Cross Bike vs. 29er Rigid

OK, here's my dilemma/problem/lusty issue right now. I don't race cross, but I love the things that a Cross bike can do. That being a bike tough enough to handle rough roads, some dirt roads, and some fatter than 23 or 25c tires.

While I have done some Cross races (2 to be exact), I am more interested in a Cross bike for what I like to call "Enduro-Cross". Iron Cross, Southern Cross, Hilly Billy, and a multitude of mountain and ghetto farm road loop that I've been doing over the past two years.

I have looked at a couple bikes that are catching my attention. One being the Cannondale CX 5, the other being the Bianchi Axis. I could score either at a very good price via my shop sponsor, but I just don't think I can justify the expense given other options. The other option being a couple parts swaps to the Mamasita or the ordered but not even close to having yet Salsa Ti El Mariachi.

A swap to a rigid fork and fatter cross tires, or 29er semi slicks like the WTB Vulpine would have the 29er in the stock weight range of either of those two Cross bikes by only a pound or so. A semi slick could easily be set up tubeless for flat protection, AND there would be the comfort factor (both mentally and physically) of using the bike that I most often race on. Not to mention hydraulic disc brakes (bling!).

Sice I have no plans to race legit cross, it's totally legal to race a 29er in the above mentioned races, and I have some pretty sweet 29ers, it seems like a no brainer to me. For about $275 I can get the Mamasita built as an Enduro Cross/Shit Road bike, and stick with the 29 inch wheels that done brought me. Hell with the money I save not buying a Cross bike I can get a freaking light ass wheel build to propel me further to the head of the mid pack.

By all means weigh in on this if you have an idea, recommendation, etc.,

Later.

Blizz-eh To The Izz-eh

Sheeeeit.

After 15" it became pointless to bitch, at 22+ inches it became laughable.
What are you gonna do?

I did get 4 hours of shoveling in over the past 2 days, and a nice workout today on the trainer, so at least there's that! I would have liked to have gone for a ski or something, but to even get as far as the local park would have NOT been a good idea in the xB. I did think about going for ski on the roads/sidewalks, but my cabin fevered mind was in no mood to hear insults hurled at me from the local yokals. "That guy's out there on skis!! He MUST be some sort of asshole!! Throw shit at him!!!"

Today we were supposed to have a small, family pre-birthday (the official day is the 10th) celebration for B-Man, but due to the weather and said 25 f*cking inches of madre fornicating snow, the party is delayed till next week. That didn't stop us from giving him his gift yesterday (Guitar Hero for Wii). Dude loves it. And as you can see from this video of B-Man doing Pat Banetar, whilst a red haired Meg White plays drums, he really digz it. I will say if I hear "Love Is A Battlefield" one more time, I MIGHT go insane!!! Ha!

Pay no mind to any heaving bosoms in the movie.

To my surprise, I did get the xB out and about today, or at least to the store for some grub. It wasn't good, but I was out, and that at least saved me from finishing off every drop of alcohol in the house (Russian style), putting my head in the oven, OR walking across the tracks to look for some sort of mind altering herbal substance that would surely have Wifey pissed, and me arrested. BUT at least not having to mentally deal with the now twice mentioned 25" of madre fornicating snow. I'm kidding of course. It's all good. Snow melts, the bike will be ridden hard soon. Unlike me. Sorry, too easy.

B-Man's school is already cancelled tomorrow, and Wifey has to work. So now I'm forced to be really a selfish Dad/prick and say things like "when the hell am I gonna get a work out in?" LOL! I'm joking, but I will say, we are movied and video gamed out, and pretty much tired of looking at each other's faces. At least that's what Wifey and B-Man told me today- Thus my attempt to drive the xB on frozen assed, snowy roads. LOL!

One more great thing about not having a "real" job, is that I don't have to worry about a snowy A.M. commute or any crap like that. I used to love/hate when I worked for the #2 paper in Pittsburgh and they would act like it was a matter of life or death that the commercial artists were in the office, no matter what.

I mean WTF? You would put peoples lives in danger so you could not sale one of my layouts to a car dealer? LOL! I HATE that shit. I'm coming up on one year since I left my job and started XXC, and I don't regret it for ONE second. I may never pay any bills with the decision, and God knows Wifey and I would be better off financially if I would have stayed, but you only get one life to try to do the shit you want. I am truly blessed with and opportunity to try to do that. FYI- This at the bottom of glass of wine #3. ;)

Be safe out there people.

Later.

While I don't dig it...

I tend to hate those cheesy cycling crash doc DVDs. I think they are promoting cyclists as silly, and give an air of disrespect and cartoonishness to what we do. It's hard enough out on the roads without people thinking we will simply bounce back up, dust ourselves off, and get back on the bike. So that is my disclaimer before I post this next link, which is a CX crash compilation. For the record I don't think any of this is "funny." I think it an exclamation point in the sentence of "CX racers are freaking nuts, and TOUGH!." Take a look...

Later.

Feeling Grey

Grey mood? Nope.
Grey skies? Well yes, this is Western PA!
Grey hair? Nah, not yet... I'm talkin' bikes here. I'm talkin' Ti.

My love of Ti (that's Titanium) is no secret. Since I sold my Titus HCR a few years ago, I've pretty much blathered on here on the blog about how I miss a Ti frame. I tried full suspension a few times, and while my back and body took to the comfort, my mind did not take well to all those moving parts and things to "set, tightened, and maintain." I love my Dos Niner, I love my Mamasita, but what I've missed is the ride feel, easy care, durability and let's be honest- the freaking LOOK of a Ti hard tail.

After years of job switching (Wifey), having a kid (B-Man) and most recently- leaving a job and starting a magazine (me), I accepted that my Ti days were done, and I accepted that easily since I have me some kick ass bikes!

Then came "The Leak"

I had a feeling in my nuggets, by reading in between the lines here and there, that the Spicy "S" was kicking around the idea of a Ti frame. But the model, look, builder, MSRP, etc., I had no idea about. But then "the leak" happened... Salsa had a meeting with some dealers about their 2010 models, and BAM! Before you can say "my credit card number is..." some shop rat/loose lipped dealer put the info on the Net. Word was out.... Salsa was going to be releasing some Titanium frames in 2010. Interesting. No, MORE than interesting.

The offerings would include a Titanium version of the El Mariachi sans EBB (not a fan of EBBs, go ahead tell me they're "great" and "versatile", I will tell you that if I had one it would creek, slip and be a general pain in my ass. Plus, I don't need versatile in the gears dept., 'cause this kat ain't ridin' no single speed). This shit's hard enough WITH gears.

Why do I think a Ti E.M. is so cool? Well, since you asked.... 1. It's Ti (duh) 2. No EBB, 3. No sliding drop outs of any kind, 4. El M geometry is pretty much exact as my fave bike (the Dos Niner) and 5. It's Ti (duh deux).

While I felt bad for my friends at Salsa, in that their marketing plans fell through, I can't say I was disappointed to hear such news confirmed. What I was disappointed about was realizing that while the frame looked incredible (I speak of the El Mariachi, although the Ala Carte, looks great too, except for those tiny wheels) I didn't see how I could possible get one, especially since I had pretty much made the ballzy and now proven untrue declaration that I would be "semi retiring" from racing, only racing a couple times and in no need for fancy pants frames etc.,

But, as the days went by after after the product news leak I found out some info from my contacts at Salsa, and from my shop sponsor (Pro Bikes- 3 Pittsburgh area locations to serve you), that while it wouldn't be Wal Mart Huffy cheap, something could be worked out for sure. Hmmmm....

Well I'm very happy that planets aligned, great support was got here and there, and it all came together. Also happy that the not so aggressive/all too loving power of Wifey was easily tamed (thank God for boxed wine), and barring Armageddon or other some Old Testament, "Wrath of God" type catastrophe, this spring my aging, saggy ass cheeks will be on a Salsa Ti-EM, and trying to get back to the head of the mid pack.

The only downside that I'm probably looking at April or May for delivery. But who cares? Till then I will continue to rock the sub 26 lb. Dos Niner as the race bike and the Mamasita will my back up. But once delivery takes place all the goodies on the Dos Niner will move to the Ti-EM. THEN if you're looking (and I know you are) a 2009 Mamasita (as of now) will be for sale with nothing wrong with it other than the misfortune of being born the wrong metal type.

I told myself I wouldn't' blather on about materialistic bike lust things in 2010, but f*ck it, I'm stoked to be able to get hold of sweet ride like this. For what it's worth- I also lusted the steel El Mariachi, and tried to get hold of one last summer even with my distaste for the EBB, but Salsa had already begun phasing it out. Only a few Large ones remained and they were committed to Salsa dealers... Anyway the new Ti E.M. looks to be spot on for what I want out of a bike. I also can't thank my shop (Pro Bikes- Three Pittsburgh area locations to serve you) and Salsa Cycles for assistance. Every good deed by a bike shop and MFG keeps a 5 year old from white slavery. (That's a fact! I saw it on the Internet!)

I can't tell you how anxious for spring now. Races are coming up, a bike on order, and with XXC a bit more established I feel like I can focus a bit more on what I truly want out of riding and racing. Just don't ask me what that is.

Later.

Doing It All

I wish I could do it all. I keep seeing more and more races that I wish I either A. had time for, B. had the talent for, or C. had the money fore. Damn! There are just so many cool endurance events too choose from these days. Some of them are even freaking free! Case in point the newly announced Chequamegon 100 in Wisconsin (hot bed of mountain biking, cheese, Miller Light, and The Schmalzers).

About 5 or so years ago there were a few here and there, but now shit's just blowing up. I love it!

I also love that fact that I was able to get outside and ride in the woods today. It was freaking sweet. The light snow was pretty grippy, the muddy areas weren't too bad, and there was little ice. I only rode for a bit under 2 hours, but it was nice to get out on the mountain bike and even nicer to feel like I had not lost and maybe even gained some fitness, EVEN with being on nothing but the trainer/treadmill/weight bench for the past couple weeks.

By the time I left Boyce (around noon), it was starting to get a little worse due to some melting snow. The grip was gone. Oh well, I was done anyway. It looks like a kick to the balls in the form of a "snow event" tomorrow night. That makes me want to cry. And/or get a six pack of Imperial Oatmeal Stout and drain it like a weathered bar fly with pocket full of bills.

Did I mention it was nice to be out on some rideable trails today?

Time for a Miller Light (I wish I was joking).

Later.

A New Event Commeth

Wow, I think I had more comments yesterday than ever before on this blog. Holy crap. Looks like folks dig talking about races. Cool.

Big thanks to Ben who posted about a race I had not heard of in 2010. 9 Hours of Cranky Monkey in Maryland will be my May race. Best part is that it's only a bit over 2 hours from my crib. Totally dig that. My aging ass doesn't handle long ass car travel like it used to. I've done the 12 Hours of Cranky Monkey down in Vadge twice. Not sure how this one will be, but EX2 seems to put on a pretty good race. So we'll see.

My outside ride plans got stuffed today so, I did a non bike indoor workout. As much as I love riding bike and even riding the trainer sometimes, on occasion it's nice to mix things up a bit. Planks, stretching and an hour on the treadmill at various speeds, and inclines was sort of nice. Wifey digs the newly acquired treadmill for convenience sake. I on the other hand don't see a need, since I can walk or jog any time, anywhere, anyplace all the time. BUT there is something cool about getting a jog in PDQ/ASAP right in your house wearing whatever you want or DON'T want (wink, wink, nudge, nudge, know-what-I-mean?)

Really hope to get some shit done and get out for a ride of some sort tomorrow a.m.. Looks like a "snow event" could happen this weekend. Dear God- I MUST MOVE!!

Later.

Issues Of Debate

My goal of not doing much racing in 2010 has pretty much gone out the widow like bread for the birds. As of now I'm signed up for Camp Hilbert in March, the Bakers Dozen in April, and soon the 12 hour race at this years 24 Hours of Big Bear.

I thought about doing the Mohican 100K, and still might, but it's doubtful. Yes, it would be nice to get 5 hours or so of single tracking riding with good friends in, but if I do that means two weekends in a row of racing. Sure that sounds great, but I also need to look at the bigger picture that includes family life.

Two weekends in a row of me racing, means two weekends in a row away from home and Wifey on full time kid duty. Not to mention I will be attending the Hilly Billy Roubaix on the 26th, so that would mean 3/4 weekends out racin'. Of course the Hilly Billy is a one day, soon to be mid summer east coast gravel/cross classic, but you know what I'm saying. If you don't have kids you probably won't understand all this, if you do have kids you know what I'm saying.

What I don't dig is that there seems to be a black hole of racing for me from Leesburg until Big Bear. The only thing catching my eye and coming at a good time is Mud, Sweat and Gears on May 15th. But I'm not sure I really feel like driving to Tennessee to race, but not ruling it out. There is also the change of returning once again to the race "on the rocks" at French Creek for 6 hours on May 8th. French Creek is a great race. Lots of rocks, ups and downs. Racing for 6 there is like racing for 10 or 12 many other places. It rocks (no pun intended).

After the Hilly Billy another void opens up until either the 6 Hours of Dirty Dawg in Vadge, or the Wilderness 101 in Pee-yay. Then probably nothin' until the SM100 in September. The after that HOPEFULLY I will finally make it to Iron Cross.

So you see my obsession with races that make me yack all over myself seems to have not gone away. The way I look at it, even if I don't do well, at leas I can cover the races for the mag. Can I can a tax deduction on race fees? ;) I'm sure gonna try!! LOL!

Now that that is off my chest I can start more bike debating and waffling... I mentioned all this crap-ol-la the other day, but damn it's thoughts like these that keep a junkie going in the winter.

On a sick non bike subject: I made Guacamole the other day. The avocados cost me $2.50 a piece. Yesterday I was at the Post Office near Wal Mart, so I figured I needed a couple things, I might as well stop in there... To my amazement they had avocados on sale for .78¢ a piece. Now I know that Wal Mart can be/is a sort of industrial food personified... BUT were does Gian Eagle (NOT a "mom & pop" store!) get the giant eagle sized balls to charge $1.72 MORE? I mean we're not talking about a few cents. Sick. Granted I can't get the Wal Mart smell off my skin (bacon wrapped hot dogs, pop corn and b.o?), but for .78¢ avocados for homemade Guac, I just might endure it!

Later.

How To Go Nowhere Fast

This past week was a less than stellar training week...

HOLD ON!!

I need to vent on myself... I hate to use the term "training" anymore, not sure why I ever did? Maybe at one time I thought I was training to do something, and maybe I DID? All I know is now I ride bikes because I love it. "Training" is when I force myself to do stupid shit (to me) like ride the trainer, walk/jog on a treadmill or lift weights, so I can not make a complete and utter fool of myself when I do sign up for a race or go on a ride. The rest is just... riding my bike.

When I get to ride outside you will never see me do hill repeats (although at one time I did, ug!), force myself to keep my heart rate in a certain zone, or waste precious ride time doing intervals anywhere but on the trainer. I am, as my profile says- A Junk Mile Specialist. Of course, you also will NOT see me on a podium anytime soon with this training philosophy. Then again, I think in 5+ years of racing I have been on the podium three times, one of which had no prize, and no podium, so I guess I have to call it twice).

I do not look at my bikes, any of them as training tools anymore. I think that's one of the reason I've been off the road bike for so long. I started looking at it as a training tool and not a vehicle for exploration and fun on two wheels. I love my Salsa Campeon, but I guess I sometimes feel when I'm on my mountain bike (any of them), I feel like I'm on MY bike, the bike that will take me places and see new things. The bike I feel is "me." OR I'm just a lazy f*ck, know full well my Campeon needs tuned up, a new front derailleur and a bunch of other worn out shit replaced, so I ride my mountain bikes all the time.

Don't get me wrong I have some VERY loose training philosophies that I subscribe to, but not one person, racer or coach would dare agree with them. Don't care. I basically build a base, then do shorter tempo rides (off road and on), do some easy rides, do some rides that mimic a race or two, and take some days off. Don't go hard the week of a race, enjoy long rides in the mountains, enjoy carbo loading as much as possible, rest when I feel tired, and ride far when I don't. I race races I dig, when I can, and finish what I started as often as I can. I ride when I can, mostly by myself, and around family commitments and real life first.

OK, now that we know that I pretty much ride when I can and try not to suck, we can return to what I was talking about...

I got no "real" hours in. I did what I could, when could. I will say the week did suck hard, since the week before I had over 10 hours of saddle time. Oh well, I'm not gonna beat myself up about not getting some real rides in, in late January, I have PLENTY of other things to beat myself up about.

I do hope to get my cheeks in the saddle this week and in the woods, but if not... there is always a race or two to set my sights on and get me through those indoor workouts.

Later.