Flat Repair Plus

Got this little idea whilst eating Emerald nuts... said to myself.. "hmm... this looks like a waterbottle..." and after some experimenting this is what came of that... for a long trip or a trip that may require some extra tools or parts, this thing may come in handy. I was able to fit everything on the counter there into the container. I also wrapped some electrical tape around the outside of the container for other just-in-case emergencies though I think duct tape woulda been more handy. I took this with me on my 225 mile ride and though I never needed any of it, i was grateful to have it for peace of mind.

225 miles in one day...

Donned in brightly reflective clothing, Bill and I rolled away from the house at 4a.m. not knowing exactly what adventure me might find. The plan, was, well, insane... our intended goal was to ride 350 kilometers... in one day. This trip was starting out as an emotionally challenging event to begin with considering that my brother Christopher was supposed to be going with us... He always did enjoy an adventure like this, in fact he was with me the first time I set out to do a personal record when him and I did 120 miles together... I planned this trip to see how far I could go, and I intended for him to go with me, and he would have made it.


Bill and I had my brother with me in spirit and though I wanted to quit for the first 100 miles, I feel my brother encouraged me to stay the course.

The green post may look familiar to others who have followed my blog in the past, for it was the very post that my brother, Caleb and I have used for very similar bike poses... The caboose picture as well has been used to pose one a number of occasions that we had made it all the way out to Inverness... this time it didnt take two days to get there... this was only our halfway point. The Istachatta General Store has changed a bit, though it is still neat inside and has become more of a thrift shop, they have repainted and taken down the sign outside.

All things being said, despite some serious emotional challenges, passing by a murder scene, and being extremely depleted by the time we rolled into my driveway again at 1a.m. the following morining, we completed our goal and improved my personal one day distance record by more than 100 miles, completing 225 miles in just 19 hours of riding time. This is a trip I will never forget. And the personal reflection that I had to put myself through over hours of saddle time will not soon be forgotten, as well my brother will never be forgotten.

The end of an epic era.

The hardest thing I have ever had to face has been the death of my little brother last month. Christopher did much adventuring with me as my blog will attest, and we were very close friends. No one understood me in the way that he did, and I will never be able to replace him as a friend. My brother and I shared our entire lives together, both in time and emotionally. I do know that he will be with me in spirit on any adventure I take, and when I am working on something in the garage, and when I'm just standing around enjoying a beer. I love my little brother. I will miss him greatly.

Riding the Monkey

Starting to think like a cyclist... I have been yelling back at my legs, though they put up a good fight. I tell them to shut up. Riding is more consistent than ever before, though I may not be as strong as I once was, my progression and dedication are better than ever and I am on my way to being faster than I ever was. Though that aint sayin much!
Looking forward to racing this weekend at Alafia River State Park. I haven't been on the monkey in some time so this will be more for fun than competition... but we'll see what these legs of mine have in them.

Put it together... collect the rain

The previous owners of our home had intended to turn this pile of bamboo into a fence... I tried doing that without tying it and it fell into the same pile that was here when I arrived. Today I had the bright Idea to repurpose this pile.. unfortunately it was only a small portion but I did my best to make a dent. There was also a barrel that had been left behind so i figured i could harvest some rain water. here are the pictures... im sure you can put the rest together.

The Predecessor and the Successor

been riding a lot lately. have done longer and more difficult rides than I have done in some time... on the road bike at least... I have been riding the Peugot Success, which has earned the nick name "Old Betsy", for the fact that she is an old, heavy bike, and the fact that an english co-worker of mine calls many older bikes that he works on by the same name. I had been holding off on a 60 mile, sunday morning ride due to it's length and the fact that most of the guys that do this ride, that I know well enough to know better of their abilities in the saddle, make this ride a difficult one for even the most accomplished riders. This past sunday morning Old Betsy and I accomplished this sunday training ride, despite her hefty 25lbs of steel, and despite all these other thoughts floating through my head. I figure I have been able to keep up with the local 22 mile, morning rides, now I should be able to keep up with these guys. Well I was right... for about 45 miles... I got dropped. The hard part of this whole ride was that I knew I had a new bike being shipped to the shop... I had been waiting for a brand new Cannondale CAAD10 on the previous friday and hoped that it would have been delivered to the Fish prior to my sunday ride, but no such luck. I could have been climbing some hundreds of feet of elevation on top of 17 lbs of pure race developed technology, but I was on 25lbs of steel and rubber that seemed to be doing everything it could to keep me off the back of the group. The whole while reminding myself that I chose to do this ride... knowing that I had not yet received my new super-light, race worthy bike, that may have given me a better chance of keeping up. Well.. I didnt keep up, but I did show up, and I did try. And I am proud of myself for having done so. The day after that ride I did receive that nice, light-weight, expensive road bike... and it is beautiful, lightweight and very fast... but though I am happy to have this new race machine, I am happy to have accomplished some major challenges on Old Betsy that I had previously reserved for her predecessor.

Day dreaming of camping and bicycle touring

These afternoon summer rains have led to cooler mornings around here... cool mornings lead to good tent sleeping. With the training for this triathlon, which will be tomorrow morning, I'm starting to see that my strength to ride a fully loaded touring bike will be more than adequate for a 3 day trip. Ellen has been riding quite a bit lately as well and her bike will be great for taking a nice trip. The important thing now will be to build up something that Caleb will be able to ride for a couple hundred miles. The lure of the trails and tent camping has got me dreaming of the smell of a camp fire and the sounds of the woods at night... this year will be a good one I am imagining. This house is settled and soon we will be able to afford time to get out and explore. I am looking forward to our next family tour, and whatever else I can manage to squeeze out of my schedule.