Time to Start Training!

March 13: US Cup Bonelli Park - San Dimas, Calif.
March 27: US Cup Fontana – Fontana, Calif.
May 16: US Cup Big Bear – Big Bear, Calif.
June 5: Bump ‘N Grind – Birmingham, Ala.
June 26: Subaru Cup – Mt. Morris, Wis.
July 10: CTS International Classic – Colorado Springs, Colo.

My Odyssey Continues

My home buying odyssey continues with the closing date less than a week away.

My apartment is littered with boxes piled upon boxes and my stress level has been off the charts at times fueled by fears of a staggering economy and a lot of uncertainty about the mechanics of the home buying process. This is all new territory for me and it often feels overwhelming. I’m relying on others to guide me through this and the slightest lack of information causes me to worry and stress more than I would normally do on my own.

As of last night, I had no information from my realtor about the progress, or lack thereof, being made on the house. All I could do is assume it is still under construction with the Thanksgiving holiday and a weekend ready to consume three days of my remaining time to closing. I started having serious doubts about making the closing deadline. After a few emails and phone calls, my realtor finally gets back with me to say the house is supposed to be completed today (11-25) and should be ready for home inspection that afternoon. Since I didn’t know when the house was going to be completed, I couldn’t arrange for the inspection earlier.

To make a long story short, the house is supposed to be inspected at 3:00PM today with the closing tentatively scheduled for 10:00AM on Monday. I’m still nervous about taking on a mortgage and just want all of the stress to go away.

My Absence

I haven't posted in a while because I'm in the process of buying a house. It's been a time consuming and stressful few weeks for me. The closing is scheduled for November 30th.

A Hallowen Story

A man is walking home alone late one foggy night...
when behind him he hears:

BUMP...

BUMP...

BUMP...

Walking faster, he looks back and through the fog he makes out the image of an upright casket banging its way down the middle of the street toward him.

BUMP...

BUMP...

BUMP...

Terrified, the man begins to run toward his home, the casket bouncing quickly behind him.

FASTER...

FASTER...

BUMP...

BUMP...

BUMP...

He runs up to his door, fumbles with his keys, opens the door, rushes in, slams and locks the door behind him. However, the casket crashes through his door, with the lid of the casket clapping

clappity-BUMP...

clappity-BUMP...

clappity-BUMP...

on his heels, the terrified man runs. Rushing upstairs to the bathroom, the man locks himself in. His heart is pounding; his head is reeling; his breath is coming in sobbing gasps. With a loud CRASH the casket breaks down the door. Bumping and clapping toward him.

The man screams and reaches for something, anything, but all he can find is a bottle of cough syrup!

Desperate, he throws the cough syrup at the casket and...

The coffin stops!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Happy Halloween!

I decided to actually carve a pumpkin this year rather than paint one like I usually do for Halloween. I think I did a pretty good job considering didn't use fancy store bought tools. In fact, I scooped the insides out with an empty cat food can and used an Xacto blade and small saw blade to make the face.

Speaking of scary things, life is a little nuts right now since I'm prowling the housing market. It's been down right stressful at times as the prospect of actually carrying a mortgage can be a little overwhelming in such a bad economy. I think my Scottish heritage tends to bubble to the surface where money is concerned. I've always been a pay as you go kind of person. We'll see how things turn out soon enough. I just hope any place I buy isn't haunted.

For better or worse, my cat is my best friend.

Interbike 2009, Best 29er of Show

I found this review on mtbr.com about the 29er offerings at the 2009 Interbike in Las Vegas. For the second year in a row, the Moots Mooto-XZ 29er is the best of show. As a proud Moots owner, I wholeheartedly concur and honestly believe the Moots Mooto XZ is the best full suspension 29er on the planet.

My Moots Mooto-XZ 29er

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29er Best of Show - Full Suspension shootout: Ride Impression
Tuesday September 23rd, 2008 at 11:53 PM Posted by: Brian Mullin

I didn’t get to test every full suspension 29er (pretty close though) that was at the dirt demo, but I think I made a pretty decent stab at a bunch of different brands, different suspension systems and obviously some varying geometry designs. I tested the Turner Sultan, the Pivot Mach 429, the Niner RIP9, the Ellsworth Evolve, the Ventana El Rey and finally the Moots Mooto-XZ. I had even tried the Turner Sultan a second time to get some more seat time with the bike. My butt was sore and my legs were beat from all those rides in the hot sunny weather.

It was nice to be able to do so many bikes in a short period so the brain was fresh with each bike ride. Cross comparisons were much easier. None of the bikes did it all. They all had their strengths and weaknesses, some more glaring than others. Sorry to burst anyone’s bubble but no bike will ever be perfect.

I had to go by seat of the pants and gut instinct on each of the bikes and the bike winner had to be well engineered, have a certain feel, the suspension and steering must work properly and in synchronicity, the geometry needs to feel right and work with the rest of the bikes system, and it must have some fun and some personality. Yes, I came up with a Fun factor, call it what you will, but if I find myself humming and sort of singing to myself and not paying attention to the ride that is a big factor to me. Perhaps a “bike personality” might be the wrong word usage but one of the definitions of personality is “something apprehended as reflective of or analogous to a distinctive human personality”. People give their cars personality! The bikes also had to deal with the very rocky and abusive conditions of the Bootleg terrain. If anything about the bike characteristics sounds interesting then take a bike for a test ride. Refer to my more in depth reviews from this year show of the Turner, Pivot, Niner and Ventana for further information. Here are my mini impressions:

Turner Sultan - nice new design with tons of travel, did it all extremely well, neutral and compliant.
Pivot Mach 429 - Fun, a great bike that did most things fine, but it sure was a blast to ride.
Niner RIP9 - great design and very well rounded bike but a bit boring, kind of lacking in personality.
Ellsworth Evolve -  to X Country for my tastes, harsh ride in the Bootleg terrain.
Ventana El Rey -  a spirited sprinter, this bike likes to be stomped on, would be a great race bike
Moots Mooto-XZ -  what can I say, a well designed and engineered bike that does it all well, and it’s Ti. Therefore, the winner for my “Best of Show”…drum roll please…The Moots Mooto-XZ for a second year in a row!

The Moots Mooto-XZ railed down the trails, went right where you pointed it, didn’t get tossed around by much of anything, climbed like a demon, had a stout and solid rear end, had incredible steering and what really set it apart was the Titanium. It added a tad of softness and pseudo suspension to the bike without the usual suspension wallow, the words silky ride is what always comes to my mind. Congrats Moots you still have a winner.

As a consolation prize I elect the Pivot Mach 429. It was not the best bike out there but who cares since it was just to darn much fun to ride.