thediscerninghobo

Snow bike racing ....... or not

2012-01-29T15:50:00.000-08:00

Last week got away from me, in many ways. It seems like since the start of the new year I have just been treading water. Not in a bad way, but I have definitely been busier with work and home stuff, which is the way I would have it in the winter doldrums. That said being prepared is a dicey subject when you don't really have a ton of free time to plot, plan and connive.

So I missed the start of last weeks Cold Bear Challenge Snow Bike Race. By a lot. Like I started 10 minutes after the unicyclists (yes. Unicycles in the snow. You will just have to believe me. (edit I found footage)). I actually asked someone that looked like they had some authority if I could just jump in, and they acquiesced. So I started chasing.

Given the relatively mild winter that we have had this year I have not really taken the fat bike thing very seriously. Apathy would best describe my feelings towards fat bikes. The conditions have got to be pretty bad to make me want to ride a 35 lb bike with 10lbs of weight in the wheel-set. But I really haven't tried it so I will not knock it.

Anyway, I started late which meant that I had to ride through most of the intermediate field. The LCR crew had us riding the Hillside trails backwards, which was actually a lot of fun. After a half lap I really started moving through the field. I was SS'ing and was pushing a pretty good gear ratio, so I found myself really powering out of the corners and on the inclines. By the end of the first lap I was passing people pretty steady, and then it really thinned out, as the intermediate class only turned one lap. The second lap was pretty solitary. I could tell that I was getting tired as it became harder and harder to hold the lines in the snow and I found myself struggling to keep my front wheel out of the chunder. I managed to catch Eddie Karow, a fellow Battle Creek-er, about a mile from the finish. The result was not what I wanted, but given the fact that I started so late, I was pleased with the ride time. Its fun to ride when you have no where to go in the field but up. Plus a nice lady was offering pulls from a bottle of Jameson at the top of a run up. It was 15 degrees remember, gotta keep the blood thin. Once I finished I handed one of the timers a $10, and thanked them for letting me jump in. They even scored me

Here is some of the Footage that Todd Trembley captured from the Cold Bear Challenge (there is snow Municycling.....brace yourself).

So this weekend I decided to keep it close to home, instead of driving down to Rochester for the unnamed Almanzo ride. I actually made that decision at about 0630. Drive 3 hours and ride for 4 hours on icy roads, or sleep in, Watch the CX World Championships, then ride to Carver Lake for the first installment of the Cold Catfish Cup TT series.

So I decided to stick close to home for some Carver Lake singletrack racing. I really felt like this was the first time this year where there was a well defined advantage to being on a fat bike. I say that not because there was any real advantage as far as being able to go fast, but because the wide tires let you be less judicious about where you put your wheel. I was on my SS with Maxxis 2.1's inflated to about 22 psi. I was able to ride just about everything, but had to be so tense and focused about where I put the front wheel. Since Carver Lake is relatively new singletrack it still has a lot of slightly off-camber trail surface, and if my skinny front wheel got even the tiniest bit off the hard pack snow, a washout was imminent.

Reed and the Angry Catfish Crew sent us off in 30 second intervals, based on how we registered. I went off about 10th and caught my 30 second man about a mile in. Even though the ST is pretty tight and twisty, all of my passing events were smooth and I tried to be courteous.

I managed to not seriously pile it up, and did not get passed but on the last lap I could tell that there was a dude the was putting some serious time into me.

I was pleased with that result, but I came to a conclusion. Riding a fat bike in the snow is like being on a 5 inch travel bike on XC singletrack. You just don't have to worry about anything. Its not a big deal if your line is not perfect, as opposed to when you are on a skinny bike you are trying to stay on a route that is 10 inches wide. I felt like I was having to go sooooo slow to make sure that I kept my front end out of the chunder. It was also a little annoying on the 2nd lap as everything got chewed up. it takes a ton of composure to stay seated and grind up the climbs on the SS without the rear end breaking loose, and I could definitely feel my composure starting to wain as fatigue set in.

I just now found some footage that Heath Weisbrod took on his way to winning yesterday.

It made me think of the conversation I had with Dennis Grelk one time about how doing 10 mph on a snow bike felt like you were on a rocketship. Heath is going so fast in this video, its really kind of scary. I hope that DG is staying warm at the Arrowhead
This almost makes me want a snow bike........

Europe is Irrelevant?

2012-01-16T09:19:00.000-08:00

Am I the only person asking that question?
I counted 16 non North American CX Competitors at Masters Worlds in Louisville this weekend, and based on the teams, I think only about 5 or 6 actually traveled here. The rest appear to be expats that now abide in the US.
Last year, the state of Kansas sent more riders to Mol, Belgium for masters worlds than the entire continent of Europe sent to the US this year.

I just don't know what to think about this. It kind of makes me wonder if just 10 Europeans will show up for next years Elite UCI race.
Thoughts?

More effective than syrum of ipecac

2012-01-02T16:11:00.000-08:00

This made me throw up.

This and more nausea can be found here
Remember every time you pay retail at a bike shop a hipster get struck by lightning. A responsible bike shop would never allowed something like this to happen.
What reeally made me sick to my stomach was ramming my bike into my garage this evening, destroying a perfectly good Yakima rack. The mountain bike was fine. For the sake of irony I should add, that I did have it set up as a fixie.

The company you keep

2011-12-28T18:04:00.000-08:00

Cods wallop.
I should have listened to my parents.
They were always harping about being careful who you hangout with.
You never know what sort of negative influences you will be subjected to.
Thats the problem with hanging out with people like Butch.
You get a little taste of the good stuff and all of the sudden you are in a realm of italian depravity that you never knew existed.
I left my jacket behind last week, and Butch lent me his Castelli Fusione.
Holy nuts.
I don't get up in a hot fuss about clothing much, but that was one of the most comfortable pieces of apparel I have ever donned.
I like it so much that tomorrow I am going to walk into a bike shop and (gasp) pay retail for one.
Given the mild winter we are in the midst of, I am not hedging my bets on buying any skis this year.
Sometime in the next couple of weeks I am going to be doing some shilling. You might notice, that I don't advertise or even really promote sponsors on this blog. Its not that I am not grateful for the support I receive, but that in my mind is business. My blog is personal, and is not something that I put a dollar value on. Brands and products get promoted because people see them being utilized. I utilize the crap out of my stuff everyday.
That being said, I don't have any money and daddy needs a new bike. I promise I will not get all dicky on you, and fill this with daily drivel about straps and a bobble head doll that dictates the nature of my bowel movements.......or whatever sort of ascendancy Mike Piazza has over the wee one.
My goal for this next year is to have a 10,000 mile year, which, granted, is pretty ambitious given the short nature of MN's unfrozen state. Brace yourself.

The Aftermath

2011-12-05T18:43:00.000-08:00

The perceived fallout from getting back from a fortnight away from home and not cleaning my bike upon returning home, manifested itself in the form of a Jockey wheel that crapped its pants after the great hog wrestling that was Jinglecross......man....that was a hell of a sentence......channeling Hunter S. Thompson.
I have had to deal with a lot of jockey wheels recently

Above: on the Left are SRAM X-9 Jockey wheels. The furtherset left one I managed to partially crush while riding off a skinny. To the right of it is the X9 pulley (filched off the tandem), only to learn that they changed the design the next model year (shaking fist at the sky). I ended up going to Buchois's (french for Butch) local bike shop to get what I needed. The two pulleys on the right are off of my SRAM Rival Derailleur, but the rightmost was completely seized. There was mud in between the metal caps and the bearing seals and the bearings were pretty well packed with mud.

I cleaned the bearing out as best I could, then blew it out with WD-40. It cleaned up really well, but the bearing was still completely siezed. The bearing brackets and what I could see or the races did not appear to be especially corroded,

After a little thinking and pricing replacement parts I said, "screw it" and clamped the center of the bearing with vice grips and used a chain whip to break it loose. after I forced it free I hit it with a few blasts of WD-40 and then hit it with some compressed air to dry it out. By now it was spinning very freely, so I repacked it with waterproof grease, snapped in the clean seals and put it back together. I should also add that I that taken the whole bike apart for its yearly deep cleaning. I also repacked the external BB bearing that I salvaged last year. I have found that I if I can keep grease in it it remains functional. I just get sick of having to cough up at least 40 bucks every time a bearing craps out.

Togetherness

2011-12-03T07:39:00.001-08:00

Just Jill did some family pictures for us when we were back home. She was incredibly patient and got some great pictures. If you are in East TN or Western NC you should consider her for your Family portrait needs.

The Old Country

2011-11-30T17:27:00.000-08:00

I am so covered up with things that I think its easier to just let the pictures tell the stories

Gaspar got to visit the Brothers Scott. Jake struggles with the concept that one time, he too, was a small person

Brutus and Barley had a budding bromance

Butch would have approved

Huffing and puffing up the north Boundary Road

Recovering from all the riding

Slaving for the man.

The view from my parents farm. If it wasn't for the prospects of abject poverty I would go back.

Gaspar gets behind the wheel

Image jacked from E. Hoesly's Facebook Album
The mud and the Crud at Jingle Cross. Results were marginal at best, but the honkeys from Nebraska were positively dominating. Its pretty obvious that they are taking it to another level. Mod swept the Masters 35+ all three days, but Noah was just killing it. I can remember when we were pretty evenly matched, but He has really taken his game to a whole other level. Rafal was within striking distance of the SS podium all weekend, and finally took the spot that he wanted on Sunday. Great Job Nebraska! But Nebraskans ain't no one trick ponies. Enter the Super Fans.

Image jacked from E. Hoesly's Facebook album
Good times!
Last night I got my old Reba fork converted over to 100mm of travel. Ali wanted longer travel on her 29er after riding my bike this summer.

Traveling to AMBC Fall Festival

2011-11-16T13:12:00.000-08:00

Brutus and I Jumped in the car early last friday and drove all the way to Kentucky. We couch surfed with a awesome family in Berea, and I went to a Homecoming function at Berea College (my alma mater). Its kind of amusing to see peoples reaction when they find out that I am a scientist. I was not the most dedicated student, and had little interest in STEM careers. All of my professors were really excited to see that I really loved working in science (as opposed to living under a bridge swilling Wild Irish Rose).
After the Homecoming Breakfast We jumped in the car and drove down to Knoxville for the AMBC Fall Festival at Knoxville's Dirty South Trails. It was hands down, one of the most enjoyable days on the bike I have had. I also ran into a fellow Kansan Abroad, Charles Coats, DVM. Its such a small world. There was a guided ~30 mile ride on tap in the afternoon, and we rolled out a little behind. But within 15 minutes I kept dropping my chain off the SS. I ended up having to break the chain and pull a link, then reset the EBB. I cant figure out how all of the sudden my chain could stretch so much that the EBB could not pull all the slack. ugh. I hate being that guy on a ride.
Our group was comprised of the Me, Brad, and several of the NTMBC. We rolled a few miles, just starting to get into the flow of the trails, when we ran into the rest of the motley crew from TVB changing a flat. Beverages got passed around, morale was high.
From here on out there was a mighty gnar shredding, that was led by TVB co-owner Scott Smith, who would absolutley rip rocky, tech singletrack on a CX bike with 35c tires.
The Work that has gone into creating the "dirty south" trails is simply mind blowing. There are sections of raised bridges that go one for hundreds of feet, flow that knows no end, and a judicious use of terrain that made my 34:18 gearing not unreasonable. The only qualm was that the trails cover a very large area, and could very easily be confusing. The trails are on private and public land. Getting LGU's onboard for trail development is often less rewarding than sticking your hand in a garbage disposal, but the AMBC guys have done a brilliant job of it.

We ended up getting about 25 miles in before heading back to the festival. I made it back with 15 minutes before they started the short track race. So I sat down, had a cherry Coke, and tried to collect myself for some wild-eyed short track fun (spoiler: This would hurt).
About 10 of us lined up for the Expert race, that was started with a real cannon (insert rebel yell). We started and quickly realized that there were only about 200 feet to pass, and it was right in the middle of the crowds so people were yelling, throwing beer, and encroaching on the course. It was awesome. Once the cannon roared we sprinted to make a 90 degree turn into the singletrack.
After having spent the last 3 months on rock hard dry dirt in MN, I let it all hang out and went wide into the 90 degree turn and hope for the best. To my surprise (and the 3 guys in front of me that I cut off) I did not wrap myself around a pine.
Enter the Hero Dirt.
You could go just about as fast as you wanted, and if you had enough room to get the bike leaned over you were going to maintain traction. The rest of the one mile course was tight, fast singletrack. It was sweet. I spent two laps catchin up to the guy in 4th, then we saw the 3rd place rider with a mechanical. There was already a pretty good gap between 2nd and 3rd, so on the last lap I used the ol' Josh Patterson Chop pass to slip into 3rd place right before we went back into the ST. Then I just tried to bury it. I knew I had a little gap, but the tight nature of the trails did not really give you a chance to look around. Then my concentration lapsed. I clipped a tree and went down. Boom.
When you are in the process of piling it up at high speed, it is pretty amazing how quickly you can react. I was convinced I broke my hand when I hit the ground, but that thought was secondary to the thought that I needed to get back on the bike and finish the race. I feel like I must have bounced up, and waggled my fingers as I was leaping onto the bike. It just happens so quickly.
Turns out I had a good ten seconds on Shaggy in 4th, so I was able to ride it in for 3rd place in the expert field. Scott from TVB took the W.
Some footage

Then I managed to indulge in a refreshing beverage and some spectacular gnosh. I ended up sitting next to an old couple to eat, and we struck up a conversation. Turns out he is one of the Knox County commissioners, and has worked very closely with the AMBC to further the trails in Knoxville.
The bottom line in all of this is that you should make the trip to the southeast for MTB fun. Checkout the AMBC Site for details and maps.
Checkout TVB to hang and ride with people that love bikes.

Levis Trow

2011-11-05T16:50:00.000-07:00

First, it is pronounced Lev-iss, not like Levi's jeans. And apperently a Trow a mystical northern euro-centric midget. Hence this is why they host Gnome-fest here? (in best Mina Hosni voice, "creepy")
I racked up some flex time last week so I took Friday off and we went to central WI to check out the IMBA Epic route. I had heard stories about these trails and wanted to scope things out. The trails will close in a couple of weeks due to WI rifle season, and the woods were already thick with bow hunters.
Lots of terrain, roots, loose sand, and steep climbs abounded. I really felt that I spent all of the first day just trying to figure out what direction to ride and never got past the Levis mound. This morning I managed to find the trail of the IMBA Epic Route and proceeded to ride until I could not stand it any more.

The only one-way trail.

Billy Goat Gruff

Rolling Toad Road

I was getting pretty sick of all these vistas.

6 point.

Goat Dance.

Hams.

For the next trip bring:
Gears or nothing bigger than 32:20. I ran 34:18 (and walked nothing) and it hurt. alot. Its not that you cant do it with a big gear, but if you wanna ride all day, its not sustainable.

Tent: There is primitive camping at the TH with bathrooms and water. Since it was pretty chilly at night we stayed at a rustic country motel. It was really nice, but next time we will camp to make full use of the facilities.

Idle hands

2011-10-22T06:50:00.001-07:00

John Waller did this. I find it vaguely disturbing.

Ugh

2011-10-10T19:10:00.000-07:00

I love a good race, but that being said I hate a bad race. I have never done a road race (with the exception of a collegiate race on my SS CX bike), but saturday I went to the north side of the city for a crit that was masquerading as CX.
It was flat, hot and windy. I started in the very back row. The race started and every knuckle head in front of me decided to fall on each other. I just rode around them and was in the top 5 in about 8 seconds. The dude in front of me was muttering about cat 5s, and proceeded to lay it down about 15 seconds later. I am not Gods gift to bike handling, but these guys were making me look like a ROCK STAR! Dudes would just fall down.

This was the only exciting part of the course
Once we got past the technical section, it became apperent that wattage could overcome many shortcomings. I passed one dude like 3 times as he was picking himself up off the grass. However I was still losing a position per lap and finished like 12th out of 30?. With one lap to go one guy even offered to pull me. I could not stay on his wheel. It was pathetic. I had nothing.

In the 4 frames that preceded this I was actually holding my bike over my head. Its just how I run, Noah would not have approved.
There was such a huge gap in the skill level in that field. There were some dudes out there in the 3's that would have been in the top half of the 1/2 race. Even finishing as far back as I did I still managed to lap a handful of riders.
It was a good experience, but I will never go to that venue again. I am beginning to realize how spoiled I was in KS and NE, with such great CX promoters and really well attended races. I also have an appreciation for promoters that get a great venue before getting the event permitted. You can't make chicken salad out of chicken poop.

Then Sunday night we did a family ride. Its kind of nice when I pull the trailer, since it allows me to work as hard as I want, and it creates a huge draft for ali to sit if she wants to. She did get frisky and tried a break going up a climb, but I covered that move.

Buffalo

2011-10-04T14:22:00.001-07:00

USGP CX at Sun Prairie, WI

2011-09-26T17:51:00.000-07:00

So after watching on Saturday, I got to race the SS race on Sunday morning. IT was an absolute swamp. We got several showers that really got things good and swampy. I am not really sure what is wrong with me. I knew it was going to be crappy, and I still did not put mud tires on (Michelin Mud 2's).
For some reason I was also under this impression that you got a set of AVID Shorty Ultimate cantilever brakes for taking the holeshot. So when I got called up (how I cannot fathom) I quickly assessed the situation. The Craig Etheridge (who crushed everyone and rode through the entire masters field) was back again, so I knew that I was going to be relegated to scrapping for whatever was left. I got a front row position so when the gun went off a really stood on it and went right to the front (remember, I think that I am going to win a brakeset for getting the hole shot), and no one contested it. I lead for about a 1/4 lap and then a couple riders came around.

Racing in mud that soft is always draining, but the grass and mud was building up around my V-brakes creating extra drag.

I did my best to chase down the masters racers and remain upright, but it was slow and slimey.
If I was not so absolutely shelled I would have cared that I was covered with filth and mud that had so thoroughly penetrated my skinsuit, soaked my chamois, and created the sensation of having soiled ones diaper.

I then waddled over to the pressure wash station to try to clean up my bike, only to have some guy come over and turn off the pressure washers, saying that they had to save the water for the UCI Pro race.

I was tempted to unzip my skinsuit , scoop out some grundle mud, and artistically express my true feelings of inadequacy on this dudes forehead. I managed to contain my artistic proclivities, and went chase down my new brakes (for winning the holeshot). The officials that I talked to, looked at me like I was high when I asked about the brakeset. Apperently, I created a imaginary preme for winning the holeshot. There was a $250 prize for the pro's but nobody else got anything, other than the chance to lead 25 weird dudes for about 2 minutes. Don't get me wrong, I have never entered a race precisely because I was going to win something, but I was so bewildered that I had conjured this imaginary, non-existant prime. Maybe it was hearing Dave Towle repeat the phrase, "the AVID Shorty Ultimate Holeshot!" for 2 days. Never doubt the underhanded, brainwashing potential of SRAM's marketing ploys.
I have some more thoughts that I will try to get down later this week. My time is at a premium , so time devoted to bloggage is slim. Jasper managed to eat part of a manilla envelope while I was making dinner. About 2 minutes later it looked like a scene from the exorcist. He threw up so much! I almost got it cleaned up before Ali walked in....almost. We both were chastised. So no more multitasking while I have Jasper duty.

USGP CX #1 Sun Prairie

2011-09-24T16:00:00.000-07:00

Nate Woodman feeds the mob mentality at the Stanley Run Up. He rode it every time.

More after I get something to eat.

calling 911

2011-09-12T13:22:00.000-07:00

Had another interesting Saturday morning. Butch proposed a bike ride south out of the cities, escorting Wes as he was headed back down towards Rochester. I left the house at 6am, and was going to meet Butch and Wes at the Mendota bridge.

As I was rolling into St. paul I found a big guy laying face up in the middle of a the street right at the intersection of Robert and Kellog. Not moving. Traffic is light so I put my bike in the street infront of the dude and start asessing the situation. No apparent trauma, and I could see the rise and fall of his chest. I started talking to him and he opened his eyes, and said that he could not feel his hands or feet. I could not smell alcohol on him and he did not look like he had been out partying all night. I asked him if I should call 911, and he said yes. After I got off the phone with 911 it took the firefighters about 7 minutes to get to the scene (and they brought a ladder truck?) I told the medic on the fire crew what the story was and got the ok to leave the scene.

Then it was a SS TT through the Mississippi River bottoms to try to meet Butch and Wes at the appointed time. I was spun out when I rolled up, almost on top of, the most robust looking coyote I have ever seen. He looked like he had been living fat all summer. Probably eating stray cats and dogs. For a few seconds I was close enough that I could have spit on him. He did not seemed terribly concerned, but I was. I need to put the Hope hub back on that bike so it will scare away all the critters.

Then I caught up with Butch and Wes, and we started heading south towards farmington, mn. Wes was on his big dummy with all of his gear so the pace was conversational. We talked of many things

"The time has come," the Walrus said,

"To talk of many things:

Of shoes--and ships--and sealing-wax--

Of cabbages--and kings--

And why the sea is boiling hot--

And whether pigs have wings."

"But wait a bit," the Oysters cried,

"Before we have our chat;

For some of us are out of breath,

And all of us are fat!"

Lewis Carroll

As it has become a theme lately all pictures were jacked from Butch's Twit-pic feed, and will continue to be until he tells me to stop and or gets a restraining order. You can also find his resurgent blog on the right under "Radness"

As I was riding along I noticed that Wes had the leg of a pair of jeans hanging out he back of his Big Dummy. The jeans turned out to be the carrying case for a incredibly cool idea.

Wes had created a snow breaker plow for a bike.

I was blown away.

I looted a field of food grade white corn. It looks like sweet corn, but is not sweet (it has a corny flavor)

Little did we know that there would be double scoop ice cream cones at the bottom of this long downhill.

Good times!

Ah, the dirty south

2011-08-29T11:08:00.000-07:00

TN is always good for some satire
For reference, This is the town next to where Ali grew up. My mother-in-Law (who is with us in MN right now) is gonna bust some skulls when she gets back on Saturday.
This tyranny will not stand!

A Butch enhanced Cayuna Daytrip

2011-08-28T17:45:00.000-07:00

I was watching the weather all this past week. waiting. plotting.
Then Thursday night I heard that Katie and Al had bike riding planned for Sunday. Perfect.
This (in my mind) justifed me and Butch getting together for a long ride on Saturday.
Friday I sent Butch a plot thickening text message. Turns out he was down for a trip up north.

So we left the cities at 6am on saturday morning, to hit the 30-some miles of single track and not be out all day.

Images jacked from Butch's Instagram feed
As soon as we got there I laid out the plan of attack. On my previous trip up there I rode all of the Portsmouth Mine trails first, and by the time we got over to the Yawkey Mine my compatriots were too pooped to properly shred. So I had some unfinished business that we needed to address. We took the singletrack traverse over the the Yawkey Mine. Usually butch lets me lead, since he always worries about holding me up on the climbs since I was on the SS. I, on the other hand, worry about hold Butch up on the descents, which means I sometimes go a little faster than may be prudent.
So we were cooking it over to the Yawkey mine, working the pump track rollers. we were really moving, when I got a little big for my britches, and overshot a little double gap, slamming my front wheel into the base of another roller.
In the span of a second, 100mm fork totally compresses, I see a small Jesus is sitting on my stem, waggling his finger, and try to decide how I am gonna ride this one out.

I actually had a quick flashback to this video (Warning, there is blood and bone at the end).

If you are not comfortable with this image from Joshua Abrahamson, keep scrolling

I managed to hold on long enough to scrub speed by riding into the uphill part of the benchcut. I sheepishly look back a Butch, who surmised my thoughts by commenting, "that was close". Was a little scraped up, but not really worse for wear. We proceeded on with caution and prudence, and that lasted about 5 minutes.

Images jacked from Butch's Instagram feed
Cayuna trails really allow you utilize the inherent terrain, and pump to carry speed. If you are not careful you can carry that speed right into the hospital.

Images jacked from Butch's Instagram feed
One of the things that really puzzled me was how confused people were by the maps and trail routes. Literally every time we stopped at a trail junction someone was asking for directions. Cayuna is really well marked, but its pretty obvious that most people do not have to know how to use maps. I feel much more comfortable with a good map and compass than with a GPS, but it kills me how intimidated the general public is by a topographic map. I will refrain from "a technology is making people dumb" rant. Granted, the trails are really stacked in some places.

Anyhow, we ended up with about 40 miles, and had time to get a swim before loading back up to be back in the cities by dinner time, but not until we had a DQ ice cream cones. Life, to the fullest.

Border Battling and adventures with small children

2011-08-23T18:52:00.000-07:00

So last week my folks were in town to visit so we made the trip up too Duluth.

The lift bridge in all its glory.

Jasper gets grammy time

"We don't know nothing about what happened to your beer"

Then Ali and I had some free time for bike ride/date nights, and she squanders it taking pictures of me peeing in the woods

I made a quintessential southern dinner of Collard greens, rosemary roasted taters, and buttermilk brined fried chicken.

Jasper is mobile enough now to really begin to pester Brutus

Then on Sunday I slipped out to River Falls for my first WORS race. Not quite sure what to think. There were a ton of people. After the tar whipping I recieved at last years afton avalanche I thought that comp would be a more appropriate place for me given the depth of the fields and my disdain for actual training. I am rethinking that after sunday. I think I would rather deal with a few PRO women than have to spend half my race fighting traffic in the COMp class.

It was a good experience, but putting 200 racers on a 5 mile course with 4 passing spots made for lame racing, especially on the SS.
Getting a callup in the WORS race is a huge advantage. I got 7th in the comp SS but was only 2 minutes back from the first place time and a good minute of that difference was established in the first mile as we slogged up the BFH. My 7th place SS time would have gotten me 2nd place in my age group.......you can't say the competition isn't great.

WORS Border Battle 2011

2011-08-22T10:28:00.001-07:00

Gave the WORS race a whirl on Sunday afternoon. More thoughts tonite, but in the future I will stick to racing the Elite Races even if I am on my SS. Being the last place elite racer (and I have been there before!) just means that only people that are faster than me are going to be in front of me.

Isolating creaks

2011-08-07T18:16:00.000-07:00

Will sometimes drive you nuts. One of the reasons I really love singlespeeds is the quietness of the drivetrain (this is negated by most high end hubs). But I have had a creak that has really been bothering me so last night I pulled out the stops.
Normally, you should address each supposed source of noise to actually isolate where the sound is coming from. My supposition was that the creaking on my Scott Scale was coming from either:

The interface between my outboard BB cup, the E-type XTR front Derailleur, and the BB shell.
the dropouts for the rear wheel
the mounting screw for the E-type front derailleur (this keeps the derailleur centered, while the BB cup actually keeps it affixed to the frame)

So rather than address each location individually, I disassembled, and greased all the locations at the same time.
The Result?
Total silence. Victory. I actually suspect that it was the rear dropouts that were dry and causing the noise.

I am also faced with another BB quandry. My ISIS BB on the Ferrous is cashed. This is the 4th ISIS that I have gone through in 3 years. Word in the street is that the only truly durable ISIS BB is manufactured by SKF but the the thought of coughing up 130 bucks for a BB makes me cringe. I could get a outboard bearing crankset LX or Stylo for between 90 and 110 and hock the rings for 20 bucks as I am going to keep using the 34 tooth TomiCog. FYI I did give the LBS a shot, but no one carried ISIS BB's.

ISIS seem to be one of those failed standard attampts that so many companies wish would just go away.

Wausau Part 2: Rafal defiles my bike

2011-08-01T15:10:00.000-07:00

Before the storm.
Photo Cred XTR Photography
So after the race restarts (at this point my 6 hour race is over) I assumed the roll of soigneur for Rafal and Wilbur as they finish their 12 hour endeavor. Rafal was on my SS for the 2nd half of the race, as he had some Superfly shifting problems before the rain started. Plus my bottom bracket and brakes were already cashed, so I might as well let Rafal finish them off.

When Rafal completed his restart lap, he was looking pretty gross. However he said that the SS was the ticket in these conditions.

Rafal keeps it PG
I am gonna take a moment to stand on the stump and preach for a minute. I like tires that roll fast just as much as the next guy, but I gave up in low profile tires last year. Not having aggressive treads is like not having a large bore firearm in Alaska. You never end up needing it, until you are already "in the thick of it". An Ardent up front, and a Ignitor in the back will keep you upright no matter what.

Rafal churns out another lap.
To be terribly honest, 12 and 24 hour events have never really had a huge appeal to me. No matter how awesome a ten mile piece of trail is, it still starts to suck after about 6 hours. The real appeal is the camaraderie and the awe of watching people do things that no normal person would ever consider doing. I also have to tip my hat to the wonderful "desperate bike wives" that support us at these events.
Good times

24 hours of Wausau 2011 Part One

2011-07-31T13:53:00.000-07:00

A couple of months ago, Rafal said that he was gonna do the 12 hour race at the 9 Mile Forest in Wausau, WI, so I agreed to meet up with him and MK. I was also stoked to see the smarter, more eloquent, and better looking brother of Christopher Wolff, William was gonna be shucking and jiving for 12 hours also. Considering the abject lack of endurance riding that I have been doing this year, I stuck to the 6 hour race.
About 400 souls started the race via a lemans start. There is no more wonky sight than cyclists running.

Its like watching a monkey try to dribble a basketball.
Then once we started the first lap, it was a lot of waiting for everybody to walk through the rocky section at the one mile mark. I was running the Ferrous SS, and was loaded for bear, turning a 34:18. Rafal told me at dinner the night before that there was only 300 feet of climbing per lap. Rafal and will also joked about how people would be walking the one singletrack climb. I chuckled too but I ended up walking that every time.
Anyway as we got towards the end of the first lap we kind of found our rhythm's and started getting acquainted with the folks that we would be spending the day with. I got to ride with Jason Gaikowski, fellow former Kansan, recently of QBP, as the grand poo-bah of Marketing. We took turns throughout a couple of laps catching up on life. Jason and I rode together for about 70 miles in the 2008 Dirty Kanza.
At the end of the lap I eventually caught up with Rafal, and we rolled through our support station. I was taking 2 bottles of water (a 16oz and a 24oz) per lap, and that seemed to be enough for consumption and cooling.
After a couple of laps you sort of fall into a rhythm of steady state activity. My laps seemed to consist of staying fluid on the singletrack, staying on top of the gear on the gravel, and pushing my bike up the singletrack climb. I learned a long time ago that you can do a lot of work (and look cool) riding 3 mph up a climb, or you can just walk by your bike at at 3 mph. Somewhere on the 3rd lap, The Good Doctor Buffington made contact with me as I was pushing my bike, as did Danielle Musto. Both would proceed to ride what I was walking, but once we hit the gravel sections of the course, I would make up a little time, then they would catch me again as I pushed my bike up the one climb each lap. It was a vicious cycle.
We finally caught another SSer on the 4 th lap. It was around this time that I realized that there was some meteorological treachery afoot, and the sky was looking rather grim. As we finished the lap, they were saying that the storm was going to hit in about 30 minutes.

I figured I might as well get as far as I could on a dry course as opposed to waiting it out. I as I rolled back out I did not see any of the folks that I had been with, but they were all doing 12 or 24 hours. About half way through my 5th lap I saw a chain laying in the trail, so I put on the brakes as I went around a corner. Sure enough, there was Rafal, without a chain, looking bewildered. I alerted him to the fact that his chain was back down the trail, and gave him my extra 9 speed quick link. Made it past the climb as the wind started to pick up and the temp dropped. This storm looked to have all the makings of a real humdinger. A few miles later it started to pour. I got to about mile 9 of the 11 mile course before they told us that the laps had been suspended due to lightning, and that the lap we had just ridden (most of) would be cancelled (expletive).
It was at this point that I was:

Wet (soaked would better describe it)
Pissed
still in the woods in a lightning storm

As someone that has promoted events I usually hesitate to criticize the judgement of race directors, but as I stood in the woods, in the pouring rain, with lightning crashing around us, I was passing some pretty serious judgement on that decision. Someone showed up that knew how to get back to the start/finish line, so about a dozen of us went screaming down these flooded logging roads. We got back to the finish and were told that once the storm abated the race would resume. A big box truck was sent out to pick up other riders that were still out on the course. Once everyone got back and the storm dissipated, the 6 hour period of the race had elapsed. So my race was over. I got 5th in the Mens Solo class.
I am sure that the promoter had a great reason not allow us to finish the lap, but in my mind, a more reasonable approach would have been to allow people to finish their lap. Then communicate to them that the race would resume once the storm was over.

Ali and Jappers wait out the storm.

Rafal and his mustache were in full force for the race restart. William looking decidedly dapper in his kit.

The race restarts. The rest of the story tomorrow.

Chequamegon NF and the Rock Lake Trails in the Namekagon Trail Cluster

2011-07-27T17:47:00.001-07:00

Weekend before last, Team Stamper and Team Johnson made the trip up to Cable, WI for some singletrack and sunshine with the wild pack of Dingos in tow.

This bat was a little too committed to chasing down the insects ( of which there is no shortage up there)

May the PCL be with you.

Dennis Grelks old Dragonfly. It simmers grits.

Butchy scouts the steep lines of Wall Street of the Rock Lake Trail.
If you live up north you really should make the time to ride here.
If you have a "Trail" or "all mountain" bike (and can ride it) this is the trail for you. There are only a few trails that I can really say that I wish I had a 4 or 5 inch bike to ride, and this is one of them (the only others that readily come to mind are Wilson Lake KS, Pisgah, and Little Casino to Big Casino Creek in Stanley, ID). I say this because most trails may have some tech sections, but few have enough sustained gnar to warrant full suspension or even a trail bike. I road it on the SS and had a ton of fun, but would have really dug having a 29er Anthem (hint hint)

But fear not, gentle bike wives! There are more tame options at hand too! Ali and katie were out for a 3 hour tour. Katie said she loved it, and said that it was the first time that she had fun on a Mtb.

She was probably just glad to get a break from wrestling kiddo's.

Loafing by the lake.

Nobody had any fun

Jappers got a Big P's gift pack.

summer dump

2011-07-14T16:24:00.001-07:00

Been pretty busy keepin it thug. Living Minnesota life.
Its kind of strange how time starts to get away from you, but man, does it ever.

Took the time to head up to ride the new trails up at Cayuna Lakes. 20-some miles of fresh singletrack, that is almost entirely made of mine tailings. Very much like the trails at Warrior Creek or OVT at Kerr Scott Lake

Rode up with fellow Battle Creeker Drew Diller and Andy Wentzel. Drew was rolling his homemade bamboo fat bike. He runs it as a SS but with a Hammerschmidt 2 speed crank. Its pretty sick, but you don't get 50 feet before people are stopping us to ask questions about his bike.

Trails are pretty fast, and the surrounding area is definitely worth the drive.

Last weekend I drove Ali up to St. Croix Falls so that she could shred some singletrack with my coworker/GIS zenmaster Kim Kaiser. Me and Jappers went strolling about, poaching blackberries.

Then I did something that I normally would never do. I mounted up road rubber. Don't judge me. Last Month, as Butch and I were riding back from a especially soggy ride. There was a yard sale, that NO ONE had been to all day. So just for giggles we stopped. I ended up buying a pair of nearly new 25c Conti Gatorskins AND a new pair of 40c Schwalbe Marathon Duremo tires...... for a dollar.

Ali brought back country ham from the old country.

My new dough got out of control.

Jasper kills and eats his first avacado

Disposable Drivetrains

2011-07-02T06:02:00.001-07:00

This past week I had to replace the entire drivetrain on the Scale. I was a little pissed. I had been using the same 991 cross step chain for almost a year, and when I checked the wear with a chain checker it came up as being worn, not terribly worn, but due for replacement.
I had also had the bike torn down to isolate a squeak/creak that was related to the interface of my e-type front der. needing a little grease. While I had the cranks off I also took the time to repack the bearings if my Hive Bottom Bracket.
I started doing this after this past winter I was getting a knocking sound out of the drive side of my CX bike at jingle cross. When I got it home and took it apart I found that the bearings were dry. I learned a few things (I may dedicate a post to repacking the grease in external bearing bottom brackets), but a 1000 miles later the bb is still going strong.
Anyway, while I had everything apart I took the time to grease the heads of the chainring bolts, inspect the rings etc. Get it all put back together, new chain on, and take it on a pavement ride (in the big ring). squeak is gone, but the chain wants to skip between the 21 and 24 tooth cogs on the cassette when I am in the big ring, so I shift down to the middle and the skipping stops, spin around on the middle, then take it back to the big ring. Shrug my shoulders and write it off to fine tuning the cable tension to the rear der.
Then on Tues I meet Butch for our weekly Lebanon Hills man-ride (our wive get together and ride once a week). I shift down to the middle ring and start to really stand on it as we ride out of the parking lot.
BAM! chain slips, knee slams into stem. whimper and try not to cry.
Looks like its going to be a big ring session at Leb. So I spend the next hour and a half talking with Butch about drive train wear as I staggered and wobbled around Leb in either 44:18 or 44:28 due to the skipping between the 21 and 24 cogs. In some ways I was tempted to just put the old chain back on and ride that drivetrain into the ground.
Some people may have a little angel on on shoulder and a little little devil on the other assaulting their self conscious about right and wrong. I have a little dirt bag (aptly nicknamed "scumbag stumpy" by a guide I used to work with) that sits on one shoulder and Alison sitting on the other. They debate on whether or not I should poach closed trails, eat free lunch at union meetings that I do not belong too, and generally debate the nature of my everyday existence. My mind is a scary place.

So on the drive home I caved to prudence, and stopped at Penn Cycles to get a new 32 tooth middle ring and a 11-32 cassette. Wasn't the caliber of stuff that I would usually buy, but I was not about to throw down 11o bucks on a 990 cassette to save 150 grams. I hate paying retail, but Penn was pretty reasonable.

I guess that I am now trying to figure out how much life I should expect out of a chain? I didn't think that I had a excessive amount of miles on the chain, but I also hypothesize that using solely dry, wax based lubricants on it my lead to premature wear. I like dry lubes (plus Scooby gave me a box of dry lube 2 two years ago after the Buffalo Mtn TT). I like how dry lubes keep things clean, but I am not sure if it lends itself to long chain lives. Chain wear is irrelevant when all my SS bikes have stainless cogs and rings. So I got some DuMonde lube, and am going to give that a whirl.

Blocking

2011-06-20T18:10:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday Ali, her mom, Jappers, and I loaded up and headed into downtown STP to watch the Nature Valley Crit. We got there in time to see the last 5 laps of the womens race, and while it appeared a bit slower (I acknowledge that most of these women could probably drop me at will), it was much more exciting than the Mens race. Which consisted of United Healthcare riding tempo 8 deep at the front of the race for 40 laps. Good thing we brought beer, sourdough pizza, and a small child to entertain us.

I think thats J-Pows tring to get up the road with a break that never got more than 20 seconds.
On the upside I did get to catch up with fellow Man-hatian Dustin Nelson, who is at UMN working on his MS in Public Health.

Me explaining Crit racing to Dustin (I have no business talking about road racing)
Then on Thursday I headed over to River Falls, WI for the weekly Thursday night race. Its pretty low key. Pay $5 (if you are a KORC member), line up, and chase Chad Sova (and never catch) for 3 laps. I had a better race this round than the first time I showed up. I knew it was going to be kind of slick for the first few laps so I jumped early and managed to break away from the chasers, but still watch the leaders ride away. Once I hit the Upper part of the course I began to realize just how slick things were. This was compounded that I was on worn-out Maxxis Crossmarks, which are not a great mud tire to start with.
Let the drifting commence.
At the end of the first lap, I was in 4th, with a decent gap on 5th, but after a couple of "coming to Jesus" moments I was about ready to pullout, and probably would have, but I carried to much speed through the transition zone, and inadvertantly started another lap. Oh well.
Managed to hold on to 4th for the next 2 laps, so I was pleased with that, but it was definitely a harrowing race.

Saturday, Butchy and I rode in the rain for a few hours around town.

Conversational pace. Saw all the sights.

2011 Woolly MTB Race

2011-06-11T14:33:00.000-07:00

This Morning we headed up north to beautiful Saint Croix Falls, WI for the Annual Woolly race. Very grass roots, no licenses, no timing chips, just line up and get prepare to get cross eyed.
I wills ay that I am way to nice when it comes to pushing toward the front when getting lined up in the chutes. when I got to the line, there were already 50 people in the chute. I ended up slipping up about 4 rows to get past the ladies, but I was still not where I needed to be. The race started out around a soccer complex to string things out. I got a pretty crappy start, and was not toward the front once we hit the singletrack. I was like 20th and the pace was conversational in the singletrack. Which was super tight so trying to pass would have been lame and in poor taste.

Had to dismount a few times as there were bobbles up ahead that stopped the lunch line.
It was here that I started to formulate my plan. I had ridden with a few of the folks ahead of me so I knew that I could put some serious time into them in the single track on the 2nd half of the course. The leaders were well out of sight. After biding my time, once we popped out of the woods, the guys at the front were not accelerating, and looked around like they were lost. They looked like they needed leadership.

I went right to the big ring and passed like 10 people on the grass, and did my very best to motor away (leadership is overrated). And it looked like I had a good gap until I went down someones driveway that paralleled the paved path we were supposed to use. Piss. Managed to sneak back over but the gap was gone. Hit the open meadow trails, with a Culvers racer on my wheel. These meadow sections just slayed me all day. They appeared open and fast, but were just so bumpy that it was all but impossible to lay down any power while you were seated.
Once I hit the singletrack I was able to put some time between me and the chasers. The Woolly boys opened up some new terrain since last weekend, and it really kept me on my toes. I actually ended up running a few of the new tech sections that I normally would have ridden, but was a little too cross eyed from chasing. The best way to burn in new trail is to have a race on it, so it should be pretty buffed out after all the traffic it got.
Little by little I got away from the Culvers rider (I love their frozen custard!), but there was no one in sight ahead of me, so I just motored on. The last 2 miles of each lap was either grass double track or rail trail. It just screamed to be ridden in 44:12. It was here that I first saw a pair of riders that had at least a quarter mile on me. It took me another lap of chasing to catch the rider in the Specialized kit JB Hancock. The other racer was no where in sight, so I motioned for him to jump on. I pulled for the next 2 miles of open, and then he came around right before the start finish line starting our last lap.

I got a little big for my britches at the end of that second lap/long pull, and I could feel my legs getting crampy. I wanted to try and get away, but I did not think that I could sustain a break that far from the finish. So we traded pulls and conversation for most of the last lap.
Just before we hit the wide open double track to the finish line I offered to pull to the finish line. Now this is not a deal that normally gets struck, but my reasoning was that I had not seen any big power moves out of him all day so at least if he tried to jump towards the end I would have a little bit of a buffer. My sprinting sucks, and most of the time if I get ahead its not because of a huge spurt in speed. I don't sprint, I surge.
We kept it gentlemanly until we hit the asphalt, then it was all out. I actually over shifted about 30 yards from the line, and Bryan just about nipped me at the line. But I was able to get on top of the gear enough to squeak ahead for an 8th place finish.

Super fun course, not too much gnar, was a good race for beginners. You should be there next year.

playing in the dirt

2011-06-07T16:14:00.000-07:00

I found myself at the bottom of a large hole last week. We (I) have been installing Gee passive capillary wick Lysimeters that are manufactured by Decagon Devices. We are using them to try and close the water balance and provide a drainage rate so that we can calculate nitrate leaching from fertilizer use in different cropping systems. Earlier this year we installed hundreds of suction tube lysimeters, that will provide us with nitrate concentration of water that is moving into the Vadose zone. Nitrate in ground water is a pollutant that is of particular concern in many parts of the midwest and plains states.

The Gee lysimeters (commercially known as a "Drain Gauge") use a wick in a hanging column(what is in the small hole above) to provide "suction" to the soil that will (soon) fill the Divergence Control Tube (DCT, the very large PVC pipe seen above).

I personally think soil scientists are kind of nerdy, but it is pretty interesting looking at the pedology of soils in the upper midwest. People just cannot fathom the effects that glaciers had on the formation of soils.

There was a layer of "cobbles" about 38 inches down that were so smooth. It just gives you an appreciation for how things change over time.

Once I got past the cobbles I hit this really coarse sandy pea gravel that had no structure. I had dug a hole for the column of the drain gauge to go in, but when I climbed out of the hole to grab the gauge, the blickety-blank sidewalls of my hole collapsed, burying my post hole digger. Piss.

So built myself a little platform to work on.

Gauge installed and sod replaced. It takes about 9 man hours to install a drain gauge with a disturbed monolith. I had initially planned to do a undisturbed monolith, but the soil was too course, and I could not keep it in the DCT. Plus it weighed a ton. I would have never got it out of the pit by myself.

So after 2 days of digging pits by hand I headed back to WI to do the first Whitetail Ridge Thursday night race of the year. I had never been there, so I knew that it was going to be a lot of learning. The KORC crew that puts the event on is super laid back, and the trails are pretty sweet. Like a cross between Lebanon Hills in MN and Platte River SP in NE. I stopped to assist a guy that took a digger and dislocated his shoulder on the first lap. I asked him if he wanted me to reset it, but he seemed to want to go to a doctor. It would have hurt, but not nearly as much as if he had walked out and had the doc reset it once all his adrenaline had worn off. I would not have even charged him. Jumped back on the bike and chased, namely because I did not know the course. I caught a rider and he let me sit on for the rest of the lap, and showed me where the course changed after a lap. After that I came around and chased for the next 10 miles. Never saw anybody. It definitely took a lap to get comfortable on the Scale. I have spent so much time on the SS that the first lap felt twitchy and awkward, but the next two found me really getting into the groove.

Then Ali and I went out to dinner on Sat while LaLa watched the lil monster. I wore my white pants. Lookout!

Woolly Race in St Croix Falls this weekend. I prerode the course with the Cyclova-XC guys on Saturday. Looks like a lot of fun lined up for this weekend.

Return to me

2011-06-01T18:41:00.000-07:00

Should you ever be tempted to filch thy neighbors whip, you should be advised that stealing expensive bikes will get you a felony should you get caught. Apparently there is a cutoff from when stealing cheap bikes to boosting 1000+ dollar bikes, and once you hit it it goes from misdemeanor to felony like that.
That being said, I got a call from the fuzz putting me wise to the fact that they had found my bike. Bollocks, says I.
Nay, says the fuzz.
Me:Bully good.
Fuzz: Be by in a bit.
Arrive at the the SPPD. Bike is all in one piece. no dents no dings.

What did I learn from this?
If its not U-Locked, its not locked up

So long ol' pal

2011-05-18T15:06:00.000-07:00

I had a pretty good time with that bike

I don't know that I want it back as bad as I want to go to town on the thief that stole it with a drive side crank arm.

Almanzo Gravel

2011-05-15T10:30:00.000-07:00

So Friday night I wandered down to Spring Valley, MN to meet tohe NE crew of Cornbread, TK, Schmidty, Rafal-do, Malcolm, and Aaron. I was going to be their support as the group collectively laid waste to Southern MN gravel. I had contacted Almanzo director C. Skogen to inquire if I could provide a neutral feed station on the Royal 162 course. He acquiesced, and gave me a sweet spot right at the 100 mile point right next to the Root River.
With this knowledge, I saw the Nebraskans off, and headed off to meet the boys at the 38 mile mark in Preston.

The usual suspects fixing to roll the Royal course.

The Royal riders looked a lot better than the 100 crew when they hit Preston. It had not started to rain yet. I got Cornbread fed, lubed and watered, then waited for Rafal, Aaron, Malcolm, and schmitty.

Malcolm doing what Malcolm does best. After he rolled out I waited for Schimtty to roll through. He rolled up to me and expressed his contempt toward SRAM, as his shifters crapped out. So we loaded up his bike, stopped at Chic's to pick up a half dozen pizzas, and roll south toward the village of Granger.

Once We hit our neutral feed spot, I set out the gnosh, started heating up the hot, spiced wine, and started prepping things. We first saw the group lead group that contained Cornbread. Corey stopped killed a coke and 3 slices, and eventually the others came over and had a slice. They said that Troy was not too far behind.
TK rolled in a few minutes later and was in pretty bad shape. He was shaking pretty bad and could not use his hands.

Troy decided that he was done for the day so we put him in the truck, cranked up the heat, and pumped him full of hot Aveda tea.

30 minutes later.

We saw all kinds of people roll through. Our favorite was the guy wearing Keens with wool socks, with platform pedals and a single wool sweater. He truly seemed to savor his slice of pizza and coke.

Rafal rolled in a little later, and was the only person all day to take the hot spiced wine (you can see it dribbling out of the sides of his 'stache).
He would go on to win the SS race.
I see a high correlation between hot spiced wine consumption and victory, just saying.

We also picked another straggler after we met Malcolm and resupplied him with pizza, coke, and 3 beers. He would finish at 10pm, in the dark, with no lights. Normally I would insert a quotation about how if you are gonna be dumb, you better be tough, but the kid has a graduate degree in Physics.

Rafal. Victorious.

The aftermath of hauling filthy bike people around.
I feel pretty sure that despite the conditions everybody had a great time.
Big shout out to Herr Skogen for being the ring master for this circus.

Mothers Day MTB

2011-05-08T17:41:00.000-07:00

So I took Ali on a mothers day mountain bike ride at Battle Creek.

She did not have any fun

The wild rumpus has begun. We painted alot on saturday.

Its amazing the funk that can accumulate in a home over time. The above pic is where we started painting ceilings, but you can see the white outlines on the wall where pictures were hung. gag.

Strange things that I eat and random pictures

2011-05-03T17:40:00.000-07:00

Last week we finally had a few days of good weather, So Jappers and I decided to rep the Dirty South by busting out the porch furniture

What it looks like when we move.

Butch and I made some time for some single track on last sunday. Representing NE!

When we moved into the new house I found this in the back of a drawer

It expired in 2004. I ate it. Could not tell a difference in the quality of my BM's.

Jappers spitting game.

Dirty Wool

2011-05-01T17:54:00.000-07:00

We closed on our house this week in the Battlecreek community of St. Paul. I guess that technically we live in Maplewood, but I thinks its in BC. I like the house from the start, but a I really wasn't sure why.

If you have never smelled dirty wool I really think that you are missing out on some really great perspective on life. Smells are really powerful in that they can trigger memories in a much more realistic way than any other perception. If you have never owned a nice piece of woolen wear you are really missing out. Wool can be worn dozens of times before it really needs to be cleaned and does not stink when soiled like other technical fabrics. But that being said, it does collect faint bits of odors from different places its been. Its not a unpleasant smell, rather I find it very earthy and calming (not in a patchouli and incense sort of way). That mixed smell or other sensory perception reminds me of all the other places that I have smelled dirty wool or had dirty wool moments.
I guess the first real dirty wool smell That I can think of was being a little monster and going into the fairgrounds in Alleghany County, NC to help set up for the live stock show after the county had a the wool pool where anyone that had pasture maggots (sheep) would bring in wool so that it could be marketed collectively. The smells of fly strike, orvus soap, molasses sweet feed, and lanolin hang thick in the air.

New Zealand: there are a ton of dirty wool memories in NZ. There is also a part of my right index finger that is somewhere in NZ, but thats another story. There was the walk from my Farm Rd. flat at Lincoln University out to the University Dairy farm. Every morning I would walk out to my Ute and listen to the Ba-ing of the the "wee lambies", jump in a dumpy old Toyota Hi-Lux truck, and take in all the smells that are associated with animal agriculture in a arid coastal climate. Raw milk out of the bulk tank, vegemite and margarine spread on Weetabix (I never have quite figured out why they bought margarine when they had butter?) all at 4 am. The glow of one of my coworkers Benson and Hedges as she brought the mob of cows into the milking rotary.

Another dirty wool moment that was not so much smell associated, were the rural homes in NZ.
On the Canterbury Plains of the South Island, all the homes were built in the late 50's and early 60's, are sprawling ramblers, and are surrounded by hedges. The hedges are the bastard child of the Englishman's need to have a confined garden, and the plainsman's need to have a windbreak. Regardless, it results in homes that have a very distinctive appearance and feel. I can remember sleeping in the guest rooms of our farm stay hosts and thinking how pleasant and peculiar the dwellings were.

Our new house gave me dirty wool flashbacks, It has the same layout, the hedged windbreaks, and well kept appearance as the ramblers in NZ. The fact that its in MN makes it suitably foreign to me, having been accustomed to a certain level of disarray and squalor, being raised in the rural south. I could not quite put my finger on why I liked this house until this evening. I pulled a woolen jersey out of my commuting bag and smelled it. A veritable tidal wave of memories and thoughts hit me.

And to think I was going to put it in the laundry basket.
Home Sweet Home.

The Early Dirtbag gets the worm

2011-04-23T08:14:00.000-07:00

Got 11 hours of sleep last night.
Unfortunately Al and Jasper were raging late into the night.
So I was responsible for ops this morning.

Finally got him put down.

Prepped Sourdough and made Chicken Salad.

And started getting things together for curried Squid and tempura fried avacado.
Who is coming over for dinner?

Planning to head down to BC for a trot this afternoon. Rain forecast is off and I need to recon to see if I can ride sandy soils in the 60 degree weather tomorrow. Woot.
All my NE homeys are slogging through the 7th ed. of Trans Iowa.
Will TK or Cornbread Bring it on home this weekend? I hope!
Will M-Dub kill tall boys outside of a rural gas station? Without a doubt.
We are ramping up for the closing on Wed. then I got Butch helping me move in on Thursday.
Big Things, man, Big things.....

Fort Collins trip and the multiple use

2011-04-17T16:08:00.000-07:00

So last week I made the trip out to Fort Collins, CO for some riding under the guise of work. I was actually out ther to get trained on how to use the NLEAP model. NLEAP is a model that has been around for some time but its most recent incarnation has been to join it with GIS programs to evaluate how different scenarios in agricultural productions system affect nitrogen use and loss pathways.

What this really meant was that I was gonna have to sit in class all day before I could get some riding in.

Upon arriving in the FC, I moseyed over to Full Cycle, as they appeared to have the largest selection of nicer demo bikes in stock. They had a full arrray of sizes for a Giant Anthem 29er in a X2 build. They also had Reigns, Trances, a Ibis Mojo HD, and a Maverick ML8. The Giants could be had for $50 a day, while the Mojo and the ML8 were 75 dollars a day.

I should also point out that if you should desire a more modest mountain bike you should get in touch with New World Adventures. Its like 5 blocks from Full Cycle, and they have really reasonable older, fully functional mountain bikes for rent.

So for the first night I went with a Anthem 29er and headed for the foothills trails just on the western edge of the campus. After a couple of laps around the little lake trails we headed north along the foothills trails. I managed to make it up to the overlook, before darkness started to descend. Time to turnaround unlock the fork, and head back towards town. Brap.

Then Next morning I got up really early for some FIFO bidness while throwing down 950 lumens. I road all the way to the north side of town on the foothills trail before the sun started coming up. I was just me, the coyotes, and a suicidal rabbit.

The next day I turned the Anthem back in and checked out the Ibis Mojo HD. It was pretty well spec'ed with X9 all the way around, and Stans Flow wheels with a 15 mm axel.

I can honestly say that I have never ridden a 6 inch travel bike, and I probably will not in the future. The Ibis was a sweet bike, and once you were pointed down hill it was awesome, but I just felt like I was wallowing in all that travel. This wallowing sensation, not to be confused with "Wallering", was especially pronounced in technical sections that undulated and did not allow you to carry a lot of speed.

I took the Mojo to Horsetooth Mountain Park, climbed up the top to Spring Creek, tied that into Walthan, then down and over. It is a really technical trail with a lot of chunky rocks. There were a couple of parts where you could really appreciate all the travel, but for the most part I was left wishing that I had the Anthem. I will say that climb up Horsetooth went surprisingly well on the Mojo. My contempt for the way it handed in the technical non-downhill sections probably had a lot to do with being on a a unfamiliar bike on a unfamiliar trail. A gravity dropper post would have been a nice addition to this demo, but that’s neither here nor there.

Needed something to complement the Borscht I made tonite.

Which brings up the subject of why I do not get as much posting as some my more genteel readers are accustomed to. Having kids were does consume a large part of your life, but fear not, I am learning how to better manage my time.

A large part of being a trophy husband is deirectly related to the ability to multi-task.

Making Jasper dinner.

In Big Al's dinner.

My boys were sated.

Empathy (or lack thereof)

2011-04-02T06:29:00.000-07:00

I am a really empathetic person.
As a rule, I celebrate with people when they succeed, and commiserate with them when they fail. But, when I read Steve Tilfords account of his shelling at yesterdays Redlands Race, I could not help but smirk. Not out of the usual reasons, I really like steve. I think that he typifies all the things about professional cycling that I really like. He rides his bike and races because he enjoys doing it (or at least he seems to). Steve commented that he felt like a local cat 3 racer that got shelled off the back. Not to be mean spirited, but I felt vindicated that even people like Steve get thrashed occasionally (and sits on the sidewalk drinking beer afterwards). I think that I am gonna put Steve on my sidebar. He has some really great insight into life and a wealth of experiences.
Temps are gonna hit 50F today. Am going to ride south into the cities, and cruise around the neighborhoods near our new house. We finally found a home that got Ali and me all hot and bothered. We made a offer at 10pm, counter came back at 9am, our counter-counter was accepted at 11am. The previous owner had had the house on the market for like 250 days. The housing market really has hit rock bottom here. Good me us, but I feel bad for a lot of other people that have seen their home values plummet. Guess I still have a little bit of empathy left.

Under the category of new experiences, Jasper threw up in my armpit this morning. Fatherhood brings about all sorts of new emotions and sensations.

Stupid

2011-03-27T17:10:00.000-07:00

So for 5 weeks I have had access to TV, and not only regular tv, but cable TV. I have not owned or really even watched TV since 2004. It makes things a little challenging, and I often miss out on pop culture references and when important things happen. I was working as a guide in NC in 2005, and did not know the extent of the hurricane katrina damage until gas prices skyrocketed. If I needed to see something, I could usually got to a restruant or a bar to watch it.
I have really been floored at the absolute plethora of crap that is on TV. No wonder people are stupid. There were a few things that I found humorous, but for the most part I just felt dumber for having sat in front of it.
I was just blown away by how mind less most of the programming was. The Real House Wives of Beverly Hills? Jersey Shore. I thought the The Real World back in the late 90's was pretty dumb, but at least they had jobs and did something constructive. Then there was crap like Hoarders and Man vs Food. Only in America could a show about trying to eat 8 lbs of hamburgers make on prime time. A Lot of the stuff that he was choking down even appeared appetizing, until they brought it out in a bucket. However, I will admit that it is easy to sit down in front of the tube and just be mindless.
I will not miss it when its gone (and I get my geared bikes and books back out of storage).

Slick 50 Spring Classic

2011-03-20T05:47:00.000-07:00

These are my people.
Its not often that I do group rides. They require planning, you have to be somewhere at a certain time, and having a mechanical on a ride where the route is unknown usually turns me off. The Slick 50 was so worth it.

Hurl lays down the rules to live by, "Don't be a dick".
Photos shamelessly jacked from the Minneapolis Musette.
We met up at the CRC coffee shop preride, and rolled out 5o or 60 deep. The ride lived up to its name for the first 15 miles of greenway and alley meandering. The temps were just at 30 degrees, it was enough to make me wanting to be sitting on the front as the ice sheets were stretching across tarmac. The temps caused me to do some serious reflecting on apperel.
I ended up rocking my OR gaiters to cover the bareness between the bottoms of my knickers and the tops of my winter boots. Earlier this week, I did some commuting to work on some really swampy trails, and found that my shins were the only things that were really getting doused. The real problem was that the water would roll down my rain pants and into my boots. It was really harshing my mellow. I have used the gaiters for winter commuting when the grey snow in the street might soil the bottoms of my trousers.
For all intents aand purposes, I happen to think that gaiters are one of the more useful accouterments that I have used for keeping my cankles warm and dry. Plus they are easy on and easy off. 30 bucks well spent. I also ended up leaving the bar mitts on the bike, namely because I could not find my Sugoi gloves.
Once we got off the greenway, we rolled along the river towards the STP. I got to sit and chat with so many different people regarding all the events and bike related soirees Jeremy, Aaron and John regaled me with bike related tales of what happens about town. Chris Skogen, the mastermind behind the Almonzo rides, was in town, so I got to chat with him for a few minutes.
Once we crossed the river, heading south from the STP, the group started the spread out. At about the half way point we took a break to adjust things, kill some tallboys, and just generally regroup. Then we rolled down along the river, with with 2 river bluff ascents looming. Once we hit the climbs, it was all grunt, then rolling back down the bridge to STP proper. The next bluff was a steep and greasy alley behind a church. People saw Jesus on that climb.
Then it was all old town cruisinlg back to the pub for brandy and ale. after trading tales with the MPLS bike courier crew I headed back. According to Corvidean we rocked 50 miles
I did stop at Freewheel Bike to pickup my I9 back wheel. I had the Stans ZTR Race rim replaced with a new Crest. The spokes were starting to pull through the rim, which is not surprising given the weight weeny nature of that setup. They lasted several seasons, first for Harlan Price, and then me.
Then it was back to the house to freshen up and take her Al-ness out to dinner for date night at the Blue Nile. It was a day lived to the fullest.

Lebanon Hills snow bike

2011-03-14T17:48:00.000-07:00

Well I can honestly say that I got in one really solid day of snow biking in MN this year. I made the trip down to Lebanon hills with the SS. The MORC guys at Leb figured out how to consistently pack trails without having to cajole a bunch of desperate bike wives to use snowshoes . Check it out.

They got a snow scoot (essentially a kiddy snowmobile), that is narrower and more agile, to pack the trails at night. Brilliant! With minimal effort you get a solid surface that even regular MTB's can roll on. But, now it looks like winter is over, and the snow pack will be gone in 10 days. Its supposed to be 50 degrees all week.

Meh, that just means that it will be muddy for a month.

My first day of "two a day" spin classes went ok. I had a new instructor at the 2nd class. Very loud, very charismatic, and very annoying, but she definitely had the best class that I have been too. She used the whole hour, and had a well defined workout, that matched her music. Not that the music could drown her voice out. Another thing was that she was not afraid o call you out. If she thinks that you are being a pansy, she will call you out.

2011-03-12T13:29:00.000-08:00

So I think that the spin instructor is reading this blog, because yesterday she was cranking the techno/trance music and took everyone to a session in the pain cave. It is really interesting to attend these classes from the perspective of a racer. On a bike you try to be as efficient as possible, and most racers learn proper form very early. Not the case in spin class. It wasn't until I looked in the mirrors to my left, that I realized how inefficiently these alot of the folks were at pedaling. I actually find it rather painful to watch people in the spin classes. knees wobbling, cadences of 45 rpms, death grips on the bars, hunched shoulders, butts bouncing, and lots of squares being pedaled. I really struggle not to help people improve their experience, but I refrain. I don't want to be that guy.

It irritates me sometimes when instructors tell you you to go from 40% to 60% to 80% then tell you to sit down and increase your cadence without reducing the resistance. Plus the ability to adjust resistance with these bikes is pretty crude. Then again I may not be smart enough to follow the instructions.

I have heard of people getting into racing shape by riding the trainer all spring. I always thought that the monotany of it would be too much for me, but given the oppressive nature of MN winter I will start my 2-a-day spin class regimen. This could get ugly.

Work has been pretty interesting , which is really nice. I was starting to wonder if I would ever have a job that I did not hate. I find working downtown a source of constant amusement. Some segment of every population is going to be considered weird, and when you have really high population density (like downtown) you have more weird people. I wish I had a decent camera phone so that I could actually capture some of the spectacular specimens that I encounter everyday. I could devote a post a week to riding the bus.

Birfdays

2011-03-07T17:42:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Jasper, Ali, Brut-nasty and I went traipsing about.

Then last night I managed to slip away for a few hours to do some snow biking at Theo Wirth park on the west side of St. Paul. I had been biding my time waiting for things to firm up, and sent out a message on the MORC board enquiring as to whether or not the trails could be ridden on skinnies (2.2's).

I met up with another rider at the parking lot and followed him out to the trail sections that were really packed down. He expressed his dismay at how rutted it was. And it was not skinny ruts, these puppies could swallow up a 3.8 Daryll. Plus the ruts were usually going into and coming out of corners. It looked like someone was out there wailing in the soft snow with a YZ 250. The parts that were firm were absolutely awesome, but the SS made it tough to recover when you got off the line or really needed to apply torque.

It was good to get out of the house, and a snow bike is definitely going to have to be worked into the budget next year.

There is another YMCA about 10 blocks from where I work so about once a week I hit the spin class over my lunch hour. It is a markedly different demographic than the previous spin classes that I had been too. The classes are packed, and the instructor is female, mid 40's with a Jamie Lee Curtis haircut, and stares right at you, while singing along to "Hungry Eyes".

So creepy.

Anyhow, its Ali's birfday so I am gonna go make her some dinner.

Store bought cake. Don't judge me.

Making wishes

Rewarding Brutus with direct eye contact

I had a plastic bottle cages snap off on me with this wicked jagged edge. I am pretty sure that this is a bontrager bat cage. I have several of these on mtn bikes since they never launch bottles and are super sturdy, but this was sort of unsettling.

Frostbike

2011-02-23T16:19:00.000-08:00

I have decided to take advantage of the time each day that everyone else in the cities spend stuck in traffic to catch back up on my writing during my bus ride home .

Under the guise of employment for a major mtb magazine I penetrated the snowy fortress known ominously as QBP, Quality bicycle products. Once I made it past the flying monkeys and bitter hipsters that guard the doors to its LEED certified facility, I marveled at the facility and perks available to employees. Normally entrance to Frost Bike is a show up, the day of, kind of thing. But this year it sold out really early so I had to resort to calling all sorts of favors, and before I knew it I was Josh Pattersons photographer. I sort of know how Chumlee on Pawnstars feels on a day to day basis

Josh would not even let me hold the camera.

The coolest part was when Kim Brown gave us a tour of their distribution floor. No like products are ever grouped together. A size 7 Mavic Fury shoe is next to a Cane Creek 40 headset, which us underneath a non-drive side FSA crankarm, which is to the left of a XTR jockey wheel, which is under 276mm DT Alpine spokes. There is no order whatsoever. But this is so that sizes or like items do not get mixed up when the pickers are filling orders. They also have certain items that have especially high sales volume located in a center row so its easier to fill stock. I found this particularly interesting since this is essentially a indicator of whats hot in the bike world. I saw a lot of things that did not surprise me (King headsets, Stans sealant, CB Eggbeater pedals, and kickstands(apparently they never go out of style)), but there were a lot of other things that really caught me off guard (Ergon grips and HEED).

After that we sat down to a scrumptious lunch with the Apels, of Big Poppi Bicycle Company. After lunch Aaron and I went scouting for new technology. I got the see Challenges new tubular mtb tires, the new Slant Six tires from Kenda, and the Cane Creek guys hooked fellow North Carolinian with a new headset.

We also got toe see where QBP does their Handspun wheels. They were doing a LOT of Hope Pro2's laced to Arches, but I also imagine that this is also related to building wheels in batches. Pretty cool.

This time on the bus leave me with time for more important things on the homefront.

Hillbilly inadequacies and urbane reflections

2011-02-22T17:24:00.000-08:00

So I will be the first to admit that in often struggle the fact the I have never really had a lot of exposure to urban environment. I mean, when I went to college in KY, my college town had 10 thousand people and a walmart supercenter. Thought that it was big city living.

Then I returned to the simple life of rural NC. It really was like green acres. Then I went to Manhattan, KS. A Division 1 college town with 50,000 people, with a bonafide bar district, expensive rent, and multiple bike shops. This I thought, was big city living.

Then I moved to Omaha, well just outside of Omaha. Close enough that I could commune with the urban outdoors men (homeless people) but far enough away that what happened on 30th and (insert any north Omaha st) did not affect me.

I commented to Noah, once as we were riding from downtown O, that whenever I was around urban downtown settings, no matter how long I had been removed from western NC, I still felt like a hick.

Like a serious hick, dueling banjos, "My Name is Earl" kind of inadequacies.

Its my cross to bear.

But I can see why some folks really dig living in urban environments. Each day I walk about a mile to and from my downtown bus stop to the Capitol complex. It constantly amazes me how many people are milling around, smoking, sipping things out of paper bags, talking in foreign languages, being so high that they physically cannot talk to the police, all before 8 am. It is pretty wild. I thought that it might be intimidating, but for the most part people just mind their own business.

I am pretty stoked about the people that I work with in the Dept of Ag. One of the guys that I will spend half my time with races CX, and the Hydrologist I will work with mountain bikes and lived in ID until a few months ago.

Its kind of strange to all of the sudden be surrounded by people at work that I actually enjoy being around.

The bus experience was been pretty awesome. There is a express line pickup about 2 miles from our condo, and it takes me from Shoreview to downtown St. Paul in less than 25 minutes. You cannot drive a car and get to where I work any faster than on a bus. If traffic slows or stops, the express buses will drive on the shoulder. I am not talking about poking along at 35 mph. I mean barreling past stopped traffic on I35 doing 65mph. There simply is no better way to get across town at rush hour.

Spin Class

2011-02-22T17:21:00.000-08:00

Not gonna lie, I have made fun of a lot of people that talk about spin class. I apologize.

It is pretty amusing the types of people that come to spin class. Ali and her sister, who is in the cities for a week, gave me the low down on what to expect. I was told that there would be roadies, cheerleader types, and that the spin teacher would be annoyingly perky.

Wrong.

There were no roadies, no cheerleaders, and the instructor looked and sounded like a squat, older, Russian peasant woman. She was probably Stalin's mother. I guess I was not prepared to show up and be the most advanced person in the class. There were a lot of grandmothers in the class, and a few middle aged men that looked like they would rather be somewhere else. I was surprised when the instructor said that spin cadence was not to exceed 110 rpms. The instructor had us doing all of these stand up on the pedals sessions, but they were so long that no one could have been using very much resistance. She was constantly shouting things that I could not understand between her thick accent and the blasting trance music.

I think that I will get a lot out of spin class. As strange as it was I really enjoyed it. It breaks up the monotony of riding the trainer (that I do not have currently) and the annoyance of the Robbie Ventura DVD that is in a shipping container (with the trainer and geared bikes). It did suck trying to get the bike to fit me in the period of 5 minutes.

Becoming a parent

2011-02-14T17:32:00.001-08:00

It does not sink in that you are going to be a parent until someone actually hands you a screaming kid. I went through all of Ali's gestation just thinking that I would deal with the responcibility of parenthood when things were a little more "at hand". Well things are certainly at hand when the doc hands you a kid.
Ali's water broke on the night of Feb. 1st but was not having heavy contractions, so we just went to bed. In the morning she still was not having heavy contractions, but we headed to the hospital anyway. In our Bradley Childbirth class we covered alot of the various scenarios that happen during birth, but no class covers all the things that can happen. Ali was still not having serious contractions after several hours so they had her start potosin to increase the intensity and frequency of her contractions. After a while they would decrease the potosin dose, and her contraction intensity would decrease, which is not really conducive to a expeditious labor. The mid wife then put Ali on oxygen to see if that would make the baby a little more responsive in the laboring process. Over the period of the rest of the day they proceeded to dose with potosin to increase the intensity of contractions two more times. But whenever they stopped the potosin, Ali's contractions would drop off in intensity. This coupled with the fact that almost 24 hours had elapsed since Ali's water had broken, meant that she was at a increased risk of infection. By about 6 pm the midwife brought in the OB doc to talk with Ali about the realistic possibility that we might have to resort to a caesarian section. Jasper was not tolerating labor and his HR was decreasing.
This was really tough for Ali.
When you go through classes like Bradley you go over all this preparation for what you might encounter in natural childbirth, but it does little to prepare you for the fact that you may have to actually get a C-section.
Anyway, Ali and I had a conversation about how things were playing out, we concluded that given the way that things had played out and based on the input of the midwife, we signed the paper work for a C-section. Then things really started to happen.
Two nurses walked in and stared prepping Ali, and handed me some scrubs. It was go time.
Once we hit the OR it was less than 20 minutes later I was looking at a man child. It took them a while after delivery to get Ali closed up, as the docs had found that Ali had a uterine infection. This infection, previously undetected, explained part of why contractions were not happening on their own, to the extent that dilation would allow for a normal birth.

Ali asked me to put some of my thoughts into writing regarding the birth of our son, so I figured I might as well write it here. To me, it does not matter how kids are born. All that matters is that we are all healthy and together.

And just like that, we live in Minnesota!

2011-02-12T22:00:00.000-08:00

It took some creative packing and marketing but we finally got everything out of the house and into the container or the truck. Many thanks to Todd, Rafal, Ryan and Rox, and Jeremy for all their help. We would have been up poop creek without yall.
If stuff didn't make the cut, well I tried to find it a good home.

Photo cred goes to Jeremy
I bet this doesn't make it through the night.
Anyway, I will post some pics of the new (temporary) abode and some stuff I have been ruminating on in a post progeny world in the manana.

Jasper

2011-02-06T13:49:00.000-08:00

There is a small person that now occupies a large part of my life. He is super chill, digs sleeping, likes to hang out at the lactation station, and will pee on you. He was born at 7:30 on Feb. 2nd, weighing in at a respectable 8 lbs 11 oz

Raging on his way home from the hospital.

Jasper discovers a use for a lazy dog.

So before I hear any crap about why I named my kid after a vampire, I will state for the record that, we used the name Jasper since it was where we went on our honeymoon. Jasper NP in Alberta, Canada.
Ali is doing great, she is still stiff and sore but is moving about really well. Thanks to all our friends and family for their support. i have a lot of thoughts about this that I wish I had the time to put down, but the truth is that I don't have and will not have that luxury in the next month as we make the move to MN.
Becoming a parent has been a really surreal experience for me. It doesn't really sink in until the nurse hands you this little person.......that is making a lot of noise. Holy nuts.

comics

2011-01-30T18:13:00.000-08:00

Click to enlarge.
Alison actually found this. Makes me think of our team goal setting sessions.

dogsicles

2011-01-25T04:39:00.000-08:00

So given the 7 inches of Powpow that we got on Saturday night, I decided that we should bust out the snowshoes and do some trespassing. Even Ali was game, being 39 weeks pregnant. Going was slow, but we got out to see the sights.

Its a pretty well known fact that when my dog, Brutus, talks, he does so in a gruff, gravelly voice and generally talks like a longshoreman. Here was the dialogue that transpired after our traipsing on Sunday:

Brutus: Hey, Stupid, get over here and document my sick frostbeard.

Me: Uh, Brut you don't really have a beard. Its more like whiskers......or curb feelers.

Brutus: Shut up college boy! I gotta start working on my street cred.

Me: Ok, whatever.

Click

Brutus: Look at that! I could be in a beer commercial. (Dramatic gravelly voice) The Most Interesting Dog in the World!

Me: Yeah, well your mystique would evaporate the first time they saw you lick your butt.

Brutus: Don't judge me.

cleaning out the cupboard

2011-01-22T04:42:00.000-08:00

So given the relatively small moving container that I ordered, her Al-ness and I decided that we were going to cull off a bunch of the stuff that we do not want or really use so we do not have to move it to MN. I hate junk and clutter (don't mistake that statement to think that I am a neat and tidy person), and if there is something (non-sport or gun related) that is not getting used it gets good willed or trashed after a year of non use. I tend to really use things until they fall apart, so its usually the latter.
That being said, I have been facing the dilemma of having to try to eat our way through all the weird food products that tend to accumulate in the freezer door and and the bottom shelf of the pantry.
Which presents me with another problem of trying to make a palatable meal, instead of "whatchagot stew"

Oh no! As someone who holds cured meats in high regard I find products like this offensive to my senses, olfactory or otherwise. However, Al was raised on Spam and eggs (insert TN joke), so I sliced it thin and tried to crisp it up. Meh, I would not walk a mile for it, but whatever.

I decided to hedge my bets on the spam and eggs and go to a old southern stand-by for breakfast suppers. Shrimp and grits. Steam (don't boil!) shrimp with water and vinegar after you sprinkle on some Old Bay. Once they are cooked, peel and set aside. dice up 2-3 ounces of gruyere cheese. Make Grits. Then when the grits are done, reduce heat to low, throw in 1-2 tblsp of butter, add the gruyere, and shrimp. stir until cheese is melted, and if it starts to get too thick add a little milk or cream (thats right MOD, I said CREAM! Don't bring that weak half n' half stuff around here) to thin it out. Then serve (and prepare to have women throw themselves at you).

Found some sausage, freezer burned yard-bird, and okra in the freezer, so I whipped up a roux, steamed rice and made some gumbo.

Then I asked myself, "Self, what would Justin Wilson do if he lived in NE, and made gumbo in the winter?"

We squirrel hunted back home when I was a kid. I can remember when dad would take me. Watching that made me remember hunting for ginseng when I was in KY, poaching rabbits, shooting groundhogs, and fishing with concussive devices. I ate a lot of ill gotten vermin growing up. Fond memories.

Gonna take Brut-nasty snowshoeing this morning, then I have to replace shocks and brakes on the back half of the recreational turd colored vehicle.

what....huh?

2011-01-16T13:44:00.000-08:00

Piss, I haven't done anything for two weeks. Right after New years I developed some low back pain, and then really irritated it earlier this week shoveling snow. 14 days of no exercise other than walking the dingo to the park (read: I stand there chewing on Tylenol #3 and advil while my dog craps in someones yard).
Thats the longest activity free period I have had since running the Christmas Tree lots back in the old country. I went to the Chiropractor last Friday but that has not seemed to help. Today I have had a lot less pain, but definitely feel very stiff.

This free time has allowed me to start preparing for a lot of changes that are fixing to happen........Beside the arrival of the little monster I have accepted a position with the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. Minnesota has taken a very proactive stance on reducing the effects agriculture has on its water. They are now making fertilizer BMP's (best management practices) mandatory. My job will be to help implement and validate these BMPs to reduce the concentration of nitrate in tile drainage lines, and evaluate TMDLs (total max daily loads) of phosphorus. I am pretty stoked to have the opportunity to get back into a career that involves soil fertility, and has a direct impact on producers and the conservation of our resources.
In a lot of ways I am really excited to make the move to St. Paul, but its gonna be challenging to have a newborn, move everything, live in temp housing, start a new job, and close on a house all in one month. Its always a adventure.

I was stoked to see that one of my favorite books of all time is going to be made into a movie. The Long Walk, by Slawomir Rawicz is hands down one of the finest stories of adventure ever written. You must read this book! I first read it 6 years ago and I still reread it once a year. A Polish officer escapes from Siberian gulag and walks to India.

Yeah, Ali just walked in and declared that, "we are going to go walk around Scheels and then eat really spicy thai food". So I will leave you with that for the moment.

The last 10 days.....

2011-01-01T17:40:00.000-08:00

So her Al-ness and I have been trolling across the midwest for Christmas holidaze. We first met the inlaws in southern Indiana, specifically French Lick. As creepy as that name is, the town and the surrounding Hoosier forest is a pretty sweet place to ramble around for a week. BeeRad Reed and I got in some good gravel miles on the snow pack, and we managed to get in a few runs.

Me and Sara Reed loafing at the indoor water park.

Trouncing my little niece, Ansley

Then we headed west to St Louis to see where all the magic happens. The Anheiser-Busch tour is probably one of the best FREE breaks you can take when you are driving across I-70. Even a teetotaler would dig it. We then proceeded to BoCo, MO to visit Larry, Dana and, the newest Simonson, Liam. Larry works for PedNet and runs several different mobility programs including the countries largest walking school bus program. Larry also was the first person to introduce me to the joys of gravel roads in KS.

That being said, he also took me on a 40 mile tour of dirt roads in Boone County, MO since we had temps in the 60's. Things were a little muddy though.
Then we headed to KC to witness the union of Josh and Jaime in (un)holy matrimony.........and race a little cross, Mark Thomas style .
All pictures below are courtesy of the Lantern Rouge

The hill of truth. Steeper and longer than Mt. Krumpet.

I raced SS since that was the only bike I had with me on the trip, and since KC usually has pretty deep SS fields it always makes for a good time. Britton K was gonna be the man to beat, as he jumped out early on, but I was able to bridge up and take a two lap pull on the front.

It was pretty much just Britton and I for most of the race. Then with 2 to go, Britton came around, turned the screws, and established a 7 second gap that I just was not able to close, especially with a lot of lapped traffic on course.

Super fun race with a ton people cheering despite the cold weather and blustery wind. The course was really spread out since Stump Park is a huge venue, and this made for some really fast racing that favored power riding.
Moar! tomorrow.

Alternative Energy: Man Power

2010-12-22T17:26:00.000-08:00

Contain your inner "racer boy" and focus on getting one of your old, curmudgeonly compatriots on the path to energy independence this year. Kill your TV, drink with your friends, play with floppy-eared dogs, and be the change that you envision.

Frozen Digits and warm BM's

2010-12-22T04:53:00.000-08:00

I have pretty poor circulation especially in my hands, but I have tried not to let this infringe on my winter miles. Typically a good set of windproof softshell gloves are great for temps down to 30 degrees, but for temps down to 10 degrees F I have used Pearl Izumi Lobster claw gloves. The big problem with thick gloves is reduced dexterity and the fact that once you start sweating you are gonna soak your gloves.

Wet gloves = cold hands

Jay Buthman of Amoeba R&D laid out a pretty cool idea last year (scroll down its a long post) that got me to thinking.

Pogies. Numerous people make their own versions of flat bar pogies, and they all work pretty well. These have a lot of advantages over gloves, you can wear no gloves or just liner gloves, if its Super Cold (less than 10 degrees F) you can toss hand warmers into the pogies, and also store your cell phone, gel, or Clif bars to keep them from freezing. Snow bike wacko’s like DG swear by these things

Enter Bar Mitts (BM) for Drop Bars: being warm never looked so dumb. I don’t have heaps of style working for me to start with, but these things are incredibly dumb looking. I was going to buy some new winter gloves last month, but seeing that Bar mitts were gonna cost as much as some really nice gloves I just went for the bar mitts. Best money I have spent this winter. I usually just wear a thin wool liner glove so that when I take my hands off the bars they don’t chill as quickly. I rode 45 miles of gravel on Saturday morning with no gloves (just BM’s) and was fine.

You can still toss chemical hand warmers and a phone down in them, and ride all day, no matter what the weather. BM’s are neoprene so they block the wind and retain quite a lot of warmth even if your hands get really sweaty. The down side is that you are relegated to riding on your hoods, and you are gonna look dumb and attract the ridicule of people like Shim. But fear not, you can feel smug knowing that they are relegated to trainer purgatory while you bask in the glory of a stiff north wind.

How Dumb will you look? On the sliding scale of bicycle style: Bar Mitts are in between the little rear view mirrors that go on your helmet and aero bars on a hybrid…..although all are well conceived, they are often poorly executed.

I liked my drop BM’s so much I actually bought a set for the mtb too. I know that Bike Rack at 140^th and Maple has some in stock (both styles). Not sure who else in the Big O might carry these? Mark and Bryan at the Trek Store might have a little too much style to carry something like this (Mark would sell you a hybrid AND aero bars, but he will not be responsible for combining them).
I have NO IDEA why my formatting just went all to pot. I hate you blogger (shaking fist at sky)
FYI The snow is still too deep at L&C for riding other than going downhill.

Stream of Consciousness Announcing

2010-12-12T13:28:00.000-08:00

I have been a huge fan of how Colt and the folks from Cycling Dirt have tried to bring races and race reports to the masses by turning around highlight videos and post race interviews of racers. At first I was just kind of amused that it just sort of seemed like Colt was just doing this on a shoestring budget, then the cyclingdirt.org guys got the support of Greenware to broadcast the USGP of CX in conjunction with Velonews. The broadcasts were definitely not the highest quality, but the enthusiasm of Adam and Colt made it worth watching. Today they have Mark Gullickson (from USAC) commentating in the womens race, and I can't help but cringe at the monotone and lack of vocabulary that he uses to announce. I watch the World Cup CX races in Europe that are commentated in Flemish, dutch or some other euro-centric language, but I can typically follow whatever is going on based off of HOW the commentator is speaking, not on what he is actually saying.
I can't speak Dutch, but I did take two semesters of Spanish in high school....... Bon Jour!

Don't get me wrong, I am incredibly thankful that USAC, CyclingDirt, and Velonews got together to put this out there, but Gullickson was like listening to my high school science teacher drone on about matter. They could at least "voice over" the race announcers. I was also sad that in the womens race they only really covered KFC, but since she had a 30 second lead for most of the race it would have been nice to see some of the other battles going on behind her.
But make no mistake, I am stoked to get coverage of any type.

On the other hand, I converted my Reba from 80mm of travel to 100mm. Took like 20 minutes and 18cc of fork oil. If you want your Reba travel adjusted just let me know.......I have enough 5wt oil to do 40 forks (since its winter I am only using 5wt, not a 50/50 mix of 5wt and Red Rum) I can do the conversion with your fork on or off of the bike. No charge, but a six pack would be appreciated.
Time to freshen up my beverage and get ready for the Elite Mens race. Viva la CyclingDirt! (take that eurotrash and bitter Canadians).

Full Suspension Thoughts

2010-12-05T17:06:00.000-08:00

So it happened again, I managed to dupe someone into letting me ride their FS bike. This time Ryan Feagan let me ride his 07 Giant Anthem that he currently has up for sale. It is a medium, and really liked the steering and reach on the bike. I had to drop his seat post about 20mm, but the suspension was perfectly set, as ryan and I are close, weight wise. General observations about the Anthem:

It’s a lot easier to keep your outside foot down as you really carve into the corners on a FS bike. On my Scott Scale I have a hard time really being comfortable staying seated in choppy corners, and keeping my outside foot down in the corners. Despite the fact that Scale really carves, I usually ride through all but the smoothest of corners with my pedals at the 3 and 9 o’clock position, and I feel like I have to scrub too much speed. Trying to stay seated over really bumpy sections on a stiff bike with a 34.9 mm seatpost is tough on your back (and bottom) .

Small bump compliance: There is much to be said for being able to stay seated and lay down the power when you are in the chatter. Ryan had the RP23 “PUSHed” last year, and it does a great job of smoothing things out with feeling like its wallowing underneath me.

I think that sizing has a lot to do with how comfortable you are going to be especially when you are on more “race” oriented bikes. Despite numerous tweaks I was unable to get comfortable on the Top Fuel that the Trek store let me demo earlier this year. So when I showed up at the Casa de Feagan I had my own saddle with me in attempt to really experience a bike and not be distracted by saddles that might not love my bottom.

I left the ProPedal on the entire time I was on the bike, and according to the occasional glance down to the “o” ring, I was using all of the travel. The Maestro suspension was far superior to the other suspension designs that I have ridden with the exception of the Epic (I am sure your bike is sick, but you never let me ride it). The suspension was firm enough that I could discern no noticeable bob when I stood up to climb, but was not so stiff as to be harsh.

I was also surprised how light the anthem was. There was no part of Ryans build that I would remotely refer to as “weight weeny” but the sled was still well under 25 lbs ( I have very nice singlespeeds that weigh more than that).

All in all I was really impressed with the Anthem. Definitely on my radar.

On the other side of things I also got surprised by my wife today. She bought me some new Crocs. Woah, Wait……CROCS?

Yeah, I wear crocs. I wear the crap out of some crocs. They are in my mind one of the most useful pieces of gear I have owned in the past 5 years (Ali bought me a pair when we first got married). They are great for driving, changing in parking lots, showering, loitering down by the river with John Waller, Portaging in the BWCA, they float, they are supple enough that I can slackline with them on, relatively cheap, and they weigh next to nothing. I really cant think of anything else that cost so little, that I have gotten so much use out of.

Loafin on Decker Flats 'tween Ketchum and Stanley, ID

fjording the mighty Buffalo River in AR

Transitioning

Jingle Cross

2010-11-29T10:24:00.000-08:00

I felt like a piece of meat out there (yes, I am in this picture). Image from Brittany McConnell's FB Album

This event was referred to as the CX Midwest World Championships, and it was easy to see how it got this moniker. There were monsters in every field, and every field was deep. Last row starts guaranteed mediocre finishes (with the exception of Matt Tillinghast who battled back from a horrible start in the Mens Masters 35+ race to finish top 5 on Sat). Fields quickly strung out as the run ups and soft, sticky off camber sections slowed down the fields, allowing the leaders to make quick get aways.

Raced the 3’s race on Satuday, last row start, finished 19^th. Took a pretty good fall on the downhill of the first lap. Some dude was standing in the middle of the double track descent jacking with his chain. Rather than bury my handlebars into this honkey’s kidneys, I tried steering up the hill. That wasn’t happening in the gooey mud, and down I went. Quickly rolled under the fence so I did not cause any more carnage, and once the coast was clear I went back at it. Chased Kansas homeboy, David Niedinger, up till the last lap, and managed to close it down on the run up. Noah Marcus finished 15^th.

One thing that struck me as pretty humorous, was seeing a Crank Brother Eggbeater pedal head laying in the mud on the super sketchy off-camber hill side. It was like the pedal interface totally separated from the spindle. It does not take much to entertain me.

Sunday I gave the Singlespeed race a go and managed to come in 4^th. The ground was still frozen in certain parts of the course, and as a result some corners you could just rail through; while others required constant vigilance and a steady hand. Once we lined up in staging we were told that we would not be going up and over Mt. Krumpet since the descent was still froze and slicker than grease owl sh...stuff. This did not make me sad, as I was dreading that descent. On the first lap I got a bunch of cheers from the crowd for a save when I nearly high-sided going into a corner way to hot. It is a good feeling when the crowd is shouting for you. I ran super low pressure (26 psi according to the pump that the SRAM rep had) in my Stans ZTR Alpha 340’s Rolling on Hutchinson Bulldogs. I was not disappointed with how it handled, but with a lap go I had the front wheel start to washout on a icy corner, only to catch on a frozen rut. The sound that resulted from this was not what I would describe as a burp, rather, it sounded more like the tire bead snapping into place. I could not see any stans on the rim that usually indicates a burp, and I could not discern any loss in tire pressure. But, it was not a comforting sound with the one-to-go ringing in your ear. I watched the guy that had been in 3^rd place for most of the race close from a LONG way back, to pull out the win. Closing late in a race is not my forte.

It was also really cool to hear Lefler announcing with Towle. It truly was "on like donkey kong". He also threw out a new one to me, "wattage cottage".

The Iowa city fans were awesome all weekend, and were great hosts. The dudes that were running concessions to raise money for the fairgrounds were giving me a hard time for dragging my very pregnant wife around on the cold, but it was all in good fun, later on we talked hog farming.

Jingle cross should definitely be on you calendar

The SuperFan Cometh

2010-11-22T15:34:00.000-08:00

I made it to last years Lincoln CX Race and was looking forward to seeing all the shenanigans again this year.

Pic by Bruce Thornton via Sydney Brown

I got more than I bargained for.

Saturday I raced the 3/4's raceand got to the line a little late. Late enough for a last row start. Right from the start Mike Miles cracked the whip and was gone. I just could not make any headway on the first lap. I could see the lead chase group about 15 seconds behind a blazing Mike Miles. I continued to hang in about 12th until half way thru the 2nd lap. Then I was able to start slipping 'round folks and going solo into the wind. With 4 Laps to go, I managed to make the bridge back to the lead chase group of Mark Lavin, Noah Marcus, and ....... We could see that Mike was slowing down and that we would be bringing him back in soon.

With 2 to go we had brought Mike back and the group was down to Lavin, Noah, Mike and myself.

Once we hit hooligan hill again it appeared that Noah had fallen off the pace. Then a few moments later I heard Miles start swearing and I presumed that he dumped a chain.

And then there were two.

I gave chase on Lavin as we wound our way through to low grassy parts of the course. I was able to hang on but I did not have the juice to do anything more.
After a rather ugly barrier section (that spawned lots of internet ridicule) we got spit out onto the tarmac with a 300 yard sprint to the finish. I was slapping SRAM for all I was worth trying to get some big ring love.

Pic by Bruce Thornton via Sydney Brown
I am not a sprinter. I always get smoked on road ride sprints, but I can run through some gears without having to stand up on the pedals. I just went through my gears and managed to slip by Lavin about 10 yards from the line. My first CX win since the 2008 KS State Championships in the SS category, and my first ever win on a geared bike. Yeah gears!

Mike Miles finished strong to hang onto 3rd place.

Sunday I brought my SS CX bike out of the barn and put it through the paces in the NE SS CX Championship. I was gunning for Ryan "The Albino Rhino" Albertson, who rode away from Rafal and Keith Walberg in Saturdays race.

Image shamelssly jacked while Facebook creepin!
Any dude that races back to back in a circa 1992 teal gree womens camisole (or whatever that thing was) is a legitimate badass.......don't kid yourself. No one knows what level of depravity someone like that is capable of.
We rolled off the line 15 seconds behind the 3/4's and we all proceeded to get our spin on. I bobbled a few times, and found myself chasing Ryan, Rafal, and TJ Davis. Once we hit the long tarmac section my 42/18 gearing kicked in. I was feeling good so I just tried to stay on top of my gearing. I caught Ryan on the tarmac and he was right on my wheel for all of the next lap. Every time I though I had a gap, there he was, looking as angry as someone that wears lingerie can look.
Then I caught Schmidty right as we were rolling down the hill towards the tarmac. He took a big pull and it was all I could do to stay spun up on his wheel. That would prove to be all that I needed to get a gap on the Rhino. I was able to stay out of his clutches for the rest of the day to make it a two fer weekend. Great times.
Tip of the Hat to Troy, Schmidty, and all of the Midwest Wheel Masters for putting it together.
Then it was time to shuffle up Hooligan hill to contribute to the delinquency of the hooligans.
Fans are the best part of CX racing, and Lincoln has some pretty awesome fans.

Late Edit: Dang! my legs hurt from the SS race. I haven't had to stand on the pedals like that in quite a while

It will not go quietly into the night

2010-11-16T18:04:00.000-08:00

Some bikes just will not die.

When they first arrive its like the honeymoon.

Then they become a workhorse.

Occasionally a thoroughbred.

Then they get put out to pasture.

But they really never stop dreaming about a comeback.

Putting the shine on, but not everyone is impressed.

Danger Pins

2010-11-10T15:49:00.000-08:00

I have safety pins everywhere. In my race bags, toolbox, truck cupholders, jacket pockets, the lint trap of my dryer.....everywhere. I hate safety pins.
Previously I have used 3M's Spray Adhesive "45" to adhere race numbers to my kit, but have been unable to find it at Menards (or anywhere in NE).

There are like 6 different kinds of 3M spray adhesive and they will all stick your number to you, but the higher the "number" the more residue will be left on your kit. This residue is also compounded if the spray is applied to heavily and applied while adhesive is still "wet". Remember its like gluing a patch on a inner tube, gotta let it dry a bit.

So I when I was loafin in Menards today I found Loctites version of "45". The other nice thing was that it costs half of what 3M "45" does.
When you are putting the adhesive on the back of your race number make sure to apply it evenly around the edges and some towards to middle. I like to lay my jersey out on a flat surface before I slap the number on so there aren't any wrinkles underneath. If you are rocking the skinsuit its best to have your number applied after you kit up.

There will probably not be many more tandem jaunts till after Feb. as Ali commented that her knees were starting to hit her belly. I like this time of year.

This fatherhood thing is sinking in! Next year there will be a trailer behind this rig!

Belated Spooky Cross

2010-11-09T14:54:00.000-08:00

Yeah so this ones a little late.

Saturday saw two cars full of Nebraskans headed east to do battle with the loathsome Iowegians for Spooky Cross. Rafal started out the day for our motley crew racing his SS in the 4’s race. After a poor start he slowly muscled his way through the pack to wrest a podium spot away from some honkey with a bike that cost more than my first car. Then he started talking about margins, and I started making polish jokes.

When we first rode the course, it was obvious that this course was pretty rough. There was also a little seeping spring that we rode across, that would become a giant sucking mud hole by the end of the day. When the 3’s and 1,2,3’s race came around Mike Miles, Noah, Marcus, Rafal, and myself lined up along with fellow Nebraskans Rich Pearson and Kevin Murray. With a Cannon blast we were off. I had a pretty descent start, but Noah and Mike were up front. On the first run up I was behind two riders from Iowa City that were on the same team that were side by side. I felt like going a little faster so I started to squeeze between them pushing my bike. Fullerman was on the right, and had shouldered his bike, as I went by he turned his shoulders to avoid the limbs on the side of the trail. This turn of body swung his back tire around and smacked me right in the mouth. I managed to get by, but Fullerman can back around just a few moments later and would prove to be the lone Iowegian on the 3’s podium that day. At that point I was sitting in 4^th trying to keep Mike Miles in sight for the first few laps. But he just kept stretching out his lead.

At this point I started trying to do dumb stuff. For some reason this year I am not taking 100+ degree turns with a wide approach. I am trying to ride the shortest distance, right up to the apex and then muscle through it, instead of staying wide and leaning into the curve to carry some speed. This was the reason I went down down last week, and why I went down again this week. Both times it was not the act of going down that cost me time, rather it was having to realign my front end. While I was messing with handlebars, Rich Pearson came around along with a few other riders.

Now I will say this, Rich Pearson is my hero. I mean when I am his age I hope that that I have a modicum of his speed on the bike. That being said, I don’t want him to beat me in a bike race. Well, in true proverbial fashion, experience and cunning triumphed over youth and stupidity.

I managed to reel back in the other guys that came around but I never got within a hundred yards of Rich again. Occasionally, I would catch a glimpse of Miles, but Noah was out of site, as was Fullerman. It was Noah that would prove to be the victor. Mike , Rich and I would round out the top 5 in the 3’s. Matt Farnham would bring home 3^rd in Elite race. Nebraska was well represented.

I also was impressed at how awesome the fans are in Iowa. As I walked back to our cheering section Rafal handed me a warm Busch Light……having never been the kind to look a gift horse in the mouth, I took it and started making polish jokes. One of the ladies that was walking by proceeded to offer us all cold beverages, and then gave us gift certificates to a local restaurant. Sweet! Thanks Lee!

Crazy Euros

2010-11-08T05:20:00.000-08:00

Thomas Krap brought this to my attention.
I especially like the fact that the Germans were sporting IF kits, and one dude was rocking a Waltworks Shirt.

CRITICAL FILM from e r t z u i ° film on Vimeo.

You need to have a half hour to kill.

Flatwater Lincoln CX Race

2010-10-24T18:04:00.000-07:00

It was really great to see that big of a 1,2,3 field at a CX race. I think more promoters should make a note of what Lefler and and the Flatwater crew did by not paying the 3's but paying 15 deep in the open field.
Speaking of the 3's, Noah Marcus and Tyler Whetstone did battle for most of the 3's race. It was really good to see a real back and forth battle. Tyler is one of my closest friends, and even then I would not want to jockey for position with him. He will push you around if he gets the chance to get inside your head. However, Matt Maxon came out of nowhere (like Sioux City?) with like 2 to go, charged to the front, and never looked back........not like we haven't seen him do that before. Dudes got a motor!

I threw my hat into the Open Race to see if I could break even on the day. Big Field, had a really good start, rolling in the top 12.

Photo Cred Dan Farnham
As things sorted themselves out on the first lap I saw that Jeff Bonsall was right behind me, so I figured I would have someone to work with.

Bonsall: In control.
As I came across the Start/finish I saw MG laying on the pavement looking kind of dazed and missing some skin (Get well buddy!) Then in one of the corners on the lower part of the course I got a little to big for my britches and went down hard. I knocked my front end out of alignment and banged my knee up pretty good. It definitely took the wind out of my sails. I dropped like 10 spots and proceeeded to chase for the next 50 minutes. One of the most demoralizing things about racing with the 1,2's is that if you fall off the pace there is not a lot of chances to make the bridge back up. I think I got 19th?

photo cred NOA
I consoled myself with refreshments on the run thanks to CVO, Malcolm, and all the Lincoln Hooligans.
I even snagged a dollar! Those guys definitely set the bar for super fans!

I really liked Lefler as an announcer.......He does a phenomenal job keeping fan up on the action, and it lets the riders know where they are. Good Show! I also like how the officials did not mess around, the results were posted and awards were done very quickly.The Flatwater crowd runs a pretty tight ship.

Looking forward to another great Lincoln weekend next month!

Oakley Night Cap Cyclocross

2010-10-17T17:29:00.000-07:00

So on Friday I jetted out of work to meet Jeremy Cook so we could head to Des Moines for the Night Cap Cyclocross race presented by Bike Iowa at Mullets Bar and grill.

WOW!

This was a awesome event. Awesome fans, the social lubricants were flowing, and the fields were pretty big. My only complaint was that the course was relatively short, but they used every inch they could.
Me and Jeremy talked Econ the whole way there, and got registered with time to spare. it was a especially cool evening that was compounded by the fact that we were right next to the River. As we were kitting up Jeremy whipped out some Mad Alchemy Mellow embrocation and offered me some.

.....now I have always been skeptical of embrocation. I know a lot of cyclists love to wax poetic about how great it is when its cold outside. Me, I prefer to wear warm clothes. So with a little bit of trepidation I slathered my legs up, pulled on my BGR fleece lined skinsuit and hit the levy trails to try to warmup. At first I would not call the sensation of embrocation warming........it was more of a mild intermittent burning sensation. It did not feel warm all the time either, the tingle came and went. What I did notice was that my feet were cold, I banged my toe on a barrier on the warmup and it really hurt. However, even with a thin pair of full finger gloves my hands felt fine from the application to the ol' leggers. (Word to the wise: watch where you put you hands post application)

After what seemed like forever, they finally sent us all off for a sixty minute race that would be 19 laps. I really have no idea how I did. You were never really out of the traffic, and there was never a long straight stretch. It was one of the more technical (in a non-muddy sense) with a ton of turns and sketchy dark descents. 90% of the course was really well lit, but that dark off camber descent was dicey, fun but in a dangerous kind of way.

One of the Alegant Health racers from Lincoln absolutely destroyed a tubular rear wheel. I mean ripped spokes out of eyelets, rim bent and broke in multiple locations. It was spectacular, but even with his wheel having multiple 90 degree angles, his tubby was still glued firmly in place. I thought that was impressive.

We also got to see Shim before our race. Turns out he ripped a derailleur off in his race.

Jeremy and I did not wait around for results, since we were heading back to the big O that night, and I had to work early the next morning. Did not get home until 2 am. Suck. Many thanks to Jeremy though for staying awake and being a great conversationalist on the ride home.

Afterthoughts: I am going to order some Mad Alchemy Medium or Madness (Mod or Brian if you have any in stock let me know and I will be by the store). It did not occur to me until later that I could apply embrocation to my feet which are always cold. The Mellow is great, I never even realized I had it on once the race started, but you really have to make a conscious effort to wash it off. When I was laying in bed that night (morning) I could still feel the backs of my legs tingling. I figure a nice pair of wool socks cost at least 20 bucks, and if the embro' adds a little bit of warmth to a cold race experience it is worth every penny.

Three is company

2010-10-12T18:20:00.000-07:00

So despite being 25 weeks prego Ali asserted that we were going for some tandemming on Sunday. Who am I to argue with a woman like that?

We rode to Silver City, and upon realizing that there are not restaurants or stores, we rode back to Mineola to eat at the infamous "taco ride" establishment.

When we got home, it was nap time!
Good times! Even prego, her Al-ness cannot be contained!

Tires and tubes and rims, oh my!

2010-10-09T20:01:00.000-07:00

First, the UCI is stupid. Its not like you should expect anything different, but I am just pointing this out because of their decree that no CX tire shall be greater in width than:

"1.3.018 Wheels of the bicycle may vary in diameter between 70 cm maximum and 55 cm minimum, including the tire.
For the cyclo-cross bicycle the width of the tire (MEASURED BETWEEN THE WIDEST PARTS) shall not exceed 33mm and it may not incorporate any form of spike or stud."

The average rider will gain more from wider tires than more advanced riders regardless of whether they are tubular, tubeless, or tubed clinchers. Tire volume allows a rider to utilize a wider range of tire pressures. The voluminous nature of tires is a factor of several things, but I am just going to focus on rims and tire size.

See below

On the left is a 40c Michelin Transworld sprint mounted on ZTR 355 rim(19mm wide), and on the right is the same tire mounted on a Ritchey Pro rim (17mm wide). Even a 2mm increase in rim width creates a tire that is substantially more voluminous with a broader tread profile.

Now lets look a a more realistic CX tire selection, Hutchison Bulldogs 34mm

The ZTR 355 rim is on the left, and Mavic Open Pro is on the right. Visually the results are not as stunning as with the 40c tires, but you can definitely see that the ZTR creates a tire profile that is less rounded and more boxy. This boxy profile is essential if you decide to run lower pressure (<30psi) style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">
Late edit: I am not hating on anyones wheels, I just wrote the below statement in regards to a recent velonews article that totally ignored the impact that Stans has had on CX tubeless
Road tubeless wheelsets: maybe its because I do not own a road bike, but I have never really gotten the big deal over Shimano's Ultegra(~$650) and DuraAce (~$1100) tubeless wheelsets or the Mavic Kysriums for tubeless use in CX. They are (in my mind) over priced and will never allow you to run pressures as low as I could run with a Stans ZTR rim. I do not doubt that they are awesome for road, but for the same pricepoint I could have ZTR 355's laced to Chris King Hubs (32 spokes with DT Revolutions). With the left over money (compared to DuraAce) I would buy a set of Mud tires (Michelin Mud2's) and a all around set of tires (Hutchison Bulldogs). If you already own a set for on the road, then I can see the utility of using them for CX, but buying them solely for CX doesn't make sense to me.
I actually just commissioned a new set of gravel/CX wheels. Big Poppi's is lacing me up a set of the new Stans Alpha 340 to Chris Kings. I have had the hubs for a while, but was waiting on stans to bring another round of rims out of manufacturing. The Alpha 340's are a narrower rim than the 355's so I am reserving judgement until I get to play with them.
As an aside, one of my all time favorite CX tires was the dirt cheap IRC Mythos CX Slick (I last bought a set at Capp's in Topeka for ~$30 for a pair). They were a super durable tire that lasted through CX season and gravel season. I actually won the 2008 Dirty Kanza SS on those tires. I haven't seen these tires in at least a year.
Sigh.
FYI: Big tires are not light, but neither are tubes.
Bontrager tube

Michelin Transworld Sprint 40mm

Hutch Bulldog

Omaha CX Sunday

2010-10-03T13:38:00.000-07:00

After having been laid up this past week with grain dust induced/aggravated cold and cough I decided to forgo the 1,2,3 race and just stay where I belonged, in the 3's. After a bit of warm up I did not feel to shabby, but the faces I saw at the start line made me realize that this was gonna be a real suffer fest. As the numbers were called at the start line I realized that I had my number pinned on the left side, while the official was going to be on the right. Made a mental note to call out my # every lap.
Whistle blows and we are off. Things quickly looked grim as Kaos rider Vaugh Pierce goes off the front with Mike Miles laying down the power, giving chase. That lasted about a half mile as Miles took a pretty good digger right in front of me and Jeff Bonsall. Jeff picked up the slack, and was making tracks with me in tow.
I looked back after a lap and we had a pretty good gap on the 2nd chase group. Jeff pulled another lap, and then let me take over for a bit. I came around and might have gone 100 yards before I ran into (literally) a downed rider that had fell off the pace. He tried to extricate himself asap, but I still managed to clip him. Bonsall came around.
It was at this point that I started to realize just how much better Jeff was in the corners than I was. He was putting seconds into me in the chicane sections, as my tires were squirming about (tire pressure was way to low).

I shamelessly jacked this image from Lucas Marshall's Gallery.
I managed to catch back up to take my pull for a few laps. With 2 to go we got caught by a Powerade rider that had been chasing hard the entire race. The Powerade dude was absolutely crushing the flat open sections, and that had Jeff and I worried. Jeff decided to make a break for it.

He came around and created a gap of at least 5 seconds as he just destroyed me and the Powerade rider with his cornering skills. At this point I had given up hope on 2nd place and was just gonna try to hold on for 3rd. However, once we hit the high point of the course I saw Bonsall, and managed to make the bridge back up to him. Not really sure what happened, but I imagine that he must have went down. I managed to slip by before we started the descent back to the volleyball sand pit.
If you have ever worked around Thoroughbred race horses you have seen the wild eyed, foam flecked sprinting that makes horse racing exciting.
That was what ensued for the last half lap.
I just tried to keep it laid down, knowing that we were going to sprint at the finish. Jeff stayed right on my wheel the whole time
Sprint, we did.
Managed to hold on to 2nd place by a wheel.
Good times. Lots of smiles were had by all.

Mod managed to come back after some disappointing mechanical problems the previous day. He rode away to take the Win on Sunday.

Everyone loves a train wreck

2010-09-24T04:30:00.000-07:00

Click Here.
This was my preride lap. gnar!

2010 KC Cup Cyclocross race

2010-09-19T05:46:00.000-07:00

I have always been pretty wary of races that are this early in the season. Namely because there are too many roadies with huge motors that try to throw themselves under your wheel, then make up time on the straight aways. Couple this with the fact that this course was 50% singletrack and you have a recipe for some serious rage....and heat and humidity. I was stoked.

I rolled to the line in next to last place with a huge hill climb to start the race before we got into some gratuitous 180 degree turns. The first lap I don't think my HR got over 155 as I watched the lead group ride off while I jockeyed through traffic.
I had one minor incident that came from my failure to communicate with someone that I was trying to over take. I got into his back wheel, and apologized about rubbing his tires. Then I hear Chris Locke shout "Rubbing is Racing". That just about cracked me up. Then I started to slowly move forward, unaware of my position, but feeling good that I was able to bury myself on the 500 yard road section, and then just flow through the singletrack. One disconcerting thing though was that I could feel my front wheel rocking in the fork. I could see the skewer cam was not moving, but it was a little unnerving.

There was one barrier section that consisted of 2x6's that was rideable but on my preride I went over the handlebars on the third barrier so I elected to run the barriers through most of the race. With a lap and a half to go I could see a SKC racer (I think it was Joel Terry?) up ahead. I realized that I had been putting time into people the entire day, so I went to the big ring for the last road section to bridge up and make the pass as we went back into the grass. I had seen the SKC rider clear all the barriers without dismounting and I knew that he was going to come around if I dismounted and tried to run it.

As my race progressed I felt more and more comfortable clearing the logs while in my drops, so as I rolled into the barriers I figured I might as well leave it all out there. The first two barriers were smooth and fluid, but I banged my back wheel pretty good on the third. No style points. Then it was time to motor. I was really leaning through the 180's before we hit the woods, and I managed to open a bit of a gap. Focus on fluidity. Pop out of the single track, look about and see no one, roll across the line. Good enough for 4th place. Brad Sullivan emerged from retirement to take the Win in the 3's. It was really good to see Brad back out there.

i really liked how the course was laid out and how they made use of the terrain. It definitely kept the race tighter than it would have been of it was a wide open course. I liked the smaller barriers and the 10" log crossings in the singletrack sections. Probably made for some good wipeout pics though.
Keith Walberg (of Zero Traction fame) has some sweet footage

KC Cup Cyclocross, 2010 from Keith Walberg on Vimeo.

It take a while to load but it is very high quality and well edited.
Thanks to MOD for putting together all the Wed nite CX practices, I felt like I had a leg up on alot of other riders this early in the season.

Fail

2010-09-10T05:03:00.001-07:00

This was too good not to share.

lot happens in 2 weeks

2010-09-08T17:12:00.001-07:00

We went cruising the Blues. Waller was not feeling so hot so we had the Ladies repping it for us.

Afterward it was time to kick back with all our homies from manhappenin.

Then It was off to Wilson Lake for our third annual BGR shenanigan fest.

As usual, Tanner does all the work while Zack and waller look on.

Brutus Supervised.

Then this past weekend it was the 2nd annual River trail TT. I mean where else are you gonna find koreans in a dress cookin brats?

True Dat!

Rode Fast for about 28 minutes, but my TT skills are still pretty weak. I need to see people to actually feel like I am racing.

Then it was time for a well deserved break. Last night I put the the 40c tires on the CX bike and rode it to tranq for some "in the drops" training. I have never really been comfortable riding down in the drops , so I am trying to break some bad habits.

Today we found out that its a Boy!

Stans boogers

2010-08-23T17:39:00.000-07:00

It was time to give the wheels a fresh stans-ing before heading to this weekends festivities. There are some wicked (bad)goathead and puncture vine patches out west so it definitely pays to use sealant. This is my 4th consecutive Cruise the Blues, and it never fails to excite me. Doug and Bud put on such a great event, and its really awesome to see folks racing bikes that had been wearing cowboy boots, wranglers, and were checking cattle just prior to registration.
Weather looks great. You have no excuse.

If you use C02 in your tubeless tire setup you have probably seen these little fellers before.

I usually do not get such large uniform specimens. I line them up in my window sill in the kitchen.
One day I will find a use for them.

Cranks and BB's

2010-08-19T17:25:00.000-07:00

Found another fried ISIS bottom bracket in the SS......they hardly last a year. sigh.
I also get a chuckle our of the fact that buying a complete crank set with BB only costs 50 dollars more than just buying the BB.
I am also surprised at just how little has been developed as far as cranks getting lighter. I really do think that the lightest setup you can get is a Middleburn with a WI square taper bb. So I guess my question is whether or not outboard bearing bb's are truly stiffer (measured as deflection) than other crank interfaces (octalink, JIS, ISIS,) What about Hollergram (how my TN friends speak of Cannondale technology)?

I can speak to the fact that 15G cranks from the Hive are pretty stinking stiff and still lighter than cranks costing twice as much. They shift good too. Not Shimano good, but good non-the-less.

Is one brand of external bearing bb longer lasting than another?

It kind of makes me wonder what the weight differences between SLX, XT, and XTR is, once you remove the chainrings?

just ruminations.

Orygun

2010-08-18T17:15:00.000-07:00

So this past week I had the opportunity to go out to Portland to see my family. I haven't seen my folks in over a year. It was the typical Stamper family get together with lots of smoking and drinking.

Actually, it turns out that my sis-n-law "Mandy Lou Who" is hopelessly addicted to candy cigarettes. She literally bought a carton of candy cig's. My folks did not know what to think.

The Oregon Coast is pretty pimp once you get away from the Californians.

Driftwood shenanigans.

Even though it looks like awesome weather the temp never got above 55F. However the sand warmed up at low tide, and it felt really awesome to sit on a log and put your feet into the warm sand as you were shivering.

Al cropped this picture.

Traffic jam on hwy 101

Then we stayed a night in Portland. We dined at the HUB. I was sated.

This week the nub is going to review several new brake sets, and then Waller and I have some Gravel Worlds shenanigans cooked up.

PS. If anyone has a EZ-UP tent (or something in that genre of shelter)that I could use for the weekend, I (and many others) would be especially grateful. I promise it will only be used for good deeds, and will provide you with a cash deposit.

Laramie and CO rambling

2010-08-09T17:54:00.000-07:00

Wow. I am sitting here typing this at 4 in the morning since I went to bed at like 8 pm, and I am still thinking about how I felt and what I need to change ( I initially wrote this sitting in a dark car last week. Writing is like therapy for me, except cheaper, with no couch, and no one to talk too......ok its nothing like therapy, but it give me something to do at 4 am). I rode too hard for the first 30 miles and was done at the 52 mile mark. Cramps just shut me down.

Did not feel like I was working too much from a perceived exertion standpoint, but elevation will elevated your heart rate as it tries to process more oxygen. I think I am starting to understand the nature of my cramping issues. Its not a hydration issue as much as it is a physiological response to my bodies ability to buffer lactate. The worst part about this is that I know I need to spend time on the road in group rides to get the kind of high intensity sustained efforts needed to train for things like this…..or just not go out as hard. Meh.

The other flatlanders had some strong showings. Cornbread finished about 30^th, fellow Bad Goat Zach Dubas stayed strong all day, to finish about 60th despite his bike being a 3 by 1 as his shifter broke early in the day. Patterson and Joe Fox were also strong all day and finished within a few minutes of each other. Brad Reed also had a great day despite stopping several times to wait on me as I rolled around on the ground cramping. He rode my SS all day long and finished with a smile on his face.

Waller had a really crappy day as he took a big spill at one of the rut/waterbar/launch pad. He tore up his shoulder pretty good, and put a hole in his pretty new white kit. Patterson was behind him when he went down, and later described it as as a spectacle on par with the Hindenburg (ie. crash and burn).

Waller and I fared much better in the post race festivities as we both won new Feedback bike repair stands and consoled ourselves with the spectacular gnosh and libations that the Laramie crowd put on.

We were not able to match the wisest wizards and their mighty wizard staffs, but then again we were able to talk in complete sentences also.

The next day we headed to WinterPark to watch the UCI downhill race and crash with the Basels. It was pretty amazing to watch the pro’s clear some of the huge rock gardens. Then Basel proceeded to try to tear our legs off on the backside of Sol Vista the next morning. We were all burping up little chunks of our breakfast (shrimp and grits (nowhere near as pleasant as it sounds)) as we climbed and climbed towards a higher state of asphyxiation and reflux. We wished the Basels goodbye.

Dubas and Michelle head back to Manhappenin. We also got schooled up by Michelle on how girl scouts roll.

Brad Reed, Waller and I turned our noses south and headed for Crested Butte.

I love Crested Butte riding with its wide open vistas, long fire road climbs and sweet descents. The last time I went to CB I rode 4 days on a rigid SS and I was wanting suspension. This time I came armed with gears and a fork, and was ready to rock. The only disappointment was the amount of precip we had. It rained everyday, and while the trails handle the moisture really well, I could hear my drive train dying with every revolution.

Brad rode and pushed my SS (still race geared 34x20) with nary a complaint.

We first rode Reno ridge to Flagg, Bear, and Deadmans Gulch.

What would Joe Fox do?

Once we started the climb up to deadmans Gulch it started to rain….alot.

The Deadmans descent is usually pretty nasty, but this was just awful. The moto traffic has created a lot of holes that tend to hold water, and make things pretty miserable if it is anything but bone dry. We collectively killed about 80 bucks worth of brake pads on that descent.

The next morning we decided to ride 401.

I had talked it up to Brad and Waller and I do not think that they were disappointed. We just had a spectacular time cruising down that descent. Then we hit The Secret Stash for the world champion Notorious F.I.G. (formerly known as the figalicious) pizza. Lives were changed.

We decided to try to ride Doctors park that afternoon, and climbed the 9 mile gravel road climb. Once we got to the top we met a couple of guys that had just shuttled it and they looked like they had just finished wrestling pigs, so I decided to bail and ride the road back down. I would have loved to ride it, but descents are no fun when you are always tense and just trying to stay upright.

The next morning we headed for Denver to take Brad to the airport. After sending Brad of to the old country, Waller and I turned south to head down to Colorado spring to visit the Whetstones. Tyler took us on a after hours tour of the entire SRAM facility. I was really blown away by what I saw. Super cool stuff. Then it was heading west again towards where the women flock like the Salmon of Capistrano……. Aspen, to lay siege to the Maroon Belles.

Waller was less than enamored with the town and its bourgeois display of wealth, but not before I got is a shouting match with some hippy on a street corner that wanted to establish a tracking system (like COOL) for food so that food would be safe.

Disclaimer: Micro rant will follow: I cannot stand it when people think that there are simple answers to complex issues like food safety(like throwing money at it). If you want safe food, wash your vegetables, grow your own, and cook your meat to 160 degrees. Frivolous legislation is no match for overcoming stupidity.

Anyway, Waller and headed up to Crater Lake, set up camp, and crashed hard. That was probably the best sleep I had gotten all week, and actually Waller had to wake me up at like 7:30….so much for a early start.

The ascent of Maroon Peak is in no way direct, but does involve ascending 2800 feet in less than a mile. Lots of time is spent picking your way through steep couloirs and scree fields to 14,000 feet.

Waller made a new friend.

Total climbing from our campsite was over 5000 vertical feet, but the worst part was the descent. It started to rain as we were picking our way down, things were pretty dicey at a few points compounded by the fact that my quads were screaming all the way down. I have felt pretty spent after a lot of endurance events, but I have never been just so totally wasted as I felt after going up and down Maroon peak.

This goat was pretty awesome (and no this has not been photo-shopped), and you can see South Maroon Peak directly behind the goat.

All in all it was a really great trip. I really needed the time away from work and it is always great to chill with Brad, meet new faces, and shout at some hippies. Me and Waller even managed to get home without killing each other.

on the road with john waller

2010-07-30T07:38:00.000-07:00

On the way to laramie stay tuned for mobile updates as I abuse Wallers data plan.

When you know it was a good one

2010-07-18T16:46:00.000-07:00

My long ride sauce has been pretty weak this summer......to be real honest its been totally nonexistent. In 08 and 09 I put in the kind of miles Corey and Troy put in. Saturdays were reserved for spending 8 hours sitting on my bike and Tuesdays meant I would pound out 65 miles of flinthill gravel then roll into Kites still kitted-up and filthy for a $3.50 "nightcap" (a pitcher of rotgut and diet coke) much to the chagrin of my cowboy and farming friends.
But with a the easy access to good singletrack in O, and job that is affecting my quality of life the long rides have fallen to the wayside.

This morning I decided it was time to go to the Church of the Big Ring. My plan was to ride from Waterloo to Tranquility, then to Jewell Park, then hit Swanson on the way back through, back to Tranquility, and then home, turning a lap at each location. I think that it was roughly 55 miles of gravel and rail trail and 22 miles of singletrack all in the heat of the day(I don't use a computer so who really knows).
On the ride back from Jewell and Swanson I had the take a break under one of the bridge as the wind out of the north and the heat were starting to wear on me. I was sitting there trying to perfect my "thousand yard stare" when Alex Sanchez rolls by, so I got to chat with Alex for a few minutes. He is always so positive and that definitely helped my moral.

I felt like my tan lines needed more definition.

On the way back from Jewell it was time for some A/C and sustenance. Yeah, rice and beans.
I was also pleased that I did this entire ride on 90 oz of water, peanuts, cashews, a burrito, and 64 oz of gatorade. I am notoriously (salt) crusty in the heat so I use the nuts for sodium replacement. Trying to get away from using so much gel, that stuff is going to give me diabetes.

Dashboard Burrito

2010-07-17T04:38:00.000-07:00

If you never grew up in the Southeast you would not know the long history of video boating.

Dashboard Burrito launched the non-olympic career of Eric Jackson (plus you get to see him being arrested) and is to boating videos what borat was to hollywood.

Enjoy.

Makes me miss places like Goshen Pass, Devils Kitchen, and the Nolichucky. Sigh.