Rest stop no. 1. Fig Newman's good!
Paceline
The one and only injury on the day. It doesn't look like much but I'd estimate the cut is about 1/4"
deep and almost to the bone. Very nice job. 
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
mmmm photos 3
The group, pre-ride.
Rest stop no. 1. Fig Newman's good!
Paceline
The one and only injury on the day. It doesn't look like much but I'd estimate the cut is about 1/4"
deep and almost to the bone. Very nice job.
Rest stop no. 1. Fig Newman's good!
Paceline
The one and only injury on the day. It doesn't look like much but I'd estimate the cut is about 1/4"
deep and almost to the bone. Very nice job.
Tinglesack
This past Sunday was the semi-annual Mike’s Metric Mountain Mash or MMMMmmmm for short. It’s a 100k mountain bike ride on some of mid-coast Maine’s finest trails which basically means 100k of very challenging double track, bits of singletrack and some short road connectors. Despite the fact that there is very little singletrack, it is always a good time. It’s a semi supported ride with food and water stashed in four strategic locations along the route and finish time is usually expected to be in the 8.5-9.5 hour range depending on many factors including allowing time to nurse ailing bikes and bodies. Because of the layout of the route, there are many possible bail-out points for anyone who finds themselves over their heads, cramping excessively etc. A typical year will have an attrition rate of between 25 & 50%. This year we had a total of five guys show for the punishment ahead.
We rolled out at an easy pace at 8:30 after some delish egg sammiches and some anti-smack talk (you know the type “I’ll probably be slow today, my culo is sore” etc.). It was a much more comfortable pace that what was set two years ago (the last time I did this ride) because the two young-uns weren’t there to push the pace early and then crumble mightily and slow the pace later. Despite the easy pace, I often found myself towards the back of the pack for the first couple of hours while waiting for my legs to wake up and began to wonder if my pre-ride anti smack was actually true. By about hour 4, after our second snack stop, I finally began to feel ok and started riding in the front and pushing the pace a bit. Not enough to crack the pack but enough to get us somewhat back on track time wise. This was about the time that I also started to feel the flow of the bike and was able to let it do the work for me on the very rocky, rooty, leave strewn downhills. I was finally having fun.
By about hour 6, I was feeling so good that I started whooping it up and jumping anything remotely resembling a ramp sometimes getting as much as 6” of mad air! I gotz the skillz yo! Unfortunately, this was also around the time that two of the riders in the group really started to feel the mileage so we were forced to slow the pace a bit and re-group more often.
As hour 8 crept up on us, I was still feeling like a million bucks and it was beginning to look like the two bonkers were going to pull through and finish strong so after our final rest stop I hit the road planning to put the hurt on for the final leg of the ride. 1 ½ hours later, the group arrived at our departure point tired but happy with a long, hard, fulfilling day in the saddle.
Our overall time at 9:45 was a bit slow because of a couple of nice mechanicals, the bazillion leaves covering every nasty root that lay in our paths and probably some overly long brakes but this isn’t really a test of speed so much as just a nice long ride with good guys. I suspect with 2-3 like minded riders and only one refuel stop, we could complete the same route in roughly 6-7 hours and as a matter of fact, I may just suggest that to Mike sometime and see what we can do.
mucho pics to follow.
We rolled out at an easy pace at 8:30 after some delish egg sammiches and some anti-smack talk (you know the type “I’ll probably be slow today, my culo is sore” etc.). It was a much more comfortable pace that what was set two years ago (the last time I did this ride) because the two young-uns weren’t there to push the pace early and then crumble mightily and slow the pace later. Despite the easy pace, I often found myself towards the back of the pack for the first couple of hours while waiting for my legs to wake up and began to wonder if my pre-ride anti smack was actually true. By about hour 4, after our second snack stop, I finally began to feel ok and started riding in the front and pushing the pace a bit. Not enough to crack the pack but enough to get us somewhat back on track time wise. This was about the time that I also started to feel the flow of the bike and was able to let it do the work for me on the very rocky, rooty, leave strewn downhills. I was finally having fun.
By about hour 6, I was feeling so good that I started whooping it up and jumping anything remotely resembling a ramp sometimes getting as much as 6” of mad air! I gotz the skillz yo! Unfortunately, this was also around the time that two of the riders in the group really started to feel the mileage so we were forced to slow the pace a bit and re-group more often.
As hour 8 crept up on us, I was still feeling like a million bucks and it was beginning to look like the two bonkers were going to pull through and finish strong so after our final rest stop I hit the road planning to put the hurt on for the final leg of the ride. 1 ½ hours later, the group arrived at our departure point tired but happy with a long, hard, fulfilling day in the saddle.
Our overall time at 9:45 was a bit slow because of a couple of nice mechanicals, the bazillion leaves covering every nasty root that lay in our paths and probably some overly long brakes but this isn’t really a test of speed so much as just a nice long ride with good guys. I suspect with 2-3 like minded riders and only one refuel stop, we could complete the same route in roughly 6-7 hours and as a matter of fact, I may just suggest that to Mike sometime and see what we can do.
mucho pics to follow.
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Vandy
Pretty slow around these parts recently. With the mtb race season coming to a close, I’ve been focusing on getting shit done that has been neglected all summer (mostly just catching up on work so far) and therefore haven’t been getting out on the bikes much. Of course, riding is tough when both you road bike and mountain bike are busted up and essentially unrideable. Thankfully I do have my ss and cx bikes to rely on for the time being though. Speaking of which, the Van Dessell is pretty much ready to roll. I’ve been tweaking it a bit each time I take it out and I think I have everything pretty much dialed (with the exception of adjusting the toe of the brakes) so I will do the final bar wrap soon. Being back on the Van D. has reminded me how much I enjoy riding this bike. There is something really nice about a single speed on the road. Hopefully it’ll also be nice on cx courses. Time will tell.
Now out with the spy photos.
Now out with the spy photos.
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
ouchie
I am hella sore today. I seriously feel like someone beat me with a 4’ length of 2x4 on Sunday. I guess that’s what a bunch of running in riding shoes over rocky terrain will do to you.
Monday, October 02, 2006
Last one!
One more mountain bike race season is in the books. Yesterday’s race was the 8th and final race in the Maine point series. As I mentioned last week, I made it down to the venue on a couple of occasions over the course of the last couple of weeks to pre-ride and get the very technical course dialed in. I felt that my preparation would ensure that I would at least be able to put up the best fight possible against some tough competition. The Grillz Race is also the final race in the EFTA New England Championship Series so it means that the competition would be fierce with lots of the regions top pros showing up. Last year (or was it the year before, I forget) Adam Craig showed up on a rigid single speed and schooled the whole field.
Fast forward to race day. With my road bike on the stand with a broken front shifter, I decided to pre-ride the course one more time as my pre-race warm-up. Over the last couple of seasons I’ve opted to warm up on the trainer with pretty good results but in this case I figured it would be helpful to get in that extra practice on some of the tougher sections of the course. 2/3 of the way through the lap, while chatting with a couple of other riders, I hear a horrific snap and grinding sound. I knew it couldn’t be good and sure enough it wasn’t. My derailleur hanger had snapped and the xo rear was wound up in my rear wheel. Fuck! Of course with coinage being what it has been recently, I had no spare hangers back at the car so I was more than a little bit s.o.l. My only hope was that one of my teammates would have an extra with them back at the course start.
The whole debacle happened right near (or so I though) the access road to the parking lot so I decided to jog out without the bike and come back by car and pick it up figuring that would be much easier than carrying a bike over uber rock terrain. BIG FREAKIN MISTAKE! After jogging the mile or so to the end of the course I frantically began searching for a replacement hanger. Unfortunately none of my teammates had a hanger for me to use so my only hope was to rig the dos up as a single speed to try to at least get through the race. So, with about ½ hour before race time, I hopped into the element an speed off to pick up the bike and here is where I realized my biggest mistake. It turned out I needed to hike through some seriously rugged and swampy terrain to retrieve the bike. Back to the element, I speed back to the lot with 10 minutes before race time and quickly grab my chain tool and sprint to where team manager Big Al was waiting to help me out. I leave the bike in his trusty hands and sprint back to the car to pull off the knee warmers and long sleeve jersey, suck down a half bottle of HEED and sprint back to the tech tent.
More bad news, with less than a minute to start time, Al informs me that the ss route wasn’t going to work because the chain kept trying to rid up the cogset and as a result skipped and popped constantly. My season was over.
Or maybe not. Just as the gun went off, Al offered up his bike if I wanted to try it. Al is about 6” shorter than me and probably 40lbs lighter but I figured any bike was better than no bike so I grabbed his bike off the rack, ducked under the tape and proceeded to sprint to try to catch back up to the field who was already about 20 seconds ahead of me. In my haste, I failed to adjust the bike in any way, including raising the seat and this would turn out to be the my final (and deciding) mistake.
I sprinted through the first lap, picking up quite a few spots. The bike was way short for me and the seat was about 3” too low but since I was fresh it didn’t bother me too much. I wasn’t as fast as I would be on my dos but I was at least fast enough to keep up with the mid-pack bunch. Half way into the 3rd lap was when the ill fitting bike really started to take its toll. I could no longer stand the whole time but when I sat it felt like my knees were going to hit my chin and I couldn’t apply much power from that position either. I thought about stopping at the start/finish to adjust the seat but with a strict no outside help rule during a race, I couldn’t do it legally (all of my tools are in a seat bag on the dos so I was carrying nothing during the race) so I had to suffer on. By the last lap, I basically had lost all will to live and was starting to cramp in the back and neck (what the frig is up with that?) so sort of coasted through, running most of the tech sections and finished up a disappointing 5th in my age group (no idea where overall).
My final time was about 2:10, for a race that usually only takes me 1:45-ish. I still had plenty of gas left in the tank but without being able to ride the tech sections I had no way to access it. This race will definitely go into the annals of learning races. Some things I learned: 1. Always bring an extra derailleur hanger with you. 2. If you borrow a bike, adjust it before setting off. 3. If you have a mechanical out on the trail, bring the damn bike out with you.
Fast forward to race day. With my road bike on the stand with a broken front shifter, I decided to pre-ride the course one more time as my pre-race warm-up. Over the last couple of seasons I’ve opted to warm up on the trainer with pretty good results but in this case I figured it would be helpful to get in that extra practice on some of the tougher sections of the course. 2/3 of the way through the lap, while chatting with a couple of other riders, I hear a horrific snap and grinding sound. I knew it couldn’t be good and sure enough it wasn’t. My derailleur hanger had snapped and the xo rear was wound up in my rear wheel. Fuck! Of course with coinage being what it has been recently, I had no spare hangers back at the car so I was more than a little bit s.o.l. My only hope was that one of my teammates would have an extra with them back at the course start.
The whole debacle happened right near (or so I though) the access road to the parking lot so I decided to jog out without the bike and come back by car and pick it up figuring that would be much easier than carrying a bike over uber rock terrain. BIG FREAKIN MISTAKE! After jogging the mile or so to the end of the course I frantically began searching for a replacement hanger. Unfortunately none of my teammates had a hanger for me to use so my only hope was to rig the dos up as a single speed to try to at least get through the race. So, with about ½ hour before race time, I hopped into the element an speed off to pick up the bike and here is where I realized my biggest mistake. It turned out I needed to hike through some seriously rugged and swampy terrain to retrieve the bike. Back to the element, I speed back to the lot with 10 minutes before race time and quickly grab my chain tool and sprint to where team manager Big Al was waiting to help me out. I leave the bike in his trusty hands and sprint back to the car to pull off the knee warmers and long sleeve jersey, suck down a half bottle of HEED and sprint back to the tech tent.
More bad news, with less than a minute to start time, Al informs me that the ss route wasn’t going to work because the chain kept trying to rid up the cogset and as a result skipped and popped constantly. My season was over.
Or maybe not. Just as the gun went off, Al offered up his bike if I wanted to try it. Al is about 6” shorter than me and probably 40lbs lighter but I figured any bike was better than no bike so I grabbed his bike off the rack, ducked under the tape and proceeded to sprint to try to catch back up to the field who was already about 20 seconds ahead of me. In my haste, I failed to adjust the bike in any way, including raising the seat and this would turn out to be the my final (and deciding) mistake.
I sprinted through the first lap, picking up quite a few spots. The bike was way short for me and the seat was about 3” too low but since I was fresh it didn’t bother me too much. I wasn’t as fast as I would be on my dos but I was at least fast enough to keep up with the mid-pack bunch. Half way into the 3rd lap was when the ill fitting bike really started to take its toll. I could no longer stand the whole time but when I sat it felt like my knees were going to hit my chin and I couldn’t apply much power from that position either. I thought about stopping at the start/finish to adjust the seat but with a strict no outside help rule during a race, I couldn’t do it legally (all of my tools are in a seat bag on the dos so I was carrying nothing during the race) so I had to suffer on. By the last lap, I basically had lost all will to live and was starting to cramp in the back and neck (what the frig is up with that?) so sort of coasted through, running most of the tech sections and finished up a disappointing 5th in my age group (no idea where overall).
My final time was about 2:10, for a race that usually only takes me 1:45-ish. I still had plenty of gas left in the tank but without being able to ride the tech sections I had no way to access it. This race will definitely go into the annals of learning races. Some things I learned: 1. Always bring an extra derailleur hanger with you. 2. If you borrow a bike, adjust it before setting off. 3. If you have a mechanical out on the trail, bring the damn bike out with you.
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
smells like off season
Not much to report on the riding front today. Last night was a commute home on the dos hitting just enough trail to keep my sanity and I also started putting the cx stuff onto the Van Dessel. The rear brakes went on fine but the front are being a bitch. The brake posts are removable and the little doo-dad that applies spring tension to the brakes isn’t firmly attached and allows the new brakes to move. Somehow the old brakes worked but the new ones don’t. Dammit. After about an hour of f’ing around with the front last night I decided to throw in the towel and hit it another night when I’m less tired. My guess is that when I try it tonight it’ll work easy as pie. If there is one thing I’ve learned since starting to wrench on my own bikes is that if something is frustrating me its best to step away and come back another time and it’ll probably work just fine. It usually does work so I’m hoping that tonight will give me better results. Wish me luck.
Oh yeah, my heart rate monitor shit the bed this weekend too. Seems like everything is going to hell all at once here so not only do I not have use of my road and cx bikes but no heart rate monitor either. Sweet. That should make this winters trainer sessions super duper fun. I have a hard enough time keeping the tempo up on those even with real h.r. numbers staring me in the face so when I can only go by perceived heart rate I’m sure the efforts will really suffer. Woe is me.
9-27-06 Edit: I managed to get the rear brakes set up on the Van D. last night. Yippee!!! Ever since I started wrenching for myself I’ve found out that even though it takes me longer to do than at a shop, I know that when it’s done, it’ll be done kinda sorta right. Actually, I’m giving myself too much credit here. Let’s try this again. When I wrench for myself I figure I have a 50/50 chance that it’ll work properly. Canti brakes are one thing I should be able to handle though. I think.
Oh yeah, my heart rate monitor shit the bed this weekend too. Seems like everything is going to hell all at once here so not only do I not have use of my road and cx bikes but no heart rate monitor either. Sweet. That should make this winters trainer sessions super duper fun. I have a hard enough time keeping the tempo up on those even with real h.r. numbers staring me in the face so when I can only go by perceived heart rate I’m sure the efforts will really suffer. Woe is me.
9-27-06 Edit: I managed to get the rear brakes set up on the Van D. last night. Yippee!!! Ever since I started wrenching for myself I’ve found out that even though it takes me longer to do than at a shop, I know that when it’s done, it’ll be done kinda sorta right. Actually, I’m giving myself too much credit here. Let’s try this again. When I wrench for myself I figure I have a 50/50 chance that it’ll work properly. Canti brakes are one thing I should be able to handle though. I think.
Friday, September 22, 2006
Tektro, the anti bling
Yesterday I picked up the cyclocross bits I ordered from Bikeman.com. I love their in store pick-up option from their website. Its nice to be able to order something ahead of time, wait a few days, walk in, grab my stuff and walk out. Nice, quick and easy. So now I've got new brakes, bar and tape to get the Van Dessel suited up right. I'll hopefully also be picking up some used bar top brake levers from a friend this weekend that'll round out the project. I'm pretty psyched to get the V.D. suited up and riding again especially since my road shifter went to hell the other day.
Check out the sidewalls on my maxxis ignitors. Talk about wearing thin. They're getting so thin that I noticed a partial cut the other day. It wasn't quite deep enough to expose the tube but damn close. Of course I didn't want to spend the jing on a new tire so I busted out the J.B. Weld and glued the sucker back together. Its not the prettiest fix but it seems to be working well. Yesterday's ride on the super rocky trails at Reid proved that the fix will work for a short time at least. If it gets me through next weekend I'll be happy.
Check out the sidewalls on my maxxis ignitors. Talk about wearing thin. They're getting so thin that I noticed a partial cut the other day. It wasn't quite deep enough to expose the tube but damn close. Of course I didn't want to spend the jing on a new tire so I busted out the J.B. Weld and glued the sucker back together. Its not the prettiest fix but it seems to be working well. Yesterday's ride on the super rocky trails at Reid proved that the fix will work for a short time at least. If it gets me through next weekend I'll be happy.
Mission accomplished
Job well done. Yesterday I went down to Reid State Park to hit up the race course for next Sunday and got 3 fast laps in. Ok, 2 fast laps and one monkey fucking a football lap, but close enough. I’ll probably go one more time next week and bust out 3-4 laps and then I should be good to go for the race.
The pipeline.
The course itself is a 29’ers wet dream. There is one section (actually about ½ of the course) called the pipeline that is nothing but big rocks and roots. It’s a total pain in the ass on a 26’er but somewhat more rideable on the Dos Niner. I’m hoping that if I can get the pipeline section dialed in I’ll be able to do some serious damage or at least make up time on some of the faster guys. We’ll see how it goes.
The pipeline.
The course itself is a 29’ers wet dream. There is one section (actually about ½ of the course) called the pipeline that is nothing but big rocks and roots. It’s a total pain in the ass on a 26’er but somewhat more rideable on the Dos Niner. I’m hoping that if I can get the pipeline section dialed in I’ll be able to do some serious damage or at least make up time on some of the faster guys. We’ll see how it goes.
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Stuff
While cruising the cyclocross board over at RoadBikeReview.com yesterday I stumbled across an old teammate of mine from the very first mountain bike team I belonged to, Brown Dog Bikes. It was a small shop in Camden Maine that (at least in my first year or two) managed to put together one of the top teams in the state and each year was duking it out with a few others to win the overall team points at the end of the season. The last year I raced for BDB, Josh moved out to California to get a bit more serious about his snowboarding and bike racing so I haven’t seen or heard from him in years. Anyway, I happened to see a post by Josh on the cx board and it looks like he’ll be making the journey cross country to do 6 weeks of elite cyclocross racing on the east coast including the two Verge Series races here in Maine. We’ve made tentative plans to do some riding while he’s here. The internet truly is an amazing thing. You can check out his blog HERE.
On to other news, I’m a bit bummed. On my commute home yesterday, the rear shifter on my road steed stopped working consistently. I don’t know what is wrong with it but the paddle to shift to higher gears doesn’t seem to catch anymore and is all floppy like. Total bummer. Hopefully it can be fixed without replacing the whole thing but I’m not getting my hopes up. I guess I’ll be strictly on the van dessel and dos for a while.
Speaking of the dos, we’ve got a date tonight to pre-ride next Sunday’s race course. I haven’t ridden there in a couple of months so I hope to get over a couple of times before the race. With my fitness being as low as it is right now I’m really going to have to rely on having the course dialed because there are some really long, technical sections where you can make up serious time if you ride them smoothly. Two or three laps tonight and next week should help.
On to other news, I’m a bit bummed. On my commute home yesterday, the rear shifter on my road steed stopped working consistently. I don’t know what is wrong with it but the paddle to shift to higher gears doesn’t seem to catch anymore and is all floppy like. Total bummer. Hopefully it can be fixed without replacing the whole thing but I’m not getting my hopes up. I guess I’ll be strictly on the van dessel and dos for a while.
Speaking of the dos, we’ve got a date tonight to pre-ride next Sunday’s race course. I haven’t ridden there in a couple of months so I hope to get over a couple of times before the race. With my fitness being as low as it is right now I’m really going to have to rely on having the course dialed because there are some really long, technical sections where you can make up serious time if you ride them smoothly. Two or three laps tonight and next week should help.
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
When it itches to pee
Poison ivy sucks donkey nuts! I noticed a bit surrounding the race course this weekend but was careful not to touch any but guess what? That’s right, for the last couple of days my legs and ankles have been sprouting itchy little bumps. Excellent! I swear, the next promoter who makes a course in the middle of a poison ivy patch is going to get a wad of it shoved up his cornhole. Damn, I hate being allergic to this shit. I think this is the fifth or sixth outbreak I’ve had just this summer. Sure makes the days fly by.
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
quickie
Here is a quick rundown of the last day’s training. Yesterday morning: jog with dog. Yesterday afternoon: mow lawn with 30+ lb pack (baby stuffed inside). This morning: 4am road ride, legs were dead so I took it pretty easy.
Exciting stuff huh?
Here’s an interesting referral (http://finance.google.com/finance?q=ptc&hl=en) that I’ve been getting a few hits from. Its from the Google Finance search engine. If you scroll down, I’m the top blog referral for the day because of my “Short Track Beating” post. Sorry suckers who link from there must be truly disappointed in what they find. Its good to know that I can disappoint two demographic groups now.
Exciting stuff huh?
Here’s an interesting referral (http://finance.google.com/finance?q=ptc&hl=en) that I’ve been getting a few hits from. Its from the Google Finance search engine. If you scroll down, I’m the top blog referral for the day because of my “Short Track Beating” post. Sorry suckers who link from there must be truly disappointed in what they find. Its good to know that I can disappoint two demographic groups now.
Monday, September 18, 2006
More pics
Brynna pimping one of the sponsors with her Salsa tricycle t.
Candidate for manliest man of the year photo.
Pretty much my first farmers tan of the year was had yesterday.
The CTS dvd and coffee schwag.
All for now.
Candidate for manliest man of the year photo.
Pretty much my first farmers tan of the year was had yesterday.
The CTS dvd and coffee schwag.
All for now.
Short track beating
Yesterday was the Rotary Park Short Track race. The promoters were kind enough to have the expert and ss go off at diffent times so that people could double up if the mood struck. Well, the mood struck me so I did the ss race at 10:45 and the expert race at 12:00. The ss race was a total hoot. The promoters had set up an area with three consecutive 18" logs to hop/run over and I made a point of trying to ride them as smoothly as possible on each lap. By the end, I had really improved my form and now can easily hop consecutive logs without hitting my chainring. Bonus points to me and my sub par tech skills! The course also featured a couple of really tough, steep but short climbs. They were doable on an ss but very hard. Today though, my upper back is killing me from reefing on the handlebars so much while on those climbs. Shortly after the start, myself and three other ss'ers had passed the sport field and were settled into a nice battle. My goal was to stay with the first place guy until the last lap so that I could conserve energy for the expert race and then try to open a gap on the last lap. Things went perfectly with the four of us trading the top spot back and forth many times until the final climb before the last lap which was where I made my move. I quickly developed a gap and then settled in until the finish triumphantly in first. Soon after the finish I found out that I wasn't actually in first afterall. Apparently one sneaky ss'er had gotten ahead of the sport guys during the opening climb and was out of sight before I got to the front so I never saw him. Oh well, second place was good enough and I had a blast so all was good. As a prize, I got a CTS climbing video for this winter's trainer sessions. Bonus, since I really need to build up a supply of vids for the sufferfest that is indoor trainer season.A half hour after the ss race I lined up for the expert race. When the gun went off I was quickly passed by most of the field including some guys who never, ever beat me. I plugged away hoping that my legs would open back up after a lap or two (of 8-9) but unfortunately they never did so I ended up just cruising (but still suffering mightily) the rest of the race. Fortunately for me and my points for the season, only one other sucker showed up for my age group (pretty lame) and I actually managed to get the win. I was actually pretty embarassed to accept my prize but you've gotta take em when you get em.
The ss start. Rolling with the gearies.
Hopping the logs.
Mucho thanks to Marcy for taking the pics and entertaining Brynna while I rode in circles. B finally seems to be getting to the age that she actually enjoys (or at least tolerates) going to the races. She does seem to get a bit confused by all the skinny guys in lycra though. She's only used to seeing daddy looking like that.
The ss start. Rolling with the gearies.
Hopping the logs.
Mucho thanks to Marcy for taking the pics and entertaining Brynna while I rode in circles. B finally seems to be getting to the age that she actually enjoys (or at least tolerates) going to the races. She does seem to get a bit confused by all the skinny guys in lycra though. She's only used to seeing daddy looking like that.
Thursday, September 14, 2006
Cross progress
On Friday, KWood agreed to purchase some of my cast off parts from previous bikes. Not much but just enough that I had enough money to get most of the cross bits I needed for the Van Dessel. KWood bought $65 worth of stuff and my total for new parts came in at $64.95. Phew, that was close!
Here is a list of what I ordered today. Nothing fancy but they’ll get the job done.
Bar: Salsa Moto Ace Bell Lap
Brake levers: Tektro R200A Ergo
Bar tape: Salsa Goma
Cantis: Tektro Oryx, Front/Rear
Total: $64.95
Here is a list of what I ordered today. Nothing fancy but they’ll get the job done.
Bar: Salsa Moto Ace Bell Lap
Brake levers: Tektro R200A Ergo
Bar tape: Salsa Goma
Cantis: Tektro Oryx, Front/Rear
Total: $64.95
Pack Mule
I managed to get in another somewhat suprise commute this morning. It was a kinda suprise because Marcy gave me the green light just before bed last night. Of course, since it was a suprise, I wasn't fully prepared with food etc at work so I was forced to pack it in with the Jandd Hurricane bag. The bag is pretty comfy overall but when you're used to riding without one, it can be a real drag. Its most noticeable on hills when the extra weight really slows you down. But of course, without one, I'd be without food today so I am very happy I have one. Plus, I use it on a daily basis as my giant lunch bag anyway so it sees lots of use.
Thankfully, this morning was close to 20 degrees warmer than yesterday, ringing in at 59 deg. Throw in a pre-ride jog with the dog and I had a pretty decent workout this morning.
Why do I always look like such a dope when I take the type of pics in the morning? Probably because I am a dope, taking silly pictures of myself.
Mouth agape.
Thankfully, this morning was close to 20 degrees warmer than yesterday, ringing in at 59 deg. Throw in a pre-ride jog with the dog and I had a pretty decent workout this morning.
Why do I always look like such a dope when I take the type of pics in the morning? Probably because I am a dope, taking silly pictures of myself.
Mouth agape.
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Frozen nips
Last night as we were going to bed, Marcy reminded me that she was home today. Shit, I had forgotten and I usually like to ride to and from work on days that she’s home. Thankfully, I keep a stash of clothes at the office so I decided to do the jaunt in this a.m. assuming Brynna allowed us to sleep. Unfortunatley B didn’t allow a full night’s sleep and when we did finally get her back to sleep at 3, I laid there for at least another hour stressing about not sleeping. When I finally did get back to sleep I had a dream about not being able to sleep. How f’ed up is that? Anyway, when the alarm went off at 5 I briefly thought about resetting it to 6 but decided against it since I probably wouldn’t get back to sleep anyway. Upon reaching the living room and turning on the weather channel I thought again about going back to bed when I saw the temp was a balmy 40 degrees. Yikes! I had many reasons to go back to bed: 1. It was cold as hell. 2. I didn’t get enough sleep. 3. I’m just getting over that pesky flu thingy I had. 4. I was feeling like a big fat puss. Thankfully, I also has some good reasons to ride in: 1. If I went back to bed, I would end up waking Marcy two more times. Once getting back in and once again getting back out and if there is one thing that marriage has taught me its that the fewer times I can wake Marcy the better! 2. I have a race this weekend and really need to ride at least a little bit. 3. I didn’t want to be a puss.
So, in the end, I manned up and hit the road with more layers than I have worn since spring and I was still freakin cold. Downhills were brutal and the flats weren’t much better. It was one of those rides that you couldn’t wait for the climbs so that you could warm back up. Along the way I had one seriously sketchy moment. On a narrow road after having just been passed by a car, I drifted too close to the side and dropped off of the pavement onto a shoulder that was about 6” wide before dropping into a nice ditch. Usually, when I drift off the road I’ll simply slow down, ride it out and get back on the road when I’m under control again. On this occasion I knew that if I didn’t act fast, I’d be somersaulting into the ditch and the prospects of flying into a dark ditch with stumps, rocks and who knows what else just didn’t appeal to me. I also knew that if I tried to pull right back onto the road I risked eating it on the pavement because I had a good 2-3” lip to get over and with no time to bunny hop, I would be forced to try to turn back onto the road. Knowing how many layers I had on, I felt fairly confident that even if I did eat it, the road rash would be minimal. Thankfully, when I did correct my path the front wheel got up fairly easily with a slight lift, the rear slammed into the road edge, made some horrible rock to metal sounds and finally made it up on. Phew, unscathed except for maybe a couple of minor dings in the rim.
Afterwards, I started to wonder, how can a guy who has a hard time remembering his cell number run the above scenario through his head in about ¼ of a second?
So, in the end, I manned up and hit the road with more layers than I have worn since spring and I was still freakin cold. Downhills were brutal and the flats weren’t much better. It was one of those rides that you couldn’t wait for the climbs so that you could warm back up. Along the way I had one seriously sketchy moment. On a narrow road after having just been passed by a car, I drifted too close to the side and dropped off of the pavement onto a shoulder that was about 6” wide before dropping into a nice ditch. Usually, when I drift off the road I’ll simply slow down, ride it out and get back on the road when I’m under control again. On this occasion I knew that if I didn’t act fast, I’d be somersaulting into the ditch and the prospects of flying into a dark ditch with stumps, rocks and who knows what else just didn’t appeal to me. I also knew that if I tried to pull right back onto the road I risked eating it on the pavement because I had a good 2-3” lip to get over and with no time to bunny hop, I would be forced to try to turn back onto the road. Knowing how many layers I had on, I felt fairly confident that even if I did eat it, the road rash would be minimal. Thankfully, when I did correct my path the front wheel got up fairly easily with a slight lift, the rear slammed into the road edge, made some horrible rock to metal sounds and finally made it up on. Phew, unscathed except for maybe a couple of minor dings in the rim.
Afterwards, I started to wonder, how can a guy who has a hard time remembering his cell number run the above scenario through his head in about ¼ of a second?
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Down for the count
So last week I got in a pretty decent amount of riding and cross training. Probably more hours than I’ve managed to squeak in since early summer. I was pretty pumped about that. Until yesterday that is. I got up at normal time, went for a run with the dog, got ready and headed in. Was feeling pretty good until about 8am when the chills set in. Damn! Ended up toughing it out for a couple more hours then packed it in and went home to sleep it off. Usually a good nights sleep will knock any illness out of me but I still feel like ass this morning. A nicer ass, but an ass none the less. Hopefully I can kick this thing quick because I’ve got the short track race this weekend when I hope to pull double duty racing both the single speed class and expert class. I did the same last year and pulled a first in ss and second in expert so hopefully I can kick it up a notch this year. We’ll see.
Friday, September 08, 2006
Nooner
Man, what a sweet lunch break! I just got back from an hour lunchtime mtb ride. I still don’t know the trails behind my office very well so I have to be careful not to get totally lost (which is quite easy there) but I was able to put together one short loop and some out and back stuff but more importantly, I got to orient myself in a couple of places by coming out at houses and roads so that next time I’ll have a little better idea of where the f I am. Have you ever been on a trail that twisted and turned so much that you didn’t know which way is up? Well, this is one of those trails. At some point I’ll have to borrow a gps and map the trails well so that I can put together some cool loops. It also looks like I’ll be able to connect it together with the Zak preserve with just a bit of road riding and turn it into a 1-1 ¼ hr loop. Perfect for a long lunch.
Ok, back to the grind, gots me some stuff to get out in the mail this afternoon.
Ok, back to the grind, gots me some stuff to get out in the mail this afternoon.
morning suprise
I had an interesting morning today. The alarm was set to go off at 5 (when I typically get up to jog with Chance) but somehow I had managed to re-set the clock so that it was an hour ahead so in reality it was 4 and not 5. Since I was up, I decided to get in a quick road ride. I quickly threw my stuff together and hoped on the the road stallion and headed out. I brought my camera so that I could get some cool coastal shots since I was heading down to Pemaquid and Bristol but unfortunately I wasted the batteries taking pictures of myself and a penis painted on a street sign so I have no lovely coastal shots for you but you do get to see some more pictures of me (yippee!) and some local Maine artwork.
the obligatory photo while riding shot.
Maine artwork at its best. The artist was obviously a bit confused when he/she put the stem looking thing just above the berries.
In the end, I rolled in with 1:20 and about 23 miles. I also have a lunch time mtb jaunt planned if all goes well. The weather is looking good so it should be a sweet ride.
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Sick day with B
I’m passing the time at home today. B-girl has been sick for the last couple of days. Marcy took the bullet and stayed home with her yesterday so I took today’s shift. Thankfully (for me), B was more sick yesterday and has been in pretty good shape today. Yesterday, I rode the road stallion home with the hopes that B would be feeling better by morning. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case so I had to get up at 4 after a night of little sleep and get into work to pick up my car so Marcy could get into work. Lazy s.o.b. needs to drive the work, the nerve! (just kidding baby!) Unfortunately, the early hour and lack of sleep made for a pretty sub-par ride. To top it off, I didn’t have the time or energy to make a pot of coffee before leaving so I grabbed my Hammer Gel flask (that was left over from the Sugarloaf race from 2 ½ weeks ago) and hit the road. About five minutes in I took a hit from the flask and immediately realized I had made a huge mistake! Apparently, mixed gel (espresso, vanilla and water) that has been sitting in the flask for almost 3 weeks is no longer consumable. It tasted like a mix of sour chocolate milk, bile and pond water. To be honest though, the bile was probably mine as I fought to keep from spewing whatever was left in my stomach from dinner the night before. Yummy.
I'm also running the potential changes that I'd like to make to the Van Dessel to make it a bit more commute friendly and somewhat cross ready. I had contemplated putting a set of old v's on for more stopping power but the more I think about that, if I go with drop bars they wouldn't work too well so I need to think of alternatives. Speaking to KWood on Tuesday, he told me he needs a new derailleur after he toasted his so I'm thinking that maybe I can sell him one of my various xtr's (3), maybe my xt shift/brake pods and avid v's so that he can make the jump to the world of 9 speed. In the process, I could scrape enough coin together to get some decent canti's and maybe some new bars for the VanD. Fingers crossed.
I'm also running the potential changes that I'd like to make to the Van Dessel to make it a bit more commute friendly and somewhat cross ready. I had contemplated putting a set of old v's on for more stopping power but the more I think about that, if I go with drop bars they wouldn't work too well so I need to think of alternatives. Speaking to KWood on Tuesday, he told me he needs a new derailleur after he toasted his so I'm thinking that maybe I can sell him one of my various xtr's (3), maybe my xt shift/brake pods and avid v's so that he can make the jump to the world of 9 speed. In the process, I could scrape enough coin together to get some decent canti's and maybe some new bars for the VanD. Fingers crossed.
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Soul searching
I’ve been doing some thinking since my “Stuff for sale” post last week. We got the bill from the electricians who were camped at our place for a full day last Monday and am beginning to think that a new bike, no matter how cheap, isn’t in my near future. With that thought in mind, I went out for a cross type ride yesterday on the Van Dessel to see what the potential is to use it for a cross race or two this year (if I decide to do any that is) and I think the potential is high. I’ll definitely need to put some better brakes on. Right now it has some really old and cheesy cantis from my brothers first mountain bike that only just barely work. I have a set of avid single digits in my parts box at home that might do the trick to give me a bit more stopping power. I’m not sure how they’ll work with road brake levers but they can’t be any worse than the cantis that are on there now so I’ll probably give them a try. Secondly, I’ll probably pick up a set of uber cheap cross bars so that it’ll look like a respectable cross rig. Even if I never use the drops, I should at least look like I do right? Eventually, I’d like to build some better wheels for it as well but the current set-up works fine for now.
The bike is fun to ride so I’m actually excited to make these changes to breath some new life into the steed. My next xc race is actually a short track in two weeks so I may actually spend a bit of time on the Van D. doing some cross style training and getting it dialed in.
The bike is fun to ride so I’m actually excited to make these changes to breath some new life into the steed. My next xc race is actually a short track in two weeks so I may actually spend a bit of time on the Van D. doing some cross style training and getting it dialed in.
Thursday, August 31, 2006
stuff for sale
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Hey all, In the process of trying to scrape some money together to buy a cross bike, I've decided to sell two of my trusty steeds. I'll have better info (and pictures) about them after the weekend but I figured I'd better hurry up and get the word out there.
Bike 1: Van Dessel Country Road Bob (http://www.vandesselsports.com/crb.php?bike=9). Its the older version with the curved top and down tubes. I believe it is 59cm but will confirm this weekend. Its a sweet commuter/light trail single speed/fixie. Its super fun to ride and virtually maintenance free.
Bike 2: Trek Fuel 98 (http://www2.trekbikes.com/bikes/bike.php?bikeid=1167610&f=14) frame size large. Full carbon front and rear triangles. I replaced the carbon rocker with an aluminum version because the carbon wore out really quickly and I got tired of replacing it. It rides the same with the new rocker and the weight difference is negligable. This is a sweet ride but I stripped it to build my Dos this spring so now it is lonely and looking for a new home.
Both bikes have been used a fair amount but have been well taken care of and will provide many more years of use.
The first reasonable offer for each will be accepted. If I don't hear>from> > anyone they'll be going up on ebay and mtbr next week.
If you have any questions or want more info, give me a shout.
Time to breath
Phew, coming up for a breath of fresh air before diving back into the fray. Its been one serious ass kicking at work and home recently. I have about a bazillion projects behind schedule at work that have been working me over plus B-Girl’s one year b-day party this Saturday which we’ve been frantically trying to get the house ready for in the evenings. All of this has lead to little posting and even less riding.
Here is a quick rundown of the last weeks riding activities:
Saturday I finally watched “Off Road to Athens”. It’s pretty lame that it took me this long to see it but it was a cool video and it really makes you realize that the selection process for the Olympics is retarded. Nothing like burning everyone out just trying to get to the big O.
Sunday I lead the slow ass group ride for the local bike group. 1 ¼ hours with an average speed of less than 11 mph. Ouch! I really wish I had had B in the trailer with me so that at least I’d have a reason to go that slow plus the extra resistance would have been nice. It was a nice day though and I was able to work in some hard efforts on the way over and back from the rally point so it wasn’t a complete waste. It was interesting to do the warm up and cool down in the middle of the ride with the intense efforts crammed into the beginning and end of the ride. Gotta shake things up right?
Monday was spent at home while a couple of electricians spent Brynna’s college fund. Two guys x 8 hours each + materials = one huge bill. At least the house isn’t likely to burn down now and we have functioning lights and outlets in the living room again.
Monday I also got the XO derailleur put back together and will get in back on the Dos in the next day or so. I’ve decided to sell the X-9 to the bro to free up some cash. I had initially planned to save it for a spare but fund necessitate a different approach right now.
Wednesday was my first ride day since Sunday and I tried to make the best of it by getting up at 4 and taking the Dos for a long, meandering commute to work taking in all of the trails on the way. It was good fun but my night riding eyes are quite functioning yet so I ended up riding pretty damn slow on the trails but I’m sure the night time skills will come back to me quickly enough. After work, I took a more direct route home only hitting the Schmid Preserve. Soon after leaving the office, I realized I had forgotten my pump so was hoping to not have a flat. Sure enough, about ½ mile from the house I got a puncture and ended up jogging the final 15 minutes down my road. I must have been quite the sight running in full kit with my bike by my side. What a dork.
Ok, that’s about it. Time to dive back in.
Here is a quick rundown of the last weeks riding activities:
Saturday I finally watched “Off Road to Athens”. It’s pretty lame that it took me this long to see it but it was a cool video and it really makes you realize that the selection process for the Olympics is retarded. Nothing like burning everyone out just trying to get to the big O.
Sunday I lead the slow ass group ride for the local bike group. 1 ¼ hours with an average speed of less than 11 mph. Ouch! I really wish I had had B in the trailer with me so that at least I’d have a reason to go that slow plus the extra resistance would have been nice. It was a nice day though and I was able to work in some hard efforts on the way over and back from the rally point so it wasn’t a complete waste. It was interesting to do the warm up and cool down in the middle of the ride with the intense efforts crammed into the beginning and end of the ride. Gotta shake things up right?
Monday was spent at home while a couple of electricians spent Brynna’s college fund. Two guys x 8 hours each + materials = one huge bill. At least the house isn’t likely to burn down now and we have functioning lights and outlets in the living room again.
Monday I also got the XO derailleur put back together and will get in back on the Dos in the next day or so. I’ve decided to sell the X-9 to the bro to free up some cash. I had initially planned to save it for a spare but fund necessitate a different approach right now.
Wednesday was my first ride day since Sunday and I tried to make the best of it by getting up at 4 and taking the Dos for a long, meandering commute to work taking in all of the trails on the way. It was good fun but my night riding eyes are quite functioning yet so I ended up riding pretty damn slow on the trails but I’m sure the night time skills will come back to me quickly enough. After work, I took a more direct route home only hitting the Schmid Preserve. Soon after leaving the office, I realized I had forgotten my pump so was hoping to not have a flat. Sure enough, about ½ mile from the house I got a puncture and ended up jogging the final 15 minutes down my road. I must have been quite the sight running in full kit with my bike by my side. What a dork.
Ok, that’s about it. Time to dive back in.
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Say it with vomit.
You know your daughter loves you when she's kind enough to projectile vomit from your nose to your ear lobe. Love ya right back.
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Ready to roll.
Off we go.Friday, August 25, 2006
Chip off the 'ole block
Brynna takes after me. Check it.
Also, I got the new "lower unit" for the xo rear derailleur yesterday and now I have no clue what to do with it. I had thought it would be an easy switch but it looks like it requires a complete tear down of the piece. A quick call to Bikeman to confirm and sure enough, they suggested I bring it in so that I don't F up the whole thing. Damn. I had hoped to have that puppy back on my steed this weekend. Oh well, such is the life of a rider with sub-standard mechanical abilities.
Also, I got the new "lower unit" for the xo rear derailleur yesterday and now I have no clue what to do with it. I had thought it would be an easy switch but it looks like it requires a complete tear down of the piece. A quick call to Bikeman to confirm and sure enough, they suggested I bring it in so that I don't F up the whole thing. Damn. I had hoped to have that puppy back on my steed this weekend. Oh well, such is the life of a rider with sub-standard mechanical abilities.
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Knock, knock
During Sunday's race, my bike developed a concerning knocking noise that was coming from the rear end. Initially I assumed it had something to do with the new derailleur I had installed Friday night (which shifted perfectly by the way) but after the race, when I inspected it, there didn't seem to be anything wrong. Tuesday, when I finally got around to cleaning the bike, I found out what the problem was. The plastic carrier for the lowest gears (4 I think) had somehow managed to notch itself a bit over the pawls (I'm not sure if that is what they're really called) on the freehub body which allowed them a little bit of play to move back and forth thus creating the sound. To fix it, I had to pull the cassette off which turned out to be quite a freakin ordeal. The aluminum hub body so completely chewed up by the top 4-5 gears that it took a rubber mallet and a wrench through the other side of the wheel to get them to come off. F! So not only did I somehow ruin a perfectly good cassette (which I've decided to save along with the chain for this fall) but I munged the hub body as well. I know that alloy hub bodies tend to mark up a bit because they're softer than steel but damn, this shouldn't happen. Thankfully, before the season started I bought another cassette and a few chains so I had a new one to slap on and everything is good to go now. 
This bad boy went on and an older style 980 came off. After checking the SRAM website, apparently they no longer make them with the plastic spider. Good move.
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
my new lust
Team manager Big Gay Al has got me lusting for this beauty. For a few more bones than what the El Mariachi frame would cost me, I could have a complete, pretty well spec'd cross bike and with cross season quickly approaching that would be a good thing. I know, I know, to die hard cross racers disc brakes are a no no but really, what are the odds that I'll ever race at the elite cross level? Zero, zilch, nada. Truthfully, in the two cross races I did years back I was barely able to hold my on in the C races and the disc brakes would be really nice on winter commutes. So the hemming and hawing continues...
Monday, August 21, 2006
Attack of the Zombies
Ever wonder what you might look like riding at 4 am? Well, here is what I look like. I sort of look like I'm staring down the business end of a semi. Talk about dilated pupils!
Recap #5
Well, race #5 of the year is in the books. I’d like to say I went out and kicked ass but sadly I didn’t. I did manage to finish 1st expert in my age group but that is of little consolation when about eight others finished ahead of you. I have to admit it was good to get my first win of the year though.
As usual, I got a horrible start despite having a good position at the line. I really need to learn how to start because it really sucks to have 12 people beat you off of the line (many coming from behind you). I don’t know what it is about me but I’ve never been a good starter. It was important to get a good start yesterday too because about a mile into the course was some freshly cut single track that was super soft and tight and passing was not an option so I found myself bottlenecked unable to ride at all while the leaders scampered off into the distance. Kudos for them for getting their asses off of the line faster.
Finally out of the singletrack, I picked up one or two place until the climb started. Sugarloaf has one of the tougher climbs in the series and yesterday it kicked my ass. Not only was I not passing many on the climb (as I usually do), I was actually getting passed by a few. To be honest, one was good ole Skip Brown so I don’t feel too bad about that but a few others who wouldn’t have usually passed me did. I’ll chalk it up to a no-go leg day. Thankfully, when I reached the top of the main climb and started to rocket down the rough descents and ripping through the technical singletrack, I found that dos and I were one and I was able to really make up time. It was one of those days where you could just let the bike go where it wanted, making slight weight and direction changes but mostly just going with it. It was a blast.
Unfortunately I had two more of those climbs to do in order to enjoy the descent again. Oh well. Over the course of the next two laps (3 total) I picked off a few more guys and finished strong, totally spent and the legs on the verge of cramping, but strong.
Series points haven’t been posted all year but I’m fairly confident that this “win” puts me solidly in first place. The only question is whether Boobar shows up for the next few races or not. If he does I might be in trouble but I welcome the challenge. Bring it on!
As usual, I got a horrible start despite having a good position at the line. I really need to learn how to start because it really sucks to have 12 people beat you off of the line (many coming from behind you). I don’t know what it is about me but I’ve never been a good starter. It was important to get a good start yesterday too because about a mile into the course was some freshly cut single track that was super soft and tight and passing was not an option so I found myself bottlenecked unable to ride at all while the leaders scampered off into the distance. Kudos for them for getting their asses off of the line faster.
Finally out of the singletrack, I picked up one or two place until the climb started. Sugarloaf has one of the tougher climbs in the series and yesterday it kicked my ass. Not only was I not passing many on the climb (as I usually do), I was actually getting passed by a few. To be honest, one was good ole Skip Brown so I don’t feel too bad about that but a few others who wouldn’t have usually passed me did. I’ll chalk it up to a no-go leg day. Thankfully, when I reached the top of the main climb and started to rocket down the rough descents and ripping through the technical singletrack, I found that dos and I were one and I was able to really make up time. It was one of those days where you could just let the bike go where it wanted, making slight weight and direction changes but mostly just going with it. It was a blast.
Unfortunately I had two more of those climbs to do in order to enjoy the descent again. Oh well. Over the course of the next two laps (3 total) I picked off a few more guys and finished strong, totally spent and the legs on the verge of cramping, but strong.
Series points haven’t been posted all year but I’m fairly confident that this “win” puts me solidly in first place. The only question is whether Boobar shows up for the next few races or not. If he does I might be in trouble but I welcome the challenge. Bring it on!
Thursday, August 17, 2006
I quote
I saw this quote today while surfing MTBR during lunch. This probably sums it up pretty well for a lot of people.
Dee Zee “I am just going for a ride and you act like I am going to a strip club”.Non-biker wife“ I would rather have you go to strip clubs.........it would take up less time and money”.
For the record, Marcy has never said this. She is very supportive of my riding. Right up until I start smashing expensive carbon bits that is! (
Dee Zee “I am just going for a ride and you act like I am going to a strip club”.Non-biker wife“ I would rather have you go to strip clubs.........it would take up less time and money”.
For the record, Marcy has never said this. She is very supportive of my riding. Right up until I start smashing expensive carbon bits that is! (
His spot
You know you get too many packages when the ups guy doesn't even bother marking where he left the package and simply writes "my spot".
Here's a hint.
Suprisingly, despite having no bottom pulley I was able to complete the ride which included an additional 1 1/2 miles of singletrack and a few miles of pavement. The pin that holds the plates of the cage together acted as the pulley and it actually continued to shift really well. Thankfully, you can replace the lower cage and pulleys without replacing the whole derailleur because these suckers are too expensive to just throw away.
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Turn your head and cough
Here I sit, at my home computer waiting for someone to stick a finger up my butt. I’m actually not kidding. A nurse is swinging by this morning to give me a physical for my life insurance policy. Hopefully no violating will take place but just to be sure I’d better give the ole cornhole a little extra love while in the shower this morning. You want it to be squeaky clean, ya know? I bet that went way past too much information and straight to deleting any shortcuts you have to this blog. I apologize.
As part of the physical, I had to fast since midnight last night and I’m not allowed to do any strenuous activity. Damn! The one day that I would actually have a couple of hours to kill in the morning and I can’t ride. Instead I sit here with both my legs and stomach growling.
To try to make up for today’s missed ride, I snuck out for a quick mtb spin with the pooch after we put B down for the evening last night. I didn’t get to the trail head until 8 so it was an artificial light ride from the start. I haven’t been on a real night ride in a couple of months and it showed. I felt like a monkey fucking a football, bouncing off of every rock and root in sight. The cobwebs were also unreal. I had so many hanging from my head and chest that I felt like a freaking party favor. Nothing like a big ole mouthful of web. All bitching aside, it was still nice to get out though and got in a quick 1:15 to keep the systems happy.
Probably no riding tonight but tomorrow I plan to commute to and from work with the Dos via as many trails as I can hit on the way. KWood should be accompanying me on the way back so it should be a good ride.
As part of the physical, I had to fast since midnight last night and I’m not allowed to do any strenuous activity. Damn! The one day that I would actually have a couple of hours to kill in the morning and I can’t ride. Instead I sit here with both my legs and stomach growling.
To try to make up for today’s missed ride, I snuck out for a quick mtb spin with the pooch after we put B down for the evening last night. I didn’t get to the trail head until 8 so it was an artificial light ride from the start. I haven’t been on a real night ride in a couple of months and it showed. I felt like a monkey fucking a football, bouncing off of every rock and root in sight. The cobwebs were also unreal. I had so many hanging from my head and chest that I felt like a freaking party favor. Nothing like a big ole mouthful of web. All bitching aside, it was still nice to get out though and got in a quick 1:15 to keep the systems happy.
Probably no riding tonight but tomorrow I plan to commute to and from work with the Dos via as many trails as I can hit on the way. KWood should be accompanying me on the way back so it should be a good ride.
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Ricky's Knee 8-15-06
Never, ever use Greyhound Juice or any other warming lotion when you have razor burn on your legs. It sort of feels like slowly setting your legs on fire. You have been warned.
Nice work
Got word yesterday that the team fared really well at the 24 hrs of Great Glenn this weekend. We had a 4 person women’s expert team that totally cleaned house taking 1st for women and 22nd overall. Congrats Mary, Emmie, Olivia and Alyssa. Also, this years new addition, Ellen Noble, who is only 10 yrs old won the junior (0-18) female solo class. Yeah, you heard me right, a 10 year old did a 24 hr race. How kick ass is that?
Edit: I just checked out the Men's Pair results (the class my brother and I raced the last two years) and it looks like the winners had 26 laps. Last year Rus and I did 30 laps total to take second place (of 15) and the year before we did 27 laps for first (of 12). Huh, maybe we should go back again next year and put the hurt on.
Edit: I just checked out the Men's Pair results (the class my brother and I raced the last two years) and it looks like the winners had 26 laps. Last year Rus and I did 30 laps total to take second place (of 15) and the year before we did 27 laps for first (of 12). Huh, maybe we should go back again next year and put the hurt on.
Monday, August 14, 2006
tweeked nipples
This weekend finished out a fairly good week ride wise for me. Not a ton of time in but what I got was good and I was able to shake the illness that I felt creeping in. All in all pretty decent considering.
Saturday we were going up to Marcy’s mother’s place for her b’day party so I headed out early to get in a couple hours of nice hilly road riding in. It turned out to be a killer ride. I always like riding up to the in-laws because at 30-ish miles away it allows me to take different routes up each time to check out new roads and to try to find some new hills. Saturday’s route has one of the longest sustained climbs in the area and had me begging for mercy the whole way. The best part had to be when I thought I was at the top so had really honked on the last rise only to find I had another ¾ mile of climbing to go. Blast! I guess it did teach me how to recover on a climb after a hard effort. Maybe that’ll pay off at this weekend’s race at Sugarloaf. Who knows, but it couldn’t hurt.
After the ride I noticed my rear tire is about shot with threads showing in several location. I training tire down, one to go. I guess I’ll be throwing a race tire I have laying around on there now so that I don’t have to pony up and buy a new tire. Things are getting expensive enough without having to buy any new tires right now.
Today after work I have to drop the Dos’ front wheel off at the shop. I’m not sure but I think they have the wrong length spokes on one side since I can’t get the proper tension and dish without bottoming out the nipples. Hopefully they can get it fixed up soon since I’m racing this weekend and don’t want to have a pull a wheelie for 2 hrs straight. I can barely ride one for 10 seconds straight so I’m not sure that’ll work.
Saturday we were going up to Marcy’s mother’s place for her b’day party so I headed out early to get in a couple hours of nice hilly road riding in. It turned out to be a killer ride. I always like riding up to the in-laws because at 30-ish miles away it allows me to take different routes up each time to check out new roads and to try to find some new hills. Saturday’s route has one of the longest sustained climbs in the area and had me begging for mercy the whole way. The best part had to be when I thought I was at the top so had really honked on the last rise only to find I had another ¾ mile of climbing to go. Blast! I guess it did teach me how to recover on a climb after a hard effort. Maybe that’ll pay off at this weekend’s race at Sugarloaf. Who knows, but it couldn’t hurt.
After the ride I noticed my rear tire is about shot with threads showing in several location. I training tire down, one to go. I guess I’ll be throwing a race tire I have laying around on there now so that I don’t have to pony up and buy a new tire. Things are getting expensive enough without having to buy any new tires right now.
Today after work I have to drop the Dos’ front wheel off at the shop. I’m not sure but I think they have the wrong length spokes on one side since I can’t get the proper tension and dish without bottoming out the nipples. Hopefully they can get it fixed up soon since I’m racing this weekend and don’t want to have a pull a wheelie for 2 hrs straight. I can barely ride one for 10 seconds straight so I’m not sure that’ll work.
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Some observations.
Here are some observations from my ride in this morning.
Coffee from a water bottle is really bad.
The full (or at least close to full) moon was beautiful.
Bats seem to love the early morning hours because I have at least a half dozen flutter past me in the 45 minutes I was out.
For some odd reason, I worried that I was going to hit a deer.
My blinkie light died this morning so I should have been more worried about ME being hit by a car.
4 a.m. is early.
I’m lucky to have a wife who understands my need to get up at 4 a.m. to ride.
4 a.m. is early. What? I already said that one? Well, it still is.
Coffee from a water bottle is really bad.
The full (or at least close to full) moon was beautiful.
Bats seem to love the early morning hours because I have at least a half dozen flutter past me in the 45 minutes I was out.
For some odd reason, I worried that I was going to hit a deer.
My blinkie light died this morning so I should have been more worried about ME being hit by a car.
4 a.m. is early.
I’m lucky to have a wife who understands my need to get up at 4 a.m. to ride.
4 a.m. is early. What? I already said that one? Well, it still is.
Feeling crappy
Yesterday, Marcy took pity on me and told me to ride my bike home from work and she’d pick up B-Girl from daycare. At first I resisted since Marcy is still sick but finally relented because I was starting to feel like that dog you see tied to a tree compulsively pacing back and forth, killing an arch shaped path of grass in the process.
The day was beautiful but despite that, the ride started off a bit ho-hum with the legs feeling like crap and the mind not much better. Within 10 minutes, I began to worry that maybe I was coming down with what Marcy and Brynna have been fighting for two weeks now. Shit, now is not the time to get sick. By the end of the ride I felt a bit better and was able to get in a few hard efforts to try to open the legs up.
As a final test to see if the body is ok, I got to bed early and got up at 4 this morning to try to get in 2.5 hrs before work. Unfortunately the morning ride was no better than yesterday’s so as I approached my office I pulled in instead of riding past to do the planned Southport loop. I figured it was better to take it easy than try to push it an make things worse. Plus, I need to make up some work time anyway.
I’ve got my fingers crossed that I’m just having a blah 24 hours and not actually getting sick. I’ll be hitting the hay early tonight. Hopefully that helps because if all goes well, we’ll be heading to Vermont tomorrow morning to spend a couple of days hiking and biking. Fingers crossed.
The day was beautiful but despite that, the ride started off a bit ho-hum with the legs feeling like crap and the mind not much better. Within 10 minutes, I began to worry that maybe I was coming down with what Marcy and Brynna have been fighting for two weeks now. Shit, now is not the time to get sick. By the end of the ride I felt a bit better and was able to get in a few hard efforts to try to open the legs up.
As a final test to see if the body is ok, I got to bed early and got up at 4 this morning to try to get in 2.5 hrs before work. Unfortunately the morning ride was no better than yesterday’s so as I approached my office I pulled in instead of riding past to do the planned Southport loop. I figured it was better to take it easy than try to push it an make things worse. Plus, I need to make up some work time anyway.
I’ve got my fingers crossed that I’m just having a blah 24 hours and not actually getting sick. I’ll be hitting the hay early tonight. Hopefully that helps because if all goes well, we’ll be heading to Vermont tomorrow morning to spend a couple of days hiking and biking. Fingers crossed.
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
Meat Up
Just saw this over at Bike29. It looks like they're going to have a weekend shindig for 29'er riders on Sept. 8-10 at the Kingdom Trails in Vermont. Man it would be sweet to get over there for that. I've been dreaming of riding those trails for years but every summer slips away from me before I get the chance to get over there. Hopefully when Brynna is old enough we'll start getting over there every summer. For now, I'll have to live vicariously through others. Thats what blogs are for right?
A bit behind
Sorry for the lack of posts recently. Marcy and Brynna have been sick (Marcy especially recently) so with work, taking care of both of them and trying to squeeze in a quick ride here and there, there has been precious little time for riding. This past weekend though, I did get out for one ride. As I mentioned ages ago, there is a new bike group that was started over the winter in my town. Its geared more towards recreational and geriatric types so I hadn’t ridden with them yet but had thought it would be the perfect place to go when I have Brynna in her trailer. Well Sunday morning I decided to take B for a ride while Marcy tryed to get some sleep to beat her illness. As I was in the garage getting B into her trailer I noticed the Sunday morning organized ride cruise past my house so I quickly finished up the prep work and hit the road in an attempt to catch them. I managed to catch the stragglers of the group after a few miles and then put my head down and pushed it to catch the leader. This can be tough with a trailer with a touchy baby inside though because I was unable to stand on any of the climbs because it rocks the trailer too much for her right now so I was forced to sit and grind. For a double ring set-up this isn’t always ideal on a normal ride but throw in a 20+ lb baby and a 10+ lb trailer and you’ve got the making for some nice tough climbs. Once with the group it was easy though since the pace rarely went over 15mph. An hour into the ride I decided it was time to head back since Brynna would likely wake up soon and be royaly pissed. For some reason if she starts the ride awake and stays awake she is fine but if she falls asleep and then wakes up mid ride she freaks out. I’m not sure of the reason, maybe it scares her, but I decided to try to get back before she managed to wake up. Unfortunately about 2 miles from the house, the demon awoke and screamed to high heaven until we got back. Thank god I turned around when I did, that would have been quite nerve wracking had I listened to it much longer.
I also stole away for a bit last night after putting B and Marcy to bed to get an hour of night ride in on the dos. I hit up some trail where it is frowned upon to ride in so I always wait until all mud is gone and go at night so that I don’t piss anyone off. Unfortunately though, it appears that no-one has been using the trail because it was getting extremely overgrown in areas and extremely un-fun in sections. It would probably do the trail a world of good if they publicly allowed bikes to use it after mudseason to keep it packed down and weed free. Maybe some day.
I also stole away for a bit last night after putting B and Marcy to bed to get an hour of night ride in on the dos. I hit up some trail where it is frowned upon to ride in so I always wait until all mud is gone and go at night so that I don’t piss anyone off. Unfortunately though, it appears that no-one has been using the trail because it was getting extremely overgrown in areas and extremely un-fun in sections. It would probably do the trail a world of good if they publicly allowed bikes to use it after mudseason to keep it packed down and weed free. Maybe some day.
Friday, August 04, 2006
What a week!
Well, this week has been all balled up. Both Marcy and Brynna have been sick most of the week so its been rough riding-wise but not totally horrible. This morning I got up at the butt crack of dawn (4) to get in a couple of hours before work so I got my fix for today. Its this weekend that I’m worried about. On Sunday, we’re supposed to heading to Vermont for a few days of relaxing, hiking, swimming and of course a bit of biking but with Marcy and B’s illnesses, I’m not so sure we should go. There will be 3 other babies under 1 yr old there so we don’t want to risk getting them all sick with the dreaded PINK EYE! (ominous dum, dum, dum). I guess we’ll just see what happens. They’re both medicated right now so maybe by the time we’re supposed to go over on Sunday things will be cleared up a bit.
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
Ricky's Knee
Going along with my advice column over on DAMNelsons, I’ve decided to do some of the same over here at RacinRick.
Episode one: Nipple chaffage.
Apparently I have very sensitive little nips because whenever I race while wearing bib shorts my nips are practically on fire by the end of the race. I love wearing bibs but unfortunately the straps fall directly over my man boobs and cause serious chaffage. To combat this, you can cover them with little band aids or as Marcy suggested, some nursing pads. Both good options but if you forget they are one when you finish the race and strip your jersey, you might have some serious explaining to do. Sunday, at Bradbury, I tried a new tactic. I put a little dab o’ Assos chamois cream on each little nub. Not only did this work to keep my bits from chaffing, it also kept them nice and cool and minty fresh. Try it next time you go out for a long hard ride.
Episode one: Nipple chaffage.
Apparently I have very sensitive little nips because whenever I race while wearing bib shorts my nips are practically on fire by the end of the race. I love wearing bibs but unfortunately the straps fall directly over my man boobs and cause serious chaffage. To combat this, you can cover them with little band aids or as Marcy suggested, some nursing pads. Both good options but if you forget they are one when you finish the race and strip your jersey, you might have some serious explaining to do. Sunday, at Bradbury, I tried a new tactic. I put a little dab o’ Assos chamois cream on each little nub. Not only did this work to keep my bits from chaffing, it also kept them nice and cool and minty fresh. Try it next time you go out for a long hard ride.
Take two
I do 100 nipple presses a day to keep these babies in shape. Notice how nicely I glisten?
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