Here are some pictures of what we did last friday on the trail. I pulled out the skidster (bobcat) to make a trail through the woods. That thing is amazing! The bike will be about a third of the trail that I made with the skidster. If you will notice I made some tight corners with banks to bank off of for a faster more invigorating ride. I was a little nervous around the creek edges so I stayed away from those for the most part. To get the skidster to this section I had to go through the creek, well getting there was no problem but coming back was. We got it stuck, The artic cat 500 4 wheeler was no help getting it out either so we had to get the JD tractor. The more equipment my father in law purchases the more opportunities I have to get kicked out of the family! My father in law was home by then so he helped us, all he could say when he saw the skidster was, oh my, oh man. The tractor had no problem pulling it out, but did have a problem the next day getting the tractor stuck on a different hill (that was Mr Rocco not me that did it). We had a good time working on the trail, I need to ride it to see how long it is, I am guessing a mile and a half so far but it is all pretty technical with few boring spots. We could add several miles of cow trails through the pastures if we need to. We also still have a lot still to do on this side of the RR tracks. I think the other side will provide several more miles at least with some good downhills and sweet jumps. I am hoping for at least a 5 mile trail without crossing itself. We talked to the Roccos about having a bike race and then a grass fed beef feed to raise money for several charities and advertise the grass fed beef items the roccos produce. They liked the idea and wanted to talk about it more. They like that we are working on the land, maybe not the getting equipment stuck part though. I must say that the skidster makes for good trail makin! I think that Justin and I will go to Angie's Uncle Jim's house to pick up poles and wood for bridges next time, especially if it is cold outside. We thought about a suspension bridge as well.... nice. So if the race idea goes, then we are talking probably next summer having the first small race and going from there. This summer we would probably have several riders come out and critique the trail and then eat beef, and then in late summer have those same riders come with their families to do the same thing and we would have more things for the kids to do. Mr Rocco liked the idea of having a guy dressed up in a sumo outfit trying to tackle riders. Maybe I could get my brother in law to do that? By the way here is a video of Justin trying to get the skidster out of the creek.
Why is no-one commenting anymore? I realize this may sound insecure but I need feedback! "Maybe your not funny anymore" Angie We are heading back to Kansas tomorrow night, I will be doing more trail maintenance on the Rocco Ranch trail with my brother in law. I am hoping that he picks up the telephone poles on the way so that we can make some bridges! I think we might bust out the bobcat and the power trimmers! Mr Rocco has some big (20 ft diameter) grain bins we are trying to think of ways to use that on the trail. I don't know how we would get them anywhere other than rolling them on edge with the tractor (which would definitely warrant another you-tube video). I was thinking of cutting two doors in one side and have a rider ride in, bank off the edge (with some fill dirt to make a bank) and then back out the other door going the opposite direction. Let's see the tour-de-lizard people beat that one! We could also build dirt up on either side and go over the top, and then also drop in through a top hole and out the side!! We could also cut a hole in the top side and have a bank ramp inside all the way around like a corkscrew! if we do get it on its side then we could ride inside and roll around the farm! man what good ideas. If I could do this for a living.
Say hello to our new vacuum. We have been looking for a smaller vacuum for our smaller apartment. We have taken several home only to return them, they are a challenge getting them back in the box. I don't know what to think of this return policy of wal marts. Seems like cheating to me, I guess we are the generation that cannot commit. We also have a jumper box and several other things to take back, I don't think we are going to keep the new DVD player for the car (our computer is skipping more and more) because it skips and is a little cheap looking. Anyway we are still here still alive. Judah is having some sort of intestinal problem where he is crabby, this morning I brought his knees up to his chest and he went right to sleep. I should be a pediatrician. Hope that you are all having a good day and staying warm, we hear that there is more weather on the way for us. only a little more than a month left in the depressing part of winter, March is not depressing at least should not be.
Anyone got any ideas? Mom read this to dad. The Jeep didn't start twice last week, the battery apparently being depleted. The incidents were 2 days apart with the car running fine in between. The alternator charged the battery both times without a problem and I had all the components of the electrical start system checked out (battery, Alt, and starter, and had it checked to see if there was a drain). everything was fine. I even checked out to see if there was a drain and the only thing I found was a dome light on (Zeke!!) but the car has gone overnight with a dome light on without a problem before ... several times (kids!!). The only thing that I can think of is that the battery is getting older (3 years) and since it is cold outside it cannot perform like it used to but it still is good enough to check out well on the machine. So I got a new battery and we haven't had a problem since Friday with it. We had a lot of rain this weekend and a little snow but nothing to be worried about. Around here if they hear that a storm is coming it is like the end of the world, my dentist canceled on me cause a storm was coming. In Kansas they would have fined me for not showing up! Looks like I have to go back to the endodontist (like a neuro surgeon in the dentists world) cause my tooth that got a root canal and a cap is now hurting and my dentist thinks that it is cracked. She said that my gums look "angry". if it is cracked then I will have to have it pulled, which is hard to stomach seeing how I spent so much money on it to begin with. The endodontist set me up for a free "consultation" because it hasn't been very long since they did the root canal. I have noticed that they use consultation instead of appointment when it's their fault but they don't want to admit it. I also have to wait a month.... with angry gums. I am on antibiotics now to sooth the abscess. I offered the opinion to my dentist that it could be a popcorn kernel shell lodged in my gums making it a periodontal abscess. She concurred that might be the diagnosis but was afraid that it was a fractured root. I don't know why I come up with my own diagnosis and then think that the doctor is full of it when their opinion is different than mine. Maybe it's my upbringing I don't know. I should trust them since they know more than I do but it is my body, seems like that should count for some voice in the diagnosis. I almost got in an argument with the sinus guy a couple years ago when he told me that my pain was not due to clogged sinus's (it was due to yet a different tooth needing a root canal). I was sure that it was sinus pressure pushing down on my teeth since all of them hurt. Maybe it is the engineer in me that has to come up with solutions, maybe I should have studied more medical stuff. I just overheard a young punk in the hall way talking about his surly singlespeed bicycle, yet another elitist looking down at those people with gears. He also offered up that steel is the only way to go on bike frames, that is just silly. I didn't get there in time to call him an amish puritan but I will be on the lookout for him, also we are always looking for new riders to go with us. I bid on a Bell Faction helmet the other day, I enjoy using Angie's ebay account for such things as bike helmets, it makes her profile look more rounded. Well I had better get to work.
I haven't posted pictures of my machine lately. I have to get as much done on it this week as I can due to a group of 60 year old engineers coming through next week for a tour. My boss doesn't know why they are doing this but he is hoping for money. So everything has to be as impressive as possible. NASA has changed where their money is going (to the new crew rocket) so all of our funding is being stripped away, this means we as grad students will be teaching instead of working on our research. Which will mean we are here longer. I met a guy a while back that has been in grad school for 14 years, he is married (still). My wife doesn't like that story. I took a digger this morning on my bike, I was getting cocky I know. I was just about to the school when my back tire slid out from under me and I went down. I was wearing so many clothes that the only way I knew I was down was that I was looking into the sky instead of at the road. Matt is really excited about night riding now and is working on a new light. We are thinking of selling our lights and making our own. I like the idea of army surplus night vision goggles instead. I wonder how much I could purchase one for? Today I will be in the shop on the metal lathe making parts and then in the lab trying to get some electronic boards to work because we don't have the money to purchase new ones. We are going from the Cessna philosophy of buying everything new to a farming mentality of using old stuff patched together. Doc was going to check the development office yesterday to see if they got any money raised for the sooner lunar schooner, a robotic mission to the moon done solely by OU using a Russian rocket and launching from Kazakhstan, I have been to Kazakhstan and I wouldn't mind going back especially to launch a rocket. I could break out my Russian accent and pretend to be a local. We need 32 million to do the mission so if anyone has any money for that then let me know.
Here Zeke and I are taking a walk on the Flippo Farm, I have thought about making a trail here as well, it would not be race worthy but would provide some good exercise, especially for the boys when they get older. I may wait till they are a little older to help me with it. The Trail at the Rocco Ranch will take years before we are done with the possibilities so they will get in on that as well. I need a new helmet, the ones I have do not fit real well. I have been looking at a full face but I am worried that I will look... a little too wanna-be-ish to the other riders. They are already jealous of my Hawaiian jersey. I will probably get a BMX cap and then maybe a FF later on. I did buy a used handle bar assembly (shifters/ brakes/etc) off of ebay. My shifters on golden boy do not work in the cold for some reason. Speaking of cold it was another hairy ride this morning, I did slip and loose control but managed not to fall. Last night coming home I did 2 360's , each time I put my foot down so I didn't fall then either. Eerie feeling when you are spinning in circles on a bike. after I was stopped I just scooted back to where I was facing home and took off again. I often wonder if by riding on ice I am learning some hidden skill that will help me later on, much like Daniel did on Karate kid when he sanded my migachi's deck. Who knows, at least I am getting home on ice. I have switched to the 10 day weather focast, the 7 day was not hacking it. I am a man who hates cold weather and this time of year I am straining my neck looking forward to spring. We are doing trail maintenance on Friday the 26th of Jan and I think it is supposed to be about 50 degrees which is good. Even with a 10day outlook I am extrapolating (yes Gail that is a big word for me). I have a picture of one page of my problem statement for my research, I wanted to show how much my wonderful wife marked it up, she did say that my writing was getting better but from the marks it seems she was lieing. She said that this statement makes my research sound valid, was it not to her before... good thing she is not on my committee.
Here are some pictures of Zeke, we just had a ice storm blow through and we were holed up for a few days (drove me crazy) which is the reason I will never move north of Fort Collins Colorado.... unless God makes me. Scott I don't know how you live in Michigan. Last Thursday Matt and I went riding at night and it was 60 degrees and from Friday on it is not supposed to get over freezing for a few more days. Angie deals better with being inside with the boys but I get stir crazy. I made us all brave the ice and go to walmart, The Jeep once again did an amazing job on the ice. We are very glad we kept it. Plus it looks cool and is sporting new bike mounts on the back. Anyway Angie came up with the idea of Zeke sleeping in a pillow tent, I wasn't sure it would work and it did take him over an hour to get to sleep but he did. I stayed with him till he was asleep, it is cold on the floor I noticed... and hard. We also put his bike on my shoes and made a bike trainer for him, to get him to exercise a little. I have been working on H bridges for my machine. I need a controller that will power these big motors I bought! I did manage to write a little of my dissertation and realized I really don't like writing as much as building things, the last year of my school is going to be slow. I did ride my bike in today, I am becoming an expert on riding on ice. I wore many layers and ski goggles to outwit the 20 degree weather, yes I looked rather dorkish but I live there most of the time.
Not to scare any of you but I have done this before in high school, except mine was a blue tarp in the back of the truck and I drove it 4 miles to town with the water sloshing in the back... talk about a wild ride. I also did one in the back of a dump truck and filled it so full that the truck was groaning. After that I stuck with merely making a hot tub in the back of the dump truck using a barrel with fire in it! I really wish I had documentation of that! Hello all, not much sleep going on in our house still. Judah is up most of the night still and so are we. We think it is the antibiotics that he is on that makes him crampy. So I might have to go take a nap on the couch today. Yesterday the four of us went to sonic to celebrate Zeke making it all day with a dry pullup, Zeke rode his bike (about a mile round trip) he is getting so much better at it. He did take a digger right off the bat though, he was going down a hill and forgot about the brakes and went over the front, which in bike terms is called "endo-ing" here is a picture of his bruise/wound. He is pretty proud of it and the hill he went down gets bigger every time he tells the story, he is proving to be a mountain biker at heart. Matt and I went riding after dark last night after the boys were in bed. He got a new LED light for his bike and has never ridden at night before, so it was fun for me. I did run into a tree (as usual) but this time it was due to my brake cable being loose and my brakes not working, I need to get new cables and new shifters oh yeah and new skewers for that bike. my new camel back hydration system worked just grand (backpack with water in it and a hose to suck it out with) but my bike light only lasted about 45 minutes which was a bummer. it is a lead acid battery so it is pretty big and heavy. I am thinking about switching it for some Ni-Cad batteries in the lab. Matt's light is supposed to go for 4 hours on full but it is not as bright as mine. he was a little disapointed and vowed to make a better one from parts in the lab. I found a really cool Goodwill poster at the goodwill store, I asked Angie to ask if they were selling them (she forgot somehow). Maybe I will look online for one of these jems. The picture of the rolling pin thing is something that was in our hall and I thought that it would make a great trail roller for a new trail. plus it would be great exercise to drag this little darlin behind for a few laps. By the way Matt and I are planning on racing in the 12 miles of hell race on March 4th at Fort Sil, Kim will you be there to loan me some chain lube and a pump?
Well I am back after another weekend in Kansas visiting family. We went back to pick up Zeke and go to the Rocco family extended Christmas where there were 3 babies and 2 toddlers and they were all sick with flu, temperature, etc. I think Zeke was better, he was sick last week. Judah has been sick with another ear infection (thank you Luthers) Last night he slept really well (from 6:30 pm to 5:50 am and then till 7:30) he woke up hungry and happy more like Judah. That was the first full night sleep in a while I just realized, I don't really keep track anymore. I did work on the trail some, cutting back brambles and planning more routes. This is a good time of the year to do that since it is not overgrown. It rained on Friday so I didn't get to ride, Zeke and I took a walk several times. He keeps campaigning to hold the machete when we go, but I have to much fun with it... plus he only 3. Both the boys love being outside. Angie and I talked about starting a yearly bike race out there to benefit youth horizons boys home and have a grass fed beef dinner to advertise for the Rocco Ranch. "Grass fed beef flat tire festival". More of a family day than the usual bike race, we could have kids races and unicycle bike trail races. Maybe even get the 4 wheeled fantasy island bikes from Norman to have spectators teams race down the creek. We talked about it all the way to oklahoma and had some really good ideas, I brought up an old idea of having masked people in the trees wearing sumo outfits that would try to tackle riders when they pass, kind of an extra obstacle to look out for. We thought that cow skulls that mount on the wall would make great trophies. We might start out with a few core riders going out there to ride and evaluate the trail this spring to get some feedback, trail design is rather interesting to me. you have to design the trail to flow to be more enjoyable for the rider. My problem at the Rocco's is that there are so many paths and possibilities that it is hard to pick. We have worked about 5 hours on the trail and are no where near capacity, we haven't even gone across the RR tracks. Mr Rocco has a rail bed going across his land that the RR took the tracks off and now the rails to trail people want it, this does not settle well with Vinnie. State mandate (or so I am told) says that the land has to go back to the land owner after the RR is done, but I guess the RR gave it to the Rails to trails people so there is a lawsuit brewing. Mr Rocco has gated up his section and vowed to shoot anybody on his land. I think that the rails to trails idea is a good one and kind of neat, but I have to agree with Vince that the way that they are going about it (using lawyers, nasty letters, and threats of lawsuits) is not right. they should invite the farmers to be a part of it not threaten them. (Kind of a communistic what is better for the people mentality) I told Vince that if they force his hand he should put up billboards along his land so that the hikers and bikers can't see anything. He is afraid of people being walking and camping so close to his house and the fact that the rails people have not kept up any of the fences or gotten rid of any of the weeds along the trail. I am not opinionated so you will not read much about my opinions on this blog but there is one for you to think over. I also don't think that bikers (I am talking mostly to the road bikers) should be on the road in town when there is a sidewalk. Also let me just say that horses wreck the landscape much more than mountain bikers. Ok I am done. Here is a picture of my new racing jersey, took a good look cause you will see these everywhere in a few years. Yes it is a classy Hawaiian shirt with the sleeves cut off my classy name stitched on the back. Angie is very jealous of this particular article of clothing she always wants to take it and hide it for herself. Someday it will be in a showcase on my wall commemorating my mountain bike days. Well believe it or not I have to do something, my boss is back in town after a year of sabbatical and I am trying to get used to it. I have to start writing my dissertation to convince my committee that my research is worth having.
yes you can nominate me for the blog of the year award! at http://2007.bloggies.com/. I think the top prize is 20 bucks but it is a status thing and something I could put on the awards section of my scholarship applications! That last statement gives you a clue as to the state of my credentials. Well it's day number 4 of the 07 year and I still haven't received any compensation for the side work that I am doing making drawings. Who knows, maybe I could this experience on the scholarships as well. Judah woke up better this morning, not such a crab. We like the real Judah better. We will probably be heading back up to Kansas tonight to see our other son and get a jump on tomorrows riding and trail maintenance objectives. My brother in law is coming about noon on Friday and I want to have several booby traps lined up for his enjoyment. I am thinking of pits filled with leaves that will suck in his front tire. My brother and my friend Aaron think that I am to old to ride mountain bikes and that I need to grow up. My body is also telling me the same thing in its own way. But it is sooo much fun, and I am counting the days until my boys can ride with me and help me to the house after a crash. I think Angie might be out there as well, her leg is healing quite nicely after the last ride. I have been thinking about the trail in my head and started drawing it on paper, I need some aerial views! I think that tomorrow I will get the bobcat out and start making berms for us to bank off of. Gotto go
Well we are back from Kansas, we left one kid there with Grammy while we took the little one home with us. Turns out both are sick, don't know what from. Could be aunt Lola could be the dog who knows. Angie and I are doing a lot of house cleaning and organizing while we don't have Zeke around asking questions. We had a good time in Kansas, Angie had a lot of tea parties and I got to work on the Rocco Ranch Mountain bike trail that I am designing with my brother in law. I have a lot of fun riding but it is also a lot of fun making a trail. The Rocco's have some really good land for this and vince (father in law) is happy that I am getting off the couch and doing something even if it means taring up some land. Zeke went with me several times for walks on the trails and we raked and cut brambles together. Someday he will be riding with me, Angie went riding one afternoon with me and took some good diggers and came back with some bruises to be proud of, that woman really loves me. I was proud of her, she kept trying certain parts of the trail until she got them or could not walk anymore. blazing trails is hard on bikes as well, I got three flats and my brother in law got one. A sure sign he wasn't working as hard. we are all gathering on Friday to ride and work on the trail more, I think that I will bust out the bobcat and really make some trails and sweet jumps. I also need to fabricate 4 bridges out of trees and old wood. I have been researching this (for example). I have been trying to talk my father in law into getting goats, they would be good for trail maintenance. they would eat all the brambles and the tree limbs up to 5-6 ft plus they would make excellent obstacles in a game of dodge-the goat!
I am still doing some side work making drawings for a guy that designed a exercise machine. I hope to be done with that this week, oh yeah and I hope that I get paid.
