Friday WTF: Bird of Prey

   Recumbent not weird enough for you? Want that kicked in the guts with every bump feeling? Check out the Bird of Prey:

a new offering from the people that brought you this monstrosity:

"I'm glad you can't see my face."

   All the pros are getting into it.

"I wish I could ride like this all the time..."

The Bird of Prey people claim:

*Fastest bicycle for racing and triathlons - also fastest way to lose what little cycling respect these athletes have
*Aerodynamic - I'll give you that one
*Low center of gravity - hit the ground sooner
*Cross-training - hahaha what?
*Never go over the handlebars - go through them
*No more lower back pain or discomfort - only discomfort everywhere else
*Each bicycle custom fit for customer - this explains the $7000 - $9000 price tag

   You want video? here you go. Who can criticize a bike that has the endorsement of such athletes of the local Hooters hostess?

"Wings?"

   Get it? Wings.. Bird of Prey... hot wings are served at Hooters. Maybe the marketing over at Bird of Prey is smarter than we though...

More Pavers?!

   After the last paver project was complete, you'd think I'd be a little gun shy of starting another one. Well this one was a lot smaller and highly necessary. The front corner of our house had some weedy flagstone creating a rough path to the gate. 

The before

   This was an eyesore and needed replacement. Fully confident in paver projects and having a new helper, I took up the shovel and got to it.

Calvin working hard

   With the back yard patio, I went up from the yard level. This was because of tree roots and the level of the door coming out of the house. With this small area, I wanted to match the level of the yard, so I went down. This meant a lot of dirt removal. 

   Once the hole was dug, it was time for edge blocks. Cinder blocks would have been cheaper, but the shape of the red blocks made the curve a lot easier. I have some test pavers in place to make sure the height is correct. 

Foundation blocks in place

   Off to the brick yard! We used the same pattern as the back yard. Because of the shape, I ended up cutting a much higher percentage of the blocks.

Calvin inspects a bucket while I load blocks

   Off to Home Depot! Need Weed guard and Slim Jims!

Breaking the rules, riding the cart

   Weed Guard down, ready for Road base. You can see the shape of the path, how it matches the driveway slope on the right and the gate on the left. This was a little tricky, but but was the best function. The top paver area is flat and will have a big potted plant on it.

About half done

   Road base down! Having a truck truck really made this part easier. Rented a trailer, got the base, had the trailer back in a few hours. "Adam, why did you you put the road base in the back of your truck?" Because its a mess and renting a trailer form U-Haul is $14.

Ready for sand

   I lucked out and had a co worker trying to get rid of a half dozen bags of sand, so I only had to buy about 4 more and had enough. This time I packed the sand down after leveling, then leveled again. I had some settling I was unhappy with in the back yard and wanted to avoid that here.

Top level done!

   More help from Calvin! Here we are gluing the edge blocks down. 

Mr. Smiles

   All finished! Total working time was reasonable as was cost. Mowing this area is no problem at all and once the gras grows back we'll have a nice clean corner.

All done!

Friday WTF: Handlebar Nightmare

   Everyone loves the clean look of a single speed handlebar:

Ah, simplicity

Then there's this guy...

???

   Please note that the shifters are actually trigger shifters mounted on some kind of bar extension.

Where Has Adam Been?

   It's been a long time, dear reader, but I'm hoping to get back on the horse of posting. Let me bring you up to date:

1. Max has taken over raising Calvin:

2. Wes likes swings:

3. Both boys are sleeping better, and that means:

4. Cross season is in full swing:

5. Veloswap is Saturday.

6. Halloween costumes are fully underway.

But wait there's more! So many blog post drafts to be posted!

• New Cargo Bike Box! 
• New Cyclocross Bike! 
• 105 Derailleur Chain Guide Hack! 
• Grand Junction MTB Trip Report! 
• Side Yard Paver Project!

Try not to piss your pants with excitement, and come back and read these and more exciting..