Sometimes It's Good To Be Married To A Science Geek

After discovering the interesting bug on my sock the other day, Marcy's scientific mind couldn't let an unfruitful internet and bug book search deter her.  Instead, she contacted a state entomologist and this is what she found out:

"This an assassin bug (Hemiptera: Reduviidae); specifically, it is a wheel bug (Arilus cristatus). It is the largest species in this family in the United States, and can deliver quite a painful bite if mishandled. They are voracious predators on other small arthropods, and thus may be considered beneficial. See http://www.hiltonpond.org/ThisWeek030901.html for much more information on these fascinating insects. Ed Saugstad, retired entomologist; Sinks Grove, WV."

Let's pretend for a second that I understood all of that mumbo jumbo (I KNEW it was an Arilus cristatus!) and pretend that I'm not relieved that that little bastard didn't sink it's needle nose thingy (got a bit less scientific all of a sudden) into my hand and arm as I handled it.  Thankfully, after years and years of dealing with angry women, I never mishandle voracious predators.  At least not that often...

Riding, as you probably have guessed, has been slim but that doesn't mean that I haven't been thinking about biking.  I've been researching brakes for next year's race steed (which I still can't talk about even though anybody with a bit of googling skill could figure out who our bike sponsor is for next year).  Currently, SRAM XO's are the front runner since they are a team sponsor (at least I hope so for 2012).  Hopefully, they've dealt with their air bubble issues with the new re-design.  I know that I've been very happy with my Juicy Ultimates so, if they've made improvements, I'll be happy.

There are some other options being mule kicked down my throat as well, namely Magura MK8's and Shimano XTR but, for nows, I'm happy with XO but am sitting tight until I see some more online reviews and long term testing.