Kickin' Up The Stress A Bit...

It's 10 P.M. Do you know where your bike mechanic is?

If you're my buddy/bike mechanic guru Tom you've just left my house after an emergency house call to replace a worn out XT middle ring. Wasn't supposed to happen this way. I got a new SRAM chain and cassette which Tom put it on this afternoon and clunk, clunk, chink... Things were not meshing. 42 and 22 worked fine. No go on the 32! Sssssso he busts out one of these!....

God help me! This is NOT what you want to see on busted out on your bike the night before you leave for a race. It worked though. Tom used it grind the "hooked" teeth of the middle ring back to as normal as possible and it REALLY helped. The bike shifted smooth and was running good, BUT we were both nervous about the chain/ring under pressure, so since we had now extra ring and didn't think we could get to a shop before closing, the decision was made to swap cranks between El Santo and The Dos Niner. I would start the job and Tom would stop by later to finish and fix my mistakes after he got back from some family stuff.

By the time I got home though Tom had tracked down a middle ring for me, picked it up, and would stop by around 9:30 or so to help me put it on. What mechanic does this??? House calls??

Could I have got through the race with the dremmeled ring and the El Santo's? Sure, with some stress and bitching, but because I'm damn lucky to have a friend like Tom, I'll never have to wonder about it during the race.

Thanks Tom.

I could have done without this bike drama the night before I head up to the Springs, and the "junk-kick" weather that is gonna greet me, but it's taken care of and now all I have to do is ride.

Other good news too, J. "love2ride" B. is coming up to Seven Springs to hang out and ride some. Nice! Always cool to have friendly faces to hang out with. See you tomorrow JB!

Before I split I wanted to throw a couple sneaky-peekys at you of some '07 Twin-Six jersey updates....

The '07 Brew Pub...

More color, easier too keep clean for the dirt worshipers and better to keep the nips hidden. Right Brent?

And the '07 Argyle. So sweet, so swank!...

Had the chance to see some of the swank brand new jerseys too, stay tuned here and at TwinSix.com for those in the next couple weeks. They T6 guys also got some feedback on the fit of the '06 jerseys, made some adjustments, and are pretty confident folks are gonna dig the new fit.

Thanks for letting me share these guys! You're gonna rock Vegas (Vegas baby!!.. Vegas!... Vegas!)

Time for some sleep. Check in with you all on Sunday.

Later.

Enter One 11/34 Pie Plate

Got my new SRAM cassette today from Bikeman.com World HQ today. Goddamn I love the 11/34! Nothing says I'm getting old, I'm tired, and just want to sit and spin up the back side of this f*cking ski slope like going up in 22/34! God bless this giant pie plate of a cassette...


Got a fast pace spin in on the trainer tonight and still MORE packing. I also firmed up plans with me Padre to watch the B-Man so as not to have the little guy wallowing in the cold slop that will be Seven Springs this weekend. Heading over to Tom's to tomorrow to take care of the Dos Niner and pick up some camp items.

Check out the News section over at Twin-Six.com. The guys are busting their ass getting ready for Interbike and give some hints of some cool things to come- cool ass messenger bag, new tee and jersey designs and a long sleeve wool jersey by Christmas (WOOL!!!). I'm pretty stoked about these goodies. Good luck in Vegas guys. Remember guys- NO HOOKERS! And stay away from bad beer- it tastes bad and will rip your guts up!

Saw on Salsa' site they're all geeked up for Interbike too. Can't wait to see what they roll out fo '07. Man, between Salsa and T6 Minnesota must be on fire with bike inspired brain power this time of year.

Later.

Bending Over For A Tropical Storm Enema

So Ernesto is about to make life interesting for KoKo and Double-K down in F.L.A. and by the weekend looks to be throwing down rain here. Nothing like riding in mud for 24 Hours to usher out summer. Whooo hoooo!

Who knows, maybe it'll track off the coast and miss us a bit. I really don't care about riding in slop. I feel bad for my pit crew- JoErin (Wifey) and Tom. Who wants to sit around in the rain for a day while your damn fool of a husband/friend is out riding his bike???

Preparing with multiple jackets, gloves, shorts, etc., and may look into getting a set of fenders for the race. Never used them before. Anyone recommend any good ones? I don't wear specs to ride and would like to avoid getting mud on my contacts if possible. Tom will also be bringing a kerosene heater to help keep warm and dry.

Got a quick road ride in tonight. 1:20/23 miles. Rode briefly with some dude (Nick?) who was riding a full carbon Look frame. Nice guy. He was at the tail end of about a 50 miler. Nice to see some folks out on the roads around here.

The Maxxis rubber was rolling nice and fast. Always feels good to have some new rubber on. It's like wearing comfy new sneakers. Nice to have the thinner width tires back too. Just hope they hold up for me.

Oh well I'm off to do whatever it is I do.

Later

Gettin' Geeked

So reading about Jeff's exploits at the 24/Afton on his blog and on the Twin-Six site, I'm getting in the zone for the suffering that Seven Springs will hand me this weekend. My goals is to finish. This is only my second 24 of the year. I DNFed the first one due to heat and all the bitch slapping that it gave me, so I really want to finish with at LEAST as many laps as last year (11 12.5+ mile laps) but I would prefer more of course. If that puts me in contention, so be it, but I'll be out there just doing my thing and hoping for the best.

I've had a pretty good year, getting some good results in the MASS 6 Hour races and a good overall in that series (2nd), but not getting it done in a 24 would kinda suck.

This week will be filled with LOTS of prep and packing for every type of weather that a mountain can throw at me, I'll also need to factor in that this is yet ANOTHER year with the possibility of dealing with some "sloppy seconds" from a hurricane/tropical storm. Lucked out last year and the shit missed us, this year, who knows? I really don't care. Sometimes the worse the conditions are, the more likely I am to man up and out last some guys that otherwise would kick my ass.

I'll also need to squeeze in a couple of rides this week to keep the legs spanky. Road and trainer most likely.

New SRAM cassette should be here on Wednesday, so at least I know I'll be running a comfy 11/34 up that final nut kick climb.

Oh well, that's it. Gotta look for some muzak on the net.

Later.

MiNewt Love

I was looking forward to blowing out my legs on the road today out near my Dad's digs in Scottdale. Unfortunately I awoke to heavy rains and the radar pict that was dark green and red the whole way back through Ohio. SSSSSSSooo, I strapped on the chamois and headed down into the dungeon (my basement) to ride Booger- my old lime green, rusted CX bike that is permanently affixed to my trainer.

The humidity was so strong I had a sweat going before my cheeks even hit the saddle. I had a great hour of tempo riding, broken up in the middle by some standing hill climbs. Treated my ears to some newly aquired Morrissey live boots and b-sides on iPodious. By the time my hour was up I was so soaked with sweat. I was literally able to squeeze my glove and watch sweat just POUR out of it. I must have lost 5 lbs. of water. Serious hydration followed.

The suck part is that when I got to my Dad's it had only sprinkled rain there and didn't rain ALL day. FFFF!!!! Oh well, keeping the legs spanky for Saturday/Sunday.

Enduro Parts Lust: Check out the Niterider MiNewt...

As I was browsing the Bikeman.com site today, I saw that Big Al put up some info on NiteRider's new light, The MiNewt. I'm digging the idea of this light.

Handle bar mounted, feathery light at 8 oz. (275 grams) HOLY FREAKING LIGHT! Burn time up to 6 hours to boot!

Not sure it would be bright enough for me and my inept nite riding abilities to be used alone, but I'd like to check it out for sure.

It would make a great back up to my helmet mounted HID and allow me to relax a little more in when nearing the end of a battery life on the HID. It would also be nice to just use it for dusk/dawn and long service road climbs.

I'm a LITTLE suspect of the bar mounting. Looks to strap on with some rubber O-rings. How would that stand up to off-road racing? Hmm.

I'm putting this on my Christmas list now and hope that Old Saint Captial One brings me one in December. Price is actually pretty good at $130 Retail.

MiNewt love over.

Congrats to J. Bishop (8th Place) and Mary McConneloug (6th) on their great finishes at the World Cup in New Zealand. Read more HERE. Nice showing.

That's all I got. Later.

Good Times My Friends, Good Times...

So I hit up the PTAG Allegheny Parks Bike Fest today to help out Tom. Nice turn out of people and a lot of familiar faces. I ended up being coerced into leading the "fast" ride. Hmmm, no pressure there. Only had to lead about 8 guys and I lost 2 (sorry!) one dude sporting and ultra cool Twin-Six "Brew Pub" jersey had made mention that he was "sweating out a lot of alcohol", and I believe bailed to nurse said hang over.

Another dude riding shirtless didn't make it 2 miles before I either got him lost or he bailed. I don't do many group rides and hardly EVER lead them, so I think only loosing two isn't too bad :)

We hit a lot of nice trails and did about 12+ miles. It was a hot one, and folks (including me) were starting to run out out water, so we bailed at about 12 and rode the road back to the car.

I rocked the Dos Niner with it's ghetto chain and cog combo (stretched beyond the capacity for rational thought). It ran great, but I sure hope I get the new cassette by Friday, would just make me feel better.

As I mentioned before I don't do many of these group rides or activities, just no time. But it did feel good to help Tom out since he's always uber generous to me AND to be able to show some new folks the great single track in our local parks.

I did sign up for the mailing list and would like to become more active in helping to maintain the trails that I think of as my own.

Big shouts out of thanks to PTAG, Dirt Rag, REI, PORC and all the folks who volunteered and/or participated.

I had a dude from Syracuse, NY who was in town on business, tell me how great he thought are local bike scene and trails were and if he could find work here, he'd move here in a second. WOW! All I ever do is bitch. Me thinks I should take a step back and smell the tire tracked dirt.

Later.

Pent Up Rage and A Spastic Colon...

All is good to go in the registration dept. for the 24 Hour Champion Challenge. Looks to be about 15 solo riders. Right on! I'm so freaking geeked for this race. Whether I place or not is not a big deal, the big deal is that I love this race and I love the fact that all the folks from the area race it and that my family and friends joining me to do this race. THAT is the big deal, THAT is what makes it fun and THAT is what makes me keep coming back for more abuse at this race.

All I have to do is think about the race and I want to go ride and or go take a big hairy one.

Tomorrow I'm heading over to Boyce Park to help out my good friend and master mechanic- Tom with the the PTAG Mountain Bike Tour of County Parks. All levels of riders will be hitting county parks to taste the dirty treats that are hidden whith in their trees. I'll just be there to help lead or sweep a ride and get my bike on with some like minded two wheeled freaks.

Speaking of Tom he's going over my rides for the race. NOT good news. I waited too long to replace my chain on the Dos, so I had to order up a new cassette and hope it gets here by about Wednesday from Bikeman.com World HQ in Maine. I AM AN IDIOT. Check your chain often, replace as needed or pile up the debt. As Matty D. would say- "werd"

Take this bit of knowledge and do with it what you will- Tom who is an AWESOME wheel builder in is own right AND a meticulous mechanic was giving the Dos Niner's Bikeman.com hand built wheel set a going over today and reports that he is VERY impressed with the quality and craftsmanship of the build. After a season of enduro racing the set is looking uber good with all still in tension and spec. Right on Bikeman.com!

That's it. Need some Zs and some crime fighting.

Later.

Random Bits...

Having a bit of concern about my Seven Springs registration. I faxed it on Tuesday and then e mailed twice to get a confirmation and got no reply, so tonight I called and left a message for the chicky running the show. Tomorrow's the last day they're accepting registration, so I gots to get this taken care of.

No ride tonight. I've been going on and every other day the past week or so. Get max recovery and stay fresh.

I hope to get the bikes over to Tom's to get the once over before the race with most of the attention given to the Dos Niner. I plan to use El Santo as the backup and then in the week or so after the race get it torn down and at least sell the frame and Fox fork. Free up some cash and then see what sort of 29er HT I can get my hands on over the winter.

I saw THIS new "sport" tonight. THIS is what's wrong with this country. Shit like THIS and Poker are considered sports. Yikes!!!

Google the word failure and take a look at who's first on the list. Amazingly it's NOT me, but I'm not surprised at the result.

Came up with a bumper sticker idea to get me out of debt and please the Steeler fans. A simple black and gold sticker that says "WHAT WOULD BEN DO?" There would of course be Ts and Bracelets to follow. All money would go to support me.

Alright, that's it. Gotta drop the kids off at the pool.

Later.

A Good Ride & Some Product Feedback

Got a quick 1:20 loop on dirt tonight aboard the Dos Niner. Legs and bike felt real good. Did make one stop to slow down the rebound on the Reba. Felt like it it was just a tad to quick. Felt great after a click or two towards the turtle.

____________________________________________________________________________

Ok, now some product feed back on the Panaracer Extreme Duro road tire.

Back in May I went through a huge debate on what road tires to get. Had to be durable, that was my main focus. I had been using some Maxxis tires for a LLLLLLLong time without a flat. But they were bald as a fake boob's side wall, so I ordered up the Extreme Duros since I couldn't track down the Maxxis I wanted right away and was in need of some tires, STAT!

The first thing I noticed was that the 700x25s where a bit wider than the Maxxis 25s. While I never did a measurment it was noticeable that they were wider than what I was used to. I use 25s due to the shitty roads we have here in WPA, it's nice to have a little exrta width to handle the debris and pot holes.

The rubber on the Duros seemed tough too. I wouldn't call it supple by any means, but then again I'm not one to be racing or railing corners on my road bike. There was no tread to speak of. Just smooth rubber all the way around. I wasn't real used to that.

Once mounted the Panaracers aired up nice and hard. I run about 115 psi and between the hard rubber and the psi felt like I was running some sort of tubeless road tire. I had been concerned about the look of the brown side wall, but it looked just fine mounted up.

The tires rolled fast and seemd to scoff at the junky PA roads I ride. I was digging the tires and other than (what I believe) wider than 25 width, I had next to no problems during 99% of my time using them.

So this brings me to the end of the review. I wish my final verdict was more clear to me. You see this week I noticed three different spots on my rear tire where the threads are showing. Small patches of vacant rubber. Sh*t!

So I did a little research on my TrainingPeaks.com ride journal. The Duro's have roughly 800 miles of riding on them since mid May. I had one flat, which was a pinch flat due to me being too lazy to air up my tires before a ride and having a run in with a badly patched pot hole. Sounds like some pretty good stats to me, but I never kept track of the miles on my Maxxis tires so it's hard to honestly compare the durability of the two. If 800 miles on set a tires sounds good to you, order yourself up a pair.

So what am I going to do? Well I'm going back to Maxxis. Not so much because I didn't like the Panaracers, but more just to compare the feel and save $5 a tire. The Maxxis tires I had been using (The Xepher) is no longer being made, but it has a VERY close relative called the Detonator. So I ordered up a pair of 700 x 25s in Blue (to pimp the ride). Should have them by the weekend, then I can start the mileage ticker on them.

Later.

I Wish I Could Un-Clench My Buttucks

So If going up against all the local Solo freaks isn't enough, I now have to worry about THIS guy-

Really, I won't be worrying about Tinker, you don't worry about an experienced 24 hour smack-layer like him. You just ride your race and hope to not make a full of yourself when he asks for a pass.

I assume Tinker's racing, I know he's there for a "meet and greet ride" on Friday, September 1st, so I'm just assuming he'll be handing asses to solo riders on Saturday and Sunday. Hey, once he hands mine, I can say I've been well beaten by just about all of the best in the endurance world. Sweet! (I guess).

No riding today. Trying to space workouts enough over the next 9 days or so, so as to go into the 24 fresh. Probably hit some dirt with the Dos Niner tomorrow.

Found out my buddy Tom is gonna be lending some night time race support for me again. (THANKS!!!) The night is the best possible time to have quality pit personnel. I have to thank Tom for making time for me during his busy Labor Day weekend. Much appreciated. I secretly think he just likes to see me in pain.

Alright, that's it, time to go put some Tinker in the washer, I mean put some clothes in the Juarez, Oh to hell with it! I gotta go.

Later.

Happy Monday(s)

I had a vacation day today that I had already scheduled since I thought I would be recovering from the 18 hour race. Since the race didn't happen for me, and there was nothing to recover from I took advantage of the time and the beautiful day to go up to Seven Springs to do a couple laps on the race course.

Took both El Santo and the Dos Niner to see which one handled the course better. I started with El Santo. The bike felt good and was handling the course pretty good. The things I noticed first was ONE: I've really grown to like the crispness of SRAM shifting, so the performance of the Shimano Rapid Rise seemed less than stellar. TWO: having the 11/32 on El Santo made some of the hills a bit harder since it's combined with a few extra lbs. of bike weight. The long down hills of loose rock were a little better with the FS.

I plan on consistant spinning more hills and grades rather than pushing harder gears. I'll be there 24 hours, why blow up the legs an back? The 11/34 on the Dos makes this plan easier maintain.

On my second 12 mile lap I switched to the Dos Niner. Blasting through the rock gardens is just a bit easier on the Dos Niner. You never have to worry about the gaps in the rocks, the big wheels just do their thing and roll on over. The 2nd lap, although roughly the same time as the first, just felt better and I cleared all but on of the last sections of rock garden on the first half of the course when I took a wrong line.

So as of now the Dos will be the race bike for the 24 and El Santo the back up. I NEVER would have thought that a bike with 1" travel soft tail would feel better on a rocky course like this than a bike with 4" front and rear. It just amazes me.

What a great way to spend a few hours on a Monday morning instead of being trapped in my McCubical.

Before I go on, check this out. 10 year old Ellen Noble, Bikeman.com "mini-chicky" and future Solo Freak got her first solo under her belt. Way to go Ellen. Keep on truckin!

Now back to normal Chamois stuff: I did forget to lather up the Chamoised Buns with Greyhound Juice, so I'm left with some baboon red monkey butt. DOH!

I hear Fat Marc is suffering too after he and the Spot/Twin-Six freaks pulled off a victory down at the 18 Hours on The Farm this past Sat/Sun. Way to go guys! I wonder who Paul bitched at without me there? :)

You can also get some picts and write up from my man JB who had some bad luck down in Goochland with his bike and his throat, not related to each other thanfully. Heal up JB and see you soon!

That's it. Time to stuff my face with grub and get into a foul mood for work tomorrow.

Later.

Wow, I needed that!

Lucked out and all of the predicted heavy thunderstorms went to the north of us. I really wanted some time on the dirt, but figured maybe I better do the road. Save myself the possibility of driving 45 minutes to ride and finding myself hurting, so the road it was.

I'm always nervous about that first ride back after an illness and/or rest. For whatever reason I decided to grind up the BIG ass hill out of Boston rather than going up 48. I remained seated the whole climb and just let my legs do the work. At times I was going a unbelievable 4 MPH. Of course once to top I got to do a down hill where I was up to 41 MPH so it's worth it.

Legs felt spanky the whole ride, I had no rib pain and no signs of weakness from the prior week's illness. I still don't think I coulda pulled off the 18 Hour, but it feels good to know my fitness is good and ready for the work outs leading to the Seven Springs 24 on Labor Day weekend.

Felt like I could have pushed another 15 miles or so, but didn't want to do too much just coming back so I ended the ride with 35 miles/2:05.

Also, got my iPod back, er I should say a replacement iPod. Thanks Apple. I hope this one can last longer. NOW I have start filling it back up.

Later.

Interesting and Not So Interesting...

Wow a whole day 98% pain free. Right on! Illness is at bay and the ribs are feeling good. Hoping to see some mountain dirt tomorrow, but it appears that I'm gonna get thrown a meteorological c*ck block and be forced to the road or trainer due to an 80% chance of heavy thunder storms. Hey, at this point I don't care if I'm riding a tricycle as long as my pasty cheeks are being split by a bike saddle.

Tracked this pict down of Cannondale's new 29er- the "Caffeine"...

This is the Euro colors version. From what I've heard the US version will be available in Raw and Bear Naked color schemes. Frame/Lefty looks like the shit, but some of the components are less than desirable from what I've seen. I'm sure it's to keep it within a price point, which is the suck part of buying from a big boy selling complete bikes.

Why they choose to go cheap on the 29er and still charge like $10,000 (exaggerating for effect here) for a well equipped Scapel or Rush is anybody's guess. It would be nice if one could get a deal on frame/Lefty and build it the way you want. Sure it's lighter than air and fast as fart.

Me, I'm still smitten with the El Mariachi, the Niner Air Nine and course the stuff from Dean, Quiring, DeSalvo and the Ahren's Revolver 29er. All Good stuff. All BIG.

Good luck to JB and to Marc and his boys racing the 18 Hours down in Goochland this weekend. I wish I was there with you all. I'll be sending some warm, fuzzy god vibes your way. Be safe and kick some ass.

Later, gonna go cook up som pies. Pizza pies that is.

What? No Pain?

I don't want to be too premature, but I think I may have woken up to a pain free day. Deep breaths are not sending spasms of pain through my left side so I'm pretty f*cking geeked!

No geeked (or stupid) enough to think I could race this weekend, but some single track is gonna be on the plate for sure. Mmmmmmmm.

I've been totally enthralled with reading Dicky's, Dave's and Lynda's accounts of the recent Trans Rockies race. What a race! THAT's mountain bike racing people! High mountains, rugged terrain, it has it all. Congrats to Dave and Lynda on their win too!

Really thinking about getting one of Lynda's training plans and a consultation to help give me some sort of plan for 07. Not sure I have the smarts to do it on my own. The question is what's the plan for me? What do I want to focus on in 07? 100 milers, 6 & 12s? 24s? Once '06 is over I'll sit back see all the places I f*cked up and make a plan for '07.

Saw the UCI Marathon World Championship results. Ralph Näf and Gunn-Rita got the wins. Take a look at the results. What's up with all the Swiss? They must be total Marathon maniacs! No American Males at all, and two in the women's. Hmmmm.

Shouts of thanks out to Apple. Sent my iPod in for repair on Wednesday, They got it Thursday, and it's already on it's way back to me. Yes!

Oh well, my bike geekness is back and I'm late for work so I gotz to split.

Ice, Ice, Baby

Holy cold ass back! Yikes! Sitting here with a bag o'ice strapped to my ailing side/rib/shoulder back thing that I got going on. Wifey's down stairs all sicked up with whatever I had last week. I just hope B-Man doesn't get it. Nothing turns a house upside down like a sick kid.

I officially pulled the plug on the 18 hours today. I feel good about the decision. It's a lot easier when you have some pain telling you not to do it rather than just not having the mojo. I just hope I'm good to ride pain free on Sat. or Sunday. Damn. Thanks to all the folks who kinda gave me a nudge here. Appreciate it. I see why the pros have coaches. The rider/racer can be their own worst judge of performance and/or whether to compete or not at a certain time.

Hope to have some posts soon that have NOTHING to do with me being sick, having something hurt, or a mental break down. I want to get back to talking about bike stuff and all the sweet stuff that comes with it.

Later

I Can Take A Hint!!!

So I think the Cycling God's have thrown me enough hints to NOT do the 18 Hours. I get it. I GIVE UP!! Now call off your minions of pain and let me be. Jeeeeezzzzusssss!!

In the 2 weeks following my last 6 hour race and leading up to the now aborted 18 hour race, I've had the following occur to me: severe chills, high fever, full body aches, throbbing headaches, and NOW what I thought was just a sore muscle in my side from my stretching session the other night is much, no wait.. MUCH MORE F*CKING SEVERE!! I think I pinched a nerve and have pain from my rib cage, into my back and in my shoulder blade. Real ass pucker, grind your teeth down, sweat on the brow pain. It hurts a bit.

At one point tonight I couldn't even take full breaths the pain was so bad. I thought I was about to give birth or something. Had to down a bunch of Advil and do ice/hot on the whole area since I really don't know exactly where the pain is coming from.

Is this age 35?? Is this what I have to look forward to?? I'm in the best shape of my life and I pinch a nerve/jack a muscle stretching in my living room??? My goals now are much more short sighted than riding. I'd just like to f*cking breath!! Good God man!!

Seriously this hurts like hell, but it could be worse. Like I said, I can take a hint and as much as I hate to miss out on a kick ass race, I just have to take this as a sign to focus on Seven Springs. I hope that my penance of lubing all my bike chains while kneeling on pencils will satisfy the Bike Gods and I'll be riding come the weekend. I'd Like to be racing, but now I'll just settle for riding.

Later.

Low-Ri-Der...

I was anxious to test my legs on the road tonight and see if I kicked this bug or not.

The short version of this entry is- No. I have not kicked it. Stop reading if you want, if tales of my physical suffering bring you joy continue on. Go ahead, I don't mind if you enjoy it.

As soon as I started up 48 I knew this was going to be a "Low Rider Ride" What's that you ask?

Background: Years ago I was road riding on a busy up hill road in the Edgewood section of Pittsburgh, heading towards Forest Hills. As I peddled up the grade I could feel my legs starting to splay, and my knees getting higher to my chest. The seat post was slipping. I couldn't stop and fix it, the road was too busy.

I tried to stand as much as possible but the ride was nearly over, it was hot and I was spent. When I would sit I felt like every car zooming by was making fun of the dude all "kitted up" riding like a Rail Trailer or a kid that doesn't get that the seat post can raise up. Felt stupid not to mention I had no power!

Present day continued: So as I peddled up 48 (a climb I stood and hammered out in the 53 last week) I sat and slowly spun up the hill feeling like an low seated idiot. No power, anxious for the climb to end and dejected. I love this climb normally and enjoy it. There was NO enjoyment tonight.

Now, yet ANOTHER reason I'm and idiot: Last night before bed I decided I would do 10 minutes of stretching in the living room. Felt good, muscles were loose and I hit the sack relaxed. The problem was that my warm muscles and back were now laying in front of a fan blowing directly on me. DOH!! Woke up this a.m. with a sore shoulder, side, and rib muscles. SOOOO Breathing freaking hurt!! Not just a little either. And you know with my legs feeling like shite I was gasping pretty good.

So as you can imagine I needed to abort the ride. I turned and hit a road that would let me take the rail trail back to the car. The f*cking rail trail was insult to injury. Flat, viewless, and endless. Ride ended at the 1:05 mark.

THEN I get back to the car, and yep, here they come MORE CHILLS!!!

I'm totally bummed about this ride and and question whether to make the trip to da Gooch this weekend. I afraid of blowing all that coinage getting there and failing to perform the way I choose too.

If you were me would you eat the fee, and focus on Seven Springs on Labor Day weekend or tough it out? Going to give it till Thursday eve to make a decision. I'll be in touch with you J.B. if things look bad.

F!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Later.

The Passing Of Time and All Of It's Sickening Crimes...

After Saturday's beautiful, but less than satisfying (physical) performance, I spun the legs on the trainer yesterday sans iPodios, but peeping an old live Moz video I have. Good stuff.

Today I hit my Docs to have her double check that I wasn't harboring some festering virus that would spew out my - insert bodily exit of your choice here - come race day. My temp was still up a bit, under 100, but still up, so I figured sitting on my ass would do me more good than not.

So after work I did some errands with B-Man, then got all my lights together and charged for Saturday. I'll have 12+ hours of HID available. Going to use the Dos Niner again.

Might be hauling some B-Man and WIfey to Goochland, VA (best town name I will be visiting this season). I wonder if Arnold, Willis and Kimberly will be there? (does anyone other than KoKo get that? I doubt, and you're better for it).

Still not sure what kind of intencity I want to give this race. If I have the legs I guess I do what I can do, if not I'll just enjoy riding some new trails, get some night riding in and a nice routine down for the Springs 24. Either way it's for a good cause and I get to ride my bike all night.

Oh well I'm gonna go look at some great photos of cheezy apartments ruined by hot naked women not being able to get out of the way of the nearly competent photographer.

Hope to get some saddle time in tomorrow.

MUSIC NOTE: If you want a link to a 2004 Moz Dublin, Ireland show recorded for the BBC. CLICK HERE.

Later.

I'm 62% Better: 7 Springs Race Course Ride

So after sleeping about 30 hours in two days, I cracked! I was up at 4:45 a.m. cruising the internet. Sleeping was starting to hurt and my bod, though not 100%, was aching for some time in the fresh air.

So I grabbed the Dos Niner, packed up the Black Box and headed up to Seven Springs to ride the 24 hour course. I couldn't believe this was my first time in the mountains ALL year! It's an easy 45 minute drive from my crib, but given how infrequently I go, you would think it was a 4.5 hour drive through two states... oh wait I only do that to race. HA!

Anyway the plan was to see the changes to this year's course and do 1.5 or 2 laps at a super easy pace. When I got up to the Tahoe Lodge and got my gear I saw this...
Funny thing about bladders, without the hose piece, they're just a sack full of water. Luckily I had packed a bottle of Heed, so it was all good. NOTE: This Naglene bladder is bad ass! I'm planning a review for later in the week, based on using it WITH the hose of course.

The 24 Hour course this year is being run in reverse on the 1st part with some new single track added in. It's the shit! Many of the energy sucking little climbs are gone and replaced with fresh, fun single track. It's all good stuff on the first part. There's only one tiny WTF section is where you're riding through a little parking area for resort machinery, but it avoids the new condo construction. (Yeah for single track! - Boo for condos! or as they say in CO. "Cows Not Condos"- word.)

The long rock garden section felt weird going in reverse, but it felt great to be going on a slight down hill to the pond after it.

Eventually you meet up with some of the newer single track from last year and it dumps you out on the service road at the top of the switch backs (if any of you all are pre riding- beware! The rock/dirt ramp to the road that was there during the race last year is NOT there now, so there's a drop. If you're not expecting it there could be some carnage).

Then it's on to the switch back descent that starts the second half of the loop...


Then you start down the fast rocky double track for a short while (even shorter than last year) and duck left on to some brand new single track that meets up with some of the new stuff from '05.

You then begin climbing the loose rock double track (where the aid station is. I bonked so hard here on lap 11 last year I almost l laid down on the ground and cried) and after a while you bare left on to some single track that they've added on to so as to cut out even more boring double track. SWEET!

You then hook up with an older part of the course and after a slight climb you get ready for a technical rocky descent (there's a line there, just go with it, and keep those pedals moving!) I used to fear this part about 4 years ago, but after doing it so many times, not to mention doing it at night, cold and tired, you learn to just say "f*ck it! At least it's not going up hill" and let yourself relax and roll.

After a short spin on a service road, you start climbing. Starts with a short grassy part (I hate riding in grass) and then hits a loose rocky service road up to the check in and it's done. It's NOT the climb from last year! You don't do that hay-noose grassy traverse along the slope.

This has always been one of my fave courses, I can't believe they went and made it EVEN BETTER!

The course was super fun and I look forward (I hope) to racing it. Need to get the 18 hour race in VA done first, see how my mojo and finances are, and then I'll decide. I'd hate to miss this course though.

Felt about as fast as a constipated turd today. HR and breathing were a little up, so I just went at a tourist pace. I should have rested again, but I figure I'll do that tomorrow, I needed to get outside.

The Dos Niner was the tits again. First time I had it in major rocks and it was fab! I would like to maybe get the Reba set to 100mm in the future, but in my opinion, it passed another major test- ROCKS. I also noticed for one of the first times that the bottom bracket height seems a little lower, not a huge problem, just something I noticed and you might too if you're coming off a high bb full sus.

Since I only had the bottle, and I was moving like the afore mentioned stuck turd, I bailed after one lap, but was stoked to have ridden some new trails, on a great course, in one of my fave places- the mountains.

Later.

Kinda Glad This One's Over

This week has been less than stellar. "Good riddance to bad rubbish" as the saying goes. After I tied up some shit at work today, I left early and dragged my ass home to sleep another 3 hours. Now I'm up and medicating with Tyelenol, coffee, and beer.

I did see this over on the MASS website:

Looks like I'm sandwiched in between two class acts in the current 6 Hour Endurance Series standings with only the Seven Springs 24 to go. Most likely this will be the final, since not too many folks do the Solo 24, but I don't like to be too over confident.

Later. There's a Troegs calling my name.

It Broke!!

Spent all day yesterday at work shivering and achey. Drove home from work on an 82 degree day with the windows up and the heat going! Then I got home and started raging a fever of epic proportions. The bod was in full fledge revolt!!

Started downing Tyelenol and sleeping for the next 12 to 14 hours. FINALLY about 4 a.m. The fever broke and I woke up in a pool of sweat feeling better than I did all day.

What the F just happen? What caused this fever etc.,? Hmmm. Seems to be gone now, just a bit weak from sleeping all that time and sore from shivering.

Time to hydrate, eat, rest more.

Later.

Have A Feeling This Could Be Bad...

High fever.
Full body ache.
Violent Chills.

jm

Don't Do What I Do...

Don't do what I do and ignore that little voice in your head that says- "bag the road man, hit up some dirt, have some fun". I ignored it. I went on the road and the road knew I was thinking about dirt so started playing dirty...

Felt real good. On the first climb up out of Little Boston I big ringed it in the 53 the whole way. Nothing like spending a week on the mountain bike training and racing in blazing heat to make road riding in cooler temps and nothing but a couple bottles, some tubes and a Co2 weighing you down to make you feel like some kind of EPO fueled road junkie.

Just before I left the parking lot I thought that maybe I should add some PSI to the tires. It had been a week or so since I was on the Trek and I'm sure the rubber could have used a shot of air. Buttttt noooo I just hopped on and off I went. 8 miles in as I'm just starting to climbs some road that were left pretty rough from some recent pot-hole repairs, I hear pppppppppppspssssssssssssssssssss. Front tire. Flat. Flacid. Spent.


Since one of these was not trailing beside me I had to fix the flat in someone's front yard. All I had was 2 tubes, 2 Co2s, and an inflater. I was pretty nervous that if I jacked up the change and Co2 inflation, I might be looking at an 8 mile hike back to the car.

Thankfully all went well and in just a few minutes I was aired up an the tire was ready to roll. I think when I started hitting the poorly patched holes I pinched the tube. First road flat (while riding) in about 2 years

At about mile 22 a dog takes off after me....

And not a little puff-ball dog either. It was a huge shit like a bear/hungry like the wolf/ big, giant, nasty pointy toothed, German Sheppard. I tried to out run it, but no dice. Kept yelling- BACK! GET BACK!! Then I was screaming like a little girl. The owner FINALLY gets "Max" under control and I escape with only my pried hurt. I guess I know how I'd act in a bear attack. SCREEEEEAAAAAM!!!!

I wanted to get shitty with the dude, but this was an area that skinny lycra clad doofuss, could easily get a shot gun pointed at them. So I just said "how 'bout a leash??" and took off.

Started feeling good again after I un-puckered my sphincter and did a nice TT on the 2 mile flat near Suttersville.

At about mile 26 I get to one of my fave hills and descents only to find...

They "oil and chipped" it!! What the F???? I hate that shit. What does it even do anyway??? Oh well, helped me keep some nice even pedal strokes to keep from spinning out on the loose gravel chipps.

All and all the ride was NOT fun, but it wasn't all suck either. Legs felt good and it felt good to blow the funk off my mind. Got about 30+ miles in.

Since I've been stressed, haven't slept well and just came off a race with another one in 10 days, I'm going to take more time off to get some mojo back and maybe pre ride the Seven Springs 24 course on Saturday.
UA.M. UPDATE: It's like my body already knew. Woke up this a.m. to chills, a migrane-like headache and body aches. NO RIDING till Sat fo-sho now. Time to hydrate, sleep and down some Airborne (all whilst at work).

Hey blogger folks let's help Liz out. She's gonna be doing up a Master's thesis on cycling culture and part of it will have to do with cycling blogs. Go HERE and leave a comment to a few of her questions. Help a sister out with this. THANKS!

Later.

OK, this sucks.

So after a great weekend of racing, a decent 5th place finish and 21 MASS points, my rest days have got the fecal covered end of the stick.

1. My iPod is dead. Thank god I have the service plan and Apple is gonna fix it. The bad news is I had like 25G of music on it. DAMN!! I only have about half of that backed up. HOW am I gonna live without iPodious??? HA! No big deal I guess. I'll have to go "old school" and listen to CDs!!

2. Wifey found out she might not have enough kids in her class to teach at CCAC this fall. So it looks like El Santo might be hitting eBay VERY SOON and instead of getting me another 29er, it will paying the mortgage. F*CK! Real life sucks. I remember the day when that CCAC cash was our play money. Now it's survival money. And then you have me roaming Mid Atlantic blowing MasterCarded cash on bike racing while my house is falling apart. Screw it, plenty of time to paint houses when the legs won't turn the pedals anymore.

Christ, I need a better job. Too bad I'm maxed out on experience, pay scale, my creativity is burned down like a Dead Head's roach and besides being a sub par, amateur bike racer I have no other skills. Yeah, art school was a grrrrrrrrreat idea. What EXACTLY is "bankruptcy court"??

Oh well, I'm riding tomorrow and that should get my head back on straight. Sorry to bitch.

Later.

MASS 6 HOUR ENDURO #3, Havre de Grace, MD

Took off Saturday afternoon for the Super 8 hotel in Havre de Grace, Maryland. Long drive, but pretty easy.

Pulled into "the 8" late afternoon and decided to get the chamois on and do a pre ride. Took El Santo out for a casual ride and snapped some picts of the course. It was a cool course- a little over 6 miles long, with a lots of single track climbing strewn with big ass water bars and roots, followed by single track descents with more of the same stuff, but with some rocks thrown in to make it nice and sketchy.

There was an open field section that was much cooler to ride in the pre ride than during the race. After an initial up, it turned into an energy sucking false flat. So many times I would look out and see this wide open farmer's field and think I should be hammering only to look down to see I was going about 5 mph. That combined with the hot sun made the field my most hated part of the course.

El Santo did such a good on the pre ride I was 80% sure I was going to use it for the race, but then I came back to the Black Box, got the Dos Niner and rode up the first climb to see how it would do. MUCH better. The big wheels only needed to be slightly finessed to get over all but the biggest of water bars and the extra 3" on wheel made coming down off that back side of them a little less jarring.

I knew I would miss the 4" of cush on the down hills but there was a lot of climbing and with El Santo having an 11/32 on the back and the Dos having and 11/34 AND the Dos weighing about 4 lbs. less- I went with the Dos Niner. Aside from getting a little more beat up after a few laps laps of those descents I never regretted it, I just threw a few more Advil down my throat.

After one stop at a nearby Pizza Hut to order up a pie for take out, it was back to the SSSSSSSuper 8 to eat, hydrate and watch some of the Off Road To Athens DVD to get myself in race mode.

Race Day:

After eating a tasty breakfast of Red Bull, and PB&Honey Bagel it was off to Susquehanna State Park to check in and ready the bikes and pit bag.

It's nice going to these races and seeing the familiar faces and friends that you meet doing them. Got to talk to old friends Fernando and Loretta as well as my "step" teammates Marc, Buddy, Paul and Matt. Plenty of folks representing T6 and 29ers on the start line yesterday.

8:30 The Start:

Lined up for the meeting and start with the Spot & T6 folks and about 20 to 30 other freaks. At 8:30 we were off! Marc put the hammer down and I never saw him again, rode with Matt, Buddy and Paul until on the first decent my bottle took a leap. F*ck! If it were just water I woulda said "F*ck it", but it had my race nutrition for at least 4 laps in it. SSSSSSSSSSooo I had to stop, run back up the hill and fetch it.

Once I got going again I ended up hooking back on what I called the Twin-Six train in the open field section. Then on another decent my jersey was riding up my CamelBack and bothering me, so I reached to pull it out and accidentally pulled the velco on the waist strap off and now the strap I was dangling dangerously close to my wheel (thanks to I think Matt for pointing that out, or I would have kept going and most likely ended up getting it tangled in the wheel). SSSSSSSSSooo now I had to stop, remove if from my pack and stuff it in the leg of my shorts. Neither of these thing were costing me too much time but mentally it was screwing with me.

As I started up the climb after ditching the strap I realized I was breathing pretty heavy. Going too hard, trying too hard to stay with the pack rather than racing my pace so I backed off on the gas and got my breathing and heart rate under control on the climb. This was a smart move. Felt great the rest of the race.

After lap 1, laps 2 through 4 were petty uneventful. Kept a steady pace, kept hydrating and sipping from the "food bottle" and was just having fun racing my bike in the woods. Beginners and Sports were on course now, so sometimes things got backed up in places, but not too bad.

As I started the climb on lap 5, every so often a racer would be coming down the trail. Experts warming up on the course, coming the opposite way. Great. Then a team of about 4 or 5 came up behind me. I asked if they wanted a pass, they said no, that they were just warming up. Fine, but I'm racing and they're up my ass.

Then on a root filled section I took my normal line and one dude trys to pass "just warming up" and I have to re-adjust quickly and crashed. THANKS!!!!

I wanted to go nutz on his ass, but that wouldn't have been cool or productive for me, so I when he appologized I just said "no worries", and let them go as I made sure the Dos Niner was OK. RANT: Let's try to do our warm up somewhere other than the course people!!! I give respect to those folks when they're racing, all I ask for is some in return. Wow, sorry for that rant, back to the report...

Later on that lap I was doing the double track climb just before the field and realized I was out of water in my pack. SSSSSSSSSSSSSheeeeeit. So just as I hit the heat of the open field I take a swig from my food bottle and IMMEDIATELY think of the line from the movie Anchorman- "It's so damn hot! Milk was bad choice"

Made it back to the pit, got a new bladder, sponged off with some ice water, take swig of the Bull and head back out. Still feeling pretty good. Just as I remounted a racer passes and yells out "Hey, it's the Soiled Chamois!" I just yelled back "RIGHT ON!"

Just as I was starting a short climb towards the end of lap 6 the dude in front me is screaming "OUCH! OWWWWWWCH!!, and I'm thinking he's cramping, but then I get stung hard in the left fore finger and right ass cheek by freaking bees!! Then the dude just bites it right in front of me as he gets stung again! As I'm gritting my teeth and riding past him I ask if he's ok and he's laying there screaming "THE BEES TOOK ME DOWNNNNNN!!!"

I wanted to laugh and once I got past I did. Not only at him, but at the thought of imagining my friend KoKo (who's allergic to bees) riding that climb as his head, tongue and lips swelled and he starts sticking himself in the thigh with that Epi-pen thing-a-ma-jig. Sorry KoKo.

At about lap 6 or 7 I got passed by Rob, LAPPED!! Shit! But that was it, at this point he was the only Enduro to lap me so I was feeling pretty good about my chances to place.

Lap seven was uneventful, just maintaining and going forward. My plan of spinning the hills and not blowing up on them was working well. The Dos was rolling over a the roots and water bars like they were nothing. Leg were still feeling good and my stomach felt great!

As I went out for lap 8 I realized I SHOULD have plenty of time for a ninth lap, but jut to be safe I tried to put a little giddy-up in the legs.

As I exited the woods and started towards the check-in line with 10 minutes or so to spare, I spied Paul (who you may remember gave me shit at Marrysville for going out for another lap with 1 minute left) as I pass him he just looks at me and says "You would, you prick!!" I just yell back "c'mon. we have plenty of time!" Thanks Paul. That just may have made quote of the season.

Felt good to know that this would be the last lap and I was pretty alone out there on the trail. Didn't see another rider the whole lap. I did see a pissed off hiker dude walking a climb. When I asked if I could pass him, he motioned me around with out stopping or looking at me, but wouldn't move, so I had to ride though the sticks and weeds. I just shook my head. He must have noticed and yells up "I thought this race was gonna be over by now!!" Sorry dude, I just pumped over $100 in to this towns economy, throw me a bone and give me a pass :)

Then I see another dude just standing in the middle of some thick weeds and brush. I call these folks "Woodstabators". They might be checking out some cool ass plant, rock formation or just throwing a wiz, but you just kinda have this odd feeling they might be rubbing one off. Maybe it's just me.

I cross the line, nine laps done, I see on Rob has done 10 laps so I anxiously check the standings. Looks like 5th place! 4 would hit the box. It was like a kick in the balls. Off the podium again. F!

The awards were surreal. EVERYONE was gone except of the promoter and about 10 enduro racers and ther mates. Marc busted out some seriously bright white clogs for the podium and got heckled. Even little Jenny yelled out and asked if they were nursing shoes.

It was also funny to be at an event where the top males got heckled for having hair on their legs. Paul yelled out to forget the bike swag, get these guys' some razors!

I double checked with the race director afterwards and he said "unofficially" it looks like I got 4th place. I thought well I guess I didn't since you just called up the 4th place dude and it wasn't me. HA!

Now I just need to see where I ended up. Looks like it could be anywhere from 4th to 6th. I don't care about any booty, I'm just looking for points. Like I said no chance to catch Rob for 1st. Dude pulled a 150 point MASS hat trick. Even if I won Seven Springs (not likely...AT ALL) I still couldn't catch him. But I must say, a top 3 overall would feel pretty damn good. UPDATE- 5TH OFFICIALY, looks like I MIGHT be 2nd in points now. Not sure though. Don't have very good math skills.

I think this was my favorite course and race of the three 6 Hour events. Drive was a little long, but a fun race.

Thanks for reading this long ass report (can you tell I'm not at work today?) now let's photo blog!!...


Note found in bike stuff from Wifey & B-Man. Thanks!!


A look up from the bottom of one of the down hills. Check out those water bars. Yikes!


There was a fungus among us on the pre ride.


In the open field.


Through the shady single track.


Past an old barn.


Over the bridge, just before the finish.


Back at the hotel, chillin' before bed watching a bit of Off Road to Athens for motivation. Of course when that was over you know I put in "Round & Brown II- Backdoor For More".


Just before the check in tent at the end of a lap. Photo by: M. Faust.


Bladder Control. Photo by: Dennis Smith. Dude's photos ROCK! Thanks!


The drive home meal- Roy Rogers chicken could be the most disgusting thing I've ever eaten. It's one step above the nasty ass shit that comes in TV dinners. Plus do you know how hard it is to drive 80 MPH and eat chicken?? Bad choice on my part.

Later.

Back In Dodge

Back from the race. Holy F-ing drive! 9 hours total driving, 6:30 or so of racing and what looks to be a 5th place finish. Off the box but I knew some people on it :)

Body and legs felt good the whole race. Great course, lots of up, but lots of down, with little else in the middle. Lichtenwalner won...AGAIN! And Fat Marc got himself on the box too. Looks like the top 5 had at least two guys riding 29ers and 2 guys who are hooked up with the Twin-Six folk. Me being one of the those 2.

Full report and photos tomorrow. Gotta get me some sleep.

Later.

From A to B

So it looks like Floyd's B is the Same as his A. End it dude. Give up the jersey and give it to Pereiro and when he gets busted he can give it to Kloden, etc., etc., etc. But no, we'll sit through months of tests, and denials and then he'll get cleared on a technicality like: The "A" sample shouldn't have been made public, so OBVIOUSLY it can't be right. I WIN! And have NEVER tested positive. Now lets make some money!

Then there's BIG Jan. Looks like the dude's been enjoying a nice cocktail of EPO, four different anabolic steroids, human growth hormone, and different anti-inflammatory drugs with those Brautwursts. Yum-O.

Another thought I've had recently and discussed with Wifey. If you're a cyclist (or whatever) and you know you can take X amount of a drug UP TO a LEGAL limit. Is that NOT cheating?

I know nothing of drug testing (in sports), but lets say you shoot up with Fecalized Cow's Blood® to go faster and you know that WADA and the UCI say you can have a limit of 10 (whatever 10 is) when it comes to Fecalized Cow's Blood®, and you and your Spanish or Italian doctor who only treats elite cyclists in a boat located in international waters, has figured you out a mixture to get you to 9. IS THAT CHEATING? The UCI etc., says "NO it's 10". Hmmmm.

Wifey said it was cheating, but this is a woman who said she wouldn't take the SAT study class, because THAT seemed like cheating. Me? I waffle. I'd have to got with yes, but then I start thinking- hell I can't even get through the day without caffeine, so who am I to judge. UG!!!!!!! Just wish these guys would ride for the sport and fun of it istead of that big Pro Euro-roadie jing and STOP putting shit in their blood just so they can get bigger house or a private jet someday.

Hope I'm wrong and look like a fool for writing this stuff. But I highly doubt. I'm off to Maryland in a few hours to race the 6 Hour Enduro tomorrow with a bunch of folks who's idea of a cocktail is a nice Victory Hop Devil or big ass Gin 'n Tonic.

Gonna miss Wifey and B. tonight. I'll just take a little motivation with me...



Later.

p.s. thanks for the folks who wished me good luck this weekend and e mailed me course beta. Much appreciated.

Not too much shaking...

Not a hell of a lot going on today. Had to cut the grass before the rain and other manly shit like making sure the bibs and jerseys are clean for Sunday's 6 Hour.

Man I wish the race was on Saturday instead of Sunday. I got me the "jimmy legs" and need get 'em moving. Looks like there will be few familiar faces there- Buddy, Marc and other Spot Brand/Twin Six Whores I'm sure.

The Dos Niner is all good to go and El Santo is more than willing to play the part of second fiddle. Don't know too much about the course. Guess the 1st lap will be the "feel up (out, up, whatever it takes) lap"

The Cannondale demo truck is coming to Boyce Park tomorrow from 1 to 6 at the log cabin, courtesy of Pittsburgh Pro Bikes. I'd like to make it over to see if they have a Scalpel to demo. The Scalpel along with the Salsa Moto Rapido and of course my El Santo, is one of the few 26" wheeled frames I could see myself really digging. UPDATE/CORRECTION: C'dale looks to be there 'till 8 tomorrow.

Rains came through tonight and hopefully cool things off a bit. MUST. STOP. SWEATING!

Congrats to Matty-D, Bikeman.com teammate and blog-bro for his recent 1st place finish! Nice!

29er LUST UPDATE: 'nother lust worthy custom 29er builder has entered the pict. Hmmm. Check out Ahrens for some SWEET custom aluminum and steel 29ers. Plus you could sport a bad ass Ahren's Twin-Six T and be uber cool. ha! Mike Ahren's blog has a lot of info and picts. Layout gets jacked up by my Netscape, but the info is there.


whoo.

Later.

It's Not The Heat, It's the Nudity

Have you ever opened a Balance Bar that's been inside a hot car all day and it oozes out of the wrapper like warm poo? That's what I (and about everybody else in WPA) feel like right now. Turd warm Balance Bar.

Did a SHORT 1:10/10 mile ride at Boyce tonight just to put some hard efforts in my gams and get the Dos dialed in for Sunday's 6 Hour race. Felt good. It was hot, but not as bad as the road would have been with the sun hitting off the road and a bunch of road raging, butt sweated drivers wizzing past, blowing hot car stank on me.

Ran in to Glenn Garry Glenn Ross tonight. He was riding with a group of four or five guys. Asked me to join, but I declined. EVERY time I ride with "GGGR" I bust something on my bike. Not on a race week brother! I've busted a rim, brake lever, and a seat post on rides with him, and those are just the ones off the top of my head. Dude must have some bad mojo that he floats my way. Hell I was scared to even shake his hand tonight.

My "B" sample is due back from the lab on Saturday. The "A" sample that was taken following my last MASS 6 Hour race in July showed elevated signs of mediocre racing ability to effort. I have no reason to believe the "B" sample will be any different. I plan to fight this, and show the world I can be just slightly better than mediocre at best. I swear to you I have no idea how the mediocre talent got in my blood. I think I naturally produce an abnormally high amount of slack and can provide a lifetime of proof that will support it.

Later.

Lust

Websters® defines LUST as "wanting something super bad to the point you get tingling rocking the nether regions" OK I doesn't actually say that, I was too lazy to look up the correct definition, but I'm pretty sure you get my point.

Anyhoo, THIS is what I lust for right now....


The Salsa El Mariachi 29er goodness.

As I've said before the weight is a concern and would be a factor. That and that the fact that although steel gives a nice ride it can corrode and with my "bike room" being a basement in a house built in 1925, not sure that would be the best.

Pros are: It's a Salsa, compliant steel, sweet ass looks, same geometry as my Dos Niner, and since Salsa is a sponsor there is some $erious love in the air. Also it comes with a ridged fork, and I could throw that on to do some local CX races (The fall Month of Mud series here in the 'Burgh is half CX races half MTB races)

My thoughts are this: The Dos would become the main race bike, and would get a new lighter set of wheels (I'm thinking Salsa Delgados and DT 240 Hubs) and a new fork Reba Race with remote Pop Loc. The "new frame" would get the current Reba and Delgado/XT wheel set.

El Mariachi would be kind of heavy, but would be used mostly for training and the steel would help take the edge off. Plus going from training on it to racing the Dos would make the Dos feal like a feather.

My lust for a 29er is not a slag at my El Santo. It's a bitchin bike and super comfy. I just feel I'm faster on my Dos Niner. I've been seeing myself saving the Dos for races and having a 4" FS bike to train on my "not all that harsh" trails seems like overkill. If I lived closer to Seven Springs or got up on the mountain more I'd keep the El Santo for sure. I'm sure I'll end up on it for at least half the 24 Hour Champion Challenge on Labor Day. After that though, If you're looking for one, let me know ;)

Other hard tail 29er in the running are:

The Orbea 29er:

Euro -tastic, light weight and a good priced frame at $650

The Niner Air 9:

Light weight scandium frame, good looks, built by a 29er ONLY company. The Air 9 is about $750

The Van Dessel Jersey Devil:

Light weight aluminum HT with the added sweetness of carbon fiber seat stays to take the edge of and weight down. The Jersey Devil is about $900 and includes head set.

The '07 Kona Kula 2-9:

Scandium frame. Not sure if it will be available as a frame only option. Hope so, since Bikeman.com carries them.

The Fisher Paragon:

The '06 is pictured above. Not sure if you can get it frame only or not.

Cannondale is making a 29er for '07 too. I've seen a couple picts and you can be sure it'll be light weight frame. Not sure if it will be available as frame & Lefty package or full bike only. I did hear they were going with some mid to lower end SRAM stuff on the full bike. That's kinda lame. Should be X9 straight up.

I've also mentioned my lust for the Dean Duke 29er, Moots YBB 29er, DeSalvo, Quiring, Ahrens and WaltWorks 29ers. I could probably go custom on ONE bike. It's a thought, not ruling it out, but not likely unless I sell a kidney or something.

Oh well, enough with my lustfull, tingling nether regions. This lust rant is not a slag at 26" bikes or a judgement on what's faster or better. This is about what works for me and what I feel comfy on. I also currently race and ride a sweet ass 26er too and may be riding one next year as well, I just felt the need to look at bike porn and share with you all.

There's still a LOT of racing left for me to do this year on 26" and 29" wheels and I have to worry more about the engine than the bike right now.

Thanks to all the above bike companies for letting me steal some picts and info. Also thanks to George at Bike 29 for the Salsa El Mariachi photo (lifted off your store's site and dropped the backround, if you want it back sans backround, it's yours) and for answering a couple questions on the Niner for me today. I appreciate it.

Oh yeah, sweated it up like a damn, one arm pitted, Floridian freak on the trainer tonight to avoid the 93*/90% humidity of the WPA roads today. Drank 128oz. of water today in order to stay hydrated.

Later.