two words......RAIN STOP!

Two foot of water in the basement is not so bad.....unless you're a fish. The rain water is litererly coming in through the basement steps and walls. Doesn't look like the drain can keep up. I do have a submersible sump pump with a garden hose I will be hooking up soon. That should bring the water down. Then I should only have to run it for a little bit every now and then. Thankfully we do not really keep anything in the basement. Oh wait. Pam's Christmas Trees are down there. Crap! They are made with a nice wooden trunk that will most likely lose it's bark.

This might just ruin this years Trans Ia also. Not to mention the Decorah TT that I was planning to race. I am betting it will be unridable.

Ok. Back to work on the basement.

Captain.

trail work

Many of you know we have a race coming up on May 3rd and 4th at the scout camp. Last weekend we put in a ton of man hours grooming the trails. We even added a new section. Without the help of the scouts it never would have been completed in such a short time. Here is a pick of Alex and myself. How we got paired up I will never know. Nice kid. With all of the talking he did it made the work go by fast. mainly because I worked faster so I could get done. Good times though.

Aslo, looks like Cuz got a new job with Verizon Wireless.......can you hear me now?

Captain.

finally in bloom.....

Nice to see the flowers are starting to bloom. These babies have been trying for two weeks and finally made an appearance this last weekend.

Speaking of in bloom...... this weekend starts my race season. I plan to partake in the Decorah Time Trials this Sunday. Should be a slippery mess. Can't wait though. The trails in Decorah will put the best riders skills to the test. Throw in wetness and it's a free for all. Anyone can win. Not me, but anyone else.

maybe I'll see some of you there.

Captain.

Sorry for the lack of posting. Lost my camera somewhere in ths house. I don't like posting without pictures. Sounds silly but that's me. Turns out it was in my bike bag. I was a little worried it was gone for good.

Made it out last Wed with the Bike Tech boys. Paul Chris and myself were the lucky ones. We headed to Ulrich Park for a quick spin around the loop. Met a nice couple with a nice dog. Nobody got bit. The trails were in pretty good condition considering all the rain of late. The lower sections was not good enough to enjoy. A little too soggy. We then headed over to Lookout Park for a couple of hill climbs. That was fun! My first run up it I just mashed on the pedals with an almost anger raged effort. I noticed towards the top that my rear rotor was starting to rub. Turns out with that wreckless effort all of the force caused my rear hub to loosen. I was pretty cooked once at the top. We then regrouped and headed around the loop that Chris had to navigate and then headed back for hill climb #2. I went at it with a little less effort and focused more on a nice out of the saddle climb. I stayed more relaxed and spun better circles. I felt that I made it up quicker and had more energy. I was actually able to talk at the top wothout having to wait and catch my breath. We headed for home after that. I think we logged a little less miles than I wanted to but there were plenty of good efforts exerted.

Good times...

Captain

gotta wear shades......

#1

#2

Decided to try something I have been thinking about for a while. Every morning I admire the sunrise during my drive to work. I notice the colors of the sky and the ground and watch it change before my eyes all within minutes. It is truly amazing. Often times we rush to work in the morning and some people I talk to don't even know if the sun is up or not.

I am somewhat of a self proclaimed camera buff. I mainly just love colors and how I can capture the contrast of the light shining on buildings or other structures. Maybe that's wierd but I like it. I like how an old rough old run down barn or warehouse can take on a soft elegant almost tender look when the sunlight hits it.

Ok. I will quit boring you with this softer side of the capt'n and get to what this post is about. Exposure. What is esposure? Well, too complicated for me to put in this post and sometimes I wonder if I even get it. But, the test I did the other morning will be something many of you can easily try. Just remember to turn you flash the to "off" or "surpressed" position. The sunrise in these next two photos were taken within 30 seconds of each other. Camera was set to the "Auto" setting and the flash was in the off setting. That also looks like the lighting bolt inside of a circle with a line through it. Sort of like a no u-turn sign.

I shot piture #2 through the lens of my sunglasses. That is the only difference. The camera of course change it's shutter speed but that is about it. A nice effect I think. Give the landscape more definition and also keeps the bright sun in tact. I like it. This effect is also gives you about the same effect as if you lowered your exposure comp.

Give it a try somtime. You may have some fun. Oh, and don't forget to ride your bike!

Captain

cool find

I just love Ebay. Where else can you find those rare items. Sometimes I even forget about some of the cool things you can find until I stumble across them. Take for example these fine vintage Salsa decals. I haven't seen this kind for a long time. Only wish I could find these is the down tube size. These are only about 3 or 4 inches long. They are made to fit on a stem. I hope to get them applied this weekend. Should put a nice retro spin on my not so retro Mamasita bike.

Tonight I plan to log about 100 miles. That's right folks, 100 miles. Not on the bike though. I know, too bad. A buddy of mine and myself are heading to Iowa City. I am buying a 1997 Volkswagen Passat wagon. Hopefully, it is what I am expecting since it is such a good deal.

Captain

spring cleaning......Finally!

Well, this weekend was one of those "on-call" weekends for Pam. She hasn't had to go in too many times so that gave us all a little family time outside. All the girls were able to clean out one of the flower gardens. Madee and Ella were able to work the ground in the sandbox and I was able get some Blue Bird houses hung. I even groomed my backyard singletrack a bit.

Gotta love this weather. I plan to get in some gravel road miles Monday night. Planning to leave the house around 8pm. I need at least an hour ride in. The plan is to get some good intervals in. There are a few hills on my loop that I plan to attack. I have trouble pushing myself on solo rides so I plan to change that. Some might even call that "training behind the barn." Maybe I will start doing that.

Get out and ride.

gravel goodness......

Went out with Chris C, Mike J and Pete. Got in close to 30 miles. Left CF and headed north to the camp. Rode through camp and then over by Janesville and then back to CF. Good effort put out and nice time with the guys. Here is a more detailed report.

Captain.

Ella in Chinese handcuffs sure does make her a lot easier to manage. During a park/rec meeting this weekend we were searching through old stuff in the supply room for the upcoming city wide garage sales and stumbled across a bag of these babies. I remember the first time I used them. What a good time we had and my girls enjoyed them as much as I thought they would. Good times.....
My little buddy Nate is sporting a new ride. He has squish on both ends of that rig. Hopefully, I can get him and his older brother to the camp sometime this summer. We really need the sun to work really hard at drying the trails. Maybe I need to do a sun dance....

Captain

seeing things......

Ever get the feeling that you're seeing things? Things that don't seem true? I did during my last ride. Sometimes I feel like I am just flying down the path and yet the computer tells me that I am slow. Sometimes I feel slow but the computer tells me I am clipping along pretty fast. I am pretty sure it's not the computer that is off though. It's just me. I suppose there are a few factors that play into it. Mostly my fitness and how I feel that particular day. I also think I feel slower when riding on a 29er versus a 26er even though I am actually riding faster. It must have something to do with being more stable. Oh well. Either way you look at it sometimes it messes with my mind. Almost like the computer is giving you a dirty look. A look that makes you think you are going crazy. But you're not. Maybe I shouldn't have taken cold medicine before writing this blog entry. Just maybe.

No matter what the speed you are riding at just make sure to have fun doing it.

Captain.

a little peace.....

Took a nice ride around Sweets Marsh today. A little Dyke riding. The water was covered with geese and duck of all ages. Very nice sight indeed. I met a couple of geese who were not so happy to see me. Oh well. I think they'll get over it.

I have been feeling pretty good on the bike this past week. Took a little break today and just enjoyed the ride. Not too much effort until is started raining.

Bike Tech had a good showing at the race. Nice work guys.

Captain.

Gravel ride to Finchford

Made it out for a nice ride over the Finchford tonight with Kat, Mike Johnson and Chris Congdon. Temps were nice and the wind wasn't too bad. I think Mike said we got in around 25 or so miles. We headed North out of Cedar Falls on our way to Finchford. We needed to put fliers in the mailboxes of the residents of Finchford and the homes on the race course. This was in preparation for next weekends Finchford Roubioux.

It was good to ride with old friends again. Chris and Mike have always been so committed to the weekly rides. I don't know Kat very well but she sure does seem swell. She is fast too! The best part about the ride for me, besides hanging out with great folks, was the workout. I ride by myself so often that it is really difficult to gauge you fitness. I felt pretty strong throughout the ride. I mean we weren't racing or anything. I am wishing I was in better condition but I guess I can't expect too much. I need to make it to the weekly rides more often. I come away feeling revived and humbled. You know, just when you think you're getting faster someone comes along and shows you that you're not fast enough. That's good to have on so many levels. So, tonight was a wake up call for me. The surgery is past. The pain is gone. Now, get working harder. Eat better. Get more sleep. But, still keep my priorities in check.

Well, I have rambled on for too long. Later.

Captain.

Feeling burley......

Took a little wind ride last night before picking up the girls from school. That Burley sure does catch the wind. I felt like I was pulling a camper. Tailwind was nice coming home though. I think the little ones must total at least 15 pounds more in total weight than they did the last time we rode in this thing. On top of that we had two backpacks full of books and papers from school. the oldest one even brought home something made out of wood. It was painted all sorts of colors. We are still unsure what it even is. She can't even remember.

I plan to ride with the Bike Tech crew tonight. Wonder what they will have in store for me....

Captain.

For Sale

I have a Cannondale H300 for sale. It is a size large. Works greats. Looks and works like new. 700c wheels. Very good touring bike. Great for gravel grinding too. You can even use it for cyclocross if you want. Tires are 40mm wide. I get to keep the Ergon grips though, sorry.

I will also give it a nice bath. Pics were taken just after a ride last weekend.

Send me an email if interested. captainbobinc@gmail.com or call me 319-415-6302.

Captain Bob (rob)

Free Ride

Remember the days when you rode double on a not so double bike? I sure do. I even did it last summer. Pam and I were spending the weekend away from home celebrating our 9th wedding anniversary.

Can you guess where this is at? The lucky winner gets a new Bontrager handlebar.

Captain.