Hard at work on the next production run of pants, knickers and shorts. We're now using a double needle machine; I'm really happy with the results:
Thoughts
Thoughts and Adventures From Greenlite Heavy Industries
Friday, November 14, 2014
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
A Good Finsh
Last Sunday marked the end of my 2015 cyclocross season (I
might race the recently
announced UCI race in Stellicom but we’ll see) and I
went out happy. The previous race –the Starbucks
GP and Marymore Park – was a total kerfungle.
I went down on the first lap and from that point on the wheels had
totally come off the bus, I had no energy and almost DNF’d. Had I not had the team tent to deal with I
probably would have just rolled into the parking lot, threw my bike in the car
and drove home. Sunday’s race at Woodland
Park proved to be a bit of a redemption.
Tangled up at Marymore |
Coming into Sunday’s race I was worried that I’d lost my
mojo, so far I’d had a great season but maybe that was all I had – the tank was
dry. Somehow I’d managed to hold onto
third for the series and all that I had to do to stay on the podium was finish
in the top ten to hold on; I wasn’t sure it this was possible.
Chris and Doug fighting it out among the foliage |
Hard rain and heavy winds had pounded the course all night
and when I arrived at 7:30 the course was greasy mud covered in large maple
leaves. The MFG volunteers were hard at
work raking leaves and setting tape and by the time my race came around the course
was nearly devoid of leaves – but the mud remained.
Eighty one racers packed the starting line – a big turnout even
by MFG standards. Zac gave us the go
ahead as a light rain began to fall. I
had a great start was sitting comfortably in third when we hit the first
run-up. Good thing I installed new fangs
onto my shoes. I tried to keep on my toes
as I sprinted up the hill in hopes of preventing clogged cleats. No just luck.
Oh well everyone else is in the same boat.
Woodland is a really good course for me, a big uphill, some flowy
downhill and just enough twists and turns to keep you on your toes. Jan passed me on the first uphill and was
gone. A mystery man was holding second,
Luke third, Rob fourth and me fifth. At
the start of the second lap Rob started having problems and I moved into fourth
with Dodi hot on my wheel. Dodi eventually
came around and despite my best efforts to hold on he slipped away.
Instead of being deep and grabby the mud at Woodland Park is
shallow and greasy. It also has a
propensity to clog treads and pack cogs: by the second lap the dense mud had me
reduced to two working gears.
The gear deficit only became a problem on the road section,
but it didn’t seem to cost me any places so I really can’t complain. I’m sure my competition had similar issues.
Near the end I was passed by an HSP guy, I held on to him
fairly closely but in the end he took fifth and I settled for sixth.
I have to say that this was a super successful race. At the start I didn’t know where I stood, but
by the end I knew that I was still able to race strong and to make a good
showing. The guys who beat me were
stronger on the day and that’s something that I’m totally fine with.
I ended up maintaining my third place standing for the
season, something I’m super happy about.
Monday, November 3, 2014
Lil' Mule Project
I've been meaning to build up an Urban Assault Vehicle for some time now. I'm starting with my old Trek 990 bought used for $450 back in 1989. I had it powder-coated safety orange a few years ago.
Phase 1 will be new tires and brakes. Oh also need to remove those purple bar ends.
Phase 1 will be new tires and brakes. Oh also need to remove those purple bar ends.
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