Birthday Ride

I got the chance to get out with Doug and my brother-in-law Justin on Monday.  It was a fun ride.  Justin is not a biker by any means, but he definitely held his own out there.  He borrowed the Pug, whilst I rode the Bass.  Fall is quickly speeding toward us as the sleeping Juggernaut of winter will soon follow.  I am trying to get out more often, but it is now getting down to crunch time for my classes and I do not know when I'll have time to get out again.  I apologize for not updating nearly often enough, but life catches us all by the seat of the pants.  Unfortunately my life is the unrelenting mastiff with lockjaw it seems lately.

Motion and Refection

As I sit and reminisce of my late afternoon jaunt into the woods; I reflect on the flash of the slowly fading shades of green as summer starts its timely sweep into the twilight of days gone by.  Where I ride is now starting to become a shattered remnant of its former glory.  Trail maintenance wanes, gravel builds in the bottoms of every turn and berm.  Thanks to Irene many trails have smatterings of chainsaw dust from limbs and felled trees.  As time passes it makes me regret not being out there more; but onward to Fall, my favorite time of year.  As Fall quickly approaches, I cannot wait for the autumnal fireworks of my beloved state.  Flares of red, gold, orange, and dusky browns make me long for the days of my former youth where I frequented the woods with a zeal for the air and not a care in the world feel.  As time goes by one needs to reflect on what it is like to live in the moment again and strive for that wholeness of feeling again.  I cannot wait for my next escape; where I can let the moments wash over me and overwhelm me with the sounds, smells, sounds, and the taste of the cooling air and gliding leaves that make their home on the forest floor to make a soft, though somewhat treacherous carpet to traverse.  I leave you with the ruminations of the changing of the season.

Weep for Vermont

The devastation of this past Sunday due to tropical storm Irene has left The better part of central Vermont in chaotic turmoil.  Several towns within Rutland County are left as isolated islands with little to no contact to the rest of the area.  The city of Rutland was hit, but not nearly as bad a s the surrounding areas.  Clarendon; which is 5 minutes south of Rutland lost 2 bridges on main road ways.  Mendon to Killington is utterly destroyed.  Forget Rt 4 for a while.  Rt 7 for that matter is wrecked north of Rutland.  Waterbury is still under water.  I feel very badly for fellow compatriot George Wissel from Bike29, I hope he and his family are alright!  The photos of much of the area are disheartening a best.  The local infrastructure was phenomenally put through hell and left battered, bruised, and beaten with little hope for a quick recovery.  But, being a Vermonta; means we are resilient and we roll with whatever nature brings and take it in stride.  I will throw back a cold one and think about my fellow locals and how we will pull things together and get most everything back to workable order and be ready for the next round!  Eh-yuht.... that's what I'll do for damn sure!

Rough Landing

I was out tooling around up at Pinehill today with Marv and young Trevor.  Whilst on our usual loop I ended up endo-ing on a climb!?!?  I was pedaling up a climb on Sisyphus and I do not know what the hell happened, but I managed to go ass over tea kettle onto the top of my head, rack my lower elbow/forearm area on rocks, and get wedged between a stand of trees.  I was totally stuck like a turtle and had to be helped up.  I also managed to get a contusion on my calf in the wake of my disaster.  The Pug came out unscathed and probably laughing!  My self-esteem not so much.  I bagged on a video of another rider casing a roll in on some wooden structures and I basically did the same thing, just not on video or on any structures.  Truly came off looking like a putz none the less.  Karma is a mother fucker... a vengeful one at that!

Changing Gears

I don't know how many Pug owners have had this problem, but getting the damn front derailleur to shift and not rub the tire is not an easy feat.  I really don't know if I have gotten the bugs worked out, maybe I'm heavy and can lay down enough torque to flex the frame during my pedal strokes.  I get a rrrr...rrrr...rrrr on every pedal stroke whilst climbing.  It is fracking annoying.  I finally nailed the adjustments down for the rear derailleur so it no longer ghost shifts.  Hopefully Thursday I'll get out for a ride!  I'm jonesing to get out and ride.  It'll have been almost two weeks since I last rode.  I'm out... Peace!

A little change of pace...

Today I went out to Pinehill on my Kona Bass.  Since Pinehill has a new freeride-ish feature with the Lunch rock tabletop.  I figured I 'd session it.  I went out with Marv and had a blast.  Man I thought the Bass was going to suck since I have it setup with a 36t front ring and DMR Moto R/T tires, but I was pleasantly surprised at how well it handled.  I only had one sketchy washout with  the front end and I was getting my drift on in many of the turns and berms.  All in all it was a hoot.  Couldn't get enough speed on the roll in to get a good launch, but it was a fair outing none the less.  I think I managed to peeve Doug off a little though.  The Bass has essentially sat at the PHBS all season trying to be sold and no takers, I swapped some parts and showed some interest in riding it since I think I never really gave it a good shake down this spring.  I think with some minor mods, it would make a great short travel AM rig.  Next time out I'll roll on the Pug, I think the Pug is helping me develop better body english since I started riding it.  This is all for now!

Getting Caught Up

Since my last post I went out on two adventures on the Pug.  Last Wednesday I went out with some of my boys up to Pinehill and had more than my share of mechanical issues.  My shift cables stretched and both derailleurs kind of crapped out.  The front wire ended up slipping off altogether at one point.  The rear skewer slipped as well while going through a rock garden and the damn contemptible rear derailleur was ghost shifting all over the place.  I had fun minus the mechanical difficulties.  I even hit the table top feature off of Lunch Rock!  I made Marv look like a punk ass, since he has all kinds of suspension and never uses it.  I would seriously start to reconsider  going being hardcore and building all out freeride bikes if I only slightly rode aggressively on some singletrack trails.  Just me; not wanting to look like a poser, pretending to be a downhiller!

This past Saturday I went out on the Pinehill Bike Shop ride that my buddy Doug puts on every Saturday at around 4:30 -5 o'clock.  Had a blast railing berms and drifting corners on the Pug.  I had a pinch flat on the Pug coming down Overlook.  I  flatted the rear like a boss!  I was keeping up with Doug and Marv and blasting through the bottom section when I heard PFFFFFTTT!  Ah shit I didn't do what I thought I just did, FACK!!!!  I can attest to the fact that flatting on a Pugsley will ruin your day.  First, its a flat tire; second, The tubes are bloody expensive; third, the bead on the standard tires is like trying to pry off a truck tire; fourth, I have never had to use my Pedro's tire levers, good for small, normal, skinny mountain bike tires, and not so much for the combo of the Endomorph and Large Marge rim, it was like trying to use cooked spaghetti for chopsticks; finally, it takes a freaking long ass time to pump up  the tires on a Pugsley with a mini-pump!  Honestly it was a half hour of my life I'll never get back.  I need to thank Marv for attempting to pump it up after I got winded.  It still took a ridiculous amount of time.  Prior to the ride I spent some time tuning the bike after all the issues I had with it after Wednesday's ride.  I got the rear derailleur to play well with the drivetrain again, but the front derailleur was not as agreeable.  I do believe after looking at Shimano's product line though that The front mech is designed for a 2 ring crankset and not the three that I have on there.  No problem I have a bashring I can swap out for the large ring anyway.  I will never really use the outside ring ever.  The Pug dictates that you enjoy the ride and if you want to ride a Pug fast then there is something wrong with you!

That is all, I say good day!

Wednesday Ride

I got out today to play at Pinehill on the Pugsley.  It was fun to visit with my friend Doug the resident mechanic and only employee of the Pinehill bike shop.  I let him tool around on the Pug prior to setting out on my own loop of my favorite trails there.  He came back grinning, but is still thoroughly engrossed in the DH scene at Killington.  He wants to ride the Pug out on the trails to see if he thinks it will amuse him.  Could he become a possible convert...  only time will tell!  Back to my adventure.  I pedaled my ass off, not really, but you understand.  I really must insist that the bike should be called the Slugsley.  Man that thing is a pig on the climbs.  I did clean quite a few areas I hadn't been able to in the past, which was phenomenally awesome by the way.  I really was stoked to be out riding.  It wasn't till I was halfway home in the car when I realized my face hurt from smiling so much.  I do believe it was the most fun I've had in a long while.  I know that this zen will last for a couple of days and I'm damn happy it will.  At some point I'll have to invest in a camera for taking picture while I'm out riding.  I absolutely had a blast today.  It rained pretty hard yesterday at times and there were quite a few mud holes that I flew through, the flotation was great and the traction was great as well.  Rolled over everything and slung mud better than the best of them too!

Just starting out

I know I am just starting out with this whole blogging thing, but be prepared for the irregularly regular onslaught of my awesome mediocrity.  I only aspire for greatness and rarely make it.  I feel that this is an effective ice breaker in certain circles.  I like to ride my bike and I like to be really cynical about most everything.  One thing that you will hopefully come away with is mild entertainment in my ranting!  Come and see what all the fuss and non-buzz is about at the Fat Pugger.  Ideally, i would like everyone that crosses these pages to follow me and watch my steady progression or decline; whichever fate decides to throw my way at the time.  Hoo-ah the Fat Pugger lives!

Cooliris Added

I have recently added Cooliris to the top of my blog.  If you click the diagonal double arrow icon in the lower right area of the window; prepare for the awe inspiring photo wall!  This is quite possibly one of the coolest things you can put in a blog.  Enjoy!

HEAT

Well, lets start off with it has been hotter than Satan's crotch lately and my fat ass will otherwise melt.  I went for a ride around the neighborhood yesterday, but that is unfortunately the extent to which my riding has progressed since the other day.  The breeze was nice and the air was temperate, so the ride was comfortable and brisk.  Today not so much.  I have not seen hide nor hair of a breeze a better part of the day and the air is stagnant with the filth of the day.  I mowed my lawn earlier and you would have thought I was in Phoenix.  I had every discernible 6 and 8 legged critter jumping on my and it was damn hot and sticky.   Got the lawn mowed and a mild sun burn to boot!  This is a killer heatwave.  I don't mind the heat it is the humidity that accompanies it that sucks the life out of you!

The 1st Ride

Today I went for the first real ride on it since getting it last Thursday.  I went out to Pinehill for a short test loop to make sure everything was all right for the 1st shake down since being built.  Everything checked out, but the chain does rub on the tire on occasion... whenever climbing is involved.  I can live with it.  The ride itself was awesome with the exception of the humidity and the heat.  I can take the heat, but the humidity; like everyone else I can do without.  It rolled great, and the tires offered the right amount of cush.  I am definitely glad i got rid of the Enduro now!  I don't think I'll ever go back to skinny tires again!  I'm hooked for life.  I may need to upgrade to larger rotors though.  The 160mm rotors were a little out matched for my weight, but all in all it was a fantastic ride and I can't wait for my schedule to open up for another ride soon.  Too bad none of my buds were around to ride today, but oh well,  c'est la vie!

Post Build Pictures

I have some picture of the Pug after the completed build.  It is a stock 2011 Pugsley complete.  I'll change some stuff after it starts to go south, but the build spec is reasonable.

It's Here!

I received my piece of cycling bliss at 15:10 this afternoon.  I was actually surprised by the size of the main box. It was large enough for my 3 year old son to fit in and close and to still have plenty of room to move around.  The Pug is all setup right now, with only a couple of changes over stock. 1st, I have to have lock on grips, I hate old-school slide on grips.  So the Pug has an ice blue set of DMR Loc'd grips.  They are a nice feeling grip not too big and definitely cush enough not to cause the dreaded arm-pump.  2nd, I had a set of Specialized Lo-pro mag pedals that I threw on, I prefer flats over clips, but I may change to the M538's, depending on how well this pedals out on the trails.  From my light excursion earlier, I am totally happy with my decision to get rid of the enduro for the Pug.

All Giddy... like a school girl!

I am super excited for tomorrow.  Maybe, just maybe I'll finally get some sleep tomorrow night... after the build and tuning is complete!  Priorities, priorities... I have some projects that have to be completed since little man is going to daycare and I'm home tomorrow.  Please, oh please, mister UPS delivery driver show up in the morning!  I am super stoked for the build, I need some wrenching zen.  I was kind of in a funk letting my enduro go, but onto less damaging and much more enthusiastic riding adventures ahead.  My be it will be the start of a fatbike revolution in the area?  Probably not, though I can be persuasive!

Onward to tomorrow, Thursday, Bloody Thursday!

Thursday... Bloody, Thursday!

It will be Thursday before I can lay eyes on my new love affair!  Four days away from cycling zen and bliss.  Four days is going to be a long work week, waiting and contemplating what I'm going to ride once she is put together.  A man can go crazy in just four days...

It Shipped

It has been shipped as of yesterday.  That is all for now: I say good day!

The Waiting Game

Still waiting for it to ship from UC, the grips I ordered separately are already making their way here and I ordered them yesterday.  C'mon guys send it already! My patience has waned since I have come down with the creeping crud.  I'm just pissing and moaning because I feel like shit!  I hate being sick with something that just takes it out of you by surprise.  I have been consistently running 102 degree fever since yesterday and it hasn't changed much since.  It is just the discomfort.   I'm hot and sticky and the air flow is sucking most of the time...  just feel meh for the most part.  Will be updating about the Pug once I get some more information, like shipping notification!

The Start of it All!

Ha, I finally ordered my Pug!  I've wanted one for a while now.  All it took was mangling my hand and getting possible prolonged nerve damage to get it.  It all started last week when i went for a solo ride out at the Pinehill bike park in RutVegas.  It all started out simple enough.  Prior to this ride I had swapped out the tires on my now sold Specialized Enduro.  I had several rather sketchy and semi disastrous tumbles with the stock tires and poor trail maintenance.  The sad part is that now other than weather conditions leaving the rocks and roots slimy, Pinehill is in desperate need of proper trail maintenance; which led to my many spills this season.  On a trail that was signed off on by the person that heads up the trail maintenance at PHP, I ate it hard when a dirt berm that was a start into a switchback with a newly built wood berm gave out on the high side which in turn spanked me off the ground hard.  The issue is that in order to save my face from being smashed into a rock that was poorly placed in my honest opinion; I put out my hand and mashed 2/3 of my robust 245lbs down on a portion of palm that houses the nerves that control most motor function on the prone side of the palm surface, which almost a week later has yet to regain any sensation other than the half asleep, pins and needles and hot poker feelings when in a flat position.  This is awesome by the way, I have dropped so much stuff as of late it has force my left hand to develop fat cat like counter measures.  Overall general clumsiness.
On to the Pug, I sold my Enduro which will get shipped today or tomorrow out to Tuscon, wish i could ship myself, heaven't been out that way since I was a small boy.  The kid I sold it to made it sound like it is just awesome riding out there.  I guess it is just my want for drier terrain in my neck of the woods.  New England - North America's new rain-forest!  Man so much rain fall this season.  Back to the Pug; I ordered it early this morning from Universal Cycles, I really have a disdain for the lack of availability at many of the shops here in VT.  Buy Local, yeah right!  Sell the stuff we want and we'll buy local!  So hopefully next week it will arrive and in between family, work, and class I'll get into my zen like trance of bike building and get her done and out on her maiden voyage.  I've wanted one ever since a dude dropped one off at my buddy's shop and took it for a spin around the parking lot after it was tuned.  F@$&ing awesome, I was hooked since.  Now 3 years later I'll have one of my own and I'm going to ride the crap out of it, loving every moment in the process.