Cross Riding

So I jumped into my 2009 cross racing season last weekend. After months of training (not), I lined up with friends in the Men's B class at the Cow Palace in SF. Pretty sweet course---steep downhill had me nervous at first, and the 3+ stories of stairs to climb 9X hurt as usual. Best part? Having Jake there to cheer me on, nothing could compare...

I finished.

Life has been pretty good/interesting/fun/challenging...2010 is gonna be a trip.

Thanks Christina for sweet video.

Thanks Veronika Lenzi for photos, I grabbed low-res to share with family only...

Bike Camping Posse

Bike Camping Posse
Originally uploaded by babageik

Last Friday we headed up Redwood Rd to Mt. Veeder and beyond... towed Jake on tag-a-long with some pushing help from Curtis and Co. in a few spots... Made it up by 9:30, had a late dinner, some star watching and then sleeping on the ground... Woke up the next morning high above fog line, ripped a dirt and road descent and enjoyed breakfast at our friend Chino's restaurant, "First Squeeze"...good times!

Jake Hawk

That is some Stiff Hair
Originally uploaded by Dooquie

Jake has been asking for almost 2 years for a mohawk, so last Friday we obliged... I can not begin to describe how much he was smiling during the process... it turned out really cool too!

Bike Paint Design

Leslie new bike
Originally uploaded by retrotec&ingliscycles

Curtis just finished Leslie's bike, I had the pleasure designing paint for this beauty... took a lot of inspiration from old Bridgestone jobs... Spectrum finished off with nice powder and flake...yummy!

Superman Stylee!

IMG_1170
Originally uploaded by luce goods

Having Fun doing the Superman while riding home from dinner and a beer in SR on Friday night...got A. Brooks and Curtis to do the "Superman"!

Me and Jake, Conolly Ranch

Kenny and Jake, Conolly Ranch
Originally uploaded by Dooquie

Stopped by Conolly Ranch on Sat. on way back from road ride. Got a chance to kick it with Jake, David, Erin and Kaya for a bit...

Really like this pic David took of Jake and I.

NIght Riding with Jake-Alston

NIght Riding with Jake-Alston
Originally uploaded by babageik

Action packed weekend-also hella™ hot! Jake and I headed to Alston on Saturday night around 9PM and did a nice night ride. Tons of toads all over the place--really, really cool trip. Bonus, warm enough for t-shirts and shorts.

Sunday was drive into SF to see the Reptile Show at the Cow Palace--strange animals and even stranger folks...not entirely sure how I feel about seeing hundreds of animals in tiny plastic containers-for sale...

Good times in Norcal...

Retrotec-ians Unite!

Retrotecians
Originally uploaded by babageik

Finished another year of Grasshoppers on Saturday--the ol' KIngs Ridge ride once again went down with issues. Namely my tire deteriorating over the course of the ride. My GPS shows over 8,000' of climbing in 85 or so miles, even with our elimination of one dirt climb...

I really enjoy these events and fully appreciate the folks that put them on. Great vibe, great friends and incredible (views and difficulty) rides.

Can't wait until next year!

The Fifth Beatle

Uhhh, what? One of these kids is not like the others!

I feel a bit like Clarence Walker-The Fifth Beatle...

Overall Grasshopper Results

Funny stuff. But these are totally fun events, I really like finishing-at any cost or time!

Spider crack

Spider crack
Originally uploaded by babageik

Sweet!
Went for a ride in Skyline Thursday with Curtis, Andrew and Leslie-scout out course for Eagle's Race in June. HIt trails I hadn't been on in a long time-primarily upper Skyline...having a great time, rocking the Intense Spider and all. Funny I even got really far up the rock steps on back side of lake, didn't rip my new kit like Curtis (sorry brother) and got no poison oak...

What did I get?

Bummer news. I was fixing a flat tire when Curtis starts staring at my bike. I ask-"What?, Did I put tire on wrong or something?"

"Nope. That looks fine. I just wanted to tell you your frame is cracked."

"What????"—No way, it's probably just dirt.

"No, it's cracked"

Dizzamn!

I never break anything on my bike, save a few small bits, but not frames. Total bummer. Intense has a 2 year warranty and my bike is 5 years old. I'll try some angles I have-but no guarantees. Thankfully I am chock full of extra money right now (not)...

Well at least I have a sweet singlespeed...

King Ridge::Grasshopper

What I'll be doing Saturday May 9th...during the day.
I'll be sleeping early that night.

Jake and the gnome home

Jake and my gnome home
Originally uploaded by babageik

Sunday's are finding Jake and I at Alston a lot lately...he's really digging taking his Kona out for some mountain bike riding-which I am happy to join!

I have to say, it's pretty incredible watching him grow and ride stronger and faster with each passing adventure...the pure joy and sense of adventure I see in him at age six, is the same feeling I have at age 36 when I am out there...

Needless to say, each ride includes a trip to the Gnome Home rock pile where we set about constructing something new for our gnome-friends... this trip I found myself going skyscraper-style while Jake focused on building a low to the ground, well fortified unit...

Afterward, I saw Jake's eyes bigger than I have ever seen as he got a bit too much speed coming down a little single track...I had to suppress all of my Prosser–tendencies to scream "easy", "Slow down", "be careful" and just let the situation unfold... successfully! Jake rocked the funky turn, didn't crash and tasted a bit more of the adrenaline and excitement that comes with exploring your limits...

I couldn't (and still can't) help but smile.

Tam's Cross Bike-Powder Coat

disc brake cross frame & fork
Originally uploaded by retrotec&ingliscycles

Just wanted to post the sweet CX bike Curtis just finished for my friend Steve Tam. I was fortunate enough to work with both in designing paint scheme for this CX beauty...wish I could have pushed you to get fork painted too Steve! Think it turned out real nice though--pretty easy to do when you start with an incredible canvas...

Moving Along

IMG_1229
Originally uploaded by retrotec&ingliscycles

Slow blogging of late...lo siento mucho...

Cool beans though, despite pretty much second guessing myself for a week, I stuck with riding my singlespeed at Lake Sonoma Grasshopper and ended up doing a lot better than I hoped. Now granted, I didn't win, but—thanks to weather that was A LOT more favorable than last year (last year it was 109 degrees out there), a great breakfast and Huey Lewis playing in my head— I did finish almost 40 minutes FASTER than previous year!

Yee Ha!

Funny thing that made me think...riding to Lucie's house with Kara, Brian, Rick and MaryAnne-Brian asked why I wasn't faster if I rode my bike all the time... I didn't take it as an insult, quite the contrary, it played well into my entire reasoning behind doing these races and such... then answer is many-fold.

Top-most, I am not a heavy competitor-my upbringing, for better or worse, led me to be a bit more timid and unsure of myself than others...with that to bear, I am pretty much handicapped by myself...

Secondly, I pretty much ride my bike to help sort myself, my life and my thoughts and feelings out. I got into the whole racing thing as a response to my divorce. Rather than sit around and feel sorry, I jumped at the opportunity to ride more. And egged on by Curtis and Andrew to hit the Grasshoppers, County Lines and so forth, just found that being amongst like-minded folks helped me sort ME out...

What else? Well I am overweight, so pushing the tonnage around is harder. I don't "train" and don't really ever see myself doing that to the extent that the top folks are doing. I think that the entire point of cycling (to me) would be lost if it became a "job"---as it's more of an escape for me than work (even when I'm hiking my bike up the 30th hill) and I'm just not into more "work"...

Anyway, it was a great question, one I am still pondering. The event was incredible as well... almost 6,000' feet of climbing in 23 miles, A LOT of pain, but I resigned myself to walk whenever I felt like it, so it was all good...

I'll try to post more to the ol' blog... god knows there are plenty of really great things going on in my life as well as a few funky things...2009 is still shaping up to be gooder than 08' in many ways though...

Skyline Hiking

A Little Help
Originally uploaded by Dooquie

Sunday found the weather incredible, me kinda sore and Jake ready to go!
I am happy to say that my brother and I are again speaking and hanging out and he asked if we wanted to go for a hike---of course we did!

Skyline was chosen and we proceeded to spend almost 4 hours hiking the eastern side of the park and some trails I had never been on before.

David has really taken to photography and shot some incredible pics, one of which is featured above.

Suffice it to say, it was an incredibly beautiful day and made even better by sharing with family...because despite any differences (which we all have), family is important to me, and not being in contact with any part of mine is really hard... glad to be back in the mix.

Grasshopper #2: chileno valley

#2: chileno valley
Originally uploaded by kimdow

Saturday was a terrific day for so many reasons, the one I will share pertains to the ol' Grasshopper...

Pretty sweet, this was my first ride on the new Retrotec road bike Curtis made for me, the one I have only seen, never ridden until that day (being that it just returned from the handbuilt show)...

Let's see, 70-ish miles, last year was terrible headwind. This year was fortified with red-wine the night before and not as much sleep as recommended...no worries though, I was feelin' it!

Roll-out was sketchy as hell with the 200+ rider accordian sketching it's way for a few miles with fits and starts...I was bugged by my handlebars that had rotated slightly after hitting a sweet pothole-couldn't concentrate on anything else until I finally stopped to fix them.

The stop had me racing off nearly the back of the entire race to try to catch up with my friends...

First reel in was Peter and Leslie...climb was a rough one, but kicked it with Leslie along Tomales to Marshall...

Marshall was kinda solo until lo-and-behold- I somehow caught Crizzle and Michael and Heather...OUr group worked together from the next big climb-Marshall Wall until the headwinds and final area before the aptly named Burnside Road...

Who is that lone rider way up there? The one we're catching...Holy Crap! It's the one, the only Curtis! Seems he had a bit of a stomach issue and after cold-chillin' at the shooting range, was waiting for us to ride back with...

Ahhhh, Burnside...minus water, plus cramps...up, up, and up some more...The sounds from grown men sounding like cries of babies...necessary stop in Freestone for some delicious fresh baked bread a little leg stretch and then re-mount bikes to finish the damn thing...

Sure is nice to have a climb to the finish too.

Not.

Thankfully Lucie, KIm and crew were waiting to record our times and hand a tasty cold Tecate off to us...

Sitting in the sun sharing in the pain, then a trip to the Union Hotel for food sealed the deal...

The bike?
Incredible. The fact it was made by my friend, for me, infinitely incredible.

The ride?
Awesome, even with some serious cramping and a bit of wind. A perfect sunny day and another challenge completed...

The rider?
Happy as all hell at how things are working out, the ride, the trip, the company, the new...

All good.

All.

Good.

Bad. ASS!

2009 Old Caz Grasshopper Pt. 1 from Geoff Kabush on Vimeo.

Sweet, sweet video of Grasshopper last weekend, damn, if I could only go half as fast as you fellas-but somebody's gotta finish at the back!

More video here:


2009 Old Caz Grasshopper Pt. 2 from g kabush on Vimeo.

Grasshopper site here-great folks, great races!

Grasshopper Blog

Home Art Show and SR Good times

playmobile
Originally uploaded by luce goods

Friday headed to Santa Rosa to support Crizzler at his Art Opening and hang out...

let me say, if it was possible, I would move to SR right now— really like the vibe over there-lots of love for the bike (great path system and strong advocacy), things to do after 8PM, and really great people...who knows-might look further into that as time moves on...

Back to the night, met up with Kara and walked over to the show where we met Jefé and Kim and then Lucie and Crizzle. Place was jam-packed! Really good stuff to be seen, as the focus was "Home". The in the middle of it all, we all became star-struck as Tom Waits (yes, Tom waits) entered the gallery (his daughter was showing) and proceeded to say hello to Crizzle, on a first name basis! Damn-it's nice to know the Mayor of SR!

Anyway, my Tom Waits fan-dom was far surpassed by Kara and Jefé's, but it was still really cool to be right next to him...

Food was a calling and we hit a sweet Thai place where we sat on the floor sans shoes and had a great meal. Cooler too that we were joined by Lucie, Crizzle and Heather for the meal.

Next stop was the inglorious 440 Club. A few beerz and a great chat with Jefé on how to launch his fender bizness...then peeping really drunk chicks fall on themselves and hit the floor.

By 1AM it was time to hit the hay-Grasshopper was next day!

Good times!

Grasshopper-Old Caz

HPIM2294
Originally uploaded by nickgaetano

Second year in a row, very happy to be out there, despite known amount of suffering I knew was in store.

Faithful wingman Peter started race/ride with me (can see him behind me in this pic from Nick G.), but lead legs got the best of him.

As for me?

50+ miles on a cross bike with more climbing than I care to remember = A great time to reflect on all that has been going on-a lot of good I must admit...time alone in the middle of nowhere, on a bike-well, for me is the goods. Clear(er) head, better sense of purpose...

Of course, I did look forward to getting done with Willow Creek (especially once I was on it) and getting back to S.R. and hang out time...

Nice. Real nice.

Got another one this weekend.

Sunsets are always nice

Ken was waiting for the sunset to finish the race
Originally uploaded by [thispintofmilkhastolastme3.5wkskim]

Thanks Kim for great picture illustrating how late in the day I returned from County Line...
Mental note: next year maybe A LOT less drinking the night before and keep the beer stops to under 15 minutes...

Thanks for waiting for me to finish though!

Root beerz!

Root beerz!
Originally uploaded by babageik

Sunday-Jake and I headed back to Academy of Sciences (real nice being a member) to meet up with our fellow Reptile club homies...they were pretty late, so we peeped the scene solo style... really enjoy hitting the place up-especially planetarium...we'll be going again, and again...

Tag-A-Long Adventures

Tag-A-Long Adventures
Originally uploaded by babageik

Good times on Saturday-before the rains came!

Jake joined me for some of Pizza ride. We met at Stanley Lane, had donut, coffee and juice and hustled (thanks Grayson) to try to stick with group. 

Out Coombsville to Avenues, we got dropped...

No worries-we chilled, looked for sallys and headed toward Atlas Peak...

Started climb up Atlas Peak, made it to just past Pet Cemetary. Kicked it on the side of the road checking out the scene, a waterfall and munching on Clif product...

Headed down for good speedy time and back across town to get some lunch and chill...

Had to be at least 20 miles, Jake's a trooper!

IF Crown Jewel SEC

My IF Crown Jewel SEC
Originally uploaded by babageik

Frame, fork, King Headset, Seat clamp are now for sale...

53.5TT
53 ST
Foco and 853 tubing
Nearly perfect condition, a couple of small paint chips, but all touched up. Frame has been frame-savered and pampered-never crashed.

Fork is Reynolds carbon (carbon steerer too)
HS is King Patriot

Cranks and BB might also be for sale

Email if you're interested, we can go from there.

Kenji road bike

Kenji road bike
Originally uploaded by retrotec&ingliscycles

Stopped by Curtis' today at lunch and peeped the bike I'm working my design skills for...all I can say is "WOW". Spectrum killed it on the paint and Curtis' welds and build are beyond nice...

Red King HS and King BB are going to go incredibly with my current Red King wheels...

Can't wait to ride it once it gets back from NAHBS.

County Line Jamboree

Sun Setting
Originally uploaded by babageik

This weekend marked an interesting couple of anniversaries for me-my second County LIne SS race/ride and (because it fell on the same date as Jamboree last year-2/14) the (almost) anniversary of Cari letting me know she was officially done.

So what better way to celebrate than to suffer like a dog while taking in incredible beauty, spending time with great friends and generally acknowledging that life has (and always will) go on.

My friend Peter and I headed down to CVC Friday night, hooked up with Johnoss and then moseyed to his cabin in Aptos. Got there and proceeded to head out and do a little (too much it seems) drinking.

Got back from some stellar dive bars in Sea Cliff (The Mediterranean and The Windjammer) around 2:30 in the morning---to prep for the 1PM start saturday.

The County Line is a Single Speed adventure, in it's 10th year, put on my Rick Hunter. It's PAINFUL. 36 or so miles long. The ride starts at the northern end of Santa Cruz and Goes to Watsonville.

The kicker?
Well you're on a single speed for one.
10 miles are on road-HWY 1 to be exact.
The next 13 or so miles are on RR Tracks and the gravel alongside.
The final 13 or so miles are all on the beach/sand.

I'm not too strong and the night drinking did no better to me.
Neither did the stop at one of the "rest-stops" for a tecate.
Neither did a 30 minute or so stop at Seabright Brewery to meet an friend I hadn't seen in 10 years-for a beer.

I knew I was screwed (but the stop was not only necessary, but worth it). I saw no other riders from that point on. Pretty sure I was last. Tried calling everyone I was with to let them know I was quitting. No answers, so I kept riding.

Mile 30, I was really close to cooked. Sun was almost down. Curtis egged me on, so I pushed through last 6 or so miles.

My friends were kind enough to wait (up to 2 hours I heard) for me to finish-of course not without a shit-load of good-natured grief.

Headed back to Rick's old shop for some BBQ and conversation. Good times.

Then back to Aptos for some Thai food and then hit the road for the 2.5 hour drive home.

Long day kept my thoughts scrambled enough to see the beauty in EVERYTHING.

Anyway, here's to bikes, friends and 2009 and beyond...

Jake & I---Santa Rosa Bike Path

Jake & I---Santa Rosa Bike Path
Originally uploaded by babageik

Headed to SR on MLK day to ride bikes on bike path with Lucie and Violet (and I thought Crizzler as well-but he was stuck working under the tyrannical hand of Jeremy Sycip)...

14 miles
No cars
Ice Cream and Cocoa in Sebastopol
Jake and Violet did whole ride

Good times...

Looking down at shadow of Jake and I on way home brought tears of joy to my eyes...I love that little guy!

NAHBS Bike

Retrotec road frame
Originally uploaded by babageik

So Curtis approached me the other day-asking if I wanted to do some design/trading for the deal-o-the-century...a Retrotec Half road bike with new super hidden rear brake that he is making to take to the Handbuilt Show...

I had to think about it for like, ohhh .0000000000000000000001 seconds...

Maybe the IF is going up for sale as I'll be robbing all of it's parts for this sweet rig.

Oh Nine!

New Year, new beginnings, new...well new things.

08 had some crazy highs and lows. 

Divorce seemed to be that ever present "sting". Navigation of the stages of grief, while in the beginning seemed insurmountable, by 12/08 had reached a pace in which all I wanted was some closure an end... I still find myself reflecting almost daily on my personal failure in this two-party affair. Mistakes made, lessons learned too late. Daily, I also find myself stumbling upon the fact that I am a "part-time" dad. My son is, for the rest of his pre-adult life, only going to be around "part-time". Totally trips me out as that never fit into my loosely , help, and poorly maintained "plan"... Regardless, I embrace my time with him and cherish it for all it is worth.

08 brought about a slow change in "me" as well. Sure, it took my reaction to an event, but it opened, slowly and gradually, a door to me and seeing exactly what I wanted for myself in this thing called life. I'm a very non-confrontational, routine person-almost to a fault. Settling into routine, settling in general defined a lot of my life and decisions. With each experience, both good and bad last year, I personally took it upon myself to try and recognize the part I played in it unfolding and to understand and learn (no matter how small) from it...This is going to be a huge work in progress as I have a lot to learn not only about myself, but also my son, my relationship with his mother, my family, and future partners. Expectations and more come into play. I've already seen it play out in a few instances and it was less than optimal. Granted, I learned enough to see my mistake(s) early and thereby recognized that the situation was not what I really wanted, but it was a tough pill to swallow...but it gets easier as I learn more about me. Anyway, suffice it to say, I will continue to grow, to learn to get along better with myself as well as others and to definitely not settle for immediate-anything. I realize that I am worth so much more, now more than ever-in personal relationships, my job and life in general...

08 opened my eyes to a competitive side of myself in regards to bike racing. I attended and participated in more racing events last year alone than anytime in my life. And I loved it! I met tons of really great folks, became closer friends with some of them and most importantly found something that I really enjoy for so many reasons. I'm not in these races to finish first-hell, I am happy to just "finish", but the camaraderie, positive atmosphere, physical challenge and sheer joy I get drives me to do even better in 09 and beyond. Racing and riding are my church, my sanity-inducing items and important elements of "me".

08 is in the books and 09 is on the way. I have personal goals outlined I won't share here, but suffice it to say I am excited to grow and be even better as a human from this point on... Some things take longer than others and my evolution will continue until I die...but it will continue...

Here's a little song I was listening to the other day, somehow it just grabbed me on so many levels...it just seems to be applicable to so many instances, people and experiences I had to share it... in reality, it outlines  my toughest pill to swallow, that I am only responsible for myself, for "me"--no one else. I can only be me... "me" being everything good, bad, mistakes, victories...everything... Anyway I liked it and it helps out....

Leave Out All The Rest (Linkin Park)

I dreamed I was missing
You were so scared
But no one would listen
Cause no one else cared

After my dreaming
I woke with this fear
What am I leaving
When I'm done here

So if you're asking me
I want you to know

[Chorus]
When my time comes
Forget the wrong that I've done
Help me leave behind some
Reasons to be missed

And don't resent me
And when you're feeling empty
Keep me in your memory

Leave out all the rest
Leave out all the rest
[End Chorus]

Don't be afraid
I've taken my beating
I've shared what I made

I'm strong on the surface
Not all the way through
I've never been perfect
But neither have you

So if you're asking me
I want you to know

[Chorus]
When my time comes
Forget the wrong that ive done
Help me leave behind some
Reasons to be missed

Don't resent me
And when you're feeling empty
Keep me in your memory

Leave out all the rest
Leave out all the rest
[End Chorus]

Forgetting
All the hurt inside
You've learned to hide so well

Pretending
Someone else can come and save me from myself
I can't be who you are

[Chorus]
When my time comes
Forget the wrong that ive done
Help me leave behind some
Reasons to be missed

Don't resent me
And when you're feeling empty
Keep me in your memory

Leave out all the rest
Leave out all the rest

Forgetting
All the hurt inside
You've learned to hide so well

Pretending
Someone else can come and save me from myself
I can't be who you are
I can't be who you are

De Young Visit

De Young Tower
Originally uploaded by babageik

Headed to SF today in an attempt to re-visit Academy of Sciences...hella™ long lines led us to visit DeYoung instead...

Good times.

Finished with Dinner with Jefé...

The bump that broke my wrist

The bump that broke my wrist
Originally uploaded by babageik

So there it is, in all of its glory, right there to the left of my faithful scale assistant-Jake.

Wow.

Do I really know how to ride a bike?