As promised, pictures of Sophia after brake, wheel and drivetrain upgrades. I went for a visit to mom and dad's on Saturday and brought her along. Roads are still too salty to ride her but she's pretty much done. I still haven't ruled out a factory paint job but not this year. That original blue/white fade still grabs me.

Looking pretty sweet

Head badge

Ultegra dual pivot caliper

lug work at the seat cluster

classic seat tube decal

Ultegra 9 speed rear derailleur

Dura Ace shifters, old school

Selle San Marco Skin, not as uncomfortable as it looks

no other riders need apply

Time for Skinny Tires

Poking around on a singlespeed setup for winter's snow and ice is better than walking, barely. I started riding to work and back last week and doing laps at the golf course at lunch, but with a maximum speed of about 15kmph the singlespeed can be...yawn...a bit on the boring side.

All week long I was thinking of getting out on something a little more fun. Saturday the forecast called for a high of 6 but the rain/hail/snow squall that hit briefly Friday evening took nearly half a day to melt. I decided to try going for a ride with some skinny tires and gears at about 2:30. That felt very strange for the first 15 minutes. I went out again Sunday for a break from working on Sophia, but the sun never appeared and it was cool and windy. It's early in the year but the laps and kms are slowly accumulating.

I  made my first attempt at gumbo for Saturday's supper. I stopped in the parking lot of the Super Store, read a recipe that I never ended up following, and headed in for ingredients. I took everything home to cut up and then started assembling it all in the slow cooker. As I poured in the litre of chicken stock it appeared that I would need another, but I improvised and used some Clamato which may have been the secret. That and 6 hours in the cooker. I laid off the heavy heat so that Sal would try it, but I have to say it was really tasty and we both enjoyed it. Topped off with a salad and quick bruschetta appetizer, it was one of  my better efforts in the kitchen.

Marinoni Monday for this week is a shot of Giuesspe training for the Hour Record attempt. I'd love to find one of those jerseys.

Quick and Green

A quick post for Marinoni Monday. A lovely green 2011 Marinoni Pista (Italian for 'track') from the philg flickr page. I'm not crazy about the new style decals but love that colour.

Another One in the Books

Sunday saw another Northwood season come to an end, save one consolation game Thursday that Brandyn will play in unfortunately. We had hopes of making one of the trophy games but our last round robin game saw us struggle and the puck just didn't bounce our way. He has really stepped up his game of late, skating harder to back check and taking the puck to the net when he gets a chance.

Sunday's games were surprising as two team that played close games all season resulted in a 5-1 blowout where I expected overtime. In the Championship a team that finished 6th in the regular season took down a team that had not lost in the playoffs and was 2nd overall in the season. The Gardens was electrified and loud as the game went on. Many of the parents and players from the first game along with a bigger than normal contingent of family and friends watched and cheered on the underdogs. A 2-1 game is always exciting but this one was a real nailbiter for the fans of the team that no one picked to take the title.

A just when I think I can relax I get email from a parent whose child was punched during the handshake after a Saturday game. No penalty called of course and now it ends up a major incident and the team I helped coach was on the delivery end of the alleged punches.

This week's Marinoni Monday features Richard Lee's repainted 1987 beauty. He sent his frame back to the factory for a fresh coat of paint and updated many of the components. Sound familiar? I'm still mulling it over.

 

A Wild Finish

Heading into the last round of Northwood playoff games one team has clinched a spot in the Championship game and four others all have a shot. Next Saturday is going to be a hectic, tense day with the final three round robin games all having teams fighting for a berth in the hardware games. Brandyn scored the prettiest goal of his hockey career on Saturday after predicting that he would score one.

I took the fork from Sophia into Farzam and he quickly jumped out of the chair where he was resting on a slow Sunday afternoon. Minutes later the slightly damaged threads were re-tapped and I was leaving with the proper Campagnolo tools (borrowed) to reassemble the frame. You may save some dollars shopping online but you will never get this kind of treatment from a business that you only visit through a webpage. Support your local bike shop.

And for today's Marinoni Monday, a close up of a 1982 Marinoni from the Schwar Flickr page. The chromed lugs and pantographed fork make me drool with envy. Sophia is a beautiful bike (imho) but can't quite match this one.

gorgeous detail

Marinoni Mondays

A cycling blog I follow daily has lots of great posts but Merckx Mondays is one of my favourite regular features. Art, posters, t-shirts, bike galleries, memorabilia and articles about one of history's greatest cyclists, Eddie Merckx (whose career I totally missed), are always interesting.

Here is my version featuring my personal favourite bike builder and racer, Giuseppe Marinoni. In October 2012 he set the hour record for the 75-79 age group at 35.728 km. He rode a bike that he had built in 1978 for Jocelyn Lovell, who pedaled it to three gold medals at the Commonwealth games and a silver at the world championships. Click here for the entire story from Canadian Cycling. His record is the subject of the documentary 'Fire in the Frame'. View the trailer below. I've been talking to the film maker about getting a screening here in Thunder Bay.