Greetings from the Middle East!

f2f4

New Member
There's a lot of sand around here. And Pugeot cars. But mainly sand.

Turns out in the middle of (censored) Air Base, someone made a ... WIFI HOTSPOT@##@!!!!!!

My laptop is covered in sand and my lithium battery needs to be replaced due to age and always having this thing plugged in, but I'm glad to be online.

Good news: They rent mountain bikes here at the base.
Bad news: We can't ride bikes off base due to people wanting to kill us.


Just thought I'd drop in and let everyone know that things are going well for me. Well, not well. They suck. But I am in good health, and will have (hopefully) a bit of money for a nice shiny mountain velocipede when I get back. :)


As much as I'd like to tell you about where I am, and how cool or lame or hot or sandy it is, I can't due to OPSEC restrictions and such. Which is kind of dumb, but it makes sense. Loose lips sink battleships. Or jets, in my case. To those wondering what I do, I am an aircraft mechanic, specifically, Electrical and Pneumatic systems specialist on the KC-10A tanker. In english: I fix jets on the flightline.

To anyone that wants it; send me a PM for my mailing address. Mountain bike mags would rock. You can't find them out here in the desert, haha. :D


I'll try to post a few pics if I get the chance!

EDIT: I am back home now. Thanks for the support everyone!


- Airman out
 
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Kirt

JORBA: Chimney Rock, Team MTBNJ.COM
JORBA.ORG
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Be safe. Hope to meet u & hook up for a ride when u get back.
 

jdog

Shop: Halter's Cycles
Shop Keep
Be safe young Jedi..

I will have lots of digging for you when you return.

perhaps you will find out what all the ss buzz is about when you return.

How long are you gone??


I can collect some mags in a box for you at the shop.



Peas

J-
 

f2f4

New Member
I should be back by early June, hopefully.

Any mags received would be read with vigor while riding on the stationary bike at our "gym tent" and pretending I'm in Colorado. :D
 

C.Puncher

New Member
mags and shit....

I should be back by early June, hopefully.

Any mags received would be read with vigor while riding on the stationary bike at our "gym tent" and pretending I'm in Colorado. :D

I can gather some stuff too, post up the shipping address. I have daily UPS at my workplace.
 

bonefishjake

Strong like bull, smart like tractor
Team MTBNJ Halter's
maybe we can collectively round up some stuff to send over to you.

you're keeping my ass safe and providing me with life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. that's the least we can do. what size shirt are you? i'll make sure you get an mtbnj.com shirt in the package.

thanks for keeping us all safe.

put a bullet in a bad guy for me.
 

bonefishjake

Strong like bull, smart like tractor
Team MTBNJ Halter's
I can gather some stuff too, post up the shipping address. I have daily UPS at my workplace.


uh, maybe send your addy to jdog and we can collectively get him stuff to send.

j, we'll (or i'll) help offset the shipping. get this boy some U S of A.
 

f2f4

New Member
I wear a shirt size medium. :)

I'll send both of you PMs with my address.
I would post it in this thread, but since this thread is public (anyone can view it), I can't put it right here.

I'll take a pic of the bikes they rent out here. They are cheap department-store hardtails. BUT, they work, and they are bikes!

I am going to volunteer at the deployed community center to help maintain the bikes. They are rented out for free on base, and receive pretty much no maintenance. If anyone can send some teflon or wax-based lube (it's VERY dusty and sandy here, so I would guess oil doesn't work so well) and maybe a cheap multi-tool, as well as some 26" tubes and a patch kit and some other cheap tools, I'd much appreciate it. Of course I would return the tools as soon as I returned.
 
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elzoller

El Guac-Oh
Dude, will MAXIMs work??? I think they talk about bikes once in a while;)
They've been collecting dust in my garage for a while.

Take care of yourself.
 

Frank

Sasquatch
I'll take a pic of the bikes they rent out here. They are department store full-squish pogo sticks. BUT, they work, and they are bikes!

You mean like the first bike you had buddy???

You should be used to the sand though, you rode at Allaire often enough. :D Take good care of yourself.
 

f2f4

New Member
Same brand as the first bike I had! Ahaha.
Although mine had rims, and these have cheap discs (due to the sand).

I edited my post above; I didn't realize these were hardtails until I got pics a few minutes ago.


I took some pics about 5 minutes ago of the bikes. Here you go:

SANY0165.jpg


SANY0166.jpg


SANY0167.jpg


SANY0168.jpg



As you can see, many of the tires are low/flat. The brakes are poop. The tranny is poop as well.
And ya gotta love the bottle holders we have taped to them! :D






SANY0164.jpg
 
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Frank

Sasquatch
You can prepare the drivetrain with some 30wt ball bearings and some gauze.... looks like a lot of time will be spent with a wire brush. Good luck with that fleet.
 

Allamuchy Joe

Not White House Approved
JORBA.ORG
There's a lot of sand around here. And Pugeot cars. But mainly sand.

Turns out in the middle of (censored) Air Base, someone made a ... WIFI HOTSPOT@##@!!!!!!

My laptop is covered in sand and my lithium battery needs to be replaced due to age and always having this thing plugged in, but I'm glad to be online.

Good news: They rent mountain bikes here at the base.
Bad news: We can't ride bikes off base due to people wanting to kill us.


Just thought I'd drop in and let everyone know that things are going well for me. Well, not well. They suck. But I am in good health, and will have (hopefully) a bit of money for a nice shiny mountain velocipede when I get back. :)


As much as I'd like to tell you about where I am, and how cool or lame or hot or sandy it is, I can't due to OPSEC restrictions and such. Which is kind of dumb, but it makes sense. Loose lips sink battleships. Or jets, in my case. To those wondering what I do, I am an aircraft mechanic, specifically, Electrical and Pneumatic systems specialist on the KC-10A tanker. In english: I fix jets on the flightline.

To anyone that wants it; send me a PM for my mailing address. Mountain bike mags would rock. You can't find them out here in the desert, haha. :D


I'll try to post a few pics if I get the chance!


- Airman out


Hey, we met you at the MTBNJ picnic last October, right?

Thank you for what you guys do! When you get back, drop a line and we'll take you on a tour of Allamuchy -- no sand there.

Take care of yourself and God bless you guys.

Joe
 

Eileen

Active Member
I definitely remember you from the picnic. Good to hear from you and THANKS for everything you're doing!!!

When you get back in June you might be able to hit some of the H2H races :getsome:
 

Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Rock on man, glad you have some connection to "reality".

Maybe we should pass a hat around and buy you a new lithium battery? Find a link, post it up, and we'll see what we can do?
 

J-Dro

Well-Known Member
Stay safe, June is right around the corner.

I trust that the military maintains their equipment better then they maintain their bike fleet.
 

Shaggz

A strong 7
care package

do me a favor and post up, or PM me with a list of bike (and other) related stuff that you cold use (lube, chains, tools, etc). we will coordinate getting some packages shipped over to you.
 

ArmyOfNone

Well-Known Member
Glad to hear from ya bro! Good to hear everything is alright. I have some stuff to contribute as well. Be well and be safe.
 

Wobbegong

Well-Known Member
Glad to hear all is ok with you Chris. I have the last 8 issues of MBA for you, plus a few of the most recent copies of Dirt Rag. I'll bring them over to Halters tomorrow.

Stay Safe.
 

f2f4

New Member
Wow, I didn't expect this! :eek:
thanks a ton, guys (and gals! :) )

Shaggz - For the bike parts - I'll get a list up ASAP. Probably tomorrow. Right now I just got off work (gotta LOVE that time difference) and am going to get to bed.

Alamuchy Joe - I plan to take you up on that offer. I can't wait to ride in the states again after this sand. worse than Allaire! (kidding, I <3 that place)

Eileen - I plan to do some racing when I get back, that's for sure. Whether or not I'll DO well, well, time will tell. Haha.

Jeff - Our jets are in much better condition, along with the chow tent, but that's about it. :D



Ohhhhhh, two BIG points:

1) I just found out my roommate is a rider. He does mainly road riding. A little MTB. And he's in the ame squadron as me back at McGuire. So when I get back and start riding road for training, we'll probably be riding together.


...which leads to point #2...

2) While I am here, I am going to ride 1,000 miles.
10 miles a day, for 100 days. On the stationary trainer in the gym tent here on base of course that is. Although I will be here for much more than 100 days. And I may be riding more than 10 miles a day. So it could be much more than 1,000.
Today I did 11.2 miles in 30 minutes. I know, not that good, but I was taking it easy since I was tired from work! I only have a half-hour each day on the bike, due to my incredibly busy routine (14 hour shifts on top of other stuff to do).
I am so excited. I have a feeling by the time I am done with this deployment I will be in much better shape! Reason I say that is because I will also be starting lifting while I am here too.

Airman out!

ps: Norm - The battery is part # "PB995A".
Made for the HP Pavillion dv5000 laptop.
Google should have it, but tomorrow I will get a link for it. I don't have time to get the link myself, because, ironically, my battery is about to die. (one full charge nets me ~15 mins of use; it's sad)



Thanks for all the support guys. I really mean that. I'll try to get some pics uploaded tomorrow if I can find an outlet to run off of.

pps - My roomate just walked by and asked if anyone had any roadbike magazines to send.
I apologize on his behalf for his demanding manners.


- Chris
 
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