Search for the perfect cage

Since I had a meeting in Yankton on Saturday and was not able to ride on one of the only nice days this week I thought I would head to Yankton a little early in search of the perfect bottle cages to complement my new bike. Yes, I could order them from my LBS but would like to check them out a bit before I make up my mind.

I headed to the first bike shop in Yankton (I won't use names to protect both shops lack of inventory) and found 2 carbon fiber cages. The first priced at $45.00 and the second priced at $55.00 with the difference between the two a whole 4 ounces. Come on a $100.00 for flippin bottle cages! I told the dude that was helping me that I need to lose 4 ounces around my middle before 4 ounces on a cage was worth $10.00 extra so needless to say my search continued.

I pulled into the second shop with only a few minutes to spare before my meeting was to start and a few seconds was all I needed. When I asked about carbon fiber cages the dude behind the counter looked at me like I had a third eye in the middle of my forehead. His comment was "I've only sold one of those since I've been here, but I have lots of steel and aluminum ones to pick from".

Well call me picky but when I have just purchased a full carbon fiber bike I would like a cage that one, matches the bike and two, does not rip my bottles to pieces.

I do have to make the comment that both shops were very nice and tried to be helpful, but come on only two higher end bottle cages in the whole town of Yankton. I guess my search will continue, next time in the big city of Sioux Falls which hopefully will have a bit more inventory than the shops in Yankton.

Later

TGIF

A little political fun.

www.palinaspresident.us

Opening Weekend Pictures

BB gun practice.


More BB gun practice.


Redneck hunting at its best. No pheasants were harmed during this procedure. 13 acres of 8 foot tall fire bush weeds and not one bird.

Opening Weekend

Another opening weekend of pheasant season has come and gone and it was a pretty good one overall.


Saturday morning started with a little work on the deer stand to get it prepared for the upcoming season. Not much work was needed except for cleaning out a bit of raccoon poop and putting a few loose boards back in place. It should be all set now I will just need the deer to show up at the right time and place.


After deer stand repairs were made it was onto BB gun training and practice. I gave Mr. T. and Ms. K. safety instructions and showed them the proper way to aim and hold their weapons. I set up some clay pigeons on a couple of cans for them to shoot at and they happily shot and shot and shot some more. I have no idea how many rounds they went through but I know the lead content on my parents yard has gone up drastically. Ms. K. even commented how sore her shoulder was at the end of the day due to the recoil of the BB gun. She is a bit of a drama queen.


We set out at noon on Saturday with our unique hunting party. The only two toting guns were me and my Dad. The Mrs. and Mr. T. came along and did a LOT of walking. My Mom and Ms. K. took care of the driving, Ms. K. made the comment that her job was to keep the driver happy so she couldn't be bothered with walking. With only two guns and a brisk wind the pheasants had the clear advantage but we managed to bag our limit by 4:30 Saturday afternoon.


Sunday greeted us with a nicer day and the advantage switched from the pheasants to the hunters and we quickly reach our daily limit by 1:45 Sunday afternoon.


It was a fun weekend and even though no bike riding was done and I got a pretty good workout (especially Sat) walking though the fields. I will try to post some pictures from the weekend in the next day or so.


Later

Smooth

Is the best way to describe the new bike. I took it out for a quick ride after work last night again and continue to be amazed at the difference from my old ride. It's a much smoother ride, it corners much better and amazingly I seem to be able to climb a bit better on it. Don't get me wrong a great hill climber I am not but it does seem better on the new bike. I'm really hoping for a window of nice weather, on a free weekend, to get a longer ride in before the weather really gets crappy (winter) outside. The opportunities for riding after work are getting shorter and shorter with it getting dark so quickly, but I will grab each chance I get as I'm already dreading the thought of the trainer.

Not much else going on except I'm off this afternoon to head to my parents place for the great South Dakota tradition of pheasant hunting. Mr. T. and Ms. K. are excited as BB gun lessons and target practice will commence in the morning before the real hunting starts. I also plan to get some work done on my deer stand for the upcoming deer season.

Have a great, safe weekend no matter if your on the bike or in the field.

Later

I couldn't stop myself

A new bike has a powerful pull. It was chilly, damp and windy today but she kept calling to me from the garage and finally I suited up and headed out. With the 20mph west wind it was a bit brisk, but it is October so good riding days are going to get harder to find. It's always a real sign that seasons are changing when you have to dig out the toe covers, insulated leg warmers and insulated jacket. I'm very glad I went out though so I could get a real good feel for the new bike, with my pedals and saddle on board.

In other news I just watched the Mrs. rip a tooth out of Ms K. head. When my little girl gets a loose tooth she wants it out the SAME day and tears and blood are soon to follow. She is tougher than me, in between popping roots on the tooth to come out, she runs over to show me how much looser it is and that is the point I about lose it myself. So anyways the tooth fairy will be stopping by our house tonight.

Later

New Bike

She has been hanging in Bike Plus for 2 years just waiting for me. So finally here are some pictures of the new bike. It is a 2006 Giant OCR Limited, with a grand total of 10 miles on it (by me on the first test ride). Upgrades that have been made already, I put my Fizik saddle and Crank Brothers pedals from my old ride onto the new bike. Please don't bust my chops about the non matching bottle cages, they will be replaced with carbon fiber matching cages soon.

I didn't get a ride in today as we were busy with church and then a benefit 10k bike ride in Vermillion. The whole family rode, the Mrs. and Ms K. riding 5k and Mr. T. and me riding the 10k. Mr. T. conquered Winery Hill without walking his bike, I was very proud of him. The Biking Brady clan will be arriving soon for a relaxing evening (we lock the kids in the basement).

Later

WOO HOO, YIPPEE!!

I just sold my old bike, my trusted, true and tested Trek 1500 is on it's way to it's new home. Yes, I was a little choked up to see it go BUT I also picked up my new ride from the bike shop this afternoon so the timing was perfect. I promise some pictures of the new ride shortly. Please think positive thoughts that it stays dry tomorrow I really want to go for a good spin on the new bike.

Later

New Ride

Gonna happen, Gonna happen soon. Updates and pictures are forthcoming.

Later

Today sucks!

I was a pallbearer at my Grandmother's funeral today.
I'm TIRED, emotionally and physically.
It's only Wed tomorrow and I'm supposed to go back to work, may-be I will be sick (sick of work).
The country is going bankrupt and taking all of us with it.
My elbow hurts.
Selling a bike on-line is a pain in the ass (didn't know there were so many 120lbs tire kickers).

I think, no, I know it's time for a bike ride.

Later

B 2 B and other stuff

Bunyan's 2 Bob's part II Fall addition was the ride for today. It was a bit windy of course but this is South Dakota so it was typical day. We met at Bunyan's around 10:15 or so and riders started rolling in for the before hand beverages and conversation. For this edition of Bunyan's to Bob's I selected the gravel / mountain bike route, and I have this comment about that route. "NEVER AGAIN"! I will be more than happy to ride from Vermillion to New Castle but the gravel from New Castle to Martinsburg is basically a cyclists torture chamber. Hill after hill with gravel pits of loose gravel, more hills, lots of washboard, hills, fire, death and hills, ok you get the point. I'm quite sure I will ride Bunyan's to Bob's many more times, but I will stay where I belong on the hard top, smiling as I glide down hills at 35 mph.

In other news I mentioned a post or two ago I got the phone call that no one wants. I got the 2nd phone call at 6:30 this morning. My Grandma passed away right around mid-night Friday night. I didn't mention it at all today to any other rollers as I didn't want to bring down anybody else's ride and I didn't know if I could talk about it anyway. Yeah, some people will say, should have you really ridden today and my answer to that is YES. I know my Grandma and the last thing she would have wanted was me sitting at home feeling sorry for myself and as you all know sometimes bike therapy is the best therapy. The funeral is Tuesday so I will be off the grid for the next 5 days or so.

Later

Bike for Sale??

I'm considering selling my Trek 1500 road bike. If you know anyone that is interested in a well cared for road bike send them my way. Bike has just had new rubber (front & back), new rim (back), new chain, new brakes, new bar tape and the rear cassette was gone through. Areo bars and computer are possibly included if the price is right. If I can get it sold for a good enough price I will be looking for a new ride in the near future.

Later

One of those phone calls

I received one of those phone calls tonight that everyone hates to get. It was my Dad telling me that my 96 year old Grandma has gone into heart failure. She was alert this morning but has not been responsive since. The Dr. says there is not much they can do but except keep her comfortable and wait too see what happens. 96 years is a good long run but your never ready to get one of those phone calls.

Later