More Downieville

Still not sure if I'll try and re-sign up for the Downieville Classic.

Last Fridays' sillyness of spending an hour in front of my computer only to get shot down while trying to spend $190.00 as fast as possible still has left a nasty aftertaste. (even after trying to wash it out with beer) And for what?? As if my chances of getting into this thing weren't hard enough, it's trumped by the fact that it would endeed be the "ultimate sufferfest" resulting in a snot encrusted top tube, white salt soaked helmet straps and some seriously dirty socks.

Still though.... could be fun.

neat

This kid's got way too much time on his hands.

ridiculous

If you were one of the countless riders (like me) swearing at your computer and cursing Yuba Expeditions while feverishly trying to guess a creative passcode while trying to register for the Downieville Classic last night... you're not alone. The "recent review" thread on the registration site was hilarious though. I'm guessing that Greg Williams (event promoter) had a bit of an uneasy sleep last night after a shit storm of online bickering, threats and other silliness took place immediately after registration opened.

The scenario went like this: While attempting to register online for the race you were prompted for a "passcode". Funny thing was (not really funny, more metaphorically funny), no passcode existed to the public. At about 8:05 a thread was posted in the "recent review" section of the registration site that the passcode was "trailstewerdship". I (along with 1,000's of other riders) typed in the passcode on my form and clicked the submit button. The system was so jammed up that orders weren't going through and by the time I refreshed the page, everything was sold out.... just like last year.

Sooooo, I read this morning that the event promoter is claiming last nights mayhem was a mistake and registration will officially take place NEXT Friday night instead. Meh. Honestly, the prestige and overall feel of the race has a funny feel.... and smell... kinda like ?????

Remember...

..... registration for the Downieville Classic is TOMORROW, Friday the 19th @ 8:00PM sharp.
Registration is through active.com I'd have your account all set up with those guys if you're at all serious about getting into the all mountain class.
Even website here.
Active dot com here.
Good luck.

Mighty Life

Life at Mighty Mobile continues apace. The snow I've been skiing the past week has once again made the doors to my service van inaccessible requiring me to do some shoveling. Never know when I'll need parts.

Also got a good head start on my taxes. Blah. This is always a time of love/hate. Mostly hate. In one way it's neat to see what I've done with my money throughout the summer. And in another way, it's scary to see what I've done with my money throughout the summer.

Also dedicated today to check in a couple of orders that arrived last week. All the parts for a Blur LTC build and some misc Campy parts from Sinclair to finally get that lever rebuilt.

Made a few calls and rolled right into the Campy lever rebuild. Got somewhat concerned when I realized that this diagram.....

.... looked nothing like the internals on this lever.... apart... on my bench.

I put the diagram to better uses (a coaster for my coffee cup) and carefully disassembled the shifter cleaning and inspecting all the amazement that is Campy. Seriously. This stuff's cool. A company that continues to actually makes parts serviceable even in today's "planed obsolescence" business mindset. It's amazing to see EXACTLY what happens inside a shift lever. While you're "sprinting for that county sign", there are these....
..... these two little springs.

These two little springs keep a ratchet wheel from turning backward as a result of tension from the shifter cable. The ratchet wheel dictates the tension of the derailleur cable thusly keeping the derailleur aligned perfectly with the cogs. After a bajillion or so shifts with the lever, the springs will eventually break (like the one above) because of being bent a bajillion or so times. One spring does a marginal job keeping the derailleur aligned but can allow the ratchet wheel to slip backward allowing the chain to drop down a cog. This can really suck when your counting on things staying together while doing the aforementioned activities on your bike.

Wow. Quite the outline.

Tune in next time for pfun with pfones... the real life story of the Motorola I80s and Y I h8 txtng.

wurdz

"...and it took me back to somethin'

that I lost somewhere

somehow along the way..."

Johnny Cash

Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down