2009. "Time is the fire in which we burn."

Some Star Trek movie had that line it it. Tru dat. And apparently stolen from this poem. I'm no poetry critic, but it's a good one. All my life I've been keenly aware of the passage of time. Dunno why, makes me morbid sometimes. Gets me off the couch other times...


Yep...2009. Just got a notice of my 20-year high school reunion...in 2010. 20 years since high school? Hard to believe. The grey hair is awfully convincing, though. Lucky for me, I've got a nice job, a bitchin' wagon, abundant bikes, and of course cycling keeps you young. Didn't you know?

So I've started up the interval training on the pesky indoor trainer. Sadly, my cheapie trainer starts clunking pretty bad when the power goes up over 60%. Bottom bracket races are shot. What I need is a new trainer, this one is ancient.

I've also been thinking about carbon bike frames. Yes, I love my steel steeds...but I figure I ought to give carbon a shot, right? Everyone loves it! Planes are made out of it! It's true my enormous mass may shatter a carbon frame to splinters the moment I sit on it, or my gargantuan legs may tear the bottom bracket right out of the frame...but there's only one way to find out. And I've seen bigger guys riding Madones...so it must be possible. Maybe as a reward for reaching some cycling milestone this year, yeah that's the ticket.

So what's the word? Will a 6'4" 225lb. mash-machine turn a carbon frame into a shrapnel cloud of splinters? Should I wear armored chamois in case the seat post disintegrates under me? Orbea makes a nice frame with suitable geometry...hmmmm....