Grass track racing!

Off season is now in full swing. I am working with Brian Abers, an accomplished track coach, to get set up for next year in style (Amelia may also come aboard, but it depends on how intense school will be for her). As part of the fun, we race grass track in the wet mud on a field near our house. This is the dangerous beast I ride for this---an older road bike frame with a no brakes fixed gear track setup with knobby tires. Grass track practice include keirins, match sprints and other fun stuff with lots of physical contact to work on bike handling and tactics. It is a lot of fun to be allowed to push on people and slam bikes together, without much risk of any serious damage.

Here a match sprint on grass track. Observe the sneaky attempt to box me in the curve.

Ceiling repairs

A leaky roof had destroyed the ceiling in one of our rooms, so we decided to put in a new one. As Genevieve had just finished a natural building course, she spearheaded a new natural roof. When confronted with the chance to use a nailgun, I naturally jumped in. Above these slats, we stuffed hay for insulation.

After the hay and slats had gone up, it was time for a mixture of wheat paste, clay and hay. The next step is painting, but that will have to wait.