old tool with a release on a new life

i'm an emotional kind of fella, and i had to shed a tear the day that my old Park Tool crank puller broke but i made a promise to turn her into something more beautiful. That day finally came today.... cold winter days has a way of doing that to the souls inside of a bike shop. Oh well.....i guess i can't say that i ever have a problem finding a project to do around here.

my new park tool bottle opener:

Whatdidjudo for thanksgiving ?

Me.....i spent the last 6 days kicking around the Bighole Valley of Wisdom MT, a nice place to go if you're looking for a desolate and quiet place. I like those qualities in a vacation spot even though it's only 2 hours from my front door and the temperatures in Wisdom are typically the coldest in the country during the winter. We saw the temps hover 10 below a couple of mornings, and the crisp cold air had a bite on any exposed skin. I've come to enjoy that bite over the past years and i get a little gidy when this time of the year comes and my father in law Randall and i head over to the Lewis Ranch for a little hunting and male bonding : ). But of course i couldn't bring myself to vacation without the bicycle so we threw in both Surly Pugsleys to pedal behind gated, snow covered roads. I took a few pictures this year just to share, here's a bird eye view of life on an 1800 acre cattle ranch minus the calused hands.

The Lewis's Place

our home for 6 days

my old bronco

the paycheck

scenery

Felt Solo 29

Felt's 2008 Solo 29er. $1599

cassette hub, Avid Juicy 5 hydraulics

Eccentric BB for chain tension....adjustment kept by set screws.

Truvativ Stylo SS crankset w/ GXP bottom bracket.

King headset

On the subject of Portland.....You know Chris King's HQ's are located in Portland as well. And check out this little treat we just recently rec'd. It's their new 1.5 Devolution Headset to convert frames with a 1.5 head tube so they can use a suspension fork with 1.185" steerer tube, same bearing deign on a larger scale, a preload shaft to keep things taut up front. I also really like the subtle black on black lettering. Price is $179.

videos 4 sale

we've got a few of the Klunkerz videos left over from the little shin-dig at the barn this past weekend. Video's are running $25.





it's a damn good flick that really gives us an inside view of what transpired in the heyday of early mountain biking. The folks that really jump started the evolution, the bikes they fell in love with, and the trails they rode them on. I've been meaning to turn one of my old balloon tired bikes into a clunker, and this vid has really put the coals in my pants to get'er started. I've just got to decide which lucky bike will recieve the transformation.

friday night showing

stop on out at the barn tomorrow night (friday) for the showing of KLUNKERZ. Beer and chips will be provided. 7pm

Bike Town USA

Here's a pretty good read about the cycling culture over in Portland OR., this was forwarded to me by Warwick this morning (thanks buddy!). Click here. I've only been to Portland once but it was pretty obvious from my one trip that the indy rock, bike messanger, commuting, bike scene was alive and well. I thought the city was much nicer than the neighboring city to the north known as Seattle......and i'd say Portlands love of caffiene and micro-brews easily rivals the big brother. Matter of fact Portland claims they have more breweries per capita than any place in the US of A. I can believe it from my short stay last year as there wasn't a corner street business in the downtown area that wasn't either a coffee shop or a brewery. I found load's of websites directing hops and barley lovers to the wide selection that the city hosts......Here are a few links.


Portland Beer. ORG

The beer blog


And you know......i've just got to put in the research since we'll be heading that direction come Feb. 8-10th for the fourth annual NAHMBS , yessir...that's right. We're going back to lay witness to some of the finest crafted bikes put on the earth. Artisian style. And i'm looking forward to it.

one of my favorite pics from last year's show taken from the Sycip camp:




last years bro (will hopefully be this years bro's)