fast brad

Saturday

My truck needs to be inspected, but apparently it needs brakes all the way around before they’ll pass it. So, with no racing this weekend, the brakes were on the top of the project list. I figured on just a couple of hours to get it done, and wasn’t far off. The problem with doing a brake job is that you have to tear it all down to make sure you know exactly what parts to get. Of course once it’s all apart, you can’t drive it to pick up the parts.

Everything came apart easily enough, with no surprises—I needed front and rear brake pads as well as front and rear rotors. Tracy had to go into town for a haircut, so I took her car while she was at the salon and picked up the parts at the NAPA store. With that done, I went to hang out at the bike shop until Tracy was all prettied up. Naturally, when I settle in with a cup of tea, the phone rings… she’s done, but then she decides to walk to the shop and have a coffee. Bonus.

When we get home I have to work quickly, we have a wedding to get to in the afternoon. Luckily everything goes back together even more smoothly than it came apart, and I finish with just enough time to get ready to go.

I had been procrastinating for a couple of weeks, putting this off, counting on some expensive/ time consuming surprise, so it was a relief to knock it out quickly. Total cost: $377, with a $50 mail-in rebate, and one bloddy knuckle.

We got to the wedding with about 10 minutes to spare. Pam is a friend of Tracy’s, they ride together a fair bit, and I know Gary from the Sunday Derby. Their wedding was nice, they seated us at the cyclists’ table so we got to learn the names of a few people we see around all the time. Everyone was going out to the casino afterwards, but that’s not my thing—so we were home by 10:30.

When we got home I had a few things to to get ready for Sunday. Ryan invited everyone over, after the Derby to test out the BMX track he built “for his son.” So, everyones has been digging up BMX bikes for the past two weeks. I really don’t need another bike, so I decided to resurrect one of my old mountain racing bikes. The idea was to single-speed it and turn it into sort of a dirt jumping bike. I had to strip all the parts off it and dig through old parts for a riser bar, cassette spacers, tires and an appropriate chainring.

In my search I also found an old Bontrager bass boat glitter green saddle, perfect. One of the old hydraulic brakes had seized, but I had some old spares as well, so the brakes were in good shape. I found a 36t chainring and crank, that paired with the 18t cog I had, should be about right. Some other odds and ends out of the bin, cassette spacers, tires, riser handle bar and grips. I get everything together around 1:30—I’ll just have to stop at the shop for flat pedals and a short stem.

Sunday

So, it’s off for fiftty miles in the AM, including a solid Derby effort, then over to the shop. The guys at SMC are great, when I ask Taylor about some BMX pedals he says I can have his—he’s putting different ones on his SS anyway. So pedals, check! I find the shortest stem they have and I’m ready for BMSchneX—the new name for anything involving Ryan’s Schnecksville BMX track/backyard.

When I walk around the back of Ryan’s house, I’m struck by three things: 1. it’s smaller than I thought, 2. it’s bigger than I thought and 3. my god, his wife is a saint.

The track is narrow. Most of the track is three to four feet wide, I was picturing six to eight, so head to head competition will be tight. On the other hand, the track takes up more than half of his back yard—and all of his side yard.

We walk the course discussing lines, transitions, rhythm, momentum, gaps—like we know what the Eff we’re talking about. A few sections are run, some dirt is moved around, and eventually we got to try to burn a couple of laps. Ouch. One lap, around sixty seconds, had nearly everyone out of breath. That’s beside how it felt in the legs. Holy crap, this hurts, I don’t feel so good about my fitness now.

Eventually we get to what happens with a handful of cyclists, who race road, track, cross and mountain bikes, on a BMX track. Competition. First it was single lap time trials, Steve was fastest on a Cannondale BMX bike with full face helmet. Then is was timed beer chug, plus the single lap time trial, which I think Keith won due to superior chug technique. Then we got to the 10 lap, BMX, Madison, absolute chaos. Someone made the rule that after the exchange the rider going out could cut the course anywhere, to get to the next exchange. So at any time, someone could be riding cross course with riders bearing down on them. There were more than a couple girlish screams.

At some point Steve went straight over the turn one berm, like a ramp, and disappeared from view momentarily—only to re-appear, airborne and upside down, flying into a pine tree. Kuklix simply could not master one turn, sliding over the top with his childhood Mongoose, set up more to look cool as a teenager then to actually function properly. Matt brought a 29er that was simply too long to make it around the tight track. And my makeshift bike worked great, except hat the chain kept falling off anytime I really pushed it. With vertical dropouts I had no adjustment and it was just a tad too loose. I’ll fool with it some more, I think I need to gear it a little lower anyway.

I left a little early and missed the ring of fire event later in the evening. Apparently, someone had the brilliant idea to soak the course with gas, light it up and ride the ring of fire. Everyone survived, but Matt’s Niner frame got singed a little when he dropped it in the fire. Seems like I miss all the fun.