cycling sucks...

you read that right. now let me tell you why i make this statement.

i pick up another magazine about cycling, and in it i find another article relating cycling (in this case mountain biking) to meditation. i find a problem with this, because (knowing what i know, or do i?) meditation (i believe) is removed from 'magazine mountain' biking. this is why...

what do you see when you open the pages of a mountain bike mag.? glorious pictures of biking at places that i will never be...check. doing things on a bike that i will never do...check. riding bikes and components that i will never ride...check (and i work at a shop)

meditation being closely related to Buddhism and Hinduism; as a religious aspect. now, taken from there...what do these religions teach us? to, in essence, detach from the material. now, i believe if Siddhārtha (the man who became the Buddha) would walk the earth today he would be riding a bike. a simple bike. maybe even a single speed.

the problem...we glorify our single speeds (number one). number two...think of the sweetest bike you own; is it simple to maintain? for me...the answer is no. my bushing are gone on my full-suspension, work, time, money; and not to mention that it is hanging up until i am able to get this done.

is this a detachment? is this a letting go of the material?

in the spring i built up a monster cross bike. some of you may have seen it; either in person or on my flickr page. in any case...people have asked me about it, and my only reply is 'it's fun.' meaning...there's no fuss. i get out on it and ride. now i have realized that since i am an old man, a rigid fork is hard to take, but in any case...it's a great ride. nothing to really worry about. i don't have to mind the air in any shock, or fluid in any disc brake...just ride. and that's a good thing.

in the computer world there is a term (and shitcakes if i forgot it now) that there will be a time when we cannot fit any more info onto a computer chip and the industry will crash. meaning we will not be able to make computers any faster or more compact. then what? well...i'm waiting for that time in the bike industry as well. when will we reach the limits of carbon? when will we reach the limits of weight? of shifting? which remains our biggest problem. metal to metal. when will the hype run out? ten speed (mountain or road), eleven speed, electronic shifting...what's next?

don't get me wrong...i'm not above this. i'm not one of those pseudo intellectuals riding a single speed/fixie for political reasons (which is bullshit), making fun of you because of what you ride (unless you're really riding shit, and thinking that you're hardcore), i'm not shitting upon you because you watch tv, read these mags., or buy into it...hell i'm with you (i want to re-do my full suspension)...i'm part of this too, but there becomes a point where we all need to let it go.

let the weight of the bike go. let the 'pimp' parts go. remember, unless you're getting paid to ride...it's not the ride that sucks...it's you...

amitabha...

no time for a test ride...

no time for a test ride...
Originally uploaded by divine_gear

on days like these. this is the second time i took the monster cross out. the first time was to the mtn bike trail, and said to my self; 'self, we need a pure mtn cassette on this thing.' and so be it.

what we have here are some parts from other bikes (xtr crankset, xtr rear derl., salsa bars, shim. one zero five sti's, sram cass) voodoo aizan frame, kona project two fork, cane creek one hundred headset, bonti stem, xt hubs, cheap mavic rims (yes, they are rim brake, i said cheap), conti race king tires, avid disc brakes, voodoo saddle, egg beaters...and my monster cross dream is here.

the over all ride is very smooth. i was surprised about this, seeing as how the drivetrain is ninety percent 'used'. being a scandium frame it is very forgiving. not the ride i was expecting. the fork takes up the slack on this front too.

nice and solid on the decent, and very compliant on the up hills.

this bike was a total shot in the dark, since you can't go to your local shop and ride a monster cross...good stuff.

amitabha...

when are you considered...

vintage? this has been the way i'm feeling as of late; in regards to my bikes. you know that old guy at the shop or riding guy who proclaims 'screw dura-ace; sun-tour rules.' and you ask your self...'self, why isn't sun-tour around anymore? oh, that's right...it sucks.'

well...i'm starting to feel like that old guy. all i wanted was a stem. just one stem with a twenty-five four diameter clamp. that's all. i don't ask for much. oh, ninety mm; mountain style. not too expensive. i didn't want to spend thompson money, but i didn't want cheap either.

in comes ebay.

hell; that was even a task. thankfully i found a bontrager race lite; exactly what i wanted for fifteen bones.

i'm turning into that guy...

amitabha...

during the fall...

baby in tow...
Originally uploaded by divine_gear

i picked up a burley trailer for rides with lydia, so i'm able to at least get out for some riding when i'm with her. she's such an easy going girl when it comes to such things (not so much sleeping), that was able to strap her in, and she just goes along. lucky for me, she loved it.

during the fall i didn't push it. kept the speed low. found hills to get the heart rate up. and tried to keep it about an hour out.

we stayed around the neighborhood most of the time. one time we made it to the tow path. she does fall asleep in the back, but that's o.k. just gives me more time to ride.

i'm already looking forward to the spring with her, and the trailer. there's enough room for supplies for her, and i where i think i might be able to push some longer rides. she loves the outdoors, and watching everything, so here's to hoping...

amitabha...

have some...

new bike stuff going on, and thinking about posting again.

so i'll see what happens.

amitabha...

ever think about...

ghetto ride...
Originally uploaded by divine_gear

what bike you could do without, if it was ever stolen? cold hard fact...it happens all the time, hell, even to lance. he's the lucky one, and gets it back (but if he never did, i'm sure trek would have given him a new one); however we (the common people) are not so lucky.

well, i faced this question a few weeks ago. i was sent a letter for jury duty, and i didn't want to drive and park in downtown. so what bike to take that i would feel 'safe' that it would be left outside all day, and not be stolen, and if it was i wouldn't care as much. i thought about the fixie, but that's brand new, and so cool. i thought about the trek vw, but i've got too much money invested in that. then about my flat bar road bike, but that is really my wife's, and then i'd have to get her a new one.

so i sat down and built up this little ride. a trek twelve-twenty with downtube shifters. dia-comp all over the place, sram four.zero rear, one zero five front, ritchey/mavic wheelset (old school), ritchey headset, mich. tires, and some saddle. the mix of the front shifter, and rear derl. was fun to play with. the front shifter has a index and friction setting, so having it on the friction setting made it work with the rear derl. not a bad set up.

all parts were either given to me or taken off of other bikes. the only things that i paid for were the tires, tubes, and bar tape. not a bad set up for locking it up somewhere for a long time, and not really worrying about it.

although it does ride pretty nice (i have to really get use to down tube shifters), the frame really is small for me, toe overlap, and knees hitting the handlebar when i get out of the saddle and stomping on the pedals going up hill.

oh...i didn't get call for jury duty.

amitabha...

new parts...

new race face deus crank set...
Originally uploaded by divine_gear

begin to accumulate in the workshop. no time to put them on, because of the little one, but no worries there.

one such part is this little number. the race face deus. this will be put on the smoothie. i've been looking for a good reason to take off the xtr, and this seemed like a good enough reason to me.

light and stiff. can't wait to try these out...if i ever put them on and ride, but i've got more important things to spend my time with...

amitabha...