Thank You!

I’m sitting on the hardwood floor Indian style because we have no furniture left in the house, the moving van left last night and we leave in the morning. In a few hours we will be driving to Chicago and leaving Utah behind for a little while.

I love Utah. I love all the amazing friends and family we have here.

I thought I was going to miss the single track and mountain biking more than anything else but over the last couple weeks I’ve come to realize that I will miss my friends the most.

I like the internet and being able to write something without anyone knowing how emotional I am. I didn’t think I would be so emotional about leaving but I’ve had to walk out on a few people this week as I was starting to choke up. Suffice it to say I’ve found myself tearing up on more than one occasion.

Thank you for all the well wishes, send-off’s, bike rides , cakes, cookies, food, cards, emails, hugs and for being a friend. I love everyone that has been part of our lives over the years and I appreciate all that you have done for us and for your friendship, I truly love you. If you ever find yourself in the Chicago area know that you have a home.

Community Bikes

We all have them, I think, at least in my community.  Community bikes; bikes that don’t really belong to anyone in particular but are a conglomeration of parts culled from many and shared by few.  Somehow they end up in one persons garage for far too long.

Dug has probably spent the most time of anyone that I know riding community bikes.  As a matter of fact I bet it’s been over 5 years since he’s ridden anything else.

Well, I have a community bike that I dare say will never end up in Dug’s garage.  Part Rick S., part Jamie P., part Forrest, part me and I’m sure there are parts on it from Chris Fox.  Total cost to build=$12 for bar tape.  Yeah, yeah it’s a single speed with STI shifters, whatever.

The frame that belongs to Rick S has been hanging around in Jamie’s garage for years with parts bolted on it at random.  Whenever something wouldn’t fit on someone else’s bike Jamie would hang it here.

You know what?  It totally kicks ass.  I rode it for the first time today and it is fast.  I’m going to race it on Saturday but after that anyone that wants to borrow it for a day or year is welcome to it.

Do you have a community bike in your garage?  Want one?  Need a new community?

Philly Tibbble

Those words sound really good together and Tibbble is so cool it should have 3 b’s.  While the locations couldn’t be further apart they are closely related.

I signed up as a fundraiser for Livestrong Philly team like a decade ago as a member of Team Fatty of course.   After riding Tibbble with Elden today I remembered that the Philly ride is only 30 days away.

Elden in wonderland:

I work well under pressure and get a lot of shit done when the heat is on.  It’s on.  Good thing I am a high functioning procrastinator I only have 30 days until the big ride to raise at least $250.

Here’s the deal:  Every $5 donation gets you a chance to win a years supply of CarboRocket in whatever flavors you want (a $250 value value)  Just click here or the pink Fatcyclist jersey in the side bar and you are on your way.  It’s only $5 and it goes towards a great cause, you should donate anyway, and as an added bonus you will have the most exceptional odds of winning a years supply of CarboRocket shipped right to your door.

You only have until August 15th so get donating and if you want to ride Tibbble remember to bring gears, even Rick and Sam had to walk.

Win Susan!

I’m A Slacker Therefore I Bike

Or, I’m a biker therefore I slack. Not sure, but biking and slacking are things that come very easily for me. I’m a natural you might say. That being said, I’ve slacked long enough. It’s time to own up, buck up, stand up, HTFU.

I’ll use the excuse, “who am I, what can little old me do?” to explain my doing nothing but the reality is I am a slacker. But not today.

I finally started a Live Strong fund raising page to help my dear friend Susan Nelson fight the cancer that has been beating the crap out of her and her family. Click on the picture to go there now.

To make things a little more interesting I thought I’d suggest that if you plan on attending the 2nd annual Gooseberry 100k that you make a donation as your entry fee. I just totally stole the idea from Kenny. I have no shame.

What do you get for your “entry fee”? An all day kick-ass ride all around the Gooseberry Mesa area of Southern Utah, a campfire built by Kenny, all the CarboRocket you can handle, free post ride recovery beverages from The Bohemian and the chance to be part of a cause bigger than you.

Fish Q

That’s what I call it but there wasn’t no fish to eat only Fish cookin’ up some of the tastiest Q you ever had. Pulled pork, choripan, the best chicken I have ever eaten, marinated grilled steak and various other meats. I only mention meat cause that’s all I ate and ate and ate. I didn’t want to fill up on the salads.

Some local hipsters barely able to stand and smile after several pounds of meat. I have no idea what those things protecting their eyes are, meat splatter protectors?

some of the female carnivores trying to figure out the marinade ingredients. Good luck.

Special thanks to Fish for all the effort and great food. I can only imagine how much it cost. I don’t know how one person pulls off grilling a gazillion pounds of meat and still manage to serve all that meat with a smile.

Thanks! I can’t wait for next year.

Sherwood Hills ICUP #4

I missed it but Tasha was there representing and represent she did. Even with all the mud (it took me half an hour to clean her bike) she came in 2nd place for the 2nd time this season. That should plant her firmly in 2nd place overall in the series after 4 races. I think it’s exactly where she needs to be this early in the season. Of course, it’s not where she wants to be at all.

Watch out next week at Soldier Hollow as she’ll have the new bike bounce riding her new Vassago Bandersnatch. That should be worth a couple shaved minutes all by itself.

I hooked up with Elden and the gang late in the p.m. for a romp around Corner Canyon. Coping through mountain biking. Is there any better therapy? It works individually or as a group. I didn’t even need my meds on Saturday.

Thanks, Elden, for letting a few of us hang out and bike with you. Special props to RickyM, GBrown and BobbyB for making the effort to be there.

BTW, Corner Canyon just gets better and better every day. I’m pretty sure Draper will become a major destination mountain biking area. It already is for the locals but I definitely see out of towners making the trek in the future. It’s that good.

Win Susan

A lot of people have asked me how they can help Elden and Susan with the battle they are fighting. Thanks to Kenny Jones it’s pretty easy.

Kenny has set up a trust account at his bank that is linked to a PayPal donation account at WinSusanNelson@gmail.com

Elden and Susan can use the funds at their discretion and nobody needs to guess at what they might need.

You don’t even need a PayPal account to help out, just click on the donate button at Kenny’s Photo and use a credit card.

Elden and Susan and family, we love you! You and your family are in our thoughts and hearts. Keep fighting!