Score!

Got a cheap ass disc 29er wheelset for $55 at the bike swap yesterday. The rims are 24mm which means more road tire options than the Salsa Semis currently on the El M. I'm also excited about the fact that I won't need to swap tires back and forth. I've already swapped the trainer tire over. Good times.

The Job

Sharing some work photos. The house is insane, four plus remodels in the last fifty years 2x the footprint and 3x square footage of the original house(including the entire basement converted from a crawler at some point). Not a single thing plumb or square, but I like the challenge and it's still fun.

We're calling this room the den.

Looking from the den, through the huge kitchen, and into the dining room. Notice the wide flange beams where load bearing walls once stood.

Living room looking past the dining and kitchen and into the den on the left.

Master bedroom suite, sitting area on the right and bath/closet through the framing on the left.

New bar in the basement at the cost of storage, hard decision for the homeowner but I certainly think she'll be happier in the end.

Well mom, there you go, work pictures. If you make it back to town before the job is done I'll even give you a tour.

Mmmm...

Quite possibly the best restaurant steak I've ever had. Happy hour skewers at The Jones in Maple Leaf, $5 worth of fantastic.

Canadian Weekend

Early Saturday morning Shannon and Lara showed up at the house, we quickly transfered goods to the Element and headed East. We got to Spokane with some time to spare before Star and Eddie would arrive so I took them on a little driving tour of the city. They really like the Bowl and Pitcher.

After B&P we hit Huckleberry's for some necessities and met up with the others.

The others.

We didn't get out of Spokane until nearly four, putting us in Rossland around six thirty, just in time to hit the bar, order pizza, drink wine, eat pizza, play the longest game of Trivial Pursuit on record, and have a pretty fan-fucking-tastic evening.

Up early and onto the slopes, Red is a good sized place with big wide runs and lots of terrain to explore(Red also has a shit load of double black, you know, if you're into that sort of thing).

I'm having trouble with the pictures so this is all I've got from the slopes, Eddie on the right and I'm on the left.

We stayed on the mountain until they shut it down at 3:30. Happy and tired we headed back to town for another fun filled evening full of things like steak and Ghostbusters on cable. Yesterday we made the long drive back with a quick stop in Spokane to visit with my old friend Dallas.

Got home to find a belated Valentine's day gift from my wife, very exciting.

I picked up a tire that would fit on my bike's rim after work today and cranked out 35 minutes. I think this will be good for me.

Godspeed Little Doodle...

Up until yesterday I was a little sad about the fact that I was missing 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo. Then it snowed. I'd still like to be there, but I'm not going to miss it.

It sure as hell won't look like this at noon today.

Now I'm off too Red Mountain, enjoy your weekend everybody!

Filling Space

I really like this picture. I took it a couple weeks ago back when I still had a wife. Now I only see her for 30 minutes a day between the time that I get home and she leaves for work.

This picture just makes me laugh. It was taken 3 or 4 years ago during the Michele/Eric the Mormon cultural exchange program. She fired an AK-47 and he attended her student club meeting. I think they both walked away thinking the other as crazier than ever, and I got a good laugh.

Laughing my ass off here

Right now Michele's working nights and says that YouTube is how the residents keep themselves entertained in the middle of the night. This one's for you babe.

Additional info

I should have mentioned yesterday, Pat gave Michele and I the full works tour of his workplace when we dropped off the beer. The company he works for makes all kinds of bad ass shit out of quartz and he basically yells at people to get back to work all day.

It's not very often that I get to be the tall one in a photo.

About those headsets that I liked so much at NAHBS, turns out they are a special edition of the new Cane Creek 110 that carries a MSRP of $650. $110 for a King is one thing, it's a serious part that will go forever, but $650 for a slightly dressed up version of the same part? You can keep it, something tells me that it's not worth it even at pro-deal prices.

Final note for tonight, Crazy Joe called this morning and will no longer be a part of Star's Red Mountain Wintertime Extravaganza, I'm still trying to figure out how this plays into the upcoming weekend travel plans now that I no longer need to pick him up in Spokane.

Just another lazy Saturday in Portland

Started out the day with a tour of the new Tim and Lucy residence..

It even has a view of the old one.

Dropped Michele at the Portland Art Museum and quickly got myself over to the North American Handbuilt Bicycle Show with a quickness. The place was packed, making it hella hard to even get good pictures without throwing elbows, I did what I could without being too much of an asshole.

Got wood?


Arantix, still not impressed, 7 grand for a frame and another 5 for a build(add up the build and they're selling the parts over retail).

Blacksheep had some really pretty bikes, but what I'm interested in is the headset. Any knowledge out there?


Mmm, Ira's booth, still top of my list for a custom frame in a few years.

The man himself was getting mobbed, so I moved on.



Rohloff + belt drive = bad ass.


Interesting take on chain tension.


Did URT suddenly get cool again and I missed the memo?

I didn't get the joke until just a few minutes ago.


The show did not disappoint, after we delivered the 5-pack to Pat, hit Widmer, and even later we went out to dinner with Tim and Lucy.

And it only took 6 1/2 months...

I bought the Element on July 14th in Portland. I financed through US Bank and they provided all the paperwork. Oh, don't worry about a thing they told me. You'll have your plates and registration in a couple weeks they said. We've got everything under control is what I kept hearing. Yeah right.

I got my plates and registration today! I like to think that my regular calls and visits to the bank over the last 5 months helped move the process along, making my vehicle legal this decade.

Thank goodness it's done now, one less headache for next week.