With the Tour one day away we now have acouple title contenders knocked out with doping scandals.
How do we solve the drug problem? Lets send in Carrie Nation and have here clean house. Screw Dick Pound and the UCI.

Maybe we'll have an All American podium?

But the pundits will say "So and so wasn't there"

Now the real kicker. The whiny little bitch David Millar thinks "It's fantastic". Hmmm,this comes from a self confessed doper. Who says "he's misunderstood" and is going to prove you can race clean.

Oh well. A young mans dreams are an old mans scars.

So I took a trip to the Salvation Army of Darkness

It's not even time to school shop yet. But it's always fun to shop at Sally's.
Should I wear this shirt in public? I have to decide at work if clothing is acceptable or not. But it's summer and this is funny.
I wonder if the chocolates are any good?

When I die I'm coming back as a housecat to a good home.
So what could be easier? Jump in the basket, no one can see you and all your worries fade away.
There must be many as a housecat. When will I get fed? Where's the sun? How come the "petter" has been gone so long?
Guess I'll have some crunchies, take a snooze, maybe just watch the world go by from my spaceship, transmorgifier,duplicator or maybe it really is just a basket.
I just want to celebrate another day of living.

Summer Project

Here's a cool chain keeper. Dosen't look that hard to build.
Better get to work.

I just want to Celebrate another day of living.

So here it is the end of another year. Just as the Rare Earth song goes. I just want to celebrate, YEAH, YEAH. Type,run do what ever it takes to get the Millenium collection. transport yourself back in time with long jam versions of their classic songs.
So on tomorrow's ride, to snag a line from MA, I'm going to let it all hang out!
The Carver is telepathic. Best bike I've owned in years.

Going to see Dirt Farm tonight. www.dirtfarm.org
Where outlaw country meets roadhouse rock,they have a link to a myspace with tunes you can listen too.

Better get to work.

The Carver rips through singletrack like a weedwhip with new twine.

Sorry all pics end up here. Fatmarc, Buddy help me out.

The Carver was loaded up on the Jetta and pointed towards Shindagin Hollow. Some of the best riding in our area. The plan was to meet Paul and Jerry. Paul rides for Beans and is a serious weight fanatic with his bikes. His Ti Dean Colonel would make most roadies giddy with joy if their road bike weighed that little. Jerry is new to the MASS series and rides an Ellsworth Truth and tells it like his bike.

We set off to ride the Chair Trail and Endless single track sections. It all starts with a climb. The Carver sprang forward in earnest. Long story short. I love this bike. All the benefits of a big wheel without the sluggishness of the big rear wheel. No washing out in turns,tire selection seems moot. Sweet. Logging has ruined part of the chair trail. It's amazing waht they're allowed to do to the woods with those machines. So some bushwhacking was invovled. Paul took us on a great ride and the Mr Bigg is now on Ebay,while the Carver makes a nest in the garage.

Off to work.

This my Carver 96er. The frame arrived last night. It's built and ready to rock. I loved it from the first pedal stroke down the street. It will get its shake down run this am after breakfast. Tomorrow it hits Shindagin for an Epic. It's a deep red bordering on Maroon with a US Postal seat. Was going for that patriotic theme with the Henrys kit.

This is MR. BIGG. The 29er that was ridden four times. A 14 in bottom bracket made it a monster truck. This is the first bike I've never liked from pedal stroke one. The frame is for sale.

Due to the influence of the "Darkside" aka the Wooden Wheels Team. I'm delving into Bloggerdom. First let me say thanks to all the great people I've meet on the team. Big props to John Thompson and Fatmarc for getting me on the team. Again to Fatmarc for hooking me up with the Henry's Secret team this year.

So how did I arrive at "Cheating the Reaper" for a title? I was going to use causticman because of my twisted perspective on life,then stick it to the man, Thanks to Neil young. Then it dawned on me I'm in the bonus years. How so you ask?

First, all the males in our family have died at age 45. I broke that barrier and a bus didn't get me that day. A gin sodden night on my 45th birthday may have brought visions,but not death.
No gin since then either.

Second, My family has this weird blood condition called FactorV leiden where you can have a blood clot for no reason. So I go and get tested for it. Now let me preface this. I have always been a bleeder like cheap b grade slasher film. Just like my grandmother. So I go get tested. YUP no problems. My sister gets tested,she's double factor V, meaning both Mom and Dad have it. So who gets a clot? Me, a huge ass one in my leg. But now I either bleed or I don't. Weird. I just might be the "Chimerea" Tyler Hamilton talks about. Then I find out my cousin who also tested negative got a clot in his lung and is in ICU. He's doing better now. Thanks.

So first the "Darkside" lures me into the world of single speeds. Well I'm hooked and that lands me a ride for Soul Cycles in Arizona. www.ridesoul.com. Now they've lead me into 29'ers. The new rigs from Soul are due in July. So I score Mr Bigg frame on Ebay. this thing is a monster truck. 14 in BB crazy tall. So I build it up. ride it. i get the improved traction, the chatter is gone with the big wheels. but it's a slug getting up to speed. Now our riding here in Gloom county is much different than in lower Pa and Delaware. So I keep trying. I decide to race it at French Creek. I card a win. But still not sold. I race the Hooligan www.ridesoul.com in the next two Mass races. Feel better. Keep the win straek alive. So now being a ex moto head I'm going to try a Carver www.carverbikes.com these bikes make total sense to me. Slick Rick at Henry's www.henrysbikes.com has hooked me up and I await its arrival. So I'll give a report when it gets here. I'll post a review when I get it and better understand this blogging.

In future posts you meet the cast of characters I ride with. first we'll have Henk (after Henk Vogels) A strong man on the local TT circuit, Mikey the kid who never trains and still kicks ass.
Pops,Barbie, High Dollar Dan has many personas depend on the day. The Bobber,who has been MIA due to back problems. Better get to work.