Bike Name

When my brother Hank came over for a cross race I noticed he had "Top Greer" stenciled on the sides of the top tube and it looked pretty cool. He told me about bikenames.com so I ordered a couple for myself. My buddy Gonzo used to call me Greer Meister as a nickname so I stuck with it as name for my bike. Good call on the website Bro.

Now I'll be able to find my bike on anyone's rack. 

Oh yeah, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to represent the team.  

Frozen Fingers, Take Two

My prototype wind blockers were okay for the most part, but they didn't give me the coverage needed so I found an empty OJ container and made some new ones. They're bigger and less of an eyesore. I'll be ops checking them in the morning in a cool 28 degree forecast. 

Frozen Fingers

As an all season bike commuter I get to ride in the nice weather as well as the not so nice. The rain is easy to overcome. You put your gear on and ride until you get home/work, remove your clothes and hang them up to dry. Wind... put your head down and power through it. Ice... you drive in because you'd be a fool to attempt that commute. The cold however can be beat. Everything on my body stays relatively warm except my fingers so I came up with some prototype wind blockers and attached them to my brake levers with some hot glue. Since I made them out of a milk jug, they're not very pretty but if they work I'll find a clear material, reshape them and glue'em on. I could buy a good pair of winter riding gloves, but that would mean spending more money on gear and put me deeper in the red for the year. This is almost a free fix and I can remove them in the spring.   

Working for a living

Both our girls landed jobs several days ago and we're very happy. Not only does it give them something to do, but they're gaining experience in the real world and bringing home some green backs as well. We haven't seen a first check yet, but it's coming. Does this mean we can stop the allowance? Mmmm.... probably wishful thinking on my part, but it's a thought. Jasmine is working at Barnes & Noble and Bek landed a gig at a new place called Lime Berry. It's a pay by the ounce frozen yogurt place. 

Here she is on her first day. I was happy to be her first customer and she was happy to accept a generous tip. 

Fort Steilacoom Cyclocross

Today was my last SCX race for the season and my sister Kathy was coerced by her husband Gunnar to ride in her first cross race . The team I ride with is called Team Double Check and they're a great bunch of people to be associated with. Brian, the ring leader has a donor bike put together with pieces and parts from multiple bikes from multiple people and it's a size 50cm. Perfect for Kathy. I did the C4 Men's at 9:15 and told her I would ride with her during the 10:15 race to keep her out of harms way. I met her at the top of the run up (no sense doing that more than necessary) and stayed with her for the duration. She listened well to all of my instructions. Stay right, down shift, hold your line as well as instructions from others in the form of: passing on your left/right, race leader coming through. We got two laps in before we heard the last bit of information and had an early exit. Not sure if she'll be doing anymore racing, but she had a good time and kept the wheels upright. I think the she disliked all the bumps the most of all and I agree. 

Here we are coming out of the muddy section at a casual pace looking for a hand out.   

Not a finish for the SCX records, but it's one for her's. 

Our after race photo finish. Notice anything missing? Mud and sweat! Good times all around. 

It's just a haircut

A major part of being in the military is maintaining standards and personal appearance so every military member usually gets a haircut every four to five weeks to keep within these standards. We moved here in 99 and like all the other military personnel I migrated to the Barber Shop at the BX for my monthly event. A friend of mine named Mike Clark (an RN) not because he's a registered nurse, but because he's a Red Neck told me about Kim. She normally had a small line of people waiting for her while some of the other cutters sat and waited. She was worth the wait and even after she left the BX and opened up her own business, myself (a loyal customer) and several others followed. So for the last 12 years I've had the same person cutting my hair and this morning I showed up at "Kim's Clippers" only to find a new owner. Kim's been telling me over the last several months she'd like to sell the place and rent a chair somewhere and I guess her wish came true a little over a month ago. But where is she at now? What do I do? Do I go to the nearest butcher shop and take my chances or go to the same place my wife and go? Maybe I should protest the whole process by waiting until Kim surfaces so I can continue to get the same quality service without having to explain to another how much to cut off and where. Would it be worth letting my hair grow out to a length I haven't seen since I was a teenager? I'm still debating and in the meantime, I stopped by McDonalds on the way home to buy some comfort food to sooth my sadness/anger.  

Woodland Park Cyclocross

Sunday was the MFG Cyclocross season finale race at Woodland Park in Seattle with a record setting number of riders. The weather was perfect and our team had several new riders show up. I entered the first two races and faired about average after the first one and was lapped during the second. I wasn't too unhappy getting lapped because I was pretty tired and ready to dismount one last time.

 Here I am with the normal look of someone sucking in as much air as they possible can while trying to keep their lungs in place too. 

My McGiver attempt to keep the toes warm helped a little. 

Very happy the race is over and I can relax. Cross is supposed to be fun, but my miserable meter was pegged today.

My brother in law Gunnar is determined to get my sister Kathy to the Fort Steilacoom race next weekend. His words were, she was excited and her eyes lit up when she was watching us on Sunday, so he wants her to at least try it. Our team has a size 50cm bike that will fit her just fine. Should be fun.

After the race we headed toward the 5th ave theater to purchase tickets to the musical, The Adams Family, 7 pm show. After getting our tickets we went to our Aunt Janet's and Uncle Mike's house for a badly needed shower and lunch. We visited with them, Kathy, Gunnar and Mike's cousin Christi? for a few hours,
until the girls decided Red Mill Hamburgers was going to dinner before the show. The theater was promoting the musical Hair Spray, so Bek and I decided to try on the paper wigs.

 

We're looking pretty good don't you think?

Happy Birthday Susan

Yesterday was Susan's ??? Birthday and what better way to spend the day than on the golf course. It was a crisp 35 degrees, very foggy and both of us were bundled up to chase the ball around. Riding in a cart and having some warm coffee on hand made the temperature a little less of an issue. We haven't played much golf lately, but we each had a great time, shot our average and it was even better after we played through a slow threesome holding up the show for everyone in their tracks.  Here she is on the first tee posing before she takes her first swing. 

And here's the proof with our average posted. The M on 13 is a not so often taken Mulligan. Its all good. 

Kitchen update

The cabinets are set and we actually have a functioning kitchen now. I need to call the finishing guy tomorrow and see how he's doing with our stain color so we can drop our doors and drawer fronts off for stain and clear coat. I purged a bunch of junk that's been taking up space in the garage for who knows how long so it's back to normal and Susan can start parking her car in her spot again. One last trip to the dump and we'll be all cleaned up. I'll be calling the carpet dude as well to see if I can apply Greerenomics to his quote to save us a few bucks on our carpet job. Christmas came a little early in our home.  

Cyclocross in Enumclaw

This was my first race in a very long time and was expecting it to be like last year with a major down pour early in the day, but the weather gods decided to give us a mixture of clouds with a few sun breaks. Perfect  for Cross. The course was still pretty muddy because of the previous days rain. Since I've been out of the saddle for a while I thought I would try something different and start dead last to see how many riders I could pass. Out of 60'ish Cat 4 riders, I only passed 8 and finished 52'nd. Which is about par for the course. : ) I didn't get half way around the course before the Cat 3 Masters 35+ were passing me like I was dragging a car tire. It was good to get out and throw some mud again with the team and next week is the Woodland Park race which is always a fun one with a huge turnout. Susan and Jaz decided to join me today and between them, they got a few good shots of everyone. 

I'm smiling now because the race is over.

It may not have been raining, but the course was loaded with mud.