Low Speed Riding/High Speed Reviews

Got a 1:15 on the trainer tonight. Tonight was on the bike strength training. Did 10 minutes of warm up followed by 5 minutes on/off intervals in 53/15 for 50 minutes. Good stuff.

Found a great site to find food info, particularly on low fat/low cal foods: Hungry Girl . Lots of good tips and infos for dropping el-bees. Why all good (in my opnion) fitness mags (Oxyen), and web sites are geared towards women, I have NO idea. I guess it's the pressure that American culture puts on women to be thin. Every men's magazine is about getting 6 pack abs, getting bigger (for god's sake why??), making more money, and having more sex.

How 'bout ride your bike, watch what you eat, and you'll look/feel good and your chicky-poo (or chicky-dude, if you're in to the whole Broke Back thing) will WANT to fight crime. The the making money thing I can't help you with. Just keep telling yourself being in debt is cool and disposable income is for knobs.

I'm calling this my Hi-speed review of several products I used over the past year. Many have been reviewed already or will be reviewed soon on the Bikeman.com site in the near future. I was gonna provide links so you could check the shit out, but didn't want to be too pimpy (plus I'm felling lazy). I'm not a pro, just a mid pack shlep doing my thing, but I still have opinions on works for me and what doesn't.

OK. now 1,2,3, let's go..

Salsa El Santo: Bitching to look at, comfy as hell, rode great, with little to no suspension bob from the Manitou 3-Way, BUT not as good or as light as my Salsa Dos Niner so it went bye-bye to make room for a 2nd 29er. Most likely a Salsa Mamasita or if I hit the Lotto a Ti HT.

Dos Niner: Can't say enough. Light, comfy, used it in many races this past season and I'm sure it will see more action in 07. 1" of rear travel with 29" wheel makes your feel like you got 4" in your rear (eeewwwww,) Maybe not that much, but takes a ton of the edge off without the weight penalty/maintenance of FS. '07 Version can come as disc only. I'd love to roll it, but I'm sticking with my green one.

Maxxis Ignitor 29 x 2.1s: I love these tires. I was a fan of the 26" version and dig these just as much. Not the most aggressive tire, but roll fast and shed mud decently.

Panaracer Rampage 29 x 2.3: I only have a few hours on 'em, so jury's out on this fat, aggressive 2.3 tire.

Panaracer Cinder 26 x 2.1: Very good 26" tire. A much better updated version of the Fire Pro.

Hammer Gel: Tastes great, great price, great company.

Hammer Heed: (see above)

Hammer Perpetuem: Taste on its own is so-so, but I mix up a hi powered version for my races with vanilla hammer gel and it tastes much better and gets the job done for 2+ hours on one bottle.

Hammer Appestat: Just got, jury's out. You'll know it works when I look like Kate Moss (the coked up version).

Hammer Endurlytes: Do what they're supposed to. No more, no less.

Hammer Bar: Great taste, easy to chew, but a tad expensive, so a no go for me unless it comes with race swag.

Panaracer Extreme Duros 700 x 25: a WIDE 25 road tire, hard rubber, a tad heavy. Rubber wore to the threads a bit quick for my tastes. Went back to Maxxis road tires after this one.

Maxxis Detonators: Great road tire. Multiple colors, nice width on the 25s and nice rubber compound for a good price.

Fizik Nisene Saddle: Hands down the best saddle I've EVER used. My buns and boyz love it. + I got it for a great price on eBay.

Lazer Genesis Helmet: The best lid I've ever owned. I did brake a strap lock trying to tighen it too hard with a cap on. Got a replacement one from Bikeman.com's Lazer rep toot-sweet. Mucho bucks retail price but damn good.

Twin-Six Jerseys: The ultimate cycling jersey. Cool looks to choose from made by some great guys. Do it!

Twin-Six T Shirts: The BEST! Great weight fabric, great fit, cool as f*ck graphics from some cool as f*ck guys.

SixSixOne MTX Full Finger Gloves: Great XC/Road glove. Used 'em all year held up like a champ. Not a rip not a problem.

SRAM X9/X0 Drive Train: First experience SRAM. I love it! VERY crisp shifts, good weight, Front derailleur took some getting used to. Rear never gave a problem.

XT Crank/Integrated BB: Reliable, stiff, and good price.You want to spend $600 on XTR for a few grams? Go ahead. I lust for them, but then use the extra cash for race fees and good beer.

Beer: From Troegs, Victory, Anderson Valley, Stoudts, etc., etc., Helps to keep the pounds on and me firmly placed in the mid to back pack at endurance events. Kidding. Sort of. But not really.

Like I said, take these brief comments for what you will. I've never won a race, but I HAVE been on the same course as the guys who did. HA!

Wow, lots of ranting, opinions and pimping. Looks like my work is done for the week.

Later.