blah, blah, blah, blah

I wished I had a good video to share or an interesting story from a great ride this weekend but I don't. I spent most of my weekend at work and since it's pouring down the rain today it doesn't look good for a ride now either, maybe tomorrow.

 

Another great STC event in the book this weekend, with our annual Take A Kid Mountain Biking Day. Even though I missed the event due to work, I was living vicariously through my smarter than me iPhone. I requested pictures to be taken from those who did attend and soon enough my phone was being flooded with text messages full of photos of kids riding the trails. I did my part as best I could and began flooding the Facebox with the images. Despite the rainy start to the day we still had a good turnout, especially from all our great volunteers who made the event a success. Thanks everyone!

The two paragraphs above were written on Monday, I lost track on my topic or lack there of and gave up hoping I would come back and finish it later. It's now Tuesday and I'm still struggling. It's still raining and it looks as if I'll chock this day up as another no-ride day. I did some weight training yesterday but had to cut it short due to some back pain issues I've had recently. I would like to go for a run but that wouldn't help things either. I'm definitely stuck in a rut and I can't get out until the pain issue resolves. Since I injured my back a couple of years ago I've never been 100%, I don't know if I ever will but I definitely know it's time to start trying something new. What that is I'm not 100% sure yet but I'm working on it.

 

Speaking of aggravating issues, my bike is once again in the shop with chain drop issues. The JET that is, the one with the front derailleur. I've had it looked at a couple times and each time the problem is resolved temporarily but it usually comes back sooner or later. I've been running the 2x10 system for a while now and there are things I like about it but there are things I hate about it. Mostly the thing I hate is the lack of the ability to run a bash guard. The lower links on the JET won't allow the room for a taco style bash guard so I'm stuck bashing my $80 chainrings on rocks until I can get a different crank setup. My solution for the chain dropping issue? I going with the new shadow plus rear derailuer, I'm pretty sure this will help but only time will tell. Maybe in a couple of years when the new 1x11 system trickles down into the more affordable range for those of us folks who don't have a money tree in their back yard I try that avenue.

 

There is another upgrade coming to the JET but I'm gonna wait until I get the it back before I begin discussing that.



 

Yesterday I took Ocho in for his last round of puppy shots and his rabies vaccination. All the shots he got left him feeling a bit under the weather and he pretty much just laid around the house sleeping on and off yesterday. Now feeling much better and well rested, he's a fireball of energy all morning. I just caught him chewing a hole in Melinda's prized rug we just brought back into the living room. We had rolled it up when Ocho first came home with us not wanting it to get ruined while we house broke him but I guess it as too early. The pretty colors must have been too enticing for him to resist.

 

One more thing before I go, this weekend the 3rd Annual SORBA Tri-Cities Poker Ride will take place at Bays Mountain. It's our annual fundraiser for our trailbuilding program. It's a great ride that's all about fun and raising awareness for our trails. Come join us in the fun this Saturday, the ride begins at 10:00 at the picnic shelters so you'll want to arrive a few minutes early to get ready.

 

Coming soon, the Porcupine Rim video.........