Violins, not Violence

Recently, I've been getting back into playing the violin a bit more, and it's made me realize how much I miss the warm, golden tones of my instrument. It's truly a pleasure to play.

Back when I purchased it, I didn't have the greatest internet access to research my violin's origins, nor were there the most available resources out there to learn anything about it. I learned the most from my heavily accented German violin teacher.

Even in 1919, "Copy of Antonius Stradivarius" was common

My violin is a 1919 Ernst Reinhold Schmidt, crafted in the village of Markneukirchen (a town known only for the production of fine German concert violins). I am proud to only have been the third owner of this magnificent instrument, the previous owner having died of old age some time ago. The previous owner played a unique hybrid of Appalachian-Creole fiddle (how Herr Schmidt must have been rolling in his grave about that), and from what I have been told, he was pretty darn good at it.

I spent months trying to find the perfect violin, and from the first time I laid bow to this one, I knew it was the one for me. The first thing you'll notice about a string instrument built by a master of their art is how loud it is. Particularly so on older violins, since it wasn't until after the turn of the century that orchestra halls were big enough to need a particularly resonant instrument, and it took hundreds of years to figure out the fine technique of positioning bass bar to sound post, to bridge, etc.

After getting over the sheer volume of what was to become my violin, I noticed how warm the tone was. Many modern violins follow a path of bright, joyus, brilliant and clear tones. They lacked the deep, warm resonant notes that mine has. Don't get me wrong, she can still get up and do the tango, but it takes a special sort to also do the blues.

It's size is also perfectly suited to me, with a 36.5 cm back, and a 60 cm overall length, it's about a 9/8 size violin (if such a thing was ever officially made). Plenty of room for my fingers to stretch out on the fingerboard. It has taken me many places, in different orchestras, pit orchestras, pops orchestras, bluegrass bands, and a touch of jazz.

I'm still not able to learn the most about Ernst Reinhold Schmidt, or how many violins he made (I've seen some from as early as 1910, and as late as 1925, mine is #831), but they are definitely known for their quality. He also performed for 4 years as the principle violinist with my favorite Orchestra, the Boston Pops. He even conducted there for half a season, when Karl Muck (the conductor at the time) was controversially arrested backstage before a performance days after refusing to perform the Stars and Stripes (it was the height of World War I at the time).

Anyways, enough of that bit of history, and a slice of my life, I've got some playing to do. I'll leave you with this bit, from another Violin maker of the Markneukirchen valley:

Viel falsches nachgemacht  

Sich da an dort schleicht ein,  

Drum sieh mein Petschaft an  

Willst nicht betrogen seyn.

Fully Operational

Yesterday, with the help of a couple of good friends (Thanks Dan and Spencer!), I managed to get my last no-operational bike together. This is quite a big deal to me, since it was the bike that I had broken my (left) wrist on a year and a half ago.

Throughout my cycling life, I have managed to a few traumatic injuries, and each time, it seems like it is hard to get over them mentally. My first, getting T-boned by the largest SUV to exist at the time (Excursion), left me with a broken femur in possibly one of the worst/hardest spots to break. My mental recovery didn't take all that long at all. Once I figured out crutches, the 9 months I had to use them didn't seem like a big deal at all, neither did the extra 4 months after a follow-up surgery a year later.

This injury, however, was somewhat straightforward, and my recovery time was not really all that long. It did leave me afraid of bicycles for a while, but as soon as I was able, I started riding again.

[Edit - After posting this, I realized I put up the wrong X-ray. That's the other wrist]

What I didn't manage to do, was even look at the wreck of a bike that I was on at the time. I robbed a couple parts off it once to fix another bike, and I think I used the crumpled fork to shovel up a dead squirrel that was just outside my front door.

Reassembling this bike this bike into a much different and stronger machine has been somewhat symbolic of rebuilding myself into a different and stronger machine.

The bike, when finished, came with some interesting hacks and tweaks, but it just wouldn't be like me without them. Try to spot them all:

And now, to leave you with a motivational video for 2012.

Counting down to Infinity

Nature Valley Grand Prix 2011 recap:

Frames cleaned: 78

Derailleurs adjusted: 72

Wheels trued: 16

Bottles handed up: 9

Derailleur hangers aligned: 8

Handlebars straightened: 6

Handlebar endcaps replaced: 4

Tires changed: 3

Frames touched-up: 2

Tubulars glued: 2

Instances using electrical tape to fix a bike: 1

Memories made: ∞

Keep on Keepin' on, ladies!

Marty/La Crosse Recap

I know this is really a week late, but since I'm in a coffee shop in Madison at the Collegiate Road Nationals, I've got some time to get around to post about it.

At the Marty road race, Saturday, about 125 racers toughed it out for some spring classics-esque weather. In the morning, the rain was steady, in the afternoon, stiff winds blew it away.

I had the pleasure of officiating possibly the finest example of Junior's racing, witnessed in my career, at least. They cleanly executed tactics appropriately that I have seen experienced Cat 3s botch. The racing never once let up, and in the end, it took a fine balance of smarts, handling, and sheer athleticism to take home the day.

The race was split up into smaller groups, but even that didn't cool down the heat. I was impressed, usually when the field is less than 10, racers are resigned to a slow roll to a sprint finish. A couple small, precise attacks split the field in the first few miles. 4 riders in front, a couple in the middle, and then the field following it up. The course of the race involved a couple short, but intense bursts, putting riders just out of reach, only to be reeled in. Even still, it didn't turn into a TT, each rider for the most part found someone to work with.

Before and after the race, spirits were quite high. It was a fine show, a blend of sportsmanship, athleticism, and fun, safe riding. A fine day for the riders of the future of MN racing.

The course at Marty this year happened to incorporate one of my favorite race-deciders; A steep hill with a brisk tailwind. Paired together, they negate any kind of drafting advantage. From the riding perspective, it feels as if the protective curtain of the field around you has fallen. It is only you, and the overpowering urge to be the first to the top of the hill. If you break away here, you set yourself up for an almost rocket powered descent with the wind at your back. You must make it happen on the windward side, but if it works, the adrenaline of being the King (or Queen, but I'm writing from my perspective) of that mountain, will give you the fuel you need to continue your attack. The distance from this hill to the finish is close enough that you can make it stick, but far enough to make it hurt - The Great Decider.

Sunday was La Crosse. The weather was forecast to be a little better, but still with the threat of rain, and winds with gusts up to 29mph. It was to be my first race of the year. I wasn't ready, I'm still nowhere near in shape, and I hadn't been on a crit course in two years. Still, racing waits for no man.

I was feeling fine, I know my bike in and out (the advantage of being on the same road frame for 12 years), and I was warmed up. The only problem, which I wasn't even aware of until the race kicked off, was that I haven't been in a pack that large since I broke my arm. My fitness was good enough for the field I was in, but I just couldn't go around corners in a pack. 

I was off the back before the second turn. What followed was an individual time trial against the entire field, with stiff headwinds and crosswinds. I had one rider on my wheel, a guy from WSU, a school I have now dubbed "Wheel Sucker University." He pulled for two very slow quarter laps. I dropped him a couple times when he couldn't handle a bit of a short turn of speed. 

Of course my compatriot outsprinted me for the finish. 

I wasn't really bothered by it at all, in terms of comparative experience levels, I was mostly just amused. I'm sure there was a time when I would do the same thing. It is, after all, bike racing. Another race under my belt, cleanly run, finished, did not crash, all the things you should hope for in a race with as much time off the bike as I've had. It did leave me invigorated for more, however.

Omnium Racing was well represented by

Caleb Donaldson and Seth Iverson

In the afternoon races, Caleb and seth put forward many strong attacks, several of which looked ready to stick. In the end, they put forward a very fine show of constant attacks, reeling in riders, and hiding in the pack to rest and do it all over again. I love crit racing. 

Best bike shop in the city

Today Omnium Bike Shop opened its doors to the public for the first time. 

I was so excited about it, that I rushed off after work over to the shop, forgetting to get gas. This ended poorly, with me on the side of hwy 280. Fortunately one of my trusty cycling friends had driven her car, and was able to bring me to the gas station, saving me a walk along the side of the highway.

I was pleased to hear that I was pretty much on her way home, and also that she was just leaving Omnium, as I was going (busy, busy!).

Finally, I made it to the shop. I've been there plenty of times before, but today was the first time seeing it as it is now, a real bike shop in a great building. Bikes were on display (one of every model they carry), shoes were out, tubes, tires, helmets, all ready to be purchased. It was a great feeling to see the shop look so complete. 

There was tons of people there, new random customers dropping in (the opening wasn't advertised, just a soft one - don't worry, there'll be a grand opening shindig soon). Active cyclists congregated, all happy to see the shop, talk about riding, and ogle the bikes. It was all a really positive experience.

I'm super stoked about riding, and the season in general.

New setup

Its time to spruce up the brewing equipment some. I've got a new 15 gallon kettle, to be used as a mash tun. This will increase my capacity significantly; previously, I was limited to a maximum of 13-15 pounds of grain, enough for lower gravity and alcohol beers, but for bigger beers I had to do 3 gallon batches. a 15 gallon kettle will let me mash 10 gallon batches of big beers even.

To complete the kettle, I also have a fitted false bottom for it, a Blichmann Brewmometer for accurate temperature control, and a ball valve.

Also today, my Autosparge (another Blichmann product, they're great) came in, it was previously backordered. The Autosparge  is the only sparging solution that I really like. This system give you the exact same wort out: sparge water in ratio, whereas others rely on the sparge water in being the best control.

It uses revolutionary toilet tank technology, a stainless steel ball float attached to an arm attached to a valve. Water flows in through a tube, creating a gentle swirling action on top of the mash. You set the valve a certain height off the top of the mash, and as it nears that height, it slows and stops. As the wort drains from the kettle, the sparge arm adds water at the same rate.

To commemorate these new equipment add ons, I've decided to share a photo of my sparge arm installed and ready to go:

Omnium Racing

A good friend of mine, Dan, is starting a new bike shop. This has been a long term dream and goal of his for a long time, one that we've talked about countless times. We also talked (more like ranted) about the state of racing, as any competitive cyclist does. All of these talks, and my experiences as a race mechanic, official, racer, spectator and general cycling enthusiast, have painted a picture in my mind of how teams can be run. I don't mean to say that there is anything wrong with local race teams, but I've had years to think about this.

Megan and I have been working to organize and start a team along with the bike shop, you'll hopefully be hearing much more about us in the future. In order to build a team with strong values, we broke down all the usual concepts, and looked at what a team was.

As a race mechanic, I worked for a team with a relatively low budget. We weren't pro, so riders didn't get paid, we didn't really have an equipment budget (at least not a huge one), so riders didn't get bikes or wheels or anything like that. But what we were able to offer was management, coaching, a mechanic (That's Me!), soigneur, etc.

Our goal was to do everything within our power so that the athletes only had to think about their upcoming race, being mentally and physically prepared, and performing well (side note, this was always my prime goal as a rowing coach). Bikes worked as they should, riders were given reminders of when they had to be at the start line, we coached and educated them on things that they might not have expected.

Bonds were forged, races were raced, a team was born.

While I can't possibly hope to have that level of support at anything less than the pro/elite level of racing, we are trying our best to capture this essence of "team," from the riders, to the support crew. It will be really exciting to see how, and if, we are able to pull it off.

Things have been a whirlwind lately, Dan an had some bumps and hurdles to getting the shop open, which they have conquered admirably in the short amount of time allotted to them. We couldn't even start in on a team until we were absolutely sure that a shop was going to happen this year. Once we were sure, things became real in an awful hurry, we had to design kits, invite riders, among numerous other tiny but not insignificant details.

Well, this has been a nice break from working on team stuff, time to get back to work, I'll keep you all posted.

In the meantime, be sure to stop in at one of our sponsors, Omnium Bike Shop, and the Cheeky Monkey Deli (more than your average deli, btw), they kick butt.