by Joe Doyle on September 25, 2007
The Curtlo came back last week and, man, is she sweeter than ever. Fresh paint. New seat stay. Additional (and moved) disc brake support. I was so stoked to ride her.
Oh, yeah, I got to ride. THREE times in the last four days! Seriously…something very weird is going on. The Cubs are about to go into the playoffs, the Bears look like Lions, and I’ve been riding.
Weird I tell you.
Back to the bike. With her new appendage and a thorough re-build, she rides just like she did when I first got her. I railed corners and climbed climbed climbed without any rear disc noise or drag (yeah, I should have checked the frame a long time ago).
It’s such a great feeling when your rig is dialed in, and it’s all custom just for you.
Original, cracked frame (click to see larger):
Same spot, new brace location and beefier support:
Front view:
Rear view:
Daryl “Hop Sing” Cheang and his wife Michelle were in town last weekend from NYC. We went out for sushi and enjoy one of Hop’s home cooked Chinese specialties on Sunday. Damn, he’s a good cook. D&M had fun throwing lines over rocks and then climbing – I hear there are plenty of places to do that here. They seemed very at home with the kids.
Katie and PJ have turned four months old and not too much new to report. The girl is still getting over her cold, and PJ seems fresh. He’s full of color and smiles these days.
Hope y’all have a great one.
by Joe Doyle on September 20, 2007
I’m trying to track down the original prints of these photos. My cousin Billy Byrne might have them, and hopefully he’ll give me the full details of the event.
I know that my Grandpa Heramb (mom’s Dad) is the gent looking forward in the one image. In the other, he’s the blocking back to the kicker’s right. You can tell by matching his socks and lack of a helmet. (<< that's just weird)
By the looks of it, he's in high school. Mare went to Glenwood School for Boys, it was more of an orphanage when Gramps when there, and they didn’t have a website yet.
I love old images like these. Unposed and not polished. It’s history, and it’s even more fun when it’s your family. Fedoras and old cars. A huge Chicago six-flat in the background. Look at the white uni the ref is wearing – he looks like one of Nurse Ratched’s guards.
If I find the originals, I’m going to scan them in, clean them up, blow them up and put ‘em on the wall. Perhaps PJ will ask me about his namesake one day and I can show him some sepia-toned goodness.
Click on the image to enlarge.
by Joe Doyle on September 17, 2007
Day four of pounding headache hell. Got a doctor’s appointment at 8:30, in and out in one half hour.
Temp is perfect. Blood pressure on the money. Heart rate in the low 60s. The doc gave me the once over - poked, prodded and finally came up with a viral infection.
This is day four, he told me it could last for up to two weeks. I sure the hell hope not. At least my vitals are normal and my head hurts less than on the previous days.
Still sucks…
Thankfully Corky and Karen were in town so we could go to ACL. While I couldn’t make it, at least we had great help with the kids in this time of need. To be honest, I don’t think we could have made it through this weekend without them.
Thanks, guys.
