Monday Musings

Badger Ride Report: I finally got a "real" ride in on the Badger over the weekend and can give something of a report on how it rides. The ride was over snowy, wet, and icy roads for the most part. The gravel just being way too slick around here yet to ride on.

The bike is smooth. Very nice ride quality. It definitely is a refined feel over what other steel rides have. The posistioning for the drop bar is spot on. I could ride in the drops very comfortably, well...........as long as my out of shape condition would allow me to! This winter has been brutal and riding time has been cut short the past week and a half. It shows! Anyway..............

Yeah, the bike is performing quite well. Those Tektro brake levers are waaaaay impressive! Linear pull compatibility means great braking response and power. I don't know what they did to the latest incarnation of Avid BB-7's, but they are the quietest brakes I own. Even wet they are virtually silent. I only got the front to howl after dousing it in a deep puddle of melted car snow. (Full of grease, oil, chemicals from snow removal, and whatnot) I got it quieted down after dragging the pads a bit on the rotor. I can't wait to get it in the dirt.

So, What Are The Odds: Let's see, I've missed work just about every Monday in February due to snow getting school cancelled. Today they are calling for freezing rain and five inches of snow. Hmmm.............they haven't cancelled school yet. I'm betting they get out early though, so I would have to leave work to pick up my daughter. Odds are I'll be home this afternoon. Whattya think?

Test In The South West Coming: It's not all that far off until my big spring break trip is here. I'm going back to El Paso Texas to see my family down there. I'll be testing a couple of rigs whilst there and also, I'll be trying to complete the 32 mile Franklin Mountain State Park loop. It's a brutal, rocky, cactus infested, and dry route from Franklin Mountain State Park in the North West side of El Paso to the New Mexican border and back. It is pretty remote too, so I'll be toting a fair amount of gear to make it. That's the funny thing about the El Paso area. If you are five miles out into the desert you might as well be a hundred. Nothing around but rocks and cactus sprinkled with a fair amount of yucca plants. Should be a rude awakening after such a long drawn out winter.

Nothing Much: So what else is going on? Not much! With this weather the activities are relegated to work and staying out of the snow and cold. Although the temperatures have now moderated a bit, we're supposed to go back below normal for the rest of the week. The good news is that "normal" is getting to be a higher number all the time, so eventually this will have to end, ya know? Maybe then I can strat getting some riding done, but for now....................