jig

Bike Saga

So last year I bought a new frame - Niner Jet9 - and transferred all the parts from my previous bike to it. Except for the fork : bought a new 70-100 Reba Uturn, just couldn't resist.

First problem was the fork went bad - lost compression and bottoming out etc. Not totally blown - and I wonder how many people would have just kept riding it - but a buzz kill for me, and had them send it back and it got 'fixed'.

Next thing was a recall on the rear triangle - so was without the bike for a few weeks while they figured this out - right in the middle of prime early July riding season. Eventually they swapped it out with the new part, and back in the saddle again.

But not for long. The fork went bad again, and off to Rockshox it went. It came back with almost all new parts - now silver instead of black. Felt great after this rebuild, and happy times again.

Then in September, cracked the rear triangle and had to wait a week or 2 or 3 to get that replaced.

Got a bunch more rides in before the season ended late in November. The positive is the bike rides amazing when it's intact, the negative is I was down a good part of the season.

Now into the 2009 season we go. All is well until early July, when the frame cracks on behind the top tube weld. Get another new frame - this is the 4th one ! - and replacement takes almost a month.

Then a month later, Niner decides to to a complete recall on all the Jet9 frames. This time they give us the option of swapping it out with the beefier Rip9 frame, or buying that frame at an extreme discount, and waiting for the newly designed Jet9 frame in spring 2010. I decide to go for the discounted Rip9 frame ($800 cost for an $1800 retail frame), and once again dump off the Jet9 frame at the shop.

So am on the single speed DosNiner while all this gets figured out, and a couple weeks later, I blow the fork on that bike. Not too bad, considering it's had almost 4 seasons on it. So have to wait for parts to get that fixed....

And now no bikes but my road bike. A few days later, am riding the road bike, when the shifting cable snaps, so back into the shop with yet another broken bike...

Oh well, still have my town bike, an old mountain bike cobbled together with worn-out bits and pieces off of many other old bikes. Hey this bike is barely trail-worthy but kinda fun !

A month after bringing in the Jet9 for the frame swap, the new Rip9 frame arrives, and take it out for its maiden voyage. Finally, back on a full suspension that works perfectly.... except what's this, the fork on this bike is now blown too !

Back to the shop.... my other fork has now been fixed up, and put it on the Rip9. Call RockShox about fixing the Uturn fork for the third time, and they say they will just give me a new fork instead. So supposedly will get a new Reba with 80/100/120 travel adjust !

So now ready to ride the Rip9 tomorrow for the first time with a fully functional fork....is this the end of the saga ?

Seasonal Bitchin' Disorder

Sick
It's germ season again, and the hackers and snorters are once again being kind enough to bring their Sick Show into work to provide a wondrous array of auditory delights. You'd think that if you were in the throes of coughing up a lung and half a liver, you might want to shut your office door and enjoy these convulsive moments in semi-privacy - but no, let's broadcast the noise to all, along with an accompanying germ stream. Yes I can visualize the microbes wafting out into the hallways, permeating the air with the invisible sweet scent of disease, landing conveniently on easy-access areas such as doorknobs and table-tops, lying in wait to pounce on the next unsuspecting victim.

Winter
As often happens in Bend, we skip a season. This year we went from opressive temps in the 90s one week to the 40s the next week, followed up by some snow. Freezing rain was this morning's present. Was up with the kids one weekend at Waldo Lake at 6000 feet of elevation, getting sunburnt, and the next weekend we're in Bend rolling giant snowballs down the street.

But that's not the really interesting stuff. I know you want to hear more 'Annoying Human' stories, and believe me, I have a lot of them.

Stupid People
Let's face it, the world is full of these. Heck, you could be one. Perhaps myself - and I'm just too stupid to realize it. There are many stupidity zones, and I'd like to touch on one in particular : Awareness Stupidity. This is manifested by people who are blatantly unaware of what's going on around them, and make choices that cause Smart people much aggravation. Here's 2 simple examples :
1.