Big fat strikes again

This makes the third Puch swing arm I've destroyed in six years. Two stock and now this aftermarket one finally bit the dust after about 3 years.

At least I caught this one (or had it pointed out to me by Hucker Steve) before it completely broke while I was riding, like the last two did.

Game of Thrones

I had been waiting for this new HBO show to premiere for a few months now, and it certainly didn't disappoint. Around 7:30 last night I hit up a torrent search, and the first episode had just been uploaded. 45 minutes later it was playing through my Xbox. I love technology.

This is excellent fantasy for people that aren't really into fantasy. Looking forward to next weeks episode.

Mopedia

This documentary has been talked about for well over a year now. Threads for it occasionally pop up on the gen forum. I didn't really think much of it at first. Most of the time when someone discusses doing a moped film, nothing ever comes of it. That, or it looks really amateurish, or not very interesting, or they just plain miss the mark in trying to capture why we waste our time with these antiquated, little bikes.

These guys from Baltard territory seem to actually be serious about this, and its starting to look really good. I, for one, hope that they finish the film and their 7,000 mile trip.



I don't plan on donating money to the project, but if you'd like to a kickstarter has been set up for the effort.

Good luck on the project, guys.

Dungeons & Caverns

Sometimes I wonder how far down the nerd hole I can go. Case in point: D&D games have been sparse over the past month, so I decided to take advantage of the down time and start building terrain for the game. These are modular sets I've cast from high-density dental plaster in silicone molds that I procured from the interwebz.

The plaster is relatively cheap, and I'm mostly using latex house paint, so more than anything it's just finding the four or five hours it takes to cast, glue, and paint a set. I think they turned out rather nice for the first sets.

Also, with Seattle's vast gaming community, I should be able to dump something like these on Craigslist for $50-70 a piece.

Hobbit progress and helmet merkins

I got a little further with the Hobbit this weekend. Hydro EBRs went on really easy. I need a spacer for the headset, but other than that they're ready. As hard a rubber compound as the Michelin Pilot Sporty tires are, they went on super easy. I thought it was going to be like wrestling with a Gazelle tire (or like wrestling with a live gazelle for that matter, although I think I could probably take one in a fight). Flat clubmans look good on the bike, but I still need to chop down the seat.

Front brakes are being a pain in the ass. I haven't worked with this style in years, and can't remember how to install them on the brake plate. If any of my gentle readers out there have fun suggestions, I'm all ears.

Everyone knows I love Treats, and that I never have a disparaging word toward them. But a blight hit their webstore this past week: the helmet hawk.
















They sold out in a matter of days.

If you are reading this please, PLEASE, for the love of god, do not attach one of these to your helmet. This is the grommiest of grom things to do. YOU WILL BUM OUT ANYONE WHO RIDES BEHIND YOU AT A RALLY THIS SUMMER. This is worse that strawberry scented 2-stroke oil. This is the merkin of the two-wheel world. If you breakdown on a ride, and are wearing one of these, I will not stop for you. In fact I may kick you as I ride past, and I will most certainly laugh at you.

Cuddle Puddle Birthday Ride

This past weekend was the 5th annual Puddle Cutter Anniversary Ride. I've been to four out of the five anniversary rides (including the first Puddle Cutter ride five years ago), and this one was fun as usual.

Since selling the bus, getting mopeds from one city to another has been problematic. It's good to find out that with some disassembly the Ciao fits neatly in the trunk of my car.

We arrived in Portland Saturday morning, and after putting a moped back together, and eating a giant burrito, we headed to Powell park for the meet up.

The ride went along the Clackamas river with lots of water and back roads. As many rides as I've done in, and around, PDX this one was completely new to me. I'm slightly jealous of Portland and how much backwoods-y riding they have that's still only a short jog from the city.

The weather held up for the most part as we dodged the rain storm that loomed over us most of the day and knocked out about 60 miles of riding.

The party later that night was nothing short of classic dumb Cutter fun. Including muddy moped dirt bike jumps in the backyard, and far too much booze. I'm amazed the cops never showed up.

A short trip, about 24 hours in Portland, but that's fine. Hopefully, I'll be back in a few months for a race or two.

Speaking of moped racing, this showed up on the general forum last week. It looks like a terrible game, but I'd still play it.

Procrastination and the importance of deadlines

By habit, I'm a procrastinator. In fact, the only reason that this blog gets updated on Monday mornings is because if I didn't give myself a deadline, it wouldn't get done.

I've been pretty lazy lately when it comes to working on the race bike. Weather has been cold, the garage is drafty, and I've been in cocoon mode for a few months. Spurred on by the arrival of my MLM ST Ripper pipe, early last week I gave myself a requirement; get in the garage on Saturday and work for a solid five hours to see what I can get done.

I skipped on a Fleet fix-it day (which I heard was awesome) to toil away, cleaning parts and figuring out how a Hobbit fits together. I didn't get as far as I wanted to, but now, at least I can see the bike taking shape, and that's always exciting.

















I need to figure out when my next free weekend is and schedule myself a block of time to work on bikes because it felt super productive.