Adrenalin Junkie

Mmmmm salt. I love it on my food, works great to melt ice as well.  I sure there are many more applications for salt then what I can think of right now. I do know one use is throwing salt over your shoulder for good luck. If this is true I am the luckiest MoFo after today’s ride. Not to  many times have I gotten to my destination and tasted this much salt in my mouth. Like I had taken a swig of salt water. I suppose if it wasn’t for the salt I would have a bit more of a battle getting to work during these winter months. Soooo hurray salt.

My lovely steel Miyata (Totem) frame is probably groaning every-time I ride it this time of year. Even though I solemnly believe bikes would rather be ridden then just set aside.  Totem is my work horse. He gets me there smoother than any of my other bikes. Much fewer moving parts to have issues with as well. The amount of potholes, miles, grime, salt, sprinting and drunk riding I have done on Totem sometimes astounds me. A work horse he may be but damn I would miss him.

I think it is time to bring him further into the fixed gear genre. I kept the fit and set-up the same when I converted him. Planing to get used to fixed gear before I drastically changed my one true bike love.  it is time to cut the bars down a bit, flip the stem and get some shorter cranks. I will keep the fatter tires on for the duration of the winter. They rock and roll (Bontrager H2 Hardcases). Stay tuned for pics in a few days.

Yeah that is me getting some not so major air. Give me a F*ckin’ break it haven’t snowboraded in 8 years! Maybe that is why I was so freakin’ sore.

Some pics came through of my adventures this past Tuesday at Da Summit. Here is one of dirt…yes dirt. I know it is hard to believe. But it was there and it was soft enough for me to play with it and for K to taste it. MMMMM dirt! Needs a little Tabasco to melt the rest of that pesky white stuff around it. Don’t get too excited though…we still have a least a month before we can relax about snow falling. It will go by fast. I promise!

My right leg has finally healed from the fun and games on Tuesday. I got out on my fixie (Totem) yesterday and enjoyed a nice ride around Stoneham. Dropped off a movie and got some groceries afterwards. It was nice out, not super cold. It was right around 6pm and the wind started to pick up a bit. I got a weird look from a guy pushing shopping carts at Shaws. I gave him a weird look back.  The look conveyed: “What? you’ve never seen a guy on a bike? Look at you…you are pushing a hunk of cold metal around too. Maybe you are the crazy one. At least my hunk of metal brings me places and doesn’t have a wobbling wheel. HAHAHHAHAHA!”

Well, after my 4 days off from the bike (damn muscles) I am itching to get back on my sled and ride to work tomorrow. The weather should hold off until Wednesday so it should be a good Monday to start the week off right. I am also going to post a pic of some sick googles that were found and given to me. Hmmm I may have mentioned them in my last blurb.  They are the wackiest and sexiest googles I have ever slipped onto my face. No idea who made them. Maybe that is why I like ’em so much.

Sooooo, tomorrow will be a fixed ride in and back. Tuesday will be an early snow shoe expedition to pack some trails down in hopes to ride them for Saturday. The snow shoes really do a great job and they really don’t leave it packed smooth. This makes the trail bummpy… simulating some roots and rocks (that are really covered by the snow).

Hope to see you out there. As always go out and enjoy some brew at you local watering hole and have a great couple of days!

The last few days have been interesting. A compilation of events starting off with an amazing weekend. And ending (maybe not ending) with a large purchase and some alterations to my office/work area. Lots of snow and sightly warm temperatures have made this week even more riveting.

Saturday I had to work but it wasn’t too bad because I took a break in the early afternoon to help my pappy with an authentic artificial Amish fireplace. Uhhhhh ya get that one? Then got to hang out and look at interesting Internet stuff while listening to music with a friend. Sunday was snowing. Work was closed and was snowed in because of the bad driving conditions and a lack of riding supplies for my friend. Watching MTB videos and watching snow fall simultaneously is stressful.

Monday…nothing special other than shoveling a shyte load of snow. More than I care to.

Tuesday was an event. Went to work Via car unfortunately. I know I am a pansy. Afterwards I redeemed myself with some awesomeness that only Da Summit can muster.  K and I went snowboarding Glade style. We quickly realized that the grade of the slope was not enough with the amount of fluffy stuff that was covering the earth. So I pulled out my snowshoes and proceeded to stomp the snow down so that we could speed up a bit on the boards. Damn that made a huge difference. Check out some of the pics on “Da Summit” blog that are coming in the next couple days. It will be the first post on there since K and I created it. Yes we are procrastinators. After that we went back and drank some beers ’round the fire pit at K’s house.

I feel asleep pretty quickly that night. Having now idea what I was about to do on Wednesday.  I got to work on Wednesday. I was more sore than I have ever been from doing any sort of exercise. I feel a few time of the snowboard, but damn I am sore even today. Anyway, I was at the shop for 20minutes when the Snap-On rep. came in with a killer deal for me. I spoke of a new tool box earlier in the fall of 2008. He came to me with a offer i couldn’t refuse. My new baby. a 54″ X 24″ Roller cab from Snap-On. Pic above is of one of my favorite stickers. The pic links below are of the box in all it’s glory. Sorry for the blurred pics I already had a couple of frosty ones with some friends while rebuilding one of there forks.

Well from then I have been super excited and can’t wait to get that thing in my work area and all organized.  I thin this is my first huge purchase for anything professional…other than bikes. Yes I consider that a profession expense. I just so happen to enjoy it as well. How many of you can say that.

Well I am off to heal up and drink a beer. Cheers and happy slushing

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I won’t lie…most cases my medicine is beer. It has cured the common cold. Mended wounds from tarmac and earth. Even soothed the pain of a broken heart. Luckily these ailments are not the problem today. The problem is a bit of the winter doldrums. I probably tortured my self by watching my favorite mountain bike movie. Even more salt in the wounds…the TV was right next to the window that showcased the falling snow.  I guess it is a sort of therapy for me to watch these amazing flicks. It puts a bug in my ear. allows my mind to day dream and give me hope for what is to come.

I believe that motivation comes in many forms. From the amazing people that ride their bikes year round to music to videos and even working on a bike lights a fire under my ass. It all motivates me to ride. It makes me want to smell the dirt and leaves being kicked up by my tires. The smell of the air just before it rains and the feeling in my bones just before I take a plunge into the depth the forest. It invigorates me to no end.

Many other things in life motivate me. My Goddaughter and my family. They motivate me to be a better, more whole person. My friends motivate me to be more loyal and proud of who I am.   My bike motivates me to push. Push everything that is me. From how I carry myself to who I am associated with. My bikes rule my life. Every were I go in my life there is something that is bike related. Even if it is not directly related I make sure there is an underlying message or glimpse of the cycling life. These things keep me focused and on track.

Snow brings a not so new element into my life.  I have always ridden my mountain bikes through the winter. I never thought I would have so much fun on a skinny tired bike sluggin’ through the snow as if I had a 58/11, but damn it is a new side of this life for me. I get a new enjoyment out of it. Even though my home is dirt I feel as though snow is a more advanced difficulty. Much like video games have. When I ride snow I feel I am in “Legendary” mode. Blazing guns so quickly that you have to play in a slow motion state. You have to be on point and ready for the unexpected. You can’t see whats coming so be ready for the hidden log or rock or small alien creature with a weapon. Be ready for ice, for solid ground, and the occasional Scareb. It sneaks up on you like a jack in the box. You know its coming but damn…no matter how many times you have it pop, you still get surprised.

Okay, I went off onto a tangent. A lot of babble spuing from my brain today. I have been couped up drinking beer and enjoying some “roughage”.   All this babble is why I started this blog. I want to give you a peek into a persons life. You may know many people like me. You will never know it but WE all  have a similar take on things. We all want the same for ourselves. We want to be motivated and feel useful. If a bicycle is your thing then go ride it…snowing or not. If cars are your thing then be responsible and help the earth by carpooling and being a better driver and drive the f**** out of it. If horses are your thing then…pick up the poop.

Go out tonight or tomorrow night and drink some good liquid with friends and family. Talk about things you love and stop thinking about the freaking snow. Love life, love bikes, love beer, New England!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Winter in New England. Sometimes I think the reason why everyone thinks that New Englanders (Bostonians in particular) are grumpy, grouchy and rude is becuase of our wonderful winters. I guess there is some merit to that thought. Think about it. If you woke up everyday in a different bed that had a different plushness with different pillows would you be very happy?

On the other hand what about the old saying that “variety is the spice of life”. This statement blows me away everytime I say it. If I was stuck in a perpetual 20 degress fareinhit or 90 degrees I wouldn’t be happy either.  Although living in some places that have a nice 70-75 degree average with a light breeze would be pretty damn sweet. But I go back to the variety statement. I think I would get bored with it.

I have lived in this climate for 27years. Every summer I complain about the humidty and heat. Every winter I complain about the blustry cold. The spring and summer months I, of course, find something to complain about. With that said I wouldn’t change New England and it’s climate. It is who I am. It is who WE are. We are tougher than everyone else because we are able to put up with everything that it involves. So what if we are grumpy and rude. Wear your badge proudly. Show those out of towners what it’s all about.

Next time you walk out your door to swing your leg over your top tube and curse the cold. Remember the years before that you made it through. Remember the slushy gray days that you plowed through on your two wheeled sled. You made it that day. You can make it today. Wear that F****** badge proudly!

Above picture: A fellow commuter that commutes year round. He has outfitted his bike with some unorthodox fenders and accessories. These are fenders from a Honda Quad. A bit heavy but does a better job than any other fender I have ever seen. Bravo my friend!

Something has been brought to my attention and I unfortunately have to put a disclaimer out to you, the people that read my blog. For which I am grateful that someone out there feels I am interesting enough to actually read my babble.

I write about my experiences with repairs and builds. Not about the people that own them.  I really want people to understand that this site is in no way an attack on those who owned or own these bikes.  I want you to understand that I write this blog to educate you, my fellow cyclists. To express my concerns as a mechanic. And to also share some of the awesomeness that I am exposed to day to day. In fact I have choosen and will continue to choose the particular experiences I write about, because I think that those people would be happy and proud of there “accomplishments”. To break a frame in half or completely corrode a frame is certainly and achievement and not many humans get to go through that. Know that I mean no harm or ill will to anyone. Anyone!

The above picture is a good example. This person, a good friend, rides their ass off constantly. One of the very few people that commute and ride year round. They were hit by a van (another story for another day). The bike is completely totaled. Did I mention it was a very expensive purty bike? They adored this bike and a man in a four wheel box of death plowed right along into them. Garrr!

In a way I am envious of these people. Of course I have broken my fair share of parts and bikes. But these people have ridden so hard and so much that they have actually surprised me. They have left me in awe. You my friends are certainly marvelous!

Keep riding hard and rocking out with you bike out!

Music is something that is so powerful to me that I treat it like food. When I here what I like I can amost taste the groove. It empowers me with so much energy that it beams forth through my pores. Like the sweat beading on my upper lip after consuming habenero sauces. It proves to be the driving force for any activity I do. Cycling in particular.

What I wonder is how powerful music really is. Not to myself but to others. I never got how my father could listen to talk radio that just drones on. Espacially when there are musicians that make those subjects interesting with a simple guitar riff or drumline. I realize that these talk jocks have their own opinions and spin on matters of the universe. But they are just not interesting. When I was a kid the only way that I would actually sleep in the car is if that babble was on the radio.

The only person/artist that I can stand to listen to for hours without actually seeing him jump around, scream, sweat and ramble is Rollins. He keeps it interesting by throwing some wacky stuff into your brain, mixing it like bingo numbers and then blows it up with some C4. He realizes that people don’t want to be drowned by the same crap over and over. You gotta drown people with vivid, real, meaningful and meaningless crap.

Anyways, give music to your family and friends. Even if they don’t like it, at least you gave them a chance to ship off to a distant place in their heads that they may not have ventured to before.  Go explore for yourself and you never know what might empower you. Give yourself a Music Mustache. Your bike will love you for it.