I thought her 15 minute of fame were over...

Boy, is this interesting:

Bleeding Edge

Just got the good news that my new Edge fork is at the shop and ready for me. So long you heavy old Alpha Q fork! This should drop almost a quarter pound off the bike and from what I've heard it will improve all handling aspects of the ride. Ride reports to follow...

These don't fit

Being tall has some advantages, but shopping for clothes is not one of them. In fact, it's become harder over the past several years as I've lost weight. Many folks think that if you produce a line of clothing for "big & tall" clients that these two terms are inter-connected. In fact, these need to be re-examined.

It needs to be understood that "Tall" crosses many waistband boundaries. Some tall people are thin, some are fat. But here's the crux...I apparently needs to have a 36" waist to be sized in many tall cuts of pants. The problem is I have a 34" waist, so I have to hunt around to find what I need.

I recently found that the Gap brands (Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy) have smaller waist sizes with a 36" inseam on the pant. This length will do, but a 38" would be perfect. So I have to do the next best thing which is to be diligent and not shrink the pants in the dryer. Hanging drying baby, right next to all the cycling gear.

And another interesting thing to note. You can't buy these tall sizes in the store. Online only.

Gap must have waistband amnesia. I received a pair of 34" waist khaki's that fit great. The next pair of pants in the shipment was also a 34", but a different type of pant and cut. These didn't fit; in fact, I think they were sized to fit 32" waist (the tag said 34"). I wear enough tight fitting cycling gear to feel comfortable in my own skin, but these pants were way too tight. They're getting returned the next time I get back to a Gap store.

Prop 8 - What about love?!?

I don't watch Keith Olbermann much (used to when he was on ESPN's Sportcenter), but a friend of mine sent this my way. Take your opinions, set them aside, and watch with an open mind and soul:

Sierra Road in the Fall

It has been over six months since I climbed up this hill. The day was so beautiful I thought I'd share some pictures from the ride:

Engine Work

After enough time around cycling you realized that there's no further purpose to trying to find the latest and greatest to put on your bike. Shaving weight can only go so far...go too far and you're riding around on a fragile death rocket. Luckily I've stayed away from these temptations (mostly) and have a garage of bikes that are durable enough for my size.

I feel like I've reached an almost nirvana-like place. No more do I feel the need to read through the latest catalogs that show up in the mail, looking for the latest and greatest component to purchase. Let's be realistic, will I really get a 30 second improvement riding up Highway 9 if I shave off 30 grams from the stem and seatpost? Probably not, but my checking account would certainly be lighter.

In this state of bliss I find myself thinking long and hard about what's next. The goals for 2009 are done, written and communicated to those who need to know. So where does one go next? Well, I'm going to the garage to work on the engine.

My "garage" are those roads that we commonly travel and train upon. There's a lot of work that's going to be done in the garage over the winter. The engine cylinders will be larger, intake manifolds doubled and perhaps a turbo thrown in for the hell of it. The garage door will be open and the engine will have to battle with whatever storms, wind and rain blows through. But when this engine is done and it's brought out into the late spring/early summer sun, I think it will be purring just like the Ferrari F1 engine pictured above.