Go Here....NOW!

I would have sworn that I put this up here ages ago. However, I obviously errored in that assumption.

In any case. For those that would like to continue reading my/our blogs now go here. I've moved the blog over to Wordpress for many different reasons. You can still sign up for automatic updates. Just look the the top of the right column.

So... see you in the new location.

Muddy and 4th on the 2nd

I did a race yesterday in the small town of Külsheim, Baden-Wurtenburg, Germany. Having just looked at the results, I only missed 3rd by 30 seconds. Wish that I'd realized that I was that close. I had thought it was far more than that and was more worried about losing my present position to the guy that I'd battled with for most of the race.

So, on the last lap, I turned on what gas I had and left him behind. I was at the line when he came through and he gave me trouble for turning on the gas and leaving him (i.e "Du hast gas geben!").

It was probably the muddiest race that I've ever done. Other than that, conditions were good. Warmish, but not too much and it sprinkled every once in awhile.

One thing was kind of funny though. Many of the people that started with gears, ended with one gear due to the crazy amount of mud. At the award ceremony we had to laugh abot it.

The course was partially pavement, dirt (farm) roads and then about 25% singletrack. On the first lap about half way through the singletrack I heard something running and turned to the left in time to see a deer (think giant poodle sized animal) coming straight for my front wheel. It missed me by inches.

The rest of the race was uneventful other than battling with a guy named Markus for most of the race and the deep and very slimy mud.

We picked up a fantastic new sponsor for BWR. It's Ergon products. I've mentioned before how great their stuff is. Kera's been using some of their grips for a long time now and they've done a lot to ease her hand problems on the bike. I think that we've got some other new sponsors as well and I'll tell you about them as I find out.

I put in my application for a job at one of the schools that I teach for. I have an all-day interview on Friday. With the number of hours that I'm working this week, I'm going to love the weekend.



Somehow, I need to find/make time to measure the old Black Sheep before I pull it apart and put the new one together. After that, I need to send the old one back.

The Mothership has Landed!

I got a message late a couple of nights ago that the new Black Sheep frame has arrived in Germany! Woohoo!

I'm going to pick it up from my buddy this weekend at a race that we're both attending.

Crazy busy with classes right now. Not to mention, I often have 3 separate classes a day in 3 different parts of the city. That means 3 different levels and in total about 2 hours of travel time. It means basically that I have have about 2 or so hours off between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. Phew! Granted, it's a good problem (being busy, just exhausting).

Still no word on my Deutsch test. I need to give them a call or go by today and check in.

It's really crappy out today. I'd planned to go for a ride, but I'm not sure that I'll manage it given that it's raining off/on and it's close to freezing. Yuck! Instead, I'm hanging light fixtures and pictures as well as doing laundry and cleaning house. Fun eh?

Christmas markets open this weekend so we might go see them. That's about all the news.

Weekend Update!

Kera's latest bag here. It's one that she made for our buddy Jelle that runs singlespeed.nl. One of the few places in Europe that we can get 29'er parts easily. Thanks Jelle for being our supplier.

Check out some of Kera's other recent bags here. She's been doing some really cool and interesting designs for people.



Get used to the above logo. For '08 I'm switching teams over to Big Wheel Racing. As many of you know, I've been with Boulevard/KCOI/BikeSource for many years now. They've treated me very well and many people on the team are good friends. The primary reason for leaving is to start working on setting up a Euro version of Big Wheel Racing for '09. So, if you are looking for a chance to sponsor a Euro 29'er/road/CX and/or multi-sport team, give me a shout.

Ah... K.C. does another brilliant deed. Just think... K.C. has one of the highest murder rates in the U.S. and is so worried about a nearly naked cyclist that they basically tackle him to get him off his bike. Come on folks. Does anyone else think that their ideals might be a bit misplaced? Hmmmm?



We have two new alien roommates. They do good work though so we don't mind.



Sweet thank you gift. Keras boss gave us this 2 liter bottle of his local beer. It was a thank you gift for letting he and his brothers stay at our place during Oktoberfest and before we'd moved in. It worked out well for all of us. The 'normal' 1/2 liter bottle is on the left. It was a very yummy Oktoberfest version from Hacker-Pschorr (a München brand).

Quick Ride

HAPPY THANKSGIVING FAMILY, FRIENDS AND WORLD!

It's funny, now that we've been here this long (this is our third Thanksgiving), I don't even think about it. The only reminders were Kera making a pumpkin pie for her co-workers (not me...hmm) and when she was talking to her parents last weekend and they reminded her that is was today. Out of sight, out of mind I guess. It does mean that it's almost

Glühwein time (hot mulled wine). Woohoo!



In between starting a new class in a Structural engineering company and my regular evening class, I did some laundry (had to do it at a laundrimat as we're waiting for the new ones to arrive on Friday), waited for the electrician to fix some left over electrical problems from the original installation and then shot out for a short ride... about 1.5 hours. Today it's a little below freezing and it shows as most of the recent snow is melting here in town even though it is below freezing. You know, it just happens when the sun shines.

The ride felt good. It didn't hurt that we started back to spin class yesterday. While I've been in my integrations course me riding has gone to hell. Hopefully, this will jump-start it again. In theory, there's a race in a couple of weeks that we did last year, I'd like to do it again. It also didn't matter that it was a bit sloppy out on the dirt roads as the snow's melting. When I could, I just ducked in to the singletrack in the woods. That's what I'd rather ride on anyway.



These shoes = toasty and dry feet. Nice! Thanks LAKE!

Check here for other pics.

That, that and the other thing.

You're looking at an experiment. My usual blog is what you normally see here. I'm also posting the same thing here. As you can see, it's on Wordpress.com. Lately, Blogger has kind of pissed me off and I'm thinking about switching over from here. The other thing is that if I ever get my website off the ground, it seems much easier to integrate Wordpress than Blogger in to a site.

So, what the means is that I'm going to throw a few blogs up at Wordpress and here for awhile and see how it works out. No worries, if I decide to switch, I'll let everyone know before I do it so that you can update links, etc. In any case, it's probably not a bad idea to keep an eye out (provided you care) for updates both places.

Let me know what you think.

This sounds like fun. Check out the SingleSpeed CycloCross World Championships. I think it sounded a bit more entertaining than even Scotland. Definitely less chance of injury outside of drinking too much or getting hit with a dodgeball or paintball.

Tests... I've always hated 'em. I've not got one more out of the way and I think that I have a quite good idea that I passed it. The folks at ASL did a really good job preparing us for what we were going to undertake. The practice tests were seemingly harder than the actual test. Thanks gang! Kudos to Frau Isa, Hans and lastly Elisabeth. All worked hard with our crazy bunch of deviants to prepare us. Now, I just have to wait the 8 weeks (yes, I said 8) for the results. What happened to German efficiency? Hmmm?



The Singular that we bought for Kera to ride to work was stolen a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately, before she ever got a chance to ride to the new office. That was the whole purpose for buying it. Death (at least maiming) to bike thieves!



Cool bike tire rings. Nice! Well, that is if you're like me and wear rings.

My newest favorite blog(s) -
Bike Porn - well, not for everyone.
Go Clipless - randomness and commentary on new mtb stuff

Not really a blog but great for bike industry info. Bicycle Newwire.

Go here and make your own really cool (well, if you have an imagination) Puma shoes in custom materials and colors.

The new kitchen is done and here's one of a few pics that I've taken of it. We think that it turned out quite well. More pics here.

Hmmm, restarted

I seem to remember having started a blog a few days ago. For some reason, it's vanished. Unfortunately, Blogger's SPAM blocker keeps not saving my blog and when I come back to work on it, a good portion or all of it is missing. Folks, if you are worried about something have a human look at it not a program. MORONS! Get it right or don't do it at all. Don't emulate Microsoft.


I've been thinking of riding a lot more that I have actually ridden for many, many weeks. While doing so, I've come across various web sites and info. that varies in quality, quantity and context. Here we go.

You think you're tough... check this one out Tilford article. This guy, Steve Tilford has been a pro since he was something like 16. He's now 48 or something. He's truly an animal when it comes to the mountain bike or cyclorcross. He lives in Topeka, not your average mountain biking capitol.

For those of you that are interested and don't already know, SS World's '08 is in Napa, California next year. The dates have been announced - Aug. 23-24, 2008. I expect a LARGE Kansas City crew there. Do you hear (read: read) that?

Speaking of Kansas City... what the hell is up with this crap? Uneasy Riders - KC Pitch Come on people, it's not the freakin' dark ages. It's time to learn that SUV's, monster trucks and hoopties don't necessarily own the road. They just somehow have managed to have loopholes in the law that allow them to run over and abuse cyclists and get in less trouble than hitting a wild animal. F-in Bizarre!

In case it's not obvious, I have no tolerance for this type of stuff. As a cyclist, walker and a person that used to spend a lot of time standing in roads (former surveyor), I think that if you can't control your vehicle enough to not hit anyone in the road, you deserve to rot in jail at and at the very least, loose your license. The Germans have this type of rule down pat. The hierarchy goes something like this:

1. Street cars/trams
2. Cyclists
3. Peds
4. Autos
5. Trucks

In basically all bike related accidents, the bike wins. It's incumbent on everyone else to beware. About time!

My guess is that K.C. is not exactly moving in either of these two directions. Paris Rental Bike Scheme Goes Global

Another example of a good cycling city Portland article This is a good goal, not playing hockey with your monster truck as the cyclist acting as the puck. I know, bad analogy. Sorry.

One last example of a progressive city Seattle 10 year plan.



We hit the 6 Day track races yesterday with friends. Lot's of fun. Kind of a big cycling related party.

The last bit of news. Kera's back to cranking out bags, I'm attempting to go through lots of stuff and check a lot of it. Also, I'm now teaching a few mornings a week and studying for Fridays German test. Wish me luck.