Amazing Even In Death

A story about the king of Pop nearly taking the Internets with him...

Soma B-Side Testing

So the B-Side has been up and running for about a week. I've had the opportunity to get out on it at 3 different places for 3 different types of rides, and I have a few observations.
One, due to the Tange tubeset, the White Bros. fork, the 2.0 tires and XTR build kit, this bike is pretty light. It seems to climb pretty well as I've ground up some sustained climbs on it, but it does seem to wander a bit from side to side if you shift your weight too far back. I imagine this is due to the high front end.
I raced it on the Short Track here in PDX last night, and if I'd have had the engine, I certainly could have made it go faster. It felt great in the corners though.
The Pacenti 2.0 tires are pretty sweet, but certainly not the best mud tires, we encountered quite a bit of that this weekend up at Brown's Camp. Lots of slipper rocks and roots as well.
Testing continues.

Check It

You can see me lose a quick two points about 30 seconds into this vid from the Wend Magazine ping pong tournament...not my finest hour.

Homesick For Marquette

6:37 p.m. A box full of stuffed animals, a garter and some ammunition fell out of a vehicle, 200 block of Fisher Street.

3 a.m. Drunken person knocking on door and sitting in lawn chair, 2000 block of Longyear.

2:20 p.m. Woman fell down, crawling on sidewalk, W. Bluff.

8:18 p.m., juveniles rigging triplines to party poppers and house entrance, Division and Genesee

9:39 a.m., report of person face down on sidewalk, 500 block of W. College.

4:09 p.m., drunken person trying to ride a bicycle, Arch and Third.

2:04 p.m., destruction of property at BMX track, barrier posts removed and cars driving on track, Hawley Street.

10:10 a.m., black cat killing animals in caller's yard, 1500 block of West

12:58 p.m. Request for cat trap, 300 block of N. Front Street.

9:40 a.m., cat caught in live trap, 1200 block of Division.

5:02 p.m., man in apple suit assaulted, 200 block of W. Washington

Motor City Blues

Things seem to get a bit worse everyday in my hometown. Olson just forwarded this article from the Wall Street Journal about the dire state of affairs for retail in the City. Hard to wrap your head around....

Get Some

I picked up Volume 3 of Embrocation on Tuesday after resisting flipping through it for a week of working at Veloshop. Handed Molly some cash, threw it in the bag and headed home. Waited till it was late and quiet to read it. There are lots of mags out there, but few this good. Highly recommended if you like cyclocross, good articles and great photography. Veloshop sold out of them, but we'll get more. You can also order one right from Darlington himself.

Hey, Look

The B-Side will be built by tomorrow and tested by Wednesday barring anything unforeseen. It is really lite that much I know. Oh, yeah, took the photo with my new I-Phone.

B-Side

Got back to the office today after being in the Midwest since last Wednesday. I was very nice to find the above package of goodness waiting for me from Stan Pun down at Soma. I struck a deal with Bike Mag to review the new Soma B-Side 650b mountain bike frame, White Bros Magic fork, Soma Odin bars and Pacenti Quasi Moto tires. Now I got tear down the ZR to build this one up with XTR, etc. Cannot wait to get out and ride.
Trip to wisco was tiring but good. Saw so many good friends who helped Jen and I get the house ready to sell.
The high point for me was having the Wed Nite Bike crew pick me up from the airport. ZR himself skidding to a stop on a tandem sans stoker, Kelly flipping me a new pair of White Ray Bans, and Jeff a Bern Helmet...dammit I miss you guys!
Stayed at Revolution till 3 am before stumbling back to Lyle and Kellys to sleep it off.
Two offers already on the house today, and I start working part time down at the Veloshop in about an hour.
It is good to be king.

REAL Work

Stumbled across this article, and I really enjoyed it. A case for working with your hands. It is from the book: Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry Into the Value of Work, by Matthew Crawford.
The article reminds me of one of my favorite books, the above tome by Pirsig. Suggested to me by one of my favorite college professors, Dr. Tom Hruska, as I was leaving to ride my bike across the UP. I told him I planned to sleep in ditches and was happy to travel the 400 plus miles by bike because I could fix anything that went wrong with it. He gave me a worn out copy of the book, and told me sternly, "Don't get killed for an idea." Sobering.

Know What Time It Is?

That's right it's summer time. Lots of riding and cooking out going on these days. Headed back to Wisco for a few days starting tomorrow. Not looking forward to the flight, but I am looking forward to seeing some old friends.