Weekend wrap-up

It was a busy eventful weekend. The kids and myself were suppose to take a quick trip up to Wi to see G'pa but he had to work Saturday at the last minute. Pam was on call all weekend so she wasn't able to go but since we couldn't either it was nice to not have to leave her behind. So, I played in the garage and the girls played outside., all day! It was great. I even had a visitor named Guitar Ted. He stopped over with his little lady (daughter) and while Ted and I talked bikes all afternoon the girls played. Actually, they dug in the sandbox, pea gravel, mud and more mud. Those girls had a great time. Thanks for coming over Ted, it's always nice to have you over, anytime!

I did get a ride in on Saturday but it was just a quick 20 mile sprint. I felt really good. Wrist is getting stronger and legs felt good.

I rode with my oldest daughter on Sunday afternoon. While I pulled the youngest girl in the Burley Madee rode on her own bike. We went to the paved road and back which is a rather hilly mile stretch. She was so proud that she rode a 2 mile TT. It was a good time. While she was riding along she was also watching for animal tracks. We spotted a few deer tracks and stopped to take a closer look. It was a nice time had by all.

I wished for more riding this weekend but I will take good times with friends and family ove riding anytime.

Captain

No Photoshop Friday today...........

Ok, last night I was working frantically on todays post. After about an hour I was putting the final touches on the finished product in Photoshop and......you guessed it, locked up on me!! You're freakin kidding me! I was mad enough to not want to start fresh so nothing for today.

However, I will not leave you empty handed. My youngest daughter Ella always comes to the rescue. The other night Pam asked me if I was messing around with her Sudoku puzzle. Not me. Then we went in for a closer look and realized that someone had been counting the numbers. You can see a couple of the numbers make sense but the majority of them are just numbers in order. Those would be the ones Ella added. Pretty funny. It's so neat to see our 4 yr old writing so well and getting the counting thing down pretty well too. Oh my, how they grow so fast.

Happy Friday folks!

Captain

Way too cold!

Well, I did make it out for a nice ride Wed night. I decided to head straight into the wind on my way out. I did and man was it cold. Thankfully, the sun was beating on my face. That helped offset the cold a bit. I headed out west. Then, North. I think the wind was worse from the North. It was brutal especially given my fitness level sucks right now. It was not fun. Once, I started East for home I felt pretty good. Actually, it felt a little too fast at times. Weird how you forget what speed feels like after missing it during the winter. The ride back East and then South and then East again went by pretty fast and would have been faster if my calves didn't cramp up. All in all it was a good ride. Stayed pretty warm with just a base long sleeve t-shirt, Salsa Wool long sleeve jersey and a windbreaker. Oh, and two pairs of tights.

Stay warm folks. The heat will be here soon.

Captain

Nothing new here..........

Here is you answer to this weeks Macro Monday: Rabbit turd laying on a patch of moss covered by a light dusting of snow. Who would have thought there would be so much variety and texture in a rabbit turd? Not me. I always assumed that since they looked like a Coco Puff that they would look the same close up. Wonder what next Mondays will be?

Word on the street is that the Selma will be here around 4-1-09. I have also heard that some frames could show up sooner and some later. Hmm....wonder which batch mine will be in? Hopefully, the sooner. I had a stem and seatpost over at the anodizer man for some custom color but for some reason he botched the job. So, we have to polish the parts in hopes to salvage the parts for a different bike. They most likley will never look as good as when they were new. That Stinks! So, I am on the hunt for some paint to lay on a part that will make my Selma unique. I hope that plan works out because if it does I think this direction will be even cooler than the ano job.

In other bike news I have decided to build back up the Zion. I rides comfortably and it's paid for. So, why not ride it since nobody wants to buy it. I was riding a Trek cross bike that holds a 45mm tire but that doesn't quite cut it for mountain biking. The frame and fork were not built for extreme riding. So, back on the Zion until the Selm comes in. It will be geared but I will also be riding my Soul Cycles Dillinger 29er single speed. This is the rig I tested though TwentyNineInches.com. Here is a pic of the Zion. I have to add my 3rd bottle cage and front der cable and she's ready.

Have a great Wednesday. I'm riding outside tonight after work. The wind is your mountain, right Jeff!

Captain

What's on your radar?

I need to start racing soon. I am hoping to hit two races in April and they will be on the mountain bike. So, what's on your radar for April? Is there any races south of Iowa or anywhere that might be even dryer? If so, please let me know. I am really needing some dirt.

There are two races ion Iowa but there has to be more options. IMBCS

Captain

Macro Monday

What is it?

Photoshop Friday......or not?

Finally! I am pleased to announce Selma! She is my new Salsa Selma single speed racing machine. All 29er baby! I was lucky enough to get my hands on a prototype frame. I can't say how I got it or who gave it to me. That's top secret. What I can say is that I have it built up and ready to ride. However, there are parts that will be swapped out soon. First part to go is the fork, doesn't match too well. I have the another one on a different bike right now but not for long. And no, I haven't weighed the bike yet so don't ask. I was at the shop yesterday getting a pro fit so I will be very comfortable spending long hours in the saddle.

Sorry for the crappy picture. It was taken with my cell phone. I will have much better pictures up on the blog soon.

Thank you "friend" for the frame.! Hope to see you on the trails soon.

Captain

Thank you Salsa!

Well, most of you know that I am still recovering from the broken arm. My friends over at Salsa Cycles know this too. They were kind enough to send me a little care package. Inside this care package was quite a treat for me. First off, thanks to Jason Boucher for getting all the Salsa employees to pay for this Wool Jersey though payroll deduct. They each donated a little bit of their hard earned cash. Thanks! It means a lot. :-) Second, is a gift from Salsa Marketing Director Mike Riemer.
Let's start with the jersey. It is a mighty fine wool jersey. Best I have ever worn and I am not just saying this. The fit is very accurate. I especially like the length. NOT TOO LONG. The material has a silky feel to it. Not itchy at all. Gotta love that. I wore it on three rides so far and only had to wear a windbreaker over it. Stayed dry and warm which is not usually the case for me with a poly blend jersey.

The gift from Mike is a bit different. Mike is a pretty extreme mountain biker. He races the Arrowhead Ultra which is something I would never do. Crazy people do this race. He had a little leftover food from this years event and thought it might help in my recover. Well, it did help with my spirits but not my nutrition. I didn't eat any of it. The contents include: partial Poptart, Reece's peanut butter cup, 1/2 beef stick (which looks like a pinkie finger and is not Mike's. I guess they counted all 10) and a couple Advil. You can read the writing by clicking on the picture. Funny stuff.

This was a pretty generous gift from some great people. I have been fortunate enough to meet these guys on a few occasions and was even lucky enough to ride with them and share a riverfront breakfast. Thanks Salsa! I really appreciate this!

Captain

Pulling the plug......

Well, I had to pull the plug on the CIRREM. Sore arm, weak body and now the flu. Came home early Tuesday and going in late today. It disappoints me a little but I know there will be other races this year. After all, this wasn't even on my radar until I heard about it. My plans are still focused around mountain bike races, but this race would have been good training. I would hate to get though half of the CIRREM and find myself not able to finish. Then, I would have to find a way back to the start.

Oh well, maybe next year.

Captain

Tuesday tidbits

So, no guesses on Macro Monday except for Gnat. Well, there are four things in the photo.

1. Half eaten beef stick.
2. Half eaten strawberry Poptart.
3. Advil.
4. Peanut butter cup.

More on that story tomorrow. It's pretty cool but I don't have enough time this morning to type it up.
Here is a picture of the wall at my desk. I like keeping happy things up at my work. Madelyn, my 8 yr old wrote me this letter. Click the image to make it big. Pretty cute. She made me the heart too. Ella, my 4 yr old made me the other picture. It's a flag in case you couldn't tell. Gotta love their efforts. It's so nice to know they love me.


Made it out for a ride Monday after work. Got in around 20 miles. Still wrist pain but not quite as bad as the weekend. Night off tonight so we'll see what Wed brings. Legs felt better too so that's good. I was rolling back through Tripoli and saw this opened car trunk and wouldn't you know it, they guy had a Salsa Selma frame just laying there. I ran back home to get my car and when I made it back to town the Selma was gone. I should have snagged it when I had the chance. Hmm, oh well.

Have a great Tuesday.

Captain.

Macro Monday

There is much more to this weeks Macro Monday than you know. I will let you all guess for a while at what you are seeing. Stay tuned later in the week for an in depth blog that is pretty cool. I think you will enjoy what I have to say. But, enough for now, start guessing.

Captain

ups and downs.....

Hope you all had a great weekend. Mine was filled with an up and a down. I was lucky enough to only have to wear the cast for three weeks. However, I was surprised at how weak my entire arm is. The wrist is the main issue now. I went out for a quick single speed ride on Saturday. Well, let's just say I should have stayed home. I was cold, sore, cold, weak and sore. And old. I couldn't put out any effort to speak of without blowing up within seconds. We're not talking sprints either. I couldn't even muster up the energy to keep a 20mph pace for more than 1/2 mile. I headed home after 9 miles. I was cooked. Really down too.

Then, Sunday after church my loving wife was suppose to be out of town but her plans changed due to a pinched nerve in her shoulder. She said I should get on my gear after lunch and head out for another ride. Really? Why? She was feeling pretty rough and decided to sleep for a while with the kids. So, I decided to head out even though I really should have been home taking care of her. This time on a cross bike I sort of built with extra parts I had laying around. At least I have a few bail out gears today. Turns out I was in store for a nice day on the bike. I was going to head over to Sumner and back which would make a 30 mile loop but decided to stick with the 20 mile loop. I felt much better. Not as cold either. So, back in the saddle was good to me on Sunday. Wait, I guess not all good. I was bombing along pretty quickly and came across a washboard section in the middle of the gravel road and then it happened. I didn't time a little wheelie just right and jarred my wrist when the wheel came down harder than I had planned. Popped my hand right off the hood. Nothing crazy happened. I didn't wreck or even steer off course but it reminded me of how weak this limb still is. It still hurts me right now as I type this blog and it's 10:45pm.

It worries me a lot when I think ahead to next Sunday and the CIRREM. Right now, I would have to say that I shouldn't race it. I am not bailing out yet but the thought is sticking with me. I guess I hate to put my family in a state of worry. I really don't want to have a LONG drive at an EARLY time and get in the middle of the race and then have to bail and pedal back due to a wrist that I already know could be an issue. This sort of thing could really put a damper on my spring mountain bike racing if I were to really hurt it. I know that racing a rigid single speed mountain bike will takes it toll on me this year but I want to at least start fresh.

Oh well, enough over thinking this for today. I am headed to bed. Oh, and I am not proof reading this so if it stinks, oh well. Sorry in advance.

Captain

Photoshop Friday

Well, another week has gone by which brings us to the 2nd edition of Photoshop Friday.

As you all know, I think about bikes A LOT! You know, so does my buddy Gravelo. He's heeling up too, so when you are done reading here send him some good vibes. I think he collects about as many bikes as he thinks about. Just the other day I was flying over his place with my chopper and saw him standing out on his deck. I snapped a quick picture before heading for home. Dude, I never knew you had a pool.


Captain.
close-up of the Gravelo.........

Don't put it in your mouth!

Wed was a pretty eventful day. We woke up to an ill child. Walked into the girls room and found a strange smell of chicken. Hmm, that's wierd, chicken. We had chicken the night before so I didn't think too much of it until I arrived at Ella's bed. She woke up, sat up in bed, and said, "What's that smell dad?" I looked at her bed and realized that she lost her lunch from Tues and her dinner as well. There was even a shiny looking something that appeared to be a rock. I said what's that Ella? She grabbed it and said it was the rock that Lexi made her put in her mouth at school Tues. I guess that little rock plugged a pipe or something. I made mention to her that she can't be putting things in her mouth, let alone swallow them. She told me that Lexi did it and she couldn't stop her. Ella said it slipped down her trote (that's how she says throat) before she could stop it.

Well, I sure hope she learned a lesson from this. The picture is the rock that we found. It's about the size of a dime.

Good news here though, I got the cast off Wed morning. Oh my, this arm is almost more useless than with the cast on.

Ok, got to run. Talk to you tomorrow on Photoshop Friday!

Captain

I am so proud

Monday night was parent/teacher night. We walked around the school and looked at the many displays that the students worked so hard on. There were some pretty interesting devices, concoctions, things, pottery and some other things. Wait, there were even some other "things." No, we weren't able to identify what everything was but regardless, they were cool.

Just a few weeks ago, about 20 minutes before the bus was to arrive at our house, Madelyn said, "Hey, dad. I need to bring some things to school that I can build something abstract with." I said, "Really. Today?" "Yup, today dad," she said. So I headed to the garage. Then I went straight to the "old parts" bin. I asked myself, "Why do I keep all this crap." Now I know. Pam, headed for the old desk in the office. As you can see by the pictures she was able to use quite a variety of items.

I love what she created. She is very proud of it as well. She was telling me about a "part" but couldn't remember the name of the part. She said, "You'll know what it's called dad." I did too. It was a chain ring. Granny gear to be exact. She thought the name "granny gear" was funny. I agree. That's why I don't use one.

Have a great day folks. If you have kids, take some time to go out and build something with them. Who cares if you don't know what to call it when it is done. It will still be fun. I know after seeing how excited she is about it we will be making some things of our own together.

Have a great day!

Captain

Macro Mondays

Ok. Since Photoshop Friday was so much fun I have decided to not wait any longer before rolling out Macro Mondays. This day will feature a close up photo of something. You can even try to guess what you are seeing if it's not obvious.

So today is the begining. You may have to guess at this one or you may not. You decide.

Captain

my other girl.....

I told you the other day that I would post a picture of my other girl. I guess today is the day. Here is Madelyn. She is my 8 year old. This was taken last summer during a Tripoli Days event at the park. Boy, I sure wish it was this nice outside today. I have two nicknames for her. Pipsqueak and Monkey. She prefers Pipsqueak best.

Captain

Photoshop Friday

Wow! It was fun while it lasted. Lance's bike is SOOO fast. I guess I should have known that someone would turn me in eventually. Lucky for me though I was able to keep the wheels. Can't wait to get this darn cast off. The blue doesn't match the bike at all.

For the birds

Man, this weather is for the birds. I sure can't wait for the warmer weather to come here and stay.

Stay tuned for something new here at Captain Bob Inc. It will be called "Photoshop Friday." This will be a picture of something that I have photoshopped. It will most likely be cycling related and hopefully stay right along with current events. Tomorrows post will be a good one and I think you will enjoy it. It cracked me up while making it. There might even be days where you might not even be able to see what was changed in the photo.

So come back and take a look. Feel free to post a comment on whether or not you like it.

Captain

Brunch anyone?

Come on over to the Tripoli City Hall on Feb 22 from 9am to 1pm. The Park and Rec board is serving an omelet and pancake brunch. All you can eat. Cost is free will donation. There will be muffins and fresh fruit served as well.

I will be there making omelets or pancakes for everyone. Here is your chance to get served by the Captain.

Hope to see you. HERE is a link to last years blog picture. I can't find the original picture. Hmm

Captain Bob

Hot Single Mama

This post is to give, those that want to know, a little insight on what drives my desire to lust after the ellusive Salsa Selma. Again, for those of you that want to know, please, read on. For those that don't care, well, then just read it anyway. I have installed a virus that will be downloaded onto your hard drive if you exit this blog without reading it. Skimming through the blog is good enough. Just retain some of what you skimmed.

Ok. Back in 2007 Salsa introduced the Mamasita. It is a 29er race frame. Flattened carbon seatstays and flattened scandium chainstays. The rest of the frame is made from scandium. Scandium is an aluminum variety. My first Mamasita felt like a springy super lightweight, steel frame. Very lively ride. In fact, more lively than most steel frames I had ridden. I have owned a few very nice steel frames too. A nice Bontrager Race Lite was one of them. This Mama out performed them all I think and it came in much light than those steel frames. I do still ove steel so don't get me wrong. For many years now I have been a single speeder so this desire to get back on a single speed was aways on my mind. As soon as I threw a leg over that Mama I knew I needed to get a SS Mama. So, after years of bugging the crap out of the Salsa crew they decided to make one. Ok, make more than one and I am sure it wasn't just me that wanted one. But, this time I take pride on being the most annoying caller Salsa has ever hear from. Sorry Bobby! I know you took a lot of flak from me but I know you have thick skin. Really white, but thick none the less. Reminds me of the guy in the movie Powder. No, I'm kidding. Powder was more of a shade of blue.

Ok. Back the the subject at hand. So, I started hearing rumors a while back about a conversation that took place at Interbike or Sea Otter about this dude from MTBR, G-Ted, a Salsa big wig and some other fella. Not sure who that was. The "SS Mama" was brought up. I hear there was one sentence that referred to the bike and I guess that was enough. So, this brings me to the bike of my dreams. I should mention this too but I have a problem with bikes. I love them all and everything new is pretty cool to me. But, this Selma is one frame I have loved before I even laid my eyes on one.

Selma. Selma is the name chosen by Salsa to be laid underneath the clear coat on my SS Mama. Love the name. I wanted the color to be the silver to pearl white fade like the Campeon but I received a real treat when I found out that the chosen color was a metallic gray with a blue hue. Then, the bright bold blue decals that lay ontop of that gray. Yes! Salsa did it. Suprised me and made me even more excited about this bike.

So, what sets the Selma apart from the Mamasita? Not much really. An eccentric bottom bracket for chain tensioning. Lack of cable stops for running gears. That's about it. They left ever rider the nice subtle option of adding a rear derailier hanger for running gears. You could very easily run a 1xsomething. You would just need to run full cable housing. Pretty cool. I heard that the Selma will have a bit stiffer tubing to handle the extra stress that many will be inflicting on the frame when mashing up the climbs. So, not much else to say except see you on the trail when I get mine.

Thanks for reading. Here is a direct link to the Salsa Selma. I just realized that there is a referrence to someone named Bob in Salsa's description of the Selma. I am betting that they are referring to Bob Barker though. Ha!

Here is another link.

Ok, if there are mistakes I will correct them later. I am late for work.

Captain

Mondays.......

Well, the doc says I need one more week before I can get another x-ray. I suppose that's not too bad of a deal. I still want this cast off right now though.

On to better news. I hear that the Raleigh Rainier single speed cross framesets will soon be available. Well, that is if you are lucky. I might be one of the lucky ones. I hope. Here are pictures of a completed one. CLICK HERE TO SEE PICS

Captain.

Happy Valentines Day

This shot of the sun setting on an old wheel gives me a warm feeling. Same thing my heart feels when I think about my three girls. Mom, of course, is the best wife a guy could ask for. My other two girls are Madelyn and Ella. They make me smile (most of the time) and that feels good and keeps me healthy I think.

Enjoy your family and friends.

Captain

fond memories

I often think about the trip up north that G-Ted and I took this last fall. We rode Fargo's all day long with the Salsa Crew. Thanks again Salsa. Check out the mtbr link and you will see that folks are finally getting their new Fargo's built up. Pretty cool. You can see more pics here too.

Make sure you go far on your next ride. I will be thinking of you.

Captain

I want the warm back....

Just yesterday I was able to enjoy a little jog during my lunch hour. Today I froze my butt off.

Yikes! I want the warm back and I want it to stay forever.

Captain

Love big wheels? Me too!

Although, this video is a big wheel but not the kind I have been riding lately. Check it out!

Captain

Don't leave without me dad.......

Too funny! The other day I was looking for Ella and sure enough, she was in her favorite hiding place. My closet. For some reason she likes this place best. This time she decided to try on some of dads cold weather gear.

Makes me laugh every time I think about it.

I promise to post a picture of my other girl this week.

Captain

Which one are you?

Are you the big grape that everyone wants?
Are you the big grape that always gets noticed first?
Are you the big one that gets picked to be on the team and leaves the little ones out?
I would rather be the little grape. Besides, my sweet little girls loved this little grape more than the big ones. So much that they even had a little fight over it. It's sort of funny but the bigger girl won.

I challenge you today to try to go un-noticed. For those of you that know me might say that this is almost impossible for me to do. Maybe, but I have challenged myself. It is tough for me to not try to be the big grape. But there are rewards. I hear more of what others are saying and I really am learning a lot about my peers. Some good and some bad. I want to be the person in a conversation that is listening, not the person that is just waiting for my turn to talk.

Have a great day! Tomorrow will be warmer I hear.

Captain

Meet my Selma!

Well, no the bike but just as sweet. A friend of ours is out of town for a week and needed a place to keep his only remaining pup that is for sale. She is 10 weeks old and is sooo cute. I love the way puppies smell. Weird? Maybe, but I don't care. Madee, Ella (my girls) and Pam, my sweet wife, agreed that I could name her Selma for this week.

So, now I am really out numbered here at the house. Fours girls against me.

Captain.

Selma

Well, not much going on today. Some pain but less than before the cast. Showering is a bit more difficult than before. It's all good though. I still plan to race cirrem but it will most likely be a training ride vs a race for me.

A huge thank you to all that have wished me well. Greatly appreciated.

I will leave you tonight with what I spend most of my time thinking about these days. My new love affair with Selma.

Captain

now what?

photo credit to: Madelyn Walters (my 8 yr old)

So much for getting in some good miles in prep for CIRREM. I would love to say that I was riding along about 30mph and out jumped a mountain lion. Then, I went on to kick his a$@ and before I snapped his neck he bit me but that would be a bit of a stretch.

Ok. Here's what happened. I took off from a resting point and after one or two pedal strokes my front tire washed out on a small patch of ice. Down went me in super (elderly style) slow motion. My hand planted on the gravel which wasn't the problem. My fat left leg hits my elbow and hyperextends my arm and pop goes my elbow. One of the bones that runs through my arm fractured right where it meets the elbow. So, three weeks with no pressure on the arm at all which means no riding. Then, it could be four more weeks without the cast and possibly still no riding. Another xray in three weeks so we'll see.

Captain.

Man it's cold!

Made it out for a little ride on Sunday. A nasty cold has me down and I don't think it helped to be out in the cold. Paying for it today for sure. I ache all over.

Captain

Gonna do it!

http://cirrem.blogspot.com

Now I just have to decide what to ride......

Captain

Peace my friends...........

Which toy to play with today?

I hate making this choice. Wish I didn't need to own this darn snowblower. It is new to me and is what I have been trying to fund. Well. Now I have it and still need to sell these bikes so I can pay for it.

Been really busy of late. Not sure where all the time goes but it sure has been flying by. As always though my blogging suffers when I do not have extra time. Seems like every time I go near the computer the kids find some reason to need something from me. Always happens. Happening right now as I type. So, better go break up the fight between the 4 year old and the 8 year old. Never ending chore around here........

Stay warm!
Captain

Trek cross frame. Bontrager carbon fork. Cane Creek headset.

Decided after building this monster cross bike that it is too big for me. A lightly used 58cm cross frame that has room for 45mm (1.8inch) tires. New Bontrager carbon cross fork. Only ridden 5 miles. The headset is Cane Creek and is prtty new too. So you get frame, fork and headset. This is a pretty lightweight frameset too.

Asking $325