Copy Cat

Munson Hills, doing her level best to run the BC black and orange!

Done

I am done. Since no one else posts here, I might as well start my own blog. Peace fish grease.

Zak's New Bike

What you talking about Zak?

Epiphany

Kent called me early this year screaming, " You ready, you ready for an Ellsworth?" I like a chump, said "Yes". There was nothing wrong with my current ride, just time for some thing different. I am a sucker for "supporting the cause". Such a sucker, I have branded myself for life with the symbol of the crew. Kent was hounding me and I ordered a large Epiphany in black with black rockers and a black bling kit. I have a little OCD(Big Jim understands, we were separated at birth), so when Kent called me and said he should have it in a month, I was less than thrilled. Good news is that I had time to unload everything I owned on eBay so I could pay for this frame.

I got it with all my parts and after two rides, I couldn't get the seatpost to stop slipping. Most would be pissed, however shit happens and it was time to eat the shit sandwich. Made in America by hand, maybe my bike was made on a Monday morning or Friday afternoon. The biggest problem was they didn't have another large black Epiphany, so the waiting game begins again.

Ellsworth came through and I got my frame, they even sent a hydration pack to ease the pain. Everything went together without at hitch. I always figured suspension is suspension, and all this mumbo jumbo about VPP, DW Link, Horst Link and Snoop D O Double G was just another way for companies to try to market their bikes. Ellsworth uses the ICT, and I got 140mm of it.

I have to say...I dig this bike. I am not saying that because I bought one, I am saying it because this is my ideal bike. It sits right between a race bike and a trail bike. The ICT suspension feels like it is endless for a 140mm(5.5in) bike. I don't race, but I could with this bike. I could take it anywhere in the US and be just fine. By the way, it is about time for another NC trip Wrecking Ball and Big Jim. We just have to keep Big Squirm from getting his period again. There is a lot of beer in Asheville we didn't drink.

Just wanted to give Ellsworth and Zone 5(Kent) my approval for what it is worth. There is something to be said for "Made in America". Feels pretty good to buy American when I can, no matter what the wait is.

Zak "Little Ball" summed it up perfect. He named my bike Oprah, because it is big, black, and worth a lot of money. See you guys soon.

Thanks Kent.

Mmmmm......Mmmmm.......

See Big Worm...cheeseburgers aint bad at all. Eat them up!!!!

Zone 5 Bike Purchase...I Think

Rumor has it that my wheels have arrived and my frame is being assembled in Oregon. I need a fork and that is in the works. Hopefully if things pan out, I will be wearing a BC/Ellsworth kit while riding an Ellsworth.

I am a little sad to see the orange Turner on the chopping block. It is a great bike, an orange bike. The parts will be surfacing up on eBay next week. I would love to keep both but can't afford it. The new bike will fly under the radar with the black and white theme. No more "hey look at me, my frame and wheels are orange!"

If the owner/proprietor of Zone 5 can manage to get all parts in Tallahasse by May 15, I may come up to build the bike and help out with the Red Bug Challenge. My visits are always on the fence because I have about a million assholes' behavior dictating when I can have off. Worse comes to worse, I will have K-Dub, K-Swiss, Red Dragon, Butcher, whatever she is calling herself these days, send me the stuff and will build it in North Cuba.

If all goes well, I will be up there with 5.5 of ICT travel and a cross bike looking for clay again. Cross your fingers, I am due for a visit.

What is wrong with Big Jim?

Nobody asked me (well some did) but Big Jim is creeping me out. With all of the chaos going on in the BC world we were relying on Big Jim to be the face of BC. He was doing a great job but lately he's been wavering. Maybe it was too many NB jokes? Or perhaps our hectic lives have him irritated? Maybe we should ride bikes more? Part of me thinks he's mad, another part thinks he's bike depressed, and yet another thinks he is wookin pa nub. MOST of me thinks he's like this picture on the left - smiling but you know he's thinking something else. The espresso is almost ready. Terry is back on the bike. I'm back on the bike. BRC is fast and new folks are hanging around the shop. RBC is on the horizon. What more could you want? It's time to come home Jim. Snap out of the funk or get snapped out of it. Dragon

Bike Chain Steps Up Again

Quick Update: Just wanted to let folks know that Bike Chain is sponsoring the first round of the Georgia State Championship Series. Go here to register and find more information about the series. We'll be running a crew to every race and hope you can join us.

Dragon

Zone 5

Wish I could be there for the first ride out of the new clubhouse. Good luck on the new venture.

Kent- Please get yourself a nice bike, you deserve it. The owner/operator of a bike shop/cafe'/clubhouse shouldn't be riding around on a do-do bike.

Does anybody post on here anymore?????

Big Worm's New Shoes

Big Worm sent me a picture of his new road shoes, all I could think about was the similarity to Cousin Eddie.

Felasco 2011

Well it started off way different than usual since some of the regulars did not show. Then, some who were still planning the trip could not go the night before. And, honestly, it really would not have been quite as fun anyway without the crew that had to bail anyway. For those that do not know: Felasco is usually a reunion of sorts for a large group of old school riding friends. We typically get dressed up (as in dressing silly - think halloween) and do a whole lot of drinking and bs'ing on Friday night.
Anyway, a few truck loads of us headed down day-of. Without too many problems, we got rolling at 8:50am. BJS and I got a one minute late start due to some Garmin difficulties. We caught up quick enough and rode with the crew for about what seems like 10 minutes before Iceberg had to stop to change a flat. Some of the slower crew crept on so we could catch up. After the 10 minute flat repair, we got rolling again. Then, after about 5 more minutes we erroneously followed the signs for the 62.5 mile option. (Read - we wanted to do the 62.5 miler instead of the 50 miler) At the fork in the trail, we went the way that said "62.5 miles this way". Well, it wasn't so simple. That section cut out about 10 miles of singletrack and traded it for about 5 miles of dirt roads. It turned out to be a shortcut with less fun riding conditions. Thats is where we all split up. BW said screw it and finished out his ride solo plus added on the extra at the end for a total of 55 miles or so. Derwood, Iceberg and myself tried to do a few extra loops before teaming up with SteveA to finish out the 50 at a moderate pace and getting in about 45 miles. Jim and Zak went all the way back to the source of the mistake and finished out the 50 for a total of 53 miles or so. I really and truly do not know how anyone elses ride went. I do know that my group waited over an hour at lunch for Jim and Zak before assuming they must have had a mechanical and were at the truck waiting for us. BW rolled in, tried to ignore us, and rolled out in quick form at lunch. We finally started setting pace for the parking lot, thinking everyone was waiting for us. Since we had Steve with us, we were backing off the throttle every once in awhile. He finally told us to cut the rope at the last sag. He wanted to be set free and said he would limp it in. We tore off and got back to nothing. No Jim. No Zak. No Chris. After an unknown long amount of time, Jim and Zak rolled in. Then after an enormous amount of time, Chris rolls in. We didn't know it, but hoss decided to go back and get all of that 62.5er. Due to our complete lack of organization, none of us knew what was going on. We (the main group) decided against 62.5 and just assumed that was the new consensus. After another 30 minutes of standing around we finally were able to go get our after ride lunch at Conestogos. Country fried steak as big as your face. It was good, the stories were good and no one would step up to the 3 pound burger challenge. All in all a few lessons were learned and I hope to remember them next year: 1. it was weird (and easier) to do Felasco while sober and not hungover 2. going fast is easier than going slow 3. 4 hours and 10 minutes of roll time should not cover a 7.5 hour span 4. Kent, Steve, Terry and Ron add a lot of laughter to the crew dynamics

Harden the F-Up, Rule #5

This is my fishing buddy, Chris. He would definitely fit in with the Bikechain crew. He is Rule #5. This guy is going to get his head cut open for a third time due to a stubborn brain tumor and cyst. Imagine being sea-sick for two years on and off, I would have killed myself by now. The reason I bring this up is because I plan on using his and Wrecking Ball's situation as perspective this year. It makes me realize I have no reason to bitch, piss and moan, cry, or complain about anything.

I will miss riding Felasco this year, I will be at the hospital with fingers crossed for my buddy getting his coconut cracked again.

Anyway, see you guys on the next trip.....Tour de Tallasco?

The Chronicles of BC; 5000 more words

The Chronicles of BC; 5000 words

The Chronicles of BC; Revolutions Cyclery

So, after the big race at Elijay where BC crushed Ace like 1978 El Camino center stage at a Monster Truck Jam came Revolutions. I can't give exact details as to the when and why. After being deflated at Elijay, I started concentrating more on beach volleyball, Sea Doos, beer and clubs - and less on racing. In other words I skipped on the scene for awhile. Of course, being family and all I was privy to the initial talks of the shop. BC, SM and Middle bro got together and started it up. Middle bro was the money man and kinda behind the scenes. BC and SM were the faces of the shop. They brought on a high school friend (of mine) that Kent knew a little about.
See, BC and SM were biscuits in high school together and BW and I were skater buddies in high school as well. So there was some crossover there. On a side note, BW had the equivalent of Kona Skate Park in his backyard in high school.
So anyway, BC and SM hired the best mechanic this side of Texas (and maybe the other side too). BW, SM and BC commenced to running Revolutions and setting the ground work for what would become the coolest bike shop in town. Not sure how many years Rev Mart was around, but apparently no amount of laughter can pay the bills forever. We knew things were rough when Jeff Gordon started hanging around the shop everyday. More stories on all that later.

The Chronicles of BC; pre-BC

This is the parallel entry to apebike’s first installment of the chronicles of BC. To learn about the history of BC, you have to first know the history of Revolutions Cyclery. But, we can’t jump ahead too many chapters at a time so we will go back a little further.

Sometime in 1989, 007 was making so much money building houses that he had money to burn. So what did he do? He went and bought a “nice” mountain bike from Sears – A Lotus. At the same time, the trails at Munson Hills, Phipps and others were being ridden by some early adopters. All this was about the same time the St Marks trail was being built over some old Rail Road tracks. BC’s ‘rents were riding Jamis Boss cruisers and cophasing with the Shanks as well. BC was already helping a guy on the side of the St Marks trail (Larry) build bikes for sale to the locals. Imagine a school chair coupled to a hacked up road frame and you have a Woodville recumbent. Sooo, all of that added up to enough to finally get BC and his cuz on a MTB. I’m not sure which is a nicer bike – a Huffy or a Murray. Either way, we had one of each and we went riding. As is the case with everyone else, it was instant infatuation. BC quickly stepped up to a nicer Trek (850?). However, it was not as nice as the Spanish Mackerels’ same-paint-scheme Trek 950. Those early days consisted mostly of Cuz, BC, 007, The Mackerel, and the Middle bro on a Haro (One of BC’s older brothers, one of 007’s younger brothers). In addition, the Mackerel brought a couple guys in to the scene who would fancy themselves out on some rides with us. About this same time Big Worm was rocking the Michael Bolton surf shop hair and riding a nicer Specialized with custom NWA paint (in Daytona). He was hanging with the sophisticated and advanced local MTB crew. Apparently we weren’t high brow enough at that time to infiltrate the likes of Dave Baton, Zach, Snowman and such.

The following year(s) were spent swapping bikes, saving and spending money and getting mad skills. The first race team (for us) was started and we had a truck the size of my house for travel. We were K.Y.D.D, Racing. We were mostly spotted putting in our training miles at Munson and Leon Sinks. Leon Sinks was fun to ride and it stinks that it was shut down. The trails went down in the sink holes and some of the lines were impossible (for us) to ride. I can remember a time when I borrowed 007’s nice and relatively new Specialized. BC and I dropped in one sink hole at least half a dozen times and could never ride out of it. Every time we dropped in, we knew we were going to crash but we kept trying. The trails would also flood real bad in areas. We rode it one time in handlebar deep water and the bike almost floated.

My first race was a couple years later (1992?) in Ellijay, GA. Some of you know the place – M.O.E. Wow! Those guys had suspension forks and bikes that were clearly way better than mine. Not that I knew bikes well, but mine wasn’t nice. Sure, it had a remarkable paint job. It was teal green and painted with left over paint from my Camaro. It did at least have aluminum rims and a three piece crank (which was my benchmark up until that point). Of course I was a hard core racer so my (steel) handlebar was cut down to less than sixteen inches. My four finger brake levers were cut down to a nice, respectable three finger length. Well not only was my bike ill prepared for the race, but my fitness was too. There was one hill there that I could not ride in my middle ring, and I could hardly keep my balance in my granny. I would have said it was impossible to ride except for the fact that right at that exact moment in my thought process I was peppered with roost from one of those fancy suspension fork haverers. This was the famous race where BC beat Ace and he kept saying, for years… “, The last time we raced I kicked your ass.” I decided not to race but Ace, Jack Shank, 007 and BC all raced. I was repeatedly quoted as telling Jack “you don’t understand, I am not going to race”. They kept trying to talk me into it but I wouldn’t budge. Wish I would have though cause my first race was postponed four more years. Well, that was back in the day and at least 40 bikes ago.

Dirty Ron is on the Horizon

The Dirty Ron is on the horizon. I have not been riding my bike. It is going to hurt. I think it will be good for the soul. Here is the plan....

Thursday- night ride on some Big Worm selected single track, then drink beer immediately.

Friday- get cyclocross bike ready with Big Worm built wheels, then drink beer immediately.

Saturday- The Dirty Ron is on. Beer drinking will commence immediately after.

Sunday- Old school Revolutions ride, but much slower. Beer drinking immediately after.

Monday- I leave and you guys stop drinking beer after your rides.

Jim Laugh (JL) vs. YAPL

Interesting. We have always had a pecking order for who is the fastest on the bike. This has been great fun and another way for fake humbility - aka: sand bagging. The latest "sizing up" competition is who is funny and who is not. I'm so on tilt that it doesn't matter anymore (at least to me). I've been verbally brutalized as of late. Reminds me of the time I tried to be funny and Mark apologized on my behalf and said I was just in kid mode - affectionately dubbed "pee pee poo poo pants." I could always come back with some sort of bicycle accomplishment but those days/times seem to be a long time ago now. In my mind I've been here all along, but in reality I'm far removed from the cycling culture (which is not where I want to be). It reminds me of the time I made it back to cycling and Terry asked Chris "who's that loudmouthed new guy?" So it's time for a comeback from all the comebacks. Ronnie and I are in self-improving mode so I think I have at least one buddy. I've recently been called out - more so than in a long time. At this point I don't get to ride, I HAVE TO RIDE. Can you imagine Terry gets off his liquid plumber and kicks my ass on the bike? I will never live that down.

So... in an effort to spend more time with my friends AND ride my bike, I make it out to the Yet Another Steve ride on Thursday. Now maybe it was the two weeks of oxycodone and bed rest, maybe it was the lack of muscle memory OR maybe it was this little piggy went to Piggy's too many times, but the fastest 30 minutes in cycling blew to pieces at around 1 hour. On my excuses side of the brain my knee was hurting and I had crashed hard twice (once less than a minute into the ride). I had been feeling great on the ride but we had a quite a few start-stops. I do better when we without the stops. For some reason it takes me quite awhile to get the legs back after a stop. Hopefully it's just a lactic acid thing. And so it goes we had been at the bike wash - getting water bottle refills. Somebody questioned "lap of Tom Brown?" And of course we were off. It wasn't a face pace but for the second time on the ride my legs just went to noodles - barely capable of making forward progress. Jim was behind me talking as my mind was trying to command the pedals. He joked as to why there was such a gap between the group and us. My non-response and lack of speeding up indicated to him that I was indeed not joking. "Seriously?," he replied in a drawn out version of the word. He followed that with a new laugh. A soft laugh that you try to stop or stifle - the kind where you laugh and immediately know you should not be laughing. The kind where you have no way out of the laugh but to clear your throat or golf cough. He was dead silent. Not sure if he felt bad or was smiling ear to ear, but he had just invented the You Are Pathetic Laugh or YAPL. Feel free to sub in other words but just know Jim is the author. What was I to do? He had just verbally pants'd me and I had NOTHING left in the tank. It did not matter that nobody else was around. Rule # 5 kicked in and I hammered - at least for a few minutes. :) Drag on

Golf Laugh

Believe it or not the Internet does have a definition for “golf laugh”. It states a golf laugh is “To offer a short, polite chuckle to someone as an acknowledgement that they said something THEY think is amusing, but it really isn't. To help someone not feel uncomfortable or embarrassed by politely laughing at their stupid joke.”

Suffices to say and considering the group of guys I hang with I golf laugh…… ALLOT. Aside from the Wrecking Ball and, occasionally, the Spanish Mackerel most of the BC guys just aren’t really that funny. Don’t get me wrong, they definitely believe they are. Perhaps it’s just me.

Other terms:
JL or Jim Laugh: Similar to golf laugh but instead of trying to be polite it has more of a “I am very uncomfortable with this line of joking around can you please stop now before I kill you” tone to it.

LOL or Laughing Out Loud: Often a term used by teenage girls…..or Lil’ Ball…..LOL

Good Day

Went to Publix. Saw a great friend. Went for a "couldn't get the tires to break loose" two hour ride on my bike, the orange Turner is now officially off the chopping block, sorry Chris. Made a turkey sandwich. Had me two Oskar Blues Dale's Pale Ales. Two of those after a ride will make you buy a Park Truing Stand(always wanted one) and a Paul's Components cycling cap. Good day.