sand in my...

Just have to make it to work & back tomorrow, upright that is, and I'll have made it through the first 2 months of the year without a crash. That being said, I decided to not ride outside yesterday & hibernated on the trainer. The workout...top secret. Ok, not top secret but I won't be boring you with the details. Pedaling, sweating, & clock watching pretty much sums it up.

Some spy photos came through on the 2-way last night from my man on the mower in Austin. Sam, Showen, & Wood-nuts are taking in the sites at nabhs. Form & function, excess...he'll yay!

simple...red with white panel, love it.

That's what I'm talking about! Jay Sycip & Chris King's love child. Can't get much more understated with that dash of color on the fork & downtube. Murdered out Corsa's & Ti seatpost & stem from Moots.he'll yay!!Made a discovery yesterday on the trainer, well actually two. First is I can never get enough of the Bugatti Veyron, featured repeatedly on Top Gear. This isn't what I watched yesterday but it's my favorite segment, ever, on Top Gear...

Second light bulb moment...Rugby is awesome. American pro-football is a joke (I could rant but I won't), European football is mind numbing (how about shrinking the field a bit to tighten up the action). I do like the Euro crowd participation though, 10's of thousands singing in unison is sweet. If you like the option play in american football or the occasional desperation "hook & ladder" attempt you'll like rugby. Add in no helmets or pads, big hits, & guys all built like NFL linebackers you've got rugby. Impressive. I'm not naive, these dudes are probably juiced like the rest of pro sports but there's a gladiator like element to it that's appealing. HD on a big TV, 4 feet away on the trainer didn't hurt either.

Later,

TK

shooting flaming arrows across the bridge of Hemdale...

Cultiva, 8 am. Huge turnout, like 30 or something. 4 Serotta CX's (3 Ti & one steel) parked out front, that' s more than we saw coast to coast on the whole USGP circuit. I saw one for sure in the pit in Fort Collins...that's it. Morning Sam!

Fast forward...we rode & rode, then rode some more. Below: route discussion just South of Sterling, 6 of us were in for the long haul. That's Mr Finks up from Clinton, MO for the adventure.
Highlight of the ride, at least mine, was the dismount & hike over this closed bridge. Bummer was the dead deer, coyote, & raccoon dump on the other side. Ahhhh, rural Nebraska...
Bonus footage...Thursday I found $5000 dollars in front of the Cornhusker Hotel! Well, the wrapper at least...
Friday, Skip...I'm stalking you.
Later,

TK

i'll kill you leonard nimoy...

I probably would have enjoyed yesterday's sunrise more if I wasn't at work, but I took a few seconds to take it all in...

First bare-legged commute of the season, temps in the lower 30's. Scars really "pop" when given the chance...
12 hours later. Squeezed in an hour of dub-g, made me whacky...
sunset, I lingered...
Later,

TK

a little something like this...

...bibs, knee warmer's, shoe covers. Both days for an 8:00 am'er, sweet! Now we've turned the corner. Days are getting longer, ice is melting, mood is lifting. Sure it's going to get cold again, probably even snow but whatever, this past weekend & most of this week was/will be kick ass.

50 years & a day this man has been on this planet, our paths merged in Crete, NE so I could witness him eat this gas station burger. Happy 1/2 century bro, good spending some time with ya this weekend...
saturday kolache stop...
world domination...
road side chat...
both rides, both days ended at the fizz. It's perfectly placed as we roll in from the south, a bonker's oasis. I've rolled in here so wobbly in the past that I couldn't even make it in. Idaho Spud...hmmm?
warm weather fun's not over...the thaw brings forth the opportunity for an all out assault on the backyard poo piles. I was able to clean about 85% of the yard leaving a small patch untouched due to remaining ice & snow. It's a muddy mess in spots, nice to get the boots out for something other than the occasional CX race...
oh yeah, the rides...we went west, south, east, & north. Something like that. Good times, good people, thanks.

Later,

TK

farewell, you won't be missed...

shape of a unicorn...

for real...

...yesterday was a high of 4 or 6 depending on who you ask. Wind chill on the way in was humbling, negative whatever. The residential's are ridiculous right now. There are patches of pavement but mostly its long stretches of ice so hard its like stone...and slicker than snot and lumpy, everything from a 1/2 inch thick to 3-5 inches thick or more in spots. My ride in isn't so bad, sidewalk to the corner then main roads to the workplace. Traffic is pretty light when I head in. It's the ride home that blows, lots of traffic, lots of people needlessly in a hurry. Most of them can't wait 5-10 seconds for a clear shot to get by, they feel the need to squeeze through a small gap as they pass me...usually with their foot mashed down on the accelerator. Saturday we'll see temps pushing 50, then more of the same Sunday and into next week. This winter hasn't been that bad , but I need some warmth to recharge my mental state. Enhance my calm...

Later,

TK

catalina winemixer...

Saturday, roads we're great, warmed up & didn't rain till later...I was dressed for rain, whoops. Might as well have rained I was soaked from wearing rain gear in 30 something degree weather with no rain...

ice beard-less...

http://www.ingliscycles.comfreak beat me please...
then there was one, that 12 lasted the week. Got a Goose Island Orange Cream 4 - banger chilling as I write though...
Later,

TK

small victory...

I made it through the month of January without crashing! Pretty rare for me actually. Didn't feel like a victory as I was laying on my chest in the driveway Saturday morning while walking one of the dogs, made it all the way around our neighborhood circuit & then ate shit on the final corner walking up the driveway. I did get a couple sympathy licks & a confused "why are you laying in the driveway way" look.

Monday was the real test. I rolled out of the driveway just before 6:00am as it just started to mist/rain. Temperature in the teens, this is not going to be good. Somehow made it about a mile from work before I gently brought myself to a stop, dismounted, & walked or rode the ditch (when available) the last stretch. My whole front side was coated in a thin layer of ice, but I made it...

the parking lot at work yesterday morning...we had a few inches of snow Monday night but with the layer of ice already on the ground & the high winds, the surface was polished smooth. Ice rink quality.
We got off lucky? Looks like plenty of other folks are getting it way worse.

Later,

TK