Groovy Open House '09 and Race Series #2

A little round up of the last few days for you.

Mike's road frame finally got out of the starting blocks when the Cane Creek 110 headset finally landed. I had already prepped the frame, so I pressed it into place, mounted up the fork, and gave it all a final wipe with polish before handing the assembly off to Bill at Ride On, the LBS down the alley.

Mike is planning on riding this bike from Pittsburgh to Washington DC the first part of June, so it was nice to get it done in time for him to ride it for a bit before starting the adventure. Here's a shot of the custom rack all mounted up...should do just dandy for carrying his overnight kit.

The Open house was scheduled to start at 1000 hours Saturday and approached more quickly than I would have liked. Friday evening, two "emergency" repairs came into the shop to be resolved before the morning so the customers could have their bikes for the Holiday weekend. Unfortunately, that meant that I had to burn the midnight oil to get them done. I finished up around 0800 and took a look around...what a mess! I put the call in for Christi to rouse Kalten from bed and get his butt down to the shop to help me clean up the mess. I was sweeping out the final dirt (with the air hose) while the first visitors arrived...too close for comfort.

Tired, sweaty and now dust covered from my efforts, I greeted the first arrivals. Not my best look, but hey, they came to see what goes on in a frame shop and honestly, this is how I look most the time :)

Some of the Mansfield crew chatting it up before the 5 minute tour...

A line up of Groovys on display; actually just outside to make room for everyone to come in :)

Winning the longest driving award was Grant from Canada. Grant had just completed his immersion into building with a class at Brew Cycles and was able to stop by for a visit on the way back through. Here's a pic of the proud builder with his new ride and painted to match Luv...

Christi saved my bum by doing all the food shopping for me, an effort that everyone enjoyed. Wanna know the secrete to having a successful small frame business? The spouses that support, work, and console behind the scenes make it all possible...thanks baby!

Kevin, Mike and Dusty came down from Akron and the Camba club to check things out. Here are some of them chatting it up with Ben from Ride On and Jeff, my sponsored racer du jour.

I really enjoyed the opportunity to spend some time talking with everyone that made it out. Here Michael and I got to peruse the resto shelves and the special bikes that are here for work. I talked Michael into coming back to Woo on Wednesday to do a little riding with me...old slow guys unite!

All told, we had 24 folks stop by...many I met for the first time. I definitely enjoyed it and am looking forward to doing it again in 2010.

After rapidly closing the doors, it was time to get out to the course to set up for the second race in the Groovy series at Vulture's Knob. Kevin, Mike, Dusty and Jay had already worked their tails off in the morning getting ready, so all I had to do was set up my stuff and get Kalten prepped for the race.

The day was perfect; 80 degrees, sunny with a light breeze, and the course was dry and fast. As registration closed, we had 77 racers out to enjoy the event, an excellent turn out for a series that has led to the rebirth of a great course.

As always, the race had it's share of ups and downs...Kalten rode well in only his second race, taking first in the Novice 29 and under class on his single speed, definite up.

Lindsay, one of our regional hard core girls, started the race with a broken elbow that she has been nursing back to health. Some of the technical aspects of the trail were not kind to her and she had to DNF in quite a bit of pain; both emotional and physical. Big downer. She's a tough cookie though and I know she'll be back in fine form soon.

We've really been working hard to make the race series a family event and encourage folks to stay and enjoy this special area. To that end, we had quite a few families stay the night, including ours. Some how I found time between running around to get the tents set up. As an FYI, camping out here at the Knob is free to all and quite beautiful. We just ask that you drop a few bucks into the can if you are riding to help us keep up with trail maintenance costs.

As the sun began to set, we finished up the awards and got ready for the evening activities; a rousing bonfire, Super Funky tunes from DJ Madnote, and a brilliant round of large caliber fireworks for all the kids (big and small), courtesy of our on site explosive technician Tim.

Good conversation went on into the night and finally around 0100 I finally turned in...what a great day.

So, now that it's Sunday evening, I'll leave you with this. Riding today out at Moho forest, I was talking with a guy about the advantages of the Rohloff system, one such item being no rear derailleur hanging out there to be ripped off, leaving you pushing your way out the trail. As fate would have it, our conversation came to fruition when Dan L. bashed his derailleur on a rock, tearing it from the frame. As I worked to shorten his chain to give him a single gear to ride out on, Mike J. stood over us and let this jewel fly...

"A rear derailleur is just like a scrotum, only attached to your ankle where it will get bashed by everything...that just 'aint good"

What a disturbing analogy ;)

cheers,

rody