Met up with Travis for the first half of the last of the pre-Cranky two-a-days. Put in a little short of 50 miles in on the road mostly on my favorite Riverside route. Afterwards went home for a few short hours to grab some grub watch part of the Cubs game and then grab the mtb and head out to PSP for a spin with Chris. Have to say, the pace was a relaxed one full of great conversation and it is great to have you back on the bike again.

Alarm went off for work this morning but totally do not remember turning it off. Made it to work just a few minutes before scheduled. For the rest of the day I have been fighting heavy eyelids. This is not good considering there are a bunch of Marines waiting to Spank my monkey on Sunday. The good news though is it feels as if I have plenty of energy and was actually itching to go for a short spin this evening. Knowing that I need rest more than anything now I talked myself out of it and instead gave the BUSS a look-see and a bath. It's all clean now and looking as Butt Ugly as ever!

Heading up for a pre-ride tomorrow afternoon then meeting up with JB to reserve a couple of pit stalls next to each other. Race on Sunday!

Before heading out for a ride at the Scout Camp last night I had to get rid of the awful creaks that were coming from somewhere under my arse on the BUSS. Knowing it could be a couple of things such as the bottom bracket and or an ungreased seatpost I decided to pull both re-grease and make sure everything was tight once again. The good news, the creaks are gone. The weird news is I think that is the first time since I took ownership of the bike that I have removed the seatpost entirely. Now not removing it is not the weird part. It is what I found when I did remove it.

Probably the longest seatpost I have ever seen in my life. Seriously who needs a seatpost this long? If you needed it to be raised that much, wouldn't you need a tad larger frame?

Arrived out at the Scout Camp for the first episode of what is going to become a regular pre-ride event for the 18 Hours on the Farm. Cycles Ed has once again delivered with a fantastically fun fast course. Running in the opposite direction of last year with much of the fireroad removed and replaced with singletrack this event is going to be amazing! Cannot wait for August to come around!

Not overlooking this weekend's adventure through the woods on the Quantico Marine Base however. Planning another two-a-day today (road with Travis and then PSP with Chris) but both will be at a pretty relaxed pace, I hope. Going to take Friday off from riding and then heading up to Quantico Saturday afternoon for a pre-ride of the course before the fun begins on Sunday morning.

Week in Review....

While all the locals were getting excited about the upcoming Xterra Games here in Richmond, I was taking it easy on the road all last week. Being lucky enough to have a work schedule this past week which allowed for me to ride to work 4 out of the 5 days without having to cross the bridge after dark, I took advantage of it. Not only did I not have to pay the $3 a gallon for gas in the car but I was able to get some good road miles in which is what I need to stay in shape for this weekend's 12 hours of Cranky Monkey.

Met a few folks over at Reedy Creek for what was supposed to be a Mellow Monday ride on the course the previously mentioned Xterra Games used just 2 days before. After a quick bottom bracket adjust for Joel we were back on our way for our anything but Mellow ride. Renamed Maniac Monday for the time being all of us were begging for the insanity to be over by the end of the ride.

Was able to get in a couple of decent road rides in (effort wise) yesterday and again this morning. If the weather holds off I'll be heading out to play in the dirt at an undisclosed location tonight with a few insanely fast locals. A little TLC for the BUSS is in order first however.

The Hydro-Boom has arrived from Carb-Boom. Tasted both the Orange-Mango and the Raspberry-Lemon and have to say both are very good tasting. The Raspberry-Lemon smells and tastes a bit like cotton candy in my opinion. This may or may not sound good to you but for someone with as big of a sweet tooth as myself it is P-E-R-F-E-C-T! Cannot wait for the Carb-boom to arrive early next week.

After possibly the worst night of sleep last night I decided to take the BUSS over to PSP for a very short and quick spin before work this afternoon. Was a bit disappointed when I pulled into the Qualla lot and found this ...

Hoping the sign in the lot had just not been taken down from the other day, I took the fireroads over to the trailhead were I was delighted to find they were indeed open! There is a new reroute at the beginning of the blue trail but the BUSS took it in stride. No problems with pushing the taller gear and I actually felt a bit more fluid on the climbs. No more spinning out when out of the saddle and climbing!

Looking forward to my 3 day weekend that starts tomorrow. Jenn is running a 5k on Saturday so I will be cheering her on there and then she will return the favor on Sunday at Camp Hilbert. Now if I can only decide on what class to run: SS or Enduro?

I Heart.....

Riding past this every time I want to get to one of my favorite trails

Riding with old friends

And riding the BUSS, naturally.

Had a great ride on Saturday out at PSP. Started the ride off by heading over to the Lakeviews. Ran into Lisa, Richard, Scott, and Clark while over there. Trying not to be late for dinner I said my hellos and then got back up to pace. After riding the other side of the park I was happy with the 20 something miles I had and was about to head out. Got out to the car and low and behold who's car is sitting next to mine? My ole buddy Chris! After debating whether or not I would have to time to get in a few more miles with him I gave him a call then meet him for a little overtime. Glad to see your wrist has finally healed and you are back on the bike, bud!

The BUSS now has about 50 miles roughly on it this weekend and is running strong. No signs that it looks chain hungry which is good news for me because in case you have not been around me in the last couple of days and possibly haven't heard me say it, I HEART SS-ing!

With the rains last night ZNels and I thought it best to head out to Powhite for a quick ride this morning. That place has a funny ability to make you think to yourself (or sometimes out loud) "Which way do I go?" Especially when you are trying not to ride the same trail for the 2nd, 3rd or 5th time.

After grabbing a shower, lunch and a quick nap, I headed out to the shed to give the BUSS a little long overdue TLC. In wanting to put a bigger gear on it but not wanting to spend more money on chainrings, I pulled out the gold RaceFace crank that came stock on it. I had bent something on it awhile back and it started to eat chains. Breaking one almost every other ride. Well I think I have it straight once again but cannot say for certain until I give it a new chain to chew on.

I had picked up another set of the Ergon grips the other day at the shop. Since I was going to remove the Pepperjacks I figured I might as well install the new Avid Ti Brake levers I bought months ago. Both the grips and levers look and feel amazing! A new set of pads and cables completed the pampering of said BUSS for the night.

Before Friday, I plan on replacing the bearings in the rear wheel. Stay tuned for that as I plan on doing it myself for the first time. Could get ugly?!

With the 2007 MTB race season on the horizon I thought it would be a good idea to get the BUSS up and running properly once again. Picked up some nicely new-sed Ti brakes.
Then the other day the little brown elf brought me a present from this year's tire sponsor Maxxis. They were nice enough to send me a new set of rubbers for the BUSS so there would be no new baby BUSS's running around anytime soon.
First impression while installing them. Can I take those large 2.35's in the rear? Damn right I can! Although they must be flat in order for me to get them through the brake calipers. Took them out for a quick 8 mile spin at PSP Friday aftertnoon. I have to say I felt an immediate confidence in the tire as I was able to just lean and rail. Lean and rail.

Work today then Hilbert tomorrow for some enduro action!

Riverside to PSP

Made it out for a ride on Tuesday. Decided to take an easy spin through the city and come back via the Riverside. All went well for the first 25 miles. Then the tightness in my right knee came back which is what I was trying to avoid by taking it "easy". Made a short stop at the Hugenout Flatlands and got off the bike. Magically when I got back onto the bike the tightness was gone. Decided not to cut the ride short and heading up Old Gun and back to the casa.


Took the BUSS over to the shop yesterday. My man Dave changed the oil in the fork. Have to give up to that fork. 6 years old and just getting its first oil change. Only reason I even had it down was because it had developed a squeak. Squeak is now gone!

And here is something you don't see to much anymore.

Headed over to PSP today for a quick spin. Enjoyed every minute of it. I might start to spend more time playing in the dirt and possibly less on the road. Hard decision though as I have fallen for both! Its like picking between two hot ladies. Seriously how does one choose?!