Hi!

Here Comes Monday

I'm stoked and you should be too. Some weeks I feel like that guy there in the picture and the week is just bearing down on me like so many tanks....I love Mondays!
So, out of sheer luck I picked the final four NCAA b-ball teams. I mean, all I did was pick the 4 #1 seeds, it wasn't hard.
I get three bottles of wine from the other guys in the office pool. I fully expect a bottle of Boones or Night Train to be tossed in there, and thats fine with me.
Motab last night was good. I rode into town with no hat and no gloves on, I haven't done that in about 6 months. Awesome!
This past weekend, we joined a local CSA, the JenEhr Farm in Sun Prairie. Buying into a local farm is something that we've been talking about for a long time, and we finally did it. The farm is located about 6 miles from our house, so we are really looking forward to riding the Xtracycle out there this summer to pick up our veggies and chickens.
Nearing 80 people signed up for the H8R in two weekends, it's gonna be a big one.
Also, today is opening day for the Detroit Tigers, and it looks like it'd going to be a very interesting season. The team is commited to spending the $ to get a good team, and reading the experts reports this spring has me hoping for a run deep into the playoffs.
The Roar has been restored!

New News From Charles

Snot Rocket's man in the field sent an email to say he's updated his website with some more writing. Get a nice hot/cold beverage and read on.

Continued Retreat

Spring is on the attack! Reports earlier this week had us getting a bunch of snow, but it never came. Heavy frost last night, but little else!
UW plays tiny Davidson in the sweet 16 of the NCAA hoops tourney tonight. Thats going to be a good one. I think a bunch of us are going to head down to the Come Back Inn for some brews to watch it.

The Kids Are Not Alright

Just came across this story while eating my lunch of rice and chicken.
Getting kids involved in fight clubs? What the fuck happened to teaching your kid how to fix bikes and build bird houses?

Riding It

I'm running 8 speed w/ friction right now. For traveling I have a flip/flop rear wheel just to cut down on weight and set up hassle.
Also, I have a different fork w/the 12 Pack Rack mounted to it. Just got a new Blaze Dynamo proto type to try out as well.

Plastic Soup

Is what's for dinner.

Tuesday Night Road Trip

Met up with the fellas down at the Mainframe last night to hang as I often do on Tuesday nights. ZR had found a lathe on Craigs List and wanted to buy it. Problem was it was down in Janesvegas and the guy didn't want to hold it until the weekend. He asked me to go along and frankly I had nothing better to do so I agreed. Jonny Cycles jumped on board as well. We hopped in the mighty Subaru and pointed it SE.
The quote of the night was from ZR when he said "There can't be that many places in Janesville..." Well I'll be damned to find that there are. We drove around for a long time. We saw the river, crossed the tracks into the rough part of town, saw the trailer park (twice) and had a tour of several gas stations where several variations of the same directions were given.
In Janesvegas they don't give road directions, but land marks: "Cross two sets of tracks, turn left at the Pick N'Save, Right at Burger King, etc."
Someone realized that we had forgotten the cargo straps, and the pictures on the internet made this thing look pretty big, so there was some worry as to how we'd get it home.
When we finally got to the house, we found the lathe to be, well, so small it was almost cute. With some quick thinking and dis-assembly we fit it right in the car with me in the back seat. The guy even threw in a matching drill press. The whole set up is probably from the 1940s, so overall it was a good score. The fellas there at the bike factory are really getting geared up with the machines, so this was a nice addition.
As is now the custom, whenever you buy something in Janesvegas on Craigs List, you must eat at Hooters. Which we did. The Bud on tap there is quite tastey, so if you are in the neighborhood, stop in and say HI!

And wouldn't you know it, this new Graeme Fife book looks like a real winner.

Something Is Better Than Nothing

Take the cat out of the comic, and it is still funny.
The spring is full on today, snow is melting everywhere!

Back From God's Country

The above brews are two of the canned offerings from Michigan's Keeweenaw Brewing Co.. Very tastey supplies I brought back with us yesterday. The KBC also offers the Lift Bridge Brown in cans. I had the opportunity to try the Widow Maker Black Ale on Friday at the Portside Inn in Marquette. Widow Maker indeed.
Deep snows up there, North facing slopes had thigh deep ground cover. It made for slow trail breaking.
Madison got some more snow while we were gone, but it is already on the melt again. Time to start thinking about the garden.

BLIZZARD!

Sitting in Negaunee, Michigan staring out at Teal Lake...can't see very far at all. Luckily the coffee is really good here at Becker Villa.
The last two days have been a blur of great friends, beautiful weather, delicious food, interesting artifacts, barking dogs, deep snow and huge fires. Just what I needed.
The beer has flowed freely, and the only thing I would change would be NMU beating UofM in the CCHA hockey playoffs on Friday, instead of Northern having to settle for 3rd place.
Not looking forward to the drive home, but you'll have that some times.

First Day Of Spring!

Chris Potter Photo
Headed north this evening. It is always a good trip for me when the journey takes me to Lake Superior. AKA the world's largest freshwater swimmin' hole.
Sounds like they still have a ton of snow up there, so we are taking the snow shoes, and no bikes. It is a trade off, but one I'm more than willing to make.
The photo above that Potter took is of me near Wetmore's Landing just north of Marquette. It is at once a peaceful and savage place. I would rather be there, than just about anywhere else.

One Shot

Sean D., domestique extraordinaire, sent this along this morning. J-Pick was right, that is more bikes than I've ever seen in front of the 3rd Base Bar. But as they say in Marquette, "you gotta stop at 3rd before you can head for home."

Arthur C. Clark died yesterday. Bummer. Perhaps the best science fiction writer the world has known? Asimov fans may disagree. Read 2001 and decide for yourself.

Stuff On The Horizon

Yeah, Gnome Fest I'm going to go this year for real. It is up at Levis Trow, so I can't think of a reason not to go. The riding there is perfect, some of the best in the midwest.
ZR got me a ticket to Kraftwerk next month in Milwaukee. This is one of those things that kind of just falls in your lap, and you say HELL YEAH. I'm stoked for the show, and it's been a while since I could say that about a music event.

Headed to Marquette this weekend. Spoke to my man J-Pick last night and he gave me a report from the 8th Annual St. Patricks ride that went down there last night. 30 or so participants, which is twice what there was the first year, started at Clearys around 6:30. There was some gnarly snow going on, but folks hung tough. Stops included Pats Bar, The Wooden Nickel, 3rd Base Bar (where JP reported the largest bike pile he'd ever seen in Marquette) and it proceeded to the Bar Formerly Known As The Shorelander. Bobkie Bear was in possession of the purse of shame at that point.
Gosh I miss that place!

Goals for this weekend include drinking Veir Beir, snowshoeing and poaching at least one sauna at NMU.

New Case

The new backpack case from S&S just showed up. It doesn't look like a bike is going to fit in it, but they say it will. We shall see. From the technical drawings, it is easy.


The idea is to be able to take the bike with me for travel, but not get dinged $80-100 each time I fly with it, and also mix in some public transit to increase my range of fun, ie, take the bike on the bus to Chicago, etc. I'll let you know how packing goes.

Rites Of Spring

Went for a 40 mile ride Saturday with the wife. It was awesome. The sun was beating down all day, and the wind wasn't too bad until the last few miles. The Travelers check is a go.
Spent Sunday getting rid of some residual snow and ice on the property. Ah, spring!

Happy Birthday Albert

Just Because

Figured I'd throw this up, just for the hell of it.
It's Friday afternoon. It's sunny and mid 40s out. I'm ready to go ride. See you later.

Cognition

Thats right, Cognition is now Global. Nice work Kelly and Lyle. Keep it up!

H8 Poster

Poster by Creepy

The field for the race is getting big, I like to see that! Spent last night brewing some belgian style beers w/Lyle. ZR was there to offer moral support. The idea is to make our own beer to enjoy during the Paris Roubaix this year, we'll see what happens in a couple of weeks. Also watched a stage of Paris-Nice. Holy shit, the stage from a couple of days ago in the fog was great! Hushovd's solo attack on the final long descent was an instant classic.
Temps already around 40 here, headed for 46 or so. The snow is melting everywhere, so much stuff just got buried this winter...
Oh yeah, check out the new ZR on 650b.com.

H8ER 100

This abandoned train tunnel is now part of the Badger State Trail and is part of the 2008 H8ER 100 coming April 12th.
Find out what you need to know here.

Random Scramble 8

Coming soon to a pub near you! (If you live in Marquette)

A bunch of buddies, a bunch of winter beater bikes, sometimes a gas mask and usually fireworks. That is the recipe for a memorable St. Patrick's Day in my book. I'll see if I can get one of those folks to write a report of the evening next week.
Had a great day in the saddle yesterday. Old man winter is doubled over right now, but I'm not fooled. He can still get up and slap us around a bit and I'm sure he will yet this spring. It was daylight until after 7 pm, and I rode 20 plus last night...which for my lazy ass this winter is pretty good. Brewing beer tonight, followed by perhaps a Wednesday Night Ride? It was a good ride in this morning, but there is some creeping ice melt that threatened to put me dowwwnnn.

Iggy

"Madonna didn't perform but asked punk rockers Iggy Pop and the Stooges to sing "Burning Up" and "Ray of Light." At the end, a shirtless Pop said, "you make me feel shiny and new, like a virgin touched for the very first time," and tossed his microphone to the floor."

This is from the Rock and Roll hall of fame induction last night. A couple of Detroit's finest music makers.

In Rock and Roll, there is Iggy Pop, and then there is everybody else.

Today is one of those challenging days to be a freelancer...fuuuuuccccckkkk.

Oh, and Marines love Chuck Norris? Who knew.

PAUL

As you know, Paul Components out of NorCal makes some really slick stuff. Currently I'm setting up some touring cantis on the Surly. Just a few hours ago I ran across my good pal Creepy's new logo for his new site, Canti Cult. And I'm floored, because the image is sick/beautiful at the same time. Nice work, bro!
And as long as we are talking about Paul Comp, I have a Flatbed I'd like to sell if'n anyone is looking.

Mondays Require Liquid Courage

Sometimes, just leaving the house on Mondays hurts...but a fifth will help you slide right out the door.
Karl from Dirt Rag dropped a note in my inbox letting me know he put something I wrote on the Riders Write portion of the Dirt Rag Site, so if you get 5 minutes, check it out. I originally wrote the piece after a ride with WTB's Dain Zaffke when we were still both working for Bike Mag.
Other than that, I ain't got much today. It should be in the mid-40s the next couple of days, so I'll be riding the Travelers Check finally.
Enjoy.

Saturday

tis the weekend. rode the pit bike for a while today. it was sunny but cold. had some drinks with Pete from Burley...they have cool trailers, you can carry kids or beer in them, or both. And you can link them by looking right and scrolling down....turns out Pete and I, and my wife, and lyle all went to college together. smal world. that is all.

Threads

Back in college, my room mate Jeremy, now a law dog, and I used to scavenge the local thrift stores for racing jackets like the one above. These coats were always old, and usually stained/ill fitting, but man, they can start a conversation. I'd love to see Swobo step up to the plate and knock something out of the park with threads in this vein.
Weekend is so close, I can taste it...sounds like a warm up on the way and the local crew is starting to talk group rides...YEAH, lets do this!
If you haven't seen Mountain Flyer you should stop by the bookstore and ask for one. The new issue will be hitting shelves soon, and having just seen it...wow. Brian Reiepe is putting out a great 'zine and the Handbuilt Show issue is the one to get!

Tastey

Currently sipping on a bottle of Allagash Batch 69 Dubbel Reserve that I procured this past weekend in Portland, Maine.
It is VERY good.
Tomorrow we'll crack open the Tripel.

Thursday!

Almost made it to the weekend before finding out that Patrick Swayze has cancer. That is like a chop to the throat. Five bucks says Brad Wesley has something to do with that...damn and Jeff Healey died this week too. WTF? I guess I know what film just got moved up on the Flix.
Totally off subject, but in relation to Hollywood I guess, I'll give a high five to the first person who can correctly identify who's company logo is at the top of the post?
Did I mention that ZR just built a bike that would make Prince jealous? Well he did and you can see it here.
And finally, my man John Smoltz is still getting after it. This is a guy I've been watching pitch since I was a little kid. He is from my neighbor hood, went to my church and school. He is a class act all the way, and it is nice to see him still throwing the heat.

GET SOME

Issue 8 now available. Trying to think of a reason to not spend $26 on this again. Here.

News And Notes

Lots o' folks have been stopping by to say hi. Thanks, that's cool. Just in from Arliegh over at 650bdotcom, there will be Pacenti Quasi Moto tires this summer! That is radical. Word on the street is that Kenda will also be showing some 650b rubber of their own in a week at the Taipei show.
This past weekend in my travels, a highlight was having coffee, then dinner than beers at Moat Mountain Brewery with Carl from Vicious Cycles and Jeff and Karl from the Dirt Rag. It's always nice when your heros/influences become your peers and you can quaff IPAs together. Thanks dudes!
In other news, the State of Wisconsin is on suicide watch after Brett Favre retired yesterday. Folks, it was a good run and we'll always have the good times. As my man Hayden says, Aaron Rodgers better get started on his mustache for this fall. #4 is one of those guys you either love him, or you hate him. I love the guy cuz he can take a hit and then joke with the guy that just popped him. Oh, and he is the type of guy that wasn't afraid to say, hey I'm addicted to drugs and booze, and I'm sorry. Then he moved on and played another 10 years of great football. I can think of some folks that could take a lesson from that.
And finally, a hearty thanks goes out to Democratic voters in Ohio, Texas and Rhode Island. You guys are assholes. I never use this blog for politcal pandering, but c'mon...
* Updated, at the request of a reader, Thanks to the rural democratic voters of the aforementioned states. I promise the black man won't hurt you. The white woman however, will.

GOOOOO!

Robin Davies Photo
Just rolled back in the office from a bizness trip to the east coast. It was good, but I take back all the complaints about snow we have. My friends, they've got snow in Maine that would blow your mind! Holy cow. I've never seen so many folks shovelling their roofs off.
Welcome to everyone who is coming by from Urban Velo it is a pleasure to have you stop by the Snot Rocket.
As per usual, during my travels I tried to pack in some visits to cool shops and other bike places. Yesterday I was in Boston and I tried to visit the Broadway Bicycle School, but they were closed, so I was bummed. However, I was able to drop in and meet Jon Bailey, owner and cheif factotum of Bailey Works, makers of no bullshit bags. My buddy Weston took me by to visit when we were kicking around Portsmouth, NH. Thanks for the bag Jon, you make some really nice stuff!
More soon, I've got to dig out of some emails...