Day 51...Kids, CX and Frites' Secret Weapon

Ok, Im sorry.  I saw through my "stats" that I was actually gaining some readers(thank you btw for using your valuable time to read my shtuff!) and over the course of last week, I managed to lose some of you do to my "Lame Week".  Thus is Life.  Ebbs and Flows for every aspect of it.  Afterall if we maintained consistency we'd either be a robot, or there'd be no need for motivation of any sort.  

My youngest heard the bike race on the computer yesterday and kept asking me, the way kids do non stop until they get what they want or we walk out of the room, to watch it while he ate breakfast.  So he sat there and watched a bunch of really fit dudes race their bikes really fast.

chillin with a bowl of cereal and some CX

he got a lil upset when the feed crapped out for a min...

So after a day of keeping the kids entertained while mom did an awesome job of doing our annual tax returns, I went down to The Wynkoop for the Frites En Mayo team meeting.  It was good to see friends and meet some new ones.  

These guys/gals are all about Cross, pure and simple.  They live for it and have fun all at the same time.  Their team has jumped in size more than 2 fold since last year, all by people who want to race cross and who have heard of the super friendly reputation of the team.  

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As part of their "tongue n cheek" mentality towards the professional peloton, the "Team Pen" reflects that beautifully.  I think theyre awesome personally!

They also took orders for their summer specific kit.  Super clean and very nice lightweight fabric will be used on this setup.

Nothing like a lil "boost" on your next autograph!

the Frites Summer kit...very nice!

 All in all it was a great day.

...boots out.

Day 25...I Have Pics 2nite!

So Im not even going to talk about the "goals" thing tonight.  Its too much of a sad state of affairs, that I think until I have something concrete to tell Ill continue the posting.  Albeit it will be more along the bike stuff that takes place in my little world.

On that note, today was a pretty productive day in the home shop.  2 sets of tubulars, 2 diff clients, got their first coat of glue, and are curing as "we speak".  One is a pair of "Classics" wheels.  Nice low profile alloy rims w/traditional 3x spoking, and a set of Vittoria trainer tubies.  They are going to one of the "heads of state" over at Frites En Mayo.  The second set is going to a new client who races for the Pro Design Cycling Womens' Team.  She has a set of, fresh out of the box, ZIPP 303 Firecrest wheels, and Vittoria Evo's for tires.  Once permission is given to use her name, Ill throw it out there for everyone.  Definitely devoted as she works fulltime and just CAT'd up to a 1!

The other project was for my man Pete Lopez.  This guy has more Independent Fabrication bikes than most shops!  He broke a frame and found a replacement while the original gets fixed at IF HQ.  Nice lil Reynolds 853 rig.

One project left, respoke a Williams Cycling Wheel w/its original hub.  Waiting on spokes then that will be a fun couple hours.

Tomorrow will be more glue and the finishing work on Pete's bike.

Day 8...CXNats

Today was the last day of the "warm up" as I'm calling it, and by "it" i mean my goals/resolutions for this year.  Tomorrow I start actually doing some physical work, on top of the changing of the diet this past week.  Core work and some upper body workouts will be a daily occurrence from here on out.  I'm aiming for the mindset from back in my swimming days.  Yep, did that, year round for about 8 years in Jr High, High School and college.  Keeping basic strength training going on a daily basis was everything then.  So, i figured Id aim for that mindset and just suck it up and go for it.

Also today, the guys over at Frites En Mayo managed to procure a room upstairs in The Wynkoop Brewery for a viewing of Cyclocross Nationals.  I managed to get there for the Mens' race, and saw quite a few friends, as well as met some twitter "friends"(which is kinda weird when you actually do meet someone from online in person).  It was great and I hope they manage to do more stuff like that!  Next year, it'd be nice to actually be there, or at Masters Worlds/Elite Worlds in person!

That's it...putting the pregnant wife to bed, then I'm gonna enjoy my last few hours of being "pain free".  Boots out...

CX Love

Getting a bike ready for cross is no small task at times, especially when you get into something and find that things havent been done, or they are just plain ole dirty.  After going through my boy, Matt Klick of Frites-en-Mayo, bike, he should be all ready to roll this weekend!  All new Jagwire cables and housing, new bar tape, and a fresh coat of grease in all the right places.

Have fun Matt!

After a good bath, his steed rested peacefully in the stable overnight

cleaning and grease are a must for Cross season

this was the lower bearing in his headset...sad sight and much better now!

after cleaning, its all ready for a fresh thin layer of grease...those "creaks" you hear in your headset, check to make sure its all greased. most shops dont double check it from the factory

clean, inflated wheels make the world go round...literally!

even though they will more than likely fall off, its the little touches that make prepping a bike super fun and rewarding

fizik bar tape is not my favorite, but ive managed to become friendly enough with it so it lets me wrap it nicely

Everything on this frame is toptube run

nice new cable/housing set works pretty good actually, and im not a fan of Teflon coated cable...Jagwire Race Cable/Housing set

I removed the water bottle bolts and replaced with bits of electrical tape...no sticking into the ribs when carrying now!

not the best photo, but heres the finished product

that fizik bar tape, a love/hate relationship

Avid Ultimate Canti's are the choice for Matt

Representin local team love here!