Dave B
06-09-2011, 08:31 AM
Ladies and gents I would say one of the best attributes to have is a sense of humor. As a school teacher, I have the added benefit of practicing said sense of humor daily as I work with 6th graders. I have finished my 10th year of this and trust me my inability to be serious irritates most of my family, whilst also making for great fun.
So let us take a fun little trip and I hope I can provide a chuckle or two.
Yesterday I was eagerly awaiting my recent serotta purchase from Bill (Happycamper) of his MeiVici. I have never owned a bike like this and was a bit nervous as I haven't considered a Serotta for years (foolishly so). The bike got here fine and it has blown my expectations for what a bike can be purely on looks and craftsmanship.
So while waiting I decide to go for a mtb ride as I do love the empty trails that my summer schedule allows me. I pack up the 29er and head to our local trail. Remember it is Indiana and central Indiana at that so mountains are around 10 to 15 feet. This is like a short track trail I use my cross bike on to fly around. It is fun, finally open and with newly created/built trails!
So after two laps and several crashes as my handling skills have taken a huge loss in accuracy during the winter months I head out for lap three. I am tired and to be honest trying to find fitness again...I say again because there was a time in my life I remember being close to fit. i saw it once in a diner, but never was able to meet it.
So on lap three the farthest place from the car I flatted. No biggie, I'll pull out another tube, fix it and head back. Hmmmm wait no tube in here. Ok let me find my patch kit...crap it is on the Hampsten hanging in the garage.
Any duct tape...nope.
well crap looks like a nice few mile walk back. No big deal, but in Sidis it is almost criminal.
So I walk for a few miles pushing the bike through mosquito infested swamp land. get back to the car and head home with kind of a grin and a bit of a chip on my shoulder. Make sure I pack tubes and patch kit for next time.
So I get home and bike boxes are on the porch. fantastic! Bring them into he basement shop, go up stairs and cool down and take a shower.
So about 30 minutes later I am cooled down and in the basement with a box knife unwrapping what has to be one of the most beautiful road bikes I have ever seen. I'll post it up in a couple of days as i work out the details. I am being extra careful as I don't want to scratch anything.
I begin to put in the Ritchey post and it doesn't want to go in easily and it gets a bit stuck. So I have a allow post somewhere I can use for build until I put a saddle on the ritchey. So I begin to try and get the Ritchey post out and with al my might get it to pop free...right between my eyes so hard that I take a step back and am a wee bit dizzy...I kid you not it took me a few minutes to not see stars and to collect my thoughts.
Typical me I begin to laugh as that is kind of how i deal with pain. Awkward I know, but oh well. So after about 40 minutes my beautiful wife comes home and knows I am in the basement working on the bike as creeps down to surprise me. She pops out to startle me and gasps as she looks at me. "Oh my God honey are you ok?" I aks her to look at the bike and she says I am bleeding. Apparently I hit myself so hard with the top of the post I split the skin between my eye and have bleed all over my face. She is freaking out and begins to laugh as I do explaining what i did. She calls me an idiot and heads to get me a towel.
I explain my day to her, which cause us both to laugh a bit harder. The blood has stained the collar of my shirt so I begin to take it off and I here her say wow. Well stupid me I think she is having a moment seeing me take my shirt off and I think to myself, thank lord for having an awesome wife.
Then just when I am about to get all big headed she adds to the wow, "What is wrong with you?" ummm, ok sexy just went bye bye.
She says to look at my right arm in the mirror. So I go upstairs while she is continuing to laugh and there must be oh 17 to 100 mosquito bites on my arm from walking the bike out of the trail today.
So apparently I didn't get woozy from the knock to the head, but the gallon of blood those crappy bugs drained from me.
So here i sit, developing a small black eye from punching myself in the face with the top of a Ritchey seat post, with a right arm covered in the onslaught invasion of bug bites waiting for the rain to stop so I can go ride a bike with carbon wheels for the first time. I figured it was good to wait for the rain to end so that I don't try to stop the bike going downhill into traffic and not be able to on my first ride! You know with the great luck I have going in the last 24 hours.
Folks, sometimes sleeping in can be the best medicine!
Have a great Thursday! :beer:
So let us take a fun little trip and I hope I can provide a chuckle or two.
Yesterday I was eagerly awaiting my recent serotta purchase from Bill (Happycamper) of his MeiVici. I have never owned a bike like this and was a bit nervous as I haven't considered a Serotta for years (foolishly so). The bike got here fine and it has blown my expectations for what a bike can be purely on looks and craftsmanship.
So while waiting I decide to go for a mtb ride as I do love the empty trails that my summer schedule allows me. I pack up the 29er and head to our local trail. Remember it is Indiana and central Indiana at that so mountains are around 10 to 15 feet. This is like a short track trail I use my cross bike on to fly around. It is fun, finally open and with newly created/built trails!
So after two laps and several crashes as my handling skills have taken a huge loss in accuracy during the winter months I head out for lap three. I am tired and to be honest trying to find fitness again...I say again because there was a time in my life I remember being close to fit. i saw it once in a diner, but never was able to meet it.
So on lap three the farthest place from the car I flatted. No biggie, I'll pull out another tube, fix it and head back. Hmmmm wait no tube in here. Ok let me find my patch kit...crap it is on the Hampsten hanging in the garage.
Any duct tape...nope.
well crap looks like a nice few mile walk back. No big deal, but in Sidis it is almost criminal.
So I walk for a few miles pushing the bike through mosquito infested swamp land. get back to the car and head home with kind of a grin and a bit of a chip on my shoulder. Make sure I pack tubes and patch kit for next time.
So I get home and bike boxes are on the porch. fantastic! Bring them into he basement shop, go up stairs and cool down and take a shower.
So about 30 minutes later I am cooled down and in the basement with a box knife unwrapping what has to be one of the most beautiful road bikes I have ever seen. I'll post it up in a couple of days as i work out the details. I am being extra careful as I don't want to scratch anything.
I begin to put in the Ritchey post and it doesn't want to go in easily and it gets a bit stuck. So I have a allow post somewhere I can use for build until I put a saddle on the ritchey. So I begin to try and get the Ritchey post out and with al my might get it to pop free...right between my eyes so hard that I take a step back and am a wee bit dizzy...I kid you not it took me a few minutes to not see stars and to collect my thoughts.
Typical me I begin to laugh as that is kind of how i deal with pain. Awkward I know, but oh well. So after about 40 minutes my beautiful wife comes home and knows I am in the basement working on the bike as creeps down to surprise me. She pops out to startle me and gasps as she looks at me. "Oh my God honey are you ok?" I aks her to look at the bike and she says I am bleeding. Apparently I hit myself so hard with the top of the post I split the skin between my eye and have bleed all over my face. She is freaking out and begins to laugh as I do explaining what i did. She calls me an idiot and heads to get me a towel.
I explain my day to her, which cause us both to laugh a bit harder. The blood has stained the collar of my shirt so I begin to take it off and I here her say wow. Well stupid me I think she is having a moment seeing me take my shirt off and I think to myself, thank lord for having an awesome wife.
Then just when I am about to get all big headed she adds to the wow, "What is wrong with you?" ummm, ok sexy just went bye bye.
She says to look at my right arm in the mirror. So I go upstairs while she is continuing to laugh and there must be oh 17 to 100 mosquito bites on my arm from walking the bike out of the trail today.
So apparently I didn't get woozy from the knock to the head, but the gallon of blood those crappy bugs drained from me.
So here i sit, developing a small black eye from punching myself in the face with the top of a Ritchey seat post, with a right arm covered in the onslaught invasion of bug bites waiting for the rain to stop so I can go ride a bike with carbon wheels for the first time. I figured it was good to wait for the rain to end so that I don't try to stop the bike going downhill into traffic and not be able to on my first ride! You know with the great luck I have going in the last 24 hours.
Folks, sometimes sleeping in can be the best medicine!
Have a great Thursday! :beer: