July 1.  Canada Day.  Happy belated World.

Apparently Canada Day is THE most awesome day to travel from Canada’s (generally) busiest airport.

Team geographer and trail blazer, Craig, was kind enough to arrive on the Court for 0600…saving the Empire two fold.

• Hundreds in parking fees and wasted footsteps.
• The Children of Dingle enjoyed one more hour of sleep.
  Energy that could be expended later, at someone elses expense.  In my absence.

Having worked until 0430 the night prior, the flight was nothing more then a hazy mist of hydration and squinty eyed trips to the tail closet.

A special thank you to the passengers of flight 1037.
You were all generally well behaved.

Arriving to the gate early at DIA left me ample opportunity to collect my goods and drag-ass over to the US arrivals carousels.

For the big job.
The really big important job.

OPERATION: CONTAIN DICKY

Mike McCormack is down to the wire with final plans for the Breck Epic.
The last thing he needs is Carolina’s leading psycling belladonna mashing speed dial…this is where I come in.

DICKY HANDLER.

Despite arriving by US Air, Continental graciously provided ground transportation while on the DIA premises.

A quick shuttle ride to the Hilton Garden Inn and we were able to locate the Subaru.

Word is that Mike had a mini revolt on his hands when he suggested they all draw straws to determine who GOT to pick up the Dicky.
In the best interest of all involved Mike arranged for the Subaru.  Generously provided by Subaru of America…dropped at the neutral third party hotel to avoid any and all unnecessary Dicky contactus.
Understandable.

Thank you.

The Subaru was pretty trick, even if it was Mint.
Dicky promptly called Industry Nine to demand matching wheels.

“Subaru?”
“Yes Dicky?”
“Take me to Moots!”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that Dicky.  You know you aren’t allowed within 50 miles.”
“But I have Peter with me.”
“Dicky I am only a car, please leave me alone.”

Closing 1700.
Arrival 1701.
Just about time.

Too late for a functional tour, we were graciously shown our accommodations and instructed in the ways of corridor security.

This is an actual photo.
An actual real photo.
Really.

Sometimes, despite the rashes and obsessions and tinkering and constant reassertions,  it’s good to be with the Dicky.

This is MY kitchen.  It only gets nicer.
This is NOT Dicky’s room.  That was the nicerest part.

This is Dicky’s room.
This is NOT part of the Moots facility.
That was his corner.
He was ecstatic.
The power bar was violated.

Just when I had concluded that I could live in the kitchen I was directed to the patio.
This is the view.

To the left (not shown) are the trails that will prove to be the testing grounds of ACCLIMATION: 24hrs.

Currently, the three flights of stairs to the loft leaves me breathless.
On all accounts really.

Just how swank are things so far?

Moots recycles frames I would ride.

Incidentally, there was some very real and ethical conversations between Dicky and I concerning this late dumpster discovery (and the Cinelli drop bars buried within).

I confided in a recent email “I am not ready”.

Speaking, of course, about the Breck Epic.

The reply was swift and clear “you never are, you’ll do fine”.

This, obviously, has me more concerned then anything.

Unplanning becomes THE plan.

As I board the plane in the not so distant future KNOW THIS.

I am travelling with THE Lepper.

Fear me.  Love me.

In the past and as per the norm my stage bikes tend to be stout.
All of my (personal) bikes are that way.

Despite starting as singlespeed frames of the highest breeding.
It’s the inevitable suspension, straight gauge spokes, thumper rims, freewheel drive, gigantor tubes and rolls of electrical tape that USUALLY pushes the final tally somewhere in the realm of 28lbs.

Laugh out loud heavy for even most WalMart shoppers.

My partner for TransRockies 2007 (Michael) laughed…but it was I that laughed and laughed again whilst I changed flat after flat for him.  I laughed again in the evenings as I unfolded his waif rim and got to laugh some more when I needed to trued his wheels over and over.
Ha, ha, ha.
No maintenance for me.
Sucker.

To clarify.
I am prone to smashing (this is crashing done better), deathly allergic to ALL forms maintenance (including chain lube) and find those event based mechanics more frightening then Crispin Glover.
Avoidance is my policy and mass indestructibility  is how I deal.

The Breck Epic would be no different.
A veritable downhill rocket.

That’s 12.8kg for the civilized.

That other past weekend I was actually physically befuddled and berated by my indestracycle.

28lbs of indurability is slagging heavy when unpedalling.

As I’ve previously concluded, I’m going to be pushing oodles in Colorado.

• Pushing rarely results in a crash.
  • Crashing causes (psycle) trauma.
  • Trauma necessitates repairs.
  • Repairs that WON’T be made.
  • FAIL or BURLY BUILD.
• No crashing, no trauma, no repairs.
  • Lighter duty psycle.
  • Easier to drag up hill.
  • LESSER FAIL.

Inspired by the great and obsessed tinkerer, I elected to malign mine own personal Breck rig.

Out with the olde:

• Profile Cranks
• White Industries Wheels/Straight Gauge Spokes/Freewheel
• White Brothers Fluid 110
• WTB Stout Rubber

In with the new (but used):

• White Industries ENO Cranks
• Easton XC ONE Wheels/Misfit COD Cog
• White Brothers Rock Solid
• WTB Prowler Rubber

Viable reductions passed over in the name of comfort:

• Misfit Psycles FU Bar/Complete ESI end-to-end Grip
• Misfit Psycles FUgly Stem
• Misfit Psycles FUbu Seatpost
• WTB Rocket V SLT
• Magura Louise BAT

The savings were substantial.

10.3kg…a whopping 2.5kgs on the floor.

This conversion wasn’t all sunshine an lollipops.
As those that know have come to expect, copious amounts of wrenching (by the me) inevitably results in numerous failures, work-arounds and re-dos.

Here are a few:

• Stan’s conversion DOES NOT work on Easton XC ONE rims to WTB Prowler rubber.  The white paste of flaccid death will only serve to stain hardwood floors and carpets as it sputters and spits about the maison when the bead fails to seat.
  FYI, running about flailing the wheel in question only serves to disperse the fluid more rapidly.
• Louise pad replacement.  The concept of using an allen pin to retain the pads may sound like a good idea…the use of lock-tite on the threads of same and the teenie tiny allen key required to remove…well that’s irresponsible.
  FYI, when you run out of pads entirely you CAN use the 2009 Julie pads on Louise…what you are left with is a pile of NEW brakes devoid of pads…basically they were 75$ pads.
• The BB shell on the diSSent (Fe) is 68mm.  The BB shell on the diSSent (Al) is 73mm.  These are different sizes.  They are not, despite my best attempts to ignore this fact, the same.  Thusly, the BB from ONE is NOT interchangeable with the BB from the other.  Fortunately I located an overstock Shimano UN53 in the necessary 68×113.  The (Fe) barfed a little but the installation was otherwise painless.
  FYI, should you decide to swap out cranks and BB’s it is entirely advisable that you consider variances in size prior to going to all the effort to remove and install then stare blankly at the off-kilterness that results.

For the most part that is all.

Yes.
I have that much Misfit Pshite in my garage.
Deal.

If there is a doctor in the house I have been enduring the following symptoms for over a week now:

• Fatigue, drastic debilitating amounts.
• Joint pain.  All of them mostly…dry and crunchy.
• Tight and sore muscles.  Particularly calves, swollen and uncomfortably tight.
• Headache…ceaseless.

Before you criticize my overtraining regiment THAT culminated two weeks ago.  It was resolved following the Marathon.
Rest began on the 15th…or 17th…after the 24 (rather 12) Solo on the 21st at least…

This is trouble.
I might be dying.