My long time riding buddy & adopted younger bro. TJ & i got another test & tune ride in on tuesday evening. Both of us had made minor changes to our bikes or equipment, so we rode hard but had to make a few stops to adjust things. Several stops are uncommon for us (except for TJs normal first 1/2 mile seat adjustment- how it always needs raised/lowered is beyond me??) It turned out to be the evening of the shoes. Yea both of us finding ourselves sitting on the side of the trail making adjustments to our cleats. TJ had also installed a new chain on his Rig and this rolled the bottom bracket up which caused his seat to be a little low. I had just unboxed a new pair of the Bontrager RXL mtb shoes and needed to fine tune the cleat position. These shoes were fantastic right from the time i strapped them on my feet. And who would've thought that a white shoe would still be clean after a 25 mile ride in PA during March? Well they were! It was a successful tuning session and the new Super Fly Single speed was mechanically sound and efficient which meant that it was ready for racing if i needed to call on her. My only concern now is if i can pull off the all black kits we got with white shoes? I'm a little afraid of being classified as a ghettobilly & i'm nervous about being able to properly ghetto pimp this look.
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March 2009
March 28, 2009
March 25, 2009
Running (riding) Errands
Angie & I are still getting along great. Here's a shot of the two of us heading out to run run errands.
<<<Angies got a little gansta in her. We murdered out the frame pump and the silver chainring recently (at her request).
<<<our return.
March 23, 2009
Recap
Friday night found me and "Angie" out for another ride, then home early. I had some bike maintenance to do before saturday morning so I got to work on that for the evening.
Saturday morning after coffee I headed out to Moraine to re-test the SuperFly Single speed after making some adjustments to the rear hub. A slow precise ride around the trail and I was back home. I like to test bikes out here at Moraine since its a lot like a trials course with boulders & rocks to ride over. You get a good feel for the bike and if it's got anything loose or noisy it'll be easy to find here.
Saturday evening i had plans to attend the Black & Gold Sprints in South Side. I had wanted to ride down from the north of the city and was planning on meeting up with allieb & chris but they couldn't nail down the time so i opted to ride with King Ted from the shadyside store who also just happened to be the MC for the Sprints. This had me going a bit earlier than I had planned but never the less i went.
A few other shop employees like Chris (blockhead) with his girlfriend Rachelle, along with Tanya & Ryan showed up to hang out and watch. Eventually allieb & chris rolled in late and Chris & Rachelle sponsored allieb for the womens sprints. I hung around until 11 before jumping back on "Angie" and riding back to my truck. Home late and got things ready for a sunday ride.
Sunday I hit North Park for 30+ mile ride then took some time to relax and heckle DonO at the Cranberry store with Ryan.
Good weekend and I'm really looking forward to the spring & summer ahead. Lots of riding.....
Thanks to ted for letting me ride along & Congrats to allieb for a 3rd place!!
stork
March 19, 2009
Introducing.. Angie Phillmore
<<< Angie Phillmore (2007 Lemond Fillmore single speed)
Angie is my newest friend. She's simple, sleek and extremely quite. Having to much idle time to think about riding I stumbled into the Shadyside store and fell in love with Angie instantly. We had an immediate physical attraction.. i to her slender steel build and dark mysterious character..while she had become smitten by my boyish charm as I rolled her around the store. If for any reason she had any doubts about me they were quickly overcome as i dressed her in the finer parts she called for like the new Bontrager grippy tape, a shimano 16T freewheel, thompson seatpost, metal toe clips w/flat pedals & straps bolted to an old Bontrager Carbon road compact crank wrapped with a new salsa 44T chainring.
We left the store together and returned home. I brought Angie into the house and let her get acquainted to her new home while i headed out to Moraine to test the new Superfly Single speed. After my return I saddled up with Angie and the two of us rode to the Get Go for my chocolate milk fix before stopping for my allergy shots. Wow shes so sleek nimble soft and quite! I loved it. After the short ride i realized i had to make a few adjustments. Angies bar width was a bit to wide for me and the Bontrager Cranks I spoke of hadn't been changed until after this ride because the stock cranks where 170mm and i preferred the 175mm. Changes made and we rode again tonight for 20 miles of pure bliss. Yes she a lot of work but like any good girl....worth it. I can say i won't be getting rid of Angie anytime soon.
stork
March 17, 2009
randomshot 03.17.09
<<< Do we look related?
<<< Just another Saeler (Ray) taking a moment to share some conversation with me while I refueled at the Get Go during one of my rides.
March 16, 2009
Why?
<< 7 out of 9 times under the gate
TJ & I completed 9 hill repeats sunday. Each and every time we both questioned why? Answer: to get better faster & stronger.
March 14, 2009
RS 03.14.09
<<< Mrs. & Mr. Bliton with yours truly.
March 13, 2009
Random Shot 03.13.09
<<< Michelle enjoying some German Food. We did have fun a couple of times when we dated ; ) oh I'm gonna catch some hell for this one! lol
