Niner M.C.R.9

Well folks, it's finally finished.

Months ago I happened to win a snowboard, completely by chance and through an odd twist of fate. As it so happened, I was (so I thought) entering a drawing for a set of skis. A very nice set of K2 Obsethed skis. I put all my raffle tickets in the drawing and thought nothing more about it until the drawing actually started. Needless to say when my name was pulled out of the drawing for an Arbor Element snowboard, I was understandably shocked... First of all, I have an Arbor snowboard that I love. Secondly, the snowboard I won was much too small for my massive frame. What is a guy to do?

Sell it on Craigslist and buy a bike frame!

Well thats just what I did. I ordered a Large Niner Magic Carpet Ride 9 (M.C.R.9) from Niner Bikes in Cali. I added to that A FoxShox F29 32 front fork with 100mm of travel (thank you REI for a stellar deal on a clearance shock!) and a pretty blue headset by Orbit 8 that matches my fork accents nicely and clashes beautifully with my frame color. Next came the Truvativ AKA stem which happened to come in white (to match the fork, of course) and a Truvativ carbon Noir Race riser bar. REI came through a second time and I found a nice set of Avid Elixir R hydrolic brakes on a great clearance. Add in a Thomson Elite seatpost for some instant elite status. One of my coworkers was kind enough to donate a Shimano XTR front derailleur which happens to be pretty much the ONLY derailleur on the market that fits the frame correctly. Next came the Sram X.9 rear derailleur and shifters along with a Sram chain and cassette. WTB LaserDisc 29" wheel set with Geax Saguaro tires completely the drive train with bright green bar grips, a turtle bike horn squeeker and a Y.A.W.Y.D (you are what you drink, produced by Niner Bikes) headset cap with a Henry Weinhard's root beer bottlecap complete the ensemble.

And now, without further adeiu: The Root Beer Float!






Please also note the snow on the ground. The day I finished assembling the bike was the day winter decided to return to Colorado. Needless to say, the R.B.F. has not yet been ridden anywhere but down my hallway and once on the street in front of my appartment. le sigh.

The Point of Fitness Centers and Parking Lots

Ok, so I get it. Some people are just in a hurry. I understand you only have so much time to get on that treadmill. We are all busy and all want to be 'in shape.' Like I said, I get it.

Story time. So I was driving in to work the other day just rockin' out to a little Owl City bright and early. Beautiful morning. As I pull onto the street leading to our little back parking lot, which by the way has about 4.6 million unused stall EVERY DAY, I am greeted by cars lining both sides of the street right in front of the Lifetime Fitness. I quickly check the 4.6 million stalls and sure enough, empty. Thinking this must just be a unique occurrence, I am surprised when the on street traffic has only increased by the afternoon and is still there when I return the next day! Needless to say this on street traffic causes somewhat of a major blind spot which almost got me run into twice while trying to leave the OTC.

This whole situation begs the question. With 4.6 million open stalls 50-60 feet further from the front doors than the oh-so-dangerous on the street parking, can people who are going to go work out really not walk the extra couple seconds? What's the hurry?