Nairo Quintana via Velonews

Right away you could see his good climbing, or as we say here in Colombia, that he was an escarabajo,” he told AFP, referring to the traditional name for Colombian cyclists.

“He was very passionate. He would get here early, ride through all the way to Moniquira [another town up the road] and turn back … although sometimes he arrived a little late for school.”

Quintana senior recalled his son buying his first bike.

“It wasn’t for sports,” he said. “He bought it to get around. ‘Till then he hadn’t shown any interest in cycling, but soon someone said he looked like a cyclist, that he was going to be a very good cyclist.”

Quintana was 15 years old at the time. The bike “was used, but in good condition. It looked good, and I started riding it to school … and got hooked,” he said.

In a region with a passion for cycling — and an altitude of 6,562 feet above sea level — Quintana was soon overtaking hardcore riders, blowing past them and their fancy equipment with his school books on his back.

He remembers his principal at Alejandro de Humboldt Technical School worrying that he and his friends would take a spill on the narrow road to school, with its heavy traffic of trucks.

“He would get mad because he saw us going fast downhill … and he wanted to take away our bikes because it scared him,” Quintana said.

Former teachers remember his passion for dance and theater, as well as cycling — but less so for his studies.

“He was pretty quiet. … He was shy but very respectful,” recalled his language instructor, Flor Mireya Vargas, one of many teachers who cleaned up his wounds when he would crash his bike.

http://velonews.competitor.com/2015/06/news/quintana-seeks-tour-glory-in-colombian-mountains_375331

Beaver Dam Gravel Grinder

Couple of pics from Lance Wilson's ride through the desert at the recent Beaver Dam Gravel Grinder.  It was 45 miles through desert sand with 4000+ feet of climbing, not to mention 100+ degree temperatures.  He was the only one riding a cross bike but cruised through it all.  Congrats Lance on the accomplishment.  I love seeing MEECHs being ridden and raced in the toughest conditions. 

This looks a bit desolate.  

Thanks for riding a MEECH and feel free to send as many photos as you like from any adventure that you may embark on.

Scoot's Old Frame Gets A Makeover

Scoot dropped off his old MEECH when he picked up his new one the other day for a couple of quick changes to the setup and some fresh paint.  This is the before photo of how it looked from day one however when he handed it off to me it didn't look quite this good.  It kinda looked like he had ridden it to Hell and back a few times and people had thrown stones at him along the way.  I asked him about it and he told me that it hadn't been to Hell, only 5 consecutive Bicycle Tours of Colorado.  I did one of those with Scoot about 6 years ago and got enough climbing in one week to last a lifetime.  The thirty minute descents are nice though. Anyway, he definitely road the molasses out of this frame and it needed some new paint badly.

And this is it.  I've been extremely busy here lately and so I didn't have time to get crazy with it like I wanted to but I like the way the colors work.  I got some more ideas after painting this one but who knows when you'll see them. A storm was blowing in as I was trying to take pictures so the lighting isn't the best but you can get a good idea of the colors here. When the sun hits this turquoise it gives it a bit of a darker, deeper, tint.

I took it for a little test ride after the storm passed just to see how it felt. It seemed to climb nicely however the downhill was a bit sketchy since Scoot only left me about 30 psi in the front tire.  Front end washed out in a sharp corner and I scratched the new paint and tore up all the bar tape on the left hand side.  I turned the bike this way so he couldn't see it.

Just kidding Scoot.  I didn't crash your ride.  But I did accidently scratch it while throwing the parts on it.  Scoot and I go way back so I'm guessing he'll let a little scratch slide on by.  I'm hoping he will anyway.  About 25 years ago I saw Scott almost pile-drive his roommate in a wrestling match. It's a good thing that Scoot's knee blew out or that guy would be looking like Stephen Hawking about right now.  I think someone may have spiked the Red Bull that night. Ah, those old college days.

Like I mentioned in the past post about Scoot, he's a blast to put in the miles with.  We've had a handful of memorable bike trips together.  Bicycle Tour of Colorado and Taos, New Mexico, not to mention all the short trips out to Craighead Forrest back in the college days. He's a pleasure to work with.

This is the last frame you'll see for a while as I may be a little absent from blogging in the next few days to come.  Anne got a new job in our hometown of Jonesboro and we're packing stuff up for the move as we speak.  Mountain Home has been a great place to reside for the past 6 years but we've been hoping that we could get back to our little house for quite a while and it's finally gonna happen.  I'm gonna have my original shop back so I'm pretty excited about that.  It's where the first 5 or 6 MEECHs were built. Also I'll get back to those old roads that I know so well and hopefully get some good riding in with old friends. 

 I don't want to spoil my secret plan but I'm so excited that I can't keep from telling someone.  Our plan is to live in our little old house (which is falling apart since nobody has been living in it) until we sell this house, and then hopefully we can build a new one.  

"That's not much of a secret plan D."

I know, but try and follow me here.  If and when we get a new house, that will leave the little old house vacant.  You with me now.  New MEECH headquarters.  One end of the house is gonna be the machine shop/brazing room part of the workshop while the bedroom on the other end is gonna be a climate-controlled painting booth.  Gonna have a kitchen to cook all the grilled-cheeze sandwiches you can eat and a cappuccino machine for the morning ride buzz.  There might even be enough space for a carbon frame building room. No more sleeping in the dog house for this cat, I'm just gonna go sleep in the fillet-brazing room, carbon fiber room, or the paint-spraying room. By next year's Tour I'm hoping to be living off of beef jerky, chocolate milk, and fumes. That's the dream and I've got my fingers crossed it goes accordingly.  So anyway, I'll try not to be a stranger to my own blog but it's gonna take me a while to get all set up.  I've got all my orders filled except one and I'll be posting some pictures of it and the new shop as soon as I get everything up and running again.

Tour is less than 3 weeks away.  July 4th is the day. It looks like it's shaping up to be a good one.

Thanks for stopping by.

meech

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waImFgAm7Cc

Bradley Wiggins World Hour Attempt Live

Hopefully you're not stuck inside today like I am but if you are here is a link to Brad Wiggin's Hour attempt.  Even Wiggins said that this could be boring to watch but the last 10 minutes will be exciting. Hopefully this link will work.  There are also a couple of others so I'll see if I can get some options. 

http://cyclingtips.com.au/2015/06/bradley-wiggins-world-hour-record-attempt-livestream/

http://www.yopika.tv/20150606/v-haha_sport_9_name-1087188-55735ab38d04c5.96036946.html

'88' Schwinn

http://velonews.competitor.com/2015/06/video/pros-closet-vintage-pro-bike-video-alan-mccormacks-1988-schwinn_372714