crushing blow....

Hey guys and gals,
here is a story and some pics to make your day.
I was riding home Sunday night in the rain, which I DETEST, and ow and behold, I hit a car. Parked where it should not have been, I will sum up :
I was coming home and it was raining, hard. I was tired of being cold and wet and put my head down and was gunning for home. I was most likely doing 20 to 22 mph.
I stopped. Suddenly, in the back of a car...
Didn't fall down, didn't fall over, just up and then down to a nice little trackstand, and then clipped out to figure out what just happened.
What happened is I just ran into a car with my 190 pounds and 30 pound trailer ... that is a little bit of force. I was ok , the car was ok, but the bike was not.
Take a look, and you can see what excellent welding, and the proper construction of a frame looks like after a horrendous crash. It took the absolute brunt of the force, and did not BREAK. It did buckle, but it did not break. This is a testament of what a proper weld should reflect : it is stronger than the material that is was made out of. Keep in mind that this frame and fork was made over 5 years ago, and has over 3,500 miles on it...heavy use. It served me very well, and I INTEND TO REPLACE IT.
Please watch out for the NUDGE 2, it will be better, stronger , and a hell of a lot cooler!!!
erik

Hug a friend ....

Yesterday was a day that I will not forget soon, I went to a funeral.
While that may not unusual , it was unique. It was for a unique person, Marlin Frans .
Who is Marlin Frans ? To sum up, I didn't know, I didn't know enough.
Marlin was the janitor/ security guy down at the Ivy building in which the Groove headquarters resides . Marlin kept the place clean, nice, and the work he did showed that he cared about the tenets here, and people in general.
When I went tot the funeral with my friend Bill, we were both a little surprised that there were that many people there. But, upon reflection of WHO Marlin was, I was surprised that there wasn't hundreds more....If you knew Marlin at all, then you would understand.Marlin touched many lives, and I will miss him considerably.
So please , do this for Marlin :
in the next month, if you are riding by the Ivy Builing ( on 26th by Skol Liquor )
stop, tip your hat, give a salute, just pay a little respect. He deserves it.
erik