Pimped Out

Ok, as always I have a lot of catching up to do, but I'll get the posts rolling, as they say, with the modifications to my truck. This past Sunday Cale and I were wiped after the 12 hour race on Saturday (but that's another story) so we spent the majority of the day hanging out around the house. Cale had brought home some Saris fork mounts to attach to the truck bed earlier in the week, so we got started on that.

We brought out a few bikes so we could measure and mark, and then Cale started drilling. We put two mounts as far apart as we could get them on the cab end (photo 1), and two on the top of the tailgate to the inside of the other ones (photo 2).





So now the ol' Danger Ranger holds 4 bikes easily, with another mount possible (dead center against the cab, a little lower so bars won't clash). For WEMS weekends, we can pile up the bed of the truck, rest the rear wheels on top and then strap 'em all in place. For longevity, I might put silicon around the fork mounts to prevent against rust. It's not an aesthetic concern, as the whole truck is rusting around the edges, but I do want to make sure that no bikes ever get sucked off of the truck while flying down the highway. Better safe than sorry, shall we say?

Installing these mounts made me happier than I had predicted. Sure, I knew that this would make things a lot more convenient (no more bikes bouncing around in the bed or stuffed in the extended cab) but I definitely feel more affectionate to my little truck now, which kind of surprised me. It's taken a long time for me to warm up to it, because I've been wary of things breaking down, but I guess I'm starting to trust it. I mean, look at it there, all helpful and friendly. Awww.