back to THE roots

I miss the western landscape and singletrack but I am glad to be home. I did miss those 2 big black stinky dogs that like to harass me every time I sit down to relax. I've been off the bike since last Monday and I'm very anxious to get back on the saddle, so anxious in fact that I'm a bit surprised that I sat down to write this post but I had a little inspiration, something that hasn't hit me much lately so I'd better take advantage of it.

Today I'm off to see how well I remember what it's like to ride on roots and how well I do riding in close proximity to trees. I'm also taking it up a notch and riding my singlespeed hardtail, something I've definitely been missing. I took the JET9 to Moab and was definitely glad I did, I think I only saw 1 maybe 2 hardtails the entire time I was out west and I visited several bike shops while I was there. I'm just hoping that after this ride I leave with my saddle still in tact. My last 2 ride on the SS, I managed to mangle 2 perfectly good WTB Silverados, one of which has been warrantied the other is going back today.

After my ride I'm headed out to hit the local shops. I'm finally getting around to taking in my road bike hoping that I get a new frame under warranty. When I first noticed that it was cracked I contacted my LBS figuring it was out of warranty and was blown off, (not by the owner). It was my fault for not doing the research myself but once I did and realized it has a lifetime warranty on the frame I was a little irritated. Really it's no big deal, I've not had much of an urge to ride the road but that may change this summer, we'll see.

Oh yeah I almost forgot, GRT Racing is finally gearing up for another race, it's been a while since we did, almost a year I think. The 12 Hours of Tsali are on tap for next month and we're officially registered. As usual nothing is being taken too seriously except having fun so it should be a good time. This year it looks as if we won't get to the venue in time to score a spot at the nearby campground so we've opted to stay up the road a piece where we can actually reserve a spot, a much  nicer spot with full hook-ups and sewer. The dogs prefer the comfort of air conditioning while they sleep, they're spoiled I know.

One of my stops today I'm picking up a new shifter for the FROG. I'm thinking seriously about converting it to a 1x9 specifically for the race since the course has alot of fast rolling sections that I'm afraid would hurt my lap times and of course my legs. I've yet to fully decide especially since I will be taking the JET as back up. Maybe I'll just throw on a faster cog on the back and throw caution to the wind.