Uncomprehendably Therapeutic

We already know that The Pie is a saint.  Patient wife, doting parent, general upstanding citizen.  Wednesday night, there were cupcakes in honor of Sizemore's 6 month anniversary.

You remember him, right?

I missed the cupcake moments because I was in the other room building my new bike.  My absence was allowed because everyone knew that if I had been sitting at the table, I woulda still been in my bike room in my mind putting the bike together.  I have issues. Sizemore understood.  He was only in it for the cupcakes anyways.

The Pie was equally understanding the next night when I requested some time to swap all the wheels, tires, rotors, end caps, cogs... and in some cases, valve stems on all three mountain bikes.  Lately we've had some stress related to a possible upcoming movement of our belongings from one domicile to another, so anything that could bring order to my life would be therapeutic. I made sure she understood that once I got going, there would be tires dripping with various tubeless juices, rotor bolts strewn about, expletives murmured when I discover at least one tire mounted backwards...

I would be incommunicado for another night.

By the time I got to putting the Stickel back together, I was already swapping the 19 tooth Endless cog off the new black rimmed wheels to a more Pisgah friendly gear, so it seemed like it was a good time to toss aside the 36X23 combo and put on this:

Shanna from Endless had brought this with her to NAHBS because while I was riding with her about a week or two ago, I told her how not-awesome a 36 tooth ring was in the Pisgah on a long travel hard tail.  It got hung up more than I woulda thought when going over ledgy rocks and log piles when the fork would dive.

So anyways, since I was in the middle of this wheel swap that was partly for fashion (silver rims on the Vertigo) and partly for function (getting the weight weenie Crests off the Pisgah bike), I went ahead and tacked on more time in the bike room while The Pie and Nia watched some 80's movie in the other room.

Much more clearance, Clarence

I love my spousal partner.  She and I both know I coulda done all this stuff on Sunday... but I woulda been thinking about it all the time until then.  Happy bikes, happy Dicky, happier wife.

Before I go, I wanted to point out two things from the NAHBS experience.

I already posted this Street Ghost image from the party Saturday night:

And while perusing the FaceBook, I found that the same moment in time had been captured from another angle by Seven Stars Cycles.

I guess it's a big deal when Watts drops a pint glass into a leather Oowee Koozie.

And there's this image captured by Dustin Staley...

Yeah, that's the stolen Hero bike from NAHBS... ridden to the party and tossed nonchalantly against the wall.  I'm assuming these guys are rolling around laughing after hearing that someone rode a stolen NAHBS bike to the party.

How would I know?  I wasn't not there.

And finally...

The Tour duh Charlotte is tomorrow.

Pre-registration closes at noon today.  Day-of is $5 more and perhaps a thrilling game of truth or day with a race volunteer.

I can honestly say that no race offers a better registration dollar to prize/food/experience/beer combo.

How much beer?

An uncomprehendably incomprehensible amount.

75° and beautiful.  This event will be something and then something more than that something.