O diem praeclarum...

and with you...

made it, barely...

summer...

hmmm...

 that's texas toast to you pilgrim...

homemade strawberry/rhubarb slather...

Have a great weekend!

TK

2011 Gravel Worlds *

by request...

thanks sam...

ya know yesterday was a bullshit day, here's hoping today is fucking better...

later,

TK

gwavull wolds...

Up at 3:15am, C-bread picked me up at 4:15, start line before 5:00am.  Fast forward to MT's NW27th moral booster oasis around 7:30 - 8:00 am...

 Hour and a bit later, saw Super Don on some gravel on the way back into Lincoln, stopped for some b-day coffee & brownies from about 9:30 - 11:00.  Who's though?

Whoops, camera facing the wrong way...

 Noon napper...

 Open woman & 50+ from DM...

 C-bread & Chris from Ohio...

SS Women's, bad ass...

 Says it all, it was a good day...

Thanks everyone!

TK

exhale...

minerals...

I would have updated the tree saga but it knocked out the cable line to the house when they removed the tree & we've been w/o internet since Tuesday (I'm posting from work).  Since then the ever present danger of the remaining portion of the tree has held us captive while we wait for it to either come crashing down on our house & garage or the tree service to get there this morning to start removing it.  I think we made it, I hope.  Last night's wild storm had me camped out at the back door watching it get hammered by the high winds, but somehow it made it through the night.

Less than 24 hours from now g-dubs will be in full swing.  It's going to be historic!  Who has the most guts, determination, staying power...whatever you want to call it.  I always mentally prepare for the worst & anything less is a bonus.

I'll be riding a bit & helping promote this year so don't look for me at the pointed end.  Looking forward to seeing everyone at the finish.  Dig deep, push yourself further than you think possible, pain & suffering are temporary...gravel glory lasts a life-time!!!

Bring it on!!!!!!!!!!

Later,

TK

mardi gras...

The two on the left are poised to take out the neighbors house, the middle one her garage, the one on the right our garage...

This guy could have taken out the whole house but somehow found the least damaging path to come to rest...

The house did take a hit, but minor compared to what could have happened....

Tree people are coming today.  We feel lucky, lucky there wasn't more damage & lucky there coming today.  After last weeks storms the tree services are buried in work.

I did manage to get the car out of the garage at lunch yesterday by driving it through the neighbor's back yard.

Later,

TK

good, good, bad...

some big things going down in the lab yesterday, stay tuned...

...and at the grocery store.  I was chatting up the old guy handing out cookie samples in the bakery and he upgraded me to a full cookie vs. a couple small nuggets in a little cup.  A little more small talk & he hit me with round 2 (as seen below).  Oh yeah...

 unhappy ending alert...approximately 11:30 pm the neighbors unsafe tree attempted to take out our house.  Somehow it missed the house but got both fences & is blocking our driveway & the other neighbors drive, it's that big.  Here's the LES dude restoring our power at 12:30am this morning, oh yeah it tore down the power lines as well.

Could have been way worse, it did clip the corner of the house causing some damage to the gutter & roof.  Could have been way worse!  I'm preparing myself for an insurance cluster with my neighbor.  The kicker is there is still multiple HUGE appendages left of this tree, the one I'm worried about would take out the lab & our car which is trapped inside...

I was just discussing this accident waiting to happen with Mrs. Mod on Saturday, well it happened...

Later,

TK

we made it...

...have a killer weekend!!!

almost half-way there...

small doses...

Oh yeah gravel riding, I remember that.  Friday I decided to get down the gravel rig & prepare it for the business trip at hand.  With g-dubs less than 2 weeks away, a few things needed to be ironed out.  Mission accomplished both days this weekend.  Best part, I had fun doing it...  

Hadn't ridden gravel since 6-4-11, DK. I was burned out, didn't even want to ride gravel.  I hung the bike from the rafters & walked away, hoping the enjoyment would someday return.  This weekend's rides were baby steps towards adding some gravel back into the diet.  So far so good, again...it was fun.

Pit stop...

Later,

TK

shri hari sharnam mamaha...

Just 10 hours of bullshit stand between me & the weekend.  He'll yay! What?

Happy birthday JT!  40 dog, damn.

Weekend plan...ride.  Where, don't know.

Later,

TK

aout...