sorry.

hey all, sorry for the lack of posts... i promise some will follow soon, from me at least... bottke on the other hand, lost his password [shrug]

email from b.

here's a little story from bottke about yesterdays commute... enjoy. this does prove that he is still alive... barely =)

hey man,
so due to me forgetting my salsa tostadas at my parents place, i had
to give my lightweight cannondale gloves the ultimate test lsat
night. riding itself yesterday was actually pretty fun. plowing
through the snow really put me in touch with my viking roots from my
scandanavian ancestry. now on to the gloves. . .on the way to work
things were perfect as i had the wind at my back and the sun was
shining. the way home was a different story. my hands started to go
numb by the time i got out of the europa parking lot. by the time i
got on waterloo road i was clinching my teeth on my balaclava and
just trying to get home to warmth as quickly as possible. the thought
crossed my mind to call for a ride or stop for a minute but i figured
i had to face it anyways and my phone was dead. i got home threw my
bike down on the porch and went inside to have summer take my helmet
gloves and bag off. i just paced around shaking my hands for about 5
minutes trying to get the feeling to come back. slowly but surely it
did, only to make way for the pain. ouch! it was just a nagging (nay
excruciating) pain that i had to wait out. eventually i took a shower
and almost everything got back to normal at that point. notice i said
almost. as i am writing this to you 12.5 hours after the ride, i
still cannot feel the tips of my pinkie or ring finger on either
hand! i talked to my mom the nurse and she was kind of concerned but
said it should go away with time. typing feels kind of funny, and i
gotta write a 3-4 page single spaced paper today.

so thats my story. i thought it may entertain you. i also read the
new bicycling magazine at work as we had 1 customer in my 4 hour
shift, and one guy over the phone thats going to order an Equinox 7
this weekend, so i guess it was worth it. anyways, there was an
article in there about people that have been killed or severely
injured by motorists, pretty good article. it was weird reading it
right before i got off and rode home in the snow and dark and cold.
kind of like reading a horror story before going to bed haha.

i *heart* commute by bike.

Not only do I love riding my bike, as many of you know there are plenty of websites out there dedicated to us commuters. One of my favorites is Commute by Bike which is part of the Crooked Cog Network. As many sites do now, you can have them email you updates and articles from the site and today's not only alarmed me but reaffirmed the little voice in the back of my head when riding at night. They attached a graph [because I know how we all love pie charts and bar graphs], that although older data I believe holds very true. It shows when bikes are most likely to be hit.



So be safe, wear a helmet, get some lights, and ride like you're not going to be seen.

t6.

Twin Six. Those of you who don't already know, but Twin Six is amazing to say the least. And well, today I got a few things at the shop. The speedy hat and bike nerd bottle, there is so much of their gear that I'd love to have but the funds don't really allow for it. Like this, this, this, this... yeah I could go on. It's sweet stuff and I highly recommend it.

On more of an update of the no drive month, the last few weeks have been difficult because of my schedule and to be honest laziness. Although, I did end up trading for the Schwinn Fixie. It's sweet, and I outfitted it with fenders. Brian and I have been trading a few text messages today and we're coming up with the new challenge for December. More to follow soon... in addition I've got word that I have a new digital camera coming my way. WERD! Holla for clearer pictures!

wig.

Not good. Wish I wouldn't have stumbled onto this. Now it's got me thinking. Check out the Wig Website. Enjoy.

question.

Would you, if given the chance, trade an Xbox, 10 games, DVD remote, 3 controlers for this fixie?


You must note, the front wheel is not actually a Race X Lite, but just a X Lite rim with a Select hub and non-bladed spokes. The frame is a old Schwinn Le Tour III and in great shape. Based on your feedback will I decide.

Sorry for the lack of posts. It's been a difficult week. More to follow...

the many faces of 'the bottke'

I was attempting to enjoy my lunch break today at work when I was interrupted by a few picture messages on my phone by none other than 'the Bottke'. Yes, some of you may know him has Brian or B, but not today. Today, he is 'the Bottke' and today I will show you the many faces of this monster. So hide the kids, put down your drink. Take a breath.

'The Badass Bottke'


'The Billy Bob Bottke'


'The 'I drive a 15 passenger van with blacked out windows and hang around elementary schools' Bottke'


All in good fun, I warned him so he knew what was going to happen. I believe all of this facial works of art, no masterpieces, was in response to the 'No Shave November'ists out there. In his words 'just say no to no shave November'.


On a more bicycle related note. Today, I got a new handlebar in for my 1x7. It's the handlebar off of the Trek Soho. The Bontrager Satellite Plus Handlebar. It's 650mm wide, has 30mm of rise and as you can see has a fair amount of sweep. I'll take a few more pictures once I've got it set up on my rig.