Nuptials
January 7, 2009 at 2:27 pm | In Uncategorized | 4 CommentsAfter almost 10 years together Katie and I got married. On November 22 2008 our families and friends gathered in the sunshine of the Sonoran desert and blessed our marriage. Everything happened in a flash, from the day I proposed to the day we said “I do” was less than 2 months and I have to say it came off flawless.
Somehow everything came together, everyone did their job and it seemed relatively easy. The night was everything we could have dreamed of; in the desert, in a small chapel, bluegrass music, good food, and amazing company. Katie and I would like to thank everyone who came from near and far, and everyone who worked with us to make it all happen.
Our photographer was Chris Richards and he was absolutely amazing, catering was from Feast, flowers from Via Feliz, and music from the collaborative efforts of Matt Moon and Jimmy Carr. It was a pleasure to work with people who knew what they were doing and were proud to do a great job. Thanks so much
09 Freshness
January 5, 2009 at 6:23 am | In Uncategorized | Leave a CommentGetting this thing rolling again with some fresh ride content. More to come (or perhaps slip in as a previous post) regarding recent life changes, trips and goings on.
Newly inducted Tucsonan, Brendan and I headed out to TMP this morning for a bit of Hidden Canyon action. A short ride under cloudy skies just before it started raining for the rest of the day.
Trauco v2.0
October 3, 2008 at 1:59 pm | In Uncategorized | 2 Comments
Brown dropped of a large discreet package on my front door yesterday. Buried inside was el trauco numero dos ready for some accessories.
what do we have here?
Green machine
Last night was spent building, sipping cervesa and watching Sarah Palin stuff both feet in her mouth.
Assembled and ready to roll
Trauco v2.0 in the stand, Trauco numero uno, and XtraSiren
Shakedown ride down the street. The bike feels like my bike so i won’t be uncomfortable putting the screws to this thing for he first time at the TOWM this weekend.
Lemmon Drop
September 21, 2008 at 8:29 pm | In Uncategorized | Leave a CommentA week late getting to this but thats how I roll around here. 12 hearty souls tumbled down the mountain last saturday, riding from the top of the ski lifts alllllll the way down to Molino Basin on dirt, save for a half mile or so of pavement. Spectacular indeed. Some trails were familiar, others not so much, all was a good time with heavy emphasis on the chunky stuff. All told we got down with 4 flat tires and a few minor scrapes, not bad for a party of a dozen.

Sean at the top

I've never been here before

Catalina Highway from the top of Bugs
8 hour ride time and it was a good measure for determining what it would take to throw Milagrosa into the mix just to ice the cake.
Labor Day in the Wild
September 2, 2008 at 8:29 pm | In Uncategorized | Leave a CommentIdyllwild that is. A weekend in the mountains, first camping on Black Mountain. We woke up to a pleasant shower which lingered for the better portion of the day (making for primo trail conditions on Sunday)

Marlin

Dogs
Then heading back into town with pedaling in mind. I convinced Brendan to let me build up my new Trauco prior to powdercoat just so I could ride for the weekend. He responded with some ugly ass stickers as insurance that I wouldn’t leave town with it.

Trauco v2.0
We made a few mods to the geometry in the form of an extra quarter inch in the chainstays, an extra quarter in the top tube and a slight adjustment to the head (70.5 with a 100mm Reba) the bike feels amazing and addresses everything I would have changed about v1.0. Two days of great riding in May Valley and out at the Hub, the longer of the two being May Valley.

Dave attempting the Spine - I was the able to link the one he is on with the one just to his right

Doug on the rocks

Mary lost brendan out there somewhere?
Three day weekends are most excellent!
Work week in LA
August 26, 2008 at 1:37 am | In Uncategorized | 1 Comment
I spent the last week working with an engineering firm on the Solar Decathlon project. They are helping out with structural analysis and environmental engineering. Great stuff, it is so nice to work in an office where everyone is interested and excited about their jobs. We also had a chance to see some architecture and visit with old friends.
Venice Beach hotel
We visited SciArch one day for lunch. It was great to see full scale installations as student work
Installation project at SciArch - collaborative work with Buro Happold
Folded paper turns into structure
more SciArch student work
Folded steel
CNC Foam parts
Visited the Moneo cathedral and the CalTrans building on Saturday with Joe
Moneo
More
Organ
CalTrans
Trauco 2.0 fab
August 25, 2008 at 11:32 pm | In Uncategorized | 1 Comment
I spent the past week working in LA and had a free weekend with a rental car so I drove up to Idyllwild to hang out with Brendan and Mary up on the mountain. It was a nice departure from the car culture city life. In one long day, we enjoyed some great espresso, ate well, went to a jazz festival and tacked together a frame from the ground up. It was great to be in the shop, geeking out hardcore.
Trauco 1.0 was the first to come out of the Siren shop and it got ridden hard. Trauco 2.0 boasts greater tire and chainring clearance as well as some updated geometry based on getting to know 1.0.
Updated geometry
Slightly longer chainstays and toptube. I found that the rear wheel hangs a bit when decending techy gnar and was curious about a slightly longer CS to ease things up a bit without loosing the billy goat like qualities that I adore.
Fabbing the front triangle
Torch Time
Night time
tagged…thanks Mary
August 14, 2008 at 1:09 pm | In Uncategorized | 4 CommentsWhat was I doing 10 years ago?
Getting ready to start my senior year of high school, being a teenager. I hadn’t yet started mountain biking but that would start soon enough.
What are five non-work things on my to-do list today?
- Ride my bike
- Get a haircut
- Transfer my health insurance
- Eat a peach
- The last one is “top secret classified”
Snacks I enjoy:
- Redvines
- Kombucha
- Espresso
- Fruit Leather
- Peanut butter cover pretzels
- Rice pudding
Things I would do if I were a billionaire.
- Tinker for a lifetime
- Build a pedal powered beard trimmer
Places I have lived:
- Murphysboro, IL
- Tucson, AZ
Jobs I have had:
- Construction/carpentry
- Architectural Intern
- Architects Assistant
- Bicycle chauffeur for a 95 year old blind man on a tandem bicycle (he was the stoker)
- Designer and fabricator
- CNC router guru
- Laboratory Coordinator
- Teaching Assistant
- Project Mananger for 2009 Solar Decathlon
Now, for the tagging:
JRH
Harry Gary
Walker
Yuri
Gnome
Back to normal
August 5, 2008 at 12:10 am | In Tinkering | 1 Comment
Katie finally got back from a few weeks in SoILL and its good to have here home. While she was gone I got a lot done at the house; put in some ceiling fans and fix a few leaky things, install an outside shower and acquire a lot of furniture which required a reconnoitering of existing furnishings. The house looks and feels great, even better with her back.
I got out for a spin on Saturday morning; planning on a quick hour of solo riding on the road, I ran in to Todd and a few others who convinced me to turn my easy hour into 5 hours of hammering in the sun. Fighting trepidation, I quietly agreed and took mental note of what I had with me, 1 1/2 bottles water a phone and a wallet. No food, and no sunblock, good for me! Our route took us over Gates pass and out to the Desert Museum where we topped off on water, then on to Sandario and North to Picure Rocks. Right as I was starting to get desperate for some nutrition, we made a stop at a gas station before hitting the climb up to the Picture Rocks Pass. Down, back towards town where Todd and I took the river path East and on to Mountain. Great Saturday morning ride.
Roadtrip pic(s) of the day
Ductape wallet construction
Completed Ductape wallet doing what it does best - holding the Benjamins
Brendan the firekeeper - Just before tattooing his hand.
Dave living the high life
TourDivide 08 Pic of the Day
July 31, 2008 at 9:03 pm | In Pedaling, Sploration | 1 CommentTags: Banff, Exploration, Tour Divide
Blue water, little fluffy clouds and big rock
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