Flubber

Congrats, Kate, on being promoted to Senior Scientist. All the sodium from dim sum this afternoon is making me puff up like a toad, but it was definitely worth it.

You know, there's an old Chinese curse that goes something like, "May you live in interesting times." My version of that curse would be, "May you live with interesting bikes." I just sold my DeSalvo track bike. And replaced it with a Vanilla Speedvagen road bike. 2008 was the first year for the road version of the Speedvagen. Sacha White and Mike DeSalvo of the Vanilla Workshop built 15 in stock sizes and 5 custom ones. I bought one of the custom ones second hand from a seller in Florida. The frame had less than 300 miles on it and looked basically new when I got it. I built it up this week with a spare Record 10 gruppo.

This morning I took the Road Vagen out for it's maiden voyage on the Spicewood Springs loop. It was a gorgeous day, and I gotta say, the bike was a joy to ride. It rode so well, in fact, that I'm thinking of selling my ti Crown Jewel. I know - that's crazy talk after just one ride, but that's how good the bike felt. It's a bit serendipitous, since it's a custom frame. But after looking over the fabrication drawings, I was pretty sure the fit was going to be spot on.

In other bike news, Dustin came by yesterday to work on his new Litespeed touring bike. I provided some guidance and tools, and he did most of the work while I had a beer. The most nerve-racking part was cutting the carbon steerer on his fork. Luckily, I just got in a steerer cutting guide just for this purpose. He still needs a set of shifters, but he's well on his way.

Also, apologies for missing your Super Bowl party at Steiner Ranch. Unfortunately, I still have a bike to pack and a resume to finish...