And the dogs approve

Before pics

Pictures from Thanksgiving day. As you can see the carpet was pretty ugly and the walls were pretty white. The place is a lot more colorful now. Some updated pictures to follow this weekend for sure.

Beer

Another beer gone to the wayside. Pretty sweet, this keg of cream ale was ready just in time for the move in. Didn't last long, I think the keg was kicked by the second weekend it was tapped. Good thing I have a coffee porter to refill the keg with.

Tour de France on a fix

http://www.63xc.com/willm/tdef.htm

Pretty interesting book review on www.63xc.com about the forgotten tour. Sounds like at the origins the Tour was more of a epic off-road race first done on relaxed fixed gears. Interesting. I think for fun there should be a new Tour that is a throw back. No doping, performance enhancing drugs, or carbon. Just steel, fixed gears, beer, green, cigs, and the shittiest roads in France.

I don't know. Personally I think it could be a bit more exciting that watching some freaks of nature drafting on smooth roads. Now I can't say I watched much of this or last years Tour, but was Lance even challenged? Just a little bull shit from me. Actually had a Lance citing the other day. His office was in the same building as my title company. Lady was like, "Look, there's Lance Armstrong." Regular shorts, t-shirt, backpack, tennis shoes, and a bike over the shoulder. Way to be one less car Lance. How many other Tour riders do you think commute by bike? Maybe that is his secret for total domination.

Welcome to the Neighborhood

Been a while since I posted. Real busy this weekend moving in and painting. Managed to get 4 bedrooms, a hallway, and two ceilings painted as well as wrip the carpet out of those said rooms and hallway. Got some cool bright colors. Some pics are sure to follow.

This is the scene Tara and I saw on the morning run. I heard the gunshots at about 4 am. Set of about 5-6 then a pause and then 2 more. Was like no, must be fireworks. This house is about 4 houses down and just around the corner from my new pad.

Shit, reminds me of living on the Oakland - Berkeley border. Crazy shit happened there. There was a huge gunfight just down the street from Tara's place. Murders all around us. And I pulled up on my motorcyle minutes before an attempted armed robbery at the hairdressers next door to my flat. Saw the dudes sitting on the brick retaining wall between the properties and my loud pikes actually startled 'em. When I got inside there was an explosion the cops used to distract the dudes and then some gun shots. It was pretty cool watching the fire department unload about 500 gallons of water trying to wash the blood off the street. Maybe a brush would've worked better.
http://www.kvue.com/sharedcontent/VideoPlayer/showVideo.php?vidId=40948&catId=12

Riding with the Dogs

Had to take the morning off of work today. Waiting for a check from my old 401K that we need for the closing costs. Since I was home figured I might as well go riding with the dogs! Sweet weather, not a cloud in the sky and was able to ride wearing a longs sleeve wool jersey and Carharts. Love riding in Carharts, and I don't know why. Got below freezing last night.

Not sure what I still think about this off-road fixed gear thing anymore. Wrecked three times getting caught behind the seat and over the bars after getting bucked on rocks while trying to peddle. Freewheels, what a technological concept to be embrased.

GB Carp's House

Some of you may have seen some of these pics, some of you maybe haven't. Carp just sent me these. Pretty sick house and located in the rad Black Hills. That area has to be one of my most favorite places in the U.S. The climbing out there is sick and there is never a crowd at the cliffs. Laid back place and lots of space. Just avoid the tourists. Well Carp you are definately due for a visit one of these days. Do some fixed gear riding and chill on that deck of yours swilling brews.

Ever thought of trying to ride Needles Highway on a fixed gear? Would that be suicide? Probably, but its such a idiotic idea it'd be fun.

Climbing

Well, I was supposed to go to Enchanted Rock this weekend. Was pretty stoked to do some climbing on that coarse granite. No one that is going really climbs, but the bouldering out there is great, at least what I've done. I've only bouldered one little area for about an hour.

Nope, not going camping this weekend. gotta play some golf with my boss, his wife, and another co-worker. One of the labs we use is having a scramble tournament for their employees and clients. Should be fun, I guess.

An old picture on my hard drive of Tara climbing at Pinnacles National Monument. Last December I played hooky from the American Geophysical Union conference to climb with 3 of my homeboys from Cali!

http://www.pinnacles.org/

http://www.nps.gov/pinn/

http://www.stanford.edu/~clint/pin/

The place is really sweet. Used to climb there almost every weekend when I first started climbing. My roommate and I had to start climbing harder there cause we were ticking off all the climbs within our grade.

Downfalls of Fixed Gear

You can't lend your ride out when a buddy is in a jam. If only I hadn't bent that brake pin one last time Mike and I could be riding Walnut Creek tomorrow. Just don't mind that brake pad dragging, single speeding ain't hard enough!

Benefits of Dedicated Single Speed

There's been a lot of talk recently on the Lincoln Blog about the benefits of single speeds. Here's another one, but you need a way to tension the chain some other way than a der like gizmo and a fix/free hub. A pin on one of my rear break arms was always bending. I'd have to bend it back after each ride. Bent it the last time on Saterday's pre-ride prep. Luckily I could pop off one free wheel and thread on a track cog and lock ring. Plus with the Jones bars I could remove the break and lever without taking off grips. Not really wanting to buy a new break right now so I'll be riding fixed gear full time. Hit up Muleshoe that way. Gotta be the best trail in Austin area. Fast 7 mile loop, all tight technical single track with some nice rock gardens thrown in. Great place for laps. We did 3 Saturday.

Anyone know what might be causing this? Look at my bars, the tape keeps unwrapping from the ends. Never had it happen before. Removed the adhesive on the back of the tape, but that's never caused a problem before. Is it cause the ends point down?

Beer

Kegged a cream ale last night. Had a little tailgate safety meeting with myself prior to the work. Last time I kegged a beer I cut the hell out of my wrist when cleaning out the carboy. Did is safely though this time. Thank God for personal safety meetings and the regulations set forth by OSHA.
http://www.osha.gov/

Well since I knew I'd keg that night and have an empty carboy and had to leave work early to pick up a survey of my new home, figured I'd stop by Austin Homebrew Supply
http://www.austinhomebrew.com/

Brewed up a relatively heavy hopped Coffee Porter. 3oz. Fuggles, 1oz. Northern Brewer, and 1/4oz. Warrior. Steeped a 1/2 lb. of coffee in the brew as I was cooling. Two favorite drinks as one, the multi-task beer. Made a similar recipe last year using the Panache's Blue Haitian Voodoo Coffee. Man that was a good beer. Blue-black in color it looked like an oil slick. At first there was this overpowering smell of stale coffee so let it sit and finished off a steam beer that was ready to drink. After about 2 additional weeks in the bottle, the smell died and the flavor was great. Drunk and caffinated, what a better way to be. If you were lucky, I might have shared that beer with some of you.

Anyway, I have this offer. Anyone from Lincoln gets me a 1/2 lb of unground Blue Hatian Voodoo coffee, I'll send off a few bottles of beer it goes into.

Soon To be New House

In the process of getting the money and loan together for this house. Small 3 bedroom 2 bath, but plenty big enought for us and the price is right. Super stoked. If all goes well we might be closing before Thanksgiving.

Just another day of bike commuting

Amazingly waking up at 5 AM becomes easier over time. Didn't feel like getting on a bike to ride to my co-works house after running with Tara and the dogs. But once I was on the bike I was stoked to ride. Left the house about 10 minutes earlier and traffic was cut in half. Able to zip through UT campus without having to lane split. Makes me think we are nothing more than machines. Everything starts and ends at the same time and we just jump when told.

What's up with Hyde Park? Two coffee shops I passed were still closed at 7:20. People need to go to work and get some coffee.


Well, buying a house is happening for me. Put an offer in, it was accepted, and we should close by end of November. If I drive my commute time will be more than halved and it looks as though I can ride to work. Probably be about 15 miles one way so it might not happen everyday. But if I do it 2-3 times a week, I will be stoked. There is going to be one stink ass in my office pretty soon!

Signs of Hope and Signs of Anger

Well, it was an eye opening weekend. The damage is unbelievable. What was spared is too. Even though is seems the place is flater than Nebraska, the difference of a block can mean the difference between a flood or not.

Lots of people are out and have returned. There is a huge task at hand. I hope the city can be saved and rebuilt. I hope politics can be transcended and a plan can be put forth where some of the flooded land is used for green areas, wetlands, and places to allow flooding when the levees are in danger. I believe the city has a chance to really shine and come back better than ever. One thing I've learned is sometimes the good comes from the bad.

Anyhow, go to New Orleans. Support this city and go there, listen to music, eat the food, and give her your money and love.

Lakeview

Lakeview was the worst area that we saw. These pics don't even do it justice. Increadibly sad. Pretty sure this area is adjacent to the 17th street Canal from a map I saw in the paper. They also published a lot about the people and geography of the dead. People are really coming out about all the back scratching and corruption. Hopefully New Olreans is cleaned up on the surface and also from the top.

http://www.timespicayune.com

Lakeview

Lakeview

Canal Street

The top picture shows what happens to a grocery store when it loses power and remains shut for a month plus. Fortunately it doesn't let you know what it smells like.

Is there any post neede for this?

Near Magazine Street

Upper Magazine was pretty cool. Opening back up and looked as though escaped some flood damage. Just a couple of blocks away it wasn't so cool though.

Kelsey's house in Fontainebleau

Pretty much fine. The bottom floor basement was flooded and gutted, but everything else was sweet. The landlord did an awesome job. Even the 'fridge was cleaned. Her neighbors weren't so lucky.

THE BIKE IS OKAY! JUST A LITTLE RUSTY AND MOLDY

Fontainebleau

It amazes me the storys about religeous icons that survive disaster's unscathed, such as this. Kelsey's friends landlord lives in this place. It was a mess, but this statue was unmoved on the table. Notice the waterlines and mold line above the statue. Now I'm not a religeous person, but sometimes stuff like this makes me wonder.