Mega update

So it's been a while since I've updated my blog, almost 3 weeks! The last few weeks have been crazy and we aren't even into race season yet! There is a lot of things happening in this post, so in no chronological order, here we go.

Chris, you'll be missed.

First, our local ski community was hit with some hard news. A freak avalanche claimed the lives of Jim Jack, Johnny Brenan and Chris Rudolph. I didn't know Jim or Johnny, but I was fortunate enough to know Chris. He was the head of marketing for Stevens Pass ski area, an avid DH rider, and an all around good guy. Chris was very active in getting the bike park and the NW Cup finals at Steven Pass this year. He was always in a good mood and genuinely happy to see people outdoors doing what they loved. Chris was taken from this earth wayyyy to early, but I just have to keep reminding myself that he was doing what he loved. Chris, you'll be missed. We will be having a moment of silence for you at the Stevens Pass race later this summer. I know you're shredding powder lines we can't even imagine.

I've been trying to get as many days as possible in on my dirt bike as I can. It's hard to get out on the weekend, so I've been trying to get out mid week. I'm really enjoying riding Walker Valley with Rylie in the mornings. I had ripped my fender off my bike and had to do some repair work before riding again. Without further adieu, here is how to fix a broken plastic fender.

Step 1. Drill a bunch of holes on both sides of the break.

Step 2. Tie both sides together with zip ties.

Step 3. Profit!

This was handy and saved me from having to spend money on a new fender when I know I'll just rip it off again! The trails have been great though. I love having them all to myself in the mornings.

Rylie on her way to the trails. She rides in style.

You'll need one of these to ride

Enjoying some sun at one of the trail heads.

Great views

Trails are in amazing shape. It's just like riding downhill bikes, except you can go uphill!

Rylie waiting for me to get packed up

And this is what she looked like all afternoon. She didn't even move when I tapped on the glass!

Here is a random picture. I saw this guy while I was driving my van. I was instantly jealous. If you like vans like this, check out Team Robot and Eddy Merkin. They like vans, which makes them good people.

This guy is legit!

I've been working on the house a lot lately. Some projects are planned, others are not. We got our first real rain since we lived there. Right before we moved in, we had the siding on one side of the house replaced. the two drain spouts on that side of the house were disconnected for some reason. The contractor reconnected them when he did the work. What he didn't do was notice why they were disconnected in the first place. On older homes around here, it is common for the drain spouts to run into the sewer lines. However, the previous owner loved plants and there were a bunch of roots growing into the terracotta drain pipes. Over time this clogged the pipes. I found this out the first time it rained. It wasn't a big deal and didn't damage anything, but I did get to spend a Saturday cutting and capping drain lines, removing clogged roots, and running new drain pipe. Ahhh, the joys of home ownership!

Digging up my yard already.

 I did buy a wood chipper for clearing my yard. That purchase made me pretty happy. It's all of noise of a chainsaw with 10 times the destruction. It lets me get back to my North Dakota roots.

Every stereotype in this movie is true.

 

And this is what wood chippers are really for. Bodies.

 Actually, a bit of a side rant here, the movie Fargo makes me mad. In the movie there is a wood chipper scene where the bad guy disposes of a body by putting it through a wood chipper (as shown above). Has anyone from Hollywood ever been to North Dakota? Of course not, and not that I blame them for that, but a little bit of research would have gone a long way. No one in North Dakota owns a wood chipper. Why would you own a wood chipper if your state looks like this?

Not much to chip.

On another note, Charlie Sponsel, from Team Robot fame, came up to Seattle for the weekend. We spent the weekend working on bikes and doing some riding. Charlie helped me get my garage somewhat organized from the move and put some new Gravity parts on our bikes. I also got a sick box of new Kali Protectives gear.

Charlie went through my tire collection and culled a few to throw away, and by throw away, we mean give to Adam Ransavage for the 2012 race season.

The little truck loaded down with bikes and coffee in the morning ferry line. With Diesel at $4.50 a gallon out here, I've been driving the rabbit a lot!

We loaded up my Rabbit truck and headed to Port Angeles to ride the track for the ProGRT / US Gran Prix / NW Cup. All I can say is that it's AWESOME! Check back for a helmet cam from Luke Strobel and I soon. I've been trying to get more time on my DH bike lately. I've also been working with Paris Gore shooting some photos. Here are a few that won't make the cut for anything, but they are great for blog posts.

Aussie NASCAR corner. The corner is straight from NASCAR, but it turns right. Note the 2012 Kali gear!

Getting the big bike cranked over.

Here is a little update from Duthie. The builders have been working really hard to get the trails ready for summer time and a lot of new building has been happening. Check out the dirt work by AJ and the Go Huck Yourself crew! Nice job! I can't wait to ride this once it is complete!

New jump lines everywhere!

Berm to roller gap. This stuff is awesome!

One last note, because I'm a geeky engineer, I like math. Someone showed me the problem below. It took a little time to figure it out. See if you can figure out the answer. The problem is technically correct, but obviously, 2 cannot equal 1. Where is the issue? The answer is posted below.

Scroll down for the answer
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The problem is on line 4. (a-b) would equal zero, which would force you to divide by zero. The answer in that case becomes undefined. Math geekery FTW!

 
Until next time, keep the wheels spinning.

-KT