Funky

Just some fun/funky stuff on my work bench.

- JB

Mavic

This was a first for me....Changing a broken carbon spoke on a set of Mavic Cosmic Carbone Wheels. The spokes were very different (ran the whole diameter of the wheel) and you had to almost completely remove the tension from the wheel and rebuild it in a way. I replaced two spokes (which is actually 4) and had to completely retension the wheel. It was very interesting how the wheel was built and designed....an over, over, under, under cross pattern. This was a fun project. I love wheel building and playing with stuff I've never worked on before. Mavic has some very cool and durable wheels...check them out.

- JB

The Hills

7 a.m. was a little early for Andy



Andy cruisin



Having a chat...like old mates...



Up on some ridge in Athens, IL



Some really cool, narrow, hilly road



Zoom in and see if you can find Andy...huge hill!

Mr. Andrew Lister and I met at the park at 7 a.m. for a longer ride. Took some new roads out to Petersburg and Athens, IL where we encountered many challenging hills. I thought I wasn't in Illinois anymore because it was such different terrain. The heat was very bad and our jerseys were heavy with sweat. Needed to refuel and get more electrolytes a few times. Got some good hill riding in and had some good company along the ride. Riding 70 miles with a Cat 1 rider in the hills....not the easiest day of riding, but...its good for you! Great ride and very cool route that I plan on riding many more times this year. Cooler weather is on the way!

- JB

Mr. Baumman

Craigy



Ska

My good friend Craig, who is currently in Durango, CO sent me a house warming gift to my new apartment. And...what better gift to give than beer! Thanks buddy...Miss you much, keep up the riding this summer!

- JB

NG111? or Fattys100

The bus



People starting to arrive



The most interesting man in the world...



Getting ready for the toast



The toast of Spotted Cow...the last taste of New Glarus we would have that day



Rolling down Lincoln Hwy



The peleton



Ari and Brian...smooth cruisin



Need I say more?



Road Ranger partying



The troops



Party bus



hahahaha



My Boys

Sunday morning 6:40 a.m. I pull into the parking lot of NCC and see the bus has arrived and a few people are already there. To my surprise my good friend Ari decided to join us with his son from Germany. I eyed his Rapha jersey and he told me I would've stolen it off his back if I had the chance....maybe I would've. Tobie, Frank, Evan, Eric, Hellmut and the NCC crew showed up with smiles on their faces, followed by other close friends including the Nevdal bros, Brian Van, Gumby, Mr. Joel Stafstrom, some Blackhawk riders, and some other acquaintances (sorry if I spelled names wrong...or words for that matter). We toasted some spotted cow and got rolling. The skies were looking dark and grey but the tailwing at the time felt good and the first 25 miles were fast. Sprints were had and legs were kept spinning. Around mile 40...the rain started. We got soaked and saw lots of lightening in the skies....which was "a little off putting". We pushed on with Tobie's father behind us in the bus incase anything happened. Around mile 50 a state trooped stops our group and tells us that Tobie's dad is stopped and can't drive the bus cause he does not have the proper license. So, we waited for Gumby to catch up because he had the CDL license which is required to drive a truck (not a bus). So, unknowingly Gumby rides back with the pig to the bus and realizes that his license wont work either. Meanwhile, the rest of us are eating lunch and drying off at Jake Nevdal's home (thanks again buddy). We ate, dried off, and decided what the next move was. The piggy told us he didn't know what Wisconsin would do if they caught us without the right license but we were welcome to try it. Well the wind was out of our sails at this point and Gumby didn't want to lose his job (smart)...so we headed 30 miles back the way we came into a horrible headwind. The hills seemed harder and longer than before, the pace was pushed faster and faster as the miles started flying by, and before we knew it we hit 100 miles. So, we ended up at a road ranger parking lot in Rockford drinking high life and talking about the days activities. The night ended with a bus ride (buzzzzzed) to Fattys in DeKalb, where more eating and drinking occured. We said our goodbyes and will look forward to hopefully making it to NG next year. Great to see all my DeKalb friends and ride with some familiar faces, catch up on life, ride hard, drink beer, and have a great day. Thanks to everyone that helped out and had fun with us! - JB

Funday

Early morning riding



Arising from the sunshine



The salacious six...minus me



A "Rob Landers" Route



For Ari

Met Dave B, and Andy B at Washington Park at 6 a.m. did a lap and then we headed out to meet Ray C, the Haltermaniac, and Rob Landers. Decided to head to Loami, then Virden/Thayer area, then back through Auburn. Ended up holding a good average pace of over 20 mph and threw some sprints in the mix. Rob got us lost and we had to hike and bike over some road that was being built through the sand and clay (realllll good on speedplay cleats). Ended the day with 75 miles, and enjoyed some beers and sunshine with some friends afterwards....good Sunday. Also, decent 220 mile week, 125 miles being commuter miles. Good prep for the NG111 coming up in a week. Have a good week, dont die of heat exhaustion....

- JB

A bit of everything...

Kids doing backflips off of the bridge



Giant's hot new graphics




Mavic gave me a Carboner





To the naked eye....






When hit with a flash or light...its reflective!

So, I rode to work today and saw kids jumping off of the bridge and watched them jump in a few times and thought man remember when I did stupid stuff like that....and then thought, ohhh wait, I still do! Haha, anywhoo...Giant has hot new graphics on their 2011 bikes, and Mavic has some really cool wheels out (including a new tire line....which is made by Vittoria).

- JB

NOKON

Nokons



This looks like a squid or something



This is how it all starts

Before I started working at Wheel Fast, I never had touched a set of Nokons in my life. I had seen them and thought they were cool (and expensive) but never worked with any. It seems like we install a set of Nokons a week down here and I have tried to talk to Matt (the bossman) into buying stock in the company since we are always giving them business. Anyhow, they are smooth friction free braking and shifting and add a nice color accent to your bicycle. Check them out!

- JB