Coop de Graw Austin Style.

My roommate Tom has been busy. We have been talking about having a backyard chicken coop for a long time, and a week or two ago he started building. It is amazing really how fast he was able to build it and how well he did it. I am a big egg eater. It is a great source of protein and lucky for me I have no cholesterol problems so the idea of walking out and getting my eggs from chickens I know is exciting. This coop is large enough for 10 chickens but we have decided to start out with 5, and give them free running time in the backyard to keep them as happy as possible. This coop has a rain collection system built on the back of it, and that will feed into an automatic watering machine keeping our little ladies hydrated and happy. Our end goal is to also use the water not only for our hens, but also to water the garden.

It turns out that having a coop in Austin is very popular and there are actual chicken coop tours. We plan on being part of this tour next year, once we have the coop established and running smooth. I am really looking forward to the first time we can walk outside and get an entire meal from what is growing in our backyard, that is what it is all about.

It's new bike time!

“New Bicycle”.

Two words that really get a guy like me excited. It’s not every day I get to piece together a bike from scratch with the exact components I want. I just had a chance to do this, and let me tell you it was worth the effort. Last week I finally ironed out all the hiccups in the new build and took the new Giant Anthem X 29er out for her maiden voyage. This marks a paradigm shift for me. I no longer own a 26 inch wheeled bicycle and I can honestly say I don’t miss it. I drank the Kool-Aid, and it was quite tasty.

I have not had a chance to name this bike, but it is coming. We are working through some personality and fit issues but I see the light at the end of the tunnel. I am already understanding the quirks and strange behaviors this bike is showing me. I believe riding a 29 inch wheel bike in the terrain that we live and race in is a big advantage. I am already seeing my fastest lap times on this new bike at a much lower perceived effort level than my other rides. This is going to be the bike I will race my next 24 hour race on. I will keep the carbon stumpy as a backup/single speed ride, but the Giant will be my go to bike for longer distance races. She comes in pretty light also, 23.8 pounds with pedals. I know they say “It’s not about the bike” and I believe them…. But let me tell you, having a bike like this sure makes things a lot more fun :)

I want to end this post with something my coach told me after I complained how tough the workout he assigned me was.....

"Sword blades are forged in the heat of an unforgiving furnace. You wanna be a sword, you got to take the heat".

Well…. I am ready. Let’s go.