The Blog Within

“Too big to fail” is a mantra we’ve been hearing from the liberal congress and dictator president for the last several months. What this means is that any one of several corporations, such as General Motors or AIG, in the event of becoming insolvent, would have a negative impact on the economy of the entire world.

While this idea has merit, I feel that throwing trillions of dollars of our money at these corporations to bail out their poor business decisions is just the wrong way to go about it.

I would posit that the US economy is too big to fail. How about we take all that bailout money that is currently being pissed away on foreign banks like Deutsche Bank and give it back to us, the American People. Then WE will decide who deserves a bailout by the nature of where we spend it. WE will buy stuff which will help the economy as a whole and help a large number of ailing businesses. WE will decide that maybe Ford or Honda runs things better than GM by nature of which company we buy cars from.

Would GM fail? Maybe. Would it kill the whole economy when they then filed chapter 11? Probably not, as the rest of the economy would be charging along with all that cash we the people would be spending, which would allow the problems of GM, AIG et al to be absorbed into the larger picture.

So if the bailouts won’t really work as intended, i.e. fix GM, AIG and the economy as a whole, why do it? Because the goal of our present administration is not to fix these things, but rather to grow the power and influence of the government far beyond where it should ever be allowed to reach.

Don’t believe me? Then why did Obama just demand that the CEO of GM step down? If we allow the government to proceed down this course, there will be a lot more of that to come, and not just at the corporate level, but individual rights will become subject to executive decree as well.

It seems we will be getting a foot or so of snow tomorrow. All this 70° and 80° sunny weather has spoiled us!

I am planning to sucker talk someone into riding Kokopelli’s Trail with me this fall, probably in October.

There is an excellent guide, The Kokopelli Trail Mountain Bike Guide, by Alex Hearn that has in-depth descriptions of the trail, mileages, obstacles, camping options and maps. It includes all the information you need to plan this 142 mile epic mountain bike journey and it is even spiral bound for ease of use on the trail.

This book has been out of stock at Amazon for as long as I have been aware of its existence. I have also checked used book sites, Craigslist, the library, ebooks, etc. and have been unable to find it anywhere.

Tonight, on a whim, I checked Amazon.com and it was IN STOCK! However, it showed there was only one left…YIKES!

Fortunately I have shopped at Amazon before and all my info is saved, so with just a couple of mouseclicks, it is mine!

Now, are there any idiots volunteers who want to ride this trail with me? :D

Boxer briefs somehow manage to combine the least comfortable aspects of boxers and briefs into one convenient package.

I made a deal with Ava today that if it 1) stopped snowing, 2) the sun came out and 3) got to 40º that we would go for a bike ride along the Cherry Creek Trail. All three criteria came to pass within the next 20 minutes, so off we went.

Ava got her first crash of the season out of the way, doing a dirt jump. She was extremely mad, but she got over it and we went on.

All in all, it wasn’t a long ride, just long enough for both of us to stretch our legs on the dirt and for me to fiddle with fine tuning some adjustments.

As for the the bike:

• The XTR rear derailleur shifts far smoother than any I have ever used before.
• The XT front derailleur needed some slack taken out of the cable. Did that when I got home and now it is silky smooth too.
• I obsessed over the saddle, and finally got it where I want it, until the next ride at least…
• I adjusted one shifter a bit and now they are both perfect.
• I figured out the travel adjustment on the brake levers and got them to a very comfortable level.
• Matt and I put too much oil in the fork and it has almost no travel. I will need to remove some before the next ride.
• The steerer tube obviously needs to be shortened. A lot. But I need to get a star nut installer tool first.

Component adjustments aside, this is the first time I have ever owned a bike that actually fits me, and it is amazing how much comfort and control that allows.

On the way back, I rode down a retaining wall by the creek. I used to do it on my hard tail, but it’s much more comfortable on the new full suspension! (Ava took this photo, by the way)

And now it is snowing, so I’m glad we got out and rode when we did…

The new mountain bike is all done. This bike sold new for $3,600.00, so how did I do by purchasing the frame used, and then scouring the internet for parts?

Let’s see:

It came to a little more than I had originally planned, due mostly to me splurging on the awesome hydraulic brakes. Had I bought the Avid BB7 mechanical disc brakes as I had originally intended, the total would have been right around $1,000.00.

Either way, I now have a mint condition, full suspension bike for about 1/3 the original retail price!

I rode it around Matt’s parking lot and down some stairs last night after we finished it, and it is AWESOME!

Weather and time permitting, the plan is to take it for a ride with Ava after work, and then to Hidden Mesa Sunday afternoon.

One of the blogs I follow, WebUrbanist, focuses on art and architecture. Their most recent post has a number of weird concept bicycles from around the world. As a cyclist myself, I found it fascinating. Here’s the link, maybe you will too!

Cycling Into the Future – WebUrbanist.com

The parts have trickled in, and all are finally here, so this weekend I worked on installing everything,  which is when I found out what I was still missing.

I knew I would need a bottom bracket tool, which turned out to be a $22.00 purchase. My LBS charges $20.00 to mount a bottom bracket and crankset so I went ahead and saved $2.00 and some time there.

The wheels, tires, cassette and brake rotors were no big deal.

The stem, handlebars and seatpost/saddle are all in place. I need to cut about 2” off the top of the steerer tube when I get a chance, and I need to pick up a bottle of rubbing alcohol for installing the grips.

The shifters and derailleur cables were no big deal, and the front derailleur is functional. The rear however has an issue. It is clearly a 9-speed XT model, yet its range of motion seems to only cover about 7 1/2 gears. I have no idea why, but I found a slightly used XTR on Craigslist for $50.00, and am picking it up today. Since I upgraded the 8-speed cassette on my hardtail to an 11-32, it needs a new derailleur, so I will use the weird XT there.

I also discovered that my Formula brakes did not include the mounting bolts and washers that it should have. I contacted the seller and he is sending them to me, as well as selling me a front IS adapter that it turns out I need.

Once these minor details are worked out, and I get the fork filled with new oil, (the missing foot nut is already replaced) it should be ready for its maiden voyage!