Blog the Travelogue

2008-01-17T05:26:00.000-06:00

Parts for Wea, Ama, Iakos, and Gunnels

Star Tarp

2007-04-09T09:28:00.000-05:00

Here's my Star tarp idea, instead of cat cuts it uses diagonal cuts to reduce wind flap. The main goal is to make a tarp with the advantages of a cat cut, but saves time in the making. Instead of ploting each point and drawing a curve you just plot one point, draw a straight line, cut, and you're done. What do you think?

It's Over!

2007-01-10T12:34:00.000-06:00

Sorry I haven't written in a while. I have several projects taking up my time; therefore, I'm declaring this blog dead. Thanks for reading for these many months. Have a nice year. Remember to get plenty of rest of your days off work.

Thank you,

Sir Funbun, Steward of Words

P.S. I may post periodically to let you know about some of the projects I have going.

It's Cold

2006-12-07T14:28:00.000-06:00

And I'm not riding.

Traffic Sucks

2006-10-03T12:03:00.000-05:00

I don't like riding in traffic, especially the people on cell phones in SUVs. They act brain dead. What's the deal? If I see a cyclist on the roadway, I'll treat him just like a car, giving him the whole lane. If I can't, I'll just wait. It's not like cyclists have 200 horsepower to travel at the same speed as a car. This is why I ride out in the country, or in the industrial district. Those big trucks are proffessional drivers; they treat you with respect even though they outwiegh you by many tons.

I know I'm preaching to the chior, but please give a cyclist plenty of room on the roads. 3 feet ain't gonna cut it. Give them at least half a lane. Remember we have to maintain forward speed in order to keep rolling. And we are unstable in gravel; therefore, ditching onto the shoudler of the road is dangerous. We also have to dismount in order to stop. You car people don't have to worry about this. Please be kind. Please slow down. You just might add a few years to a cyclist's life.

DoomSled Update

2006-09-27T20:10:00.000-05:00

Hope you liked the pics. Here’s a summary about the bike so far.

First, I love the bike. For three years I've worked and sweated and cried and bled to get this bike running. Now I have my own recumbent bicycle for 1/3 the cost of a new Volae or Bacchetta. The bike is just as fun now as it was during those first roll tests.

But I have found areas which need improvement. For a while I road without adequate cushioning. That caused a lot of tail bone pain. But a 2 inch thick open cell foam pad solved that problem.

The center of gravity was too far forward. Thus making the bike very sensitive at high speeds. So I moved the seat back, and bought handlebars to allow for better arm positioning. Now my knees come behind the handlebars. This takes pressure off my tail bone, makes my arms much more comfortable, and is much more stable at high speeds. In fact, you could ride the bike with one hand now.

The Cinelli cork tape makes for a good grip. Before my hands would ache because the bare handlebars were too small to grip over a long period of time.

The Schwalbe Marathons are great. These are the first real "touring" tires I've ever bought. I like how they stick to the road, especially through turns at speed. They're a much smoother ride than my old Specialized Crossroads.

The Cateye handlebar mirror rocks. My Third Eye helmet mirrors have lost their "grip." It's like the bushing have gone bad or something. So I don't use them anymore. The handlebar mirror is bigger and their is no learning curve. Helmet mirrors, they're like an optical illusion in your field of vision all the time. Your eyes don't know what to focus on. You get used to it, but I'd rather have a handlebar mounted mirror.

Next? Smaller cranks and chainrings. Then panniers. Then paint. Then touring.

More Pics

2006-09-27T17:10:00.000-05:00

Rear view mirror by Cateye.

Finaly, I got some pics. Today was my day off. Hope you enjoy these.

The Volae handlebars are awesome. I like the open ends. Notice the shifters on the bottom and the mirror on the top end.

2006-09-27T17:09:00.000-05:00

lol, Volae handlebars and Bacchetta Stem and riser. For those that don't know Volae and Bacchetta are competitors. Kind of like Auburn vs Alabama, Miami vs Florida State, or Notre Dame against everyone else!

2006-09-27T17:07:00.000-05:00

Cockpit view.

The Cinelli cork tape looks like the hilt on a lightsaber.

2006-09-27T17:05:00.000-05:00

Front view.

2006-09-27T17:04:00.000-05:00

Here's the latest photo. Check out the Cinelli Cork Tape. Great feel. Reminds me of my saxophone days with cork built up keys.

2006-09-27T16:59:00.000-05:00

Just installed the Volae handlebars.

Dude, I Sliced My Hand Open

2006-09-20T09:32:00.000-05:00

At work last Saturday I cut my hand. I was dumping the trash and someone had left a tin can lid in the trash bag. I picked up the bag, slung it in the dumpster, and felt something slice through my left hand. Just imagine, you get to work and five minute later you hand is sliced open. You look down and a mixture of blood and cheese cover the space between your middle and index fingers.

Luckily both managers we're there. And one of the employees was in nursing school; she gave me first aid.

Off to the emergency room. On the way I wondered, should I put on the emergency blinkers and drive 90 mph to get there faster? Well, it was a football weekend for my almer mater, and the cops were out in droves. I kept "close" to the speed limit.

After 20 minutes of driving, I get to the hospital. Frell, the parking lot was like a freaking lab rat maze. I parked in the parking deck and wondered through the hospital trying to find my way to the emergency room.

I got there. They checked me in. Then came the questions. Two stuck out, "can we help you with any spiritual needs?"

"No, I'm okay." I didn’t really care I just wanted my hand patched up.

"What is your religious preference?"

"!@#$%^%^&*()," I thought, in the confusion I muttered, "Christian."

"Baptist, Methodist, Catholic, Protestant, Episcopal, yadda yadda yadda."

"Uhh, Protestant." Again I didn't care. I wanted my hand patched up. Although I didn't want any Satan worshipers patching me up, but I didn't think about that 'til later.

After that, I waited in the lobby for 30 minutes or so. Surprise. The nurse was an old classmate. She was a music therapy major. I guess she went on to become an LPN. We chatted a bit, then she left to do her other duties.

About 3 hours later, the doctor came in. She was pissed. Someone had misplaced my file. Scary.

She took a look. "Stitches." Crap! More pain. She walked out, chewed out someone for misplacing the file, and ordered the stuff to patch me up. After a while, she came back with a tray of needles and liquids and towels and thread.

"Is this gonna hurt?"

"Hmm, it'll burn a little, but not too bad."

I thought, "Yeah, right." I laid down, and she spread hospital green towel separating my left arm and my body.

"Do what you gotta do, doc." I braced myself for the pain.

"Okay, stick." It stuck. I waited for the pain. Dude, she was right. It burned a little, but it wasn't too bad. I felt fluid ooze throughout the wound.

"Stick." More ooze. It left good.

A few seconds later, "You ready?"

"Okay, go!" She inserted the needle and started sewing me up. It was strange to feel the thread going through my skin. It felt the way a kite pulls against the string. I needed two stitches.

Talk about an adventure. Anyway, the stitches get taken out in 8 more days. So I won’t be able to ride until then. And I just installed some new Volae handlebars.

Finaly, A Bike Route Through the Deep South

2006-09-14T11:49:00.000-05:00

The Adventure Cycling Association has completed sections #1 and #2 of thier new Underground Railroad Bicycle Route. This is exiting news. I could start from my front door and do the southern section. W00t! This would eliminate the cost of transporting the bike; just hop on and go.

Since it's a new map it should be accurate. In fact, there are no addemdums.

Dude, I'm so exicted. By next spring or summer I could do the southern porion of this route. That would give me all winter to make and test new gear.

Fall is coming

2006-09-06T13:08:00.000-05:00

You can always tell when fall is coming in the southeast: nights get cooler. Instead of 90 degree nights it drops into the 80s. That's great for touring. Not too cold or hot at night. Great for hammock camping.

Also, fall is my favorite time of year for biking. I went out for a ride yesterday, in fact. Guess what: flat tire, lol. Then today I went out for another ride. Guess what: another flat!

Weird. Two flat tires in two days. These are the first flats I've had in 3 years. Turns out is was the front wheel. The valve whole had cut a slit in the inner tube’s valve, causing a leak. Going downhill at 45 mph while the tire is going flat ain't no fun.

It's time to get a wheel built for me. Power on Cycling and Gaerlan Custom Cycles build bike wheels. I figure a Sun Rynolite rims with 36 spokes and Shimano LX hubs would do it for now.

I also ordered some Schwalbe Marathons. They should be in by week's end. These old Specialized Crossroads needed replacing anyway. Hopefully by Saturday I'll be backup and running.

btw, I've decided on a paint scheme: blood red. Crimson as most people call it. DoomSled in blood red. It’s the color of my alma mater and it reminds me of the blood of Christ.

Okay, here's the latest

2006-08-24T08:18:00.000-05:00

The chain is on; the brakes are hooked up; DoomSled is running. I've ridden about 7 or 8 miles or so. That's not much, but it's enough to give me an idea of what needs to change.

1. Gearing

I need lower gearing on the front. I'm running 28-42-52 chainrings. The 28 is low enough cause I don't like hills, but the 42 tooth middle chainring is too high cause I'm always using the smallest rear cogs. 28-36-48 should do. This would be a better match for my XT front dérailleur.

2. Handlebars

These come too far back. Id rather have something like theEvo Pro handlebars.

3. The seat

Like I said before, I need to reposition the seat. It's too far right. I'm also thinking of saving up for a Rans seat.

4. Headset

I need some more spacers for the headset. There is a slight bit of play in the front fork.

5. Chain

I need to add one link to the chain and add put on a chain guard for the idler wheel.

Other than that she rides nicely.

lol, I like this thing...

2006-08-19T10:27:00.000-05:00

Okay, I got the brakes hooked up. This morning I went out to try some big freakin hills. It's fun, and a bit strange. On this bike you don't turn the handlebars in order to turn; you lean instead. If you want to go left, you lean left. If you want to go right, you lean right. Pretty neat, especially when going down a steep hill. Lean in the direction you wanna go, and the bike goes.

I'll be happy when I finally get the chain on. I had hoped that it would've been finished by today, but the bike needs a longer rear shifter cable: a rear cable for a tandem bicycle. Ordered it yesterday. It should be here my next week.

More Pics...

2006-08-15T10:38:00.000-05:00

Once I get the seat properly aligned, I'll use my friend's jig saw to round off the corners. I'm thinking of buying some West System Epoxy to finish the seat. That's the stuff used in making wooden airplane wings.

2006-08-15T10:36:00.000-05:00

I thought I needed new handlebars, but these handlebars work fine. I opted for the preying hamster position instead of the superman position.

2006-08-15T10:34:00.000-05:00

Rans seat mount. It's well made and well worth the money. I never could've made something like this on my own.

2006-08-15T10:33:00.000-05:00

Off center. I'll have to remount the seat. It's about a 1/8 of an inch off at the front, that translates to several inches off center toward the rear of the bike.

YC-111 Doomsled Team Conducts Roll Test

2006-08-14T18:44:00.000-05:00

--DUPESHAM AIR BASE, Ala.--

At 1700 hours Team Funbun began the testing phase for it's new hightourer: the YC-111 DoomSled.

This initial test was done without brakes or a chain. It was a simple roll test. And according to Project Leader Funbun the test was a success:

"It's been a long, hard road. Earlier this morning we got the seat mounted up and decided to run a roll test to get a feel for the machine."

When ask about the safety risks of running a test without brakes, Safety Commissioner Unfbun responded, "Well, there are always risks. But the test was conducted in such a way to keep risks down. We weren't testing for max speed or anything."

"I think it's gonna be a solid bike," said test pilot. "It ain't gonna be a RAAM [Race Across America] machine or nothin', but she felt good. I thought it'd be twitchy like many short wheelbase recumbents. But DoomSled held her own. You see, just coasting gave us a good idea of what the low speed handling would be like. But once the chain and brakes are on, I can to some of that pilot stuff."

That pilot stuff is what we're all waiting to see. Once DoomSled is painted and panniers are designed, we'll all want to see the mileage she'll rack up and the gear she'll haul. When these test are complete, it'll be interesting to see what the YC-111 DoomSled can do.

Associated Phools

Almost there...

2006-08-10T14:35:00.000-05:00

DoomSled is finally coming together.

Okay folks. Here's the latest:

I just got my frame back. I didn’t think it'd back until Friday, but it came yesterday. Once again, great service.

He changed the dropouts to correct some chain line interference, as well as put the rear brake bosses on top. He also mounted a new seat rail. The first rail was the shorter 28mm Rans seat rail, but I bent it all to crap because I didn't mount it properly. So I bought another one: a longer 37mm seat rail.

Also, he put in a new bolt and nylon spacer for my idler wheel. I didn't expect that. Once again, great service.

Next? Finish mounting the seat braces, buy some chain, and hook up the front brake. Then I'll test ride, w00t (that means happiness and excitement in victory for those of you who don't speak Leet).

Thanks Bentech.

Just Rambling

2006-08-01T09:10:00.000-05:00

Okay, I just sent the frame back to the builder. It should be finished soon. He was great about the whole thing. In fact, he emailed me, stating that he had found a couple problems with the frame. So off it went. He contacted me, I didn't have to contact him. That's service :)

Once back, it'll need a chain and cable housing. Then it should be ready to test ride. What color should it be? The fork is gray. So, gray might be a good match.

I'm already thinking of several designs for panniers for the bike. There aren't many companies making panniers for recumbents. So, I figures why not start a bicycle pannier business?

In exploring this option as a career change, I've found that the small manufacturing (cottage industry) is a strong here in America. You'd figure with all the outsourcing to China and other countries that sewn products would never be made in the US. But isn't true.

In the hiking world most of that industry is made of small companies. Take Bryan Frankle of ULA Equipment. He started making backpacks in him home. Now he and two stitchers make some of the highest quality backpacks in the world. They're just 3 person company, yet they have won several awards in Backpacker Magazine over the years, not to mention other awards an honors.

Western Mountaineering was started by two guys with a hole in the wall shop making down sleeping bags, now they're #1 in down sleeping bags, down jackets and vests. Seriously, you read trail journals and most everyone is using some kind of Western Mountaineering product. And they’re still a small company. I think they have about 25 industrial sewing machines or so.

Anyway, I think I was made for this kind of stuff: making things and developing ideas. I wasn't meant for "traditional" work. Being an INFP is exactly the opposite of what many jobs require here in the US. The further you are from the ESTJ archetype the harder it is for you to fit into the “system.”

I’ve tried several types of businesses in the past, but it was always trying the “hottest” thing or the “latest” trend. This time I’m gonna pursue something I want to do. We all have desires, and I think many of those desires are buried because they don’t “fit” the system. We are all told go to school, get degrees so you can this, that, or the other. I wonder how many doctors and lawyers who really wanted to be truck drivers and plumbers, or the number of carpenters and brick masons who really wanted to be pilots or writers?

I love bicycles. I love airplanes. I like making things and developing new ideas. I’m good at finding information and acquiring knowledge. I like shooting at the hip and being laid back. I like doing the right thing.

I hate structure. I don't want someone telling me when to go to work, when I can leave, what to wear; do thing at this time; do that at that time, etc. Don’t get me wrong I don’t mind 8 or 10 hours of work everyday. But I want to define that time.

In other words, I want to define my work, not let my work define me.

Update

2006-07-26T06:31:00.000-05:00

Okay, here’s the deal with DoomSled: I just got a new Anatomic ™ seat in from Atombikes. It was a nice value: just $30. I'll have to trim it to length and round out the corners. I thought 10 inches wide would be too narrow, but it seems okay.

I've got to send the frame back to the builder. There is a problem with the dropouts and chainline. But he's gonna make new from drop outs for it, and weld new brake bosses on the top side instead of the bottom. The design was a prototype, and he agreed to fix any problems.

Also, I've been sewing up a new backpack: a G4 designed by Glen Van Peski. The company is named Gossamer Gear I figure the skills learned from sewing a backpack will help me when trying to build a set of panniers for my bike. What have I learned so far? This has been a difficult project cause the instruction are hard to follow and the pattern doesn't make sense. Understand that I wasn't trying to use a retail pattern for commercial gain or anything stupid like that. Nor do I want to use a industrial stuff for my own personal gain. I'm just saying now I understand why manufacurers hire pattern makers, sample cutters and makers.

With an industrial pattern you don't even need to speak English. So much work goes into the pre-production that sewing up the thing should be flawless.

Weddings

2006-07-09T07:10:00.000-05:00

I went to a wedding yesterday. I like weddings; there's something magical about them. I'm not sure why. I guess being celibate makes weddings, hmmmm, weird.

Sometime people ask me, "Damon when are you gonna get married?" "I'm not getting married." Then they look confused, like explaining to a child that hot sauce is hot even though it's cold.

Anyway, back on topic, there is something magical and mysterious about weddings. I often wonder what goes on in the heavenlies when two people get married. There has got to be partying or something.

I often envision angels with fiery swords protecting the ceremony, other angels singing praises to God, and others just partying and celebrating the vows being made.

I see God putting another sprocket in the universe, and him looking down through coming ages of how this marriage will bless his Kingdom throughout eternity.

I see demons devising new tactics of how to destroy what’s being made.

I see two people promising love and willing to stick it out and give it a damned good fight. No giving up, why give the pricks the satisfaction?

I guess weddings remind me of my relationship with God. Except God makes most of the promises. Even though I’ve broken many he still honors his promises. Weddings make me want to give life another shot: to get back in the ring for yet another round. It makes me want to keep on fighting.

Weddings are about hope, that God will give us the desires of our hearts, that he does want to bless us, and that life is not about hopelessness and despair.

Anyway, just my thoughts

Monster Sewing

2006-06-15T17:34:00.001-05:00

I just got my new sewing machine. It’s old, but new to me. It's a 1950s Necchi. It’s steel, all steel, and weighs 45 lbs. This was back when they actually made sewing machines, not these piss-ant Cheap-Mart specials they've got nowadays.

Seriously, most "home" sewing machines are designed for dressmaking not tentmaking. The home machines can't handle multiple layers of thick fabric like canvas, packcloth or Cordura. Just imagine driving your car with half the horse power and only running in 3rd gear or above. That's what today’s "home" sewing machines are like. They have thier purpose, but not for what I want to do.

Now industrial sewing machines are different. Industrials are like Top Fuel Dragsters. They can sewing threw concrete. Maybe not concrete, but I bet they could sew threw thin cardboard.

Anyway, the “old” home machines are another story. Many were made of steel. And in the bicycle world we all know that Steal is Real. Those things had heavy gears which didn't wear out, bigger motors and lower gearing. Which means an old machine is much more suitable for my ambitions: sewing bicycle panniers and other outdoor equipment.

And the guy who fixed up this Necchi bolted on an even bigger motor than the original and lowered the gear by installing a big freaking balance wheel. He even turned the balance wheel inside out so the load would be exerted directly over the bearings. He also cut a groove in the balance wheel to install an industrial grade drive belt: a Gates 2L190.

My Hot Rod Necchi isn’t industrial, but it’s a whole lot stronger than any other home sewing machine. I guess that means it’s heavy duty or semi-industrial.

Here’s the guy who sold it to me:
Firefly Ridge Sewing Products

He also wrote a great Ebay Guide titled Want Industrial Strength or Heavy Duty Sewing Machine?

More Hammock Testing

2006-06-02T20:34:00.000-05:00

Comfort Supreme. If John Coltrane had a hammock like this I bet he'd write tune named Comfort Supreme, lol.

I've been waiting for it to rain for a long time. FINALLY, the bottom fell out today. So to Lake Harris I went. I hiked down to the spillway, about a half mile or so. It's easy to get down to the spillway cause it's all down hill. I mean REALLY downhill. The lines would look stupid close on a topo map. Hmm, maybe I should by some topo software for this kind of stuff.

Anyway, the storm was coming from the northwest. I figured I'd have enough time to get down stream to the 90 degree bend that heads south. I hadn't been there in years, so I was interested to see how God had changed the area.

It was a lot the same, but the stop at the bend was full of beer bottles and torn flotation swimming thingies. THAT FREAKING SUCKED!!1!!!!11!!!! Frellnicks littering up the place without cleaning it up. This ruined my otherwise sunny disposition.

Then the storm hit. CRAP! I turned around and headed upstream about 20 yards to a small opening in the woods. Cool thing about the woods is that the trees will provide some protection against the rain.

I found a great spot: two trees about 8-10 inches in diameter, about 12 feet apart. So I started to hang my rain tarp so I could get completely out of the rain. But the frelling tree was dead. I mean dead dead, not mostly dead. No way that thing would've sustained my weight. Hanging your hammock off dead trees is dangerous. And I'm not a Jedi so I couldn't have reached out with the Force to stop thing from falling over and breaking my neck.

Oh well, I turned around and found another tree. But when I went to tie off the tarp the freaking guylines had gotten tangled up in the underbrush. By then it was raining hard. So bent down and untangled the thing hoping the Tick Army of Doom wouldn't attack. The tarp went up fine. It took longer than I thought it would. The slip knot in the trucker's hitches kept confusing me.

I see why Hennessey uses a diamond shaped tarp: you only have to use two tent stakes. My tarp is an old skool A-frame tarp. With an A-frame you need four stakes which takes twice as long to pitch. But the rain protection is superior.

Next the hammock. Happy I had snake skins to keep it dry. It went up much more quickly than the trap. But there was a new problem: I was still wet from trying to find a place to pitch this thing. So I tied up a ridge line to use as a clothes line to dry out my t-shirt. I remembered something my dad told me as a kid. He said, "Damon, always take an extra change of clothes no mater where you go 'cause you never know what's gonna happen. Man, I keep wondering where my dad got all this wisdom. I don't know what happened, but he seems smarter now than then. Hmmmm, I wonder?

I took off my t-shirt, hung it on the ridgeline, and started to get in the hammock, but I couldn't see. My glasses had fallen off. Crap! Once again, braving the Tick Army of Doomie McDoom Doom, I got down on my hands and knees to find my glasses: no luck. I stood up hoping I wasn't sitting on them: no luck. I walked around looking: no luck. I was getting scared. I wouldn't be able to see my way back to the car. So, I sent up prayers. Then sat down in the hammock and there they were on the ground just under where I was sitting. I hadn't walked on them or anything. Nice to know the King of Israel was/is looking out for me.

So I put them on and climbed in my hammock and pulled out my book and started reading. I dried out quickly, faster than I thought I would. "Amazing, this hammock is a real waterproof sleep system that I made with my own hands," I thought. I really enjoy being out in the woods or on my bike or making things. I think God has blessed me with this talent to make things. And here I was out in the woods, drenched in rain, tangled guylines, and lost glasses having the time of my life. I think I was born for this stuff.

I think most of my life I've pursued things I was good at. I don't think it's a good reason to choose a career just because you're good at something or just for the money. There has to be a combination of skill, personality compatibility, passion and life calling in anyone's profession. If either is missing then life is Hell. What's worse than spending 40 hours per week of your life doing something God hasn't designed for you to do? What's the point?

Anyway, I'm happy with my hammock. I'm trying to think of a name for it. I may call it Dude.

2006-06-02T20:33:00.000-05:00

Lake Nicole again.

2006-06-02T20:32:00.000-05:00

The pack gives you a little reference point. The tarp works well; I kept dry.

2006-06-02T20:31:00.000-05:00

A little better view; the rain tarp is there. It blends end pretty well.

2006-06-02T20:30:00.000-05:00

Can you see it? The picture didn't turn out so well.

DoomSled Update

2006-05-31T08:35:00.000-05:00

It's coming along. I just got the seat mount in yesterday. I also ordered a Burley chain idler, some stem parts, and a riser. The riser is just a piece of 1 1/8 inch aluminum tubing I bought from Shapiro Supply.

Hopefully, everything will be assembled by next week.

Almost Finished

2006-05-21T08:08:00.000-05:00

I've been working on this hammock for a while now. I finanlly got the tarp done. The seams need waterproofing though. I tested it out at Lake Nicole yesterday, and there was plenty of wind. This ripstop nylon would make a good kite 'cause it catches bunches of wind.

Anyway, I tried a new hitch: the trucker's hitch. It's perfect for setting and keeping tension on guylines, yet it's easy to untie. I was showing a friend this hitch, and we both figured that it shouldn't work. I mean, the hitch looks like it should fall apart, but it doesn't. It just keeps the tension that you set.

What's left? Da bugnet. I don't want a bugnet, but God made all these bugs, and they keep biting me, and flying into my ears and nose. So I'll make a bugnet tube that surrounds the entire hammock.

2006-05-21T08:07:00.000-05:00

Underside view

2006-05-21T08:06:00.000-05:00

Tarp. Check out those Trucker's Hitches!

2006-05-21T08:05:00.000-05:00

Covers pulled back; hammock deployed.

2006-05-21T08:00:00.000-05:00

Hammock Covers "a la Hennessey Snake Skins"

The Hammock

2006-05-10T13:09:00.000-05:00

I just finished my hammock. It's raining so I won't get pictures until tomorrow.

But I went out to Lakes Nicole and Harris before it started raining. I was cool laying back on the egde of a cliff. It's very comfortable, more so than I thought.

Although the hammock is fine the rain tarp isn't. I made a gross miscalculation: the instructions read that I needed two pieces of ripstop nylon cut to 8 x 10 each. Well, I only bought one piece at 12 x 5. It's plenty long enough, but not wide enough to protect against rain. Soooo, I've got to remake the tarp.

Here's the Frame

2006-05-05T15:51:00.000-05:00

Bentech Highracer Frame

2006-05-05T15:35:00.000-05:00

Ritchey Logic 1 inch treadless headset. Not sure what stem that is.

2006-05-05T15:33:00.001-05:00

28, 42, 52 Crank Set. 170mm crank arms

2006-05-05T15:33:00.000-05:00

Boom Bolts

DoomSled Update

2006-04-30T07:36:00.000-05:00

As you can see below, I got my Bentech Highracer frame. It looks good, and I'm pleased with it. I'm gonna use the fork off my old MTB.

It's a one inch headtube. The builder uses a threaded headset, but I'm gonna use a threadless headset. From what I understand, going threadless will be lighter, stronger, and much easier to adjust. Threadless is industry standard now.

I'll use the fork from my old MTB. It has a threaded steerer tube, but the local bike shop can cut down below the threads. Thus making it threadless :) That fork has servered me well.

2006-04-25T16:25:00.000-05:00

Bentech highracer still in packaging

Update

2006-04-21T10:43:00.000-05:00

Just got word that my highracer frameset will be shipping today. It should get here on Tuesday. I'll get pictures up and posted sometime after it comes in.

Also, I found a set of plans for a bicycle trailer made of bamboo. Looked cool. I may build it. I know I said I wouldn't use another trailer ever again, but if this thing can be build for cheap then I may give it a shot.

I'd only use it for touring or carrying large loads of groceries and stuff. I'd just use a single pannier for day riding.

Anyway, here is the trailer, nd the plans are free:

http://www.carryfreedom.com/bamboo.html

DoomSled, again

2006-04-02T08:47:00.000-05:00

Hey, guys I've found another builder. Dom at Bentech agreed to build a short wheel base machine. Here is his website: Bentech Bikes.

He'll build a highracer for me in about a week's time. It will look similar to a Bacchetta Giro 26.

This'll be great because I could use standard mountain bike parts instead of the hassel of two different wheel sizes.

DeadSled Dead: Part Deux

2006-03-24T15:18:00.000-06:00

I asked the builder for a refund this morning. More details here:

http://bentrideronline.com/messageboard/showthread.php?t=17149

DoomSled Dead

2006-03-24T06:04:00.000-06:00

I got the frameset in yesterday. But the headtube was cracked. I could ride with a cracked headtube, but I don't want to die. *sigh* another three weeks downtime.

But the builder agreed to build another frame. He did the right thing.

Maybe all the Ides of March stuff wasn't cool after all :(

Finally, the wheelset is here

2006-03-22T20:09:00.000-06:00

Just got my front wheel in today. It even came with a Kenda Kwest tire and inner tube. I'll head over to Cycle Path tommorrow and have them transfer my old 7 speed cassette to the new rear wheel. It only has 20 x 1.25 tire so I should be able to use the front brake of my Peugeot. I'll buy some new brake shoes and those old center pull brakes will be plenty.

The frameset should be in tommorrow. From there I need to buy a couple chains to finish assembling the bike. I's already got new brake and shifter cables and such. I hope they're long enough thoough. So I should be ready for a test ride by next week this time.

Hydration

2006-03-21T21:43:00.000-06:00

Like I said, "I WANNA RIDE." I haven't ridden since the end of last summer.

But one thing that limited my millage last summer was hydration. Down here it gets 95 deg. F and 95% humidity. I would often go out with only one water bottle. I'd guzzle that bottle within about 5 miles and have to turn around before the fun started. So, I think I need a better hydration system. Well, not better just more hydration.

I have a friend who is a college professor. He's in the Human Performance Studies Department: a P.E. teacher. He says that Gatorade is the real stuff. I always thought Gatorade was just Kool-aid with salt. I wonder if you could get the same effect from eating GORP (good ole raisins and peanuts) with a banana and water? Raisins would give you carbs for energy; peanuts would give you fat to lube up the joints as well as salt and minerals; and bananas would give you potassium to keep your legs from cramping.

At any rate, I'll still need water. So I could either get more water bottles or a hydration pack like these one from Platypus. I figure three liters of water should be enough for a day ride.

FedEx Woes

2006-03-21T21:07:00.000-06:00

Don't you hate it when you miss the FedEx guy? My front wheel came in about 1 p.m. today, but I missed the freakin FedEx truck. Oh well, I tried calling the local FedEx guys, but they were already closed. CRAP! Well, at least they didn't leave it sitting here at my apartment complex.

This is just a cheap 406(BMX) front wheel I bought from a guy on Bentriders. It was only forty bucks. Good deal.

I just got my word that DoomSled is in the mail. It should be here Thursday. I WANT TO RIDE MY BICYCLE. It's Spring. I WANNA RIDE!!!!!!

Fathers and thier Sons

2006-03-17T22:40:00.000-06:00

I was thinking about the reasons why I love airplane and bicycles and camping and the outdoors. The answer? These are the activities where I spent the most time with dad.

My grand dad worked at the old Hayes Aircraft Company in Birmingham, Alabama. He repaired C-130s and C-141s. During visits, he would take me out to the airport, and we would sit and watch airplanes takeoff and land. I loved to watch the F-4s take off. They were loud. I like loud.

My dad. Well, I fished a lot with my dad, and my dad taught me how to ride a bicycle, and one of my best camping experiences was with dad.

Strange how we cling to those things which remind us of dad. I find this same quality in Christ. He was always talking about how he would only do what he saw his Father doing. Or how he and his father were one. I guess this is the way of things.

DoomSled Breathes

2006-03-17T12:02:00.000-06:00

On the Ides of March, in the year of our Lord 2006, forged in the fires of the north was born DoomSled...

Okay, enough Tolkien. But seriously, I just got word that my frame was finished. In fact, the guy finished it on the 15th. That was really something: all this talk about doom and the Ides of March it fits pretty well.

So the it should be here by next week this time :) Once here I'll assemble the bike and start test riding before I paint it. I'm thinking 50 miles will do it.

I think I'm still gonna paint it army green. Also, I'll make the hammock forest green, and probably make the tarp camouflage.

Bicycle Fishing

2006-03-15T09:53:00.000-06:00

I was thinking of doing some bicycle fishing along with day riding. The only problem I see is where/how am I gonna store the fish? I've never been a fan of "catch and release." It's food. I killed it. So I want to drag it back to the cave and eat it. Usually, I never take home more fish than I can eat in one sitting. For me, that's a couple of 3 lbs largemouth bass.

I don't [i]ever[/i] want to haul a trailer again. My last trailer got stolen. So, no more trailers. Besides the added roll resistence makes you at least two miles per hour slower. I guess that's the main reason for ditching the trike.

Hammock Book

2006-03-13T21:08:00.000-06:00

I ordered Ed Speer's book on hammock camping on Saturday. It was only $12 from Walmart online. It should be here Wednesday or Thursday.

The guys on the hammock camping Yahoo forum say they're easy to make. I don't know why more people don't use them for camping. It's the perfect shelter: light wieght (which makes hill climbing easier), more caping spots(I mean most of North America is a jungle, especially here in the southeast), more comfortable than the ground (sleeping on the ground sucks), water proof (well if it's a hurricane you're gonna get wet no matter what).

Why sleep on the ground when you can sleep on air? DUH! But I guess some people like the hard way. Go figure.

Got One Wheel

2006-03-13T18:03:00.000-06:00

Brand spanking new Rhynolite rim and Shimano Deore hub. Only 32 spoke though :(

2006-03-13T18:01:00.000-06:00

Rhyno Lite baabbiiiieeeeeee

Just picked up a new rear wheel today. Got it from the local bike shop. I think the guy who sold it to me was stoned. I told him what I wanted, and he couldn't understand me. I spoke english, but he was too out of it. He was truing a wheel at the time. Not sure if I want a stoned guy truing my wheels though :s

The only thing I don't like about this wheel is that it only has 32 spokes. 36 spokes would be better for my wieght. But It's a good rim. Sun makes really good rims. It's double walled which is much better than my old rim. A wheel like this should hold it's resale value pretty well.

For those of you who don't know a double walled rim looks like this:
Double Walled Rims cut away view

Now I only need a 20 inch front wheel. That's what's pissing me off about this bike; It has different sized wheels: a 20 inch wheel for the front and a 26 inch wheel for the back. That sucks. That means more parts for maintenance. Oh well.

Wheelset

2006-03-10T15:06:00.000-06:00

I'm looking for a wheelset for DoomSled. I'll go with 26/20 because those are very common sizes. But I need a double walled rim for the rear cause that's where most of the wieght will be. My current rear mountain bike wheel is single walled, and it goes out of true (adjustment) about every 2 weeks. And that's annoying not to mention unsafe. I need a better rear wheel.

I figure the front wheel won't need to be anything uber. I have never had a the front wheel on my mounain bike go out of true. And it was a 32 spoke single wall wheel, plus I put it through all kind of off road stuff and many bunny hops. So only the rear wheel needs the uber leet stuff.

Hammock Camping

2006-03-06T14:50:00.000-06:00

I camped a lot when I was a kid. My Boy Scout Troop went out several times per year to camp. I remeber going to Camp Tukabatchee for summer camp. I loved it. It also reminds me of the good times I've had with my dad. I remember Camp Tukabatchee had Lad and Dad weekend. My Dad and I went. I remember the stories hold me of his Army days. That was good. Those days where the best days with dad.

Bicycle riding was another love of mine. So this summer I plan to do both: cammping and bike riding. That's what bicycle touring is all about.

But I haven't talked much about camping gear. I mentioned hammock camping a while back. I want to make an Ed Speer style camping hammock. I figure I'll buy his book. It's just 20 bucks. It has all the patterns and stuff.

My grandmother's sewing machine is just sitting in storage. I hope my mom can find it because I want start making more of my own gear. I guess that's my philosophy with touring: make as much your own gear as possible. Because sometimes commercial gear doesn't fit my needs for whatever reason.

DoomSled Update# (who knows?!@#$%^)

2006-03-06T14:11:00.000-06:00

Tour Easy: Long Wheel Base Recumbent Bike

Project DoomSled is alive, although transformed. Instead of a recumbent trike, I'm gonna go with a bike. Hauling a 40lbs trike up and down the stairs sucks, and it isn't good for my back. A bike will be lighter, and I'll be able to use industry standard bike parts.

My dad always told me, "A big man needs a big car." That was good advice. So, I've applied that advice to bicycles because I don't like cars much. Not that I'm a Commy Liberal Hack or anything, it's just that my cars are always breaking down. If my bike breaks down, it doesn't cost much to fix. And they're infinitely upgradeable. So here's to dad, "A big man needs a Big FREAKIN BIKE!"

But more about DoomSled, I found an amateur frame builder to build a clone of the bike you see in the above picture. He should be done in a few weeks.

I want to paint it Olive Drab (Army Green). I may even do some kind of camouflage. Maybe go with browns and greens. I could use dead leaves or something to get a pattern.

New Panniers

2006-03-05T05:29:00.000-06:00

Okay, here are a couple of pictures of the new pannier set I'm working on. I'll try to get a more detailed description as I finish and test them. For now I'm using chloroplast as the baking, but as my dad would say, "It's too light in the a**!" I've got some .5 in thick plywood, but as I say, "It's too heavy in the a**!" So, I'm on the hunt for light, strong backing.

2006-03-05T05:28:00.000-06:00

I finished the first one last week. As you can see I cut the shoulder straps off, but left the webbing. They can be tied to the rack itself for added security.

2006-03-05T05:22:00.000-06:00

Here is a picture of my new panniers. I bought these bookbags for $0.99 each at the Thrift Store one Saturday. Not bad for Cordura made bags.

The Duffles of Doom

2006-03-04T10:24:00.000-06:00

Ok, here's the deal. The Buckets of Doom are dead. But I am replacing them with the Duffles of Doom. They aren't exactly duffle bags, but that's the only other word in english that means container and starts with the letter D. I'll get some photos up later.

Any suggetsions as to a better name? What about Sacks of Suffering or Rucksacks of Ashes? Those are cheesy though. I like Doom.

DoomSled is DEAD???

2006-02-28T07:43:00.000-06:00

In a press release late Monday evening, President Funbun announced that Project Doomsled has been renamed.

Pres. Funbun's critics are calling this a failed promise. "On November 23, 2005 President Funbun decommissioned the Buckets of Doom due to supposed structural failures. And we haven't seen or heard of their replacement since. And know he tells us that Project DoomSled is to be renamed? This is clearly an indication that Pres. Funbun doesn't care about keeping promises," said Moldy Reed, Bureaucrat from the BS Bureau.

However, many remain hopeful. The President is suspected to address this very issue later this week in his State of the Blog Address.

Updates

2006-02-22T05:16:00.000-06:00

Okay, folks here's the deal:

My recumbent website ain't making me no money. So I'm killing it; it shall will be no more. So the time and energy I put into that website will now be put into this blog.

I've got some exciting changes coming up regarding the Buckets of Doom and the Project DoomSled. I've also changed the focus of the blog to bicycle touring and hammock camping. Check out Speer Hammocks. I plan to buy the book and make one of these camping hammocks. They seem pretty simple to make.

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year.

2005-12-29T00:37:00.000-06:00

Sorry, I haven't wished everyone a Merry Christmas, but I've been busy writing. For Christmas presents this year I wrote a series of parables. Seven parables to be exact. I put them in PDF format and emailed them to people on my list. I may put them up for downnload If I can figure out how to load a PDf doc onto the blog.

Quick Doomsled update:
Losers at the machine shop never welded my frame up. So I took the pieces back. I'm on the hunt for another machine shop.

I'm gonna start saving for a Greenspeed GTO. It may take several years, but it'll be worth it.

Buckets of Doom Slated for Decommission!

2005-11-23T02:03:00.000-06:00

In a press conference early Wednesday morning, President Funbun announced the retirement of the much beloved Buckets of Doom.

President Funbun assured citizens that the decommisioning was in no way an indication to cut funding for the DoomSled Project.

"After 3 years of service the Buckets of Doom began to show stress fractures in vital areas. The fractures were deemed a safety issue by Bueracratic Slouches Who Exist Only to Continue their Existence Safety Task Force (popularly known as the BS commission)," said Pres. Funbun.

Chief Engineer of the DoomSled Project, Bun Fun noted, "The Buckets of Doom were horrible aerodynamically. We could never use both panniers in windy conditions becasuse they slowed us down too much. Given the sleek design of DoomSled, the Buckets of Doom would harm us more than help."

"We plan to redesign the storage area of the cargo system while using the same Hook System. The Hook System is a proven design. The fault lies in the storage area. We plan to use a more tradition bag-like design. It'll be smaller, more aerodynamic and will eliminate the fracture problem," he added.

Critics have suggested this press conference was a ploy by the Funbun Administration to divert attention away from the War on Terror and the resent debacle of Hurricane Katiee.

General Hardcore of the Fon Bon Disaster Unit said, "Stupid fools. How duh Presadent gon' start a hurricane? Yawl fools a trip. An what duh Hell DoomSled got to do with killing some fools tryin' blow us up? As far as terrorism, we gon' kill some mo' fo's. Let a terrorist step up on dis M14. Dat mug'll a be getin' a colostamy bag fuh Critmas."

AP (Associated Phools)

STOP SPAMMING MY BLOG!

2005-11-14T18:11:00.000-06:00

You spammer need to take marketing classes. You blast your lackluster, mediocre products to peopl who don't even want your product. you guys must be dead broke.

MY BLOG HAS BEEN INVADED BY SPAMMERS!!!

2005-11-09T07:24:00.000-06:00

Okay, I keep getting these comments from people trying to sell me stuff. Is this the latest move of spammers? Here's a tip Spamfolk: run Google Ads. You need to target people interested in what you have to offer.

I got one response talking about How to Cook a Turkey. This blog is about bicycles NOT TURKEY. Just because I have one post about Thanksgiving doesn't mean that my blog is about Thanksgiving. At least LOOK at the blog and judge it's content before you go blasting Spam ads on it.

Doomsled Update 2.0

2005-10-24T12:05:00.000-05:00

I dropped off the frame and tubes to Thornton's Welding and Machine Shop this morning. It was a pretty cool deal.

I pulled into the parking lot, and noticed that my door would open. So I crawled out out the passenger side door, grabbed the frame and tube, and head towards the shop. The shop was painted in a school bus, cheese yellow. The building itself looked like an aircraft hanger, well, a couple of aircraft hangers.

I walked in and saw machines. No office. Just machines. "Tuff guy" machines. I'm not talking Tool Time, Home Depot stuff. These we're big Ford F-150 sized machines. I thought, "Can they weld something as small as my Doomsled?"

After a few seconds a guys walks up and asks, "Whattcha need buddy?"

"I'm working on a bicycle project. I need to weld this peice here, that piece there..."

He undterstood exactly what I needed. He even said that he'd "fish mouth" the tubes to make them fit. What's more, it would only cost about $40 and about an hour's worth of work.

Coolness! So that's means DoomsSled should be up and running within a month!

2005-09-23T06:53:00.000-05:00

DoomSled takes shape.

Doomsled Update

2005-09-22T10:44:00.000-05:00

Okay, I bought a 20 inch mountain bike frame from the Thrift Shop for $12. I'm just gonna weld/braze a piece of 2 inch pipe on the front of the head tube to make a boom. I'll post pictures later today.

Doomsled is finaly taking shape!

I"M NOT DEAD!

2005-08-14T07:32:00.000-05:00

Okay, folks. I'm not dead. I'm finaly building Doomsled. It's based on the No Weld Recumbent design. No welding makes it possible for me to build without buying expensive welding or brazing equipment. Plus, I can build it right here in my apartment.

I'll use a "girl's" mountian bike frame. And I've begun builing the seat. I'll have to up load photots of the progress later.

I Crashed AGAIN!!!!

2005-06-10T12:18:00.000-05:00

Okay, this is how it happened. I went out for a ride behind the airport. I decided to take one of the dirt roads. Part of the dirt road has a sharp down hill stretch, fun, fun, FUN! I saw a big hole at the bottom of the hill and decided to bunny hop it. Well, I cleared the hole, but the front wheel came down first into soft mud. I lost control and flip over the handel bars.

I did a wierd Kung Fu style twist so that I wouldn't break my neck, but I landed on my left shoulder, HARD. Lucky it was soft mud. If it were asphault I would have dislocated my shoulder. I felt my spine bend beyond what God designed it to. Man it hurt, BUT IT WAS FUN! God must have sent an angel to soften my fall.

Yet another reason to get a recumbent: You can't flip over the handelbars, lol!

At any rate I got a new set of plans in last week to build a wooden recumbent low racer out of 2x4. Looks easy enough to build and my dad has tons of wood working material at his shop. I would have to get the drop outs machined, but that's a simple job. I'm thinking of building a Wooden High Racer Baccetta Giro Clone. The Volae Expedition is similar. That way I could take everything from my current mountain bike and move it over. Although I would upgrade the gear to an 8 speed rear cassette instead of 7.

Underground Railroad Tour

2005-06-01T15:16:00.000-05:00

I am soooo excited! The Adventure Cycling Association is beginning to map out an Underground Railroad Bicycle Route which will stretch from Alabama to Pennylvainia.

I commented on their forum about a year back when they first proposed the idea. I suggested that many southern states continue to strive for the "New South" image. The Old South died not long after the Civil Rights Movement. Sure there are still vestiges, but for the most part this isn't the same place.

Anyway, starting in the Heart of Dixie would be great. Many escaped slaves came left Alabama. Pennsylvania was a not free or safe per se, but it was an important transition point. In 1850 laws were passed, however, that allowed slave owners to find their slaves in any part of the country. Local authorities were forced to help. Canada was the only true choice for freedom. It would be nice if the trail goes all the way to Lake Eire.

Alabama is NOT a bicycle friendly state. Having an Official Adventure Cycling Route would be great way to change that.

Darth Vader

2005-05-17T08:50:00.000-05:00

Okay, this is PATHETIC! Darth Vader reduced to Burger King, M&M, and Cellphone commercials. This is a new low. I never thought Star Wars would go this low, but...

This is Darth Vader we're talking about. The most complex bad guy is all of sci-fi history and he's selling M&Ms? I have lost all respect for Mr. Lucas. I will watch the film, but I don't think going to any Star Wars dvds. I'll just by Lord of the Rings. Hopefully, the Narnia Chronicles will be the same quality as LOTR.

New Orleans Ride

2005-05-10T12:06:00.000-05:00

I was in New Orleans last weekend attending a graduation cerimony for a family member. I decided to check out Laid Back tour while I as down there.

They have a unique set up. They are not a traditional bike shop. They rent bicycles and kayaks. Nice folks. They also do tours of New Orleans. I decided yto rent a recumbent bicycle for the day just to ride and see how a recumbent handles in traffic. Also New Orleans in FLAT. When I first test rode a RANS Stratu a few years ago it was in a hill area in Birmingham, Alabama. So I was learning to ride a bent as well as climb hills. It wasn't fun and it was downright scary.

I got to their shop around 12:30 or so. They've got mountian bikes and a few recumbents: EZ-1, EZ-3 trike, and a Burley Koosah. I considered the trike but it looked too heavy. EZ-1 too short. So, I chose the big blue Burley.

The guy, I can't remember his name, was very nice. Last time I rode a recumbent I had trouble with starts and stops. He told a simple trick: Fred Flinstone! Yup, just start running like Fred Flinstone to get started then get your feet up and go.

Well, I didn't want to look anymore stupid than I already appeared. So, I sought other options. The reason bents are harder to start is because you don't have gravity to help you. On a regular bicycle gravity does most of the work. With your feet out in front it's all muscle.

The other option was to gear down low and pedal faster. This way seemed much more appealing. I got on, put my foot on the pedal, and hope I wouldn't crack my skull, pedaled off. I rode around the parking lot for about 20 minutes to get the hang of it. Twisting and turning. Pedaling and Smiling. I managed to get he hang of it. Didn't take long at all.

They gave me a map of the area, told where to food places were and I was off on an adventure around New Orleans.

2005-05-10T09:34:00.001-05:00

The Lake

2005-05-10T09:34:00.000-05:00

The Swamp

2005-05-10T09:33:00.000-05:00

The Burley

2005-05-10T09:32:00.000-05:00

Lot's of curves streets in City Park.

2005-05-10T09:31:00.000-05:00

Your's Truly! I look a lot like my dad in this picture.

Updates

2005-04-25T16:22:00.000-05:00

I haven't written in a while. I've been ride several time per week. I found a riding partner for the weekends. He's a lawyer. Good to have a lawyer. I don't know why people say kill all lawyers. If you've every need one, you will develop a whole new repect for them.

I'm thinking of buying a pair of bike shorts and a jersey. Nothing fancy, but wearing blue jeans is getting old.

I far as my search ofr a bent, I found a guy who will build a frame for $80. That's cheap. He builds recumbent frames for a hobby. At any rate I am still gonna hold off for a while until my copywriting business gets going.

Recycled Recumbent

Doomsled Ariseth

2005-04-08T09:54:00.000-05:00

I just found a guy selling a set of Alex DH-16 wheels. They are strong MTB wheels which would be good for touring. It's a 20" front wheel, 26" rear wheel. He wants $90 for the set. This is pretty good deal. You can't buy a recumbent wheel set for less than $150 new. And a custom built set would cost you almost $200.

He also has an SRAM 8spd cassette (11-34 teeth). I've a hard time finding an 8spd cassette with 34 tooth sprocket. Most only have a 32 tooth spocket. I need the bigger tooth for hills. Plus, I've already got 8spd Shimano bar ends shifters.

The wheels also have Shimano LX Hubs. I've got an XT front derailluer, and Deore level V-brakes and rear derrailluer, Ultegra level shifters. This should make for a pretty good machine.

Possible Tour

2005-04-02T11:26:00.000-06:00

This should be a good tour. It passes through Alabama, not far from where my brother lives. This may be good for next summer. Ther eare several state park in my area and those would be great tours to start with. A great Loop ride would be Camp Tuscoba, Lake Lurleen, Moundville, and back home.

I've got enough money to buy a Bentech framset. It's a short wheel base recumbent bike. It call for 20/26 wheels, that is the front wheel is 20 inches and the rear wheel is 26 inches. I'd rather use 26 inch wheels all around and make the thing a high racer. This way can transfer all my components from my mountain bike to the new bike.

I didn't realize that Heidi Domeisen had finished her tour. She did a loop ride fron North Carolina to Alaska and back. She just finished in Feburary. She bought a Trimuter to do her tour. I read an interview where she said she should have bought a Greenspeed.

Terri Schiavo

2005-03-31T12:30:00.000-06:00

Terri Schiavo is dead. There's no doubt about that (Charles Dickens). I normaly don't talk about politics on my blog, and this time I'll try not to get too mad. Why is it political issue anyway?

Those of you watching th news have probably heard the story. I won't rehash all that stuff.

But I wonder why she died. Why didn't the husband didn't get a Living Will. He had 7 years. The Judicial system signed her death warrant. We as a nation tortured her for 2 weeks. We tourtured one of your own. She was innocent. She had done nothing wrong.

I love this nation, but I wonder what our country is comming to. I'm gonna stop writing before I get angry.

Note: the Pope just had a feeding tube inserted a couple days ago. I wonder if the E.U. kill him?

Buckets of Second Doom

2005-03-30T17:51:00.000-06:00

Jakub's Amazing Bucket Bike

I just found these buckets. Pretty good. They're straped on, and that looks like a Jerry rigged rack.

Homebuilt Panniers Page Is Up!

2005-03-30T14:16:00.000-06:00

Part 1 of the homebuilt panniers section is up! It's not in the navbar. I buried down as a teir 3 page, so they would have to look at the basic pannier page first

How To Build Your Own Panniers

Contact

2005-03-29T11:39:00.000-06:00

I got the Contact Us Page up. Would some of you send a message so I can see if it works?

thanks.

No Ride Today

2005-03-26T18:44:00.000-06:00

I had to let my body rest today. Also, I could sleep last night. I woke up at 2 a.m. and couldn't sleep. So, I played video games for about 4 hrs.

I got some webpages up today. Check'em out:
Recumbent Touring Bicycles

Yesterday's Ride

2005-03-26T01:47:00.000-06:00

Went out north of town. I love riding on country roads. Not much traffic, and all the drivers give plenty of space when passing.

I discovered hills. They never end. Just when you think it's gonna level out, it gets steeper. I used the granny gear all the way up.

After a few miles of that I decided to take a rest. I went down a dirt road a ways, unloaded the Buckets of Doom, and sat down. It was quite. Wind blowing. Lot's of shade. I love solitude.

Check This Out...

2005-03-26T01:37:00.000-06:00

Here is a blog about a guy who built a short wheel base bent from a Bentech frameset.

Burke Jones's Bent.

Buckets of Doom Meet their Rival

2005-03-25T09:43:00.000-06:00

I'm thinking of building another set of panniers out of old Military ALICE Packs.

This is a medium and it tops out at over 4,000 cubic inches. WOW, that's huge! They make a smaller one and an even larger model (8,000+ cu. in.) You can't buy a 4,000 cu. in. pannier for under $300 commercially. I could build a set of these for about $70 total.

Riding:
Went for a nice loop ride yesterday. But my Cateye Mitty 3 died. No way to track milage :( I thought of buying a GPS device. It would probably be more acurate.

Website Update:
I've got a few more pages written, but won't post until I've had a chance to edit them tomorrow.

Bike Update:
Cycle Genius has a realy nice tour Long Wheel Base 'bent for $1099. Looks good for the money. It has better components the Rans Tailwind and it costs about the same. It's made out of Aluminum. So, it's lighter and has Disc Brakes. Cycle Genius has come a long way in the past few years.

Lots of choices...

Website Update

2005-03-21T12:23:00.000-06:00

Well, I got the homepage set up over the weekend. I plan to add at least 5 pages a week. I plan to make this a huge information site first, then, add monetization later.
Here you go:

Best Recumbent Touring Bicycles.

Please, tell me what you think.

Question...

2005-03-15T09:45:00.000-06:00

Okay, here's the thing...

I trying to put together a new wesite about 'bent touring.

So why do you guys tour?

Don't worry. I won't be using these testimonials on the webpage. I'm just trying to get an idea of the mind set behind why people tour.

For me, it's the freedom...the open road...an adventure...a constant movie running in my head...

What about you? What desires or wishes are fulfilled when you're out there instead of being couped up in a cubical all day?

Uh-oh! It's coming...

2005-03-14T14:05:00.000-06:00

The cogs turn...

Cobwebs being torn apart...

The light bulb flickers...

Yes, you guessed it. I have a idea. I'm planning to launch a recumbent bicycle website. I've been looking into copywriting and internet marketing for a while now. That's why I haven't been posting much. But I've found through several keyword searches and I've found that 'bents are a solid niche which have plenty of demand, but low supply (relatively speaking to say......mountian bikes.)

I mean, the 'bent industry is a niche market. And niche markets are the best way to go into business. But net doesn't need another general recumbent bicycle website. I figure I could come at it from the different angle: cheap 'bents for touring. That's not final or anything, but it's a start. I'm still doing keywords searches and such. It's gonna be a pretty big site. It won't start that way of course, but I plan to make it hugh.

I'll keep you folks posted...

P.S. I am seriously considering the cruzbike option as a backup to DoomSled. DoomSled the Lesser (the Cruzbike) and DoomSled the Greater (the Greenspeed GTR).

Today's Ride

2005-03-12T10:20:00.000-06:00

The Start. In the back is the entrance to the Yatch Club. I wonder what the security guard is thinking...

Okay, today's ride. Well, let's see. I headed out this moring about 7:45am. Got to the fire station across the road from the Yatch Club. I was gonna ride to Lake Nicole, but I took another road. I saw a bunch of signs about a new subdivision called Lakes. I only lake saw was only a pond. Man made of course. It's funny because Lake Tuscaloosa is hugh and they start a subdivision not 3 miles away made of small wimpy man made ponds. This Lake Tuscaloosa was nowhere in sight.

This'll be one of those subdivisions that you go looking at Christmas lights on Cristmas Eve. Christmas with the Kranks X-treme Edition.

I was afraid a bunch of riders would be out early because many riders park there at the firestation to ride. Nice country roads, not much traffic. Much better than riding in the city.

Anyway, I was the only one. Maybe they'll be out later today.

2005-03-12T10:11:00.000-06:00

36MPH Down :) That's the fastest I even been on a bike. DoomSled should do 45MPH at least.

Yup. Here's the subdivision. Not many houses yet. Just a bunch of land, plenty of bull doziers, and tons of speed.