RCMT: Road/Cyclocross/ Mountain/Triathlon

That was then, This is now

2011-06-09T13:29:00.000-07:00

I am in my 3rd week of training for my November Ironman. I stress at my ability to fit everything into my schedule. For the first 13 weeks of my training I am following a plan for a Half Ironman distance. At the end of the plan I should be ready to do that race. Instead at the end of that I will be switching to a 13 week plan for a full Ironman. The progression seems to be appropriate between the two plans. Still, I have been concerned about being able to do the scheduled training so that I can finish a 2.4 mile swim followed by a 112 mile bike ride and finally a 26.2 mile run.

Then I looked at my preparation for the Half IM in 2009. Other than having a long runs being longer (a 12 mile long run compared to a 7 mile long run currently) a few weeks prior to the event, I am already doing what I was then. My weekly training total was probably 10 hours on average for that event and this week I will hit the same amount of time.

I would say that I was probably under prepared for that event and still it went fine. My workouts for the 2009 event were very loosey-goosey. It seems like I just threw in weekly runs or swims when my work schedule allowed for it. I have been much more regimented this time, again mainly out of fear. My plan has helped calm my fears because I have faith that if I train as specified in them I won't die out there (figuratively, not literally). Fear is a good motivator for me. But seeing that I was able to perform adequately enough to finish the Half Ironman on such a half-arsed training plan has given me some additional confidence.

I'm looking forward to seeing what happens in November.

Week 3 begins

2011-06-06T08:28:00.001-07:00

Today is the beginning of the 3rd of 26 weeks of training for my November Ironman. I am still tring to work out the specifics on how best to integrate the training regimine, work and family.

This morning I woke up at 5:30 and was at the gym at 6am but that just barely allowed me enough time to swim for 45 minutes, change and drive to the Sunset Transit Center and find a spot to park. From there I catch the MAX into downtown Portland. I have learned that all of the parking spot are pretty much gone by 7:15AM. I was there at 7:10 and there were only about a dozen spots left. This means I gotta get up earlier so I don't have to stress about it

Today's work out was 45 minutes of swimming and 45 minutes running. I'll do the running during lunch today.

This week is not that hard of a week. I'll bike to work and back tomorrow; hour swim and hour run on Wednesday; bike to work and back on Thursday; 75 minute run on Friday; an hour swim and 2+ hour bike on Saturday. Off Sunday. However eventually my long days will be quite long. 6 hour bike rides... 90 minute swims with a 3+ hour run....

It isn't too hard now to get up with the long days, but I am sure it will be challenging to do so this fall. Anyway, the adventure continues....

2011-05-12T09:13:00.000-07:00

How is it that I can sleep for 8 hours and still feel so tired. It is not that I have been doing tons of training. I rode for 3 hours on the weekend. Rode an hour yesterday. Ran for an hour the day before that....

I suppose I am still catching up from my lack of sleep over the weekend when I drove out to Utah with my oldest son Ryan. Good trip. Not much sleep.

Am I just getting old?

Portland Blues

2011-05-11T14:20:00.000-07:00

Or maybe it should be the Portland "greys" with the near constant cloud cover the past months.

I was in Utah over the weekend for just a quick trip to pick up some stuff of ours. While there I went for a ride with Dave and Fish. It was marvelous. In three hours I got a nice burn on my legs. I had put sunblock on my arms, face and neck. I have been riding all year in Oregon and I was totally white up until Saturday. And now that I am back I am ready for some better weather in Portland. I think I saw the sun for about 5 minutes when the clouds got lazy. Yesterday, I ran at lunch and admittedly the cloud cover was a good thing, it made for a nicer time. But right now it is raining. Sick of this wet stuff.

In about 10 days Bridget and I are doing the 100+ mile Reach the Beach ride. I haven't been able to spend longer than 3 hours in the saddle yet this year. I am not sure that is going to happen anytime soon. Oh, well. I am good at suffering, I am sure I will be fine. My butt my not be.

I crashed pretty good a couple of weeks ago and I feel pretty much back to normal now. I am glad to be back at it because I gained some weight back. Most of it was probably driving to and back from Utah. I eat like crap when I travel. Plus, while in Utah I had to eat at In N Out Burger now that they are there. I felt good that I only ate a single...in the past I have been known to eat more than a Double Double. I can pound that stuff. I am drooling just thinking about it.

In two weeks I officially start my Ironman training plan. I wish I could say that I was excited.

Time to start again.

2011-04-26T16:43:00.000-07:00

Life has just gotten in the way of keeping up this blog. I am busier than ever and so cuts had to be made. One of casualties was this blog. I am trying to balance life with a wife and four kids (2 of them have substantial activities), my job at the firm, training (soon for an Ironman) and my wife's training for this and that. There just isn't enough time in the day.

Nevertheless, I feel it important to start writing again both here and on our family blog.

First a few updates.

I am a fatty again. Not horribly so, but a good 10 pounds over the maximum I'd like to weigh and about 15 pounds over what I would like to weigh.

I am riding quite a bit, but mainly to work and back. I have started leaving home earlier in the morning and lengthing my ride. I have been able to take off on a few lunchtime rides which as been awesome. However, our weather here in Portland has been colder and wetter than I think Spring conditions should be so these rides haven't happened as often as I would like. Brianero and I went on a killer 75 minute ride through the West Hills near Portland. Nearly 2000 feet of climbing during that time. A great ride it was.

My training for the Ironman officially starts the end of May when I have 6 months until the triathlon begins. I have not been in the pool much. And I am dreading it. My running has been off and on. I am not as worried about the running because odds are that I will be so toasted by the time I get off the bike that I will end up walking at least half the 26.2 miles. I have been running up to an hour at a time once or twice per week. I will add more running miles at the months progress. In the end, my goal is simply to do the damn thing in under 17 hours.

In the short term I am doing the 100 mile Reach the Beach ride next month with Bridget. That will be a nice no stress ride. In July I am going to check off the ultimate "Fred" ride around here, the STP or Seattle to Portland. I will be doing the one day option. That will hurt. Mainly my rear end, but it will still hurt. 200 miles is a long way in a day.

With regard to bikes, I have a new one coming down the pipe from Neil at Cernitz bikes. But I won't talk about that one just yet. As a result my Lapierre carbon cross frame will be going bye-bye. It just didn't fit me the way I like. Neil has my likes dialed in now, and I expect it will be a stellar frame as usual.

Well that's it for now. More to come soon.

First Race of the Cyclocross Season

2010-09-17T22:05:00.001-07:00

At least me first race of the season.

I've ridden a bit the past couple of days and so I am certain that my legs won't be too fresh tomorrow. But, I don't really care. I mainly want the workout, to get dirty, and to continue to get a bit more fit.

This summer has not gone as planned really. I got in about half the miles that I had planned. I had some great excuses in August when I was working between 60 and 80 hours per week. But still, it has been sort of frustrating. Plus, having 4 kids makes it really tough to get riding in that is anything other than going to and from work.

Speaking of work, my weekends are free now. At least free from work. There are all sorts of other activities demanding my attention. Kids have soccer. Church. Family stuff of varying sorts. But Bridget is very understanding and has not argued with my desire to race a bit this fall. She is very patient with us boys... ;)

Anyway, back to the race, going to race the singlespeed class. My choice comes down to a couple things. I know I am going to place near the back and that is OK. There isn't a singlespeed category to downgrade to, so I don't mind racing with the Cat A guys. I would like to spend some time pumping up Cernitz Bikes, and riding them seems to be a good way to do so. And one last reason is that I refuse to downgrade to Master C and I don't feel like getting shelled in Master B's quite yet.

Give me some more time commuting with my 600 foot climb to work and 1000 foot climb home and I will get there pretty quick I think. A bonus at the law firm is my ability to take long lunches. An hour is normal. Longer can be arranged too by the looks of it. I will probably start doing a bit of running at lunch. I need to start running sometime since I have verbally committed to doing an Ironman next year. I've done a couple of 70.3 Ironman events and that training sucked. Next year is really going to suck. But that will be checked off the bucket list.

Anyway...I will report back about how tomorrow goes. It is going to be rainy. And that is a good thing.

Zsa Zsa Gabor and Cyclocross.

2010-08-07T21:26:00.000-07:00

Sorry, going to go on a bit of a cycling rant here.

Here in Oregon we have this wonderful little organization, the Oregon Bicycle Racing Association or OBRA. It has a wonderful little e-mail list that anyone can get on which allows us to complain, ask questions, learn about events and especially sell our excess biking related stuff. It is a spectacular service that I have used often over the past few years. It is free, unlike Ebay. And because it only goes to mostly serious cyclists I tend not to get a bunch of stupid questions unlike posting on Craigslist.

Often, especially this time of year as summer starts to get a little long in the tooth I start to see posts like this:

" Dura Ace 7800 shifters. Dented, scratched, work great, perfect for cross, $40 "

Works great, sure. I doubt for long. And I can't imagine using something on its last legs for cyclocross. Unless you like having excuses for sucking. Well, I guess I have my excuse, but it is more gut-related than anything else.

Anyway, I don't get it. I mean, I get it, but I subscribe to this view at all--Hanging all of the crappiest parts on your cyclocross bike.

I want my stuff to work, especially my drivetrain. If I wanted to race crap..., well, actually I would never want to race crap. And I absolutely hate it when in a race I start missing shifts and my chain can't seem to find and stay in a gear. Absolutely frustrating for me. It takes my mind out of the race.

Maybe it is the cost? $40, no big deal right? If the shifters break...rather make that when the shifters break you are only out a fraction of the cost of new. Fine. But until then continue to be frustrated during the race and bemoan the fact that cyclocross kills your equipment. Despite the fact that what you are doing is probably akin to putting present day Zsa Zsa Gabor in a beauty pagent.

Sure she was hot once, but why are you putting her out there now? Ridiculousness! Her time is past. She is probably lucky to get around the block a time or two. And that is exactly what should be done with that old dented up Dura Ace shifter. Time to retire that thing. Let it spent its last days in peace going to the store, or on your commuter or whatever. But don't spend money on race fees riding a bike with that shifter. Folly!

Meanwhile if you just had something nice and took care of it it would probably last a long time and you'd actually be able to find a gear. And I don't necessarily mean nice and expensive.

So here is my recommendation to those who are trying to race on the cheap: Just buy thumb or bar-end shifters and new mid-lever derailleurs and chains. Forget about buying the well-used Dura Ace that is in worse shape and has swapped more times that a West Virginia trailer park harlot (I've lived in West Virginia, there's some scary stuff going on out there, yikes). Seriously, retire that old stuff. Just go with what works, simple stuff that is difficult to break becuase there are only a couple of moving parts instead of dozens.

You may think to yourself, "Oh easy for him to say now that he has Di2..."

Umm, yeah, it is easy to say. But I ran a 9 speed Shimano drive train with bar-end shifter for about 3 years when I started racing cross because I didn't want anyone's sloppy seconds or thirds or whatever and because it just freakin' works just about all the freakin' time. Sure the shifting isn't as quick, but at least you can find a gear. And when it absolutely hits the fan, one can always switch that bar-end shifter to friction mode and find your gears in the worst situations sans busted gear. And that three season old friction shifter has been on my Cernitz Mule commuter bike that has over 1100 miles this year. All I ever have to do to it is occasionally switch cables and housing. Booyah Brothers and Sisters!

Anyway, enough. Most of you don't care. But I at least feel better.

Another Broken Carbon Crankset

2010-08-05T22:06:00.000-07:00

I have broken the following in order over the past several years.

Ritchey WCS ISIS splined Crankset
FSA K Force ISIS splined Crankset
FSA K Force 2nd generation Crankset
Easton EC90 Crankset
FSA K Force 2nd generation Crankset
Easton EC90 Crankset

All are carbon. The interesting thing is that only the Ritchey had a carbon failure. All of the others is was a bond or some metal piece that failed. This time the Easton EC90 Crankset spindle came loose from the driveside arm where it is bonded. It doesn't spin totally free, it just moves a bit as you go through a crankarm revolution. It is very noticable on the road, but off road because of all the bumps it is not nearly so. This is why I raced with it on my Cernitz Buttercup singlespeed without realizing that there was an issue. And then when I did notice, I thought it was the Crank Brothers Eggbeaters which also have a reputation for breaking. (Speaking of that, I broke an Eggbeater pedal last night at cyclocross practice)

Anyway, a little research on the web and I found that this has become a common problem for these cranksets. In fact, Easton is not selling them anymore. And instead of giving me a new one, they are sending me a check for what I paid for them. Cool. So I am getting another Shimano Dura Ace crankset, which is pretty much exactly what I am getting back from Easton. That leaves me with only a 3 year old Campagnolo Record carbon crankset that was actually last produced about 5 years ago. It has an old style square taper bottom bracket. It currently resides on my commutter bike. It get more abuse than all of my other cranksets and has more miles on it than all of my other cranksets combined and multiplied by 2.

The FSA cranksets each lasted about 1500 miles. The Eastons each made it about 150 miles total. The first one was improperly manufactured so that one couldn't torque down adequately and I have already stated what went wrong this time.

Sigh....

No carbon cranks for me. I am not sure what I do, but I am Kryptonite to them. Maybe I should get a job doing product testing for these companies, because if there is a flaw, I'll find it.

FAAAAAAAAAAAT!

2010-07-28T10:57:00.005-07:00

Finished next to last in the singlespeed class. Yes, it was an off night. Yeah, I was lifting heavy boxes half of the day. But really, I am fat. Look at the picture... Faaaaaat. Faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat!

See the formation of man-boobs aka moobs to highlight that gut? Oh yeah, I am screaming Clydesdale here folks. I need to go on a diet like my sister...who incidentally doesn't even need to be on one at all. She's is going on the HCG diet...the one where you have to give injections or some such ridiculousness. Nah, I will just ride my way to fitness thank you very much. Or at least attempt to do so.

Right now I am 12 pounds heavier than my lightest weight last Fall and about 9 pounds heavier than my average cyclocross race weight last year. It really could be worse. These past 12 months or so have been a little sort of difficult. Dad died last summer. Found out Bridget was pregnant with a surprise baby. Professional disappointments came several times as well. I didn't do any longer distance triathlons or long distance rides this year either so motivation to train was decidedly lacking. And finally we had some of the wettest weather in Portland's history, including the wettest June on record. In all, I should be happy that I only gained that much weight. But they just seem like lame excuses. I just eat too much crap and don't ride enough.

Well, actually come to think of it I am down about 5 or 6 pounds already. So I really it was worse.

I am not a self hater, I just have goals. And being fat isn't one of them. Or at least a little overweight. I have said many times how I used to weigh near 240 pounds back around 2003 or so. Thankfully that isn't even close to my weight currently. I am 40 lbs under that. But still. I need to be healthier. I feel better when I do. But when I are depressed and frustrated those burgers and fries just call my name. Anyway, time to go ride.

And thanks to Dave Condon's wife, Robin I believe her name is, for taking these pictures last week. The Cernitz bike rides spectacularly by the way. More on that in the days to come.

2010-07-28T10:57:00.003-07:00

2010-07-28T10:57:00.001-07:00

First Short Track Race

2010-07-20T20:17:00.000-07:00

The start of the P.I.R. Short Track mtb race, Cat 3's. I am second row sort of in the middle of the photo (blue and white helmet, blue and white jersey with a red collar--identical kit to the guy in the lead row, Dylan)

I was a bad son and made my mother go to the airport early so that I could try my first short track mtb race out at Portland International Raceway. I've never done any sort of short track race. It was fun...in a miserable sort of way.

Ok, so I really didn't have to drop my mom off early, but truth be told I was considering doing so in order to race. As it was I dropped her off about 90 minutes before her flight and then raced to get to the race. I ended up getting there in time to sign up and then get a decent position on the starting line. I had very little idea what the course was going to be like. With no warm up lap I was going in with a big disadvantage, especially since I'd never done this sort of race before.

Dylan Cernitz, also a Team Buttercup member, was front row and I lined up just a bit behind him. He was an old hand at this race now...this was his 4th race this year. He tried to tell me a few pointers which I appreciated. I rode my Lapierre carbon cyclocross bike while most of the bikes were of the fatter tired variety. I had a cheap tubular wheel in the rear with a Tufo Flexus Dry Plus (700x34) with a file tread pattern and a slightly knobby Tufo Flexus Primus front tire (also a 700x34) glued to a front wheel that Brian Spears and I are calling the Chi-Bons. Generic Chinese-made carbon rims purchased on Ebay mated to American Classic hubs. According to one local bike shop these wheels are pretty much destined to blow up one way or another. The rear wheel isn't glued up yet and so I only used the front. Even the guy that built the wheels was suspicious of their durability. In fact when I told Neil Cernitz, the builder of my new singlespeed frame that I used them I think he thought I was crazy for doing so on that course. But I figured that I might as well use them, despite not being the ideal terrain. If they are going to fail then so be it. I would rather that it happen now than in the middle of cross season.

The race started and I had no idea where we were going. I was in the middle of the pack and I just sort of followed along at a brisk pace. I immediately missed having big fat tires. Oh, if I could only have gone back in time to when I had my Dean titanium 29er...I would have really kicked some butt without the pain, sometimes intense pain in my back and kidney area. Riding on that course was just plain hurtful on those little narrow tires. The course was full of sharp turns, short steep ascents and short steep drop-ins. Much of the course weaved through a motocross course. There was not one smooth part on the entire course that I can remember. After all, this is a mountain bike race, so I would not expect it to be so. But still the advantage I gained from having a stupid-light bike was totally cancelled by the fact that I could not pedal though some of the choppy stuff at speed. Guys with bigger tires passed me at times. On straight aways I could get them back but again...as with the entire evening...it just plain hurt.

My lungs hurt from the dust. My back hurt from being bounced around while riding a cross bike with skinny tires. My legs hurt from being having to push my fat gut around. But all in all, I didn't do horribly. I raced the Cat 3's and managed to place 23rd out of 62. Could have been worse, and when I finished the question I asked was, "How close to last was I?" I really thought I had only placed ahead of 4 or 5 guys. That is how ugly I felt out there. If I had known what the course was like I would have certainly picked up a few places as well.

Anyway, I checked my equipment after the race. Di2 drive train: perfect. Chi-Bon front wheel: still perfectly true. Semi-slick rear tire and minimal knobby front tire: hooked up great. Only sketchy in the pea gravel. My equipment did a great job despite being sort of over-burdened. This really gives me confidence going into cross season with the Lapierre. I was somewhat worried early on this year. But as I have put more time on it I don't think about it at all anymore, which is the best thing that can happen to me. I am pretty used to it. I still prefer the geometry of the Cernitz singlespeed, but it really is a rocket.

Hopefully I can get out for the race next week. Short track is a cool thing and I recommend it. Sure it hurts, but it is over quick.

Cernitz ButterCup II and Sidi Spiders

2010-07-03T22:53:00.000-07:00

My old Sidi Dominators were 5 or 6 years old. The sole had started to give out and so it was time to get a new set. The Sidi Spider shoes are much like my old Dominators except they in pretty much every way they are better. Replaceable sole. Replaceable tread. Better buckle design. Blah blah blah. Plus they are shiny. Nothing better than make a shoe that is meant for cyclocross and MTB all shiny. Maybe they will clean up better. But that means I have to actually clean up my shoes in between races. I am used to just hosing them down and calling it good. When your shoes are 5 years old that is acceptable. They sure felt great on their first ride today.

It is nice they that their first ride was on ButterCup II or BC2 for short.

This pic has the wheelset that will normally be on it come raceday. However, those wheels need to have the tires clued on them still. So I slummed it with my Easton EC90SLX wheels (normally on the Lapeirre) and weigh about a pound less. Crazy. The Eastons don't have a bolt on rear hub so I have to be a little more precise and put a little extra mustard on the Dura Ace Skewer to hold the rear wheel in place. I use a Dura Ace skewer because with its internal cam I can get more pressure or clamping force when compared to regular light weight skewers. These don't slip in the horizontal dropouts.

I love this frame. Neil Cernitz did a great job. This logo is a painted outline only. The letters show the bare steel. There is a nice clear coat over the top and so rust will not be an issue. And if the clear coat chips it is easy to fix.

I took it to Forest Park today near Portland. I have a familar route that I do there. I was using a familar set of tires and wheels and so really the only thing different was the frame. And so because of that fact I have come to the conclusion that the frame has magical properties. The ride was that good.

I have not been offroad too much this year. One reason is that I sold my mtb. Another reason is that my main riding buddy for mtb'ing is now back in Utah. And due to the fact that I have had a lot going on, been struggling with motivation this year, a slight case of depression (because not enough of the right sort of thing has been going on), I have really only been riding for the most part to work and back. And not enough of that either. I am in horrible shape compared to what I expected I'd be in right now. That is depressing too.

Oh, and I have had a really severe case of pink eye this week. One of the worst ones my doctor has ever seen. And I had some additional virus as well at the same time. So I have had to walk around feeling like crap with one eye closed for the past 7 days. Awesome. Regardless I wanted to get out today. And I did.

With the first ButterCup (may she rest in peace), I felt good, but I still like the feel of my geared bike better. It was close, but not quite perfect. There were just a few things that needed to be dialed in. Now, after the bike was gently smashed between the back of my Honda Civic and a Nissan Sentra, those things that I noticed were addressed. The wheelbase was shortened. The headtube was cut (we actually cut down the headtube of the first buttercup too) and lighter tubes, dropouts and lugs were used. As a result BC2 frame weighed a half pound less than the first one. And this one has better paint.

I immediately noticed that my hands were in the perfect spot when on the hoods. I went into the drops while riding down Firelane 5 in Forest Park and I felt just as at home in the tight turns and steepish descents. Awesome. But what about climing? Woohoo! Climbed amazingly well despite my extra 10 pounds compared to what I was this past Fall of 2009. And despite the fact that I was still feeling the effects of whatever illness I am just getting over. My body was appropriately over the rear wheel. The bike felt nimble and agile. And compared to my Lapeirre cross bike, ButterCup II seems to read my thoughts. It goes where I want it. I don't have to think as much and plan ahead. With the Lapeirre I have realized that I have had to adapt to it. Buttercup is adapted to me. I like the latter better. I may be riding this bike more than I thought this year.

Oh, and the weight: With the Chris King/Edge Wheels 16.8 lbs. With the Eastons that I rode today, 15.75 lbs. That will do.

Dylan's New Frame

2010-05-29T10:57:00.000-07:00

Dylan, who is on our little Buttercup team, has a new frame coming from Cernitz. It is very, very, very nice.

It is built with a mix of steel tubing from Columbus and True Temper. The lugs are slightly customized. The rear brake cable will route through the top of the seattube lug. Neil, the builder, did not just drill a hole in the lug to do this. Instead he brazed in a small stainless steel eyelet with will allow the cable to slide through much easier and provide more durabilty than would be there otherwise.

Dylan will be using a Ritchey WCS seatpost that will also be drilled to allow the cable to pierce it. In otherwords, the bike has to be fit fairly exactly.

The frame weight is about 3.7 lbs. This is pretty darn good for a steel frame, let alone a lugged one.

The frame fabrication and paint was all done by one man, Neil Cernitz. Pricing for a basic frame from him starts about about $1000. This frame would cost a bit more obviously with the multicolor paint and other modifications.

See more at www.cernitzbike.blogspot.com

Cernitz is a title sponsor of our team this year.

Quick Update

2010-05-06T23:01:00.000-07:00

I've not been riding enough. But...

I did interview for a job today. A second interview that I think went well. I have high hopes...but I have been let down before.

A few things hinge on getting this job. I have told Fish and Dave (formerly DTP) that I would do the 2011 Ironman Arizona should I get this job. I don't really have the time to do it this year because of an incoming baby this July. I suspect it will be a one shot deal. I don't enjoy triathlons, but I do enjoy the feeling of accomplishment I get by finishing them quite a bit.

I also have commissioned Neil at Cernitz bikes to build me a singlespeed mtb frame. This is also pending getting this job. I have this bike already built in my mind...it is going to be freaking gorgeous. But, I'm not letting that cat out of the bag. Currently Neil is working on the replacement for my Original ButterCup frame which was whacked pretty good last December when I was rearended driving to a race. That bike is going to be pretty freaking cool too, but I think this one, the singlespeed mtb, will be a little more freeform since I am not nearly as worried about frame weight. I just want it to be, well...Bitchin' to put it crudely.

Saturday is the First Annual Huntsman Tour de Muerte. It is just a local ride for friends, but around 35 to 40 miles we will climb over 5600 feet. That, my friends, is going to hurt. And it is going to hurt badly.

Dura Ace vs. Dura Ace vs. Dura Ace

2010-04-22T09:36:00.000-07:00

I realized a couple of days ago that I have three bikes with Shimano Dura Ace groups. All different set ups though.

I have my Lapierre with the Di2 7950 stuff.

I have my father's old Specialized SWorks carbon with the 7800 model group.

I have my custom steel Cernitz Mule commuter with its 9 speed dura ace bar end shifter (way low tech).

The one that gets ridden the most? By far the Cernitz Mule. They all shift well. But frankly the low tech stuff gives me the least worries. Why? because I there is not much to it at all. It is cheap and easily fixable/replaceable if something were to go wrong. And there are almost no parts in the shifter, so what would go wrong? It gets ridden in the worst weather and just keeps on ticking.

Will I trade in the other stuff? Nope. Those bikes with the integrated brake/shifter combo is just too smooth to give up. Dang, I love my stable of bikes.

Initial Di2 thoughts

2010-04-01T21:45:00.001-07:00

The Good:
1) shifting is flawless so far.
2) Front derailleur makes a cool whirring sound when it moves.
3) Derailleur aren't bothered by mud and debris.

The Bad:
1) Buttons are too close together. Sometimes one of the buttons is not right where I want it when I want it. I think I will get used to it though and it won't be an issue later.
2) It doesn't make me any faster exactly, it just keeps working when the normal shifter set up might get gunked up. I just lost one excuse why I don't do better.

Whoa...

2010-03-30T22:08:00.001-07:00

This was pretty much my reaction after my first ride on Shimano's Di2 after it was installed on the Lapierre X-Lite HM. Neil Cernitz of Cernitz Bikes worked on it for awhile getting it all dialed in. He did a great job despite the fact it was not going on one of his frames. Not to worry, he is currently building a replacement frame for the one that was totalled when it got crushed on the back of my car on the way to a race last December.

Routing the wiring proved to be a bit tricky. In fact, it still needs some refinement so that the cables stay where they should with making it aestically annoying.

On the web there are a number of write-ups about Shimano's Di2 system. I am not going to get into all the details here. But in case you didn't know--it is an electronic shifting system. And it shifts flawlessly. At least so far. You push a button and its little servos move the chain to where it needs to be. It is simply amazing. It doesn't seem to care what sort of torque is coming from the chain. It just goes to the right spot.

Previously, on the Lapierre and on my previous cross bike I used Campy Record and Campy Chorus. Campagnolo makes a component group that while engineered for the road, does really, really well in the harsh conditions of cyclocross. But just like all my other drivetrain set ups in the past few years, shifting at some point or points goes to hell. At least a couple of races a year I stop shifting unless I absolutely have to once I find a gear that the chain will stay in without ghost shifting. Mud and grime work their way into the cable housing and the cables just don't move well from there on. After such a race I have to replace cables and housing and then after a week or so I have to do this again when the much builds up. It's a pain.

I have told a number of people about this switch from Campy to Di2. Most of them, at least initially, think I am nuts. Their first impression is that it is going to get wrecked or ruined. The little motors in the derailleurs will get contaminated or I will crash and ruin one of those little buggers. Well, possibly.

But here is my reasoning why Di2 makes sense.

1) No more cables running to the derailleurs. You still have brake cables obviously, but brakes aren't that big of a deal in cyclocross right?

2) The shifts are precise. During a cross race I have often not quite moved a shifter enough to catch the next cog in the cassette or I go too far and shift an extra cog. With only having to push a button this won't be a problem. Instead, my problem is remembering which button does what. For some reason today I kept forgeting which button upshifted and which downshifted. It was really wierd. I have spent too much time with Campy stuff lately, I guess. I didn't ride it for long so I doubt this will be an issue after a bit more time on the bike.

3) In the event of a crash the rear derailleur will move as far inward it can to save the servos. Once you get back up you simple push the shift buttons a couple of times and the derailleur will re-adjust itself. At least that is what I am told. I haven't tried this aspect out yet.

4) The front derailleur shifts and trims so well that for the first time ever I will race cyclocross with two chainrings. I had been only race with one ring in the front and 10 cogs in the back. In the past, shifting the front derailleur during a mud race becames ugly quick. But with Di2 there is an auto trim feature that basicly allows a rider to be stupid. I can go big ring in the front to big ring in the back or from small to small and the front derailleur will trim so that there won't be any chain rub going on. It doesn't even complain. Awesome.

5) And the final reason I wanted to do it was because I am a rolling stone that gathers no moss. I have a hard time staying with any particular setup for long. I am always searching for something else that is better. Sometimes it works out and sometimes not. But each year my overall cross setup have gotten markedly better. I expect nothing less this year. I just thought that this was the way to cure my biggest race issue other than being slow. As for that, I have my work cut out for me this year.

Now I just have to get my butt in shape.

Cadence

2010-03-24T23:11:00.001-07:00

I just put on the Garmin cadence kit on two of my bikes. It is the first time I have ever messed with cadence during my lifetime. I knew that I had a slow cadence, but geesh... I think that my comfortable cadence is about 80-ish crank arm revolutions per minute. 90 to 100 seems to be what all the cool kids say is a good cadence in the flats. So I did that tonight as much as I could with my Mule, that has a 1 x 9 drivetrain with the front chainring being a 42. Sometimes I just fought to keep it about 70.

Man, keeping it at 90+ is work. Pedalling at that speed is more aerobic. Darn it if I didn't seem to go faster too. Hmmm. Maybe there is something to this cadence deal.

Di2

2010-03-21T22:22:00.001-07:00

Di2 is ordered. Campy stuff is for sale. Badabing badaboom.

Heart Rate Based Training is only good until the Old Man passes you

2010-03-17T22:39:00.001-07:00

A beautiful morning after a nice rain yesterday here in Portland. A little cloudy, a little cool, but no rain and dry streets. With nothing to do this morning I headed out for a short ride.

When I have 2 hours or less I like to do some variation of a loop that involves riding west toward Hillsboro and then slightly north and then back east until I climb up to Skyline. Today's road to the top was done via Old Germantown road--a stellar road for riding by the way.

Today was my first road ride with the Garmin heart rate chest strap. I decided to see if I could keep my average down below 150. I was doing just fine until I started climbing up Old Germantown. With my heart rate pegged between 172 and 180 beats per minute as I rolled up with as brisk a pace as I could muster, my average climbed above 150 to 152 when I hit Skyline. Skyline as its fair share of oscillations, but nothing too bad. I was trying to get my average back down to below 150 and so I was riding at a leisurely 130 to 140 bpm. No big deal.

I had my earbuds in, listening to Placebo when 50+ guy riding a Campy Record equipped Parlee catches me from behind. He said hello and we chatted for a bit. He asked where I had been riding and so forth. I said that I had recently come up from Old Germantown and was trying to get to my average heart for the ride back down, so just taking it easy for a mile or two. He says goodbye and I expect him to pull away from me. But he doesn't. Not really anyway. A hill comes up and I actually start to catch him a bit.

I don't really want to come off as an competitive jerk who suddenly speeds up when caught from behind on a casual ride. I mean I could pass this guy pretty easy at this point. But should I? Should I be that guy? I mean I only have about 4 or 5 miles left by this point until I get home and probably only about 2 more on the same road as Old Man on a Parlee. Surely, I can just sit back and play my heart rate zone game and chill.

Nope.

Can't do it. Old Man on a Parlee is just too tempting while he remains just about 30 to 50 yards in front of me. I had to throw down and pass him. I mean if he had been going at a good clip that is one thing. But my normal pace was faster than his present pace so I had to do it right? Well, I thought so anyway.

I may have appeared to be a jerk to him, but I just couldn't sit behind his wheel looking at that blasted $10,000 bike when he was poking along. It is like he slowed down after passing me. What is up with that. Was he toasted from trying to catch me?

I attached a snip of my Garmin's output from the ride. Blue arrow is about where he caught me. Green arrow is where I got sick of see him in front of me and did something about it. Notice that my heart rate went up to nearly 180 bpm even though I was on semi-flat roads? Yeah, that is because I didn't want to get caught from behind by him after I attacked and passed. That would have been totally embarrassing. I waited until there was a bit of an incline on the road and then I attacked Old Man on a Parlee and passed him as fast as I could. I didn't do this to be a jerk. I just didn't want to be embarrassed if he caught me again if he decided to counter my attack. I laid the hammer down and made sure that there was no way he could catch me unless he was much more fit than he appeared. I looked back after a mile or so and couldn't see him. Whew. No more embarrassment.

So I learned that I am not secure enough to let rider pass me when I am trying to zone train. I just can't let any ol' schmo pass me just so that I can stay in zone 2 or 3. My pride is too great. I don't even know why it matters, but it does.

Last Hoorah for Buttercup and One more little thing...

2010-03-09T23:37:00.000-08:00

Going to try a couple things with OBC, otherwise known as "Original" ButterCup, built by local builder extraordinare, CernitzBike. The frame is going to soon be replaced soon as the insurance money to pay for the damage comes in. BC2 is in the build queue at Cernitzbike's top secret headquarters. But, before that it gets built a couple of details need to be worked out.

1st: Will I be able to run a horizontal dropout with only a quick release to hold the wheel in place? No set screws to tension the chain. No Surly Tugnut type device to locate the hub in the dropout. Just a Shimano Dura Ace skewer locked down hella tight to prevent wheel slippage for the singlespeed. If it works, Hallelujah! If not, then Neil and I got to do some thinking. I want to be able to interchange my geared wheelsets with the Singlespeed, BC2. If I can't, well, it just won't be ideal and it will mean that BC2 won't have access to the 3 or 4 wheelset I plan to have with different tubular tires for next cyclocross season that have geared rear hubs. Instead, I would likely just build up on wheelset with a bolt-on hub. Not ideal. Or use the heavier Paul horizontal dropout with a set screw that will allow the use of whatever sort of hub I want. But like I said it is heavier. Porky even. The only porky thing on BC2 will be me if I have my way. And hopefully, this porker will be leaner than ever.

OBC has the Paul dropouts. It worked fine for the most part. Neil is also not a fan of it for a couple of other issues that are related to how it is more difficult to align and so forth when fabricating the frame. But as the consumer, that is more his problem than my problem. My problem is making sure that the wheel stays where I want it. With the set screws I was able to use a quick release skewer. Without it...? Well, we will see.

#2. We are cutting down the top of the head tube to see how it will feel with my planned geometry for BC2. I think that I will like have the bars a bit lower on BC2 than what I was able to do with OBC. So...tomorrow we take a hacksaw to the top 10mm of the headtube and then ream it. Then built it back up to try out a couple of times until BC2 is complete. Then OBC will likely be retired. Perhaps for good. Or perhaps she will be fixed up and reused in the future. It all depends on how bad the damage to it from the accident is once the paint is removed and the tubing looked at closely.

It is late and thus quite possible that none of this makes any sense to anyone. Therefore, I will shut my trap.

But before I go, I just have to say one thing about my other cross bike to race on this fall 2010, the Lapierre HM X-Lite. Di2.

One more time. Di2.

Can you say "Bitchin"? There, I knew you could.

Allergies and Riding

2010-03-06T21:46:00.000-08:00

A good week for riding--if you are immune to all of nature's pollution. My allergies are killing me. Eyes are itchy. Nose is running. Arrgh! And it is worse the more time I spend outdoors. Yet with the weather so nice this week I had to get out there. I need to figure out some allergy treatments that don't include drugs. I get so sleepy sometimes when I am on that stuff.

Nevertheless, it has been a great week for riding. In the past 7 days I have ridden over 128 miles. Not too bad. Most of it was riding back and forth to work. But at 12.5 to 16 miles each way (sometimes I add on extra sections to mix it up a bit) each trip is a pretty good short ride. I am trying to ride for an hour or so each way so that I am on the bike for 2 hours per day, about 9 to 10 hours per week. That is what I did this week and hopefully this will continue. 125 miles per week would add up fast. Over the course of a year that would total around 6000 miles. Last year I rode about 3000. I would be very happy with an average of 90 miles per week when you figure that stuff happens and there will be down weeks. That would put me over 4000 miles for the year--a good improvement.

Here is my weekly stats:
128.65 miles ridden
7927 feet climbed

2010 Total:
564.92 miles ridden
33,107 feet climbed

In other news, it appears I am finally close to getting paid on the Cernitz bike that was damaged when I was rear ended travelling to the USGP back in December. It has been really really aggravating. USSA insurance decided that another insurance company was liable. And the other insurance company, which is actually Hertz Rent-a-car's insurance would not return my calls. They did after I threatened a lawsuit and had my insurance agent threaten them as well. Then they not only promptly called me back, but also sent someone to my insurance agent's office to see if they could help speed up the process. One week later the adjuster has been out taken lots of pictures, sent in his report and I should soon have a check on the way. Why couldn't this have been done sooner? Maybe it is a part of their tactics to hold on to their money for as long as possible hoping that I would go away out of frustration. I don't know, but I promise I will never use Hertz because of this if I can at all help it.

2010 Thus Far

2010-03-02T23:03:00.001-08:00

Year to date: 486.34 miles
January: 177.30 miles
February: 258.96 miles
March (as of today): 50.08

Total elevation gain in 2010: 28,166 feet

I love my Garmin.

42/12

2010-02-26T10:53:00.001-08:00

My commuter bike, The Mule, is set up as a 1 x 9. Front ring is a 42 tooth and the rear cassette has a gearing range of 12/27. When I had this bike set up as a singlespeed, my front chainring was still the same 42, but the rear had a 16 tooth. That worked pretty well. It hurt a bit at the tail end of my commute back home when I have to climb up a few mean streets, but not too bad. Riding singlespeed consecutive days though starts to build lower back pain. The pain would go away again if I laid off of the bike for a day or two.

Anyway, recently I switched the bike to 1x9 and I have quite enjoyed it. With the 42 tooth on the front end(instead of the stock 39 tooth) I can usually get going pretty good when I am in the smallest rear cog, the 12 tooth. At a 90 cadence that equates to about 26 miles per hour. The 27 tooth honestly doesn't get used that much. I try not to. It is a silly pride issue that I stay out of the granny.

Last night riding home at about 8pm I starting feeling pretty good after the first couple of pretty flat miles. I was riding in my 42/12 combo, my fastest gear combo, and wondered how long I could stay in that gear before I had to shift into an easier combo.

About halfway home, I looked down at my average speed reading and I was averaging 16.4 mph without pushing it too much at all. Knowing that the last 1/4 of my ride is all up hill I decided to see if I could keep my average about 15mph. So now two goals, push the 42/12 as far as possible and stay above a 15mph average.

Also, to paint the picture a bit better I am riding with a big backpack on full of clothes and other things. It is not like I am riding on a full race bike either. The Mule is over 23 pounds heavy, compared to my road and cross bikes which are around 16 pounds.

Anyway, this was my ride home last night with the point where the legs and back went dead.

Not too bad really. There was one point coming up a section of Hall Blvd where I was really cooking and my legs were alternatively pushing and pulling the pedals trying to maintain momentum. My chest felt ready to burst near the top. In that sort of gear getting up hills is all about the big Mo. I struggled to make it home maintaining an average speed over 15mph. I did it, but just barely at 15.1 mph.

These sorts of stupid games I play with myself keep my ride home interesting. Otherwise it is just the same old thing time after time.

Recent Rides

2010-02-18T22:46:00.000-08:00

I haven't been maintaining my sidebar training log. That is because for the most part I have had everything logged on Garmin Connect, which is a nice little site that tracks everything that you do with one of their lovely Garmin GPS devices. I have the Garmin Edge 500 and I have quite enjoyed it.

Here is some snips of a couple of graphs from my last two rides. Yesterday's ride was a little over 34 miles. More than 4000 feet of total elevation gain. I rode from the house up to Skyline Drive and then went up and down some of the roads that connect to it. Skyline is a nice road to use for this. It is right at an elevation of 1000 feet or so. It meanders up and down a fair bit through its journey. Roads that head off to the east tend to go down to near sea level and are fairly steep at times. Roads on the west drop down to around 200+ feet to around 500 feet. They are still good climbs, but the hurt is not as bad. Germantown on the east side of Skyline has grades up near 17% at times. Those sections start to hurt after a bit, their cumulative effect becomes punishing about 2/3 the way up.

Today's ride:

When I plugged the TCX file from today's into a cool site at www.veloroutes.org, that site said that Brianero and I climbed about 1335 feet of total elevation gained versus the raw data of about 1420. The distance was the same.

The elevation gain is really the only feature that I have some reservation about so far with the Edge 500. It relies on barometric readings as I understand it. However, I understand that through the use of elevation points I can strengthen the reliability of the data. I set an elevation point at the house tonight. I get variations on data here at the house when I first start up. Usually, when I leave the house it says that we are about 100 or so feet lower than we actually are. When I return I am usually reading pretty close to what it should be. I am not sure why but I read on the Garmin forum that this is often the case that initial readings are not as reliable as readings about 15 to 20 minutes later. Anyway, at least when I start at the house the readings should be pretty good from here on.

The rides over the past couple of days have been pretty good. Yesterday's ride was solo. It was nice to be out, just riding listening to some good music. Today's ride was with Brianero. He led us at a fairly brisk pace, with one really strong short climb. I was staying up with him as we went up it. I was surprised that this was the case. I should have known that he was saving himself for the end of the climb where it went from about a 10 to 12 percent grade to around 20% for a bit. Ouch.

Anyway, lunch time rides are great. Much better than my commuting rides which tend to be filled with more stops because of traffic and at a slower pace generally than when I am doing a ride like yesterday or a ride with others like today.

I hope to continue these midday rides as work allows. We will see...

The Coolest Little Support Vehicle

2010-02-13T22:04:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, Bridget and I bought ourselves a used Honda Odyssey in fantastic shape. We got a great deal on it too. We are super happy to not have to pack in our little Civic. We still have the Civic, but it now becomes my errand runner.

Neither of these are the cool support vehicle the title of this post refers to.

Neil of Cernitzbikes just picked up a Ford Transit. Check it:

You could basically stand up inside the vehicle. Or at least shorter guys could. Well, Neil probably could. But, still...this is the coolest, most sensible cycling vehicle I have ever seen. And it is cheap. The deluxe version with a second row of seats retails for about $24K. Neal paid quite a bit less. The stripped down version retails for about $21K or so.

Neil said that it drives very well and gets great gas mileage. It is reminds me of a Honda Element, but with more room and about the same price.

How to Talk to Non-Cyclists

2010-02-11T21:54:00.000-08:00

I found this today while looking for something else on xtranormal

I Need a Mulligan

2010-02-11T14:51:00.000-08:00

Today started off by me being awake. At midnight I was still wide awake despite having to get up at 6am to ride to work. At 1am I am still awake and stressing about not being able to sleep. At 3 am Colin, the 17 month old woke up and I patted him back to sleep. I stayed in his room and slept on the small couch that we have in there. At 4:30 I woke up to see if it was time to get ready to ride. At 5:10 I woke up again. At 5:30, again. And at 5:50 I called it a night and got up. I had a little alarm set so why I kept waking up is beyond me.

I was feeling nauseated from the lack of sleep, or at least any deep sleep. I got ready, grumpily and then headed off in the dark. At least it wasn't raining. I listened to music as I pedalled at a much slower than usual pace. I just wasn't feeling it. At noon I headed off to the post office to ship off something that I sold on Ebay. I really didn't feel like riding, but it was a short enough ride that I couldn't be too bugged.

On the way back I was debating where to eat. Should I do Subway or something better at the Sushi/Teriaki restaurant nearby. As I was thinking this I also started to think about death. Seriously. How would the family fair if I just suddenly kicked the bucket. The cause of this thinking was a truck that passed by a little too close for comfort. At first I was ticked off, and then the other thoughts come in. Anyway, while I am in this black revelry, I came near a set of train tracks with a bad reputation.

These particular tracks do not cross the road in a perpendicular fashion. Nope that come at about a 45 degree angle. They have a horrible transition that is very bumpy. The bike I am riding has the usual narrow road tires. Have I mentioned that the roads are wet today? Well, they were. This time of year it seems they are wet for about 4 months straight. I don't mind this, except for today.

This is what I think happened: I have slowed down somewhat--I was probably going about 12 to 15 mph. The front tire hits the deformed asphalt that parallels the track. At the speed I am going the tire pops up a bit and then lands on the rail. I believe it did not hit square and so because I am coming in at an angle because of the weird road to rail angle the front tire slides to the left. I immediately go down. In straight down. More like I am doing a cyclist bad imitation of Mr. Hustle, Pete Rose. My right side hits first. The bike slides a bit into traffic. Luckily no cars were beside me. I hop up to first check my pearl Izumi jacket. Yeah, it is a little screwed up and very dirty. Bike looks OK and I pick it up. It is fine. However, the right side of my legs is a little shredded. My right hip really hurts, as does my right arm. I get on the bike and ride back. No significant blood loss.

I sit for a bit after changing. I get up. Oh oh. Although I landed on my right side, my left side is messed up. I had, and still do, a hard time moving my left leg forward to walk. I am physically able to do it, but I have a sharp pain that shoots from my spine all the way through to the front side near my hip bone. Yeah, that's not going to do.

I called the wife. She is nice and clears her schedule a bit so that she can come and get me. I certainly feel like I need a do over today. I wonder if I had just gotten a little more sleep I would have probably have paid a bit more attention to the approaching railroad tracks. I would have approached them in a little more perpendicular fashion. And I would not be so flipping grumpy right now. Time for a nap.

Tuesday Lunch Time Ride #2

2010-02-09T20:51:00.001-08:00

Today's riders were Brianero, his brother Ward, Marcello (aka Speedy, as Jimbo calls him) and myself bringing up the rear.

Brian and his brother are both great riders. Brianero is a Master A cyclocross racer, and his brother is at least on the road his equal. Marcelo is the #1 ranked sprint distance triathlete in the Northwest. He is tall and lanky. He just seems to glide up hills. He seemed to be able to pick it up and put some distance on us at will. It was kind of amazing actually. I would be struggling to keep touch with the rest and it looked Marcelo looked effortless. sigh...

I brought along my Garmin 500. Near the end of the ride, Brian would ask what our elevation gain was. I would tell him, he would doubt the accurracy of both the elevation gain and the distance ridden. And then he would guide us to the nearest hill that he could torture us with to up the elevation total some more. Thankfully, it is a lunchtime ride and there is only about an hour that we can ride.

Here are some snips of the data from the Garmin:

These rides ought to make a difference come fall I think. They hurt.

Equipment Malfunctions

2010-02-03T23:30:00.000-08:00

I wrote a couple of days ago about my FSA K Force crank failure. This failure has cause a host of other problems that nearly spiraled out of control.

Here is the string of events that the FSA failure has led to:

1. Upon braking my crank could not ride home. Missed 12.5 miles of riding.

2. On monday I didn't ride to work because I had to drive other pieces to make it possible for me to use The Mule, my commuter bike, while FSA figures out what to do with the broken crank. Missed miles, 25.

3. Tuesday, I rode my new Lapierre into work without any fenders because I figured that I could get The Mule ready to ride home that night. I had understood that rain was on the way. All I needed to do was install my old square taper Campy Record crankset and then the Forte shifters and derailleurs. I had been riding The Mule as a singlespeed. I have had this Forte 10 speed groupo since before Christmas. As an employee of Performance bike I get a swell deal on anything that says "Forte" on it. There were some initial positive review for this new product and I decided to give it a try. I took a long lunch and installed everything. It was not going on too smoothly though. In fact, I could not get the rear derailleur to shift well at all. I never even got to the left shifter. I rode home on the Lapierre after a 12 hour day at the shop, pissed. The Lapierre still had no fenders and it was raining.

4. While riding home, slowly I might add so that the water spray didn't shoot directly up into my face or that I might not become so soaked that my phone also got wet, I noticed that the shifting was not shifting to the smaller cogs on my cassette very well. I stopped a couple of times, in the rain still, to perform minor adjustments, thinking that cables must of stretched or that something else cable related had happenend. I didn't put too much thought into it. Then about 2/3 the way home the rear derailleur just stopped shifting at all. I checked a couple of things and discovered the the housing section at the rear of the bike had somehow gotten all boogered up and was not allowing the cable to pass through freely--or at all. SOAB....so I pedaled home even more pissed off. I was mad enough that I told Bridget not to talk to me until I had gotten some food in me. It was around 9:45 when I arrived home and I had not eaten any food since 1pm. When you include walking all over the place in the shop and then the ride home, that is just too long.

5. Today I get to work and with Neil help discover and affirm that it is true, the Forte shifters are total crap. In the rear, it shifts fine going up to larger cogs, but about halfway back down, it starts to lag in shifting. Sometimes it won't shift at all. We try different cassettes, but no dice. Plus the levers combined with the Avid BB7 road disc brakes feel ultra mushy. A very very poor feel at the lever, even though power was good. Basically that crap had to come off. More work to do.

6. Realizing last night that the Forte drivetrain might be crap, I rummaged though my old parts boxes. I had my fingers cross that I could find one particular piece of treasure...Finally, a bit of luck! For the first 2 or 3 years of cross racing I used a 9 speed dura ace barend shifter mounted to a Kelly TakeOff. If you don't know what this is, do a google search. Here is a pic from the Kelly website

I put the Kelly with the 9 speed shifter then a 9 speed ultegra cassette and then it immediately started to shift better....but not perfect. I let it sit for a bit and came back to it later to dial it in. Umm, no. wouldn't dial at all beyond an unsatisfactory point. Time to ditch the Forte derailleur and toss them along side the Forte Shifters. I put on a Shimano Ultegra and immediately--Perfect shifting.

7. I didn't get to ride into work or home today because I had to bring the original boxes and packaging of the Forte drivetrain as well as different cassettes, shifters. I wouldn't not have had room to bring them all. Plus I really didn't want to ride a Lapierre back to work with no fenders and no shifting capability. Nor did I want to ride a clean Specialized S-Works. Miles missed today, 25.

BUT...The Mule now works stellar. It is set up with a 42 tooth single chainring up front with a 12-27 cassette in the back. Wheels were swapped out from the White Bros. Eno and Velocity wheelset I had to a simple generic, but probably very durable, Shimano XT with Mavic rims. It looks good. It shifts good. It brakes good. It is still the perfect commuter. But man what a journey the past few days have been with it after breaking the crankset. None of the drivetrain swaps would have happened at this point were it not for the breakage. I was going to wait until the weather dried out. Oh well...at least I know now not to recommend the Forte stuff to others.

A little riding here, a little riding there...and I broke another crankset

2010-02-01T20:46:00.000-08:00

I talked briefly to Fish today. Fish and Dave (formerly DTP) are training for an Ironman in St. George, Utah. I am so glad that I am not forced to train right now. Basically, right now I ride if I want to, and if I don't...I don't. This is the first time in about 3 years that I have not had to train for something. I don't have much of anything on the horizon, and that suits me just fine.

And the bonus part is that I am not even gaining much weight. I was sitting at 192 this morning, a little over 4 pounds off my cyclocross season low. Meh. That feels good enough right now. I have more things to stress over than training for something or losing weight.

This is not to say that I haven't been riding. I didn't ride much the beginning of January, because of illness or schedule, but wound up doing about 140 miles the last half of January. I have been doing commuting and I went on a couple of rides with friends/teammates.

Last week I was invited by Brianero to go on a lunch time ride. I took my new Lapierre out with road tires instead of cyclocross rubber to just get the cables stretched. Riiight. Really what the deal was is that I really like riding it. The position on the bike feels great. I haven't spent much time off road on it yet, so no final review is close yet. Nevertheless, on the road it feels exceptional with regard to fit.

His teammate Craig was also on the ride. We rode around Lake Oswego and managed to find most of the steepest roads to climb. Why? They said something about wanting to know about the elevation gain on some of the roads. So away we went. For a ride that lasted about one hour and 15 minutes it was full of suffering. Within about 5 or 6 miles during the 15 mile ride we climbed about 1600 vertical feet. Much of that in stretches that had a grades between 13% to 20%. Ouch.

I thought we were finally done at one point as we were descending and near the bottom the jerks pulled a U-turn on me and headed right back up again. I was toasted by the time we got back up to the top.

On the way back there is one decent that is pretty much a straight shot down. I wanted to see how fast I could go. I hit 53.7 mph and that felt pretty good.

I hope that these rides can find a way to occur on a regular basis. They hurt, but that must mean that they are good for me. It is also good to note that I didn't get dropped too far back. All is well really at this point of the year.

FSA K Force crankset bites the dust

I broke my 4th crankset within the past 4 years. All of them have been carbon. 2 of them FSA. One was an older Ritchey WCS carbon with an ISIS bottom bracket interface. One was an Easton EC90 that had a manufacturing defect. On both of the FSA's, I broke the aluminum spline near where the pedal threads. On this break, I also cracked the carbon as well.

Frankly, not many things make me feel as manly or tough as breaking a crank. It makes me feel like I am Arnold Schwarzenegger or something. I just have too much POWER....or perhaps I am just too much of a fat ass. Regardless, it is cool to break crankarms.

FSA seems like it will be nice enough to warranty it. The new replacement for the K Force that they no longer make is a SLK Light crankset. I hope the third time if the charm. I may not even keep it though. FSA only has a 2 year warranty, while I believe that Easton has a limited lifetime warranty. Since I seem to only be able to make a carbon crankset last about 2 years it seems like going with a crankset with a better warranty might be a good idea. The Easton warranty is limited to the original purchaser--a good reason not to use Ebay in this instance.

Anyway, The Mule will be getting my trusty Campy Record carbon-armed square taper crankset regardless of FSA warrantying the broken one. The Campy arms seem to be bomb-proof after a year and a half of hard use. I know, I know, it hasn't hit the 2 year mark yet, but I think it will be fine. I am also going to put the Forte groupo on the Mule in short order. It will be interesting to see how the Forte group works. I am not expecting perfection, I just expect it to work. Either that or group is all going back to Circle P in short order.

Rambling...

2010-01-17T22:26:00.001-08:00

I don't have a bunch to say here. I am currently waiting on my iPhone to see if doing a "restore" will restore the function of the sleep/power button at the top of the phone. There are only two buttons on the phone and if one of the two goes on the fritz that sort of becomes frustrating. At least it is the lesser important of the two buttons. I rarely turn my phone off, but still...it would be a pain in the butt occassionally and I would probably take it in to get it fixed (if possible) at my earliest convienence. I also have about 2000+ songs and various applications so it will take awhile to complete the restoration.

Anyway...

I have been enjoying my Garmin Edge 500. I don't have the cadence/HR bundle, which is just fine. I like the GPS features, especially the elevation gain/loss info. Very cool. I have only used it on my commute, but the information in interesting and will be useful when I start to train more in earnest. One day last week I rode to work pissed. I mean I was just freaking steamed. I won't get into why, but I was pretty tired and really if someone looked at me sideways I would have bit their heads off. Without even thinking about it I was riding pretty hard into work on the Cernitz Mule, which is still set up singlespeed. Man I was just mashing those pedals. Sure enough I made it to work about 1 mph faster than I ever had on the Mule, which is about 10 trips to work so far. It is amazing what a little bit of anger will do. I should try and be a little pissed off at the start of a cross race. I wonder what would happen...When I got to work just about all of the frustration was gone. Cycling is great for venting. I was much more civil than I would have been otherwise.

I am pretty excited about the Lapierre. It seems like it will be a winner. It is odd how much it feels like a regular road bike though. I think that other than the bb being a bit higher and having more tire clearance it handles much like a road bike on the road. It is pretty nimble. Off road I think it will do fine. I am keeping the Curtlo frame, though I will probably sell the fork and so forth. I may have it repainted at some point this year. A custom made 3.6 lbs steel frame is hard to part with. I really wouldn't get the money out of it that it deserves. So, maybe with a fresh coat of paint, it will be resurrected at some point in the future. The fork has got to go. It is an old Alpha Q CX fork. $100--anyone interested? 1" steerer tube (I was using a Chris King DeEvolution headset which makes it possible to use a 1" steerer tube in a frame made for a 1 1/8" steerer tube) and lots of length...

Ahh, lets see here...the phone is still sync'ing...

I went to our Team ButterCup meeting today. It was good to finally all get together and discuss plans and so forth. A few things came out of the meeting. We extended 3 invitations to join the team from the masses of people that were clamouring for our attention. That gives us a total of 8 members if they do indeed join us. We have sponsors that have committed to give us cash, which is a huge blessing. After a bit of discussion we decided to use the money so that every member is given a jersey and bibs/shorts. Additional clothing will be paid for by the team members. The rest of the money will go toward banners and other things needed at races. At some point we would like to have a good size team tent, but we will probably just use the couple of 10'x10' units that a couple members have.

...hmmm sync is done but the sleep button still doesn't work. Looks like I should take it in and put the extended warranty I purchased to work.

Lapierre HM X-Lite: First ride

2010-01-12T21:39:00.000-08:00

With a great deal of help from Neil, the Lapierre got out in the mud today. I took a quick trip out to Cooks Butte. First impression is that the head angle is pretty steep. It is going to take a bit of getting used to how quick the steering is generally. The geometry is definitely different that what I am used to. I don't think it is bad, just different. The Lapierre, aka Frenchie, aka the White Witch, is quite a ride. It really is made for a rider that knows what he is doing. It has a pretty aggressive feel to it. It is not a lazy man's sort of bike. It just feels like it reacts very quickly to what I do, more quickly and more rapidly than what I am used to. I tend to like stable bikes. When taking sharp turns it sometimes felt hard to stay on top of without dabbing. I mean these turns were pretty tight, and they were uphill too, even on the Curtlo I had a real hard time making them. nevertheless, it will take some time getting used to it.

I also switched out some parts. A set of Chorus shifters were put on. There are a couple of drivetrain kinks that need to be worked out, but other than that it is all good. The rear derailleur rides on the 28t cog. When I backpedal the chain won't stay on that cog. It gets hung up because of the interferance. I am not sure quite what to do, but I have some ideas on how to fix it. Other than that it is all good so far.

Some guys go into withdrawls...

2010-01-11T21:31:00.000-08:00

at the end of cyclocross season. I get the flu and get new bikes. Or bike. No pics yet. It would be done except I got a case of the flu that tanked me for quite sometime. I stripped down the Curtlo and that will go into mothballs for a bit. I won't sell it too soon. But many of the parts have found their way on to the new "A" geared bike for next year...the Lapierre HM X-Lite cyclocross frame. The geometry is a little different. I will see how it goes, but the frame is pretty darn light. I think it will fit fine, but I won't know for sure until I take a few spins on it.

Some stuff is new, other things are used.

The Build:

Easton EC90X fork
Easton EC90SLX wheels
Tufo Cubus tires (for now, these are going bye-bye)
Easton EC90 crankset
TRP EuroX Magnesium brakes
Thomson Masterpiece seatpost (on order, using a Forte one until mine comes in)
Ritchey WCS bar
Ritchey WSC stem
Selle San Marco Aspide Ti railed saddle
Campy Chorus 10spd shifters
Campy Chorus rear derailleur
Campy Centaur front derailleur
Crank Brothers Eggbeater SL pedals
stock headset

The weight set up 1x10 was 15.71 with everything hung on it. I am setting it up 2x10 during the off season so it will gain a bit more weight. Not sure if it will still be sub-16lbs or not now.

Pics soon, ride report in the weeks to follow.

Wow....

2010-01-07T18:48:00.000-08:00

Last year's geared cyclocross ride:

This year's geared cyclocross ride:

Different frameset, different brakes, everything else the same between the two bikes.

More in the next day or so...

The White Witch is Coming

2010-01-05T21:17:00.001-08:00

Her twin sister has already found a home at Brianero's home. Here is a picture of her:

The down and top tubes are shaped and frankly the frame is better looking that I expected.

Mine should arrive tomorrow.

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Untitled

2009-12-31T18:39:00.000-08:00

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Untitled

I rode the Mule into work today, set up singlespeed. It was pouring down and I didn't push it at all. But it is fun to see this info from my New Garmin Edge 500.

Coming Soon: Buttercup Team Edition

2009-12-27T21:27:00.001-08:00

****EDITED**** see bottom of the post for pricing information.

Unfortunate, the above bike had a short life. She was a perfect ride. However, as written about earlier in this blog the original Buttercup pictured above was significantly damaged when I was rear ended in route to a race earlier this month. Insurance has sent the check that will pay for a replacement. Others on our team wanted their own Buttercups, too. My complete bike weighed very close to a flat 16 pounds. The next Buttercups will be lighter than the original pictured above.

CERNITZBikes has agreed to build a line of Team Buttercup frames for our team. However, in talking with Neil he has agreed to build more than the 4 or 5 that he is going to build for our team. And he has agreed to do it for swinging deal. If you want to know what that deal is you have to call or email him. His blog is www.cernitzbike.blogspot.com Definitely not Vanilla/Speedvagen prices here and all frames will have custom geometry. In fact, if you saw the original Buttercup, the Buttercup which our team was named after, at some of the later Cross Crusade races this you know how sexy and cool she was.

Each frame's tubing will be particular blend of tubing from True Temper and Columbus. In particular some S3, some Spirit, and a little Life tubing. Also, included will be the Thomson seat post that will be customized so that the brake cable can pierce the seat tube and post. A lot of work goes into just this little modification...

Mine will be singlespeed, but geared versions are possible.

Seriously, if anyone is interested in a killer lugged steel cyclocross race frame give Neil a call or email.

*****EDIT*****
Price starts at $1200 for a singlespeed custom geometry frame, no fork. There are options that one could do to add to the price if fancy lug work is desired. This is a limited deal according to Neil. At this price he is working for minimum wage based on the fact that a frame takes him about 80 hours to fabricate and the cost of materials. I doubt that this sort of deal will come up again any time soon. There's probably only enough room for a couple of more people to ante up to get the deal and receive the frames in time for next cross season.
**************
CERNITZBike Blog

Hmmm...

2009-12-17T13:44:00.000-08:00

FMB Grippo tubular tire

Daddy like.

Pic robbed from the Cyclocross Magazine website.

First Ride, The Mule

2009-12-16T21:37:00.001-08:00

I rode her in to work today and then from work to a church Christmas party. It was a total of about 22 miles. It felt great. I had to dial in my cleats a little since I am using Look pedals after a long time using Crank Brother Quattro pedals (which are not longer made). I think I may adjust the tilt of the saddle just a tiny bit, but that is it. It is dialed. It freakin' feels great.

I am rolling on some really beefy wheels...boy can I feel it. They take a bit more effort than the Dura Ace wheels that I had been commuting on (believe it or not, those were my crap wheels--seriously). They also seem to transmit more of the road feel to me. The Mule is very stiff; there isn't much flex at all in the bottom bracket. The bike I had been riding had a bit more give, a carbon Specialized SWorks. But this bike fits better and I don't feel bad about running it in the weather. It was made for rainy days like today. Bring it on. It is currently set up as a Singlespeed via a White Industries ENO rear hub to adjust chain to the proper tension, but I could and will put gears on it when the weather turns better.

It is a great bike and it just seems like a really classy ride. I love the color of the bike and the near perfect matching bar tape. The pictures don't really capture it nearly as well as it looks in the flesh, if you will.

I expect that the Mule (such a bad name for such a pretty bike in retrospect) will be getting the vast majority of my mile for the next 3 or 4 months. I expect we will get to know each other very well.

_____________________________

In other news, Buttercup Redux has a spot in line. I am not sure when it will be finished as there are a frame or two or three in front of it, but I will live. Neil is really going to push it with this one and I am going to push him to push it. Buttercup was a very stiff ride--which I liked--but I think there is room to push it further. Super excited. This will be the first of what seems to be a new Team Issue bike for Team Buttercup. I think it would be hot if these bikes all had the same scheme and matched next year's kits. Seriously how many teams have their own bike builder?!?!? Not many that is for sure.

Racing When it is 20 Degrees (fahrenheit)

2009-12-12T21:21:00.000-08:00

Going in to this week's Cyclocross Nationals I wasn't quite sure what to wear. So I brought a bunch of stuff. Here is what I ended up wearing and I think it worked well for the most part.

First off, I feel like a few things should be stated with regard to my preferences for comfort in cold temperatures. I am not trying to be comfortable at the starting line. I don't like to overdress. I saw some guys out there riding this week with jackets and neck gators and so forth. Sorry, I can't ride with that stuff. Too bulky. Plus, I would rather start off on the cold side, but dress just warm enough that after about 10 or 15 minutes I am at a good temp. Basically, with my recommendations you will sort of freeze your butt off before the race starts, but during the race you will be peachy. If you are lucky you will have someone nearby that you can shed a parka upon before the race if you are lining up in these silly 10 to 20 degree racing conditions. Then you only have to suffer for just the final few minutes at the pre-race line up.

I started off with this fine garment:

It is the Craft Pro Zero Windstopper Brief. I only break these out for extreme conditions. These briefs keep my goods from being victimized. Seriously. Here is a quote from Craft:

Gore's Windstopper® fabric at the front
Reduces wind penetration

Yep, I can attest to the fact that while wearing these I was not pentrated by any wind. I felt the wind caress me a bit, but we kept it platonic thanks to these briefs. They retail for around 30 bucks so they are a little steep, but probably worth it if you are around illicit wind.

I also wore this, which is also made by Craft:

It is the ProZero LS Crew Baselayer. I wear this lots when when commuting. It doesn't block wind especially well, but it does a great job of insulating and transferring moisture (sweat) away from your body so that you stay warm. These run about 50 bucks and they are totally worth it. I have a couple that are long sleeved, a couple that are short sleeved, and a couple that are sleeveless. But again this alone under a jersey is not going to cut it when it is 20 degrees or less out there.

Under the Craft Baselayer I wore these on my arms. They are stellar.

The Pearl Izumi TheraFleece Arm Warmers are well known and I see them often at cross races. I recommend buying a size on the tighter side of things so that they don't sag as you are moving around. I rode with them under the Craft baselayer because there was no way I could have gotten them on over any other clothing article. They are pretty windresistant too. All that was between my arms and the frigid air were the base layer and the arm warmers, and if I was honest about it, I could have gone with just the arm warmers.

On my torso I needed something else besides the Craft Baselayer and our team jersey. I wore this, my best addition to my cycling clothing arsenal, the Pearl Izumi Barrier Short Sleeve Baselayer.

It is spendy, about $70, but it works. The front of the baselayer provides protection from the wind. Pearl Izumi's literature says nothing about protecting against penetration, but nonetheless, I felt safe while wearing it. If there is only one thing that I could recommend you buy out of any of these items in this post, this is it. It flat out works. It is comfortable. I stay warmer and more comfortable wearing this garment than my Craft baselayers. Craft also makes a Windstopper Baselayer, but I like Pearl Izumi's better. However, if the temp is over 50 degrees, it is too much, even if it is just that and a jersey. It can get warm with their special material on the front of the baselayer.

I also had on Pearl Izumi ThermaFleece Leg Warmers too.

They work great, lots of people have them. My legs were plenty warm once I got going. 'nuf said.

I had some cheap Performance gloves on, the Scirocco.

I can't say that I love these gloves. They work, but I wore them because I haven't found an alternative I like better for these sorts of temperatures. If the temperature is around 45 or more I will just wear my trusty old Fox mountain bike gloves when commuting for my hour or so in to work and back. But for when it gets below that I use these. I raced with the Fox mtb gloves at PIR last weekend, but it was a little too cold and that race was only 30 minutes long or so. For a longer, colder race I had to use these, I had nothing else workable. I have some warmer Pearl Izume Barrier gloves, but they are too thick to use in a cross race. The Performance glove wasn't too thick, but it doesn't fit my hands especially well, and they just don't feel too "performance" minded. They feel frumpy. Don't ask me to explain that, they just aren't the ideal cyclocross glove. So, basically I got nuthin' to recommend for a sub-freezing cyclocross glove. If anyone has any ideas, let me know.

I also had on a Headsweats TriTech Winter Skull Cap.

It works. It covers my ears. It fits under my helmet. Whatever, I can't get too excited about a skull cap. But, anti-penetration briefs, you betcha.

Finally, I wore these on covering my feet and wool socks. They work great to ward off the cold. If it is pouring, well, not so much for reasons I will get into shortly.

The Pearl Izumi Barrier GTX winter mtb shoe. They kept my feet toasty warm while riding. When I wore them for a while standing in the snow watching the races I felt the cold creeping in a bit, but they still were nice. In the rain, unless you have a rain pant covering the top of the shoe's collar, water slowly seeps into the shoe. Then it takes at least a day or more in one instance to dry out. That sucks. When I wore them with my windproof/water resistant tights one time riding into work, the water just seemed to flow right down my legs and into the shoe. Sure no water gets in from the rest of the shoe, but that is small consolation when your feet are cold and wet. No mater how tight the you strap the top collar down around your ankle the seal is not enough to keep out the water. I have some super cheap booties that I wear over road shoes that do a better job of keep my feet dry. But for the cold--these shoes rock. Just one more thing...they are already coming apart after only being used 5 times. The collar strap is quickly coming unstitched. It didn't affect the shoes use this week, but it sort of irks me that a boot that retails for $250 can't stay together longer. Would I buy this shoe again? Nope, despite its success during the frigid races this week.

Well, that is what I wore along with my bib shorts and my short sleeved jersey. I was fine. Remember, don't overdress and wear stuff that breathes well. And don't get penetrated.

Singlespeed Race: DNF

2009-12-11T20:11:00.000-08:00

I was on the 7th or 8th row after the random call up. The gun went off and a guy on a hot pink Speedvagen couldn't seem to find the right gear. This is hard to do since it was a singlespeed race. He held up me and several other guys behind me. As a result I was near the rear going into the first turn. Then there was a log jam where the route narrowed further. I ran past a couple of guys and remounted. I immediately noticed how much better the tires were hooking up compared yesterday's tire selection. Today had me riding with a Hutchinson Bulldog set up tubeless at 25 psi and the awesome Vittoria XM tire in the rear. My front wheel with the XM tire is trashed thanks to last week's accident where Buttercup was damaged. The rear wheel was damaged too as it turns out...anyway, on with the action. I went into a turn where Tim said he went down hard yesterday. Man, that Vittoria just inspired confidence. Then I stood up to accelerate and there was nothing there.

I thought I broke my chain. Nope. It had come off the rings. Huh? I loosened the set screws on the horizontal dropout and released the quick release and put the chain back on the rings. Maybe there wasn't enough tension on the chain and it bounced off in the choppy icy stuff. I pedaled for about 100 feet and it came off again.

What the hell?!?!

I hopped off and looked again at the rear wheel. I noticed that the freehub had pulled free of the main part of the hub. Sonnofa...

I started to run to the pit. It was about a 1/3 of mile away. Once there the Shimano neutral support guy started to help me out after I told him what was wrong. He had a hard time getting the set screws on the driveside dropout to turn once he fixed the hub. Riders were now lapping me. Frustrated he grabbed his needle nose pliers and clamped down on the threads and turned set screw that way. I groaned. I tried to turn the lock nut down but the threads were screwed up. There was no way to keep the set screw in place and once I started riding out of the pit I got about a about 300 yards around the lap (I was near the back of the pack on their second lap at this point) when the chain came off again. This time because the set screw worked its way back out and the chain went slack.

That was it. Race over after only making it around 3/4 of one lap. Those few times that I was actually riding the bike it felt great. Which made me all the madder.

I watched Jim and Tim and Craig Austin ride around multiple times while person after person came up to me and asked what happened. I got tired of answering. I tried to put on my best "I pissed, don't mess with me face" and moved to an area of the course where hardly anyone was standing. It was about the worst way, short of being injured seriously, to end a cross season.

Bah.

Next year...how long is that going to be until Pain on the Peak in 2010?

Cyclocross Nationals 1st Day, B race

2009-12-10T20:45:00.000-08:00

Temp at race time: about 20 degrees.

Weather: clear

Course: Icy. Very Icy.

Result: 57th out of 90 starters, and I am happy about it. I had a good race.

Race Report: I ended up right in the middle at the mass start. I did not get a chance to preride the course and so I was a little apprehensive, but everything looked rideable for the most part. As the race started I felt pretty good even though the cold air was hurting my lungs just a bit. I was passed a number of guys, but I also was able to pass some and so I probably stayed near the middle of the pack. But man, it was sketchy out there. Every turn was a fall waiting to happen if you picked the wrong line or leaned it over too much. But it made it fun too.

As it turned out on the flats I would get passed, but in the twisty stuff I could make up ground. Seriously, if I could just whip myself in better shape I would kill it out there.

Anyway, as the race progressed I started feeling pretty good until the last couple of laps. I think I did about 7 laps since they were taking me between 7 and 8 minutes per lap and raced for about 55 minutes. That was about 10 minutes too long. I am not used to racing anything past 45 and it hurt. At the end of the race I was tanked. I never went down. I dabbed maybe twice, but it was a near thing a few times.

Tomorrow I am racing the Singlespeed race with Buttercup members, Jim and Tim. Some Half Fast Velo guys, Craig and Steven should be racing as well. In today's race there were not any names that I recognized. But, in tomorrow race I will have spent legs and freezer burned lungs. Hopefully all will be well. After the race I am bookin' it back to Portland and hopefully missing the freezing rain that is supposed to be coming in...more fun.

I am also posting pics of Jim's and Tim's race which took place about 3 or so hours after mine. The course was even more icy for their race. At one particular descent it was total carnage. It was great to see...mostly because I was not the one sliding down of my butt.

Without further ado...the pictures

Prerace...

Beware the hairy belly...had to make some prerace kit adjustments

JIMBO! He had some serious prerace jitters

TIM! Had no prerace jitters...he napped until it was time to leave while Jim paced for an hour straight.

You can see one guy down in front of Tim. There were lots of guys going down in their race.

It Could be Ugly Tomorrow...and that's OK

2009-12-09T22:29:00.001-08:00

Cyclocross Mag's website had a youtube video posted of the course I will be racing on tomorrow and Friday. Looks pretty sketchy. Really slick. The temperature will not get above freezing for either of my races those days so I would not be surprised to find that much of the course turns to an irregular sheet of ice. I wonder how many times I will go down. I wouldn't be surprised if pretty much everyone goes down a time or two tomorrow. We will see how well I can handle a bike...

This video is NOT me. Again it was on the Cyclocross Mag website.

Slight Change of Schedule

2009-12-08T22:15:00.000-08:00

I had planned on racing Thursday, Friday and Saturday at the Cyclocross Nationals in Bend. However, I am cutting out the Saturday race and heading back a day early.

Reason #1 is that I am driving the Civic and there is supposed to be some bad weather coming in on Saturday sometime. I would have to really haul butt back after my 2PM race to make it back home before the roads got pretty bad around the Santiam Pass. Rather, I probably would be driving in horrible conditions through that area. I don't feel like pushing it. Plus, I am a stresser, so having to race with that drive hanging over my head would suck all the joy out of it. Staying over until Sunday to come back is not really an option because of commitments I made to the family.

Reason #2 is that I have had the flu for the past couple of days. I haven't eaten much and my energy level is low. Racing 3 days in a row seems foolish when I am not feeling stellar.

Reason #3 is related to reason #2. The temps in Bend have been below freezing over the past couple of days. My lungs historically give me fits if I push it when it is really cold. Like at the USGP, I was hacking all the rest of that day. And it is supposed to be just as cold, perhaps colder there. Racing in the 20's or so for three consecutive days would in such conditions would hurt worse each day and I am thinking that third day will be especially stupid for me. Bridget says that I am stupid just for going...so I think I will try to keep it at just stupid instead of especially stupid.

Anyway, I am driving up tomorrow afternoon. I hope to have fun, not be too far off the back and be safe.

Other news: The Mule is finished, but I will post pictures when I have some better ones. It looks great!

Poor Buttercup

2009-12-06T18:50:00.000-08:00

I was in route to the USGP yesterday. The roads were a little icy. As I was stopped in the turn lane so that I could get on Hwy 26 I was rear ended by a car. Buttercup took a hit. The front wheel, a carbon rimed wheel no less, was totaled. My fresh Easton EC90 crankset--a replacement for the one that had to be warrantied after a my first cross race on the bike that had only been installed two days before--took a direct hit. It looks OK, but judging by the scar it caused in the hood of the car, I don't really trust it. The Easton EC90SLX fork is suspect as well. But worst of all, The frame was pressed into the rear mounted bike rack. There is a nice set of cracks in the downtube and a small dent in the seat tube. Pisser. I was crushed. I am confident that insurance will pay for Neil to replace/repair it and pay for replacement of the other parts but what a bummer. Oh and I missed the race of course.

I did race today, but I sucked it up. I was near the very back at the starting line. Course was set up so that it was very difficult to pass. It also wasn't technical enough, or the weather was too nice rather and so it wasn't a difficult course. Fitness was a big issue. I just could pass enough people and then on the third lap my brake went into the wheel after some guy kicked the brake when he dismounted. I didn't realize what happened and so it took me a bit to figure out what was going on. Lots of guys passed me and I was totally demotivated at that point. I passed a few more guys but by then the field was way too stretched out to make any difference. I think I was 50th out of 72 in the regular C race. Whatever, it doesn't matter...

Poor Buttercup.

The Mule is coming...

2009-12-03T21:50:00.001-08:00

I can't wait. I wish I could race it, or at least had the option at Nationals next week. I mean it will be heavier than Buttercup but with the disc brakes it would be interesting.

It will initially be set up singlespeed, but it was built for gears.

The build kit:

-Rear Wheel--Velocity Fusion rims laced with 14g spokes to a White Industries Eno Disc hub, 135 spacing.
-Front Wheel--Velocity Fusion rim laced with 14g spokes to a Velocity Disc hub.
-Shimano Freewheel
-Avid BB7 Disc Brake
-Cane Creek SCR5 Brake levers
-Race Face Cadence Handlebar
-Ritchey WCS stem, wet black
-Thomson no offset seat post
-Selle Italia Saddle
-Continental Gatorskin Tires and Hutchinson Bulldogs depending upon use
-FSA K-Force Crankset (older crankset I have had for a couple of years)
-Crank Brothers Candy Pedals or Look Pedals depending upon use
-Chris King NoThreadset
-Cinelli Bar Wrap
-SRAM 890 chain
-Winwood Disc Brake carbon fork, no canti mounts, painted to match the frame

Not exactly the same sort of build that Buttercup recieved, but the budget is tight

The White Industries ENO Disc Brake hub with an accompanying ENO Disc brake mount makes it really easy to use this frame singlespeed.

Pictures soon....

CERNITZbikes, seriously folks this is good stuff

Winter Training...

2009-12-01T22:38:00.000-08:00

is boring. Mine consists of mainly riding to work and back home. This works out to be about 25 miles per day. The ride there is pretty easy and the ride home can hurt a bit the last couple of miles if I want it to. I usually do opt for a moderate hurt factor.

I had been getting out once per week and usually ended up at Forest Park. For some reason I haven't found the time for past few weeks. I blame work and family. Which is fine, both have priority over riding, but also I haven't really felt like going off-road because then I have to clean another bike one more time that week.

Tonight I rode home a little after 8 pm. I hadn't eaten since about 1pm and I was low on fuel. About 2/3 the way home I stopped to eat. Despite being really hungry and Bridget saying there was little to choose from at home, it was a bad idea. Starting a ride again after stopping for 20 minutes is miserable when it is that cold. All the sweat I had worked up from the first part of the ride had gone cold and made it feel much worse than when I left work an hour before. Legs were cold and all the blood was being used to digest my food (El Pollo Loco, by the way). Bottom line is that I was cold and miserable for the last 3 or 4 miles of my ride. The wind had picked up and the temperature was about 38 or 39 degrees as I was riding last last bit. The wind chill made it feel like it was 30 degrees according to weather.com. It sucked.

But at least I made it home in one piece and I have good clothes to commute in. It really could be worse. I think.

Tired, Fatter, but still trying to Kill it

2009-11-30T20:23:00.000-08:00

And not because I am riding too much or racing. In fact no racing in the past couple of weeks and last week's riding was a light load because of work and family in town. In fact for the past two weeks I have only had one day off, Thanksgiving. Frankly, Thanksgiving wasn't very restful at all. And I have been eating poorly. Poorly as in way too much and way too many goodies. And my scale broke and so I have no idea how fat I have become. I wouldn't doubt I added 3 to 5 pounds by the feel of my gut right now.

But the main reason for being so tired is that my youngest, Colin, gets up anywhere between 4 am and 6am every single morning. And lately I have really tried to be a better husband and grab the little bugger instead of Bridget. He would rather have Mom get him than Dad and so he throws a fit when I come in to try and get him back to sleep or to just keep quiet until a decent hour.

It is killing us slowly. This is just a phase, the other boys have gone through similar issues in the past. Still, it sucks.

I do have so good news on the training front. I rode home the day after Thanksgiving and broke my record for returning home from work. I hurt as bad as I do during a cross race. The road back home has more climbing that the way to work. The last couple of miles can hurt if I push it. The effort hurt, but it felt good. My engine felt strong. If I can clear out the crap I ate last weekend out of my system I should be OK this next week--meaning I will survive racing Saturday and Sunday this weekend and then Thursday, Friday and Friday next week. Then I am done for the season.

I also have a picture I stole off of the Cernitzbike blog:

Sweet...

No Racin', Just Commutin'

2009-11-21T21:59:00.000-08:00

I didn't race this weekend, I have to work. I rode about 100 miles last week, not counting the cyclocross race, and they were all riding to and from work. A couple of days Bridget picked me up because of time conflicts, but other than that it was a nice rainy car free week.

I don't mind riding in the wet. The wind, um, well...it blows, er it sucks....

And if it is doing both? Well I just smile and give mother nature a mental middle finger and ride on.

I am on track to hit 3000 miles over the course of the year probably the middle of next month. That will be most I have ridden in my life. Not too shabby.

Also this week I hit 187.6 lbs. That is my lowest I have been since sometime in the mid 1990's. Of course, since that time I put on a pound or more. Not sure why other than I need some colon cleanse. I haven't been eating too terribly. Well, I did eat way too many Chili Cheese Fritos yesterday. Man, about once every 2 month or so I get a serious craving for those...

Neil is about finished with The Mule, my disc brake equipped commuter. It is not the uber-build that Buttercup was. Cheap wheels, cheap everything, or at least stuff that I have laying around here. I could have built it up geared but I have a White Industries ENO Disc hub going on for the time being. I hate commuting in the winter with gears. I just feel like I am destroying the drivetrain prematurely. And because it is a Dura Ace drivetrain on the bike I am riding to and from work, it is especially irksome. But that will soon be remedied.

Mr. Spears borrowed my Neuvation wheels today for a race. The tires are the Vittoria XM's. He was impressed like I was. That tire feels very supple and I think the sidewalls and tread will hold up better than the Dugast or Challenge tubulars. I may have to pick me up another set to put on the Easton wheels. But that will be next year after I wear out these Vittoria tires.

Anyway...I plan on getting up with our 1 year old tomorrow morning and his usual wake up time is between 4 and 5 am. I better shut it down. Good night all.

Barton Park Race: Quickie Report

2009-11-16T20:50:00.000-08:00

My Barton Park Haiku:

Sick on Saturday
But must race favorite course
Start last, end better

It has been really busy around here. I went home sick on Saturday and slept for three hours and then slept a regular amount that night. Felt nauseated that morning but not as bad as Saturday. I really love the Barton Park course so I thought positively enough to go. I went to church and then left a little early to make it to the race shortly before start time at 1 pm. I raced singlespeed again and this time my crank stayed on!

I was at the very back of the start. There wasn't anyone behind me, but Craig Austin was beside me. We ended up battling back and forth the whole race. Craig pulled a bit ahead that last lap and I couldn't catch back up before the end. We both ended up passing a number of people, out of 101 starters he ended up 68th and I was 71st. There were three guys ahead of my as I came to the finish. I got one of them, couldn't get the other two. I was dead tired at the end. I dropped to the first grassy spot I could find, not caring that it was fairly wet. When you are seriously muddy, a little bit of clean grass is a nice thing...

I did like the feeling starting at the back. It is a different mindset. Instead of trying to protect the position that I am in when I am at the front I am mentally on the attack knowing that really no one is going to pass me from behind. Craig and I went back and forth, but that was about it. It was fun to pass some guy, I passed a couple of the B's that started a couple of minutes before us.

Here I am tailing Molly Cameron on the first lap:

Pictures courtesy of Will Cortez and Stephen Fitzgerald

2009-11-09T17:01:00.000-08:00

No words, just pics. All but the last is from Will Cortez--who ROCKS and showed the cross love despite being injured one way or another--and the last two are from Stephan Fitzgerald at monovich.com. Thanks to both!

Easton EC90 Crank Failure

2009-11-08T18:55:00.001-08:00

This from Neil, Buttercup's builder and mechanic extraordinaire:

I cleaned and disassembled the left arm and discovered that the outer pinch bolt non threaded hole is under size. The bolt will not pass cleanly through to engage the threaded side. Essentially both sides are threaded and you can torque to spec. without achieving any clamping action. I assume with only 50% clamping force, the arm rocked itself off. It is very evident and is a warranty issue. I don't want to drill it to size.

Simply put, Easton owes me my entrance fee I think. A crank this expensive should not have such an issue. I had a total of maybe 20 miles on it when it failed.

First DNF...ruined by an Easton EC90 crank arm

2009-11-08T16:34:00.000-08:00

I started off poorly. For my first singlespeed race I was at the near the front but I was feeling very tentative. New bike with a stem change that I had not spent any time on. New tires that I wasn't sure how they would handle the slippery, muddy conditions. Lots of singlespeeders passed me by that first lap. Jim--aka PFJ--was at the back and he still passed me that first lap. Second lap I started feeling a little better and got used to how the bike was doing underneath me. Jim stayed within 50 yards ahead of me and then I started to gain on him. I passed him later the second lap I think and then his front tire popped and his race was pretty much done. I tried to keep up the pace and I was getting used to the course and getting the lines down. That was part of the problem the first lap, I didn't know the lines the take.

Towards the end of the third lap my back really started to ache. On the final lap I started talking to myself. "Screw the pain!"..."There is no pain!" and so forth. I came to the back section where I had found a good line through the deep water. I was gaining on a guy in front of me and I felt my left pedal slip. I thought my cleat came out of my pedal. No. My non-drive crank arm came off my bike. $#@!, Sonnofa%@#$&....lots of explicitives. I jogged over the pit and a Shimano guy tried to help me out. We could not get it to go back on. It is an Easton EC90 crankset and it has been used exactly twice now. Neil installed the crankset to Easton's exact specifications when he built the bike. And it came off somehow. Yeah, I was pissed. After several minutes of messing with the crankarm the Shimano guy and I came to the realization that it was not going back on. Screw it, the pits were only about 1 mile into a 2.5 mile lap and I didn't feel like jogging 1.5 miles more to finish the final lap. Plus, I didn't want to be on the course when the next race started. Neil was near the pit so I walked over to him and we both just shook our heads. I think I might have chucked the crank arm on the ground or something too. So race over. DNF. Crap.

I am sure that Neil installed it correctly. I don't know what the deal is but I am suddenly lacking faith in the crankset even if it is re-installed. There will surely be a call placed to Easton either Monday or Tuesday.

How did the new Cernitz perform otherwise? Stellar. I put a longer stem on there and presto, it seemed to handle perfectly. It was comfy on the hood and in the drops. The Vittoria XM tubular really felt great. They could not handle the off cambers that the course designers threw at us, but I doubt there were many tires that could. I was running about 32 lbs of pressure in them and they felt like I was running less. The casing is way more supple than the Tufo Cubus and my Hutchinson Bulldogs. I really like these tires. Overall, I wasn't too impressed my race. 2nd and 3 laps were decent, but getting to the race so close to the race time doesn't let me have time to warm up. Next week I am going to be there much earlier and I will probably bring a trainer.

Here are some post race pictures of a sad muddy handicapped bike and then a couple (ones in which I didn't look too fat) that I stole from Packfodder's blog:

On the Road Again...

2009-11-05T18:30:00.001-08:00

I did a short ride today with a friend...Rob, who works at Adidas and owns just one bike. This one bike is an old, I mean old as in over 30 years old, Bridgestone Submariner. The main tubes are all stainless steel. It is in stellar shape and it is a heck of a cool bike. He does have some more modern parts on it, but not like what I am riding. His bike is set up as a single speed but it still must weigh 22 pounds or so. I was riding the only bike I have with road slicks right now, the Specialized S-Works Roubaix--full Dura Ace. Yeah, a little difference in the bikes.

However, Rob does have some cards in his favor. He used to run for a Division 1A school, I think either Georgia or Georgia Tech. He is probably in his late forties now, but he has remain in pretty good shape and in the past has done some triathlons and other related activities. The dude is competitive. He commutes back and forth downtown from Beaverton on 46/16 or 17 gearing. He climbs up those hills up by Washington Park 4 or 5 times per week. Basically, he is in pretty good shape.

I have never ridden with Rob before even though we often have talked about riding. He also really wants a singlespeed cross bike. And I now have one so it was a good excuse to have him over to show it off and then go for a ride. he arrived a little late and I only had about 90 minutes to spare so it was a short ride.

I picked the route and the highlight was a little climb up the west side Springville Road to Skyline Drive. After pleasant conversation while riding on Cornell Road to Cornelius Pass Road it started to get a little more heated. On some of the back roads there weren't the traffic signals nor the traffic to really slow us down. He had me lead and at one point going down a hill he told me to open it up. Prior to that I didn't want gap him or anything since I had gears, but with that comment it was on.

I was hot out of the saddle stomping up some of the short hills and pushing it on the flats and downhills. I couldn't drop him. He just stayed on my rear wheel--drafting me. Obviously, I was doing a bunch of work out there this windy day, but still! I have gears I would have thought I could have pulled away. Umm, not so much.

Finally, we arrived at the bottom of a long climb up to Skyline Drive. I told him it was a long one, more than 2 miles I thought. After a quarter mile or so Rob asked me where to go when we get to Skyline. I said that we turn right. And then he was off.

Damn him.

It wasn't like I was going easy. I was in the big ring climbing out of the saddle, the bike rhythmically pitching left and right and as I rocked my way up the road. He took off at a nice clip. His cadence looked good. I was disheartened big time. Nevertheless, I continued my pace which for me was near heart bursting as it was.

I noticed that after a half mile or so he stopped pulling away. He was about 75 yards ahead of me. I gained on him a bit, but not much. Then I heard him make some animal noise--probably from the pain induced by that hill and that gear he was pushing--and I noticed I was actually getting closer. And closer. About 50 feet before the stop sign at Skyline Road I caught him and passed him. I had to take a break, my heart, lungs and legs were ready to explode. We stopped and chatted for minute, he ate some crackers he had in a ziplock bag in his shorts...yummy. Then off along Skyline road and while passing at the cemetery Rob offered to take a pull. Man, it was nice to relax a bit. I realized once again how nice it is to sit behind another's rear wheel.

Back at the homestead, he thanked me for the ride and told Bridget that he thought it was nice that I took it easy on him. Umm, no. I didn't. At least not for the second half of the ride. Geesh. Gotta get him on a cross bike. Those couple of miles up that section of Springville Road were among my more painful this year.

First Impressions

2009-11-04T21:29:00.001-08:00

I went and rode Buttercup this afternoon. I went on a route that I am very familiar with, but not terribly technical...up and down Saltzman Road in Forest Park. It is mostly a dirt fireroad that twists and turns as it descends about 800 feet from Skyline Road until the gate near the bottom after about 3 miles. I rode that basically twice and then went down partway again so that I could re-take some turns that I am pretty familiar with when riding the Curtlo Cross bike. I probably rode about 14 miles overall.

The Buttercup was supposed to be identical to the Curtlo. However, it is not exactly the same. I am using a different headset than on the Curtlo, an FSA which has a 10mm higher stack than a King headset. So, my bar position is a bit higher than I am used to. I didn't notice it at first when I was riding around in the parking lot and around Neil's house. It was immediately evident when I started riding at speed down a loose fireroad. On the plus side, being in the drops felt really good. On the negative when on the hoods I felt a little bit too high. It didn't feel as aggressive as I am used to. It handles better overall. I may swap out for a longer stem, but that is about it. And even with that I am going to ride it for a bit with what I have and see how I do at the races before I swap anything out.

Anyway, while it felt a little different it didn't feel bad. After 45 minutes of riding I was starting to get it down. If I want to turn at speed all I have to do is lean and maybe shift my weight or hips to the side. Steering is stable, I wouldn't say it was twitchy at all. I just had to let the bike do its job instead of forcing it one way or another.

Slow speed, tight turns are slick. For a bike with a longish wheelbase, at least compared to a regular road bike, it is very agile. More so than the Curtlo. I do think that if I was go out on a real mountain bike trail I might be more comfortable on the Curtlo when a descent got really steep and technical, but that is about it. The bikes are slightly different, but both fit well.

Climbing: Perfect. There was nothing too steep, but it felt great. While it may be in my head, I really felt like all of my energy went into the rear wheel. When you compare the bikes, there should be a difference. A ultra rigid Easton EC90 crankset compared to the Campy Record on the Curtlo and beefier chainstays on Buttercup should make for a more efficient power transfer. At least that is what I tell myself when I am churning up dirt when pedaling out of the saddle. It felt great.

What a bike it is. Seriously. Too bad none of you reading this can own this bike. And if you want something similar, start schmoozing Neil now before the list grows too long.

One more thing. I ran the Vittoria XM tubular tires today for the first time. They definitely have a better feel than the Tufo tubulars or the Hutchinson Bulldog clinchers (mainly because I can run them softer than either), but the jury is out when it gets muddy. Overall, I like them better than the Fangos I think. Yeah, I think so...we'll see when it comes time to race them how they do.

Finished

2009-11-04T08:47:00.001-08:00

...except for the cable ends. But I want to put on the gold ones that came with the TRP brakes and I forgot to get them from Neil. Otherwise, she is ready to go. Taking her out on her maiden voyage this afternoon.

Pics...

The brake cable pierces the seattube lug nicely. It feels buttery-smooth. There is no more drag on the rear brake than the front brake. Seems like usually you can feel just a bit more resistance because of the extra housing that normally is on a frame on the rear brake. The seat post was also modified to allow the cable to pass through.

Paul's dropouts look great!

Check the Easton EC90 crankset. Beefy. Amazingly light.

Can't wait to ride her and get it dirty. I put a bit of packing tape on the top tube underneath the brake cable to try and save the paint from where most of the scuffing has occured on my Curtlo. I keep saying that it is ok if it gets scratched, but there is a part of me that relishes this prestine condition. It is a work of art.

Thanks Neil!

Buttercup

2009-10-30T21:32:00.000-07:00

I really was planning on riding today, but I received a long awaited phone call that my Cernitz Singlespeed Cyclocross bike was all finished at the painter/powdercoater. So I drove out there to pick it up and then to work. I really wanted to get it built but I don't have all of the parts, nor did I have the time really. Neil has the parts, or maybe they are at the shop, but I didn't get to look for the stuff. Besides, he and I need to spend some time putting it together so that the measurements are the same betweenthe Curtlo and Buttercup.

These pictures don't really show the "butteriness" of the frame. It looks washed out here, but with flash photography and only a compact digital camera I don't expect much else.

Without further ado...Buttercup!!

Customer Service...

2009-10-26T21:02:00.000-07:00

...is something that one particular painter/powdercoater knows very little about. More later, I will even name names, but I will wait until their services are fully rendered and I am satisfied. I figure I won't totally call them out until after I get it back. Sort of that thing where you don't complain about the food until after the waiter gives it to you since you don't want him to spit in it.

Seriously, what is up with a 2 to 3 week becoming 6? And when I ask about it they act as if they are doing me a favor by doing the work....ugh.

Washington County Cross Crusade Report

2009-10-25T21:43:00.000-07:00

Flashback to Thursday night...Bridget and I were cooking dinner together and she started spray Pam to make sure that some tortillas in the green chili enchiladas didn't stick together. Little did I know that she was doing it in a way that the over spray got all over one section of floor. A few minutes later I was standing in that particular area of the kitchen and slipped. I managed to avoid a sharp knife and most of a hot pan, but my back got a bit mangled. She felt bad and tried to help massage it out later and I did some stretches over the next couple of days but I was worried about being able to race it all. I had to blow off one race I planned to do on Saturday because of the pain.

PFJ called me to let me know I had to race...well, I couldn't let the Team down. Today was Team ButterCup's first race. I managed to get out there and even finished.

Starting the day off was Tim, who managed to get confused and cut the course. He was relegated to 108th instead of 6th. He said he got back near the same spot he was in when he took the short cut, but the officials didn't care. Marcello is still out with his back injury, so no Master C rider to represent there. PFJ was planning to ride his Vanilla for the first time today and so he would be racing in the SS class for the first time as well. I was the only one racing the Master B's.

I had a good position at the start. I didn't push it too hard at the start because I was worried about the back. I took a bunch of pain meds hoping to make it bearable. It was. Not great, but it wasn't painful enough to stop me. I really tried to accelerate out of the corners better than I have been so far this year. The slick course made it difficult to do so. I saw many riders go down as I was riding. I stayed up the whole time, although I did have to dab a couple of times. I rode on the Tufo Flexus Cubus tires and I found myself wishing I was riding the Hutchinson Bulldogs instead. I think the Bulldogs have a great cornering type of tread. I rode the Tufo's because the wheelset they are glued to happens to weigh about 1.3 pounds less. Next time I will take the better cornering and the weight if I have to make this choice.

Anyway, here is how my race went down. Ride hard. Stand up out of the corners to accelerate whenever possible. Keep it upright. Keep an eye out for number 822 and 922. Those were two guys I had my eye on at the start. They were just in front of me and I figured they were at about my same ability. I barely beat 822 last week on a hilly course. 922 I have seen come into the bike shop a few times and he looks pretty fit, and he was right in front of me so it was easy to remember him.

Battled 922 for over half of the race. He was usually about 10 to 50 feet ahead of me except of about half of the third lap, when I got a head of him for a bit. Then on the last or next to last lap I passed him and never saw him again. 822 was a bit further ahead. I was getting close to him at the end, but a few guys crashed ahead of me and I couldn't make of the ground. He finished a couple of spots ahead of me.

I did pass a guy right at the very end. We came out of the last turn just in front of the finish line with him just a bit ahead and taking the outside line. He went to shift some gears to accelerate to the finish but his derailleur said pass. I heard all sorts of ugly sounds as I took the inside line and passed him as we exited the turn and then came to the finish. Nice. I might have gotten him anyway as I had the better line, but his crunchy gears did the work for me.

Overall I had a good race. There were some parts that I think I rode very well. And there were lots of turns that I wish I had nailed better. So it goes...

The preliminary results had me 85th out of 117 starters. I am not sure how many DNF'd, probably around 10. I also continue to make the lead lap and so I still feel like I belong on Master B's. The official results had me at 96th out of 117. I didn't think I had done that poorly, but whatever.

Sure I could go back down and do well in Master C's. I would be winning there, but I would be probably in the top quarter. I would rather be racing in the back quarter of the Master B's than sitting in the top quarter of the Master C's. Still, I am disappointed in the final results. I guess I just have to keep at it.

I am not racing next weekend. I am hoping for a couple of good weeks of training so that I can debut Buttercup, my new singlespeed (the name of the bike came before the name of the team, by the way) at the race in two weeks. We'll see...

First Muddy Cross Race

2009-10-25T17:15:00.000-07:00

More later about the race, but here is what my bike looked like after the race. No pictures of me yet.

Here is a shot of PFJ racing by on his new Vanilla. He was so fast that he passed me before I could get the picture. I don't exactly have a high speed digital camera...

Team ButterCup Uni's

2009-10-24T21:49:00.000-07:00

I am going to race for the first time in our new team kits tomorrow. My back is injured (long story) and I may do horribly. But at least people will notice me there at the back....

Tired

2009-10-22T09:26:00.000-07:00

Just feeling really tired and worn out this week. I feel like I still haven't recovered from the Cross Crusade race last weekend. Legs have been really dead feeling and my lower back for the first time in a few months has been feeling really weak with occasional dull pain. Not sure what the deal is. I was planning on doing two races this weekend, but not sure if I want to do that.

Also, Buttercup is still at the paint shop. It has been over 4 weeks. I was quoted 2 to 3. Love getting bubbled. Why does this happen so often that people over-promise and under-perform. I mean I would have done it anyway with those guys, but I wouldn't have been anxious for these last couple of weeks. If everything were this way then Christmas would be scheduled to arrive some time between early to late December but then not actually occur until late January. Ridiculous. Sorry for the rant--I am just cranky and tired.

A Couple of Pictures from Oregon Velo

2009-10-20T22:45:00.000-07:00

Obviously there is a new picture up top tonight. The old one was from about 2 years ago. The picture up top now is my new favorite shot of me. Ever. At least in so far as I can remember. I look intense!

Anyway, here it is again and then I found another one on the Oregon Velo website where I am right on some guys tail. I like it too. Basically I like any picture of my where you can't see a big gut on me.

Sherwood Cross Video

2009-10-19T22:09:00.001-07:00

I am in this near the 2:15 mark or so--pink jersey following an older guy and then squeezing through to pass a small group of spazzes that got off to walk up the short incline.

Sherwood Misery

2009-10-18T21:44:00.000-07:00

First off, thanks to everyone that yelled my name, or yelled out "Fatty" (I was wearing my Fat Cyclist jersey). I loved it and it does help keep you going.

I actually look happy in the picture next picture...I think Mr. Broken-Elbows-Spears was yelling at me to show some teeth or something. He took it near the crest of the worst of the hills on the course. The juniors race at the same time as us. Look the the face of the kid nearest me...he doesn't look like he is too happy does he? I think he is giving me a crusty!

Pictures...

Let me think back on the race for a second or two...

yeah, it was a brutal course. It hurt me. One of the worst beating a course has ever put on me.

The thing is that facially, it didn't seem to be that big of a deal. The rain this week seemed to all dry up within the last 12 hours. Nothing sketchy except for a 3 or 4 inch low branch or root that caused numerous people to come to a complete halt or to fall for some odd reason. Anyway, the course was brutal in other ways. It was very fast in sections, but every one of those sections was choppy and made me feel like I was on an irregular jackhammer. Irregular as in the chop had no rhythm to it, other than the beat of pain.

There were flat to slightly uphill sections that, of course, were choppy. Those are tiring to do at speed. There were three pretty good uphill sections that put the hurting on. One was near the end of course and I have a hard time putting into words my exact feelings with regard to that section. On the second lap I came closer than I ever have to puking while riding. I was ready to blow.

Here is quick lap by lap synopsis:

First lap: I felt good, lots of people passed me on the second half--the uphill half--of the lap, including PFJ. He started near the back and I was about 1/3 of the way back. Basically, I had a good head start on him. When he passed me before I got to the end of the first lap I was very disappointed. I figured it to be another tough lonely day at the office if guys from near the back had already passed me.

Second lap: Felt good at first and then the wheels really started to feel like they were coming off on the steepest of the hills. This is the lap where I felt like breakfast was going to come up. I was dizzy for a short bit too. I didn't look at the sign that showed how many laps to go as I completed this lap and that was probably a good thing. Had I known after 2 laps that there were still 3 to go I would have been disheartened. Each lap was 2 miles long and a 10 mile race in 45 minutes on that course seemed cruel. There was just not enough places to rest on the back half for me.

Third lap: Pretty much a blur to me as I write this so I believe that this was the lap that I started to feel pretty good. Briefly. Sure, it still hurt real bad, but relatively speaking I was doing just fine. Even on the killer hill I did ok. I secretly hoped that whole lap that there would only be one more...but as I neared the finish line to complete that lap I saw that there were still 2 to go.

Forth lap: I was praying to be lapped. "Please let me have a flat tire, a mechanical, or please the the race leader be fast enough to bail be out so I don't have to do another one of these laps...." I think I said this over and over again in my head. And I thought that I could always go slower (I actually passed a couple of guys during this lap that were in my category), I don't have to nearly kill myself out there. I could make it less painful. But for some reason I can't, I just go as hard as I can which is generally to the point just shy of heart attack. As it was, I felt guilty as it was for not being able to push it more. There were several times were I thought that I could have picked up the pace a bit more. I probably couldn't have--I was hurting pretty bad all over, legs were cramping, back was killing, etc. Still, I berated myself for being mentally lazy and not trying to pick the fastest lines and whatnot. Surely, I could spin a little faster or get in a smaller cog on the cassette I would think. These thoughts occurred almost concurrently as the "please, somebody crash into me, please let my chain break, please let my tire get sliced..." thoughts so that I could pull out of the race guilt-free. Weird.

Fifth and Final lap: At the end of the 4th lap I saw that I still had a lap to go. I was dejected that I was still on the lead lap. What a hoser! Dejected because I was fast enough to be on the same lap as the best Master B's! There was a time not long ago when I wasn't fast enough to be on the lead lap in the beginner class. But muddled was my thinking in that pain-filled fog. Once I got my mind around the fact that I was doing another lap like-it-or-not, my attitude improved. I tried to enjoy everything as best I could. I would think, "this is my last time going though this "S" turn, I better pick a good line" or "pedal hard down this hill, bumpy or not, don't worry about trying to save anything else" and even after the last time up that killer hill I still passed a couple of guys. I do well on last laps...it is just those second to last laps that do a number on me mentally.

The preliminary results showed that I finished 90th out of 117 starters. PFJ finished not too far ahead of me despite passing four laps earlier. He was 83rd I think. I bet the bottom 10 or so had mechanical issues, so maybe 105-ish racers finished the race. 90th out of 105... believe it or not, that works for me. Being out of the bottom 10% of the finishers would be a nice improvement. PFJ said before the race that this course didn't play to our strengths...it was not technical, it was hilly, and it was very choppy. This was all true, yet, I feel I had a good race. For the first time this season I didn't have to stop to fix my chain twice or even once--and I felt totally spent and gave pretty much everything I had. Now I just need to continue to lose weight and keep riding during the week and perhaps I can continue to improve.

Predictions: UPDATED

2009-10-17T22:54:00.001-07:00

I predict that...

...I forget something tomorrow in my rush to get to church on time with all the kids and with all of my stuff so I can go directly from church to the race. Nope, I actually had everything.

...I will make with just enough time that I don't get to warm up or anything. True, didn't get to warm up.

...PFJ (Pack Fodder Jim) will wallop me. He beat me, but I wouldn't call it a wallop.

...I will barely miss being DFL in the Master B's despite being with a pound of an all time low weight (within the past 15 years) and actually feeling pretty good. Those Master B's are just fast. Definitely, at the rear, but not really in danger of the dreaded dfl

...that for the first time my chain will NOT fall off during a race this season (please, please, please let this be true). True, Hooray!

...I will have mud on my teeth when I smile. Nope. No mud much of anywhere despite good rain yesterday.

I should have predicted that I would be really really tired. I am sore all over from one of the bumpiest courses I have ever done. ugh...

Off Topic: Mike Tyson and the Dorms

2009-10-17T07:34:00.000-07:00

I read this article on Yahoo.com about the best sports game of all time. I drummed of memories of my college days in the dorms.

Mike Tyson's Punch Out was rated the best sports video game of all time (read the article here). I would like to point out that like the person playing on this YouTube video, I also was able to beat Mike Tyson.

Someone in the college dorms back in the early 1990's had one of the original Nintendo systems and we all spent hours playing the game. About 3 of us were able to beat Mike Tyson eventually.

One night we arrived back at the dorm after playing basketball until about 2 in the morning. We were still all pumped up and a group of 5 or 6 of us started playing Punch Out. But with a twist to make it interesting. We started playing it with out backs turned to the TV watching the game in a mirror so that everthing would appear reversed. It was still too easy. So I, or at least I remember that it was me, came up with the idea that we would play the game with our backs to the TV with the rest of us telling the player in the room when to punch and duck and so forth.

Everyone was able to beat the first chump, Glass Joe,...except for a guy named John. John was the ultra competitive guy on the floor that even in a silly pick up game would get P.O.'d if you did something like not pass to him whenever he was open. He always had to win. The rest of us were out to just have goof off a bit and blow off studying.

Anyway, John over and over again failed to beat Glass Joe. Everyone else could beat Glass Joe without seeing him everytime. John looked around at us laughing and picked the person that was least likely to have get angry or wound up, Andy, and punched him in the shoulder and stormed out of the room. Everyone started laughing even harder. I remember tears coming down my face I was laughing so hard. Even Andy was laughing. John didn't hang with us much after that, which was OK. Those were really good times...I remember them and smile.

The same can be said even now. If you take yourself too seriously, I can't take you seriously. Being able to laugh at yourself is an asset really.

Train Them Early

2009-10-16T07:54:00.000-07:00

Colin was very interested in what I was doing. He grabbed a tire lever that was lying around and tried to help. It seems even 1 year olds love the carbon bling.

Nice Hammys

2009-10-14T16:49:00.000-07:00

I had returned home from a training ride filled with repeats of Saltzman in Forest park. I was muddy from head to toe. I had removed my bib-knickers and was standing in the laundry room in nothing but a Craft thermal. I was in a compromising position and She had full view of my dirty lower half. Bridget commented on how muddy I was, that mud everywhere. She asked if I had fallen down. Nope, it just goes everywhere when the it flings off the tires. Then she noticed something...,"Wow, you have chiseled hamstrings!" Yes, I do. She was in awe (at least that is my take on it). I appreciated the comment of course. I mean, your wife is supposed to think you are hot, but it is nice to hear.

Just don't look at the love handles.

odd and ends

2009-10-14T09:37:00.000-07:00

I have a couple of days off in a row...kind of nice actually. I might get to relax just a bit...

But I am hoping to have call come in that Buttercup is done so that I can get it built up this week in time race this weekend.

I glued up the wheels last night at the end of a long day and even though I mentally continued to remind myself to check the direction of the tread I screwed up. As soon as I got the tire on the the rim I realized my error. I quickly ripped it off and applied a bit more glue and then remounted it. It made for a messy wheel, but that tread looks straight and I think that there is no question that there will be good adhesion...especially once the glue cures a bit. Well, I guess there is always a question, one can't get cocky about things like this.

A consequence of gluing tubular tires on is that glue ends up on my hands. I used to wear latex gloves, but then the glue would stick to the rim or tire as I was trying to pull the tire on over the rim. A couple of times the glove would get caught and tear getting stuck in between the tire and rim. That's not really fun--trying to get a thin piece of latex out of that glue sandwich. So I just figure I am better off with nothing on my hands. After the gluing is done I use either Goof Off or acetone to get the glue off. Both dry out my hands something fierce. Today I can't get enough lotion on them.

I keep bouncing between 189 and 190 pounds. I will be at 189 and change for a couple of days and then bounce back up to 190 for a day or two...it has been like this for a week or two. Main reason for this stall is my occasional evening eating. It has to stop. Not that I am eating bad, but I just graze at night and eat more than I need to.

I see Brianero occasionally with his injured arms. He always has magnets taped to his wrist and elbows. I say this is mostly hogwash, even though I understand that there is iron in the blood and magnets attract iron and so forth. How about some proof? At least proof that it aids in the repair of bone fractures...I found some nebulous stuff on magnets reducing swelling and inflammation.

I checked out some Gore soft shell jersey/jackets that I really wanting. Especially now that the rainy season is here. I rode to work early yesterday morning...pretty sure that passed Marcelo on my way in. It was dark, chilly and wet on my way in at 6:30 am. I expect much more of that in the coming days.

And finally Colin is sitting on the floor trying to eat rubber bands. Perhaps I should actually pay some attention to him....

Oh, wait... I feel nature calling...I might get below 189 yet today.

Me No Racy today...

2009-10-11T21:25:00.000-07:00

Had to work...no race for me...currently trying to sign up for the CX Nationals in Bend this December...seems like servers are overloaded and/or down...if I thought that I had a chance of winning or even finishing in the top half I would care more...singlespeed Cernitz frame is supposed to be finished this week...fingers crossed...189.4 lbs this morning...feeling good about that...not feeling good about a lack of riding last week...but at least I managed to stay ahead of the worst of the illnesses lying in wait in Chateau Flynn...

New Jeans

2009-10-08T22:25:00.001-07:00

Stupid that I care, but I am currently sitting in jeans that have a 32" waist. They are actually comfortable too.

Weird that when I measure around my beltline I measure greater than that, but whatever. Regardless, I have never been able to fit into jeans of this size since my mid 20's.

Now, if I could only get faster on the bike.

Excuse: Nagging Cold

2009-10-08T21:42:00.000-07:00

Seriously. I have had a persistent cold for the past few days. I just feel run down. I haven't this week ridden except for the day that Brian decided to kill the majority of his cyclocross season.

Tomorrow I am riding whether I feel it or not. I am going nuts.

Brianero Knew This Was Coming...

2009-10-07T09:29:00.000-07:00

a report of last night's festivities (Not very festive).

Monday Brian stopped in to the shop and asked if I wanted to go on a ride after work Tuesday (yesterday). I called Bridget and asked if there was anything that I needed to be back for and if she minded...she said no and no after giving me a bit of a hard time. Nice!

Yesterday I arrived at Brian's abode and we were quickly on our way on a meandering ride through the streets and schools and parks near his house. We eventually came to Cooks Butte Park. What a cool little place that is. It has singletrack, some meadows, all with enough elevation gain and loss to make it interesting. At one point during ride to the park,I was chasing Brian down though a little piece of neighborhood singletrack that was shrouded in trees and shrubs. I missed an obstacle on the singletrack. Well, I missed seeing it. I was pedaling out of the saddle (Yes, PFJ I do get out of the saddle occasionally) and I slammed my pedal and crank arm in to a rock that was in the shadows. It nearly threw me off the bike. Brian teased me saying at if I had trouble just riding through there that maybe he shouldn't taking my down a particular downhill section of singletrack that he had planned on hitting in Cooks Butte. Well, not hitting, but riding. Hitting it is what he did though. I told him I had plenty of skills and not to worry.

After riding through the meadow and back up we hit the singletrack area around Cooks Butte. We wound up the butte and at first I had problems making the switchbacks without dabbing. Then the rust came off and I was able to zip up the switchback turns fairly easily. Brian continually dabbed, he joked that maybe I should lead the way. No way, I had never ridden here before so I let him take the lead once more.

We came to the beginning of the downhill stretch that he had spoken of earlier. The initial portion of the trail drops in fairly steep for the first 10 feet or so and then continues down at a more reasonable rate of decline. I never got to see the rest of the trail. When Brian dropped in to the trail he ended up going straight over the bars. It looked brutal. I saw his shoulder and face hit and I guess his arms hit pretty hard as well. He was stunned. His face looked ok, a bit dirty, but no blood. His jersey was a bit torn at the shoulder. One of his knees had been bloodied but he was able to stand on it. He grabbed his bike and gingerly walked to the fireroad that we had just been on. I thought he was going to be OK and I was itching to try the same section. Seriously, despite his wreck I still wanted to ride it. I didn't realize that Brian was truly in some pain and discomfort and I went down the first section of the trail expecting Brian to maybe just walk that section and then continue riding...umm, no.

We ended up walking out of the park and down to the road. He braved riding as long as he could and then he said that he was done. He was having a difficult time staying on the handlebars and braking. He looked pale. We tried using my cell phone to call his wife but she didn't answer. So I took off to his house and after taking the longer, hilly way there. I don't ride in that area much and I didn't know which was the best way. My phone's map didn't show elevation and so I of course chose the route back to his house that was loaded with hills...whoops. That was about the longest 3.5 mile ride I have ever had. And YES, PFJ, my butt was out of the saddle much of the time. I arrived wheezing just a bit at the truck, hopped in and sped back to where he was waiting. He was chilled since it took me a while. We drove to the house and I helped cut his jersey off of him and he gingerly got ready to go the ER. Just has we were about to leave when Erin, his wife, came home. She took over and I left. At the ER he found out that he has to fractured elbows. The left one is in a cast and the other is highly immobile. He can't reach his own face to feed himself. He is able reach his "posterior" as he put it, so at least part of his dignity is intact.

I feel awful for the guy. But, I have to say that for someone with significant injuries he didn't whine much. He will be in a cast for the next 4 weeks, but his cyclocross season is in jeopardy.

I tried to think of some good news...but what is there. I mean at least they were fractures instead of breaks, but still...geesh.

Get well soon Brianero!

Alpenrose pictures

2009-10-06T21:44:00.001-07:00

Seriously, dismounting at speed on asphalt is somewhat hazardous. I was trying to slow myself down but instead my shoes just sort of skated. I was a little unnerving a couple of times.

Coming round the corner...I am just glad there is not a gut-roll showing in the picture. I always worry about that...good thing I've lost a bit of weight in the past month or two.

While I was looking for pictures of me I came across this one. Look at the Intensity of PFJ! Geesh, he looks like he should be in Master A's for sure.

THANK YOU OREGON VELO for taking such outstanding pictures and also THANK YOU to OREGON BIKE SHOP for sponsoring the free download of them.

189.4 lbs this morning...

2009-10-05T07:24:00.000-07:00

that's all, please move on...

Dead Tired: Tales of Alpenrose

2009-10-04T16:36:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, at least I think it was yesterday, PFJ (PackFodder Jim) tells me casually on the phone that his race is at 11:45. "11:45?" Was he going to race the singlespeed category? Nope, he was stepping up to Master B's.

Jerk.

I mean, I thought about doing it later in the season after I have ridden myself into a little better shape. I wasn't thinking of doing anything but the Master C race today. He forced my hand. I wasn't going to let him go up there by himself leaving me behind. I raced Master B's the last Cross Crusade race last year and got pummeled. I suppose I could do that again without losing too much pride. I had thoughts that maybe I could keep up with him, but as it turned out, not so much of a chance.

Keeping a short story short, I decided to join him at the first Cross Crusade race of the season at Alpenrose. I wasn't like I was going to win the Master C class and maybe it would be a race with fewer people. I thought about just showing up at the race and not telling him before hand, but I caved and let the cat out of the bag last night about an hour after I first decided to give it a go.

Colin, our 13 month old, woke up at 4:30 this morning. Bridget was away with friends in Black Butte so I was on duty. Ugh. I didn't go to bed until midnight. Colin wouldn't go back to sleep until about 6:30 and then woke up again around 7. I had a headache and felt nauseated as soon as I got up. I almost didn't race. I was not feeling it.

I take off to the race a little before 10 and stop to get a sugar free Rockstar drink. I haven't had one of those since my 1L year in law school. I swore off those things, but I was desperate. It helped somewhat.

Saw PFJ at the race and shortly thereafter Marcelo came wincing by. His back was still out and he didn't even make it one lap before he had to pull off. By the sound of it the course was pretty close to what it was last year. It just wasn't as slick thankfully.

I pulled up the start with a favorable position. I was in the top 30 riders at the line out of 121. As the race started I felt OK, not great. PFJ passed me like I was standing still on the first lap...never saw him again during the race. On the second lap I started to feel better but I dropped my chain. Lots of guys passed me since we were all packed up. I don't know how many, but a lot. Conservatively there were at least 10 guys that went by. Lots of people had been passing me anyway, so I wasn't that concerned, though I was frustrated. I had a chain guard on the inside of the chain ring, but it had moved allowing enough space for a chain to slip down. Damn. I got back on the horse and took off.

Shortly after this I noticed a guy that looked a little huskier than the typical Master B racer, sort of like me. I figured I might be able to pull him back in. I did. Passed him and right after a turn and I realized it was a guy I knew. I won't name him here because I do bag on him a bit shortly. This particular fellow was a guy that last year gave me troubles in the Master C's. I beat him only once out of 4 or 5 tries. A month or two ago he was talking about how great his training was going and so on. Yawn....he tends to go on quite a bit about himself...which made me want to beat him even more. Self aggrandizing people bug me. Especially when we ain't pro's or anything. This guy used to be a mountain bike pro though, back in the 1990's. He's told those stories soooo many times...

Anyway...I pass him on the second lap. He noticed me and it must have lit a fire under his butt because he picked up the pace and passed me on the run up. I got the place back though about 200 yards later and kept distancing myself from him the rest of the race....well almost the rest of the race.

Somewhere around the middle of the race a guy went down right in front of me. I don't know why he went down. Maybe there was an especially evil blade of grass that his front wheel hit or something. I think both of us were equally surprised when he went down. I was right on his tail when it happened and I ended up stepping right on the spokes of his rear wheel and his pedal and front wheel went right into my leg and knee. I stayed upright though with only a dab or two needed to get rolling again. I would be surprised if his wheel is a bit wonky after that event.

I settled into a good rhythm with some guy of similar ability and I passed them and they would pass me back. It was a good give and take and despite the fact that I was in pain, that the bump course made my kidneys hurt, that the snot and sweat was dripping unencumbered by anything, I was having a good time. It sort of surprised me. I believe at this point I was probably near around 90th or so out of the 121 guys. I believe this to be the case because about 10 to 15 guys passed me when my chain again fell off right before the run up on the last lap. I was so ticked. I got to the top and tried to put it on. Thought I had it and got on the bike. Realized the there was nothing there. Coasted down the bottom of the hill to the entrance of the velodrome where the finish line was. Damn it...it would got back before the third try. Where was my friend? My friend that I wanted to crush? I didn't see him as I got back on the bike, but as I weaved through the course on the inside of the velodrome I saw him just a couple of guys back....I was elated that at the very least he would not be able to catch me. Despite some crappy luck I beat him. It really didn't matter than 114 other guys beat me, I knew that I beat someone and it was someone that had been the better man most of the time the year prior. So yes, 115th place out of 123 guys. I had thought I had done a little better overall, but with a couple of chain drops I shouldn't be surprised.

PFJ placed 71st. Nice job! Especially considering you had no top end with that singlespeed.

*****

Equipment thoughts:

Tufo Cubus tires handled the off camber grassy stuff very well. I am very pleased with these tires so far. I believe that they probably don't roll quite as fast, but I am willing to take it for the surer footing.

Easton EC90SLX Wheels continue to be amazingly resilient. They feel so solid. I can't believe that they weigh 1100 grams or whatever. I can't imagine buying a different wheelset over this one no matter what the price.

The Fool

2009-10-03T21:40:00.000-07:00

I believe I will be the Fool tomorrow. The Jester. I hope not but odds are very good that I will be looking stupid. Oh, well. I have my reasons.

I think I will race the Master B's with PFJ (Packfodder Jim) tomorrow. He deserves to be there--I probably don't.

Riding in and around Black Butte Ranch

2009-10-01T21:18:00.000-07:00

I had to take care of some stuff in Black Butte Ranch and while I was there I got to go on a couple of rides. The first was Peterson Ridge just outside of Sisters and the other was a ride to Suttle Lake and then around it.

I took the picture below at the Peterson Ridge Trail viewpoint.

And just think that earlier that morning on the way to Black Butte Ranch I passed this scene at the top of Santiam Pass:

Amazing that these two pictures were taken only about 7 hours and 20-ish miles apart.

On both days' rides I was experimenting with tire pressure in my tubeless setup. Running Mavic Krysium Elites with Hutchinson Bulldog tires. At first I tried no tubeless tire specific rim strip, just some Hutchinson sealant--that didn't work at all. Because I didn't feel like spending the money to order a set of Stan's Rim Strips to convert it to tubeless just used some 26 inch mtb rubber rim strips. The only purpose of the rim strip is to take up some space between the bead of the tire and the bed of the rim. If there is too much of a gap when the tire is hit hard with an object the bead won't be able to keep a seal against the rim and air and sealant is pushed out. When that happens it looks like this:

The above tire still holds air just fine, but when I hit square-edged or large roots hard enough the tire would burp. On this particular ride I started at between 30 and 32 lbs of pressure. When I finished the tire pressure was around 22 to 24. Way too low...I had to be pretty careful on my way back after a few too many burps coming back down. I ended up finding that on rides with sharp edged rocks that probably between 38 and 40 psi will work best. On many cyclocross courses I am certain that in the low 30's I will be fine. The main culprit of the burping was the sharp edged volcanic rocks I hit at speed.

Today I had lots to do but I was determined to get in a ride if at all possible. I chose to do something different--the Suttle Lake ride which is really quite close to Black Butte. I had done this ride before on a mountain bike and it was a yawner. But on a cross bike it was quite enjoyable. I was able to go as fast as my legs would take me on quite a few stretches of the trail that takes you to the lake loop. It really felt good. I rode for just a bit over an hour. I didn't do the entire loop of the lake, just the west side of the lake which I found to be particularly enjoyable. I was surprised. Actually the same could be said of Peterson Ridge the day prior. I find that trail to be sort of boring for a mountain bike, but for a cross bike is both fun and challenging at times.

Pictures of the Suttle Lake ride:

There's even a barrier to dismount over...coming back it was easy to ride off of though...

The singletrack around the lake is not difficult but it is fun.

Trees are abundant and provide instances where on a cross bike at speed they seem to be magnets, drawing you into them...

Suttle Lake itself is in the final two pictures...the trail hugs the lake quite close most of the time.

I had a great time, too bad I was there solo.

Random Thoughts from Black Butte Ranch

2009-09-30T21:04:00.000-07:00

Growing out my facial hair. Hate this 2 week old stage, it's itchy and ugly.

Found out that 30 to 32 lbs of pressure is too low to take my tubeless 'cross wheel on a trail filled with sharp edged volcanic rocks. It could have been ugly.

Realized that being alone in a cabin with only my iPhone is very boring. Better than being alone with just the TV though.

I also realized that owning deep rim carbon wheels for cyclocross is stupid. Yet I have a set....I am a sucker for cool wheels.

I won't even bring up my non-deep rim carbon wheels...

Must....not....get....addicted....to....Facebook

I ate a high calorie fatty mexican food lunch. It was almost too much for me. I really felt nauseated for eating too much of the wrong kind of food. After a couple of months eating fairly well, I think my body went into shock for a bit.

My Curtlo is fast....

I am not...at least not compared to where I want to be.

I saw an older gentleman with his shirt sticking out of the fly of his pants. Could have been worse...

I sent of application materials for a federal job in D.C. I both hope I do and hope I don't get it. If they have a decent 'cross series that would go a long way towards tempting me. Odds are long though...

Thinking of doing the Race Across Oregon. It would be a relay. You ride all out for 15 minutes and then pass off to the next teammate. There are 4 guys on a team. It takes well over 40 hours of continuous riding by the relay team to finish. Sounds sort of crazy. But possible. Neil is the one egging me on to do it. History has shown the I can be egged...

I know I wrote basically that carbon wheels are for suckers, but dang as I set here looking at a set with some brand new tires on them I sort start to drool. Something about knobby tires on carbon gets me going....I need help I think.

Ok, enough is enough....

Getting Closer

2009-09-28T13:27:00.001-07:00

190.0 lbs this morning.

In August I was at or near 200 lbs except for the time immediately after the morning dregs. I feel pretty good about this. It is been a fairly steady decline and I need to continue the downward trend. 185 lbs. was the goal when I set out to get ready for cross, but I am thinking that the long term goal is to get to under 180. That will require some new clothes probably which I don't have the money for, but I will cross that bridge later.

For reference, I was very briefly at 187.4 for a day or two last fall. I spent about a month at 188 to 189 before gradually going back up to 200. Still, while my weight yo-yos a bit, it has continually yo-yo'd downward. I lose 15 or so and then gain back 5 to 10. I lose another 15 or so and gain back 5 to 10....it has been this way for about 5 years. I just need to make sure the swing down keeps following this pattern.

*****

I am heading to Black Butte for a couple of days this week to take care of a couple of things. I am going without the family so I think I will also try and get my Vittoria XM tubulars glued on my trustworthy Neuvation C50 carbons wheels while I am down there. Or at least started on them.

The Ksyrium/Hutchinson Bulldog tubeless setup still is holding air. Seems like it will be a great set up despite having no glue involved.

Progress

2009-09-26T22:20:00.000-07:00

Life is about progress. Hopefully we are all making progress in our lives towards what we want to be and who we should be. Sometimes it seems like you can get caught in the doldrums. There is just no external wind to help get you to where you want to go. You have to paddle. With regard to work I feel that way. Things just aren't progressing and neither am I in the way that I want to...and it is mostly my fault. So briefly, I am flogging myself in public to remind myself to get my butt in gear and make something happen somehow. No excuses.

In other ways, in other areas, things are progressing decently. I feel I more fit than I was last month. I have lost a little more weight, not counting last night's gluttony and today's carryover. Neil, Jimbo, and Dave know of what I speak. Brianero should know of this too, except his claimed an illness kept him away. Anyway, I try to find time to ride even if it is for less than an hour. Faster is the goal, and again there are no excuses. In this area of my life is easier to measure progress. I get on the scale usually every morning to see what is up. There are fluctuations, much of it depending upon whether I have evacuated yesterday's intake or not yet when I step on the scale. As I lose more weight it is evident that I could surely lose another 20 pounds and still not look too skinny. Doubtful that this will happen anytime soon though. I can also look to race results to see how I am fairing against guys that finish near me race after race.

The Cernitz bikes are making great progress. One frame's at paint and the other in its initial stages of formation. I am really grateful for Neil and all the thought and work that he has put into these frames. I am lucky to know him for a variety of reasons actually.

The ButterCup Team is on the fast track to reality. Kits have been ordered and by the end of October we will most likely be a registered team with OBRA. Ours is a team of 4 guys, but you have to start somewhere. I will delve more into that in later posts certainly. I should probably post links on my blog to our sponsors...yeah, need to do that pronto. Anyway, I didn't have much to do with the heading up this team, that was mainly Packfodder Jim. Nevertheless, I support him and his efforts. He a is dedicated guy. You need dedication to make progress...

My family is increasingly busy. Bridget has work occasionally and lots of work that she does for church (which has been overwhelming at times), Ryan--school and soccer, Jack--preschool and soccer, and Colin is dead set on deconstruction of his known universe (i.e., he tosses food all over the floor, removes everything from cupboards, and rips hair off of the cat fairly often). It is hard to keep everything straight, luckily Bridget does so for me. We don't get to sit at home often. This is a good thing.

The main thing that is required for me to be at peace in important areas of my life is to be make progress is a goal. For instance, I have some weight goals and I now know how to lose weight if I am willing to pay the price to do so. If I want to get faster at cyclocross, I know certain training regimens that will help further this goal. A lack of time makes it difficult to do everything I would like to do to train, but I do what I can. In opening my own law firm, it has been difficult because I don't really know how, and I haven't spent the time to figure it out. I mean I have these vague notions of what should be done. And I know of some specific things that needed to be done as well. But as far as an actual goal with something specific attached to it that can be aimed at and accomplished....not so much. Part of it is because I don't really know what to expect. Part of it is because I haven't spent much time finding out the best route to get this done. And part is because, frankly, I didn't really want to have my own firm as a first option. The amount of work that I foresee to get things rolling seems daunting. I would have much rather joined a entity that already existed. I am already working 40 hours at the bike shop and commuting another 8 to 10 hours per week on top of that....(sigh) excuses....they are so easy to make. I just need to pay the price.

Anyway, this morning I just sort of blew up. Not at anyone really, just myself. I hate the situation I am in. I need to bring in some income to survive and the income I am bringing in is not really enough in the long term. I want to start actually practicing law, but the transition back into it will be difficult. If only I had gone about things a little differently a couple of years ago. If I hadn't been so picky about what area of law I doubt I would be in this situation...but perhaps I am in this situation for a reason. At least, that is what Bridget has thought. She is very supportive and she tries to be an effective rudder in our lives. Good thing, because I feel like the captain of the Exxon Valdes much of the time recently. Enough babbling though. I don't want to be like some people that talk a good game and never follow through. That is not really my schtick.

Progress...time to get going and make things happen somehow, someway.

*****

A quick note: I ran my Mavic Ksyrium Elites tubeless for the first time today. The tires are Hutchinson Bulldogs. Early indications are that I only have to run them about 2 to 4 pounds more pressure than I run in most of my tubulars. The feel is similar to my Tufo tubulars, not as plush feeling as the Fangos I ran last year. But I think that the Bulldogs have better mud capabilities. I also have Vittoria XM tubulars to glue up. More on all this in the days to come.

To Paint

2009-09-22T20:57:00.001-07:00

I woke up this morning and drove down to the Wilsonville area. I picked up my friend and part-time co-worker Neil Cernitz and we drove to work. Wilsonville is not exactly on my route to work. But, I am just a really nice guy and so I offered to pick up Neil since we had to be there at 8 am. I am a giver, what can I say.

The fact that Neil had a frame ready to take to paint may have had something to do with it.

The pictures below were taken with my crappy little camera phone. The fact that they are low quality will only make all of you even more amazed when the frame is finished and I take pictures with an actually high quality camera.

The picture of the complete frame I stole from Neil's blog.

At lunch today we went to the Class Act Powdercoating and Paint. It was a little drive out there. Once we arrived we were bluntly informed that we were idiots with regard to paint and prep. I felt like I was talking to the painter's version of the Soup Nazi. Man, the woman we talked to was about as blunt and plainspeaking as you can get. That is about as positive a spin as I can do. Nevertheless, I think they will do great work. I sure hope so, the paint job is costing way too much. Not that I am going super fancy, but still. I was going to paint the fork as well, but I decided I didn't want to spend the money. After all, I still have another Cernitz coming down the pipe.

I won't divulge the details here about the paint. But in about 3 weeks I will post it. Hopefully the combo will look good.

Hood River Double Cross Picture

2009-09-21T21:26:00.000-07:00

Man, I have a fat face.

It is all my fault...

2009-09-19T22:03:00.000-07:00

Today I wore this jersey to the Hood River Double Cross race. I am never wearing it again, at least on a race day or when BYU plays. I thought I would wear it to show support for the Cougars and for some good luck. I figured that since the Cougars had been doing so well this football season, maybe some of that would rub off on me. Umm, that would be a "no". Today was a bad day I guess for all things associated with BYU perhaps.

Recently, not including today I have worn it to work and have gotten flats 2 of the 3 times. The last time I sliced a very nice tire beyond repair. I didn't really put much stock into this as being caused by me wearing the jersey. After all, I have worn this jersey in the past several times to work.

But after today I will be careful when I wear it. Here is the breakdown:

I got a bad start off the line and got squeezed between a few guys and had to dab and then ran into a guy who slowed down for some reason going through the first little bit of sand. The collision caused my bars to be tweeked a bit down. There was a loud "POP" that was associated with this I and I feared that something broke. A close inspection later today revealed no damage luckily. At the time I wasn't sure, but kept riding anyway.

Then, I again nearly ran again into someone's rear wheel that suddenly slowed needlessly in a turn (in my opinion) and so I had to dab and lost a spot or two.

On the 2nd or 3rd lap I dropped my bike down a little too severely following the first run-up of the lap and the chain fell off on the inside of the ring as the rear end bounced off the ground. I thought I had it back on and started to ride and if fell off again because it wasn't I suppose. After muttering several curse words I got it done correctly and started back up. I lost a good 5 to 6 spots and much of my motivation at that point.

I soldiered on eventually able to put it all behind me and had a pretty good final 4 laps of the race. I finished 23rd out of 41 after being probably near the 27th or 28th after the chain dropped judging by the guys I passed later. Had the race gone well I am sure that I would have finished around the 15th or so. So it is not like I would have won or anything, but still...

Anyway, crap happens right?

Then on the way back home I checked on the college football scores. I root for a few teams, one being USC since I grew up in Southern California. They got beat by Washington. Bummer. But that loss could have helped BYU, where I did my undergrad. Nope. Later in the day, they got their butts whooped at home by FSU. I am really glad I didn't see that game. I did check on it frequently though while at work. I don't know what was up during the game, but that game put me in a foul mood.

Then tonight near close at work I was going to pick up a couple of parts for the Cernitz ButterCup singlespeed cross bike and my PayPal Debt card was declined for some reason. I think it is probably because I have ordered some parts for it from various places around the US and the credit card company probably suspected fraud. This happened once before a few months ago. There is no problem with money in the account, there is plenty from selling a bike or two recently. That just topped it off today.

I blame the BYU jersey. I have never worn that jersey to a cross race before and that must be the reason all these things happened today. Either that or all things associated with BYU today got slapped down. I should have stuck to a my Dad's Root Beer Jersey or my Fat Cyclist jersey. Both of those are proven winners, especially the Fat Cyclist jersey. I have gotten my best results wearing that one. Needless to say, I will be wearing that one for Alpenrose in a couple of weeks.

*****

I will say just a bit more about the race. I expected rain. It was pouring down in Portland when I left. The forecast said the same was expected in Hood River. Umm...not so much. I didn't eat enough prior to my race nor drink enough. Halfway through my 8 laps I would have traded my...well, for sure my jersey for a nice bottle of water or something cold. My engine was starting to overheat. I kept pushing, hoping after my 5th lap that I would only have a couple of laps left. But nope, I had to do 8 laps, just like the leader. While it is good that I finished on the lead lap, it really sucked the big one at the time. I was dying. Still I pushed and managed to pass two guys that last lap. Barely holding one of them off from re-passing me at the finish line.

After crossing the finish I barely had time to dismount before I was dry heaving. I didn't have much in my stomach but some mucus and so that is all that came out. After a few minutes I felt OK. I have never dry heaved after or during any cycling related activity. In fact the last time I remember dry heaving following an athletic activity was back in high school when I ran on the track team. That happened no more than twice back then.

Anyway, I was spent. I did my Team ButterCup best, at least the last half of the race, and just gave'r.

Congrats to Tim and Packfodder Jim who both are going to be on our ButterCup team. Tim placed 2nd in his first cross race ever in the Beginner Class. Jim placed 8th in Master C. Marcelo killed his back this week, hopefully he is well by the start of the Cross Crusade series.

(And Jimbo, if you have any pics of me, send 'em my way. That one on your blog looks great!)

Hood River Double Cross: Pre Race Mulling

2009-09-18T22:43:00.001-07:00

1) Why do I bother driving 71 miles to do a 45 minute race? Really a 142 miles just for 45 minutes and pain and suffering? Well, because it is cross...what other reason is there?

2) I have approximately lost another pound this week. I will be in the solid 191 range tomorrow morning probably. Last week the morning of the race I was just under 193. So, it has been a good week for eating and training. Hopefully results will bear this out.

3) I do believe that Mr. Packfodder will kick my butt again tomorrow. I hope that I can make it closer than the last race.

4) My lungs feel pretty good right now. Which figures since I finally have gone to see the doctor and I have some seriously comprehensive asthma test next week for which I will undoubtedly feel great for. I sort of hope I don't so they can figure out what is wrong. My lungs feel great for a time and then I hit a bad streak. It seems random. Hopefully, something gets figured out so I can manage it better. Racing is so much easier when you can breathe.

5) I am tired but I am sort of excited and so I don't wanna go to bed. Going to sleep is really what I need though....where is my discipline? I think she went to bed about a half an hour ago. Ha!

6) This week I did some hill climbing in Forest Park. I felt really good. But last night during my commute home my left knee was in some pain. My knees usually don't bug me. Again today, a couple of times I felt some oddness in that area. Not sure what the deal is. Hopefully, all is well. I didn't ride today to give everything a rest. My lower back was also letting me know it needed a rest.

7) My Curtlo is on its fourth season of racing. Man, is it sweet. It looks sort of rough in places. I don't clean it as often as I used to. I am still picky about creaks. There are none, thankfully. My drivetrain is the best it has ever been functionally and ergonomically. The bike is differently in its best iteration yet.

8) I know very little about the course tomorrow. I just know that it typically has singletrack. I am excited and hope that it is sketchy and that people are scared. That sort of course helps me out typically and makes up for my fatness.

9) Alright, I am going to bed. Or at least read in bed so that I don't obsess more about this race.

Team ButterCup Uni's

2009-09-15T22:15:00.000-07:00

I don't think anyone will mind, but here is the design for our cyclocross team uni's.

Packfodder Jim likes it because it doesn't look like we take ourselves too seriously. I just think it nice and different. We will definitely be easy to spot out there. The goal is to have these by the USGP in Portland and then the Nationals in Bend.

The "HUP" on each side is for our rallying cry of "Hup! Hup! ButterCup!"

Triathlon Update: I am out ....I think

2009-09-14T21:34:00.000-07:00

Two of my good friends, Dave and Fish are going to do the St. George Utah Ironman next year. I don't think they even tried to get me to do it, they knew better.

For the record, I have done two 70.3 or half ironman distance triathlons. I have also done a few olympic and sprint distance triathlons. I have done them to push myself farther than I would have normally pushed myself.

I have had to get out of my comfort zone and swim in open water. Swimming in open water has caused me to have many sleepless nights. I stress about that part in a big way. Luckily, I have never drown, nor really come close to it despite freaking out on every single open water swim I have done.

The runs I do OK on. I mean, I am not fast, I just have found that I can suffer on at a nice 10 to 11 minute per mile pace indefinitely on the long distance runs. Shorter runs, I am about an 8 minute mile guy after a bit of training. But regardless, I don't really enjoy running too much either.

The cycling...I quite like the bike part. I appreciate the technology that goes into these TT/tri bikes. They are very cool. But impractical. They are spendy and if you are going to have one you better use it. I sold my half-breed Fuji Aloha Carbon Concept bike a couple of months ago. I have another road bike that I like to ride more than that one. I didn't feel like tying up that much of my bike assets with that bike so I sold it. I figured if I was going to do more triathlons I could do them just as well on the Specialized. I am only going to save maybe 2 to 5 minutes with that bike, and I will take the time penalty in a triathlon to have something else that I enjoy more the rest of the year.

Anyway, where is this post going....

I had told Fish that I needed to do the Boise Half Ironman again this next year. I wasn't really pleased with my race this year. I feel I can do better. But, as time has gone on, I am just not feeling it. So for now I am saying that next year will be a triathlon-free year. I only did one this year instead of my planned three. And I don't feel bad about that at all.

Marcelo, who is going to be on our Buttercup Team not only wins his age group but beats just about everyone in the local triathlons. But even with him around and Dave training for an Ironman, I am not tempted at all right now. OK, maybe a little bit, but not enough to start running and swimming again anytime soon.

Now that cyclocross season is here I am happy. I am doing the sport that I love the most. It is just too bad that it ends before Christmas here. I will have to find some challenge for next spring or summer. Not sure what though.

Seattle to Portland in one day sounds sort of tempting. Dave and I were talking about a long distance mtb event next year. That might be OK. My body doesn't really like spending all day on a mountain bike anymore. My back just starts to kill. That would take some training for sure. Just going down the McKenzie River trail tuckered my back right out. I wouldn't mind figuring out something that would be tempting to Fish, my friend in Utah, if I could get him to do something other than a triathlon. The only time I get to see him lately is when there is an event that we all do together like the Half Ironman races.

Anyway, the search begins for something cool to do next year. Just please...no triathlons. I am saving that for 2011. I plan on doing something stupid that year for my 40th year on this planet.

Spray on Tan

2009-09-14T00:09:00.000-07:00

Not the sort of spray on tan that some may think of, this version came from the Pain on the Peak cyclocross opener. I imagine I had a similar coating inside my lungs. No wonder I still can't breathe well. Seriously, at least 50% of the difference in skin color came from a fine coating of dirt from the race.

Pain on the Peak

2009-09-12T22:34:00.000-07:00

Course--dusty, dusty, dusty. Lungs--hurt, hurt, hurt.

I thought I finished in the back 1/3 or 1/4 of the master C field. Instead, I finished 23rd out of 49 racers. Could be worse. I was surprised that I did that well. However, once the knowledge of the result sat for a couple of minutes the internal berating began.

"I should not have let my weight go up that high this summer."

"I should have trained harder"

"I should have gone to a doctor to get my lungs checked by now"

But the facts are that I did pretty much the same as I did last year. I don't think that any one that I beat last year at this race beat me this year. That is sort of comforting. There were some guys that I beat on other courses last year that did indeed beat me at this race, but nothing glaring.

Packfodder Jim did very well. He started near the back of the pack to finish 11th. Marcelo, finished 2nd. Both of them also raced in the master C class. Both of them kicked my butt. Both of them are also going to be on our little team, Team Buttercup. And I am glad to have a reason to be there, the Anchor. Every team needs one. I am that guy on ours.

Good ol' Brianero seems to be in great shape as well. He placed 3rd in the master A's. Geesh! And this from a guy that didn't even want to race today, at that venue and in that class.

Anyway, perhaps I will write more about the race later. But I am tired and it has been a long day. Goodnight

Shotgun

2009-09-11T20:48:00.000-07:00

A shotgun blast of random thoughts:

Somebody please tell Robert Smith of the Cure to give up the old look. It is painful to watch him. There was a concert being shown in HD on cable tonight. I really like the Cure's music, but he was just too...man, I don't know what he is, but it is ugly. I love ya Robert, but please...you're pushing 50. Time to give up the rats-nest hair, and messy make up look. And the baggy clothes can't hide the fact that your are packin' extra under there buddy. With the HD...woof. Scary stuff.

*****

Tomorrow is the first cross race of the season. I had a marvelous pre-race dinner tonight at the Back-To-School bar-b-q. Hamburger, Doritos and then later some peanut butter toast and an ice cream cone. At least I ate healthy the rest of the day.

*****

Speaking of the cross race tomorrow...I wasn't even nervous about it at all until PackFodder Jim and Marcelo started in about how they hadn't slept well in a few days, how Jim was considering wearing a pre-race diaper to guard against incontinence (he getting up there as he likes to tell people), and Marcelo worrying about rolling a tire. Man, I am already resigned to sucking it up tomorrow. I had been worried, more like sort of excited in a subdued manner. I know that both of them are going to kill me--this is not my sort of course. It will be really hilly. Give me a flat course and I will do ok, like at the Veloshop race and Barton course last year. I blame my gut.

*****

My Cernitz, the Buttercup, is nearing completion. Just some filing and sanding left I think. Time for paint soon. I think I have it pretty well figured out. The Mule is next up, the disc only monster-cross-commuter frame.

*****

Oh, and a shout out to guys who use yard work and their families to consistently get out of riding and everything else. Seriously guys...Are We Not Men!?!? Can't we men of the married-type occasionally all assert ourselves so that we can go out and be men without our women and children? Can't we all just tell our spouses that no we need a personal day to maintain our sanity? I don't mean that this has to happen every weekend, but perhaps once over the course of the year? The conversations, emails, or text messages go like this with one particular friend:

ME: "Hey, xxx (name withheld to protect the guilty) wanna go for a ride Saturday morning?"

xxx, "Yeah, sounds good, that would be great, what time?" (Plans are then made.)

Then the night before the ride, usually around 11pm, I get this text from xxx,

"Are you awake?"

ME, "Yep, what's up?"

xxx, "Sorry gotta mulch my yard/pick the lice off my children/floss my dog's teeth/I am too tired/etc. so I can't go tomorrow. But let's try again in a couple of weeks."

There is always the initial interest with a half commitment, followed by a disengagement later in the week. It is very much like Charlie and Lucy with the football. I being Charlie Brown to his Lucy. Yet, I persist in inviting this person occasionally. Why? Because I know he loves bikes. And he is generally a great person to be around. But seriously, dude needs to put the smack down and get out.

I have considered the possibility that he just doesn't want to ride with me. But I can't fathom that anyone wouldn't want to ride with me. I am so damn entertaining that this is unlikely.

And I need to change the subject...

*****

Why does it take Mavic 3 weeks (so far) to process an order for a stupid set of wheels? I am getting pissy about this. They don't make it easy to contact whoever does the E.P.'s either.

*****

I am done complaining. At least until tomorrow after the race.

Damn It

2009-09-09T22:30:00.001-07:00

I wasn't able to eat dinner tonight until after nine and I ended eating half of a Domino's pepperoni pizza. It was a bad day all the way around. Got nothing done. Kids were not cooperative. And do to circumstances not entirely my fault, Ryan ended up playing on the wrong soccer team tonight.

Yeah, that one needs some explanation. First of all, the league decided that all teams would all have the same color jersey. Freaking brilliant move. I am sure that it save like 50 cents per child to bulk order all blue jersey instead of jerseys of different colors for each team. Then teams get these "penny" jerseys to put on over the regular jersey. The penny jerseys are sleeveless mesh things that do come in different colors.

What ends up happening is that each team practices for 30 minutes and then has a game for 30 minutes. For the game, each team splits in half and then plays half of the opposing team. The half of our team that stays on our "home" field (which measures out to be not much bigger than a half of a basketball court--totally ridiculous!) puts on their colored penny jerseys and the half that goes doesn't, they stay in blue. Ryan was on the half of the team that traveled to the opposing team. The color of the opposing team's penny jerseys? Freaking the exact shade of blue as every single child's jersey. What a cluster.

How Ryan started playing for the wrong team is simple--we couldn't find the correct team since there were approximately 16 teams in a field of blue. We started looking for players that we recognized. I also brought one of Ryan's two good friends, Evan. We found the other one, Reed, that we knew was on the team and I had Ryan and Evan start playing. We had it arranged so that all three of them--Reed, Evan, and my boy Ryan--would be on the same team. I just assumed that Ryan's friend's mom had done due diligence in looking for the correct team. Umm, not so much.

So if this were not bad enough, tonight on the first night of the season they also took pictures. So now, there are three boys that are in a picture with the wrong team. Sweet. But at least they are in the pictures together, which is all they will care about in the future.

Still, I have had a couple of screwed up days off. Worthless. No riding and eatin' crap.

Duh

2009-09-08T21:20:00.001-07:00

I went to ride with Brianero this evening. Got out there and found I had brought one of my shoes and then my wife's road shoe. Awesome. I felt like a total dork. I blame my wife. I don't know how it is her fault, but I can't be mine...right?

Instead, after shooting the bull with Brian, I went and took a look at the Cernitz. It was my first time laying hands on it. Awesome. It is coming in a little heavier than either Neil or I thought, but it should spot on with regard to what I wanted. I took pictures but I promised I would not post them. Neil kept making excuses for the frame and its unfinished condition and pointing out what still had to be done. But, I was very impressed. I think it is going to be stellar. We also figured out what is going to be done with the Mule cross/commuter frame. Nova sent the wrong chainstays, mtb s-bend stays. But they look so sweet that we are going to use them. Now I just have to reorder some seatstays to match. Luckily they are pretty cheap.

Short bits

2009-09-06T23:15:00.000-07:00

Hit 191.8 and then stalled thanks to not having time to ride and too many family get-togethers. Back to the straight and narrow...well, back to it on Tuesday. Tomorrow is dinner at the golf club. FAAAT!

Colin turned one tonight by the way, the same day my father would have been 65 this year.

The Cernitz SS Cross frame, Buttercup, is nearing completion. The Mule, commuter/cross disc frame is on deck. I am such a lucky bastard.

Handcrafted....

2009-09-05T00:47:00.001-07:00

Just a quick thought. Above is the chainstay of Pack Fodder Jim's Vanilla.

I'm thinking that on my Cernitz I could have something like, "Fabricated with Blood & Sweat in Neil's Garage" on the chainstay.

Random, but I sort of like it.

Oswego Grill

2009-09-04T23:47:00.000-07:00

Bridget needed to get out. I needed to have a break from life in general. So we went out. We had a little bit unexpected money come our way, so we went out on the town...or at least as out on the town as a married couple with 3 kids and limited time with a babysitter tend to go.

We did dress up, and if I had been thinking I would have taken pictures of us, because we (and when I say we, I mean she) looked mahvahlous. Not that one needs to dress up to go to the Oswego Grill, but sometimes it is just nice to look good. We were going to take advantage of a special deal at Morton's Steakhouse, but Bridget talked me into trying this place.

The food is sort of like Stanford's restaurant/steakhouse but probably a little cheaper. Or maybe about the same, it has been a long time since I ate at Stanfords. I guess the guy that started the Oswego Grill used to be the head chef or something at Stanfords. Oh, and Stanfords is just across the street. Talking about giving your former employer the finger...

Anyway, I was determined to keep the damage to my gut to a minimum. I had a wedge salad with the salad dressing on the side. I probably only used about 2 table spoons of the dressing, but ate every speck of blue cheese and bacon that came with the salad. Bridget had a spinach artichoke dip appetizer instead of a salad. I had a taste of that and it was amazingly good. I don't normally like those dips--they are usually too mayo-ee or something. This wasn't and it was great, luckily my salad was good enough to keep me from chowing in to that fat bomb. Bridget can handle it, she is looking great and has room to spare. Me...not so much.

Here is a nice grainy picture of our starters. It was dark and when the lighting is poor, my iPhone camera has issues.

Next came the main dish. I had the New York 12 oz cut. The beef was USDA Choice. That was the only new york cut that they offered. No size differences or anything. Notice that the cut is not particularly thick, I would rather have had it shorter and thicker than the way this was presented. Nevertheless, it did have very good flavor. I would have liked a better crust on the outside of the meat, but what can I expect for less than half the price of Morton's.

My steak was supposed to come with Buttermilk mashed potatoes, but that would have been a really been a gut bomb, so I replaced it with some asparagus. I didn't know that the deep fried onion wedges were included, I ate a bite of one and then stripped it of its batter and ate it with my steak. It was very good and I would have eaten all of them had I not been trying to be leaner tonight.

Bridget had some sort of asian flavored salad with steak strips. It was pretty good. It had noodles and some veggies. I had one bite, thought is was good and went back to savoring my steak.

We wavered on dessert or not. I caved and felt bad about it afterwards. We both thought our selections were ok, but not great. Bridget has some banana cake, chocolate mousse and vanilla ice cream deal.

I ended up with a molten chocolate cake and vanilla ice cream thing. It was ok, but not worth the guilt I felt eating it.

Overall, I thought that the place had good value. We ate for about 30 per person, not including tip. It was probably worth it.

Food: B+
Value: B
Service: B
Overall: B

I would go back if I wanted something more than a Chili's/Olive Garden or whatever restaurant, but didn't want to pay for something like, the Ringside, Morton's or the similar ilk. I think part of the reason I didn't enjoy it more was that I was trying to thread the line between total gluttony and healthiness. What happens is that you get neither and aren't really satisfied either--I didn't eat healthy enough to feel good about my willpower, but neither did I let it go enough to enjoy the food like I would have liked to. I ended up not totally satisfied and that is not the restaurant's fault. I will say that eating light is not exactly easy at the Oswego Grill.

191.8

2009-09-03T09:10:00.000-07:00

Thanks to cross practice and a good couple of days, I hit a new recent low. I haven't been this weight since around Christmas. The thing is I still feel heavy. 6.8 lbs to hit my goal weight.

Cross Practice

2009-09-02T21:03:00.000-07:00

Lungs: 90% back to normal. The last couple of weeks it had really hurt me.

Legs: meh. Still not as much power as I would like. Not by a longshot.

Handling: Better, much better than before. Getting used to the bike still after a long season or two of riding 95% or more on the road. It felt good to pass a couple of guys while weaving through the trees. However, one of the guys just passed me again on the straight section like I was standing still.

Attitude: Pretty darn good actually. I slightly dreaded going out there tonight, but I did better than I thought. I realize the pain and discomfort are friends. Without them I am not getting better.

Overall: Feeling better. Feeling stronger. Still at or near the back, so no worries there. I consider who I am I riding with and it doesn't bug me for the most part.

Weight update: Still about the same. I had a couple of ugly days, but I am hoping for a new low tomorrow of something under 193.

Other News: I expect that the Cernitz SS Cross frame, "Buttercup" will be ready early to mid October. I ordered tubes this week for my Voodoo Wazoo commuter bike replacement also to be fabricated by Cernitz. Its name is "The Mule." Slightly heavier tubes. Disc brake only. Fender Friendly. Geared Friendly, but to be build SS for now. I suspect it will weigh about 3/4 of a pound more than Buttercup with the same geometry. I don't know what Buttercup will weigh, but it shouldn't be much more than my Curtlo steel geared cross frame which weighs 3.55 lbs.