Mohican '07

Jam them pockets full boys! it's gonna be a long day!

My stay with the IF mafia was a good one, as always. We occupied one of the corner dorms at camp Nuhop, near Funk Ohio! Imagine that, life in Funk. Anyway, thanks to Harvey for setting up the accommodations..they were piss'a. The race took on a different feel than I was accustomed to with almost everyone under one roof the night before the race. One big happy family...together we totally destroyed the bathrooms in no time flat!

Race morning was upon us, woke up a little late at 5:30am..wanted to wake at 4:30 to get some oats and eggs going but chose to lay in bed and waste that precious hour snoozing when I should have been digesting my breakfast. Spent the first hour of the race gasping for air as I burped up maple & brown sugar and banana oatmeal.

So much for the neutral start at the damn. Was a repeat of last years rolling fiasco. Jeff said something before the race that proved to be true, "it'll all get sorted out". Meaning the race it self..It was obvious that the neutral start had been abandoned and the race was under way, the elbow throwing on the double track had subsided, I concentrated on getting into a groove and focused on the thin ribbon of flowing off-chamber Ohio buff single track that went on for 23 miles. Perfect for some middle ring spin action, the single speeders must have been in heaven on this stuff. We spent the better part of three hours on the twisting trails, small climbs were abundant.

I was having a good race now that I had digested my breakfast, so it was clearly time to eat more. The aid stations were stocked with race fuel and the food of choice for me was fruit and hammer gel. Each aid station I'd try to be polite as I rolled in like a tornado and grabbed bananas, orange half's and watermelon. The PB&J's just didn't appeal to me, maybe that's cause I'd eaten so many on the 12 hour journey to Mohican country the day before. Stuffing my shorts with three or four hammer gels every sag kept me spinning between stops and I was drinking massive amounts of water... had enough bonk last month in Tennessee, thanks.

Jeff had gotten a good start to the day, I hadn't seen him since the first hour of the race, maybe I'd bump into him at mile 90..maybe not. My strategy was to hang back and give it 80% and eat lots of food, and enjoy the ride. I didn't drive 12 hours to bonk. Jeff went on to give it 90%, eat lots of food and enjoy the ride. Good show coming in top ten bro, next up is top 5. Somewhere between Jeff and myself was Harvey, and five other guys. I knew Harvey was out there somewhere but couldn't catch him...good racing Harvey, he went on to grab 12th.

At mile 88, blasting through a camp I was almost a victim of certain blunt force trauma. As I approached a cpl good 'ol boys on the side of the road, one with a fishing rod takes a cast over the asphalt on front of me..? I'm thinking, wtf buddy..I just ride 88 miles with out a puncture and now I'll get a fishing hook in my tire? I swerve left (should have just applied the brakes) and look up to a full-dressed goldwing that's hurling toward me with two on board. The dude driving is NOT happy with my antics to avoid the fishing rod fool. No one hurt, no collision..I rolled on shaking my head.

I had saved extra energy for what was last year's final 11 miles, but this year's course avoided the technical and rolling single track and substituted the flat and muddy river trail in it's place. I met up with Jeff at the finish and congratulated him on his 8th place and realized that Harlan had torn that race apart! Way to go..6:35 off Eatough to grab 2nd place. good times.

results are up on cycling news

Carey Lowery , Dannielle Musto

Singlespeeder's - Tim Dougherty,Robert Elam,Dejay Birtch

Micheal Siumonson,Shawn Adams,Harlan Price,Chris Eatough

Drive time

Tapping the brakes in bumper to bumper traffic on the drive home with the AC on high. The feckless act of driving north instead of riding is bothering me slightly. My thoughts are I'm squandering a bright and beautiful afternoon stuck in traffic. I'd like to think that my legs could commute all week AND ride the Mohican! Oh, that's what Harlan means with his rant with Adam ant...

It's at this moment I need to evaluate what I'm doing with my cycling obsession. Like that's not apparent by the sight of my recently shaved legs. I don't know if shaved is the best way to describe them..Got a little carried away with the sheers last week. Anyway..Jeff and I will start our 12 hour driving adventure tomorrow night. Meeting up somewhere 'round Schenectady NY to get a head-start on our 775 mile journey to Columbus.
Is it really necessary to drive to Ohio to ride a hundred mile race?..of coarse not! This obsession can't be understood...Once again a fraternity of riders will converge from near and far on a field in the middle of nowhere to celebrate life with the ability to torture one's self.
It's the freedom and ability to attend that can't be taken lightly as I say goodbye to a good friend going off to war. Justin Ello is preparing to leave and go to a place of hell and death as we go and party for the weekend. You'll be on my mind for this week and all the weeks till you return bro.
Justin's competitive spirit and incredible strength as an athlete rubbed off on me as I supported him and Brad B in the sea to summit triathlon three years in a row. And later as I trained along side the same guys to run the Vermont 50...not to mention some good fun at the topsfield Highland Games!
Your the best Justin, come home safe. You'll be foremost in my mind when things get tough during this event and others that will follow till you return. Peace out bro.

felt like summer today

Out of work early Thursday for a coastal cruise from bean town to points north. 82 degrees with a cool and salty north easterly wind for 5 hours, sweet. Hugged the shore from Shirley point Winthrop to Nahant, Marblehead, and points north. Got in with some roadies somewhere in between and chatted it up with some strangers along the back roads of Mah'blehead. Turns out we knew some of the same people, small world shit.
May have even gotten some sun to cover up all the bruises on my sticks left from this week's batterings in Lynn with George, Nate and Jeff W. Good to see Jeff W on trail in not the most perfect of setting for his fully rigid rocket, but that brother rocked the house!

Got home in time to register for the VT50! yeah yeah! This race sells out in mere minutes every damn year and for the past few I've missed the cut...not this year. I registered at 7:01 and by 7:25 the race was filled. 800 mtb'ers at their computers punching the keys for 25 minutes...so that works out to someone registering every 1.8 seconds for 25 minutes to fill the race...Undoubtedly New England's most popular race. Maybe I'll be pushing one gear by then...

(this from Harvey)-

According to Clarke, Americans who participated in Bike to Work Day last Friday . . .

---saved more than 56 tanker trucks of gasoline
---saved $5.7 million in driving costs
---prevented 4,580 tons of carbon dioxide and 230 tons of carbon monoxide from entering the atmosphere
---burned 410 million calories

You did it for real-does it count that I was biking while I was supposed to be working?

(I'm sure you were thinking about work!)

Got to pedal to work, Later!

Heavy breathing with Dr Fib

Sunday was a repeat of Saturday in the weather dept. and the rocks were slick in Lynn. Keep it straight, feather that brake - and no twitching on the line or suffer the smack down! The conditions kept us honest and there was no way of disguising botched maneuvers. As Barry said it best, "Greasy as a butcher's _____." <- fill in the blank with the appropriate noun.
This is George and I near the end of the ride, tempting fate one last time. In dry conditions this would be a walk in the park...I almost passed on this one till Dr fibrillator showed me up. Walking down would have been near imposable anyway.

45 and rainy...yup this is spring.

What little hair I've got on my lower legs was standing on end as I rolled from Howard street earlier this morning. Goose bumps galore and smatterings of mud and filth covered much of me as I ripped solo 'round the local loop. Got charged on three espresso shots and a few cookies before I left. I didn't touch the two bottles of H20 on board my steel rocket, the air was soaked with 98% humidity, the simple act of breathing provided all the water I needed for a short 1 hour jaunt over the hills of BP.
It's going to be a 3 shower day, in my bathroom I mean. I took one to wake up, one after the morning loop and now I'm contemplating going back for another helping of mud. Lesli is at the gym, I should nap on the couch (which sounds great about now) but think I'll go and enjoy getting filthy again.
I met Reenie and Tom at Igleheart's shop this afternoon for a fit session for Reenie's La Ruta bike!! Hats off to Reenie and Tom for taking on the challenge of three days from hell in Costa Rica. You guys rock. After Reenie was squared away with her fit session I had one of my own. A 29 SS is in my near future. Chris and I played with some angles and measurements on the calfee sizecycle and came up with a winner. 72 degree ht, 73.5 seatangle and a 23.5 effective tt should do me just right. Thanks Christopher - You 'da man.

postponed ?

Not enough support or planning for the Montreal-Boston Tour and it's been Postponed till '08?

I was looking forward to that event, would have been a blast to group ride to Boston and watch the pros circle the metro area all day long. Just not enough support and planning this year. Rubbish!

A bikes best friend...

Anti seize lubricant!

Lots of biking leads to LOTS of bike maintenance, of which I have preformed Nada. My road bike had a rhythmic tapping noise that has grown to a loud crack emitting from the BB and the rear brake cable hasn't retracted for a few weeks. I have ignored the problems for a while but need to address them soon before I'm walking home from work. A sampling of noises my Remedy produces are; Creaking, cracking, rubbing, squeaking, thumping, and Scraping. I bent the rear rotor last weekend, and the pivots need a turn of the wrench, nothing too serious. My new bikes from early season are now the beat-up bikes that need some lov'in but the Igleheart hard tail is still running strong and quiet.

in the zone

Bill speaking body english

time suck

Lesli and I have been wrapped up with small town politics this week.. We thought it would be a good idea to attend the annual town meeting, vote on the school override and be there to hear the "hot button" debate that has everyones panties in a bunch...weather to allow senior housing in Hamilton! OMG! Not that. Well, worry not people of Hamilton...No affordable senior housing in our fair neighborhood. Let'm retire somewhere else.
I should have got a clip of the debate and youtubed it.. Tempers flared when the amendment needed a 2/3rds vote to pass. 118 to 190 was the count. The nay's had the vote. Things almost got interesting when a selectman called for a vote to reconsider AFTER 50 people left the high school auditorium. Police were on hand, people shouting, some good old excitement for sure.

The past week has been FILLED with quality rides. The ride with Daren and Christopher started it off last Thursday. George rolled up from town and joined Barry and I for a solid 4.5 hour technical singletrack blast on Saturday. Then Bev trekked down from the north with his Salsa 29'er on Sunday and we were out till our legs nearly exploded.
Good stuff people! Hoping to get out with Glenn and Jeff later today...Man I hope the ride schedule stays like this all summer.

Stay tuned for a small video. Creating it has sucked hours of my time and crashed my computer more times than I can remember.

bring it on home

sleep is soo overrated

I didn't think that I'd ever say there are benefits to working the 4am shift, but...
1, there's no traffic on rt1 south at the butt crack of dawn so it's a breeze getting here.
(there is a down side...) I don't have the guts to RIDE to work at 3 am. Probably too many drunks still on the road in Lynn and Saugus at that time of the morning.
2, I've got plenty of time AFTER work to ride! Got a good one in yesterday with Daren and Christopher. Fast loop around BP. Started on the full rigid Igle bike, as did Chris. Daren on my dually, half way into the ride Big D decided to try out the hardtial and didn't give it back for the remainder of our ride. He kept saying, "this thing lets you lay down the power!"
Yes it does, on those trails anyhow...gotz ta respect the rigid fork when on technical terrain but for cross country ya can't beat it!
I find myself drinking entirely too much coffee when waking up at 3am though...just got back from another trip to the men's room.
I should mention that I got my ass handed to me on the ccb wed night smack down. Not exactly the impression that I wanted to leave with Mr Pete Smith but what can ya do...was delivered a large slice of humble pie. I think it's beneficial to get pummeled, i mean humbled once in a while.
Gotz some work to do in the smack down dept. Got to find a way to avoid oxygen deprivation with a heart rate of 191...is that possible? Had to shut down the engine when I almost blacked out...That was a better option than going down at 30 mph.

chris' loop

Following a man that's near double my age on a fixed gear road cycle is quite amusing. This guys has been riding fixies since I was two years old and it's apparent.
I mimic his ride style of simplicity and constant velocity until we encroach traffic, then I chicken out. Christopher rolls slowly into the intersection and makes eye contact with the person belted in what is essentially a steel cage. Hesitation leaves me in the intersection as Christopher makes a move with all his weight on the front pedal. He is through, I'm waiting while freewheeling backward. If I were on the fixey I would have certainly dabbed.
The sun had sunk below the trees and still 20 minutes from home. This ride had started out to be an hour spin but now we were working close to two. I with no blinky light or reflective clothing. Christopher had a blinky (and all black clothing) so he was behind acting as the warning light for on coming cars as we rolled along rt133 in Essex. On a long downhill we caught a couple of 20 year old guys on downhill bikes with dual crown forks. They were on the side walk and we were on the street. They were give'in it their all to keep with us, their 7 inch travel dual squishies bouncing and weaving, we exchanged greetings and all had a good laugh. They stayed with us for a minute laughing the entire time.
This week has been a non structured bike week in terms of training. I haven't kept a log of miles, just a casual hour or two a day. My thinking is the next three weeks are going to be sheer pain.

Cohutta report

The first 100 mile race is in the books for '07 and I am satisfied with the experience but it has left me with yearning to return to correct a few missteps. That's what hundie's are all about..making decisions and seeing how they play out while you torture yourself for half a day. Coming into this I knew the pro field would be untouchable, guys like Tinker, Eatough, Hendershot and Price would slip away from the start leaving us quasi-pro's (all due respect) to duke it out for top twenty...and that's what I was satisfied with..some good competition.
After the first hour of low winding single track, which was incredible! (nothing like it here in the northeast) the course broke onto jeep roads that pitched upward and we got some views of the Tennessee/Georgia boarder. Rolling with a solid crew. Chatting with Jeff W (who was showing his race experience, looking strong and pulling the group every chance he got) Garth P was there, that guy is a crackup..Colin Izzard was looking comfortable in the train and the solo goat was there too, along with Eddie O (who would soon make a wise decision to take it down a notch & leave us).
For a time I was happy. We were 30-35 miles into the race at a heightened but comfortable pace, friendly conversation was in the air, team work among virtual strangers. This is what I was there to do. Ride with some guys I had mad respect for and see how it played out...Wham! I was down in a corner, skipping across the gravel at skin abrading speed. Fuck! Before I could remove my hands from the bars my shoulder contacted the ground along with my helmet. The train of guys slowed for an instant to avoid colliding with my jettison body as I heard Garth say.."I thought we talked about this" referring to a previous conversation of how it would suck to go down on the gravel road. Jeff dropped back from the group and slowed for a sec hoping I'd jump back and latch on..but I was busy straightening my seat and assessing the urgency of fluids escaping my body. I was OK. Time to roll but never to bridge up to the train. I was now in no man's land.
At aid 4 Harvey and I spoke briefly while urinating behind the sag. I ate a cpl things but was slowly heading to bonkville. Harvey left fired up to catch Eddie O who was only minutes off into the flat section. I could not get fired up or head out with Mr Minton. That stupid fall really kicked me in the junk but if I only knew what a hellish fall Thom P suffered I might have just shook it off.
Between Aid 4 and 5 I was in the doldrums of lethargy. No will to power the climbs, spinning to survive, if the sag wagon came along I'd happily collapse inside. God damn it why did I go out so hard. There are no do-overs. Got to take this one as a lesson and comeback.
I rolled into 5 and a hush fell over the support crew as I nearly fell off my bike reaching for a banana. I ate everything in my drop bag and more. My aim was now to rally remembering (from last year) the final single track climb after aid 6 forced me to eat and eat and eat.
I was rejuvenated at last and finished strong, holding on to my precious 24th place and beating my last year's time by over 30 minutes. Congrats to everyone that did this one, I'll never say that this race was an easy day in the saddle again.

cohutta 100

The short version:

Good people, good times, spectacular single track to start the race, Weather could not have been better, raced with some quality people, got beat by 23 of them, 1 high speed crash (but nothing like Thom's), 1 prolonged bonk, 1 comeback from the depths of the pain cave, 1 large smile crossing the finish line, 1 totally awful hamburger post race, 4 trips to the hot tub before leaving the cabin.
1 large lesson learned, when going into a 100 mile race with golden legs don't peg the HR at 171 for 50 miles and expect to hold on.
I'll be back to apply what I've learned at the Mohican. Thanks to Jeff W, Eddie and Nam 'O, Harlan, Mark E, Lauren & Harvey. A longer version of my meltdown and some cool pictures tomorrow.

Convergence

Main Entry: assemblage
Part of Speech: verb
Definition: gathering

First race this Saturday. Looking forward to getting back on the bike after some nasty rain and cold conditions up here in New England. Good week to rest up due to the crap weather but I miss riding already! LETS GET IT ON! so we can all ride all day! That's what I tell myself before a big race to avoid nervousness, "we get to ride all day!"
With all the bad happenings of the world it's a fine thing to be a seemingly simple mountain biker with one goal...to beat my last year's time at the Cohutta 100.
Looks like temperatures will be near 70 degrees & sunny for the race and I'll be bearing my pale legs (with out the shielding aid of spandex) for the first time in '07. Get ready to see some pasty ashen legs Tennessee!
I won't venture to guess who will be in the top ten...going to interesting to find out. I'm just looking to survive with a smile and celebrate life with a bunch of endurance junkies. See y'all on the trail.

break away

If I grow old and retire...
I'd like to travel long distances with a break away bike
outfitted with racks and bags and carry all that I require to be comfortable.
Time and money would be no object and the biggest concern would be
where to get the next bite to eat.

Igleheart's newest creation
equiped with stainless sliders
and built around the rohloff speed hub.
Heading down to D.C.
for lucky (and tall!) Mr. Line
to enjoy and ride.

SL ahhs!

As I surf around the blog world from the warm and dry confines of a 7 by 14 foot office here at work (affectionately known as the cave) it's pouring outside. Damn those weather people for being right! At least it's not snow. I woke early this morning, jonesing to get some spin time on my new set of wheels. Rain was forecasted to start falling at 7 so I got out at 6 for a dry hour of singletrack.
Mounted up a set of Kenda Karma 1.95's and inflated to 40 psi (higher than normal, didn't want a repeat of Lynn Tuesday) The verdict on the wheels...they roll! That's what they're supposed to do right? No seriously, they are some sweet spinners. Big thanks go out to Jamie at Western Cycle for allowing yet another high-end mountain bike component to be within my financial reach. My old race wheelset started to give up the ghost with some strange sounding twanging and loud clicking so it was time for a replacement.
I've yet to see if these wheels allow the 99th mile of a 100 mile race with less pain...but who cares!..they sure are purdy!
I took advantage of the 2 year warranty offered by Mavic mp3.. their motto on the warranty is "ride it like you stole it".....thanks, I think I will.

Need a laugh today? head over to swobo's site and check out "how to avoid a bummer life"
Props to Igleheart for recomending..got a good chuckle out of it.

I see a trend here!

The year was '99 or 2000 when I was first introduced "it"...

I remember the experience like it was yesterday.
I was at work, a co-worker said "hey, think of something you want to buy and I'll find it online!" I replied instantly (and thought I had him stumped)...
"A Warn threespeed overdrive for a 1953 Willys wagon!"
Within one minute he had found an auction for that overdrive.
And within a few days I was the owner of a fully functional (and hard to find) fifty year old planetary gearbox that would propel all steel wagon to highway speeds. oh joy!
Logically the next item I bought was better brakes to slow my all steel wagon...again from ebay.

Since that day ebay changed my life, and maybe yours (and the world economy).
It enabled you and me to pocket some loot, unclutter the basement,
buy anything from anywhere, have it delivered, while holding the seller accountable. "It" also created an entirely new portal for scams and harassing email.
It is now a 700 pound gorilla among 600 pound gorillas.
It has spawned many successful offshoots, one of which is a major financial organization (paypal).
Many years ago when I created my account I thought wow, I should really buy eBay stock! (not that I am a huge investor or anything) But, I probably spent the money on bike parts (and rent) instead. In hindsight It is responsible for pumping the stock prices of usps, fedex, ups, dhl, end every delivery service probably including bike couriers...no, I don't own any of those either.
But when companies get too big and complicated (and expensive to use) they lose the cool factor.
" jump the shark" so to speak.

Has ebay warn out it's welcome with high fees and utter complication?
Maybe, at least with some mountain bike bloggers.
Tinker's bypassing the auction site.
So is Dave Harris, but then again he's just giving his shit away.
Anybody need a set of tubeless mavic 3.1 wheels? or a Thompson 100mm 5 degree stem?
I got both and don't need'em.
I trade for beer.

Here's one that you don't see everyday.
Video doesn't do this line justice (they never do)
But it's my friend Jared aka mr tough guy-no shirt!
He found out where the "G" in G spot was.

tracing the coast

What force pulls me near the ocean for solo road rides... Maybe gravity. Could be childhood memories. Most certainly it's the views of rocky beaches and the sound and smells of the crashing waves. But also it's the salty towns along the shore that a cyclist can weave the back roads and off the beat places that you normally wouldn't go because it's just out of the way.
The ocean serves as the perfect guide for a cycling route, you can get lost but the premise is simple...just keep the ocean to one side and pedal for hours. Although I did get turned about face for a moment or two while navigating northward toward home. No worries, found a hill to ride up and took a look around and got back on course.

This guy looks about as desperate for big waves as I am for big miles.

more rides, less junk

Numerous riding options this weekend, maybe too many. I would have liked to fit a few more rides in but there's only soo much time in a day and my legs could only handle a certain number of revolutions before I thought my shins may pop threw the tops of my knee caps.
A group of about fourty on Saturday's CCB group ride, up to Kingston NH and back to Topsfield. Rode home with Skip J from 'round the block. He had a great break-away sprint at the final town line. I couldn't hang on, my timing sucked. Lots to learn in the road sprint dept. I'll stick to mountain bike racing thanks.
Surprisingly the trails were dry on Sunday. Some deep mud holes but erosion not much of an issue. The ground still frozen in spots helped but it'll get worse before getting better - that's what spring is all about. Sunday, my legs felt the efforts of the previous day while chasing around some fast guys who Barry accurately referred to as the north-shore's all stars...Seaside Cycle.
Mark led the crew on a much needed clean-up the trails mission in Greenwood. Hauling out old truck tires and beer cans. Before leaving the woods we stumbled across a campfire that threatened to burn down the woods. I'm glad to see that kids are still partying in the woods and not just playing video games all night but really guys, piss on the fire when ya run out of pabst please..
And last but not least...is there going to be an additional bike riding fanatic moving to the north shore soon?

Ti bikes don't rust!

I am one step closer to achieving total bike kook status. Funny how things slowly progress. I think it was Jeff's unyielding attitude on bike commuting that finally sunk in, "why aren't you riding to work?" well...Why wasn't I?
I considered myself a fair-weather bike commuting person. Limited to clear and sunny days. Monday was the trial with a 60% chance of rain in the forecast.
Of course I can get home! I thought Hell, I got fenders! and a jacket and temperatures hovering at 49 degrees. With daylight till 7:00 I had no excuses. It'll be cold, but I'll have a hot shower waiting for me 25 miles away.
One small wrinkle to my plan..I had forgotten the blinky lights, hence the yellow and orange tape I borrowed from the kind mechanics at USAirways so the people of Saugus and Lynn can say..."hey whats that shiny yellow thing that I'm about to collide with?
So the first rain commute went almost without a hitch. It did rain and the span known as "Mikey's bridge" got a little squirly and threw me into a panic for a split second but I corrected in time to avoid catastrophe and was unscathed but frozen with fear for a moment. I am hooked on the spin home. The training miles and the gas savings are small by-products. The fresh air and stress relief are the larger benefits.

Whoa. I've been blog-jacked!

I awoke to drink some java and update my foolish blog when I see no bike peeps on my header? It's been replaced with a picture of which I am unfamiliar...maybe best described as American culture? But could be anywhere...but what is it doing on my Blog?
This mysterious picture invokes no feelings of passion from my sole. It makes me uneasy as I sit here drinking my cup of coffee. Cars streaming down the highway with some distant destination. People speeding on their commute from work, like rats in a maze.
This is passion, this is also rats in a maze, this is 24 hours of Great Glen 2005.
...Now where's my header?

puddle-proof

My life is more complete now that I've got a set of full length fenders on my road bike. What was I THINKING?? riding without them? I guess what you don't know gets you sprayed with filth and salty water! Big thanks go out to Harvey for kicking me down his spare set. In retrospect they are worth their weight in gold. Fenders have allowed me to ride my commute to work and arrive looking less like Mike Row on an episode of Dirty Jobs.
The only thing left is to make my own custom mud flap!
I really liked this guy's lengthy explanation on how to stick duct tape to your fender...
And for the ultimate in customized fenders...none other than the Fender Blender! (who knew?)

last snow?

Most of New England was blanketed with a thick and sloppy coating of snow on Friday..Just when you think your in the clear! wham..more snow. The Wednesday before temperatures were near 70 and I was commuting to work in short sleeves..(Just a teaser of weather to come I guess).
This Sunday we rolled in a three man group to cover most every town on the north shore. Sean had recently returned from the Pyrenees of Spain. He toyed with us mere mortals for just under 3 hours. Brad had a strong ride, looks like all that trail running has kept that brother in check through the cold New Hampshire winter.
I got reacquainted with my steel hardtail, then lent it to Brad to see what he thought...he proceeded to ride it from Gloucester to Topsfield and once there I had to wrestle it from out beneath his spandex clad ass. I am guessing he liked it.
I wonder if Glen's plan worked out.. pretty ingenious actually, using web technology to permit trail riding. I was trying to talk Glen into freezing his face off on the road with us, but after he checked some webcams of Cape Cod he jumped in his car for a couple hours drive to ride in the woods where he saw no snow on the net. I'd like to check that one out next time.

men acting like children

But that's what makes life fun...minus the crashing.

Mondays

I hurt. It is a good hurt. Well, mostly a good hurt. I did however stab the back of my right thigh with my pointy Bontrager saddle yesterday.

I can't complain too much. I wonder how Wayne is feeling? Captured more than a few wipe-outs during yesterday's ride. They will make for a good crash movie sequence..stay tuned.

I hope to man-up and ride to work a couple times this week. I should have used my REI dividend for a pair of road fenders.

Butch with his landing gear deployed ready to touch down into some thick mud.

Lesli was fotununate enough to have her camera in the car as she passed Wenham Lake eary Saturday morning. A family of bald eagles are nested across the street from the golf course.

Igle - view

Bill and Christopher talking about fixie's at the Handmade Bicycle Show in San Jose...

"What keeps the passion for you to keep building bikes?"

"I don't know, it's this silly thing.. just ah, the joy of making something that I can make and having somebody ride it and enjoy it them selves. I don't build a gazillion bikes, but I have allot of happy customers"

Listen to the rest of the interview here.

NAHBS '07

This news could change the way that you change your next flat tire...

Igleheart has been working with Montague to develop a front wheel retention system that could replace your campy-style quick release front skewer. The finished product was revealed at the Handmade Bicycle Show in San Jose California over the weekend. Goliath bike companies Trek and Pacific are on-board for this new one-handed, and fool proof way (after all this IS America) to attach wheels. Both Trek and Pacific will be including the Clix system on many of their bikes for 2008.
This revised skewer may just find it's way on to every bike in America.

Some news from the show:
Jeremy got his photo on the net. Nice lookin Burrito Jeremy...bet that's what all the girls say..
Looks like another builder is on to the unified rear triangle biz with this SS version..sorry Wraith. Looks like this guy is on to the same idea...

Leave it to IF to come up with the most radical track bike at the show.


This guy has on a sweet racing kit...where can I get me one a those?



This new Calfee looks pretty bomb proof huh? Definitely more of a show piece.



Maybe years from now I'll have a dedicated commuter with Bruce Gordon racks. *sigh*

For all you weight weenies...the ultimate in hill climbing - 7.2 lbs fixie!

Plenty more pictures of the show can be seen here (to keep you busy at work) :)

September plans

It's unlike any where I've seen or been before.
Rugged, raw, beautiful, primitive,moon-like.
Could be the adventure of a lifetime.
or the end of one.
Is peace too much to ask? I just want to ride without getting shot or blown up...
The short answer should be just ride the damn Shenandoah 100 and stay the hell away from Islamabad...but the optimistic adventure seeker in me says different.

base

The yearning question I cannot answer is how is my base fitness coming along these days... and I cannot answer it definitively. I just don't know. Still building base that's for sure! In years past I've had this cool guy to ride and train with...you may have heard his name before...initials are JW.
Without a training partner to compare progress on the road or trail leaves me with a question mark for an answer to what is a burning question. Why is this such a burning question in my life....well, a conundrum itself.
With some nasty weather rolling in from the Ohio river valley I woke early this morning to get out on the road and spin for 2 hours for what I like to call "real cycling", as opposed to the trainer. It was the first time in 2007 that I've gotten out on the road bike, all my base till now has been on the mountain bike due to snow and ice on the roads.
I think a long road ride, to say...Ascutney or some far off place is in order. I could use a gaps ride or two for good measure.

Wayne and Garth said it best...

I'm not worthy!

The waiting game is over and thankfully the building of this race bike is too. I am blown away with the outcome and feel empowered with my new trail weapon. I don't know if I am worthy of such artwork for a bicycle but will certainly put my best in racing this red and black missile.

Big thanks go out to the creator of this shiny new rig, Christopher Igleheart. I've seen plenty of bikes brought to life in his studio and this is by far my favorite and I'm happy to say that it's mine and I'm going to ride the hell out of it.

Possibly with a 29er up front if I have the go-nads to race her with a rigid front end which I don't plan on, well maybe just once.

Big thanks go out to Bill and Ant at Western cycle for helping put the finishing touches on this ride. Two things I hate to do...bleed brakes and tweak front derailleurs. Thanks guys.

Now it's off to the North American Handmade Bicycle Show in San Jose California before I get a chance to ride it on the trails. Probably a good thing considering the salt, mud and muck on the trails right now. Maybe it'll even win a prise..who knows.

Ice Ride !

I can't remember the last time conditions in the woods were like this. A thick hard crust atop a few inches of snow. Unbelievable traction (with studs) but scary as hell!

February to me

It's cold and icy,
and the riding is dicey.
We long for tropical vacations-
but they're so damn pricey!

when temperatures rose the snow went fizzle -
instead of fluffy white powder we got all drizzle.
I had to clear the ice with a cold chisel.

The night before it froze solid as steel,
I was using my snow blower when it let out a squeal!
The sound not good, the situation less than ideal...

I quickly reached for the throttle,
but it was though I'd uncorked a Champagne bottle,
oil spewed from the machine,
like Kenny D when he ruptured his spleen.

now I got no blower, snow removal will be much slower.
alas, I didn't break my windshield glass!

Jay Winter Race

kickstart my wimpness

Winter is finally here in the north east. We have not seen temps above 27 degrees in over a week, thus I've lost my ambition to ride early mornings. A few of us (Sean, Igleheart and me)had a long run of tues and fri 7a.m. rides but it didn't happen this week due to the cold. Hoping this saddle hiatus will strengthen my will to get out side this weekend. Still on the fence weather or not to do the Jay winter thing. No excuses really not to do it..I got the gear to keep warm, got a place to stay, conditions seem piss'a, George has graciously kicked me down a very suitable bike for the epic, just waiting to hear if I can change around work schedules with my colleague for weekend duties at the airport. The real challenge would be waking early Sunday morning to drive from northern Vermont to go to work. bla bla bla.

OK, I'm in.

Exile !

I feel the need to pay homage to Brad and his Jamis Exile. He conveniently left it at my house for future use for when he is around my neck of the woods...turns out that was a good plan Bev. It has provided me many a good morning ride in the near-by patch of woods since my race bike has been off getting a make-over.
I've been in major purge mode the past couple few weeks selling anything and everything on ebay. Out with the old and in with the new! Shocked at some of the prices that used bike parts can fetch on the open market. Ebay is king. I'm trying my hardest to minimize my spare parts and maybe help out someone along the way. It's tough to part with some of my most coveted components but this stuff doesn't last forever...might as well sell it while it's still worth something and ride the current technology..and new bling doesn't hurt either.
Thanks to the guys at Western Cycle for your help ordering all my race schwag and pahts. Could not have built a race bike with out Jamie's support...that or I'd be in the poor house eating rice and beans every night...oh wait, I DO eat rice and beans every night.
So as you might be able to guess the frame isn't back from the painter yet...I'm hoping next week. What exactly will "painter's choice" look like? I have no idea.

switch to coil springs?

Seems that I've got a mystery on my hands that requires a scientific explanation and so far I am a little clueless. Realizing that cold weather affects air density making it less dense, particularly under high pressure like in a fork or shock. But some shocks seem more susceptible to loosing air in frigid temps than others...and once the air is lost you can't just pump it back up? actually under some circumstances a pump will still read high pressure when the shock or fork is totally collapsed? Very strange indeed...that's where the mystery lies and why I need help from the science savvy skills of the Myth Busters or at least Beekman's world to explain what happens to render them bunk.
Take for instance last weekend. Large group leaving the lot for what will undoubtedly be the best three hours in the entire weekend and blam! Lou's shock looses all of it's cush. Hell, it was worse than that, it collapsed like the positive air chamber leaked into the neg chamber and sucked the shock in on it self. It sucked to be Lou. We tried putting excessive air into the pos chamber (200psi) and the shaft didn't budge. Just stayed bottomed..and come to think of it, I think there was only one chamber you could adjust air volume!
wow, maybe I just talked my self through this nonsense. Is a large volume of high pressure air in the pos chamber slowly leaking into the very small volume neg chamber and sucking the whole thing closed? Lou said that this same thing had happened to him last week and the shock company (to remain nameless) sent him a replacement.
My thoughts on this...well it sucks...Literally! I don't think it's a good idea to ride my dual air bike tomorrow cause it's going to be 9 degrees at seven a.m. Although with this theory in mind you can reverse the over-inflated (small volume) neg chamber if the shock or fork has an adjustable neg air chamber...unless the seal just blows under the pressure...but then it'l just go back into the pos chamber leaving all the spv'ness (pedal bob characteristic) gone and it'l be like your riding back in the day on your '96 Pro-flex all over again! Oh yeah, hope there's people out there that remember that bike! She's a beauty.What prompted me to think about this was Christopher just called asking why his fork is dead and the pump is reading 150 psi...Put on one of your rigid forks for tomorrow Igleheart, it's going to be a bumpy ride! I think I'll take Brad's hardtail out for tomorrow's loop.

One inch surprise

Almost forgot what it's like to slip around on the trails. Don't know if the whopping one inch of white stuff was predicted but Barry and I enjoyed the change of scenery and the added challenge the dusting provided.

epic exhaustion

Exuding satisfaction is a fine way to describe this past weekend's ride. Displaying a mile -wide smile as i exited the technical and rocky terrain of B+T's yesterday and proceeded to collapse out'a sheer exhaustion. The good'ol legs haven't pumped for 5 hours in quite some time. I was a dope to bring only 40 ounces of H20 and ZERO calories in the way of bars or goo. Bonked?.. no not really... Just exhausted. I literally fell off my bike on the final climb of the day. Too tired to step off the pedals after climbing 2/3 of the way up the frozen hill and knowing I was clad in plastic with all the protection of the many pads along with a full faced helmet. I simply rolled to my right and let gravity pull me to the ground when I ran out of go-go juice on the steep climb.
It was a special day of riding from many aspects. It was the first, of what will undoubtedly be numerous epic rides on the remedy. The new trail bike rode flawlessly. Nothing to complain about, many praises for the dually. The fork and rear shock provided a plush ride and took some abuse with some big drops and a couple hucks...I hate hucks btw, but when riding with Roger and Barry hucks are mandatory.
After Barry went home for some family time Roger and I met up with Tom, Mary, Jim, Skip, Lou, and Matt for another loop around the new trails at B+T's. Pretty stellar group if 8 people can ride those trails with out a trail side technical or flat. Although when examining my bike for damage this morning I did have a rear flat...at 23 degree yesterday what temp does stan's sealant freeze?

Chain stay challenged

Haven't had a chance to get it out on the trails but it's built. Tonight will be it's maiden voyage. Pretty stoked to have the opportunity to buy a new trail rig this season...pushing around this welter-weight might even be good training for enduro's.
I have noticed a couple oddities with the frame as I assembled it the other night. Thought it was me, or the way I was looking at things. Maybe a bit slanted... It was late, I was beat so I put down the wrench and went to bed...woke up this morning to have another look at a possible clearance issue with the chainstay.
The remedy came with 2.35 tires but the bike was designed to fit a bigger tire.
This is where the problem lies...on the drive side the tire has only an eighth of an inch of clearance but on the non-drive side the clearance is three quarters of an inch? I removed the tire and put the wheel in my true stand to hopefully find that the wheel was just out of dish but it's balls on...? Weird. Maybe I am simply chain-stay challenged?...my Igleheart had some clearance issues last year...but that has been corrected with some new wider stays (that bike will be off to paint today and should be back in two or three weeks) I'm pretty confident that Trek will come up with a fix for the problem. Till then I'll run a 2.1 tire out back and wait for a new stay...hell if my local custom frame builder can correct a similar dilemma than Trek should have no problem...right?

Update:
New wheel and tire mounted (George you should recognize both. It's YOUR mavic XL and specialized eduro 2.4) and the tire is almost hitting on the non drive side. Wheel is perfectly dished. I'll just run a 2.1 and hopefully trek will address the issue at some point. I don't plan on hounding them as a 2.1 or 2.25 is fat enough for trail riding but when Highland opens back up I want to have s'more meat on the bottom...I need all the help I can get to keep up with Greely :) It may take them sometime to revise the chain stay but doubt they'll ignore the limitation.

Vietnam

Raw and rainy is better than cold and snowy in January...if you ask any mountainbiker, skiers would not agree. Got out with Barry and George down in Milford Mass. They call it Vietnam but don't know why. Barry said it's because back in the 70's and 80's the area of woods presently known as Vietnam (Nemba) was littered with burned-out jeeps and scattered debris. The junk is gone and some sweet single track has been created in it's place, stunts to play on too.

She is here

Welcome Sophia! Congrats to Jeanie and my brother Matthew on the birth of a beautiful baby girl on 1/13/07. Everyone is doing fine. They were scheduled to come home today so my brother is probably changing diapers as I type on the keyboard! Way to go.

parts are in!

This time of year rocks. Especially this year cause the weather has allowed us crazy bike minded people to do what we do in relative comfort...so far. Anyway, This post isn't about weather...it's about preparations for the 2007 ultra mtb series and building a race bike.
All the parts are in my treasure chest here to build up a pretty stout racer. Just waiting on Christopher to put the finishing touches on my ride. The frame went in for repair a few weeks back and Christopher has gone above and beyond fixing her up. I was in the shop the other night having a cpl adult beverages with the craftsman and he thought it might be a good idea to weld some more stainless steel uniqueness into my frame. I'm stoked to see the final product. Should be done this week then off to the painter for a couple more weeks. This might be good because the snow will certainly fall by that time I take delivery and won't be able to beat her up too bad before the first race!

Remedy

Remedy ('re-m&-dE) [noun] meaning;
1 something that corrects, counteracts or removes an evil of any kind.
2 My new trail bike

The freakish warm weather we've received has sped up preparations for spring riding. My local bike shop becoming a Trek dealer didn't hurt either. To be perfectly honest I had not considered a trek before the behemoth brand came to Western Cycle but glad Jamie now sells them. I'd always had a sense that Trek churned out thousands of soul-less bikes to the masses... this may not be entirely true. I Demo'd this red beauty pictured above for a couple days last week, then ordered my own 2007 remedy 66.

A quick review of what I thought of the bike;

It rode exceptionally well. Very active rear suspension = not a great climber but hell, this is a fun machine not a racer. Point this "all mountain" bike down hill and hold on. Fun through the rock gardens and aggressive lines. I was most impressed with how little lateral movement the rear swayed taking into account it's pretty massive rocker link.

Happy to see that Trek outfitted the Remedy 66 with a spot on build. Sram x9 and x0 drivetrain, xt cranks, and a Fox 36 Talas front end. I don't know much about the Bontrager Rhythm elite wheel set, but the beauty of buying a high end bike from a giant company is knowing they'll pick up the repair tab if their parts fail prematurely.

Here's a movie of me playing on a horse jump, checking out the BB clearance and testing the plushness of the nixon and swinger 3 way.

I see that Dave Alden Demo'd the Remedy for Dirt Rag. Read up if you'd like. He did a more complete job of reviewing and explaining the technology that Trek put into this ride.

One down, three sixty-four to go.

For 2007 I am going to adopt a daily rating system for each day I choose to blog some nonsense. Ratings will be on a scale of 1 to 5...today was a five.
This was something to Cherish... A rainy Monday holiday. Lesli and I off work, chose to start it out right with huge stacks of blueberry pancakes and a subsequent nap on the couch.
There was a brief window in time for an outside spin but I did not take advantage. At 2:30 the rain subsided and the sky appeared to brighten. I had gotten my fix on the trainer for an hour while watching various nonsense on the likes of Spike TV and Discovery channel when I noticed the improvement in the weather. Sitting on the trainer for a solid hour is my personal best for "off season" thus far. You're either either sick in the head to enjoy that stupid piece of equipment or desperate for saddle time. I was desperate.
Didn't have an excuse for my desperation really. I did get out with Barry and Bill and a few others for a trail ride on G-spot early Sunday. The fun part was cut short when my rear hydraulic cable pooped out of the master cyl. I pretty much knew it was time for me to bail from the woods but luckily I was surrounded by optimistic bike mechanic friends.
Good advice from Bill, Anthony and Barry to shorten the cable after some of it's much needed hydro juice slung out leaving a couple inches of air in the tube. Admittedly only a band-aid to the failed crush olive sleeve thing-y but with a few inches of Jim's black electrical tape holding the dripping mess together I was back in business. Not ideal rear braking power but some stopping power. I just avoided allot of the steeper stuff and finished the ride.
Was hoping for a solid three hours of road today with CCB but snow and rain thwarted that plan. Planning on a night ride with Jeff and others Wednesday evening. oh crappola...I don't have a bike to ride.
I think it's safe to say that a couple weeks off the bike has rejuvenated my interest in saddle time. Let huge base begin! (and hope that the weather cooperates).

Waiting for Sophie

Waiting for lots of things lately. Waiting for my steel hard tail to return from the weld table. Waiting for snow to dump from the heavens. Waiting for the sun to set at a reasonable time in the afternoon so's I can grab an after work pedal in the woods. But most of all waiting on Sophie to come into this world. I know my sister in law Jeanie can't wait too much longer. Hold in there Jeanie, not too much longer! For my brother's sake I hope it's a girl cause he's got an extremely pink bedroom.

Biking weather for Christmas

Got out yesterday with CCB on a nice 2.5 hour road cruiser. One of the longer rides in recent memory as the ride season is winding down. Answered a burning question in my mind...yes, my legs still work. The best thing about riding with those guys is their knowledge of the area and the way they link up the scenic country roads that roll for miles and miles. Hell, I've lived here all my life and still don't know exactly where we rode yesterday. I'd guess you'd say that they know the roads like we know the trails. With temps in the 50's for late December the cyclists in the northeast have gotten an early Christmas gift. I know this weather can't last all winter but wish it would. Got the hakka 300's ready and waiting to go just in case the inevitable happens.
Lesli and I have little excuse for not sending out Christmas cards this year. Since returning from Honduras we've been playing catch up with a few things and haven't gotten a handle on the details yet. We appreciate the cards we have received from family and friends and have them displayed on the mantle serving as the only decorations in the house (along with a string of lights to brighten the mood). I'd like to send out some Christmas cheer to some folks I haven't seen in a while and others I see everyday. Have a great holiday.

click clack clunk

That's the sound of two bikes rolling down the trail with drivetrains that have far exceeded their useful lives. Can they be coaxed back into smooth working order?...yeah, if you throw a couple Benjamin's at the problem I guess. Money can fix allot of bike related issues... But do you really want to bolt on a shiny new sram chain, cassette and rings for the winter? knowing full well that your only buying time till spring then you'll have to do it again? Well, yeah..if it means that's the only way to fix mis-shifting and broken chains.
Having said that Jeff and I are in the same boat, or our bikes are at least. And the boat they are in is a junk freighter floating swiftly out to sea.

Flowers bay

Lesli and I are settling back into our regular boring lives after a brief getta way. Traveling is an amazing thing. It changes us, maybe only temporarily. But when it wears off and life is a drag again you know it's time to fly somewhere else. Then there's that small issue of funding the trip.

Night time...

Es Fiesta tiempo!
Goofy fun? Si!
Embarrassing? quizá.
Do it again? Uno Momento!

planets not alligned

Some things are meant to be...the sub trip was not. A bit let down but got some extra dives in today as a result of the cancellation.
Last night I ran into Karl (Idabel Owner/operator) at the Cannibal Cafe and asked if everything was all set for our dive into the deep. Nope...broken motor on the sub!! Karl was going to scramble to repair but couldn't guaranty the voyage. The trip was doomed hours before when my sub buddy (Al) got a touch of Montazuma's revenge...I told him not to eat the unpasteurized cheese!
The combination of events told me that this trip was not looking good. Lesli would have gone but a little voice in my head said to just go scuba diving again today.
Going to meet some friends for a couple rum drinks now. Be home tomorrow.

thank you spf 30

With every day here our bodies grow a darker shade of Brown and the insect bites more red and itchy. We have hooked up with an unbelievable dive shop and have logged over a dozen spectacular dives so far and still have tomorrow to dive more. I chose to sit out the afternoon dive today because my core temp seems to have dropped due to all the deep dives...the sun has dipped behind the clouds today with temps in the 70's. Seems that Lesli has greater dive endurance as she is out with the boys diving without me.
I'd share some underwater shots but the camera was ruined on the first day...damn housing o-ring failed! we have our regular digi camera but no transfer cable.
We have forgotten about our daily lives and have transformed into our dive persona's. We've hooked up with a bunch that love to drink the night away and talk about vacations and past dives. The Honduran beer, Salva Vida (life saver) is cheap but impossible to get drunk, but luckily doesn't leave you too hung-over.
The Idabel trip is set for Friday at 8am!!! Going down with the Submarine's creator and a Canadian professor from Vancouver...Lesli likes to dive but doesn't dig the sub. If I don't return from 2000 feet I'd like to leave all my bike stuff to Jeff W. and Brad B. (you can split it). Daren, I'd like you to have my Willys. My Brother can have anything he'd like otherwise.