Time Lines and Napkins

Lately my life is ruled by timelines and, to a lesser extent, napkins.

For those of you that may have missed the memo, I walked away from my corporate job at the end of March with designs on moving War Axe forward into a company which provides a livelihood for a small number of people yet holds on to the spirit of what we started years ago.

Since then (and prior) I've drawn on a lot of napkins. All the BookFace check-ins at coffee shops aren't simply an addiction gone bad, but have truly served as a time to get things done. Like a hoarder, I kept those napkins as I worked and, with a bit of "editing for television," you'll end up seeing some yourself when our new website launches within the next two weeks.

"Two weeks." That remains the other portion of this doom-struck craziness; putting a time to everything and trying to hit it. Those coffee shop trips usually include my iPhone and leather folder. That folder contains checklists and sub-checklists, which usually relate to Google docs saved online so Sam can see what I am up to and pause, cheer or flip out as needed.

Near the end of last week I was out for a ride and it hit me, "This shit is really going to happen." It would be overstatement to say I freaked out, but I know I did stop pedaling. A lot of those checklists have checks sitting by each line and well, I keep getting busier without really even trying. With that in mind, here's a quick peek at where things stand. (At least the items I am comfortable enough to share.)

The Fascist Killer 29inch mountain bike is due back from Spectrum in roughly a month. Parts for it our sitting with our friends Nate and Eric at Monkey Wrench, waiting patiently, at least more patiently than I am. It's going to come back with what I like to thing of as the "Team" War Axe paint scheme which we created in collaboration with Chad Hawthorne and the Hoss Creative.

Our second frame and fork is currently in the hands of our friend Erik Rolf at Alliance Bicycles for prototyping while the third and final frame in our preliminary line is already designed and ready to be put into process.

When those three are dialed and we've picked our jaws up off the floor, we're going to throw a party. Don't worry... You're invited. Lincoln has been great to us. The War Eagle is well-represented any time I'm around a gathering of cyclists and we want to say thanks. Plus, it only seems proper to show Lincoln the line first.

Keep in touch, but don't be surprised if it takes us a while to reply.

Infectious

In a perfect world, this post would have been a return to my overly long race reports, filled with details of Syllamo's Revenge and how I was pleasantly surprised with my form and the result that followed. Obviously, this isn't that report. Considering I spent a good majority of last week coughing up wet concrete when I inhaled deeply, the prudent but frustrating call was to DNS. My breathing has begun to sound much less like the Predator everyday and the base miles have continued to stack, so my hope is to look back and see a short-term disappointment but a long-term gain.

In the meantime, this thing called War Axe is moving forward and morphing daily, sometimes hourly (like this morning). So while the false starts of the past have us playing the details somewhat close to the vest, the optimism and excitement is more than palatable. For those of you who'd like to receive word on events in the world of War Axe, send an email to info@waraxebicycles.com. We've begun the War Axe Insider newsletter for spreading the word. Feel free to sign on for updates.

Of course, you'll likely see some more frequent posting here as well. Blogs are dead? Maybe, unless you want to use more than 140 characters, in which case, maybe they're just keeping it on the down low until they've got something real to say.

Mohican 100 is next up on the calendar. I need to head out for some added base miles.

and this

is the bike that will be back-handing Skip at your local 100 miler this summer

From OKCupid, so it must be true

From BikeLugs.com

Investment Group Buys Pacenti Cycle Design

04.06.2011 - Bicycle Retailer And Industry News
CHATTANOOGA, TN (BRAIN)—Kirk Pacenti of Pacenti Cycle Design sold his 12-year old company to the investment group, Top Five, also from Chattanooga, Tennessee.

The partners formed a new company, NuWave, of which Pacenti Cycle Design will be a division. Pacenti will remain with the company as vice president, running day-to-day operations.

“Our Pacenti branded component line is just the beginning. NuWave intends to become a full service composites supplier to markets like the bicycle industry,” said Kirt Pacenti, NuWave’s vice president.

The short-term goals of the new company are to reactivate the Bikelugs.com frame building product line as well as develop a full line of Pacenti branded bicycle components. Long term, the company is going to focus most of its energy on developing advanced composite materials and manufacturing technologies.

“One of our main objectives is to bring high-volume production processes to low-volume production. We plan to manufacture our composite products here in the U.S., and by taking advantage of these new manufacturing technologies, we aim to compete with Asia on price,” Pacenti added.

NuWave will be working in close association with another of Top Five’s holdings, Composite Applications Group (CAG), which is located at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. CAG is focused on developing product applications for carbon fiber and other advanced composites.

I am glad that there will be Pacenti Lugs and Fork Crowns available again. Check out the Pacenti gallery.

Forkage

Segmented 29er

Spring Cleaning Swap Meet, Food, Beer and Live Music

Big-time event, be there.

Click the poster yo!