Slicks and Rain AND CHILDREN!

Today we're racing at Whittier Park. Since the forecast was quite dry, I left my knobbies at home and came with my friends Crow and Raven (tubeless semislick tires). Lo and behold, it's raining this morning! The image that comes quickly to mind is racing at Falcon Lake this spring in rain, with my aforementioned slick friends. Particularly, riding down a grassy slope at top speed, but sideways (I recovered).

In other news I'M A DAD! Our two and a half year old adoption has come of age. The Ethiopian courts have ruled that P and M do indeed need a family and that family is us! Hallelujah to God for moving this forward. I hope he surprises us soon with a travel date (we're waiting for immigration and medical documentation).

Gardening

On Saturday I was working in my yard. Most of the time I only work in the yard if I have to, that is if the lawn looks like an unkempt 12 year-old's head, or we need to plant a garden to maintain marital unity. Saturday for some reason I was pulling grass and weeds because, well, I guess I wanted to make my wife happy. Funny, she was quite surprised when she came outside.

I was surprised too, when I worked under the deck. There is a profusion of quackgrass growing down there, especially at the edges of the deck where the mower doesn't like to go and the sun still reaches. I was pulling it out by handfuls and throwing it on a pile. Among the quackgrass I found some volunteer sedum, some Manitoba Maple, what looks like a raspberry plant, and a wild strawberry plant that I moved from one of our evergreens in the back. It came with the tree from a ditch north of brandon somewhere. I had also put a few shade-loving perennials in there some time ago, and they (I forget the name) were now blooming shyly in the shadows.

My thoughts on seeing the unexpected raspberry and sedum along with the other desirable plants hiding among the tall grass were of my life and its weeds and plants. I am a follower of Jesus, but I don't always show it very well by the things I do or think about. I give more time than necessary to the nurturing of guilty feelings. Lately, I've tried to trust in and lean on the love of Christ, and not worry so much. Then, I try to enjoy life and love God back.

I ride my bike as fast as I can. I play with my kids. I try to relax once in a while. I try not to be obsessive. I avoid guilt thoughts. I read the Bible. I wash the dishes. I listen to my wife (really, I do). Among all this living, sometimes I wonder where God fits.

Maybe the answer is under the deck. I planted some stuff there. A lot of grass and weeds have shown up. But amid all that, there are a few treasures coming, even without my knowledge or plan.

God, do that in my life. I love you and the way you do things!

God's Will

I just checked the weather site, and on a whim googled "God's will". Here's something from the British evangelist George Muller. Not his website, just an excerpt from an essay of his.

Knowing God's Will - How to Ascertain the Will of God
Knowing God's will is the key to prayer, spiritual growth and fruitfulness in our individual lives. Here's how George Müller set out to ascertain the will of God on a daily basis:

• I seek at the beginning to get my heart into such a state that it has no will of its own in regard to a given matter. Nine-tenths of the trouble with people generally is just here. Nine-tenths of the difficulties are over come when our hearts are ready to do the Lord's will, whatever it may be. When one is truly in this state, it is usually but a little way to the knowledge of what His will is.
• Having done this, I do not leave the result to feeling or simple impression. If so, I make myself liable to great delusions.
• I seek the Will of the Spirit of God through, or in connection with, the Word of God. The Spirit and the Word must be combined. If I look to the Spirit alone without the Word, I lay myself open to great delusions also. If the Holy Ghost guides us at all, He will do it according to the Scriptures and never contrary to them.
• Next I take into account providential circumstances. These often plainly indicate God's Will in connection with His Word and Spirit.
• I ask God in prayer to reveal His Will to me aright.
• Thus, through prayer to God, the study of the Word, and reflection, I come to a deliberate judgment according to the best of my ability and knowledge, and if my mind is thus at peace, and continues so after two or three more petitions, I proceed accordingly. In trivial matters, and in transactions involving most important issues, I have found this method always effective.

Here's another person's take on it.

Question: "How can I know God's will for my life? What does the Bible say about knowing God's will?"

Answer: There are two keys for knowing God's will for a given situation (1) Make sure what you are asking for or considering doing is not something the Bible forbids. (2) Make sure what you are asking for or are considering doing will glorify God and help you grow spiritually. If these two things are true and God still is not giving you what you are asking – then it is likely not God’s will for you to have what you are asking for. Or, perhaps you just need to wait a while longer for it. Knowing God’s will is sometimes difficult. People want God to basically tell them what to do – where to work, where to live, who to marry, etc. Romans 12:2 tells us, "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - His good, pleasing and perfect will."

God rarely gives people that direct and specific of information. God allows us to make choices regarding those things. The only decision God does not want us to make is the decision to sin or resist His will. God wants us to make choices that are in agreement with His will. So, how do you know what God’s will is for you? If you are walking closely with the Lord and truly desiring His will for your life – God will place His desires on your heart. The key is wanting God’s will, not your own. “Delight yourself in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4). If the Bible does not speak against it, and it can genuinely benefit you spiritually - then the Bible gives you the "permission" to make decisions and to follow your heart.

Spurgeon said this.

Any thoughts?

Thought Collage.

Today on the way to church we passed a grassy area with hundreds of small wooden crosses stuck in the grass. A sign stated that 1 200 children die each hour from starvation.

Children's Camps International is seeing doors opening before them to bring camp programming into Kenya and maybe Uganda.

I heard a parable by Soren Kierkegaard today. A wild goose became sick and went down to a farmyard to find some food and recover strength. In the morning he heard the flock flying over. His heart was stirred, but he decided to stay a bit longer and regain a little more strength. The same scene recurred day after day. Have we heard the call of the Holy Spirit and resisted it so often that we are no longer stirred?

I got new Kool Stop pads for the disc brakes. No noise yet!

I'm torn between racing full-on and giving it all up, selling stuff, and donating the money to helping people.

Fork Tuning

My fork is a Fox F100R.

I should aim for...
Sag: 15 mm at 65 psi.
Rebound: There should be 12 detents. Start with the middle, and see how it does. Lighter rider, less air spring pressure, faster rebound needed (turn out more clicks).

Training update.

Adding 5 minutes per low intensity ride till I reach target of 45 minutes. Then increase intensity gradually, about 10% more per week.
Currently I'm at 40 minutes, 50% intensity. No intervals yet.
Osgoode is grumbling, but resigned to his fate. I hope.

I arranged to buy Kevin's Mavic 717 wheels mounted tubeless with The Crow/The Raven. Looking forward to trying those!

My rear brake is crazy noisy with shuddering and no power. I don't know if it's pads, loose spokes, Juicy, or what. I hope and pray for a good solution. Ordered pads from Tinker.

I didn't mention that I saw a physiotherapist about the knees. I'll see him again next week.

Tubeless?

I have a 32 oz bottle of Stan's sealant.

I need:
2 rim strips @ 22.00 = 44.00

My rims have a cloth spoke tape. Is that it?

Maybe I should get the injector too.

____

I just read about using a sliced tube to create a cheap/free rim strip. Maybe I'll try this.

____

Disc brakes -
- spacing - push pads apart, reinstall wheel, business card on each side of rotor, squeeze for spacing.

- squalling - seems to be a common problem. Here's a hint from mtbr.
"This is an update to my earlier post from last year. I've found two things that help a lot with both the horrific squealing and adjustment difficulty. Number one, clean the glaze off of the pads and rotor often. This may have to be done after every ride in wet/muddy conditions. Number two, put thin stainless steel washers on the caliper attachment bolts between the bolt head and the back of the conical washer. This has made the unit move out of alignment less when I tighten the bolts.
Lastly, I tried the UNEX replacement pads and have had a lot less brake noise. I have one set of UNEX Pads and one set of the Avid that I installed at the same time. The Avid ones make way more noise!!! Based on the fact that I have been able to improve this product on the cheep, I've upgraded its chili rating. I still wouldn't recommend them."

also

"Some say Noise - solution: The stock organic pads, once overheated, leave voids in the pad face. I have tested this twice on steep descents. Once the voids exist the noise goes through the roof. On one trail, very steep, I have twice overheated pads to where they smell of burning brakes. Noise immediately apparent. Solution is the use of metal pads as they just dont seem to overheat like organic. The organics are great until they are toasted. Going to try another pad brand next."

and

"These brakes are powerful and easy to align calipers. My problem was the ungodly, ear piercing squealing when they got even a little wet. I think I read where another reviewer called it "like a scalded monkey" and I would add "still on fire, high on crack"! I've been riding discs for years, so they aren't new to me.I always make sure the rotors and pads are thoroughly broken in before I ride a new bike, and have the fluid flushed annually. I had the "turkey warbling" and vibration in the frame like others, a squeak here and there, but that didn't bother me that much.I added washers under the calipers to make sure the pads weren't contacting the rotor spokes, cleaned the rotors and pads with alcohol, being careful not to touch them. I made sure the rotors were straight, made sure the calipers were aligned perfectly, even tried one reviewers recommendation to carefully coat the caliper bolts with grease, but nothing I did would stop the piercing howl when they got wet. It was so bad I vowed to not ride this bike until I got rid of these avids , but I tried one last thing- I replaced the stock sintered pads with a set of aftermarket "EBC" brand (I hope I got the name right) organic pads. Wow, it was like night and day! They squeak a little when they get really wet, but nothing like they were, and after a few yards, silence! No more turkey warbling, no shrill piercing squeal that won't go away, no vibration, no embarrassment,just pure singletrack heaven. I gave up a negligable amount of power with organic pads, but I can live with it.I've been riding these now for about a month and a half through rain, snow, stream and pond crossings,ice, so far so good. I didn't ask the LBS if EBC makes semi- metallics, maybe I'll try some when these pads wear out (assuming the avids are still on the bike).I'll write a follow up review if anything changes. A word to Avid- people are working harder than ever for their dollar these days and have precious little time to enjoy it.If you continue to release products that aren't quite ready for production and back it up with lousy customer service, we will spend our very hard earned money elsewhere. Shame on you."

I'm laughing out loud at the turkey warbling description. Too apt.

"The brakes are cheap pieces of crap. Poorly made/designed. They do not retract. Does anyone own a set where the rear does not drag? The rotors warp because of cheapness. You can hear Avid Juicy5s coming a mile a way, the courdoroy slacks of disc brakes. I will NEVER buy another set of Avid brakes--Period! There are too many alternatives that actually work. You are better off with V-Brakes than this garbage."

I think I should start a support group.

Windy Cold March Night

Ride #2.

30 min, intensity 5ish. That blows my 10% per week increase in time out the window.

My tibia feels fine, but the top of the patella and around the medial (in) side is irritated. Similar to last year's pain.

Wrists, elbows don't feel great either.

I need help.

Incidentally, hydraulic disc brakes never freeze up.