The Angry Owner Blog

The official angry owner interbike blog will follow…maybe today…maybe not. It was a great time…and a lot of hard work. We’ll be back next year…but until then….
Props to my man Josh. A team rider, a sexy man, a good friend. He now has the title of largest rock gash I have ever seen in my 15 year career of repairing bicycles. Riding along Round valley, in the ‘loose’ section by old ranch road….and all of a sudden you hear that air leaving the tire sound…But its not loud and its really short. Meaning, HUGE puncture, right. Well dear friends, what happens when the rock rides off the rim and slashes the sidewall at the bead like some sort of horror movie villain? Well, Brian had some duct tape, and we were off and rolling after a sidewall repair. About 20 min later, the 2 inch gash was 3 or 4. Jesus Fucking Christ? Whats a man to do. The group toyed with the idea of just calling it a day and everybody walking it in. After all, we weren’t that far out. But, hey, one more try wouldn’t hurt. So, we stuff the rest of the little duct tape roll and 2 wrappers inside that tire just so, and lo and behold, we all made it back into town. Yippie. Some days you win, some days you loose…and I’ll take all the wins I can get. Check out the rock gash in the tire.

So, today I had every intention of doing the cross race…then Jason Jones calls up and says, ‘hey, doesn’t a 3 hr ride on your new wheelset and fork sound better?’. He’s right. I hear the cross race was fun - at least Jesse said so. On and off showers and thank our Heavenly Father we didn’t get rained on too bad or lighteninged on too bad.
What can I leave you with while I’m at interbike spending my shops money?
How about this..from our man Chad……in Durango…and yes, its for real.

We have a new $5 fine for whining….and yes. it applies to employees and shop owners alike.
Long week, lots of cool stuff. Let me tell you dear friends, there is nothing like the smile on a persons face when they get their new bike or wheelset. Really, its magic.
And if your wondering what kind of products get smiles. Here are the two custom wheelsets from yesterday…I was so inspired, I just ordered a pink hubset for the shop single speed…bitches.

Yesterday I was angry. Angry that I worked all day at the shop and didn’t do a lick of downhilling. Well dear friends….two things. First off, things are all caught up at the shop AND the lines yesterday at Deer Valley were out of control.
So, I got to stand in line today at DV. Still, it was fun…very fun.
Tour de Suds was today. Big thanks to the Mountain Trails Foundation….all the participants, costumed or skinsuit - I still drank more beer than you before the start. Actually, it was great. I got to ride up with Jeff K and Ryan, Dharma Wheels team members, and people whom I never get to ride enough with. Thats the great thing about cycling, it brings people together.
Anyway, here is a pic of our little set up at 8:30 in the morning.

Just thinking about 2009…..
In a SSWC sort of way.

Tour de suds tomorrow…and you bet your sweet ass I’ll have pictures.
And no, I’m not doing the ‘race’….its Deer Valley’s last DH day…and I’ll be leaving vapor trails.

Just wanted you to enjoy that.
Today was nice. 3 custom builds….and a couple of swaps. I’m a little tired. Had to break out the breaker bar for one of the swaps.
Tour de suds Sunday, 10am. I’ll be there providing fine service and beer.

For those of you who don’t know, Dr. Bob and Freddie’s office in in Antimony, Utah…and we go down there to pull teeth…fix bikes….and ride our Mule. What is a mule you may ask? Well, unless you’re a fucking retard, its 1/2 horse and 1/2 donkey. Sheeza, our sweet girl (Sheeza 10…really) is a Molly, or female mule (sterile) from a Jack Ass and a horse.
So, we went down on Saturday to Antimony. It was great.
We took trail rides and hikes by the river. Super nice.

And then we came back sunday to downhill…of which I have no pictures of.
So, back to the grind on Monday. Lots of wheels to build, frames to build up…and teeth to fix my dear friends.

This is it dear friends…the story of the Single Speed World Championships 2008….And I know its late and there are lots of other blogs up. But I’m a busy man, and that’s just how it goes.
So, Kim and I almost didn’t go to worlds….Yeah, I didn’t get all the bicycle ordering/payroll/checkbook balance/etc done. And, we worked until 9pm Thursday. Fun? right?
Friday morning, 3:30am. Rise and shine cupcake. Get the business end done…working…working…working..working. Guess what, we have to go into the shop real quick….So we pack, hit the shop, and hit the road at 11:30….thank god we gain an hour.
I’ve never been west of the great salt lake in a car. I think its neat…many people think it sucks, so whatever. All I know is we show up at the Travelodge at about 10pm. Excellent place. Right in town and cheaper than many other places. Napa is a real neat town. They have a little concert going in the park. I start seeing people in cycling caps and I start giving them dirty looks. Then, we go to Downtown Joes, the only bar you need to know in Napa. The cycling crowd separates itself and starts interacting. We meet some super cool British cyclists who are here for worlds. SUPER cool folks. Many non Utah beers later, its time to go.
Let the pics begin. So, after an incredible breakfast at Downtown Joe’s, we hit the bar…..

Just a quick Black and Tan to get us ready for the race course pre ride.
This trip was a vacation too after all, so we rode through a vineyard. It was nice.

So, after our little ride, Troy Rarick and Jason Grove find us on the street and its time to go back to Downtown Joes.

So, in case you didn’t know, the next town for SSWC’s 2009 is Durango, CO. This was decided by the bowling alley and then Ms Packman. Here we are (Troy with Jasons Highwheeler) at the bowling alley.

Then, as usual, things turn into a demolition derby. And unlike road racing, the bigger you are, the harder you fall.

After screwing off for about a half an hour….its back to Downtown Joes. Here is the parking job.

Jesus Sov……Defend Minneapolis? Hey, I guess I would.

Jesus Fucking Christ…

So, now its Sunday Sunday Sunday…..race day. And here is our winner (on his first lap). I called Carl’s costume “captain nutsack” You be the judge.

Hey, Troy found us some SSWC wine. Yeah.

Fun Quotes to new people
1. Fan “hey, are you smoking a cigarette before your race?” Brian “What the fuck is it to you?”
2. “its just like road worlds….only different”
3. Fan “What does the winner get” Me “a tattoo.”
4. “British…Scottish…whats the difference?”
5. “Its not about fitness…its about not being a pussy”
Here is my man Chad, who secured Durango as the 2009 location for worlds…

This guy is great. He and his wife own a shop in Australia. Kim and I need to hang out over there. The bike had a car tape player and all the Boston/Asia/Chicago/Kansas you could handle.
There was also some AC/DC, Van Halen and some disco….and this dude knew all the words.

Once again, fellow team Evil member, Sov shows off his…..well…Iowa tattoo….and wrestler mask…and fine physique…One of these years I’m going to do RAGBRAI.

Here are the winners….who both got the tattoos! Yippie!

This was fun…Rather than give prizes to the fittest people….the prizes go to the masses. Here is an arm wrestling match for a custom brazed chair….super neat.

That was about all for the cycling day. As some of you know, I love train travel and its been forever since I’ve been on a train. At Napa, they have a Wine Train that takes to to St. Helena and back. It truly is great. So, we capped the trip with this, got up in the morning, and drove 11 hours back to PC.