I'm Nervous...

...because tomorrow afternoon is a tele-conference with my doctor in SF. We're expecting that he'll finally have enough information from all the tests to decide on a course of action, and if so, when we can do the deed.

I see it going one of two ways - either it'll be a simple arthoscopic surgery with minimal downtime, or it's a major, open up the back for 6-8 inches and fix a bunch of things with a 3-4 month recovery.

Of course, there IS a third option - unable to pinpoint the problem, so more tests and attendant delays in treatment.

I just want to get it over with and get back to being pain-free...

Whole lotta shakin' goin' on?

When I read about the newly discovered fault in Arkansas the other day, it got me to thinking about quakes around here as well.
I live in one of the most seismically active areas in the country, right next to the Mendocino Triple Junction of the North American, Pacific, and Gorda tectonic plates. Not that I don't have reminders every day. Here's a sign that sits in front of Kinetic Koffee.
Somehow, I always feel a little better when I pass one of these signs. This one is on US 101 climbing away from Moonstone Beach.

And I somehow feel a little more nervous when I ride past this one.

Be safe out there...

What is that bike?

I have had a few people ask about the bike in my header. It's a frame I built back in the mid 80's when I worked for Santana Cycles in Claremont, CA. The head builder taught me how to braze and this was my first attempt. It's a track frame made of Columbus Multi-Shape tubing and entirely fillet brazed. Every tube is a differnt shape, from the teardrop shaped down tube to the left chainstay's triangle shape and the right chainstay's oval/round cros-section. Why didn't I just pick a set of round tubes for my first complete frame? I don't know; I thought I might as well try something a little more difficult, I guess. I had the painter at Santana paint it the same color Imron as the Arriva S racing tandem. Sadly, I screwed up the geometry and the seattube ended up far too slack for use on the track (it's conical and I lined up the jig on the back side, giving about a 68 degree angle). So it's a fixie these days.

If there's interest, I'll post more pictures of it.

Back behind the Redwood Curtain

I spent the weekend in the Bay Area, attending a reunion of ex-Specialized employees. Man, it was so great to see so many faces from my memories. Specialized was not always a fun place to work (many have called it "Pressurized"), but I have many fond memories of the place and especially the people. I still see many of them at Interbike each year, but others have moved away from the industry. There were many I hadn't seen in 10 years or more!

I had hopes of seeing a couple of my old outside rep partners, especially Dave and John, but neither was able to make it.

I was supposed to see my doctor while I was down there, but the local imaging center did not send the last x-rays to him to review. Maybe I am not understanding, but to me, when a doctor orders x-rays, I would think that the doctor would want them to be sent right away. Somehow this escaped the logic of the office, and they had simply filed them away, waiting for a phone call, I guess, to send them on. Dumb, dumb, dumb...

Anyway, the last few days have been spectacular here in Humboldt. Clear, calm, and unseasonably warm - in the 60's! I took an hour out of the day yesterday to go for a ride and it felt GREAT! Usually in January, it's cold and usually overcast and raining. And the Aleutian geese are migrating in huge flocks right now. Many of them land in the marsh behind the roastery. What an incredible din as they honk at each other.

And a redtailed hawk was watching them carefully from on top of a temporary structure built by World Shelters. We may incorporate part of a shelter into our booth at Interbike this year. Stay tuned for more...

Finally, here is your sunset du jour. Enjoy.

So much for New Year's Resolutions

It seems to be hard to make the time to write this thing! That said, I have been spending WAY too much time on Facebook recently. It's been a lot of fun reconnecting with old friends and such, but it really eats into the time that I could spend working on this!

I got involved with Facebook due to a fun event that I'll be attending this weekend in San Jose, the X-SWorkers reunion, a gathering of former Specialized Bicycle Components employees. It's being organized on Facebook, so it just made sense to start using it. It looks like over 50 folks will be there - I am excited to see them! I'm bringing a bike, since the weather is suppose to cooperate. It'll be good to ride some of the old roads after so many years in Arcata.

The holidays were full, with Kevin coming home from NC for a week, and all the madness of the season. It was especially stressful for me since it rained almost every day, so I couldn't ride outside, and Kev was staying in the guest room/workout room so the trainers had to be put away for the duration.

Here are the obligatory holiday snapshots for your viewing pleasure...

The Tree

The traditional Dinner (with lots of Pinot)

The Family

I plan to update this more frequently, but we all know how those plans can go awry...