Tail Chasing

La Vida Bachelor Fall 2013 started out with much momentum, but has fallen off like a drunk rodeo cowboy.  Tuesday's plan was to make the Plaza Midwood Tuesday Night Ride.  Normally a well attended weekly event of riding aboot and tossing back coldies.  On my commute home that evening, the wintery mix was falling heavily enough to moisten, but not drench, my gloves.  A quick look at the radar showed more pinks and baby blues coming, either it was raining babies of both genders or we were looking at ice and snow... and temps dropping below freezing.

I wasn't going.  I wasn't alone in that decision.  A ride that usually attracts more than a hundred only brought in @ten souls.

Good call.

Yesterday.  Planned on attending the Bandit Cross race.  There was no new information posted about this week's venue before I left for work, and since last week didn't happen, I felt it was a safe bet that this week was a no-go as well.  I left my dog in the house for the day and headed uptown.  After reading and not eating on my lunch break, a venue was decided.

Not gonna happen... not for me anyways... not unless I want to come home around 8:00PM to a turd cleanup and an unhappy dog.

At least I had my to-do list to knock out.

1. Grow hair
2. Keep a dog, a hamster, and a fish alive
3. Remove Fjox fjork, set up the Stickel rigid, make some half-assed measurements to send to the new builder
4. Replace Fjox fjork and make the Enduro™ Stickel more Enduro'esque
5. Replace shitty, cheap hooks on the rack in my bike room with beefy rubber coated $5ea hooks
6. Clean the house (sorta) right before The Pie gets home.

That's it.  I've managed to knock out quite a few things, suffering the occasional hiccup here and there.  Of course, the Enduro'ing of the Stickel was somewhere near the top.

It is done.  

I wasted too much time trying to get a decent photo of it this morning.  Whatever.

160 Ashima lightweight rotors replaced for Shimano Ice Tech (160 and 180)
38T front ring swapped for a 36T
2.2 Ikon off.  2.4 Ardent on the rear now... because Ardent
Torn white ESI grips replaced with non-torn black ones (anybody else go through these things like individually wrapped slices of American cheese)
Racy Phenom saddle gone.  WTB Silverado with Kevlar edges, now

Drooper installed.  Sad... kinda.  I loved the Thomson drooper.  It's part of the reason the Meat Carver even existed.  Unfortunately, Thomson's 27.2 drooper is still a long ways out, and I treasure my nuts too much.  I tried to tell myself that I could get away with no drooper until Thomson had theirs available, but I proved myself wrong last weekend.  140mm travel hardtail and no drooper makes for a long, slow day.

Something else is going on right now, so I gotta go.  Dry post?  Yes.  Tomorrow I'll redeem myself with the article that never made it into Dirt Rag because it was too hot to handle.  Also, so I can sleep more in order to make better great bike party tomorrow night.