I've busted a handful of spokes over the last few years. In almost all cases, they snap at the bend. I've had a couple break at the nipple too. But I've never had one break like this -- about 20mm away from the head.
Weird, right?
This break was on the cycle truck. Maddie and I really beat the heck out of that bike. It's shifting weird now and it's bugging me. It's doing that think where it won't settle on a gear on the rear cassette if it's mid-to-low range. It's really frustrating. The chain and cassette are nearly new, so it's not a wear issue.
-Some numbers: this is the 802nd post to this blog. -More: November 10th is the 4th anniversary of this blog's existence. -Even more: Two years ago on November 9th, 2008 my grandfather, John Speare passed away. A year ago, on November 9th, 2009 my father, John Speare passed away. Let's hope that tomorrow, November 9th, 2010 goes better for this John Speare.
Saw these two piles of car window glass in the trail head parking lot at Fish Lake the other day. Two theft prevention tips you have probably heard before:
1 - Don't leave anything of even remote value visible in your vehicle. There are people who will break your window for a quarters worth of change (or even an eight track tape).
2 - Don't wait until you are at the trail head to hide your valuables as thieves might observe you securing items making your vehicle a desirable target.
I've had this phone since July. In retrospect, it's a silly phone for me to even consider owning, so I've got to say it's pretty impressive that it's still in one piece after nearly 6 months.
Even though the screen is a web of cracks, the "touch" part still works well. Crazy. I think the radio may be getting a bit flakey.
I was surprised that this loop is not on Bikely. So I dumped our gpx on there. Now there is a Liberty Creek Loop on Bikely.
This is just an 8 mile loop. It's pretty -- cedar groves, waterfalls, nice views. But the first half would make a better family hike than a ride. We ended up pushing our bikes for about an hour of this ride. If I went again, I'd go counter-clockwise, and do an out and back, or better, get up into the Mica area and explore.
That's the walking part
There's a lot of open space back there. The Liberty Lake County Park is the trailhead, and it's only about 30 car-minutes from home, so this area has a lot of explore-potential.
There's even a cool little cabin thing up on top of this ride -- with bunk beds and an outhouse and a fire ring. The county park website mentions a fee for "shelters" (and a steep fee at that $100/night for weekends!!); I wonder if the little cabin at the top is the shelter they're talking about? If so, forget it. But if not, this cabin would make a great S240 destination -- if you came in via Mica.
1. Saturday - 1st Year anniversary of 2 Wheel Transit buy out. Geoff and Bruce bought 2 Wheel Transit a year ago and promptly jumped into the local bikey fray. Aside from sponsoring a Weds Night Bike race last spring, and sponsoring a local bike team, they also reached out to Pedals2People and donated a bunch of bikes and bike stuff as P2P transitioned to the new space. A lot of those donations translated directly to cash money that helps P2P keep the shop open.
In addition, Geoff keeps bees and sells bitchin honey. Liza can't get enough.
So there's the pitch. Support these guys.
And they're running out a bunch of Ibex stuff from last spring. Even with 20% off, it's still spendy, but it's the best bike wool out there in my not-so-humble opinion. And there will be cake and stuff.
3. Sunday. Option 2: Go to P2P Annual meeting. 2-4 pm. It's at Beth and Mike's house. If you don't know where Beth and Mike live, email pedals2people@gmail.com and get more info.
Aside from free food and getting to hang out with other bikey nerdy types, you can get the annual scoop of P2P numbers, goals, plans. Changes, as always, are afoot. In fact, P2P is looking for dedicated, smart board members. If you even have an inkling of interest in such an endeavour, show up to the annual meeting.
I am talking about Walla Walla Cyclocross this past weekend. The scene was awesome, the racing was rad and the courses were sic. If you have never raced cyclocross there are still 3 weekends left, I suggest you get out there and get it done. I was told by Glen C. to not miss the Stanger farm event on Saturday, and now I know why. It was like a cyclocross carnival, stream crossings, grass, a little mud, a too steep bridge and 2 barns. And of course the beer run up! The weather held pretty well until it didn't, but no one cared because there was a huge covered fire pit in the barn with hay bale stools and a front row seat to the action. There is also a great video from last years race here .
Enter Barn 1, there's a fire in there. It felt real good after 2 stream crossings.
Exit Barn 1. Glen C. going much too fast for my camera.
Stream crossing 1, again too fast.
Stream crossing 2
And the incentive to get up that hill, from stream crossing 2.
The Grassy Death Spiral
This was a great way to start the weekend. I was unsure about staying for Sunday, but sometimes you just gotta give it up and live a little. Oh, and I had a gracious offer to crash with the Copus clan...details, and a huge thanks. So Barney, my built in dog groupie and I were in it for another day of racing Sunday.
Saturdays race was awesome, the question was, could Sundays race top it? Well, its relative of course as far as topping it. This race was held at Bennington Lake. The morning started out cloudy, but cleared to blue skies, and sunshine with a little wind for race time. Perfect!
The course was ideal if you like gravel straightaways, technical down hills, and a good grunt to get back up the hill with a couple of barriers just to keep you honest. Actually, it turned out to be a great course, and the weather was superb....no complaints here.
There are bikes down there you just have to look close. The straightaway that you could rest a little and make up some time if needed. I needed all the rest I could get. I am maybe not the best at taking care of my equipment, I just want to ride my bike. I may have been the only one with grass, and mud from the previous days race, oh and the chain may have been a tad rusty. I ended up with about 3 working gears. Nothing like equipment that keeps on tickin with a little strong arming. My bike may have been in revolt as there were people taking excellent care of theirs with a soft scrubbing cloth, soap and probably warm water to rinse. Nothing like a follow up lube, and an air dry. If my bike could only have an owner like that, my next bike i'll take better care of, isn't that always the saying?
All in all an great weekend and totally worth the drive for 2 awesome races. Remember, there are 3 races left in this series. Get out there and try it, you won't be disappointed! If your not into the racing aspect come out scream, yell, and ring a cow bell for us. Check out Emde's site for more info. And remember its suppose to be muddy, wet and mostly crappy! That's what cross is all about.
I've busted a handful of spokes over the last few years. In almost all cases, they snap at the bend. I've had a couple break at the nipple too. But I've never had one break like this -- about 20mm away from the head.
