Chock Full Of Nuts In The Saddle Wednesday

Got a short, but hard paced 1:25 ride in tonight. Temps were blazing even at 5:00, but better in the woods than on the pavement. Kept the pace fast and except for slowing down for other riders on the trail I pretty much went ballz out for the 1:25. This is the last hard effort I'm gonna put in 'till Saturday.

The Dos Niner was fabulous and I'm really digging the SRAM X.0/X.9 set up I have on it. The new Fizik Nisene saddle is freaking great! To be honest I never even thought about it during the ride and that is what I want. Even sliding around to/fro in tonight's womb-like conditions left the cheeks feeling happy. More to come after Saturday's epic.

Made some bad ass Italian food tonight. Cooked up a box of Whole Wheat pasta. Used up some veggies I had in fridge including; sliced red pepper, diced baby spinach, and diced portabella mushrooms. Sauteed them up in some olive oil, added some garlic, a can of diced tomatoes, some good sauce I had left in the fridge. Then I mixed it all together with some kosher salt, red pepper flakes, pepper and some mozzarella cheese I had laying around. Yum-freaking-oh!

"You can take the boy out of the white trash, but you can't take the white trash out of the boy"
-Mike Ness, Social Distortion

Tasty stuff, and by 8:00 a.m. tomorrow it should blow my lower intestine across the room like a string of sausages out of a cannon. I call this my White Trash Pasta (even though it's not white and does not taste like trash) I call it that just 'cause I'm using up all the stuff I have laying around to make the epher and because when I talk of it I inevitably talk about a colon blow, and that's kinda trashy.

Short easy spin tomorrow followed by packing and prep for Friday's trip out to the Mohican. Let the pre race spastic colon commence!!

Coffee Observation/Rant: Call me a corporate whore, but I freaking LOVE Starbucks! Those people make some damn fine coffee. I pounded about 10 cups of Sumatra today. I'm sure there are a ton of urban hipsters out there thinking that their local bean shop sells the best, but until that bean shop has a shop inside my grocery store and I don't have to drive into the bowels of hell to get the epher, I'm going with Starbucks. And when money's tight... brew up the Chock Full Of Nuts!!

OK, I'm done. Sorry.

Later.

Flash Dance Ass Pants

No ride today, just some minor chores (installing the living room A/C) and letting the legs recover from 3 days of riding in some serious early summer heat.

Took delivery of my new Fi'zi:k Nisene HP Ti saddle via eBay today. Geeked!

Ended up scoring it for less than 1/2 price retail. This was my first EVER eBay purchase. I've only ever sold before. My first impression is that it's the balls! Weight is about what my WTB was, it has NO raised seam stiching to rub the ass cheeks as the WTB did, and it has a flat, smooth surface.

Installed it on the Dos Niner and will be trying out tomorrow and then over the 100 miles on Saturday. Normally I would not try out something new at a race, but the way I figure it couldn't be worse than the WTB one I have. Don't get me wrong the WTB is a good saddle, just might be TOO cushy in the wrong places for me and the seams tend to rub my cheeks when sliding around on it. Guess I'll have more info on it by Sunday.

I only hope Rick doesn't have one or this whole stalking thing will get out of hand. As you may know, Double R is stalking me. Yeah, I'm a bit freaked out as you can imagine- PFAs are in the works.

New link up. Travis "The Desert Rat" Swicegood. Figured since I may be responsible for getting him hooked on Pesto the least I can do is link the brother up. Of course I just opened the Pesto door, from reading his comments Dave H looks to get the brother hooked on it like smack.

Also put another Bikeman.com team member up: Tizzom by Tom Lambert. How do I know he's gay? 'Cause he has a blog. (read it)

Final Giro thoughts:

Basso freaking rocked it like a low fat meatball goin' down hill. Unless Jan steps up, there's your Tour winner.

Rai.it (Italian) Wrap up show: at http://www.media.rai.it/mpmedia/0,,Sport%5E5669,00.html You get a shot of a hot Italian bird talking cycling (with 20 Italian guys) as well as Basso's pink Selle Italia saddle.

Then these words from Bobke II by Bob Roll on the Giro...

"Watch every movie ever made about the Mafia. Then watch "La Strada," by Fellini. Then drink eight espressos and a bottle of Chianti. Then flagellate in front of a Sophia Loren poster for six days and nights. Now you are ready to be crucified by the Giro."

Later.

Heeeeeeeeeaaaaat

Man, it's hotter than the business side of a clydesdale's chamois. Damn! Beats freezing, but shit, last week I was riding with arm and knee warmers this weekend it was freaking 85*. Like I said, it beats being cold. Need to get the A/C in the window.

Got two hours of single track in today. Trails were still a bit slick from last week's rains in the usual muddy areas but for the most part were cool. Just entered one of my favorite trails and damn if there wasn't a nice 4 foot black snake laying on it. F*CK! I IMMEDIATELY did a U-Turn and got the heck out. Too tight to go around and as you may know I HHHHHHHHHHATE snakes. The mere sighting stuck with me for a few miles.

The stem adjustment (dropped it about .5 or .75") I made to the Dos Niner is working great. Makes a HUGE difference. The front end is WAY more easy to control on steep climbs and I in NO way feel like I'm a freak bike of any sort. Just rolling fast and smooth.

The Maxxis Ignitor 29ers caked up pretty good today and sent me down once as I leaned into a turn like I was on my road bike. See what kind of nasty habits you can pick up by road riding

Nice little 3 day streak of rides (2 road 1 mountain). No ride tomorrow then 1 easy and 1 tempo ride before Mohican.

I still need to firm up my camping/lodging plans for the weekend. Looks like there's on site tent camping, but I use the Black Box to camp, so not sure what's going down. They sent out and e mail packet of goods the other day, I need to look it all over.

Tonight I had to tell B-Man to stop riding his bike because it was bath time. He threw himself down on the porch crying "I WANNA RIDE MY BIIIIIKE!! I WANT TO PEDAL!"

Gook luck KoKo with the E.B.J. this week.

Well, the heat wave has spawned a crime-wave, so time to take care O'bidness.

Later.

More Road Ride Goodness...

The B-Man and I loaded the Element with our bikes this a.m. and headed out to Papa-M's digs for some riding. B-Man would hang with my dad whilst I hit the local roads for a couple hours. All worked out perfect!

I wanted to hit some of the roads I missed during last weeks 81 mile effort, keep a nice pace and be done in a couple hours so as not to freak my dad or B-Man out.

The day looked to be a hot one, and by 10:30 or so when I started in was already in the high seventies or low eighties. Fine by me. I like it warm. I took a couple Hammer Endurlytes before heading off and had two full bottles of Heed and a Hammer Gel.

Some of the new roads had some nice climbs, were low traffic and perfect for a nice road ride workout.
The best part was I NEVER had to even see one of Scottdales two red-lights. For that matter I really only had to stop a couple stop signs. SSSSWEEET!

Legs felt good and in the end I got in 36 miles in 2:10. It did get pretty hot and by the end my remaning HEED was about as warm as 98.6 liquid human waste.

Hope to get some dirt on the 29" knobs tomorrow.

Now here's some ride picts...


Ahhhh! Smooth road!


Mmmmoooooooo!


Heading up hill on 981 North. Note PA's finest road work lay in front.


Vintage Giro pict? No, just me being a "jag-off" with PhotoShop


A Tale of Two Crops

Hope all are having good weekend.

Later.

Welcome Summer!!!

Whoo Hooo! Summer IS here. Right on! And it really doesn't get to much better for me.

This a.m. I headed down to my local road ride launching pad at the Boston Rail Trail and headed up Route 48's 1.9 mile gradual climb. Didn't want to be out too long since I plan to ride 3 days in a row and have a 100 mile race this time next week, so I rode a good tempo and did my normal 2 hour post work loop and got in close to 35 miles on a nice sunny, hot morning.

Today's ride was the first one with the Panaracer Extreme Duro's. Rolled nice and seem to corner well for a hard, puncture resistant training tire. The 25s are a little wider than the Maxxis 25s I was running before, but all seems ok. The looks are better than I thought too, as you see here...



After the ride it was home for mucho yard work. Worked for like 3 hours on my yard and it was like pissing in the ocean. Yikes! I have a lot more to do. Wish I cared more.... Kinda.

Then Wifey, B-Man and I were off to penile slang sporting good super store; Dick's where I picked up a pretty nice pop up tent with a side wall for my upcoming 24 hour race adventures. This saves me from having to borrow from others (ahem, Tom) and is another step forward in self reliance for events.

After that I headed over to the beer store in Monroeville where I got the ultimate hook up...
Celis White is BACK! Now being brewed by the Michigan Brewing Company. This has alway been one of my faves and it had dissapered for a while. Nice to have it back.


Tastes just about as good as Hoegaarden, but $25 a case instead of $50!


Here's Wifey feeling warm from the newly purchased Wit Beer.

After a nice Mexican dinner, I headed out for some evening porch time. Swinging on the porch swing and sipping a beer in the final minutes of daylight. I mentally recapped the day's ride and thought about the rest of the season yet to come. Through the window I could see Wifey reading on the couch and B-man playing with his toys on the floor and for one of the few times in my life I let my self realize and enjoy just how lucky I am.

Cheers to summer and the good vibes that come with it. I'm glad it's back.

Hope you all are getting some miles in this weekend. Have fun and be safe.

Later.

Friday...

Not much going on Chamois wise today. Home early from work, pouring rain, so I'm just checking out the MTB Round Up on cyclingnews.com. Looks like Gripped Films (of Off Road To Athens fame) is making a documentary about endurance freak Chris Eatough. Seeing a doc filmed as well as ORTA about endurance racing is gonna be the balls! Check out the above link for more info.




Then I just saw this CyclingNews.com link about the Fi'zi:k Nisene saddle over on Kerkove's site.
Geeked! I have one on the way I just bought the other day on eBay for a SSSSSSSSSweet ass price.
Check out Jeff's twin Cannondale's too. Very freaking sweet!

That's all I got. Road ridng this weekend, gonna work on my tan lines. Time to go pour a pint, watch the rain and cook some grub.

Later.

60% of the time, it works every time.

Juked Again by Ma Nature

So the weather forecast was for heavy thunderstorms, hail, etc., so I ditched the ride and decided that this evening would be an easy spin on the trainer for 45 min. to an hour listening to my most recent eMusic.com purchase: The Raconteurs.

BUT as she so often does Mother Nature threw me a Meteorological C*ck Block and it was sunny and warm when I got out of work. I had no bike with me and had promised Wifey some time to do a workout this evening. So I was forced to the trainer.

With thoughts of last night's two hours on the Dos and the day's warm temps in my head I could NOT do it. I'm weak. I aborted after 15 minutes, hung with the B-Man, and had a pint as I made up some grub.

After shoving my face full of whole wheat pasta made with mucho garlic, spinach, red sauce, and some ground turkey I dove to the basement to install my new Shimano 540s on the Dos Niner. I also dropped the stem about a 1/2 inch. Feels SOOO much better now. The front end was feeling too tall before. Now it is freaking sweet!

Got hooked up with some new Twin-Six duds yesterday:

Went with The Standard. Bad ass black and gray. Looks J.Cash-Cool with black shorts and will even sorta go with my Bikeman.com bibs, so I can mix and match in races if I choose. Thanks guys!

Wifey also got hooked up with a Ladies Fly-T to rock the "38 Specials".


Weather looks to be nice and "womb-like" here this coming weekend, so I plan to get some nice riding in before next weeks taper for Mohican.

Later.

Dos Hours of Knobby Goodness

Got to Boyce Park tonight for two hour of trail time on the Dos Niner. Great ride, hit just over 18 miles of single track in 2 hours. Legs felt good, weather was great and the Dos Niner did great.

Hope to get some time on the road tomorrow. Gotta see wha Ma Nature throws my way though.

Some more random Dos Niner impressions (read if you want, but I'm kinda just thinking out loud here)

I continue to be impressed with the Salsa Dos Niner. I may remove a head set spacer to drop the stem a bit, but other than that It feels real good. Jury is still out on the Reba. So far, so good. I'd like to get the 100mm spacer in and see what that's like. Still not as plush as the Fox 100RLT on El Santo, but I've NEVER felt a fork as good as that one.

I'm pretty sold on the Relish rear shock too. I'm getting full travel and in conjunction with the big wheels it really helps take the edge off. I do wish I could ride a hard tail 29er to compare the feel.

Right now I'm thinking a Ti hard tail (or soft tail) 29er could be the ultimate ride. I know this bike is more comfy than my Titus Ti 26" but could it be as comfortable as a Ti 26" soft tail with a good 100mm fork up front or Ti 29er HT?? Hmmm.

Oh well, I plan to use the Dos for Mohican. After 100 miles in one day, I should have an even better ideas of how it rides.

Later.

A Good Off Day? Yep!

Usually my off days are nothing to write about, but today was pretty sweet even with no riding.

With Wifey working O.T. so I was in to work early and out of work early today to pick up B-Man at day care. We came home and B-Man "Chamoised Up" if "Chamoised Up" means putting on a fresh diaper and hitting the side walk for some serious riding on the Trek Grommet...

B-Man put the hammer down all by himself. Just two weeks ago I had to push him, now he motors all by himself. All I had to do was run along side yelling "venga!, venga!, venga!" Up and down the front sidewalk we went like 15 times! Down the whole freaking block! Not bad for a kid a little over 2 years old. B-Man rocks! Enter one proud father.

Then on one of our last trips down the street the good ol' UPS man dropped my goods from Bikeman.com. Including my new Shimano 540 pedals for the Dos Niner, Panaracer tires for the road rig, as well as some more HEED and Hammer Gel.

I bashed to the look of the Panarcer Extreme Duro the other day, but Rick was right, they don't look that bad mounted. I still say NO to brown but really they're not too bad. They APPEAR to be super tough as well. Time will tell. I did rip a nice blister-hunk off my thumb mounting them, so I hope the stretch a bit. Then again I have very soft hands. Like a babies. HA!

I guess now that they're off the bike I can say it without jinx. I went through 2 pair of the old Maxxis tires, over two seasons with only one puncture ant that was due to a faulty valve stem. That's some freaking good luck. Hope the Panaracers are as good, they have a lot to live up to.

Giro is into the big ass mountains. Want to see some video? Check out this LINK. Kinda like an Italian "NFL Today" for the Giro.

Plus since it's all in Italian, so you can learn while you watch. Dig?

Also for some interesting reading and creative English translation, check out the team Reevax.be Race Team reports from the TransCreta Race in Greece.

Hope to hit some dirt with the 29 inch knobs tomorrow.

And now your (or I should say MY) Moment of Zen...



Later.

A Case Of The "Mondays"...

Or not.

I felt the fever coming on last night about 4 a.m. I had Chamois Fever. Chamois Fever is usually brought on by week long rains followed by a quality ride just before having to go back to work.

So I did the only thing I could do. I called off work and rode my Dos Niner for 35 miles hitting the trifecta of local riding. The quality single track is still too muddy, so I hit the rail trail for an hour, then to some of the steep, crusty farm roads of my local road loop, then I poached some recently discovered rocky ATV trails.

The ATV trail were great, not too muddy, with a lot of rock and gravel. Hard to relax though since It was kinda on some farmer's private property and I did NOT need some farmer chasing me shooting rock-salt at my spandex covered ass. Actually in these parts I'm more worried about stumbling on some crystal-meth lab hidden in the woods.

Felt good to be back on the Dos Niner. I hadn't been on one of my mountain bikes since May 7th! Yikes!!

I usually try not to ride on days I'm "sick" fearing bad Karma, but sometimes the urge to ride out weighs my need of good Karma and I just have to say "Karma-Shmarma".

New 540 pedals and road tires should arrive from Bikeman.com World HQ tomorrow. I also just obtained a new Fizik Nisene Ti on eBay for a KILLER price. Been wanting this saddle for a while and now as soon as I wait for the planets to align and PayPal to deem my money transfer complete it will be mine.

Later.

Road Ride Chamois Soilage

Headed out to Papa-M's today to use his house as the launching pad for today's road ride. The Scottdale area is loaded with roads prime for road riding and I was looking forward to riding just about all of them.

I set out with a map and some tip sheets for some new roads I hoped to hit. This was good and bad. Good because I did hit some killer new roads to add to the loop, but bad because despite Googles all knowing wisdom, it still had some of the road names wrong, thus I didn't get to hit everything I wanted to on the ride.

Nutrition consisted of: 1 bottle of double strength Perpetuem, 1 bottle of Heed, 1 Cameltoe® full of water, 1 flask of Hammer Gel and a Balance Bar.

After some overnight rains the day was shaping up pretty good. The sky was cloudy with som hints of sun, the temps were around 60 and the winds although not REAL strong were strong enough to slow the pace and howl through my ears like I was on Ice Station Zebra.

I could tell from the start I was feeling pretty good. May have just been a little geeked to finally see SOME sun.

Of the first 10 miles, 8 were on "new to me" pavement. Sweet! But then I started to notice that the Google map wasn't spot on with the road signs, and had to do some rerouting. F*ck! Oh well I know my way around these parts, I'll make it work.

I hit a ton of both Westmoreland and Fayette county. Went through Smithton, home of Stoney's Brewery, makers of bad, foul tasting beer beloved by western PA old heads, as well as birth place of Shirley "Partridge Family" Jones

My goal for the ride; was to work on nutrition (did well) and get some big miles in the legs with a minimum of 80 miles and a maximum of 100.

I fell short of my max goal but ended the ride with 81.5 miles. So at least I hit my minimum. The issue wasn't my legs, or food & water, it was finding more roads! I had already done 1 BIG ass loop and part of a second, the thought of seeing some of those same roads again was a little discouraging. So I packed it in.

Overall, everything went according to plan. Legs were good, nutrition was good, weather was good and I had a blast riding some new roads and some familiar ones.

Now... 1,2,3, LET'S PHOTO BLOG!!!!


Serenity now... farm living. Ya dig? I know I do.


Worth the drive to haul ass up some nice grades in the sticks.


Just when I started to relax, someone shoved a camera in my face. I think that's why I'm jacked. That or I just took a pict of myself grunting out some Petpetuem gas. Note road from whence I came in backround. Sweet!


At about mile 35, just before Smithton, I took this photo of a prime spot to take a flying leap.


You know you are in the "sticks" when the paved road you were riding just turns to dirt.

Actualy you know you are in the "sticks" when you see graffiti like this...

RedNex, I think they're a new boy band or something.


The milage. Good ride. Good roads, good fun.

Later.

A Night In Candyland

Not much in the hopper tonight. Chillin' wit da B-Man and Wifey drinking a beer and watching Sponge Bob. How's that for a "happy hour"? Fine by me. Good beer, cute son, funny TV and a cool ass wife.

I'll prep food and bike for tomorrow's planned big mile assult near Papa-M's house. I did some maps and tip sheets today at work. Not sure what the mileage will be but I'm hoping to push 3 digits.

Today I'm talking to WIfey on the phone and she says "I'll see you tonight, we'll play some Candy Land" I proceed to hang up and say to my co-workers- "I remember a day when seeing me later for Candy Land did NOT mean me, her and B-Man playing Candy Land".

Enjoy your weekend, get some miles in and be safe.

Later.

Some days are good and...

Some days just suck the big hairy one. Jeez, let this one end!

This was one of those days when It would have been better just to sleep right on through.

Woke up this a.m. to more rain. Then I opened the mail from yesterday. 1 piece of mail told me I forgot to pay the cable/internet bill and now have been double billed and the 2nd was my Social Security statement telling me I'll need to work until I'm 70 years old JUST to make as much as I do now provide it's not bankrupt from fighting goddamn wars all over the globe.

Then it was on to work where there was NOTHING to do. I did one ad ALL day. It was still raining at lunch time so I figured I'd cut way back on the food intake and treat myself to some Starbuck's coffee.

The coffee combined with the morning's 30 grams of fiber breakfast and mid morning snack of strawberries and oranges jacked my stomach up (colon blow) and then I get out of work to find the weather was nice and sunny. If I had ANY F*CKING windows in my building I would have known.

So now I'm nutritional in no shape to go for a ride so I decide to ride the trainer for an hour. Felt pretty good. (the highlight of my day)

Then I made dinner. Baked chicken sandwiches and homemade baked potato hunks. My chicken was undercooked and my potatoes where over cooked. So I put the chicken back in and eat the potatoes. Then the chicken is done and NOW it's tough and overcooked. F*CK!

Now I say "F*ck it, I'm having a Stoudt's Weizen". So I cut me a slice of lemon, toss it in my glass and pour a nice Weizen. The acid from the lemon juice jacks up the beer and it lost it's frothy head. Not worth the calories if it sucks, so I toss it.

NOW I say I'm gonna salvage this evening and have slice of wheat bread with peanut butter and honey for a snack. The bread was stale and the honey dripped all over the top of my foot and into my slipper.

So here I am, writing this lame ass blog entry full of woh-is-me bullshit, no doubt losing readers in the process. Oh well nothing left to do but listen to some Joy Division, go to bed and hope that tomorrow I can "shed the shlep".


Ian Curtis.

Later.

Mr. Brownwalls

After going back and forth on my tire choice, I ended up going the Panaracer route. Big Al and his review over on Bikeman.com convinced me to go with the Extreme Duro. I went with the 700 x 25s. They should be able to take what the crusty turd roads of WPA can throw at 'em.

My hesitations to go with Panaracers from the start (as I mentioned yesterday) is 1. I've had some SERIOUS good luck running Maxxis road tires. And 2. What's up with the grandpa pants brown side walls??

I mean you're putting them on "fast as fart" road bikes, make the rider feel fast if nothing else. I say go with all black or a color like red a color often associated with Panaracer.

Oh well, durability is what I'm looking for in a road tire. I want a tire that will let me pump, ride and not worry too much about punctures and tears. i think these will be cool.

Even though my heart belongs to the dirt, and I hit the road mostly for training, sometimes I find that perfect loop or new farm road and road riding just seems to ROCK! I'm flying, carving turns, "dancing on the pedals", feeling as fuzzy as an Eddy Merckx sideburn and all is right with the world. Good times.

Photo lifted without any real permission at all from www.eddymerckx.be It really tied the post together.

Tonight was one of those "fuzzy" nights, dodged the rain and got a nice ride in. Did 2 a hour/35+ mile ride.

I did a lot of seated hill climbing and strained my left knee a tad. DOH! Should be ok though. Some grades may be JUST a tad too steep for seated climbing in 39x25. Note to self- Get a 27 tooth cog.

Weekend looks like we may have some decent weather. Hope to get some serious big mileage in on Saturday. Not sure what tomorrow holds. Maybe low key road ride or an hour on the trainer.

Later.

Weather = Rope To The Attic*

Wow, it could NOT get more depressing around here. Yikes! Cold, gray, and rain, and more rain. I litterly have mushrooms growing in my back yard. MUSHROOMS! We MIGHT get a break tomorrow. I hope so since I'm planning a nice post-work road ride.

Noticed tonight that the last of my beloved $9 Maxxis Xephyr road tires are about done. The rear tire is balder than a lady boob's side wall. I'm hoping that Big Al at Bikeman.com can track me down some Maxxis Detonator 700x25s. They seem to be real similar to the Xephyrs. Hope so. Don't wanna say too much about the Xephyr, so as not to put the "curse of babboo" on 'em, so I'll just say I've gone a LONG time without a problem.

Panaracer seems to make some good ones but I'm on the road for training only and I just wanna stick with the vulcanized rubber hoop that brought me. Plus Panaracer needs to loose the tan side wall. Yuk!

Picked up El Santo at Tom's tonight. Sweet work by my bud. New Enduro seals look to be the shit. Hope so. although with all the rain I don't forsee getting any trail time in for a while.

Later.

*The phrase "rope to the attic" is a quote from the late great Jules P.. Used without care or permission from KoKo The "Home Clips" Ape Boy.

Enduro Seal Monday

It's May and I spent an hour-thirty at the gym instead of riding (GASP!) . The weather here was like Novemeber. Cold, rainy, etc., After a great ride on Saturday I couldn't bare riding the trainer and not wanting to risk getting sick out in the slop and cold, I went to the gym for some light weights and an hour on the stair master.

The gym can be sad. Same people were there that were there 3 months ago, looking the same, doing the same thing. Then again so was I. If I didn't have riding/racing I don't know what I'd do. I can't imagine going to the gym being my "thing". I mean at least they're off their asses and doing something, but I need to be training FOR something and not just lifting or doing something to look good. Although I am looking freaking hot right now. IIIIIIIIIIIII'M JUST KIDDING, RELAX.

Wifey says I'm suffering from A.R.S. After Race Syndrome. In other words she's saying that I'm being a dick. Sorry Boo. I keep waffling between feeling like shit about my Lodi performance, feeling good about it and trying to focus on training for the next race. This weather we're having is serious razor blade weather too. Jeeezus!

It doesn't help that the next race (Mohican) will be hard to judge my recovery/fitness too. Mohican will have a huge field of faster than shit endurance junkies. The podium is not on the radar for this race. I'm not being negative, just being realistic. I know my place in endurance racing food chain and will be setting peronal race goals based on the competition and my personal overall race fitness. I have a bigger goal of the Hardcore 24 Solo in NY a couple weeks after.

I'm also anxious for Mohican for the adventure to see and race against some old and new friends.

El Santo got Enduro Seals put on the Fox 100RLT tonight courtesy of Tom. With the amount of mud that will be on the trails in the near future, I'll need 'em.

Anyone ever use these ESI Silicone grips? They look über comfy.

That's it.

Later

Recovery Week Wraps Up

1st let me say happy Mother's Day to all the mom-types out there. B-Man was up early to wish Wifey happy M-Day and she deserves it. She deserves some serious props for brewing up the B-Man and taking great care of the boy. Thanks Wifey!

I lost my mom in Dec. '99. Still think about her everyday and today is no exception. Cheers mom!

A week of laid back riding and recovery wraps up today. Only put in about 6 hours this week. The weather looks like I will be forced to the road, trainer and gym for the coming build week. That kinda sucks but I could use the gym to help maintain all the work I put in this winter and spring.

Saturday afternoon I rocovered from the "stone-jostle 50" (see Saturday's post) by mowing the grass and pounding some Red Bull followd by some Starfucks®. Then Y-Nizzle came over and hung out and we laid some hurt to some Stoudt's Weizen, Pils and ESBs with some Mexican food.

I continued with the theme of giving my liver a workout today enjoying a couple while watching Basso put the wood to the peloton as the Giro went to the mountains.

Ordered up some new Shimano 540s for the Dos Niner this weekend from Bikeman.com. FINALLY saying goodbye to my 1998 Shimano 747s. Also got some more Hammer Gels and HEED.

Lastly congrats to Adam for finishing the KTR. Way to go! Freaking hard core!

That's it. Excited for the week to start and get focused on Phase II with Mohican or MOHICAN! as JW would say and then the Hardcore 24 up in NY.

Later.

The Saturday Chicken Choke Ride

Lucked out with no real rain to speak of today.

Started from the little Boston Rail Trail parking lot and headed about .5 miles down the road for the first big ass !!% climb of the day. Here's where things get ffffreaky fast:

Just as I'm starting my out of the saddle climbing I look down over the hill to the creek that's running just to my right and there sitting on a rock is a bald dude, 20-ish, t-shirt and gym shorts... WITH HIS FREAKING HAND REACHING UP HIS SHORTS AND RUBBING ONE OFF!!! What the f*ck dude?????? Outside? On a rock? In a creek?? What was he thinking??? "OHHHHH stinky creek! OHHHH, sexy, stinky creek!!! Oh creek mud! BLLLLAAAAAAHT!!

Didn't even know if I felt like riding after that WT display, but I just kept it going up the hill and then got a nice "keep it going" toot from a passing car. That got me focused back on the ride and off Mr. Nasty Creek Masturbator.

Legs felt pretty good and hit some big climbs and some new roads. Upped the amount of Perpetuem in my bottle to make it thicker and more "real food like". HEED and a half bladder of water, and a Balance Bar got me through 50 miles and 3:05 or riding.

Wifey is going out tonight with my Sis-In Law to some C&W concert (don't ask, please) so I'm just hanging with B-Man and a my buddy Y-Nizzle. Making up some Mexican, downing some Stoudt's Weizen and most likey watching Sponge Bob with B-Man. Now THAT is a freaking Saturday night. Lucky!

Later.

Hints of Bananas Bubblegum & Clove, Mmmmmm

Not much on tap today. Took the camp gear I borrowed back to Tom, including the lantern with the mantles I promptly blew out on Saturday night. Sorry T.

Tom is going to give El Santo some big love too. Got me a new chain on and gonna have the fork and front hub serviced. El Santo is in some great hands. Being friends with an ace mechanic like Tom has taught me to do things like- get a new chain on before it f*cks your cassette up and spend a LITTLE bit of cash to SERVICE the fork before you're spending a TON of cash for a new one. That and having f*cked up my share of cassettes and bought my share of new forks.

Weather here looks to be leaning towards the fecal covered end of the stick here for the next few days. So it looks like most of my riding will be done via the road bike and trainer.

Lots of good people racing this weekend including Adam and Dave rockin' the Kokopelli. Good luck out in dessert fellas. Can't wait to read the reports.

UPDATE: PHOTOS FROM LODI: Courtesy of http://www.eighteenpercent.net






Good stuff 18%. Ayone who has watched the video that JB gave me can see him snapping these photos. THANKS!


BEER SOAKED CHAMOIS:

Tis the season! What season?? Hefeweizen season!! Woooo Hoooo. Stopped in at the beer store today for a case of Stoudt's Weizen. Weizens are some of my favorites, if for no other reason they are traditional spring and summer thirst quenchers and if I'm drinking one that means that my ass cheeks are seeing saddle time, the Bucs are starting their race for the National League basement, it's skirt and shorts weather for the ladies (nudge, nudge, wink, wink know-what-I-mean?), and the flowers are in bloom. In other words: Good times made JUST a little bit better with the glow from a couple of Hefe's in my cheeks. Check out great ones like Whirlwind Wheay by Victory, the above mentioned Stoudt's Weizen or Tröegs Dreamweaver Wheat. Mmmmmm.

Picked up the new Grandaddy via iTunes yesterday. Very pleased. They're one of my many faves. Too bad this is their last since they went "splitsville" after they recorded this one.

OK, my work is done here.

Road Ride Goodness...

Got back in the saddle for 1:51/31.5 miles tonight. Weather was great (looks like the last good day for a long while), legs weren't too bad and my ass felt good (aren't you glad you're reading?)

Gonna take it easy with no MAJOR riding the rest of the week 'till Sat. when I plan to start upping my miles in prep for the Mohican in June.

If anyone from Lodi is looking for photos you can find some from Buffalo2Step HERE with more to come. REAL good one of IF Steve. What the hell bike are you riding Steve?

Later.



The rest of this post is devoted to some of my nutritional concerns from the race Sat. Don't feel obligated to read or expect anything too amazing, I'm gonna throw a bunch of shit out there in random mode (mostly to help myself see it written down) and see what sticks opinions are welcomed though....

Taper week went well and didn't push too hard. That may have bee the prob. I pushed HARD on Monday, but the rest of the week was just kinda staying loose. For French Creek I did a "push" ride on Thursday for a Saturday race. Hmmmm.

Wifey and I always eat whole wheat pasta. Pre races though I usually eat regular white pasta to skip some of the fiber. Not because I'm fearful of "soiling the chamois" but because with a bunch of fiber in my gullet more blood, energy, etc, is need to digest. On Sat. I had whole wheat (DOH! Mistake?)

Not sure I ate well enough or hydrated enough through the day on Sat. Mostly grazed on fig bars, pretzels and had 1 32 oz. water during the 5 hour drive. Even with a good breakfast I don't think I took in enough calories.

My pit stops were VERY short. Who the hell do I think I am, Eatough??? I should have made myself stay longer, eat and drink more.

I was surviving mostly on Hammer Gel, Perpetuem and Heed. I'm sure I wasted more time on the side of the trail bonked than I would have by taking 5 minutes to eat and drink properly, at LEAST every other lap.

Even though I use Perpetuem and Gels and technically am getting enough calories, my stomach aches (literally) for something more solid and filling. In search of, or trying to come up with a food myself that both fills my stomach, satisfies the hunger, and is easily chewed and swallowed. Kinda like an Endurance "cookie dough" . I don't have to be able to eat it on the bike but it needs to be made with stuff that won't spoil sitting out on table for 12 -24 hours. I did one experiment with Perpetuem, Vanilla Hammer Gel and water mixed to a heavy spoonable paste. Worked well. Tad strong, but worked.

I also may look into purchasing some maltodextrin to help with the experiment. Maybe mixed with some brown rice syrup, or honey? Hmmm.

Hammer Bars, Cliff Bars and Balance Bars are all good. BUT I have a tough time choking down a bar when I'm that worked up in the race.

Simple sugar carbs vs. complex. Sure complex are the good ones but damn a swig of Coke sure did help get me through that race, as did switching it up and downing some Gatorade.

I fear the sugar crash associated with Simple Sugars, but must admit I've never REALLY experienced one. I guess I've always been too far gone. I mentioned in my race report that I would "crash" after the Coke wore off. I think that was more from the caffeine wearing off than the sugar. Plus I wouldn't think 1 sip in a 2 minute pit stop could do too much. Plus the cabonation REALLY helped my stomach feel full.

I've heard many times, don't stick with a plan if things that aren't working, thinking that it will evetually work. I've stuck to the same plan for 5 solos now, I think I need to go to "plan B"... NOW!

Easing Back In Like Butt Cheeks To Hot Water

Did some clean up on the bike today. got them all shiny and lubed up again. El Santo will be needing a new chain soon. Dos is in good shape and I will be rolling it at the Mohican 100. STILL waiting to see the official results from Lodi Farms. Giddy up!

Have an "opinion" over on the Twin-Six site. They guys gave me the floor for the First T6 Rider Opinion Of The Month.

After cleaning up the bikes I did a spin on the trainer for 30 minutes. Butt and legs felt pretty good. MIGHT get some riding in tomorrow, if not, then Thursday.

J.B. hooked me up with a short clip from Lodi.

Later.

12 Hours of Lodi Farms, 5.07.06

12 Hours of Lodi Farms
Fredericksburg, Virginia, USA
May 7, 2006

First let me say I'm not 100% sure of my results yet. As soon as they are posted I will make corrections or updates if necessary.

Now on to bid-ness...

I'd been looking forward to this race for a while. It's a great course, much like the trails I train on, and the promoters from Team Bike Works are a great bunch of people.

I had good race last year putting in 11 laps and grabbing a 3rd place podium spot so in 2006 I was looking to equal or better my previous accomplishment.

Saturday morning I loaded up the Element with all the Solo racer necessities, threw in a wife and son for good measure and headed off on the 5 hour drive to Fredericksburg, VA.

When we arrived the weather was perfect. It was sunny and in the high seventies. Any sign of the previous night's storm was gone.

I spotted my buddy John and was happy to see he had already secured the same sweet pit area as last year and was able to nab a sweet pop up tent from his local shop. (Thanks!)

After a quick camp set up and catching up with some old friends Fernando, Loretta, Jake and others I "chamoised up" for a pre ride on the Dos Niner.

Just as I was starting I ran into Fatmarc, Buddy, and a few of their other friends who were also just starting a pre ride. We chatted briefly and rode together for a while. (Sorry I wasn't more social guys, had some pre race nerves going on.)

The course was tight and dry and the Dos Niner felt so good on it I decided that the Dos Niner would be the bike for the race. Going against my orignal plan of using the El Santo.

After dinner I took a short nap and tried to mentally prepare for the race. Then it was up to hang out with the gang and talk bikes. Funny thing when you're hanging with a bunch of bicycle-heads, all we pretty much talked about was bikes, racing and training and not once did I long for a subject change. As I've said before I live for this stuff!

Had a few folks stop by to look at the Dos Niner and El Santo. Some folks had questions about the 2006 Dos Niner's improvements which I was more than happy to point out and explain. A few other folks asked about the El Santo, saying they didn't even know Salsa made a full suspension. Yikes! Where ya been people? El Santo's new Rojo-A-Go-Go color seemed to be a hit too. Good work Salsa!

Next up was the pre race meeting where we were given the bad news that the Le Mans style run was being increased to a 1/2 mile through the woods. F#ck! I freaking hate running! I hate running at night, in bike shoes, through the woods even more, but that's how the race starts, so you do what you gotta do.

About 11:30 I got the Bikeman.com kit on and hit the Greyhound Juice Anti-Friction cream pretty hard to keep all my friends living below waist line happy and comfy.

Just before midnight I decided to go with my original plan and race El Santo. Figuring the suspension may help make up for my lack of night riding skills. Really it wouldn't have mattered, both the Dos Niner and the El Santo are great endurance machines rolling over most everything. I spent the week prior to the race damning Salsa for making my decision so difficult.

Then just as I'm heading to the start line some teenage kid who was kinda like a Jerry Lewis circa 1950 stops by the pit and starts chatting. After he finds out I'm solo he starts going on and on and on about how there are pro and semi-pro guys in the field and how hard it's going to be, I shrugged it off, agreed and politely laughed, but for 12 hours that turd's words would echo through my head. It didn't help that the mere thought of Jerry Lewis makes me want to throw up.

On the line was some familiar faces from the mid atlantic region, Steve Schwarz from IF Grass Roots, Bob Anderson, and others. The "nutty professor" was right there was some tough competition. Bring it on though that's why we're here!

Midnight started with the above mentioned 1/2 mile run through the camp area, into the woods, then back to the start/finish to grab the bikes.

My run went better than I expected but still sucked non-the-less. Once to the bike it was into the woods and the real action. I don't consider myself the best night rider, but I was feeling pretty smooth trough the single track.

The first few laps ticked off pretty well, no problems, bike was running well and I was feeling ok. I had a CamelBack full of Hammer Heed, a Flask of full of Hammer Gel and a bottle of Perpetuem that I tried to take some hits from during each lap.

Just before lap four I stopped and swapped batteries for my NiteRider light so I could be sure to have light right on through the a.m.

It was about this time that my legs did not seem to have any "jump" in them. Not sure. I was doing some consistent laps but something just wasn't right. Then just as I was trying to get the voice of "Jerry Lewis" out of my head again I got lapped by the Solo leader. Great, enter one mental blow.

Before I knew it the the birds were starting to wake up and sun was peeking out. Hmmm only about 6 MORE hours to go.

I pulled into the pits just before my eighth lap to dump the lights and grab some food. I was STILL chilly from the night and was trying to warm up. JoErin hooked me up with some coffee she got from God knows where, forced me to eat a Balance Bar and gave me some words of encouragement. Thanks baby! It was also nice to see B-Man up too.

I knew I needed to shake things up. I figured I was already off the box so I was gonna have some fun. I grabbed the Dos Niner and decided to just enjoy some great single track in the woods as best I could.

I headed out feeling some heavy bonk. Got through a couple climbs and pulled over a couple times just to regroup, think about throwing up and think about napping in the weeds. If it wasn't for Lodi's infamous poison ivy rep I just may have!

Eventually the coffee, Balance Bar and Advil from the last pit stop kicked in and I felt pretty good. I hooked up with another Dos Niner rider ('05 edition) and we rode together for a while. His bike looked familiar due to the raccoon tail hanging from the seat. I asked him if he was at last year's Wilderness 101, and he was. We joked about how you can remember racers more from their bikes than their names or faces. It was also pretty cool to be riding along another Dos Niner. (Side note: on this kat's last lap he would wear what looked to be an 80's looking dress. Nice touch)

Eventually I passed by the dude, got back to the pits, grabbed some more food and went to check in.

When I got to the check in my buddy John was working and said that it looked like I was in 4th or 5th...WHAT!!?? Cool!! I knew they were paying out to the top 5 so I was pretty geeked. So I stomped on the gas and freaking motored my 9th lap. I'm sure it wasn't my fastest, but it was my most inspired. The Dos Niner and I were flying through the woods. I have NO idea were I was getting the strength from. I was standing, hammering the climbs, passing people, rolling over everything, it rocked! This was the feeling I was missing. This is how it's supposed to feel!

I wanted 10 laps real bad and pushed hard, BUT (why do all my race reports ALWAYS seem to have a "BUT" in them?) I got to the pits and JoErin says there's good news and bad news. The good news was I had a killer lap time and had all kinds of time to get 10 laps in. The bad news was that John (new to check-in duty volunteering) had not known there was a second page of Soloists and that I was actually in like 7th or 8th place. DOH!!!

My will for lap 10 exited faster than a wet fart on taco night. JoErin said I'd stay in the top 10 if I didn't go out, but there was no way for me to really move up. She said if it would make me feel better (It would have) I should go get that 10th lap in (I didn't).

With the realization of my actual place I decided to sit in the sun with B-Man, and wait for noon. I hung out with Bob Anderson (last year's winner, this year's 5th place finisher) he said he was having an "off" day too. That kinda made me feel better too, knowing that even I guy that could hammer out the consistent laps that he did last year can have a bad day. That AND the fact that he said he checks out The Soiled Chamois and even told a few others about it. Thanks Bob!

All in all I have to be happy with the results. I mean a top 10 finish with over 50 soloists. If I have any disappointment, it's not from my placing, I mean shit happens. Solo racers are freaks and some are f*cking FAST freaks! My disappointment is more from know that SOMETHING wasn't going right with the engine.

The echoing voice of the Jerry Lewis kid in my head didn't help, but it was more nutrition. No matter how many calories I took in I could not get that weak, hungry feeling out of my stomach. Coke seemed to help the best. I could get some simple sugars in and get my energy up and the carbonation would make me feel full, But then of course I'd crash.

I'll be posting more about my theories for this later in the week and hope to get some input from some of you (Jeffs (K & W), Andy, Adam, Dave. H. etc.)

Both El Santo and the Dos Niner ran great, no crashes, my NiteRider HIDs never failed me and I had a great time with some good people, and as I've said before EVERY race I learn a little more.

Now it's time to take a few weeks off from racing, recover and then ready for Phase II of the race season and the Mohican 100 on June 3rd.

NOW LETS PHOTO BLOG!


B-Man carbo loading.


EARLY a.m. Not sure why the hell I'm smiling. Must be gas. Profile needs work too.


Wifey finding the Advil I'm sure. B-Man chilling with this new GF Jenny.


Still shot from some video that John took. I think I splashed that pho-tog pretty good. Sorry man.

And I leave you with a "moment of zen" or the image that nocked that kid's voice out of my head and made me laugh. Sorry Jerry. Sort of.


Thanks for reading. Later!

Lodi- mega short post...

Didn't have good legs (more on that in the long recap later)
My plan of competing rather than surviving never came to fruition. Bummer.

Finished 7th or 8th (I THINK, need to see final results to see for sure.) out of 50+ soloists. Out of the money.

Saw a lot of old friends (Fernando, Lorretta, Gordon, J.B.), some newer ones, (Marc, Buddy) and some familiar faces ( Bob Anderson, and Team Green Steve S. (who was just FLYING).

Right now I'm downing some Corona Extra (Extra what? Extra f*cking bad beer, but what do you want when you buy beer at a West Virgina Sheetz? Check out this diagram closely, is this why it sucks? better than Keystone Light though)

B-Man was the man and had a good time, and Wifey did support, drove home and kept B-Man happy. Of course by the time the 3 of us drove 5 hours home we were at each other's throats.

Later.

Later folks..

Leaving Saturday a.m. for Fredericksburg, VA. Check in Sunday evening for update.

Should have a good time. My bikes are good to go, weather looks pretty good (after French Creek anything else is great), and I've been wearing this t shirt all day....



Have a great weekend.

Later.

Gettin My Pre-Race Brake(s) On...

Stopped over at Tom's tonight for some bike love. He worked his magic on El Santo's rear derailleur and has has it shifting perfect. He also rebuilt the rear hub with some new bearings and grease. The old bearings were like rusted squares- yikes!

Also got the new brakes pads and springs put in too. El Santo should be good to go Saturday.

I STILL can NOT make up my mind which bike to race. Both are so damn good. El Santo will most likely get the nod because I'm SO used to the Shimano triggers on it, that shifting is like second nature. The Dos Niner has SRAM X.0 grip shifts, which I love, but I'm still getting used to it and feel that it MAY be better suited for a race later in the season with more hours on it. As of right now I only have about 8 hours of saddle time with the SRAM.

Lodi is not real technical, so I'll up the SPV a bit in the rear to firm it up (that sounds perverse) and still have 4" to keep my cheeks happy (also sounds perverse) over the 12 hours.

I have two NiteRider HID batteries ready to blaze, all my Hammer goods are ready to do their magic as well as some top secret, hush, hush, stuff that is is NO WAY a pre race meal made with spinach. I'd love to tell you what it is, but I can't- so don't ask! OK, ok it's pasta with spinach!!! Are you happy now??? SPINACH! The stuff is like EPO, except legal and you can just eat it rather than inject it in your bum (again- perverse).

Working a half day tomorrow, then off to do some shopping, and house stuff to make up for the fact we'll be gone all weekend. Nothing worse than coming back from a trip and having the house look like hell.

May post again tomorrow or Sat. a.m. if time allows. Good luck to Buddy, Marc, J.B., and all the other Mid Atlantic peeps. See you Saturday!

and now for your Moment of Zen...

Later.

Damn!

Was two lines away from finishing tonight's blog. Computer crashed and lost post. F! Don't have the motz for typing again. So here it is in the shell of a nut...

Went to work, came home, rode the trainer for an hour, mowed my grass, made some food, passed some gas, ready for bed. I'm all geeked up about Lodi.

PRO MTB NEWS:
Susi and Bundi won the Cape Epic.
JHK rocking a hot 2-Niner
Enersto is 135 lbs.? WTF???

ART! BRUT! TOP OF THE POPS!
ART! BRUT! TOP OF THE POPS!

Later..

Off, Signed Up and Ranting (again)

No ride tonight. Just hangin' trying to get some bills paid and some race stuff organized.

Got the tubeless tires I won at French Creek sold on eBay last night. Sweet!

Registered for the Mohican 100 today...

Bad thing is I got so caught up in this coming weekend's race that I forgot to get registered by the early deadline so I f*cked myself out $20. DOH!

Got my brake pads today. Sweet! BUT! I went with a non HOPE brand and they came without pad springs. This sucks since I screwed mine up with the wearing the pads down to metal at French Creek, so in the interest of time and the fact that I f-ing need them I to order up some springs from the Goat. Shipping costs more than the springs. But I figure with gas at $3+ it's cheaper to have them sent than drive to Ligonier.

Speaking of high gas prices. Walking past the tv tonight I saw a news story about a group local Pittsburgh area students protesting high gas prices, and their inability to pay for it with shitty minimum wage jobs, by riding their bikes to school. Not a bad idea, good for them. Thes sad thing was seeing nearly forty 16 year olds walking thier bikes up the hill to the school because they were too out of shape to ride them. And the fact that it won't do anything but jack off a bunch of motorists.

Continuing on with this theme- my buddy Y-Nizzle has stated commuting to his teaching job at a local middle school. Good for him! Except that since he started he's had school bus drivers screaming at him to get off the road and has been "talked to" by his superiors about disrupting bus traffic flow by riding his bike on the side of the road that leads to the school.

What the F*CK is wrong with this country????

Done ranting. Time to make some food.

Later.

Monday Night With Phil and Paul...

Had an INCREDIBLE ride tonight. Weather was freaking perfect and the legs felt ultra spanky. Got in a nice 31 mile/1:50 post work road ride. Put in some nice hard efforts. Probably my last in that zone till the weekend's race. I'll be doing some trainer and low key rides the rest of the week.

WHY I HATE PHIL LIGGET AND PAUL SHERWEN:

OK I don't HATE Phil and Paul. I just hate when their voices are in my head during a road ride. They can't be stopped. I try to hum, sing, think about baseball, etc. Nothing works! Every good climb I've ever done at some point I hear Phil's voice saying "he's dancing on the pedals!". Of course about the time I get myself caught up in feeling that good a car passes and calls me "fag" or "asshole" and I snap back to reality.

The bad climbs are even worse though, that's were Paul comes in. I hear his voice talking about being "on the rivets", "in difficulty" or worse yet... "HE'S POPPED!!"

I guess things could be worse, I could have Al Trautwig's voice in my head. THAT would suck big time.

El Santo had to go to Tom's to get it's shifting sorted. I did all that I could do, which isn't much. It's all good now though. Apparently during the race I bashed a nut on the deraileur that bent it in a way that would not allow the rear derailleur to have full range of motion to get up to he 32 tooth cog. Nice to know that I'm not a total moron and all the adjustments I made could never have worked.

Tom go it all straigtened out in no time and If time permits he may rebuild my free hub too. Went through hell two weeks ago at the race, better safe than sorry. Nice to be friends with a freaking master bike mechanic. Dude could work for the pros, I'm not even joking. Thanks Tom!

No ride on Tuesday. Need to rest the legs, sort out my lights and get some organizing done for the race.

Later.

Not much going on...

Had nothing to post yesterday, other than more failed attempts at getting El Santo's shifting back. Looks like Tom is gonna bail me out AGAIN on my mechanical ineptness. Thanks!

I forgot that Friday was the 1 Year Anniversary of The Soiled Chamois. Looking back at my first post I wondered what I was gonna talk about and if anyone would actually care to read it. Sometimes I STILL don't know what I'm gonna talk about, I know people read it, now I just want to know for God's sake WHY???

Thanks for checking out The Chamois. Hope I can make year #2 better.

Road ride tonight.

Later.

Jason