Emulsions in motion

Last night I had one of my ORAMM nightmares, so that can only mean one thing... the game is afoot. Tomorrow the "season" begins, and all the lack of preparation will soon be apparent. I've endured two weeks off due to illness, and this week has been a landslide of household issues that have kept me from getting out of the house early in the morning. Regardless of all that I'll give it what I've got and have a good time riding my bike for 6+ hours... oh yeah, and I'll enjoy the awesome experience of beating Arleigh and her teammate in my quest for "the complete and utter domination of the cycling industry and media types". I've also got to make an attempt to beat Drew (from Industry Nine) and his partner to exact my revenge for the whole "hidden message in my rear hub" incident. I'll be carrying a list in my jersey pocket, and marking them off as I blow by them.

I'm off work today, and normally I wouldn't bother posting on my day off, but I felt like getting this out there before I forget. I want to take the time to thank my sponsors for the 2010 "season". Without them I would not have the opportunity or the tools to make great bike race this year, so I am deeply indebted to them. They're listed over there on the right under DICK SUPPORT (I'm sure you can't miss them), so I'm not gonna list them again here. Most of them have been with me for years, and I don't want to appear to take my stalwart supporters for granted, but I just wanted to give a special shout out to my newest sponsor for 2010 and the quasi sponsor that snuck in through the door behind them; Bike 29 and Niner Bikes. George and Mandy at Bike29 have been most helpful in my 2010 preparations from an equipment and an emotional standpoint. Also I'd be slightly remiss if I didn't thank Niner Bikes and more specifically Mike Stanley for finding it in their best interests to get involved with me even though they already have fine representation in the world of bike racing and regardless of the fact that I'm hardly stable or consistent.

All right, enough emotional, heart felt gratitude. I love them, they love me... perhaps we should sit in a tree and begin k-i-s-s-i-n-g.

And now some things from my email inbox:

Dunno if you're aware but this past weekend at the Zero Horsepower Spring Gathering, we (apparently) had some looters roll through camp (North White Pines) and take a bunch of our shit. Originally, we thought that they were just some other campers. However, with the discovery that an Awesome Strap had been stolen as well, we decided it very well may have been some mountain bikers.

Included in the stolen items:
- at least 3 headlamps
- 2 pairs of biking shorts
- an awesome strap
- cash

Love,
Blair

FYI: If you're camping in Pisgah lock your shit in your car. Dirty chamois thieves are on the loose. Also, I added the "Love, Blair" thing to make his email seem more personable. You should probably know that.

And one more. I recently inquired about getting my White Brothers fork tuned and rebuilt by the folks at Suspension Experts in Asheville, NC. This was their reply:

Hey Rich,

Mike R. says you’re nothin’ but trouble and should be avoided at all costs. I’m inclined to ignore his advice and offer our services anyway but I’ve got to warn you that because of your sensitivity issues (with small bumps), we’ll likely have to perform a CATSCAN on your fork – which should put it in the neighborhood of about $3000… you have insurance right?? Current turn-around time is 8 months as long as you sign up for a spot right now. Also, we’re trying to take the logo thing to the next level so we’ll need to re-paint your entire frame… please send it with the fork.

Thanks,

KB

Of course after this they gave me a slightly more serious answer and said they would address the nits I wanted picked and have it turned around in @ 72 hours. I'm shipping it today, so I'll let you know how that goes.

Monday come back for a serious race report, Tuesday a re-hashing of the race report, Wednesday my reflections on the race, Thursday updated photos from the event... you know the drill.