- Bad Idea Racing - HAS LEFT THE BUILDING

As much as my wrists bother me from time to time the thumb on my right hand is less than happy also.   I tried to think what I mighta done to upset the fat opposable digit.  Good thing I keep track of crap like that.  Could it have anything to do with the injury I experienced almost 11 months ago??

Doesn’t seem possible, but this is sometimes the image I see after a long ride, except due to the economic downturn I’m now drinking cheaper beer.

Maybe it’s related, but maybe not.  Prolly not worth thinking about, and definitely not worth using  the painful time consuming SEARCH function on my blog either.

The other day when I mentioned my Ergon grips and my feelings about the packaging I never thought that anything would come of it.  Apparently the people at Ergon could see that I was right, or at least half right, and the excess packaging issue is going to be addressed.  I got this message from Jeff Kerkove (the face of Ergon in the US):

FYI….the Ergon packaging changes for 2009 on all new grips produced. The material is 100% recyclable…as it the current packaging. The new packaging will be a similar material to that of an egg carton.

While they apparently did not see the merits of turning the current style of packaging into something useful (like a Slovakian rapach) they are going to make their 2009 packaging more eco-friendly.  I must say I feel totally responsible for this change, but then again maybe they were planning on doing it the whole time.

I should have two things figured out by Christmas.  First off, the new blog format should be 100% ready to go, and I’m going to make the swap over the Christmas holiday.  Think of it as my little present to you, so when you go back to work on Monday, and you’re looking for something to read while you drink your nasty coffee I should be somewhere other than here and more than likely here.

Secondly I should have my sponsor stuff worked out before Wednesday is over.  All the meeting planning meetings and plain old meetings should be behind me before I sit down and watch my kids open (not really open since we’re making the tree friendly choice of not wrapping gifts this year) their Christmas booty.  It will be somewhat of a relief to have all that behind me, and I’ll be able to start working on my winter training program (closing my eyes and picturing myself on a bike).

Short post, but I wanted to include the following press release from Cyclingnews.com.  The place they’re talking about in the article is less than 1.5 hours from my house, and I have yet to get out there.  Maybe it’s just me, but I would rather go to a mountain bike museum than the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame in Crested Butte.  Maybe it’s due to the fact that I am a gear junky that makes me more attracted to the former, but perhaps it’s my lack of interest in idol worship that makes me think the latter isn’t my cup of tea… well at least until AFTER I’m added to the list of inductees….

Here’s the article:

Mountain bike museum opens in North Carolina

By Gary Boulanger, BikeRadar

The sport of mountain biking is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2009, and leading the celebration is the Museum of Mountain Bike Art & Technology (MOMBAT), a new museum created to preserve and chronicle the evolution of the sport, its personalities and products, located in Statesville, North Carolina.

The museum’s collection contains over 400 bicycles, including more than 250 mountain bikes. Displayed alongside the bicycles at MOMBAT are hundreds of vintage parts and accessories and thousands of pieces of literature, including period catalogs and magazines that follow the evolution of the sport.

“With our location near the intersection of two major interstates, the museum is convenient for anyone traveling in the area, and we’ve had visitors from all around the US and overseas as well,” said Jeff Archer, the museum’s curator.

Archer told BikeRadar the museum is split between two floors of 5,000 square feet each, with 14-foot ceilings.

“The online shop history tells quite a bit about how we got to where we are now,” he added.

In the mid 1970s, the mountain bike sprang to life as a grassroots effort by a small group of riders in Marin County, California, who converted balloon-tired cruisers into trail bikes by removing superfluous equipment and installing knobby tires. The first purpose-built off road bikes were made in the late 1970s when the term “Mountain Bike” was first used to describe them, and the sport grew rapidly worldwide in the following years.

The original mass produced mountain bike, the Specialized Stumpjumper, arrived in stores in 1982. An example of this model now resides in the Smithsonian Institution, and a similar model is displayed at MOMBAT.

Technological innovation is evident in the bicycles featured at MOMBAT, with the evolution of front and rear suspension designs, hydraulic disc brakes and the progression from five to 27 gears over the life of the sport. Frame materials also evolved, from basic steel tubes to wildly shaped and extremely lightweight composites and metals. Artistic design and construction is also found on bikes and components as some of the best examples of bicycle fabrication are on display at the museum, including details ranging from experimental to innovative and artful.

The museum also sponsors the Cackalacky Cup, an increasingly popular vintage-themed mountain bike festival that takes place each summer.

MOMBAT is located within First Flight Bicycles in historic downtown Statesville, NC. Admission is free and the museum is open to the public Monday-Friday, 10-6 and Saturday, 10-5. Visitors are welcomed and encouraged to take their time to view the exhibits.

Those unable to visit the museum in person can view much of the collection at www.mombat.org.