I Couldn’t Wait

So I bought some new pedals. Despite the fact that I broke a pedal at my last race, I’m still sticking with crankbrothers. I’ve been riding them for years, so I can’t change now.


But, why did I buy new pedals? Well, I sent my broken ones out for warranty service, and I heard back from the folks at crankbrothers and they will indeed honor the warranty. The problem is, the pedals won’t be back in time for this weekend’s race. So, I picked up another set to use in the meantime. I guess it won’t hurt to have an extra set hanging around just in case.



Installing new pedals is pretty easy, so I won’t waste your time showing you how I did it. They are the same style I’ve been riding (eggbeaters), so there won’t be an adjustment period at all. I’ve said it before, I don’t like change.


In other news, I guess you can say I’ve been training. Lugging a 65 pound Rottweiler up and down the stairs every day is helping me with my strength training, but it’s also wearing me out. Yes, my dog is getting better, but I still don’t trust her walking up and down the stairs. She may never be able to walk those stairs again, so I don’t mind carrying her around. She walks pretty well now around the rest of the house and the yard, but I don’t want her to get injured any further.


I’ve been riding a little bit too. The single speed has been my weapon of choice when I’m not racing, and I think it may be helping out. I’m able to sprint up steep climbs, and my recovery time from hard efforts is getting shorter. I’m nowhere near “in-season” shape yet, but I’m getting there. I’m guessing that by the time summer gets here, I’ll be good to go.


I think I’ll cut it off here for the day. With the race season in full swing I should have more to talk about, but I guess that isn’t the case. You really shouldn’t expect that much outta me anyway.


What the hell do you want, a picture of Dicky dressed as a unicorn?




Yeah, you can’t unsee that shit either.

Random Stuff Because There’s Nothing Else

Usually I have some sort of theme (or at least an idea) when I sit down here to write this here B-Log. Today is a little different. I have lots of little things to mention, but nothing big enough to take up an entire post. I guess I could do lots of separate posts with little bits of information, but I have to admit that I do enjoy rambling. Besides, everyone who reads this stuff is used to me going on and on, so why should I disappoint? I guess we can start with something that showed up on my doorstep da udda day:


How nice of the UPS man to open the package and place the contents on the front porch.


If you’re into cycling at all, you’ll probably recognize the logo on the box. Yep, it looks like my new Crank Brothers pedals have finally arrived. I opened the box and peeked inside:



Yeah, they’re white, I know. Not my favorite color for a mountain bike accessory, but they do kind of match the Fox fork on Goose. Besides, my old pedals were getting kind of beat up, and the red kind of looks ridiculous on my new green bike.



There would be no Chistmas bike action for me, so I took a few minutes to install my shiny new pedals. Even though changing the pedals on a bicycle is one of the easiest things you can do, I still had to grab the most important accessory for bike mechanicin’:



Honestly, it took longer to open the beer and pour it in a glass than it did to change over to my new pedals. Still, you can’t work on a bicycle without a tasty beverage. That’s just crazy talk right there. Anyway, I did get a chance to enjoy my beer. After the new pedals were on, I parked a chair in front of my bike and stared at it. I tend to do that a lot. Here’s what I saw:



It actually took longer to drink the beer and take the photos than it did to change the pedals, but that’s what happens when you blog about eveything. Things take longer when you’re documenting them, which can get in the way of progress sometimes. You should be happy that I don’t blog about going to the bathroom. That would not be a pretty sight.

I guess I could talk about some upcoming races next, since an entire post about pedal changification would be silly. I know it’s been a while since I’ve raced my bike competetivly, but that’s my own fault. Multiple vacations, flat tires, and stupid shit like that have kept me from actually racing. While it’s not the most important thing in the world to me (in the world of bicycles anyway), it does usually give me some good stories.




The first race on the calendar is actually this weekend, the Southern Classic Series race at Dark Mountain. I’m not sure if I’ll make it though. I’m on call for work, but I may try to sneak up there and bust out a couple of laps. The course is one of my favorites, although it involves a lot of climbing at first. The reward is a fun, fast downhill all the way to the finish line though. Plus, they have a Clydesdale category, so I can race with people my own size. That’s good, since I’m tired of getting stomped by these little skinny racer boi types. Maybe I’ll have a race report for y’all on Monday if I can get up there.




The next race on the horizon is a local one. The Cackalacky Cup , which will be held at beautiful Lake Norman State Park has me a little intrigued. Instead of a mass start race, it will consist of two time trials (one of which is technical with obstacles and all.) If I decided to do it, it would be my very first time. I attended the race last year, but I did it as a Bike Patroller so I couldn’t race. This time I might give it a go. Hell, I may even get Lunchbox compete as well. He’s considering it, which surprises me. The race takes place next weekend, so I have plenty of time to “train.” We all know that I don’t train that much, so I’ll be flying by the seat of my pants again. That shit definitely will make for a good story. Today’s crap and nonsense? Not so much. See y’all next week.