Independent Fabrication

Representing at the Tidewater MTB. challenge and dreaming of my IF Planet X that will arrive this Halloween. I will build the wheels this week and hopefully get it together before the weekend. I'll be runnin sram rival and king hubs and head set, some thomson stuff as well. Never done a cyclecross race, but its about time.

Friends and Family

The cool thing about races being close is that the home team shows up for support. When I was racing and I passed the infield of the race I could hear my mother, as well as others hollering for me. When I heard my mom yellin' it was like I was eight years old racing BMX again. It's been thirty years and they are still my biggest fans. Thanks 2 everyone for coming out.

A dressed occasion

Some of us dressed for the occation. Babycakes made me a great babyblue and skull tu tu. I may not have won, but I felt like tons of fun. Pretty if you will. The Hulk had to be sweating his pecks off, but he looked great.

Tidewater Mtb. Challenge Action

There are some good places to see some of the action. Well, as good as it gets in a MTB race. The best sights are deeper in the woods.

Tidewater Mountain Bike Challenge

Babycakes and I both raced the Tidewater Mtb. Challenge. The course was in pretty good shape considering we had a monsoon the two days prior to the pre-ride on Saturday. Carrie was a little reluctant. It is one of the more dangerous courses around these parts. Yes, several people got hurt. Rob Tripp broke a finger and someone left in an ambulance. This is also the location of Meridith's paralizing accident. Babycakes eventually decided to race and you can see by her face that things went well. She got sixth and I got second. P.S. This was the 20th anniversary of this race. The years go by so fast it makes my ears whistle.

New Balance 990's Burnt Orange

My delightful burnt orange, a.k.a Habanero Pepper Orange, a.k.a my favorite color New Balance arrived today and they are sahhwwweeeetta! And still made in the good ole' U.S. of A. from 70% U.S. raw materials. Not just assembled in the U.S. In your face NIKE.

Rocky Patel vintage 1992

This is the baby cigars that I love. Tobacco fields in Honduras. These little beauties are an Ecuadorian Sumatra, vintage series and they are aged ten years for a medium to robust taste that is nicely blended with age. Indulge.

Buck and Angela got hitched

These two have been together 4 ever and now it is official. I went down to the courthouse(which I hate) and petitioned the judge to allow me to perform the ceremony. You would think since it is a positive thing judges would be different. You know seein how a judge is a servant of the court and all. I mean I do pay taxes. But, that wasn't the case the judge was an asshole and I hadn't even done anything wrong. He made me set through all six of the cases. Which, I was suppose to meet him in his chambers at 4:00 pm. They called and resceduled for 2:45 to make me sit in a courtroom and watch his brillance I guess. When the judge got threw w/ the other cases he took a recess while Babycakes and I sat alone in the courtroom. When he came back in he acted as if I had ran over grandma gettin groceries on a suspended license w/ multiple DUI's. What a lame experience.
Anyway, these two are happily married, I was able to perform the ceremony and the bride requested that I do so in nothing less than a wife beater. I do believe it is the first time I've been asked to dress down.

new balance 990's burnt orange

I have always loved me some 991's and they got replaced by the 992's which are not as form fitting and comfortable. I had searched my ass off for the 991 in any color (especially not in grey) without success. There was a limited addition of the 990 classics released and no one notified me believe it, or not. Anyway after searching on line I found quite a few of the colors that I wasn't looking for, but I was oh so lucky enough to find some in my favorite color (which I didn't know existed) burnt orange. Maybe there is a god. They are so friggin' HOT, are you fuckin' kiddin me...???

Hot Sauce Empire

These beauties were home grown which in some circles would be a negative connotation, but not in peppers. These babies got lotsa water, sun and love from Babycakes and a little from me. And let me tell you they have rewarded me with a little extra heat. The recipe has been honed and tweeked over the years and has remained constant for the last five years. The signature taste is always there, but like wine each vintage has its own nuance. I should get another yield as the indian summer wanes. I actually stopped playing for a moment and talked to someone about producing a real label for it instead of printing it from the computer and taping it on. I guess its the least I can do since the last three batches sold and I got some folks naggin me for more. Baby steps. Keep on naggin, I'll get to it.

P.S. Keep in mind when you get it it still needs to age for about a month more in the dark.

Speaking of log crossings

I was riding along a little ahead and you know that sound that is kinda like a scream but, with the sound of the air being forced out of ya. Well, I think that is what I heard, but she was out of sight. I turned around to find my darlin' Babycakes on her back and facing the wrong way on the trail. She got a few bruises, a little blood, and a sore neck after her acrobatic face plant, but all her teeth are intact and no stick punctures. It gave me that parent panic. She's pretty tough.

Pocahontas State Park

Babycakes and I went to Pocahontas State Park to camp and ride. It was pretty cool and only a couple of hours from home. The trails are pretty cool. The advanced section has more log crossings than one ever needs in one ride, but still better than being at work. The weather was awesome. We went to Pierce's bbq on the way home. Everybody says that its so good. Well maybe after a three hour ride, or something, but other wise it sucks. And there was some dude that worked there that would not stop talking to me about my tattoo's. He was nice, but get a social clue. fuuuuhhhhhhdge!

Night riding in Richmond, Va.

Night riding w/ your ole' buddy alcohol can be dangerous. James Hoard aka The Rev. ate shit on an invisible cliff. Actually he went of a drop off that couldn't be seen in the dark. Yeah, you guessed it the collar bone is broke. You can't see it but, his right ear got half ripped off. The stitches went about half way around the ear to hold it back on. Here's to ya not doing anything half ass James. I love ya.

old skool

I've known these folks for over twenty years and I bet there aren't many guys who have a photo of their ex-wife and current wife and a bunch o friends together. Life is funny.

mystery machine

Who doesn't love Scooby Doo?

No Arms

Babycakes learns to ride w/ no hands and insists on calling it riding w/ no arms. I don't know what is wrong w/ her. But, the next time we went riding she completely had riding w/ no arms all figured out and did it like it was her job.

Disco Queen

Babycakes gettin her groove. By this point it was amazing that I could hold the camera. Don't remember much after this point, but people tell me it was great.

Boston

Went to be my buddy's best man. For those of you who know Rick Curtis, he actually did it. Yep, he got hitched. Babycakes checked out the sights after the wedding. Boston seems to be clean and everyone we encountered was pleasent and nice. Man, those folks love some sports. Lots o cyclists around downtown.

Independent Fabrication

Went to Boston Mass. and skipped over to IF to checkout where my favorite bikes are born. Saw Tyler, Matt and some of the other guys at the shop. Joe was nice enough to take the time to show me around before lunch. I got a hankerin for a new bike. How could you not?