Something to ponder while digesting your holiday goodies: how come this drivetrain never caught on? Apparently it is based on a design for a flying machine found in Leonardo DaVinci's notebooks!T he longer movement of the crank arms supposedly gives you more leverage. It's a Japanese bike but it's not like they're all over on the streets. In all my time here it's the first one that I've seen. Far more common, and cool in a totally different way, are all the old keirin bikes you see around the city. I talked to the dude in the bottom picture for a few minutes in Shibuya on December 23rd. He's a hair dresser. Good looking guy. But not as good looking as the bike!

Sam meets the big guy

This Friday was the Utica Kids Christmas party, and Sam got to meet Santa for the first time. He really wasn't all that sure what to make of the jolly old elf at first, but certainly likes the little game that Santa gave him (though he likes the box it came in even more).

Cyclo Claus 2009

Christmas time cyclocross races are a tradition in Europe, but around here they are few and far between, so when I heard that there was going to be one more cross race in Louisville this year, I was excited about doing it.

Cyclo Claus 2009 was a first time event put on by one of the new local bike shops. It was a pretty low key event, which I actually like more than some of the bigger races they have around here.

Winter has finally arrived here in the Ohio valley, and the last two days were pretty typical December days for around here - cold, rain, and some
sleet, so needless to say the course was a wonderful mix of puddles, mud, and slick grass (I think that I ran more in this race than I have in months). The course was a lot of fun to ride, especially the corkscrew design they included. The other thing about the weather is that it seemed to keep a lot of racers away (Kate was openly questioning my sanity as we pulled into the park where the race was held). You can see the course conditions in the first picture.

When I went to sign in I asked how many people had registered for the race and was told a total of 3! My first thought was "Great, I have a shot at a podium finish." However, when start time rolled around, there were only 2 of us standing at the line, but two other guys who had done an earlier were convinced to race again.

The other registered racer took the early lead while I was in second. About a third of the way into the first lap, I passed the other rider and took the lead (I should make it clear that while we were "racing" the whole spirit of this event was for fun). I continued to build a lead for the rest of the race and ended up "winning" (if it can be called that). The highlight of the race was the bottle of beer that I was handed on one of the laps to drink. So, in the end, even though I ended the race muddier than I have been all season, and with frozen toes, it was the most fun I have had at a race in a while (and no, not just cause I won).

Oh, Christmas Tree, oh, Christmas Tree

Well, we finally got our Christmas tree up and decorated last night after Sam went to bed, so this morning was the first time that he had seen it.

His face lit up at all the lights and ornaments.

Now we just have to make sure that he doesn't decide to try to climb the tree.

Sam's Swimming Lessons

Last Saturday was Sam's second week of swimming lessons at the local YMCA. The first week was a little rough for him, as he was uncertain about being in the water, but this week he did great. This was the first week that I was able to go along (I had to work the first week), and it was fun to watch Sam and Kate play and splash in the water.

I did take some videos also that I will post later.

Cyclocross #4

Last Sunday I did my 4th cross race of the season. It was held here in Louisville, and was probably the last race to be held at the River Road Country Club (which as been the home of cross racing here in Louisville for the past several years).

This race I decided to race in the category 3 race, which was a step up from where I have raced the last 2 years. So, I had two goals for the race: not get lapped, and don't finish last. I was successful on both of these goals, and ended up 22nd in the race, as I was pipped at the line by another racer.

Kate and Sam came to watch, though it was pretty cold. The two pictures of Sam are during and then after the race. He was much happier in the car when he had a chance to warm up.

Here are a couple Tokyo street pics. Lots of single speeds on the streets and most of them cool. Their owners are usually proud of them and are happy if I ask to take a picture. This guy explained to me how he put together the bike from an old Fuji frame (back when Fuji was Japanese-owned) and how gold parts aren't necessarily expensive parts.

Sam in his Grampy's Sun Glasses

These were taken a little while ago, but I am only now getting around to putting them up here.

New Sam Vids

Sam thought it was hilarious to feed his dad cheerios.



Sam and his mom lighting the Advent candles.

Season's Greetings From Mulberry St.

Southern Indiana had its first snow fall last night, and while the total accumulation was only about an inch, it nice to see white roofs again. Being a Monday, I did not have to go into work until noon, so Sam and I took the dogs for a walk this morning, but we did not get out early enough to see a lot of snow before it started to melt, we were lazy and slept in until 8:00 (though Sam woke up 5 times the night before), but still here are a few pictures from the walk.

I rather think I'd post more often if I had a Sam or a bamboo bike, but with neither I'm left posting more pictures of beer. This is Hitachino Nest Beer's Commemorative Ale. I think it commemorates the new year. They say the use only the finest premium hops and flavor the beer with cardamom and orange peel. I was expecting hints of Lucia buns and Christmas rye bread, but mostly it just tasted like beer. Good beer. Bitter beer. Strong beer. But still beer.

Bamboo Cyclocross

A few years ago, I posted a picture of a bamboo frame. I have seen alot more information about such frames since then (there are even instructions out on the Internet on how to build a bamboo frame yourself), but I had never seen a bamboo frame built into a complete bike meant for racing before now. Tayler Wren a elite racer here in the US is racing a bamboo/carbon fibre composite bike this fall. It certainly makes for an interesting looking bike.

The whole story is on the cyclingnews website.

More of Sam

Sam and Ben eating Cheerios

Sam's Sweater

As you can see, Sam is quite pleased with the new sweater that his mom just finished for him. He says that it is his favorite sweater, and also loves the buttons from Japan.

As the weather has gotten colder, Sam and Kate have taken to bundling up together when we go on walks either that or Kate really needs to call her doctor.

Fall Bike Ride

We have continued to have a very nice fall in the Ohio valley. After spending most of last weekend replacing the our wall that was leaking, this weekend, I was able to get a nice 25 mile ride in on Sunday. The temp was in the mid-50s and it was a bright and sunny day.

It was nice to not be riding my trainer, and to ride some roads that I have not ridden in a while.

These are a few pictures that I took during the ride.

Dad's Trek

Hey, thought it was about time that we had a post about a bike.

When I talked to Dad this weekend, he was excited because his old Trek was finally back from being repaired by Matt Assenmacher and he could start to rebuild it (including the world's most widely traveled Cinelli stem - see old posts for more information). He sent me a couple of pictures of the repaired frame, and actually you cannot even tell broke. The short story is that the frame had cracked at the seat tube/seat stay junction when the caps on the seat stays are brazed to the seat lug. Luckily Dad was able to get his old high school class mate to fix it for him, and the painter did an excellent job matching the original paint.

New Sam Videos

Sam is starting to stand up on his own and learning to balance himself better and better each day.



This second video is from yesterday and he is already able to stand up for a much greater amount of time (also you can hear me nailing in the background as I rebuild the wall in our TV room).



He also loves to stand and hold onto his sit and spin, which we bought at Goodwill, and are already getting annoyed with the music.

I was screwing around on the computer tonight and came up with these montages. I know it seems like I have WAY too much time on my hands, but I assure you that I was in the middle of an attempt to create Post Modern Photography for my workshop. Collage is all postmodern and all that, as is the internet, as is irony and humor. And kitsch. Kitsch seals it. There's no doubt these are as postmodern as they come.

Argh, Maties

Sam celebrated his first halloween in grand swashbuckling style. He was the scourge of Utica as he pillaged numerous houses of their candy treasure and stole a few hearts in the process, though in true pirate fashion he shared his sugary booty with his loyal first and second mates (as pirates truly were democratic, if a little blood thirsty).

Sam Crawling

Here are a few new videos of Sam. He has really mastered the art of crawling, and is going places now.

These are just a few more shots at the races

Sam was thrilled with the blow-up seats that they had at the concession tent, he thought they were just so cool.

Here he is during the constume contest.

And one more of me from the race on Saturday, just coming into the start/finish area for the last time.

Back to the Important Stuff

That being, posts about Sam!

Kate and I are now starting a new phase in our lives - our child is mobile. Sam is no longer stationary, he is moving. Just last week he started to take a few tentative shuffles towards crawling, but by this last weekend, he was ready to go. He is still not crawling great distances, but he is certainly moving in that direction.

Videos from the Grandprix

Here are some of the videos that I took of the pro mens race on Sunday.

The Start



First Lap



Railroad Ties Run-up



Barriers

US Grand Prix of Cyclocross

This weekend was the US Grandprix of Cyclocross stop here in Louisville. It is the single biggest cross weekend in the area, and there is racing on both days and this year was the muddiest year so far. I raced both Saturday and Sunday and by the end of both races was completely covered in mud and grime.

Saturdays race was one of the hardest cross races I have ever done due mainly to all the mud. Like the last two years, the races were held on an old golf course, so the courses were pretty flat. My race Saturday was okay, not a great race, I finished 28th on the day was content with that as I did not get that great of a starting position.

On Sunday, though I did have a better starting position and got off to a pretty good start, but crashed about a quater of a mile into the race when I wiped out on a ditch crossing that was filled with mud. The course had dried off a little bit from Saturday, though there were still lots of muddy areas, and I also learned that it is just as hard to ride through day old mud as it is to ride through fresh squishy stuff. After my crash, I thought that I was going to end up somewhere in the 50s, but then I heard a spectator yell at another race by me that they were in 29th place. By the end of the race I had moved up to 19th, even with another crash on the last lap.

Mom, Dad, Britta, and Matt were all down this weekend, so the four of them, along with Kate and Sam came out to cheer for me both days. On Sunday, we came back to watch the professional women and men race. It was amazing to see how talented and fast they are.

But far more exciting for us, was the Halloween costume contest that they had on Sunday. We brought Sam's costume along and dressed him (he is a pirate for those of you who don't know), and he got picked to be part of the contest, and he won. He even got his picture (well, sort of) on cyclingnews.com, a major cycling website. This was far cooler than any of my racing from the weekend.

I took some videos of the races, and will post somethem soon.