season of meh.

mood went sour,
with it, health.

rolled thru a head cold thing,
not the swine, just a touch of
miserable sinus-ness.

deep into the off season, riding
the shoulder swell, teased by Ullr
and lingering tastes of IndianSummer.

leaves are down, perfect time to
inspect federally protected babyheads.
not sold on the Alfine, definitely not a
just give 'er piece of gear.

break out the Jabber to keep honest,
continue to flirt with the internal style
see if it fits, I think it will for the
desired use...time will tell, tired of flats
though, gotta set up the tubeless.

and I'm waiting, and waiting and waiting.
waiting for winter now that Autumn is on
the downslope. leaves coming down,
daylight savings on the way. I know,
sac up, get used to the darkness, revel in it.

recently splurged on two pairs of new
to me ski sticks. gearwhoring at it's finest
prices were right, cheap, trying different
ranges of the spectrum, learn more about
skis if anything else.

first in the door is the Atomic Telledaddy.
Stupid fat for everyday use around here,
99 under foot, but pretty fuckin' stiff, burly.
'That's a man's ski' Stubbie says, he ain't kidding.

Then a pair of Jaks should be here tomorrow.
Not sure how much life is left in 'em, but should
give me an idea of how I like the ride and be a
perfect skinnin' ski for WV, O1's included.

Also got skins w/ the TD's, which will also fit the
Jaks, combined w/ the Bro's, makes for a
loaner set for when we get buried this year.

right? we are gonna get buried this year?
this is the year, right? please.

pretty please.
it's been awhile.

linkage.

changed up the links over there on the right a little bit...

local colors

rose colored glasses help..

jonesin'

but never this desperate.

squeaky wheel

gets the grease.


thanks James!

pilgrimage.

headed down to Stokseville for the SVBC Festival,
what an incredible celebration of bike, trails and
community. first phase leaf peakage in effect,
full spectrum of plenty of green yet to pockets
of fluorescent kaleidoscope groove. sweetness.
qwik pic summaryage, must sleep,
more later.

yeah but...

after ripping down this...


huh, whuut?
hike a bike?

went for a ride

and it was a lot of fun.
explored a bit, found some
challenges, discovered a bit of
history and finished with
well earned shwoopyness
thru bulbous green glowing
moss and right in front of your
nose spines of benched love.












another six hours rolls on by.
yeah.


and for the record, that hike a
bike was 912ft in .66 miles,
according to the gizmo..

nice work, gents.

my thoughts.

should I post this?

huh, huh, I was just trollin'.
weak. you got something
to say, fucking say it, wah,
wah fucking wah.
respect others work as
they respect yours.
it's not about ownership,
it's about respect.

some things are meant to be
flowy smooth(ish) love, some things
are meant to challenge you every step
of the way. these are just paths we're
following, because there is no actual
trail construction in the MSF. We follow
hunter's paths, fisherman's paths, deer
paths, and we put names on them, where
they go, who found them, their personalities.
and we respect the hand that mother
nature deals us in our travels thru the
forest. it's about respecting the discovered
line.

it's a shame that we have this much
time and energy to squabble over
this shit, and never enough to see
any actual advocacy happen.

at least the jersey's are swell.

and yeah, I'm a childish hypocritical
asshole, whatever. here's to mother
nature, and good beer.

damn.

revel in someone else's misfortune, ooops:

parts list for an Alfine....

more details....

here's the Shimano web page for the hub:
http://www.shimano.com/publish/content/global_cycle/en/us/index/products/0/alfine/product.-code-SG-S500.-type-.html

In the picture, they show the assembled hub...the cog, the cassette joint, the nuts, the no turn washers, a complete unit....but you don't get any of that with the hub. When you order the hub, you get just the hub, nothing more.

So, in addition to the hub, you also need to order the following separately:

The Cog, understandable, pick the gear you want, 18 or 20.
The shifter, understandable, twist or trigger, your choice.

Those parts are understandable, personal preference. But, you will also need to order the following, which Shimano may or may not clue you in on when you talk to them on the phone, and which I feel should all be included with the hub, since, you know, all of these parts are needed in order to use the fucking thing:

Cog snap ring: #Y-321 20100
Driver cap: #Y-74Y 18000
Cassette Joint: CJ-8S20 *(see below)
Cassette JointFixing Ring: Y-33Z 98020
Inner Cable Fixing Bolt Unit: Y-74Y 98030
Non Turn Washer 8R: Y-34R 85010 (for vertical dropout)
Non Turn Washer 8L: Y-34R 85000 (for vertical dropout)
(2) Axle Cap Nuts: Y-314 14010

Now, Shimano may pull a fast one on you and send you the CJ-8S40 Cassette Joint instead of the CJ-8S20, and if they do, you will also need to make sure you have the following:

Outer Casing Holder Unit: Y-74Y 98160

Which consists of the following:
Rubber Cover: Y-74Y 27000
Outer Casing Holder: Y-74Y 28000
Rubber Bellows: Y-74Y 30200

First I ordered the hub, it arrived, we opened the box...Uhmmm, where are the axle nuts, no turn washers...? So then we had to order the small parts kit, was assured that that was everything I'd need, uhmm, wrong. Build the wheel, make the second trip to the shop for the box of small parts, then discover that I'm still missing the cog snap ring. Work the phones on Monday and make trip number three to another local shop. Finally begin the install, down to the final steps of hooking up the cable, WTF? I'm still missing parts?!?!??....so now I have to either return the CJ 8S40 hanger and get a CJ 8S20, or track down the Outer Casing Holder Unit #Y-74Y 98160, since that was not included with the CJ-8S40, even though it is essential to have those particular bits in order for the CJ-8S40 to function. That'll be trip number four to the shop...if I pursue it.

Shouldn't you be able to just order the fucking hub, and have all the bits that actually make it function included together in the same fucking box, in one package, like they show in that nice picture on the website? Talk about bullshit.