise, cut at an angle to match dropout) will be imitated anytime soon.

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Out-DFW'd?

No, not Dallas Fort Worth. I'm reading a book that might be weirder and more parenthetical than Infinite Jest.

House of Leaves. Way out there. We'll see if I finish it or not - it's one of those books that you can tell from the first page is going to be either really good or really bad. But you won't know until about 3/4 of the way through.

I'm sure you're all waiting on on tenterhooksfor my full review. Sadly, I must build bikes. Perchance another day.

Friday, November 21, 2008

I am the champion...

...of the hotly contested race to Oscar Blues. In -1C temps, 95% humidity, and at night.

I had to wear two pairs of tights, 2 pairs of socks, and about 5 upper body layers, but it was a great time, except for some chubby kid on a fixed gear who kept bothering everyone (you know who you are...) Beer was consumed, bikes were haphazardly packed into a 50 year old bus that reeked of diesel fuel, and everyone returned to Boulder in one piece.

Happy birthday, RC.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

The dark side


I'm tempted to stick a BSNYC "approve" sticker on this, along with the hipster fixie frame... yes, I have built a (kind of weird) road fork. For the full fixie stupidity, I guess I should probably put a canti boss on the dropout, and attach a downtube shifter to actuate the front brake. That would be sweet. Especially if Scott wore some tight jeans and an American Apparely t-shirt with something ironic written on it while riding.

I wanted to do something different/unique/weird for Scott's fixie (it's set up for a long reach brake and fender), so I turned down some 1/4" thick x 1.5" 4130 pipe (in good conscience, I can't call it "tubing"), turned a crown race onto the top of it, slipped in a steerer, and welded on some fork blades that are mitered directly to the base of the steerer/crown. I think it looks kinda neat (the top caps aren't on the fork blades yet - I'm going to use CO quarters, I think). It was a pain to build, though, so I'll probably just use a lugged crown for any future road forks. Not that I expect a ton of interest in that - steel road forks are hardly a popular item these days.

A quick note: apologies for the slow responses to email lately - I am dealing with a family member's (not mine) financial crisis and it is taking up a significant amount of time and energy.

Monday, November 17, 2008

The coolest ride to a 'cross race ever


Nick is a god. I'm not sure how he did in the actual race, but he wins all the style points for how he got there.

Saturday, November 15, 2008

WTF Saturday!


No, it's not a scooter. And yes, Greg, that's your snow bike fork that I've borrowed until I have one that's the right length. And yes, that's a piece of 1 1/4" 4130 that I'm using as a "handlebar" to test the geometry.

This is going to be a prototype hand bike, theoretically for my friend Ryan. We'll see if it's rideable first, however, with me doing the piloting.

Why? If you look around at the handcycles out there, most of them are little better than a 3-wheeled cart with a drivetrain (not to mention the fact that decent ones cost upwards of $5k!). I don't think 3 wheels are needed, if the geometry is right and the rider is skilled (we're talking folks without use of their legs here, in general). I even think I have a "handstand" (not a kickstand!) design worked out that should allow starting and stopping under control with no assistance.

Yes, it's missing the drivetrain, brakes, and seat right now. And yes, that's an old 26" rigid fork welded to the spine for a rear fork. This was a <2 hour project so far -just something fun to do on a lazy Saturday when it was too cold (at least to a sissy like me) to go for a ride. I anticipate doing the drivetrain in the next week or so, as well as rigging up some kind of brake(s). Then all I need is some kind of cheap plastic chair to bolt onto the spine and it'll be ready for a test ride...

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Kung Fu Movie Review and Recipe Friday


That's KFMRRF, or "kamurffff!" First off, if you like pointless violence, and lots of it, performed by a 90 pound Thai woman in various ridiculous settings, then you'll love Chocolate, the new movie from the guy who did Ong Bak. If you don't know what I'm talking about, well, you don't know what you're missing. Very Jacky Chan-esque, or at least Jackie Chan when he wasn't 45 and arthritic. Sarah and I watched this movie last night and it made me want to knee someone in the face while flying out a window, or catch knives while blindfolded, or something. Luckily I just went to bed instead.

Humorously enough, some of the reviews online criticized the movie for being plotless, overly sentimental, and implausible. It's a good thing I read that, because, good lord, I could have *sworn* that an autistic 90 pound woman could kick the crap out of 80 or 90 katana wielding rowdies using only moves she learned from watching Bruce Lee movies!

Sheesh. Some people just gotta hate on everything. Who watches a Kung Fu movie for plot or acting?

We also ate quite a tasty dish to go with our sappy, badly acted chop socky:

Orange-chipotle tofu (don't worry, you don't have to use tofu)

Mix everything:
-1 cup orange juice (fresh or from concentrate, doesn't matter)
-2 tbsp rice or cider vinegar. White vinegar will work in a pinch
-Half a can (like, 5 or 6 peppers) chopped chipotle peppers, along with half the can's worth of adobo sauce. Use less if you're a sissy. Try not to rub your eyes.
-Dash of salt
-1/4 cup maple syrup (probably best to use the real stuff if you have it)

Now put the sauce in a pan and stick your tofu or chicken (probably the best meat to sub, IMO) in there. Cover it up and leave it in the fridge just as long as possible (overnight would be good). Fry or grill it up, basting it constantly with the sauce.

Serve over rice, soak everything with delicious sauce.

Grumpy retro grouch post of the week

Some of you who are bigger bike-tech geeks than I (and not surprisingly, that's a lot of you) have already read about this:
SRAM to launch 10 speed MTB group

Rant mode on...

-If you want something to be lighter, stronger, and more reliable, you generally avoid making it more complicated. Why not put 7 or 8 speeds on, with super thin lightweight cogs and chain, and reduce the width of the cassette, allowing us to build a stronger rear wheel at the same time?

-In the same vein, the system will apparently (according to CN.com, anyway) be a 2x10 setup. Now, if you want a lightweight drivetrain, which do you think would work better:
1. Subtract the granny gear (maybe 35g with bolts). Your lowest gear is now 29-30x34
OR
2. Keep the granny gear and use a ROAD CASSETTE AND (triple) DERAILLEUR. This will save a solid 150g, or more (depending on the exact cassette and derailleur), and provides a super tight gearing setup for those who want closely spaced gears. Best of all, you've got a 22x23/25/27, depending on the road cassette you pick. And less derailleur cage flopping around on the back, too.

-I've seen a decent number of bent large cogs and plenty of broken chains on 9 speed - I can't wait to see how an even thinner set of cogs and chain will hold up. Brilliant!

-Nothing like making the rear shifting even more finicky and susceptible to small cable tension probems.

-Did anyone really notice much when we went from 8 speed to 9 speed (or 9 to 10 on the road)? I certainly didn't start crushing my old record times or winning races... funny.

So to sum up: 10 speed is stupid. But people will probably buy it anyway, just like they'll buy the Campy 11 speed nonsense. Unless they can't afford a $4k grouppo on their streetcorner pencil-selling gig. Which is looking more and more likely as a career for lots of us these days...

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Shout out to Steve...


A visual one, that is. Doing a hipster fixie for my old HS friend Scott, so I thought I'd spice it up with an external sleeve/lug on the seat tube. Pretty neat. I TIG the sleeve right over the top of the seat tube, which welds them to each other pretty nicely, and then I run a little silver into the top and bottom at the end of the build to keep everything extra secure. I've done this with some other frames in the past, but it looks so cool (and makes the seat tube so indestructible) that I might start doing them more.

In this shot, you can see how there wasn't *quite* enough material to totally soak up the heat at the point where the weld gets closest to the edge of the sleeve. Neat effect.

Monday, November 10, 2008

This sucks...

So, most of you know that I ship everything via DHL. Looks like that is going to be a thing of the past soon, as they're shutting down their US operations in January.

This really sucks, especially for my friend Sharrad, who is my DHL pickup guy. I have to assume he is going to be laid off.

I am *hoping* to minimize the difficulties this causes by transferring my shipments to UPS or Fedex over the next month or so (anyone have an opinion on which is better?) Nevertheless, I expect some problems of one kind or another, so please be patient if shipping takes longer than usual.

I don't know if this will change shipping costs significantly, but I don't think it will.

Sunday, November 09, 2008

How to take care of your frame!

Jorah asked me about this, and I realized that there's nothing in the FAQ on the main site (which is being massively updated by my good friend Pete Roper, btw, and will look totally different soon) about caring for a steel frame. So here's the scoop. This applies to any steel frame, really, not just one of mine.

-Steel rusts, albeit very slowly. If you live in Colorado, or Utah, or NM, or somewhere dry, you probably don't have to spend much time worrying about this (I have ridden *unpainted* frames for multiple years at a time here in CO and all they got was some surface patina type rust). If, on the other hand, you live in San Diego next to the bay, and you leave your frame out on the porch in the salt mist...

-So that said, I put some rust preventing goop in the frame before I ship it out (note that this isn't always the case with other steel bikes - and it's possible for me to forget, so inspect the frame to make sure it's got rustproofing in it). I don't go totally crazy with it, but I do hit the major spots (seat tube/BB shell/chainstays) that are the most susceptible to rusting. The product I use is "Boeshield T-9", which was used for preventing rust on steel aircraft way back around the second world war. Here's a picture of what I'm talking about:

Note that their "odorless" claim is, er, a bit dubious, IMO.

You can get Boeshield at any decent hardware store. If you want to spend a bit more money, you can also use Weigle "Framesaver" (generally only available at bike shops or online) which is pretty close to the same thing but a bit more expensive. Here's a picture:


-To apply the chosen rustproofing, remove the seatpost and fork (the headset can stay). Spray liberal amounts of the goop into the vent holes from the head tube into the downtube and toptube, as well as into the seat tube. Move the frame all around to slosh the goop everywhere it needs to go. Note that you're going to get the stuff *everywhere* as part of this process, so do it outside or at least away from anything you want to stay clean. Do the same for the seatstays and chainstays, if they have vent holes (mine are generally sealed at the BB end, on most frames they vent into the BB shell). Swish, swirl, repeat. Leave the bike to drain or put it back together and live with small amounts of rustproofing getting everywhere for the next few days.

-Boeshield or Framesaver is good stuff, but it's not a magic bullet. If the frame gets wet and stays wet for too long, nothing will prevent it from rusting. So there are a few more steps you can take - keep bolts in the water bottle bosses, make sure you dry the frame off after washing it, and periodically remove the fork and seatpost (and, if you have the tools, the bottom bracket) to inspect for rust. If the bike gets *really* wet, allow the frame to drain and dry (often this just means pulling out the seatpost and leaving the bike upside down for a while, which will allow the seat tube, downtube, and stays to drain any water that has entered), then spray in some more of your chosen rustproofing.

-It's always a good idea to inspect the frame and fork (as well as other components) for damage every so often as well. Steel generally will give you a lot of both visual, auditory, and even tactile feedback that something is wrong, and it's much better to find out in the garage than on the trail.

Friday, November 07, 2008

Mini-Me

As per my standard policy, I only post framebuilding pictures when I have something unusual or interesting to talk about. This fits the bill - a road/touring/travel frame for my friend Casie. She's VERY small, so it's a 49.5cm toptube - probably the smallest skinny tire bike I've ever built!

Humorously enough, there are no butted tubes *short enough* to use as a toptube on this bike in combination with the couplers, so I had to use a straightgauge 4130 toptube - it's actually heavier than the downtube! Between the couplers (extra 300 grams or so) and the non-butted tube (probably 75g or so) it's quite a bit heavier than most frames this size - it'll end up a tad over 4 pounds with all the rack mounts and fiddly bits. Still, it's meant to be unkillable and capable of carrying a load if needed, so I'm not worried about it.

Building the fork for it today, and then I'll see if I can get ahold of her for a color choice. She's in Borneo right now, so that may or may not pan out.

Thursday, November 06, 2008

What will happen to the old 29ers?


I've been thinking about the new geometry configurations for 29er suspension forks for a while (and been designing around them for the last 6 months or so). And I'm a little bummed that more isn't being done to keep the old-style forks in production.

Now don't get too upset - I think both of these companies are great, and their products work quite well. I'm just amazed that reverse compatibility has been thrown out the window. 44, 46, or 51mm rake forks will generally NOT work well with a 29er with, say, a 72 or 72.5 degree head tube angle, which is what the vast majority of the older frames out there have.

Is the new rake a step forward? In general, yes. 45mm or so of rake probably should have been the original standard, but it wasn't, and many people who bought a bike assuming they'd keep it for a long time, and be able to get replacement parts, now find themselves without much in the way of fork options. There are NOS forks from 2007 and earlier floating around, of course, and I think you can still buy 38mm rake lowers from RS if you're desperate, but basically, if you've got an "old" geometry frame, sooner or later you'll be SOL.

In a better world, we'd buy a product like a bike frame and then keep using it for a decade or so - but in reality, I think serious bike riders get a new bike every 18 months (this is a remembered statistic from BRAIN, and could easily be wrong). That means, I guess, that the fork companies really don't care much - all of those 2005 Fisher Paragons, and almost every other older 29er will be in the landfill, or gathering dust, so there's no need to keep making parts for them.

As an aside, I read a hilarious (well, sad) article on Bloomberg today about the poor economy/unemployment driving high sales at Walmart. Yeah, great - I lost my job, so I better go buy a bunch of disposable Chinese crap. I'm sure the economy will turn right around if we all do that...

Long story short, I'm now designing 29ers around the new ~45mm offset standard, which I think will have more staying power. I hope.

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

Misc for-sale post

No interesting content today, folks. I just want to dump random bike stuff without paying Ebay:

-SRAM Rival shift/brake levers. Used for about a month. I have learned that drop bars and I do not get along - hence I am swapping to flat bars and these gotta go. A smoking deal at $100 for the set, shipping included in the continental US!

-Easton EC70 44cm handlebar. Used about a month (just like the shifters) and in perfect shape - no scratches, dings, dents, crashes, etc. I'm going to the old man setup and running a flat bar. Yeah, I'm lame. $75 takes these, including shipping.

-DT Swiss EX200 rear shock. Brand new, never installed or ridden. 190 grams of propedal bliss! This is a 190mm eye to eye, 50mm stroke (2") shock. 2008 model. $200 or make me an offer!

-Ritchey WCS 4-axis stem. 100mm x 31.8 clamp. I'm going to a longer stem with my flat bar setup, so I don't need this sucker anymore. No scratches, marks, etc - perfect shape. $45 shipped.

-Thomson 100mm Elite stem. 25.4mm clamp, brand new. $50 takes it.

Email me (waltworks at gmail.com) with questions. Thanks!

Tuesday, November 04, 2008

Go vote!

I voted, like, 2 weeks ago. But y'all slackers who haven't, go get in line!

I am, as always, voting for Captain Morgan.

Just kidding. But I'm not telling you who I really voted for. All I can say is that hopefully this election will end with people *less* angry at each other. I'm not sure I see how that's possible though.

In other news:

Jorah wrote me a love letter this morning. Apparently he likes his new full-squish 29er...
"Hi Walt,

Here is some feedback for you regarding the bike.

First, you nailed the geometry. The bike fits me like a glove. The only thing that could have been a little different is a bit longer seat tube of all things; I have a carbon seatpost that is positioned exactly at its limit. But that is the only thing and it's a tiny one. Other than that, it's perfect.

Second, and perhaps due to the wonderful geometry, the bike rides better than any bike I've ever owned or ridden. I can ride up steep stuff that I would never have made it up in the past and the traction is fantastic. For whatever reason, I feel a ton more confident behind the saddle on decents as well. Handling is great (point and go but not sluggish at all), especially at slow speeds. Even when I am manhandling the bike while I creep over dicey stuff, it never feels unstable and the steering always seems to snap back when I am hauling the front wheel around. I have yet to go super fast on it, but I am not really a super fast rider.

Third, I am surprised how much of a difference the propedal makes. The suspension is super supple with propedal off (it's like riding a comfortable mattress) and feels very plush going down hills. However, there is some noticeable bob, probably due to the natural position of the chain at high rohloff gears as well as the big unsprung mass. However, with propedal, the suspension stiffens up and climbs without bob while
still being confortable. The traction, as I said before, is awesome. I can tell that I am definitely going to switch back and forth depending on conditions, something I NEVER did with my old bike. By the way, the Reba Team is a great fork with a nice lockout adjustment. However, a tiny bit of me misses the 140mm of vanilla travel (but only a tiny bit; I wouldn't want to give up the improvement in handling).

So in closing, I'd just like to say thanks! I don't regret for a second the money or the wait for this bike; it's everything I had hoped for. I think I am going to give up road biking for a while...

Cheers,

Jorah

PS, I still hope to get you a picture once it gets sunny here."

Monday, November 03, 2008

Happy birthday to me

Well, as usual, I forgot the camera for the Fruita trip, so there aren't any pictures of that stuff, but I will say:
-18 road and the bookcliffs have become a total zoo on the weekends. Good lord. Who in their right mind wants to ride *up* Zippety?
-Son of Middle Creek in Vail is a lame ride. Nice views of I-70, though...
-East Eagle/Boneyard in Eagle are some of the funnest trails I've ridden in a LONG time. Thanks to the anonymous Mafia Racing dude who helped up find the best stuff.
-I really suck at riding full suspension bikes. I think my wrist has healed up enough to bust the singlespeed back out, thank god.

In any case, we rode in Ned on Sunday and then partied to celebrate my 32 years on the planet. Everyone showed up on bikes (you can only see some of them in this shot, there must have been 20 in the entryway)


It was quite a fun time, and there's enough beer in the keg still to lubricate the election night party coming up tomorrow. Sweet.