Gingerly

Work hard. Play harder.

My Ginger Minger & Scott Paisley MTB just before a clean & lube.

I worked hard this weekend. Friday was the biggest retail day of the year. I sold a bunch of bikes, got folks accessorized, and thoroughly worked my ass off. Following busy working days like these, I usually just rest on my next day off. But not today.

Today, I played. I took the Scott Paisley mountain bike out to the woods near my place. She rode beautifully. It was my first time riding the trails out there. It was fast & fun. I rode for and hour and a half and explored all the different loops on my own. I can't believe I hadn't done this sooner.

I had forgotten how important play is to me. I'd been wasting my days off, just napping & watching the boob tube. Then, I got hooked up fishing. I found a friend that makes jigs and has taught me quite a bit about fishing in the creeks and lakes around here. I caught the fishin' bug from him, and have been fishing several times a month on my own. I caught three bass two weeks ago, just a 5 minute walk into the woods from my place.

The woods are my new sanctuary. On my days off I can take my dog out there for a walk, grab a fishing pole and pull up some perch, or sling my bike down and tear up the trails.

I feel really good again. It's a high of 75F today, unseasonably warm for this time of year here in Dallas. After riding today, I came back, cracked my latest homebrew, cleaned my bike, and cranked the online stream of WTJU on TuneIn. The folks at WTJU always remember to give me a shoutout.

Oh - my latest homebrew. I was quite disappointed with it... until this week. I call it Ginger Minger. It's a basic pale ale recipe I took and played with a bit. I added a bunch of shredded ginger and fresh mint for the last 15 minutes of the wort boil. It was intended to be a late autumn beer... and it's perfect for that. Perfect for today. Play is rewarding.

Why... Hello there, friend.

"You need some car free days"

Since moving to Dallas I've been driving to work every day. It has been taking its toll on me - until this past Saturday, that is. Saturday was the first day that I've commuted to work without a car since coming to Texas. I biked to the train station, hopped aboard for 15 miles ($1.75) and biked the rest of the way to work. On the way home I missed a train by less than a minute, causing my return commute to take 80 minutes.

Overall, it was fun. Tons of folks on the train talked to me because of how different my bike is from things they've seen. Everyone seemed to strike up conversation about it. The train did get crowded though.

Today, I'm armed with more experience. I know what to expect, how & where to pay for the fare, how to hang my bike on the DART, and a knowledge that it's less taxing psychologically on me than driving is. I'll be saving a bit of cash, too. My driving commute was costing me a gallon of gas each direction ($8 total), plus wear and tear on the car. My roundtrip now costs me less than $4, and I'll be getting some exercise and sunlight at the same time.

Today will be bike commute #2.

The Cloud

I got my frame back a couple of months ago with the braze-ons. Looks great, but the canti studs on the back are too high. I can just BARELY get a set of brakes to hit the rim without rubbing the tire. If they were another millimeter higher I'd be screwed. Oh well, I got the work done for super cheap and it WILL work out, so no skin off my back I guess. I've been trying to get in contact with a personally recommended powder-coating company, but no luck. I'm sick of this frame sitting around unrideable , so I clear-coated it today and will get it powder-coated later after I get vinyl decals made for the logo.

Tour de Cafe in Plano, TX

At work I've committed to lead a Sunday morning ride out of the shop. It will formally be known as "Tour De Cafe." Our lead tech came up with the idea, and I'm excited to lead it. Pretty much we'll leave the shop at 11am, ride 5-10 miles to a coffee shop, get a cup of joe and ride back. This will be a great ride for beginners! Definitely conversational pace and no-drop. If you're around Plano, TX and want in, just let me know. I'll give you more details.

And while I'm on the subject of coffee and bicyles, gotta give props to this:

Wooden Fenders from Woody

I've been put through the proverbial wringer at work, hence the lack of recent updates. I've been told it's all for a greater good... so I'm trying to keep my head above the water for now. I believe the worst is over, but I haven't quite recovered...

On the homebrewedbikes side of things, I've done a small amount of tinkering while waiting very patiently for Aaron with RevTilton Cycles to finish braze-ons for my frame. I found a sweet bicycle fender shop: Woodys Custom Fenders. His craftsmanship is beautiful. But more than anything else, I like that he sells his scraps for dirt cheap!

I picked up a box like you see above. They'll be great for my current projects because I'll have 20" wheels on my Rockfish and a 16" trailer wheel. About a week ago I got bored and replaced my trailer fender that had seen better days. Now it looks classy. The curve of the fender scrap I used didn't quite match the curve of the 16" wheel, so I boiled it in water for about 30 mins. After boiling it, I then clamped it to the rim to hold it's shape while it dried. Turned out great. I sanded it with 220 grit and put on two coats of polyurethane:

I borrowed all the hardware from the previous fender:

If you've made your own fenders, let me know and send me some pictures. I'll feature them.