More Swap Photos!

Swap Meet Photos

A meeting of some of the greatest minds in cycling!

Bike Swap, Autumn Edition!

The Swap and Sell was on Sunday and it was judged a complete success! I saw a lot of nice stuff exchange hands. We ate lot of good food, saw a lot of good friends and had some good times! The best part about these semi-annual meetings is that they connect people with people. There were a lot of requests for phone numbers so that further explorations into people's bicycle treasure chests could continue later. Many of the people said they simply couldn't bring it "ALL" down to the swap meet! Wow! I love bicycles! I am so happy to be able to work for a friend who allows me free run of his business so that we can have silly bicycle swap meets rain or shine! I hope to do it again next spring and hope to see ya'll there! In the mean while I do have a big list of connections if you need anything!

Oh Please, Not The F-BOMB!

Dang! It got cold last night! Standing outside at 6 a.m. this morning, looking at the the beautiful spectacle of Mercury rising, I thought to myself, Wow! this is semi-reminiscent of a morning cyclocross races are held on. Now just lower the temperature another 10-20 degrees, throw in the possibility of a wet slushy rain and viola it's time to fargin' rock!
Right now I am down here at Carpet Mart simmering a large pot of pinto beans for chili for the BIKE SWAP AND SELL, tomorrow Sunday 10-26-08, noon until ? I am also waiting for it to warm up a bit before go for a ride. This week I worked on my brother's bike again, this time I replaced the existing solid rear axle with a hollow one and a quick release. Upon test riding the bike I felt a rhythmic bump, bump, bump as the rear rolled along. I stopped and noticed that the tire had a large tumor-like bulge on the sidewall. The rear brake pads have been slowly eating away at the tire thanks to the brilliantly engineered U-BRAKE the bike incorporates. I discovered that the brake pads were also completely toasted so I put on some gently used old ones I found in the million piece junk pile that lives here at Carpet Mart. Now He's ready to fargin' rock!

The Final Countdown

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MNlkhyB-ao As the time draws nearer and nearer to that time of year when grown men, women and children start leaping from their moving bicycles only to then begin frantically running with them on their shoulders, I have begun to step up my training program. Here is a particularly inspirational and motivational little clip I use to get my sorry old butt up and movin' on these dark, cold mornings. See you at the races!

Ascent to the Death Zone!

I decided to ride, "TOP OF THE WORLD" last night for the first time in months. Believing that a summer's worth of riding would allow me to make a molehill out of what I used to think was a mountain, I decided I would go in from Mary Lake, up the "Jumps" trail on the north side so that it would at least be challenging. As I rode through nice middle class neighborhoods, I saw people who I knew were watching me and I suspected that they were thinking, Wow, look at that beautiful peddle stroke, I didn't know that John Tomac retired to Redding! Yes my friends, I was making my way to the trails, feelin' good and lookin' great! Well to make a long, HELLISH climb short, let me just tell you that when I finally hit the last pitch to the top, I had a face that was frozen into some kinda hyper-death -sneer- smiling-killer-nightmare-clown that would have put Jim Carey to shame. MY GOD!!! That hurt! Plus some how due to some sort of perfect, Evil atmospheric conditions at 5 p.m. last nite, the Top of the World was completely without a breath of wind of a breeze and fargin' bakin' hot! If by some strange coincidence anyone who saw John Tomac ride by their house only to return an hour later looking like a fat, red-faced, old guy... that was me.

Three Blind Mice

For the third time this week, I went fossil hunting up Sulphur Creek. This time my brother and I dragged old Dad out there. We brought a rock hammer, magnifying glass, specimen bags and our reading glasses. (Gad, we're a bunch of old farts!) This time we found the Mother lode! It seemed like everywhere we looked there were more and more rocks and boulders that contained countless thousands of fossilized seashells. We all rode our Mtb's and I am happy to report that Dad kept up with with his little boys (me 52, Tim 50) just fine! At the top of the first little climb, we stopped and immediately found some nice fossil bearing rocks. We walked around a bit and then started off, further up the creek. Dad couldn't find his sunglasses but then just said screw it, they were junk anyway! But about an hour and half later on the way out he asked that we stop and look, one more time, for the sunglasses. I found them laying in the dry brown grass, stomped to pieces by somebodies big old boot. Thank God I only wear an eleven!

Evil Genius!

Basil: Did we get Dr. Evil? Radar Operator: No, sir, he got away in that big spaceship that looks like a huge... Teacher: Penis. The male reproductive organ. Also known as tallywhacker, schlong, or... Friendly Dad: Wiener? Any of your kids want another wiener? Friendly Son: Dad, what's that? Friendly Dad: I don't know, son, but it has great big... Peanut Vendor: Nuts. Hot, salty nuts. Who wants some?... Peanut Vendor: Lord Almighty! Woman: That looks just like my husband's... Circus Barker: ONE-EYED MONSTER. Step right up and see the One-eyed Monster! Cyclops: RARRR. Cyclops: Hey, what's that? It looks like a... Fan: Woody. Woody Harrelson. Could I have your autograph? Woody: Sure. Oh, my Lord! Look at that thing! Fan: It's so huge. Woody: No, I've seen bigger. That's... Dr. Evil: Just a little prick.

Bicycle Swap and Sell

Well, here we go again! The all things bicycle swap and sell at Carpet Mart. Road, MTB, CX, BMX, TT, Cruiser, Old, New, Bikes, Parts, Clothes, Accessories... it's all here folks! Bring it on down! Call me if you need help getting it here! Sunday October 26, 2008. Noon 'til 4 p.m. Carpet Mart is at 905 Locust St. Contact Jim at 246-0203 (days) or 221-2028 (eve's) P.S. Looks like Nick's gonna bring the BBQ! I will make a pot of chili beans the size of... a large pot of CHILI!!

Is there a geologist in the house?

My brother and I took an interesting little ride up Sulphur Creek. From Market St. we went in through Satan's Tunnel (some sweet graffiti) along the creek which takes you in a Northwest direction, in the canyon between Quartz Hill Rd. and Lake Blvd. About a mile in, we came to a place where some trail building and brush clearing has taken place. We saw official looking markers that said, TRAIL. Although it is short, we rode it absolutely delighted, due in part to the perfect traction the previous nights rain had created. I have always been a bit of an amateur geologist/archaeologist and am always on the look out for features that might reveal fossils. So when the trail dropped down to the creek and I saw the stream bed running over limestone, I told Tim to stop so we could have a look around. Proceeding up the Creek on foot, I came to a place where the stream bed appears to be lined with some kind of man made aggregate, but I think it's a natural geological occurrence. This beautiful little recreation area is a jewel right in our fair city. Even though I used to ride through there (15 years ago) on a regular basis, I am going to rediscover what is out there. Want to go?

MV Agusta F4CC

MV Agusta F4CC Just dreaming!!