Flock Of Seagulls

As I roused myself out of bed this morning I took a look in the mirror and a Flock Of Seagulls hair-do was looking right back at me...WHOA!  My hair is getting long and as a result the morning hair experiment always proves to be good for a laugh or two after it gets all matted down, up, & sideways from sleeping.  I kid you not...it really was a blast into the past with a serious Flock Of Seagulls coif (be fore-warned....pic of old dude having just woken up and striking a pose):

The best part was no hair spray was used, nothing, nada, zilcharoonie, zero - this work of art is just all natural thanks to the mysteries of tossing and turning.

The only elements missing were a keytar to strap over the shoulder and some big loud fluorescent colored glasses and a crazy tuxedo shirt (ala Seinfeld) and a pair of pants that came up to the sternum.  I might be guilty as charged on some of these transgressions (to a certain degree) but the coif was more the hockey hair for me back in the 80's.
If you are not a child of the 80's then you are probably can't appreciate the references, but you might be able to relate to the mullet!   Here in Butte the she-mullet is still in vogue...the chicks that rock the she-mullet around here would kick my ass so I will refrain from talking too much trash about the she-mullet, other than the she mullet here is not so much about biz-nass up front and pahtay in the back, but more like pahtay in the front and pahtay in the back - it is a 24 hour pahtay!

Now that the flashback is over, it is time to fast forward 20 years and get back to reality - although that alternate world of the 80's was bubble-gummy fun and light hearted....and I rannnnnnnnn, I rannnnnn so far awayyyyyyy

Singlespeed Bling

I spent some time fitting the new bike on Sunday.  I took my measurements from my bike fit back in 2008 and applied them to the new addition to the quiver.  The build came out really well and I can't wait to get on it and ride.

Unfortunately our weather is forecasting more of that white stuff so any hopes of hitting local trails are pretty much nil for another month or so (at least).

I added pedals to the build on Sunday and then tweaked the geometry (combo saddle height, position, cleat position, etc) so that it fits and feels good and feels like 'home'.

The best part of the build is all of the subtle nuances like matching the headset color to the spoke nipples (red), along with a little red from the carbon fork.  The build will still get a couple of updates when the bars get switched out and the saddle gets switched out (once inventory is in at the shop)...but in the interim, here is some bike bling:

The remaining upgrades/swap outs will still lower the weight a little (will lose about 100 grams on the seat, maybe another 100g if I swap out the seat post at some point, and the bars will also drop a little).  Once totally done, it should still come in at sub 19.  That just blows me away for a 29'r running tubeless tires and sealant...guess I will have to wait to get into some warmer weather later this week to take it out and play...come on out and play sun!

Lynskey Buildsky Completsky

Just picked up the new beast from Helena and mannnn ohhh mannnn is it purdy!   The build turned out awesome and actual weight will be around 19 lbs once all the tweaks are made.  I am still waiting on the bars to come and I will swap out the seat once I have done the True Epic next weekend (don't want to break in a new saddle on a 50 mile mountain bike race)...
Fuzzy pic of current weight (sans pedals)

Once the pedals are added and the lighter bar and saddle installed, it should be right around 19lbs (that includes heavy UST tires and sealant)!  That is crazeeee!

more to come....need some time to bond....

Battery Replacement - Powertap Hub

The inaugural roadie ride of the season came with a slight hiccup as the powertap (a hub/device that measures the power output as you pedal) was not working.  After a little investigation I realized that the batteries in the hub probably needed replacement.  I had replaced the battery in the head unit (the little computer that has the readouts for wattage, mileage, etc) but replacing batteries in the hub proper was a new one for me.

Thanks to technology we can look up just about anything on the internet and sure enough there were some instructions out there.  The only problem was those instructions were for the newer models and my older wired version of the powertap was not as readily available.  It was easy enough to figure it out though.

It entailed removed the rear wheel off the bike and then removing the yellow cap on the non-drive side of the hub.  An allen wrench was the only tool needed:

Once removed, it looked like:

Then it was a function of replacing the batteries and putting it all back together.  The only trial and error portion of all this included making sure the batteries were set correctly.  As you can see on the right side of the hub, it shows a + sign for how to install the battery on that side.  I originally tried placing the left battery in the same position but got no transmission to the head unit.  Once I flipped the battery so it looked like the above picture, everything worked as expected.

Insta-Reaction

As I was watching the stock market melt yesterday it dawned on me once again how the information age has become a tool that shapes how we interpret the world.  It is almost like the chaos effect where a butterfly who flaps its wings in Chile and sets off a chain of events from its wing flapping that creates a hurricane.  This butterfly came in the form of a Euro talking head (and it could have been anyone anywhere) making a comment about the tragedy in Japan.  His comment was along the lines of how things were 'out of control' in Japan.  The sensationalist media latched onto this comment and within minutes it was circulating world-wide and caused a 2% drop in the stock market!  As it turns out, the comment was of course taken out of context and the 'out of control' was meant as a general statement of how unfortunate the circumstances are, as opposed to a comment directed at the radiation issues they are trying to control - which the stock market is particularly twitchy and nervy about.

I think 'out of control' is what the media is.  They have no ability to filter pertinent information and they focus  on to anything that will create headlines and web-site hits.  This sensationalism has gotten so bad that news outlets can't objectively tell the news anymore - even NPR leans a certain way, and they are supposed to be the ultimate objective news outlet.  Everyone has their spin on it and we sheeples follow along ...bahhhhh

We have become used to getting information instantly and we really are trying to drink water through a fire hose. Our puny little brains don't have the capacity to process everything going on.  Technology has out-paced our ability to process the consequences (think kids sexting without realizing the downstream impacts as an example)...this has actually fascinated me as a social study/impact (not the sexting!! but our ability to process how quickly technology is changing and how it impacts our society as a greater whole)

I try to refrain from getting all cereal on the posts but alas my fingertips were a little 'out of control' themselves today as they tickled the keyboard.  It is time for this little butterfly to go back to flapping his wings at work...

Odds & Ends

The Lynskey bike build was not quite ready when I went up to Helena on Friday.  Unfortunately they needed to order a couple of parts (bar and mechanical brakes) to complete the build.  It was good to spec everything else out so we are definitely getting closer.  With a little luck the bike will be ready by this weekend and I can start tinkering with the fit.

I hope to get it so I can at least ride it around a little bit before the True Grit next weekend - there is nothing like getting on a brand new build and geometry for the first 50 miler of the season...Red flags are going up everywhere in my mind but what the heck...life is an adventure so let's see how it all plays out.  My big red flags are being on the bike for the first time during the event, and not exactly having the best fitness going in.  It is what it is and at the very least, it will be good to get into some warmer weather and get on the saddle for a bit.  

Compex - Active Recovery

This past weekend's rides were a step up from the usual mellow 1 hour spins on the trainer.  They were not the long back to back 4 + hour sessions yet but they were back to back 2 hour days which is more than what I have put the legs through in a while.  I ran an active recovery session each evening wondering how it would help to flush out some of the buildup.  The legs felt OK on Sunday, but I figured the better barometer would be on Monday morning after back to back pushes.

My initial thoughts are that it seems to work!  The legs feel decent (not snappy but relatively decent) this morning.  The tell-tale sign is that my calves & hamstrings are a little sore, but the quads feel pretty good.  I ran the active recovery on the quads (and not the other areas) so it makes sense and it provides a point of reference too.

The reality is that these were still relatively short days in the saddle so I will reserve full analysis until the back to back long days in the saddle are part of the training regimen again....so far, so good though.