Lame meet apathy, apathy meet lame

I didn't bother riding over the weekend. I couldn't see the point. I got over the novelty of the "snow ride" back when I lived in Ohio, and now it hardly seems like something to do when the opportunity presents itself. The Death Stick would just feel like dragging an anchor around, what with it's 2,200 grams of rubber dragging through the snow, and the Meatplow was meant to go fast, not trudge from Anchorage to Nome. I did think about some urban sidewalk to greenway action on the fixed cross type thing just to get out and ride, but the snow had been tossed up on the sidewalks by the plows and frozen into a lumpy crust, and the salt soaked streets woulda been dangerous going since I'd have to share them with some folks who can't drive in nasty conditions to begin with. Hell, on Saturday I had to drive a car up an icy hill for some strange lady who couldn't seem to get her car anywhere for herself. Her windows were covered with ice and snow, and her tires were shit, yet she still chose to go out on ice covered roads... I'm sounding kinda bitchy now, aint I?

I did get some shit done. When I had built the Meatplow this last go around I had cut my new rear hydro line a bit short. This was partly due to the fact that I had cut it pretty close before I decided to take it apart, add some O-rings to keep the line from rubbing up on the frame, cut the old brass olive off, and re-installed the then too short for happy wrecking opportunities line back to the lever.

O-rings in place, but a line that shorter than the express aisle at the Piggly Wiggly.

It looks tight because it is tight.

Now here we go. Now I can wreck in all sorts of grotesque manners and still have my line secured to the lever when I get back on my bike with my injured head hanging low.

Wow, so I unscrewed something I had previously screwed up... what else? While I was playing with the rear brake I noticed that my 45 minutes of playtime in the short track mud really did a number on my rear brake pads. I figured if it was that mucky, and I wasn't gonna have anything better to do, why not tear into my rear wheel for some servicing?

Halfway through the cleaning process (with axle in place for reference and to use as a handle).

I don't mind working on my Industry Nine hubs. They are not a mystery to me as some hubs have been in the past. No special tools required (except for a 1.5mm allen for the dust cap/preload and a .05" allen for removing the pawls and springs... if you wanna take it that far). The manuals are all there in full color to walk you through, and if you do it Monday through Friday 8-5 you can even call them if you get lost somehow. Just a little schmear of American Classic hub lubricant (grade aught) and the pawls are back to buzzing like a bee and ready to ride (assuming I ever get the chance).

Speaking of which...

Hoffencross has been canceled for next weekend since the snow will probably still have some negative impact on the trails. I am as crushed as you are on this one. I guess maybe I could look into doing this instead. The Storm Endurance Sports page still lists the race for this past weekend, but I assure you it has been moved to February 7th, even though it is still called the January Mountain Bike Marathon. I want to get into something since my family will be outta town, and I really feel the need to ride something somewhere.

More race news?? Check back tomorrow and see how you can save some money when you enter the Trans Sylvania Epic Stage Race. I've got details, but I don't want to muddle them up in this go nowhere post.

Keep an eye on the Cane Creek facebook page this week. Something new is in the works, and I only have the vaguest idea what it might be. I'm not allowed to divulge my vaquitude since I think I'm kinda close to being on the money, but hopefully I'll get one of my own to play with before it's all said and done. Also, if you're an engineer type (smarty pants not whoo whoo) Cane Creek is looking for an engineer. If you wanna be the guy who has to listen to my ideas for creating bike parts out of Swiss cheese you should give them a ringy dingy.

The only other thing I can think of at this point (don't worry, I'll talk about my vacation plans later) is that you should entertain yourself with Fuzzy's build video. He got his new crabon bike from Niner, and he was so excited he built it in three minutes. Dejay was so stoked about his crabon bike that he won some kids race with his over the weekend (Where did he get those socks? They must be a "pro only" issue). Anyways... watch and enjoy.