Forced Rest Period

<===Quite possibly the oddest Ergon grip set up ever.

The Pofahl is now all set up with the Antler Bar and I went ahead and put on some spanking Ergon grips. This set up is awesome comfort-wise. I can't wait to put in a multi-hour ride on this set up to see, but I am sure it will pass with flying colors. The bars? Goofy looking, but they so remind me of drop bars without the drop part. Brilliant!





<====In the "Whatever Happened To That Trend" file.....

So I was playing around with some old stuff on the computer the other day and came across the image here from T.I.V2. Notice the "prayer rug"? I remember back in the day when these were a big deal on a lot of guys bikes. Whatever happened to that trend? (Or maybe more correctly- Was it ever a trend?)

I guess I thought it was kinda funny and cool. Maybe we should have a T.I.V6 carpet sponsor that would make us about 50 of those with embroidered race numbers right on them. How cool would that be? (I know, I know........but I've had a lot of time to sit and think lately. More on that in a minute)



<===England just seems to be chock full of these "epic landscapes".

So, being a cold weather cyclist and all, I pricked up my ears when I got an e-mail the other day from a guy introducing Finisterre, a U.K. based technical clothing company. So what? Well, they are a pretty environmentally conscientious company that uses techniques that are winning them awards, getting them in seminars in front of companies like Nike and adidas, and have helped save and develop their own exclusive breed of Merino bearing sheep. All this out of a six person company located on the northeastern coast of Cornwall, U.K. If you want to see a company that is in tune with today's conscious and "gets it" when it comes to "green" and manufacturing, but still has kick butt outerwear, check this out. I was really impressed.



<===Meet "The Enabler"

When I was at Interbike, Salsa Cycles Mike, "Kid" Reimer says to me, "Hey, ya got a minute?" as he looked around like he was about to pull out some illicit drug to peddle me. Well, what he showed me was a "fat fork". Or for those of you who are uninitiated into snow bike terminology, a fork that's really wide! Wide enough to swallow a Surly Endomorph or Larry 26 X 3.7 inch tire. This fork has a wider front spacing too, so it takes a rear wheel standard (135mm) width mountain bike hub. So, your next question might be, "What is this good for?" Good question, and the Enabler fork seeks to "enable you" to find out. (Get it?) If you do, this might be right up your alley. When will you get your hands on one if you want it? Another good question, but if all goes well, I wouldn't be surprised to see this come into stock yet this winter. Maybe later in winter, but we'll see.

So, I have been kid-sitting a sick child the last three days, and I have not been doing all that well either. (Sort of fatigued, and lethargic) It's looking as though I may get out to go to work today, but we'll see. A forced five days off the bike isn't at all what I had in mind, but it might just be what the doctor ordered. At least I have a serious itch to get out and do some riding, which is going to come in handy now that I have stuff to test and ride.