Velvet Air and Full Moon

Spoiler Alert:  Faux-Dramatic Capitals ahead!

Tonight was a poetry night.  I spent two hours with three kids escaping from reality by watching the local Credit Union's annual PR coup - the Outdoor Free Movie.  With Free Popcorn! and Games!  We viewed the new Suess story "The Lorax".  I almost hugged the tree we locked our bikes onto.  Ironically, we were in the minority as cyclists there, walking through a thronging throbbing parking lot jammed full of Vans and SUVs, crossing the swift river of the mini Lorax-induced Traffic Jam with our bikes and flashing lights.

But the poetry was not in the Suessian Rhymes, but in the fantastic moonlit blanket of humid warmth that enveloped us the entire show, caressing us as we sliced through it on the dark streets, silently curling around our faces, shoulders, bare legs.  The air was touchable, almost visible.  The air enjoyed and cheered us on, whispering encouragements to the Way-Past-Bedtimers.  Where's Haiku Dave when you need him?

Velvet Air, Full Moon

You watched us flow like Night Birds

Through the darkened ways

Joseph Haydn said, quoting the Bible, "The heavens are telling the glory of God" (Psalms 19:1).  Tonight the air was speaking to me loud and clear.

The heavens declare the glory of God;

the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Day after day they pour forth speech;

night after night they display knowledge.

There is no speech or language

where their voice is not heard.^a

Their voice^b goes out into all the earth,

their words to the ends of the world. (v 1-4)

Wow.

Oh yeah, THAT'S mountain biking...

More Mountain Bike Videos on Pinkbike

Well, I know mountain biking is a lot more than just bombing down incredible moonscapes on magic bikes, but I still feel like going where those guys were.

I can't believe I ate the whole thing!

I mean built the whole thing.

Tristan hasn't seen it yet.  I hunkered in the garage after his bedtime and started working.  Things fell into place, and step by step I did it. 

That is the custom-shortened (by hacksaw) 150 mm crankset I made for his last bike from my 1995 Norco Tango crank.  You wouldn't believe (unless you're trying to source kids race bikes) the challenge in trying to find good quality cranks of appropriate length for kids.  The der you see is just a chainguide.   Also my Time pedals, circa 2000?

Right brake: used Juicy 3.  Left side: no name lever attached to a fancy vee brake via YELLOW cable.  Old SRAM twist shift, the kind that controls Shimano ders. 

Did I mention the bling factor?  XTR vee braking, controlling a classic RM-17 rim.  That is a lightweight and old Roll-X from my personal collection.

Cool top cap.  You can see the vintage SID with two air pressure valves at the top.  Haven't figured that out yet. 

I thank God for his work in all this.  It's been such a process of wondering and figuring, hoping to get the right pieces and right prices.  I prayed and left it in his hands, doing the research and work the best I could.  I got the main parts bike and the frame for great prices on the net, and had almost all I needed at home to fill in the blanks.  Does God care about little things like this?  I think so. 

Baby Baby Blue

My race bike is a baby blue Norco EX-C. I now introduce a mini version of the bike, being built up for Tristan.

Here it is, so pretty.

Under three pounds!

I have to make a bike out of it now.  Here's the parts collection, mostly from...

this bike, a great deal I just bought online, 1998 Jamis Dragon, loaded with cool and light parts.  Well cared for too.

I hope I can get it completely together before the provincials next weekend because I will have to use some parts from T's current bike. Two half bikes are hard to race!

Geography Test

Ramona flew this morning over what Canadian geographic gem? See clue below.
   

In other news, I and the kids are embarking on 10 days of not-by-myself-batching.  Pray, wish us luck, send food, or come borrow a child for a day!

Just kidding (no pun planned).  I'm expecting a super time of pancakes, cookies, fried eggs and house-cleaning awesomeness.  (But do pray!)  

Back 40 and the Best Seat in the House

As you must know if you have been paying attention, the Tinker Creek-hosted event known as the Back 40 race was held today at Lake Minnewasta/TransCanada Trail.  Since my ankle is still a bit wonky, I volunteered to marshal instead of race this time. 

After the intrepid 5-lappers took off at 10 am, we held the kids race on the first bit of the same trail.  Here are a few highlights.

Ramona gets photo credit for this cool shot of J and all following pics, too!
Looking fast.

Too Faster!  Nice Summer Games jersey.

Tristan on Zippy, looking zippy.  Triple digit braking.

Mascot?  Cheerleader?  Model?  Yes x 3.



This is a high-end block of wood. 

Tristan got the lumber too.  In the back you see the man of the hour, Kevin Braun.  Good show, friend.  Well done!  We appreciate your work pulling this together.  I just don't know how much longer he can stand not racing this sweet course. 

After all the rain and weather, everyone was willing to clean their bikes when the sun reappeared!  I think J was inspired by her friend M at the summer games, who spent an hour detailing her bike after the race.  Jaydi even lubed her chain without a word of complaint. 

But as for the best seat in the house, I am referring to my luck at being assigned to marshal at the end of the Trans-Canada Trail section, right at the creek in the big valley.

I got to my post just before the 5 lap race leaders were coming through for lap 2.  It was starting to rain lightly.  Almost instantly, the long fast descent turned into a bobsled run, and started unceremoniously dumping people into the grass in all directions.  Rob B was one of the first to go down, losing his glasses (the first of several to complain about lost glasses: riders would take the gummed up shades off, hang them on the zipper of their jerseys and forget them).  For the next hour, about half the riders made it to the creek upright, and the rest toppled this way and that, up there, down here, in the middle, and even before the main hill. 

As the 16k riders started to arrive around 12:50, the rain was convincingly steady, and the bobsled run became a circus with fifty mud-covered lycra-clad clowns vying for the best fall, bum-slide, low or high speed topple, whether walking, jogging, or riding.  Most of the time I contained my chortles, but most everyone saw the humour in the situation.  "Mud fest", "a little slick", "Greasy", "I forgot my skates", "Skiing", "**%$&##@", "How does my chin look?  Teeth still straight?", "Good thing I grabbed a handful of grass, or I was [over the dropoff],"  are just a few of the poignant comments I remember. 

Usually I was alerted to the arrival of the next clown by the squealing of brakes followed by a loud grunt.  Marc L had a good one, walking his bike one moment, then disappearing behind the weeds, then I saw his wheels, then nothing.  When he got up, there was a muddy swatch from his right cheek, around the shoulder, over the water pack, and fully up and down the left side of the body.  Like I said, everyone seemed to see the humour in the situation.  Unfortunately I didn't have a camera.  I could have had enough for a good long blooper reel. 

As the 16 and 32k racers finished, the sky cleared and the sun started to work on the surfaces.  Within an hour, riders were back on the gas, as in lap one.  The laughs were over, but we all will remember the shared experience. 

I and the Lord had been having a pretty good season of rain-breaks for race time.  Almost every race this year was on a wet day, and he answered my requests for a break in the weather.  Not this time.  But it was worth it!

Thanks again Kevin, James, John, Tim and other Tinker afficionados for a memorable day.

Is someone in this house in training?

J produced a triumphant exuberance of chocolate cookies this evening. Good thing we have three in swimming lessons who are also in heavy training for the back 40 race and Provincials. I will soon just be heavy...

Hmm, what is ITT?

J and T raced their first Individual Time Trial today among the beautiful wind-blown fields of Reinland, Schoenweise, and Rosetown.  We prepared by putting some slicks on their bikes, pumping them to the legal limit, and laughing about a race that is flat and straight as a 6000 meter stick, out and back, with no competitors beside them.  The laughing turned into spinning and hard breathing and gasping by turns and by the time they finished, we all had a new understanding of the time trial.  
Tristan laid it all down with utter seriousness, spinning his legs off for the downwind first 3k, then digging deep for the headwind return 3k.  His blotchy facial coloration gave the truth behind his answer to Ramona's question:
R - Are you ok?
T - (staring into the distance) Yeah.
R - Are you tired?
T - (staring more)  No.
We went back to the van but he headed for the playground.  I went there 5 minutes later to find him.  Not on the play structure.  Not under that shady tree with the Huebners.  Oh, there's his bike under that other tree.  Still don't see him.  Finally I got close enough to see that the little green lump in the grass behind his bike was Tristan lying on his back, spread eagle with one knee up, helmet and glasses still on, staring at the sky.  Guess he left a little more out on the course than I thought.  He finally grinned and let me push him back to the van on his bike.
I saw Jaydi midway through her downwind sail, grinning away and spinning like a Singer.  By the time she finished, she was wheezing and feeling awful because we had forgotten her Ventolin (asthma puffer) at home.  After she cooled off for a bit she was fine, but too bad she had to end that way.  She still seemed to enjoy the new experience. 
Some highlights:

Jaydi rocking the leggy socks.  Note the cleats.  Jaydi agreed to clip in for first time in a race.  It was a good time to try it since you don't expect to put a foot down except to finish.

After watching the older riders utilize the "holding guy"...

 

Tristan decides to give it a go.  What a game face.

Out,

and back.  Simple, right?

Out (with flair),

and back!

 

I really loved the scarecrow-like signs that the organizers used along the roads.  I almost expect to see "ABANDON ALL HOPE YE WHO ENTER" scripted under the jersey and helmet cyclist effigy.

Thanks to Ian, Bruce, Dallas and all the hands from Olympia, Back Alley, Altona, Reinland and many others.

Postscript:
I got to finish the day with a mountain biking date with the love of my life.  No, not the baby blue Norco.  My wife!  We went to Morden Lake for a quick lap of the trails there at sundown.  Beautiful.  And nature was nice too.

xoxo
Thanks to Ramona for the pictures above, too.