Charlie rides a bike

The Plan

2012-01-30T06:34:00.002-05:00

Monte had made notice; he was a bachelor for the weekend and willing to travel. Perfect opportunity to show him some of the best trails in CT.
The sensible thing to do would be have a nice leisurely spin on Saturday and save some matches for Monte's tour on Sunday.

But Neal was riding Case.

Must resist...

urge too strong...

After a crumby night of sleep and not committing to it until 1/2 hour before ETD I found myself in the truck heading over the river. Of course this was after the frantic scramble that usually accompanies such last minute decisions.
Neal had planned an early start so the trails would be firm.
He also planned on making it count.
Case drains well, but after a 1/2 foot of snow a week ago, and rain Thursday to Friday it was hard to believe how good the conditions were. I know my local haunt would have been one big soup bowl. Only on the second lap of the new trails in the deforested section did things turn a little soft and slick. Everything else; solid as a rock.

Sunday Sunday Sunday!

After the mad dash to make it to the ride on Saturday I had everything laid out for me. I was so on time I even stopped at the bank. But as I drove up to Nassahegan I was noticing more and more snow on people's lawns.
Snow?
After mild temps reaching into the fifties all week?

James, Josh and Monte were waiting for me in an icy parking lot.
Maybe there'd be less snow in the woods.

Nope.

Not only was there still snow, there were frozen ruts from people riding in the snow and the flowing singletrack I was so excited to show was a luge run.
After less than 2 miles we decided sliding around pontooning across ice wasn't going to be fun.

We could go to the res and do a TdT, but who knows if there was snow and ice on the Northern sections of it?

We went for the sure thing.
Back in the truck and heading over the river to Case.
About 30% of the time I wasn't sure we were going the right way, but we had time to make it work and hit some good stuff. Made it back to the trail head as everyone was just about to run out of food and water.

This is what it's all about; great rides with good friends having fun.
(so much fun there was no time to take pictures; I tried once but those fookers were too quick for me to get a shot off)

Cheap Fooker!

2012-01-26T21:15:00.000-05:00

Is it me or has bike racing gotten really expensive?

It looks like your standard XC race is still about $25-$35, but anything longer seems to be astronomical.
I skipped doing a road race with my team because it was $80 and I didn't want to use up that much of the budget on a secondary interest.
Well it looks like if I want to do any longer format races I better get ready to sell some blood.

Hampshire 100 = $100
Pat's Peak is $80-$140 depending on how many hours you choose to race.
Darkhorse 40 is $75
and VT50 is $125

Iron Cross is a veritable bargain at only $60.

It seems the dollar goes further in PA as there are some 50 milers there for only $60 as well.

Is it just what the market will bare, or does it really cost that much more to run these longer events?

I'm off to roll pennies and collect some cans.

Geeking Out w/ Metrics

2012-01-25T19:02:00.000-05:00

I was reading Friel's Total Heart Rate Training last night. In it he discusses a way of quantifying workload call TRIMP.
Basically you multiply the minutes you spend in each zone by that zone, add the numbers together and Viola! You've got your TRIMP.
Any chance to play with numbers is a good time in my book so I started looking back through workouts where I wore a HRM.
First thing I found is I didn't wear a HRM very much last year.
But here are a few of my results. I also includes Strava's "Suffer Score" as a comparison.

On a snowy ride over the weekend my TRIMP was 308, Suffer Score (SS) was 93
One of my first hard efforts of the year TRIMP=471, SS=135
LSD ride TRIMP=593, SS=140
another LSD ride TRIMP=530, SS=122
and at a mtb race, Hodges Village Dam, TRIMP=521, SS=201

The thing that just doesn't jive for me is the value the LSD rides hold. How do they have the highest value, when afterwards once I've had something to eat I'm pretty much good to go?

I've always felt Strava shafts mtb rides by using a speed metric in their equation, but at least they rate a race effort higher than a ride out to Red Riding Hood's Basket for treats. Still 2 1/2 hours in the snow, or 2 3/4 hours of hills on the fixed gear take a lot more out of me than LSD.

Right about now is when I'm expecting Mookie to chime in telling me to get a powermeter. Maybe I should be thankful I don't have the fiscal liquidity to make such an investment.

2012-01-23T05:48:00.000-05:00

Playing in the snow is fun.

But it can be hard work.

That's all I got.

It got a couple few inches deeper, but by Sunday the trails were seeing a good amount of traffic, and when it was virgin snow, it was too nice to stop and take a picture.

New sealed cables on Mary Jane. I don't know if the flawless shifting helped or not in the snow (as apposed to SS)

Wait!!!

I just remembered, checkout how sick Blu.2 looks with the Waltworks fork!

Damn Cell Phones!

2012-01-20T06:09:00.000-05:00

No some idiot didn't almost hit me talking on the phone; the idiot who almost hit me didn't have any excuse other than being an idiot.

I had to pick up LB from school midday.
Of course my first thought was this was an excellent excuse to get in some riding; hardly worth driving back to work for just a couple hours. Right?
But then a customer called and needed me to fax them some information.
I'll ride back to work, send the faxes, then ride until dark!

I figured I'd do something like this.

Well, as I'm getting close to the shop my phone starts going off.
Mrs CB2 wants to know if I'm meeting the bus for QB.

The thought of pretending I had my phone on "silent" and carrying on my merry way crossed my mind.

But the conscious got the better of me.
Instead of one last LSD before the snow, I tried to make up for time and mileage and jumped the gun on intensity a bit.
Oops.

Questions; I want answers

2012-01-18T20:50:00.003-05:00

Can a "steel is real" kind of guy be happy on a carbon bike?
Or someone with a penchant for rigid singlespeeds find joy on a geared hardtail?
Have carbon frames improved in the decade plus since I owned one?
Maybe most importantly what is the right tool for the job in 2012?

Foundry Cycles might have the answers to all these questions.
Foundry is looking for 5 individuals to campaign their bikes this season.
If you're chosen, you even get to choose which type of bike they'll provide you to race.

Race, report, repeat it says.
I like that.

I like their philosophy too:

It's a Tool - Not a Trophy

Foundry believes that a bike is a tool, a means to an end – not a trophy. It's about producing purpose built high-performance carbon bicycles that aren't traveling billboards – they're understated, they're cool, they're anti-pretentious, and they're meant to be ridden.

Sounds like my kinda bike!

For me, the Router would be the obvious choice, seeing as I mostly race the mtb.

But I've gotta say the Auger Disc CX bike is pretty dang sexy, in a stealthy brute kind of way.

So let's not beat around the bush here, just in case I've been too subtle up to this point:

I want to race a Router this year. I'd like to see if I can up my game in the ultra competitive Cat1 40-49 class, as well as try my hand at longer 40-100 mile races where having a carbon frame, gears and a squishy fork may hold fatigue at bay a little better than steel on steel. Could Foundry have the right tool for the job? I want to find out.

2012-01-18T06:02:00.000-05:00

Don't you hate when you get the theme to "Alice" stuck in your head?

One of the occupational hazards of riding w/o earbuds.

Usually the sound track in my head cooperates pretty well.
Sometimes though, it doesn't play nice.

Small price to pay for not being completely oblivious to the world around me.

2012-01-17T08:33:00.000-05:00

I was psyched.
The trails would be frozen solid, yet the temps had climbed into the mid 20s °F.
I had planned my day right, and I would be finished early enough to hit the CB1 Birthday climb in honor of CB1's birthday.
Then horror came over me; did I forget a jacket?
Yes, but fortunately I had both my team wind breaker, and the ironic Rockshox windbreaker in the truck.

In the bathroom changing, standing in legwarmers and a heartrate strap, very S&M looking, I reach into my bag and pull out a jersey, then a polypro t-shirt, and then another jersey.
Then a sock.
No shorts.
I must have mistaken the black jersey for shorts when I was packing my bag.
I didn't even have my phone with me to take pictures for a fetish magazine.

At least that freed me up for a few hours of frustration working on training spreadsheets (excel is new to me).

Cold

2012-01-16T06:29:00.000-05:00

Saturday was in the upper twenties (*F). Sunday never made it out of the teens. Even so, I don't think I was anymore (or less) uncomfortable either day.

Saturday was about double the riding time, but only about a third more exposure being I was riding solo.
Lovely 63 mile (that 100k if you want to get all euro and the likes) fixed gear jaunt out to Red Riding hood's Basket in Southwick, MA.
It was good.

Real good.

Good enough to want to move.
It doesn't hurt that its at the end of the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail.
Hot cocoa steamed with the espresso maker and a chocolate chip scone. I now see why CB1 makes this trip so often.
Just what I needed for the 50k ride home (there I go, all euro again).

Sunday was an exercise in dressing right.
polypro long-sleeved t-shirt, leg warmers, bib shorts, micro fleece jersey, tights with wind-stopper fronts, Rox skull cap, Lake Winter boots and the greatest jacket ever made.
My Santini windstopper jacket. So warm. So lightweight. I feels like I won the lottery every time I wear it.
Properly attired, the only time I felt the single to low double digit temps was when we rode out of the shelter of the trees and headed into the wind on the powerlines.
No delightful treats mid ride (even if there was a cafe on the Shenipsit Trail, I had left my wallet at home), but a great group of hearty souls to brave the elements with (it really wasn't bad).

Game Changer?

2012-01-13T06:10:00.002-05:00

I drove Mrs. CB2's car to work yesterday.
Because the battery had been complete drained the computer was starting from square one.
The radio also didn't work needing some special code after being deprived of DC, so the electronic Swedish bean counter on the dash was my only entertainment.

50% better gas mileage than my truck.

That included waiting in traffic because the signal lights on Park Rd were out, going on a delivery on top of a giant freakin' hill, letting the car run for fear the battery wasn't charging, and going to the bank. In other words a lower percentage of highway miles than usual.

I knew it would be better, but from the numbers Mrs. CB2 usually gets I was expecting along the lines of a 20% improvement.

Guess all the city driving and her lead foot are at work here.

If I was driving the Volvo I would have only save $317 dollars in gasoline last year.

As business has declined I need the trucks capacity less and less. I still have the van for big loads, and honestly I can't fit much more in the F150 than I could in my old Ranger, which actually doesn't have that much more capacity than the Volvo.

Maybe I should drive the Volvo but commute by bike 50% more?

Waltworks

2012-01-12T10:37:00.000-05:00

This post is somewhat redundant, because my initial impressions still hold true. But I like to hear me talk so...

I like presents.
I like steel forks.
As a reward for a hard fought second place overall in the Root 66 Series Cat1 Singlespeed class I thought I'd take my winnings and buy myself a new fork.
The carbon fork it was replacing had served me well, but was starting to make the occasional ominous creak, so this was as good a time as any to upgrade.
I contacted Walt, about what I was looking for in a fork, and my riding style. I gave him all the pertinent information such as my weight, and the geometry of my current bike and fork.
He said "No problemo". Actually he just said "I can build you a fork like that".

I sent him a deposit...and then noticed the "fork disclaimer" on his wait list.
He was out of steerers, and wasn't sure when he'd be getting more, so the usual 6-8 week lead time might not be applicable.
At first this was crushing, but the weeks went by and I really didn't mind the wait (too much). It actually gave me a chance to tweak the numbers a bit (I added 5mm to the a/c and 5mm more of rake).

12 weeks later my fork arrived.
It was beautiful.
After riding it for over a month, I'm happy to say it rides as good as it looks.
Flexes enough to take the edge off, but not enough to produce brake chatter. Stiff enough to be carvolicious descending. It's actually rides too good to be on a geared bike, so which ever bike I campaign all SS and the like will be sporting the Waltworks.

Is it worth the money?
Yes*.
It is worth every cent of the $290 I spent on it (that includes shipping).

*The purchase was based on paying for it in part with the winnings from the Root66 series overall awards. At this point those funds are still yet to be received. Had I known it would be all out of pocket, I'd probably not made the purchase at this time, but I'm glad I did.

Reds

2012-01-11T05:28:00.001-05:00

In a highly scientific study it was determined (by me) that people who drive red vehicles are the worst.

Doesn't matter the make or model, if it's red, watch out!

On Saturday to pass the time on a LSD ride I came up with a game called "Who's a Crappy Driver" and these were my findings.
The worst offender was a piece-o-crap Chevy S10 pick-em-up truck. Pulled out and almost smashed me into a ditch.
Next was a swervy Toyota Corrolla; it's one thing to swerve over the yellow to pass me, but to swerve over the white?
Finally to prove my theory, a was buzzed by a Ferrari 599, showing it doesn't matter how fancy your car is you're still a dick.

On the ride home this evening my theory was further confirmed when I almost swapped paint with a Ford Escape, and it was a four lane road!

But there is hope! As I was marveling at how well a young lady in a non-descript grey sedan passed me, giving me 3' yet not crossing the yellow, I noticed a sign on the rear of her car:

"Canton High School Drivers Ed"

On a final note, the dead weight at the bottom of the reading list is going to be jettisoned if not updated by the end of the week.

First commute of the year

2012-01-10T08:15:00.000-05:00

I planned for this.
The night before I got my ID, key, and phone together.
I had put my fully charged batteries and lights on my bike.
Sort of laid out my clothes.
Went to bed early.

Then...

as I wheeled my bike out of the basement one of my lights popped off. Minor set back, just put everything down and pry the o-rings back around the bar.

Where are my gloves?
I wore them Sunday riding but they aren't with my riding stuff.
Had yet another pair of gloves been swallowed by the black hole which is my house?
After 15 minutes of digging I found them. They weren't with the skating stuff (remember Activity I), but somehow in the box-o-boots?

Get outside, and we're ready to go.
But only one light is working? Oh yeah it must have come loose when it fell off the bar. Some pulling and pushing and it's back on line.

A couple miles in, on the darkest stretch of road I realize although I have both headlights shinning bright, I never turned on my tail lights.
A quick illuminating stop and we're off again.

As I pass UConn I'm hearing pft, pft, pft. One of my booties is coming undone.
Seriously?
I wait until I pull off RT4, to pull over and fix it.

Okay, now we're moving....
and speaking of movement....now I've got to poop!

At least it wasn't raining.

Parenting 101

2012-01-08T22:24:00.001-05:00

I am a cyclist, but first and foremost I am a father.
As such waiting for the day to warm up before I ride is not always an option. I know many of you face the same situation. You must get up and out before the machine which is a family begins to fully get up to speed.
You must carefully orchestrate your day finding ways to engage and enrich your children's little lives.

Today was an example of achieving that balance.

Ride
Family Activity I
Family Activity II
(oh activity II was good!)

and the pièce de résistance,
lovingly kicking my children out of the house so they could bond with one another doing yard work for an hour while daddy watched the Nationals in peace.

Watch more video of USA Cyclocross National Championships 2012 on cyclingdirt.org

The Pride of Niantic finally brings it home!

Perfect

2012-01-05T20:14:00.000-05:00

The stars aligned.
The resin (work stuff) would be arriving in the morning.
Traffic cooperated.
It was in the mid 30s F, and I had an hour-ish of something resembling daylight.

Regardless of how mild the air temperature was the trails were still frozen; solid as a rock.

I wanted to find an Arrested Development video of "Solid as Iraq", got distracted, so now I give you this:

Anyhoo...
Trails were like a skate park. Too much fun.
I'm almost dreading the predicted warm up this weekend.
Somehow though, I will persevere...

If I do manage to survive the expected hellish upper 40s I'll have a couple of product reviews for you next week.
Oh boy!
Anticipation!

A Singlespeed Kinda Day

2011-12-29T17:23:00.000-05:00

The temperature went down to the twenties and stayed there for one of the first times this Winter last night. The ground was frozen solid. Perfect day for a singlespeed hammerfest!
Rolled Blü.2 out the driveway and as I merged onto the road I gave the brakes a little pull...and the rear brake lever went to the bar.
As I was all set to ride, in no mood to bleed the brakes, and Mary Jane was all set to go, I guess gears wouldn't be all that bad today.
Once I crossed the levee, where all the rain we got the other night hadn't completely frozen I was reminded why singlespeeds are so awesome. I tried to shift to a bigger gear, and nothing happened.
Mary Jane has exposed cables which freeze up with frozen mud leaving you in a gear you don't want to be in.
That's one of the paradoxes of the Swift; the Phil Wood ebb makes it an awesome singlespeed, but it also has mounts to cleanly run full cable housings.
It seems a waste to not utilize the ebb by making Blü.2 a 1x8, but I hate the half-assed look of zip-tying housings to a frame in a way that it wasn't designed like I would have to in running full cable-housings on Mary Jane.
What's a guy to do?

2011-12-28T15:17:00.000-05:00

It was the right thing to do.
The trails would be muddy from all the rain last night, and the roads were still damp.
With the wind riding fixed might not have been the smartest thing, but the Fun Machine has fenders, and Fast Eddy had me all revved up about the Golden Years of bikes and the like.
It was just windy and drizzly enough to let let me pretend I was some sort of "Hardman", yet warm enough to remind me I wasn't (42 °F).
I was on the bike path about 40 miles into it at lunch time. The bike path right behind the commercial district of Simsbury. You know where the pizza joints and bakeries are.
Should have stopped, but couldn't decide if I wanted greasy Greek pizza (even if it was cut in squares), or apple pie with espresso. I could get both, but that would have made the remainder of my ride rather, ah, uncomfortable.
As I got back to town I realized it would be about 61 miles total. That's just too close to a metric not to ride a metric, so I zigged instead of zagging and ended up with 63.
Now where can I get some pie?

nature break at McLean Game Refuge

the bike path if perfect for Winter miles

New Verb

2011-12-27T07:59:00.000-05:00

har·mo·nize (härm-nz)
v. har·mo·nized, har·mo·niz·ing, har·mo·niz·es
v.tr.
1. To bring or come into agreement or harmony. See Synonyms at agree.
2. Music To provide harmony for (a melody).
v.intr.
1. To be in agreement; be harmonious.
2. Music To sing or play in harmony.
harmo·ni·zation (-n-zshn) n.
3. To ride a technical section repeatedly until you clean it

"I'll ride this rock garden until I harmonize it".

Feliz Navidad!

2011-12-23T07:53:00.001-05:00

I don't know if it's Santa riding a bike or the eurotrash electronic backbeat but I'm infected!
Where's my cowbell?!

Last Commute of the year

2011-12-22T07:56:00.000-05:00

Today was probably the last commute by bicycle to work this year. Savings on gas grand total of $476.53. Sadly I do not have an extra $476.53 burning a hole in my pocket now.
I decided to just keep track of the savings in gas mostly for the of ease of calculation. At first I thought maybe the extra food I ate on commute days would compensate for the other auto-related expenses I wasn't counting. But it soon became obvious that I eat just as much on non-commute days.

Now if I did have an extra $476.53 what would I buy?
Used Powertap wheel?

Stan's Alpha 340 rims?

75 loaves of bread

and
60 jars of Nutella?

Congratulations James!!!!

2011-12-19T08:06:00.001-05:00

"James Harmon, you just won the New England Regional Cyclocross Championships Singlespeed class what are you going to do now, go to Disneyland?"

"No, I'm going to crush you and Neal on a TdT!"

James is my first "client" as a coach.
More of a guinea pig if you will.
Right now we are really looking forward to 2012 and James' mountain bike ambitions. But all that is sort of on hold as he finishes up his cross season. A cross season that has seen him get stronger and stronger each week.
We're aiming to keep that momentum rolling another 4 weeks through Worlds (then I'm going to hide his bikes for a little while).

2011-12-16T05:48:00.000-05:00

Laying in bed it seemed awfully windy to commute in this morning, doesn't sound as bad right now...

Anyhoo
I was thinking...
I've always wanted to have some sort of Happy Funtime Mountain Bike sort of Competition. I think I figure out what I want to do.
Most people have Boxing Day off. Even my tool of a boss isn't requiring me to work.
So I was thinking I would go to the Res, and hide a bunch of tokens, probably poker chips along my Kitchen Sink Loop. Everyone would meet at the lot, put $5 into a hat, and go search for tokens. We would then meet back at McLadden's at 1:00 PM, where the person with the most tokens would win the pot*. If there is a tie there will be a written exam tie breaker. If that's a tie, arm wrestle for it.

Interested?

*Winner buys the first round

Respect My A-Thor-A-Tay!

2011-12-15T07:38:00.002-05:00

I passed the tests (that includes a criminal background check; they never saw the moustache), and USAC cashed the check so I'm an "official" USAC certified coach.
Now if you listen to me babble about the superiorities of Snickers over a Milky Way I can charge you.
Sweet!

2011-12-14T08:24:00.001-05:00

I think it's ironic on the day that I'm so psyched about going all dual beam up front that a woman pulls up to me at a stop light and tells me she almost hit me and I need to be more visible.
I say "thank you", and she says "I'm not trying to be mean I just had a hard time seeing you".
Again I thank her, and when the light changes we head our separate ways.

My first thought is "I have two red taillights, and two headlights and you have a hard time seeing me?" But I soon except the reality that if I'm hard to see by anyone (no matter what I think) I could be dead.
I hate the Dead.

So as I ride along I ponder how am I hard to see? No I don't have any reflective tape on my bike, and I should probably (definitely) change that, but the Planet Bike Blinky 7 is a freakin' beacon. Rudolph ain't got nothin' on that bad boy...when the batteries aren't dead or dying.

I've been running it in "constant on mode" because of some internet wisdom that it is more visible that way. I guess that wears those little AAAs out right quick. I believe I picked up this light in August after my old tail light was jettisoned on some of Crazytown's finest roads.

Guess I'll have to run it all blinky or be more vigilant about changing the batteries every 3 months.

Sandbagging douche-baggery

2011-12-12T05:58:00.006-05:00

Never have I felt like more of a sandbagging douche bag than I did today.

I had no intentions of racing cross this season, so when the Harmonizer coyly suggested we race DAS Beer Cross, and then hit up Case Mountain for some mtb fun I found myself at something of a loss at my acceptance of the idea.

To keep things simple I figured I'd just race it on Blü.2; that way I'd just need to do a quick cog change and I'd be ready for Case.

I had zero expectations; the race was just something to do before a mountain bike ride.
4 people had pre-registered for the singlespeed race. I figured since it cost less to sign up at the race, than on bikereg there would be a bigger turn out.

Nope.

To make it even worse one of the people who pre-registered decided he had enough and was skipping the race.
On the line the organizer asked if we just wanted to do laps. He suggested 4. Someone suggested 3. He looked at me and asked "what, do you want to do more?"
Well, yeah, 4 laps seems kind of short.
He then proclaimed "This guy probably wants to do 8" (that would be better).
We settled on 5.

By the first sand pit I knew I was in the wrong race.

The course was really fun and mountain bike-y.
Being on a mountain bike was a huge advantage on this particular course. The sand pit was easily rideable, the singletrack was, well, singletrack, so of course the mtb was awesome. There were two barriers; one I had to run, the other was an easy bunny hop. The final obstacle was a hill run up in the woods. Best way to tackle it was get up a head of speed, blast up it as high as momentum would carry you, jump off and run the remainder.

I finished the race in about 29 minutes (it was listed as a 45 minute race) and as the leaders of the "A" race begun to lap me on my last lap I was making a point to stay out of the way.

So on the finish line when the promoter gave me my prizes, did I graciously hand them to the guy who came in second?
Are you freakin' nuts?!
If there is one way to pacify Mrs. CB2 to the challenges of being married to a bike racer it's to bring her home presents. Presents such as beer.

James got 2nd in the "A" race and also brang home a sixer (he got 2nd in Manchester on Saturday too; Yay James!).

Special shout out to the King for having the tool I forgot to pack to change my cog!
Case would have sucked with a 60" gear.

Case was fun too, although I did get us a little lost.
A great day on bikes!

This is going to SUCK!

2011-12-09T17:02:00.000-05:00

Some how James convinced me to race DAS Beer Cross on Sunday.
I thought I said I wasn't racing cross this year?
I don't drink beer and have been doing long slow rides hand in hand with handsome boys from the Farmington Valley.

Fook me.

Birthday Month

2011-12-05T08:29:00.001-05:00

I find a mere day far too short for celebrating all that is me and my circling of the Sun another revolution, so I've taken to celebrating a Birthday Month.

Being so close to the beginning of the month it is good to kick it off with a bang and then bathe in the warm after glow until we celebrate some Jewish guy's birthday near the end of the month.

Neal captured me riding a geriatric width "skinny"

As enamoured as I am with my Waltworks fork, I had to ride Blü.2; riding gears would seem just so wrong on my birthday.

Keep it up and you'll end up riding on a bike down by the river!

Sunday I kept the party going by joining the Benidorm boys for about as flat a metric as you could possibly ride around here.

<p>&amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Now &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;gt;</p>

The fun part now is keeping it rolling along for the next 26 days!

2011-12-02T06:25:00.000-05:00

Today it was time to give the Waltworks fork a real test:
Case MT.
The Res is rocky and all, but being my home court the rocks are sort of like family.
Case I guess is more like a second cousin; maybe see them (it) a couple few times a year, have a general idea of who (what) I'm looking at, but still not intimate with (which in the case of second cousins would be very wrong).
How'd it perform.
Perfect.
I'd like to think that my slightly custom dimensions had something to do with that, but for all I know Walt could have just tacked together a "stock" fork (I guess I could measure it but I have no reason to doubt, and since it's perfect who cares?). Probably his tube selection and design are the main contributors to the ride.
For those who've never been, this is Case.

Got it!

2011-12-01T05:53:00.001-05:00

After 12 weeks my new Waltworks fork finally came in.
Worth the wait?
My initial impression is a resounding yes.

When I sent in the deposit, I had missed Walt's disclaimer that he was waiting on fork steerers, and the usual 6-8 week leadtime might not apply. That was probably good because I'm usually not that patient and more than likely would have done something else. Being such an awesome time of year to ride the weeks flew by. After my first ride I'm pretty happy I didn't go another route.

When you decide to have Walt build you a fork, you give him you weight, riding style, your current fork's dimensions, what your looking for in a fork, and if you're feeling particularly plucky, the actual dimensions you want him to build the fork.
The Plastic Fantastic worked pretty good on Mary Jane so I suggested those dimensions. What I was after was a fork that felt as good as my Singular's, was a little lighter, without any brake chatter (brake chatter isn't an issue with the Singular, it was on the original KM fork, and I didn't want to make a sacrifice just to save a few grams), and would work with the Karate Monkey's geometry.
At week #8, I change the dimensions to 5mm longer, with 5mm more offset than
El Cheapo Carbonito to try and make it more like the Singular, yet still be compatible with MJ.

After a little Fedex delivery-teasing it arrived yesterday.

As of right now it is perfect.
It steers directly, yet has enough flex to effectively offer some vibration damping, without any brake chatter. I found myself letting go of the brakes and just letting the wheels "run" on rocky descents. On flatter rooty sections I was more effectively able to stay on the power and pedal through them. It is almost too good to be on a bike with gears.

The finish is well done, however Walt used quarters to cap the fork blades which just look lumpy under the powdercoating. If there was some way to neatly strip the coating to expose Good Ol' George, that would look pretty cool.

Unfortunately I sort of put the donkey in front of the cart. The fork was a "way to go Charlie" present for finishing second overall in the Root66 Cat1 singlespeed class. I was planning on using the prize money to pay for a portion of the fork. Almost 3 months since the last race still no payout.

look Ma, no lawyer tabs!

Thank You!

2011-11-30T07:48:00.000-05:00

November is coming to an end and with that so is Movember.
I sincerely want to thank everyone who has contributed to the cause; you have far exceeded my expectations.
But if you still haven't contributed go ahead, do it, all the cool kids are doing it.

Now as a thank you to you I give you the many faces of Mo

Thank god Novembers over.
Next year it's someone else's turn.

Long weekend of Thanks

2011-11-28T06:19:00.001-05:00

Neal planned a sunrise Ride of Thanks. Half the guys were on rigid singlespeeds, the other half on geared hardtails. The Harmonizer took it upon himself to ride to the ride with a 48" gear. Not exactly ideal for the road ( 100rpm = 14.5 mph, 34 miles of tarmac).

I was thankful for Neal's donuts

Tradition fire on the beach scheduled from 3:01-3:36 PM

Thankfully JEB is a crafty good baker

The Tofurkey Burner

If you look closely at the picture of a guy taking a picture you'll notice 2 GIRLS! The Tofurkey Burner started off with 12 riders. The ladies were amongst the 7 that went the distance.

Back to the Nass w/ James
(and where were you?)

we started with arm and leg warmers, but were down to just shorts and jerseys by half way

Oooh, scary!
What is truly scary is how many people actually hunt in Nassahegon when it is so close to residential and widely used by hikers, bikers, and runners.

Home-made fuel

and now for something completely different...

Team Createx / Benidorm
"Super Largo" ride

2011-11-23T06:07:00.000-05:00

At work I'm trying to wrap some things up before the holiday. In fact I need to because a customer needs it done before they leave the state for 4 months on Saturday.
I was planning on doing the installation yesterday, but a spray system malfunction left me scrambling.
I'd have to do the install on Wednesday, but that might free up some time to ride Tuesday night.
As I'm about to head out the phone rings.

"what time are you going to be there 'til?"

A customer is a customer so I tell him my regular closing time.
That's okay, I can get some longer rides in over the holiday.

15 minutes before closing time the phone rings (the only time it rings since the afore mentioned call)

"I can't make it down today, It'll have to be next week"

Pulled back

2011-11-22T06:30:00.000-05:00

I thought I had an out.
Fund raising was not going very well. If no one stepped up I could quietly shave this "thing" and slink into the woodwork.
But no, a few of you couldn't resist having me wear this "thing" until the end of the month.
It's funny though, I've noticed some women are more flirty. Maybe subconsciously they feel they need to be nice to me so I don't murder them?!
Another thing I've noticed is a lot more people have commented about Movember than have donated.
Dig deep.

Half Way

2011-11-15T06:12:00.001-05:00

This "thing" is taking on a life of it's own.
I almost ran a red light because I was distracted by a lovely Latina waiting for the bus, I'm ringing my bell at pretty women, and going into the bank for face time with the tellers.
What's next?

Am I going to have to buy a bunch of turtlenecks?

I was close to shaving it off but Neal, Fabian and Jay stepped up to the plate making me committed to riding this thing out (moustache ride?).

You too can help support male cancer research by going here and making a donation.
Pretty please with sugar on top?

A real ride

2011-11-14T05:36:00.001-05:00

Today Blü.2 got a true test of her mettle.
Nassahegon.

For those not in the know, Nassahegon is some of the best riding in the state. Super twisty, flowing, great climbs (for CT), some rocks (and then some more rocks). When you think of classic New England singletrack, that is the Nass.

The trail gnomes had been hard at work out in Burlington cleaning up the wrath of Albert, and other than some heavy leaf coverage the trails were good to go (for the most part).

I don't know if it was the headwind commuting to work on Saturday, or the installation I did on Friday, but my legs were toast. I really wanted to ride Mary Jane set up as a 1x8. But then I remembered the last time I rode gears at the Nass after a storm.

With the tight twisties, I was really appreciating the sharpness of Blü.2's handling. She really carved the corners. The quickness actually is something that I'm going to have to adjust to when the trail turns down, and keep my weight back a little more.

On the uphill side of things, the lower front makes her quite a nimble climber.

We were only riding for a couple of hours, but the constant switchbacks made it seem like longer, but in a good way. Like shoving 3 hours of fun in to 2.

The size of our group and the nature of the trails, we'd appear to all be heading a different direction when looking down the trail. Here we appear to be just standing around in the woods.

Mookie wins the prize for actually riding the whole climb we're standing atop.

Things beyond Blü.2's control even worked out for the best. I only pulled my feet out of the pedals when I was doing something truly stoopid, and my brakes were silent when dry, which is good enough for me.

Aint no Candy Mountain

2011-11-11T07:23:00.000-05:00

As lovely as Blü.2's maiden voyage was, all was not paradise on the ride.
Two issue kept on rearing their ugly heads to distract me from the ride.
First and most annoying: I fouled my brake pads bleeding the brakes. Hayes recommends removing them when you bleed the brakes, I never have, but this time I guess I should have.
Screaming Banshees!
Everytime I thought I had burned off the contamination the squeal would come back.
You guys are gonna love me on Sunday (no pads "in stock").

Second issue: Pedals. Or maybe cleats. First my left shoe wouldn't stay clipped in, and then both of them. I had been last using these pedals on a 1x8 setup and hadn't noticed a problem, but with the way you ride SS I guess you're more likely to pull a foot out.

I hope it's just the cleats. Time and time again, I'll get pissed off with Crank Brothers, swear I'll never use them again and switch back to Time. I was lured in by their latest redesign replacing the bushing with a needle bearing. Ironically I just had to overhaul the right one (less than a year old) because the needle bearing exploded.
They are the best in snow, which will soon be an unfortunate reality.
I wish Time's were lighter or the lighter ones were cheaper.

That got a little rambly.

Blü.2

2011-11-10T09:34:00.002-05:00

After a somewhat tumultuous build (cut the brake line, bleed the brakes, go for test ride, brake line pops off, re-cut brake line, re-bleed brakes, cross fingers...) Blü.2 was ready for her maiden voyage.

The differences between my original Swift, Blüsteel, and Blü.2 are subtle, yet to ME significant.

One of the things I loved about Blüsteel was the fork, but one of the things I wasn't crazy about was the height of the front end, due in part to the length of the fork. I'm sure some might prefer the more upright position afforded by the higher front end. I did get used to it and think I did fairly well with it, but I could never get into my ideal just right position (I would browse for stems, but never went on a crazy stem hunt looking for some -17° unit).

Now I'm sure in an effort to appease ME, Sam did a minor rehash of the numbers, shortened the fork to 470mm a/c, reduced the rake to 45mm (from 48mm; Sam's always been ahead of the curve), and slackened the head angle slightly to accommodate.
Plus he gave it sexy new chainstays:

So what are the effects of these changes:
Charlie Likey!!!
The bike fit much more naturally to me, balancing my weight even better than before. The lower front end puts me in a more aggressive position to more actively drive the bike.
In the back of my mind I was a little concerned that the shorter fork would A. not be as compliant, and B. reduce the "mad skillz" I could sometimes (rarely)conjure on Blüsteel..
Nope.
Better handling, as compliant, and same "Charlie level"* mad skillz.

I always thought the perfect bike for ME would be if Blüsteel banged Mary Jane and had a love child.
Blü.2 is about as close to that as I think you can get.

Lower more aggressive position
great Phil Wood ebb
faster yet not twitchy handling
Classic style and design

Win-Win-Win.

Here's one last blurry camera phone shot, just cuz..

*mad skillz for me, a XC rider who has to go to work the next day

It's like this:

2011-11-08T07:20:00.000-05:00

Here's the stats on my Movember Fund raising campaign.
Dollars raised:
$10.
Donors:
Marble Design.
aka ME

So it's going to work like this; if you want me to keep growing this "thing", looking ever more ridiculous by the hour you had better pony up some cash.

OR if you really care about Mrs CB2, you can make a donation with a message to that effect and I'll shave "it" off.

Vote with your wallet: Charlie looking foolish, or Mrs CB2 not embarrassed (less embarrassed) to be seen in public with me.

Sunday

2011-11-06T19:02:00.000-05:00

Neal and I went for a "ride" on Sunday.

We saw a lot of this:

Did a lot of this:

while our bikes did a lot of this:

With all the trail work, what would usually been an under 1:30 ride took us over 4:30 to complete.
Probably would have been a bit quicker if the group of riders coming from the West side had cleared one single twig off the trail (they were crossing the levee as we finished the East side).

420

2011-11-04T07:44:00.001-04:00

I've just saved over $420 in gas so far this year.

420!

teehee!

I don't even partake, and that always cracks me up.
Little things are big to Charlie...

Movember

2011-11-01T07:58:00.003-04:00

September is National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, but being guys it takes us a while to getting around to doing anything about it. So on the great "honey do" list of Cancer awareness it is now Movember.

Clean shaven gents across the world will let their upper lip get fuzzy to raise awareness and hopefully funds in the fight against Prostate Cancer.

Soup strainers for a cure?

I have never been a fan of the moustache. This probably goes back to when was 15 and saw The Scorpions open for Rainbow at the New Haven Coliseum. We had floor seats, and there was a guy wearing a baseball shirt with an iron on saying "free moustache rides" in the row in front of me,
Eww.

So my dedication to the cause should be evident (or I'm looking for an excuse to not shave for a month).

If you'd like to help me raise funds to help the fight you can do so here.

"They" say that if you live long enough (and you've got a prostate), you'll get prostate cancer. Let's work together to find a cure.

Day 1

Noooooo!!!!!!!!!!

2011-10-30T17:29:00.000-04:00

I can only imagine what the woods are like.

I'm glad Neal and I were able to sneak another one in.

This was on Mary Jane with gears. It also was about the fastest TdT type ride on record (didn't hurt having Neal drag my ass @ +20mph for the the last 2miles home).

Twisted

2011-10-26T06:42:00.001-04:00

After Irene's wrath sent a derailleur into the spokes of Blusteel, I had to do a lot of "cold working" to get the hanger back in-line. Not only was the DAG-2 needed but the FFG-2 got to see some action too.

Fast forward and I've decided to make Mary Jane the geared bike and keep the Swift as the SS; it's EBB is just too good to not utilize.

But on Mary Jane's maiden 1x8 ride the shifting was somewhat clunky. At first I thought maybe the derailleur I was using was bent from it's visit to the spokes.

Nope.

Turns out Mary Jane likes it rough, because it took a ton of manhandling to align the dropouts, and a frightening amount of twisting to get the hanger in line.
Way the flock out.

Were they so out of whack from singlespeed or my own "unique" style of riding?
Thankfully they are steel and an take the twisting. Glad I have the right tools for the job.

It had to be done

2011-10-24T06:37:00.002-04:00

After last weeks "close but no cigar ride" I was left with a feeling of remorse. There were only a limited number of days left this year that the water fountains would be on, and making it out to Roncari and back, without skipping anything would be a lot easier without a hydration pack weighing me down.

I could have called up the usual suspects, but If I didn't complete my intended route, I didn't want to have anyone to blame but myself (since James doesn't use the internet, I'll blame him for not doing the whole route last week).

Things got off to a bumpy start. In cleaning the bike I intended to ride, a bike with not one but eight choices of gears, I found it wouldn't be up to it.
I was going to have to do it singlespeed.

Then I left the house with overinflated skinny(er) tires...and my rotors were rubbing. I stopped, let some air out of the tires, and adjusted my calipers.
Got rolling again and crashed going up hill...at the res?!
This was going to be a long ride.
Then I went OTB hopping a routine log.
This ride seemed to be doomed.

I got to the first water fountain. I made a deal with myself, if the water is on I'll continue on, if not, I'll just goof around at the res until I was out of water and head home.
It's on!
Hurray...I guess.

As I made my way through Pennwood, I began to get some sort of rhythm going. But as pretty as the leaves may be they inevitably led to a few sudden directional changes.
In West Hartford I was feeling over dressed, but just 15 miles North and I was just right.

Descending down from the chimney into Tariffville, the trail was getting a little sloppy. I braced myself for what the flood plains were going to be like. Again I started to rationalize, maybe I'd turn back if things got too sloppy.

Then I grew a pair; I'm not blowing this opportunity.

They had towed the broken down car that has been in the woods for at least a decade so I missed the entrance to "Randy's Trail". I realized this when I was faced with the wall of a trail that used to be the only way to the ridge. 33x20 is a fairly light gear, but no match for that!

Up to the ridge, down to Hatchet Hill, and on to Roncari.
I made it!
Now I just need to make it back.

I counted off the climbs on my return.

Tariffville to the Chimney
Powerlines
Wilcox
Green trail
Blue trail in the center of Pennwood (the last big one)
From 185 to the powerlines
CB1 Birthday climb

One by one I checked them off.
Looking down at my computer, it seemed Garmin was ripping me off on elevation gain. It also was less mileage than I expected. Was I going to have to ride around the block to break 40?
No, I didn't have to resort to that, but it was close.

To be a little extra geeky, I kept track of what I ate and drank. Before the ride I had a 1/2 cup of oatmeal with a banana, and a teaspoon of sugar, two cups of coffee and a glass of orange juice. Right before I left I had two granola bars. That's 535 calories.
On the ride I had 4 more granola bars, a Cliff Bar, a Cliff Mojo bar, and 64 oz of water for a total of 800 calories. I was on a fairly comfortable pace and that seemed work pretty well.

Next time maybe I'll to go to Newgate.

Not this Shitake again!

2011-10-18T06:23:00.001-04:00

Every year, oh about this time, I start experimenting with...gears.

*shudder*

Usually it last about a month and then I get bored and go back to SS.
But I've gotta say, I've been really having a blast riding Blüsteel set up as a 1x8.

I've got big fat fattys on it (Ardent 2.25s), I believe that's the key;
the big meats.

Let's get all OCD and have some fun with math.
I did this ride singlespeed on Saturday:

today I did the same ride, but I started at the Res, and rode the 1x8.

From home I averaged 9.2 mph on a 15.7 mile ride.
At the Res. only ride I averaged 8.4 mph over 11.3 miles.
In other words, I'd only have to average 12.5 mph on the road to equal my pace on Saturday. Even on the singlespeed I'd have to be seriously goofing off to only average 12.5 mph on the road.

Here's a couple more factors to possibly consider:
*Mary Jane weighed 22.4 pound on Saturday (Ardent up front / Crossmark rear)
*Blüsteel currently weighs 25.4 pound.
Actually the weight difference was less due to another factor;
I forgot my water bottles today.
*Saturday I had Iron Maiden in my head, today Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros.
*Today my bike was making a strange metallic sound that had me stopping to try and
figure it out (you can see on Strava I was "resting" twice as long today as Saturday).

Sooo...
If it's faster, and as long as it's fun...

...talk to me in a month.

Fabulous Failure

2011-10-16T21:07:00.001-04:00

We didn't make it.
Due to time constraints, excuses and indifference we only made it to the chimney.
I'm okay with that.
We still got in over 32 miles and 3300' of elevation gain on one of the most perfect days for riding of the year.
Roncari will be there in the future, we'll just have to wear hydration packs if we want to do it before Spring.

James had to high tail it, so naturally Neal gave chase.
This left Neal waiting for our descent.
(all photos from this point on were blatantly stolen off Neal's facebook page)

Why is Doug always blurry?

It wouldn't be a TdT without some sort of tire malfunction, fortunately I only had a burp.

(they say the camera adds 10 pounds; looks like I'm packing a few extra cameras there)

So it's like this...

2011-10-10T12:21:00.001-04:00

I alluded to it but now I want to make it official.
There will be a SUPER TdT this Sunday, wheels rolling from my house @ 8:30 AM.
If you hit the snooze, you can meet us at the MDC parking lot at 8:45 AM.
Questions?
you can reach me at
charlieridesabike at gmail dot com.
The route will be similar to the below but go a couple miles further out (and back), and we'll hit the Rt 44 fun park on the way back.

Milestone

2011-10-07T08:05:00.001-04:00

If you look over at the $$$ saved on gas ticker--------------------------------------->
you'll see we just broke the $400 mark.
I'd really like to make it to $500 this year.
Between the price of gas dropping (this is a happy /sad thing for me as it gives people less incentive to seek alternative transportation), and the temperature disparity this time of year (it's easy to commute when it's all cold or all hot, but when it's cold in the morning and warm in the afternoon it's kind of a pain dressing for it). That and the shrinkage.

Making Lemonade

2011-10-06T20:42:00.000-04:00

I was ahead of the game this morning.
I was deceived into thinking it was colder outside than it was by how cold it was in my house, wimped out and drove to work.
At least I would get a good jump on the day by getting to work so early I thought.
And I did...until the motor on the spray booth exhaust fan crapped out.
$536 for a new hazardous location 1hp 115/230 single phase motor, that won't be in until 9:00 AM Friday morning.
I guess that puts production on hold for awhile.
Mrs. CB2 is going away for the weekend, so my day on Friday was being shortened anyways. Now I won't be able to actually make anything until Columbus Day (good thing I'm not Italian).
But on the bright side it freed up my afternoon to do some deliveries I wasn't sure where I was going to fit in.
It just so happens my last delivery was suspiciously close to Case MT.
I also just happen to have Blüsteel in the back seat of the truck.
For those who haven't been Case is a climby, rocky, technical, New England Mecca.
You can really learn a lot about flow surfing the tops of the rocks.
Blüsteel was kinda being annoyingly noisy. Making all sorts of geared bike hoopla.
But with a 33x32 low gear I was able to clean the "Dragon's Spine", something I'm not sure if I ever did on 26" wheels with a triple (in my advanced geriatric state, it's hard to remember back that far).

2011-10-05T08:24:00.000-04:00

There it is. I'm still waiting to hear when they turn the water fountain off in Tariffville, but I think it's safe to say there must be a TdT Xtreme before Nov. 1.
I'm thinking a no holds (trails) barred, out to Roncari TdT next Sunday October 16th leaving my house at the D.I.N.K. friendly time of 8:30 AM.

2011-10-04T06:16:00.000-04:00

Listen to me now and believe me later; It is easier and would be preferable to ride a century with 10k' of climbing on a fixed gear than standing for 10 hours a day on a concrete floor.

Ass.
Totally.
Kicked.

I had only planned on working a half day today. I would unload the van and wrap up any loose ends. Well, the van got unloaded...
But I was a complete zombie.

I came home planning on riding, but thanks to record breaking rainfall the lawn again needed to be mowed...and I had laundry to do.
I did the responsible mundane, which quickly sent me back to zombieland.

Alas, whoa is me.

I took a shower and walked down the road to get one of them store bought coffees that are all the rage.
I enjoyed my venti (or what ever made up name for large they use) with a shot of espresso and meandered home.

Did some more mundane...

I was blue...

Maybe it was the caffeine, maybe it was the peaks of blue coming through the clouds, but I was somehow reinvigorated.
I couldn't let the remnants of an afternoon off go to waste.

Worried about my lameness, I rode Blüsteel all one by eight-ey.
Boy did I need that!
Set up as a 1x8 with those big fat fatties, Blüsteel is like a rock-climbing stuffed chair.
So much fun I might have to try and race this thing.

Product Review: My Man Purse

2011-09-29T06:19:00.000-04:00

I used to keep my tools and the like in a little cell phone case, but I left it on MV, so I need something new. The price of a Backcountry Research Tülbag was comparable to a generic phone case, so I figured why not?

I must say I'm quite pleased with it. It's shape is more conducive to fitting my tüls in and as a super bonus it has a non-slip backing that helps prevent other items, like your mini-pump from jettisoning from your pockets. The zipper has a big loop making it easy to access with gloves on. I chose red so I would be less likely to forget it trail-side and they didn't have pink (Mrs. CB2 is starting to wonder about me and all the pink).

So if you need a place for you tül, Backcountry Research has you cover (or at least your tül covered).

BMW

2011-09-27T08:16:00.000-04:00

Yesterday on my ride into work, some douche on a Japanese Harley pulled up around me and the car in front of me at a light. I think he might have known the person in the car. He was revving and blipping his throttle. Dude, it's a Japanese bike with electronic ignition it ain't gonna stall!

The light changes and he's off in a fury of sound.

What struck me was as I started to go I was passed by a BMW like this one:

It was so quiet, I had no idea it was even there.

In the afternoon, I was passed by 3 couples riding BMW touring bikes. Some of the most attractive and friendly women I've ever seen on the back of a bike.
Just saying...

In other exciting commuter developments, I've noticed 3 pesky lights have been magically changing for me. Usually if the are red, the stay red. All I can figure is now that it is truly dark on my morning commute they have some sort of light sensitive motion detector that my headlight is triggering.
I like it.

CT50 (sort of)

2011-09-26T07:34:00.001-04:00

I've had a cold for the past week (I'm feeling much better, thanks for asking). I thought I was getting better earlier in the week but racing on Tuesday set me back a bit...which kept me off the bike.
3 days to be exact. That's longer than I can usually hold out.
Everyone in New England who owns a bike (except me) was racing the VT50, so I felt I needed to get in at least that much riding this weekend.
Saturday I did a Mini TdT. A TdT from my house used to be about 32 miles, now a Mini is almost 31? The humidity and Garmin screwed me out of about 1500' of elevation gain, but it was a good ride. I felt okay, but if I breathed in really deeply I'd get a little gurgling (ah, details, you welcome). I rode Blüsteel set up as a 1x8 with big ol' Ardent 2.25s. I finally got the pressure dialed in on those meats so they aren't too bouncy, or beat me or my rims up.
I did have a wardrobe malfunction

and then another

Someone never informed the mosquitoes that it was now Autumn, because they were out in droves.

Here's a picture of some rocks:

and a couple of one of my favorite trails that was interrupted by said wardrobe malfunction:

Doesn't look like much in the picture, but I can't tell you how many times I've been told "Man, that was fun, like a roller coaster!!" after turning people on to it.

So that was 60% of my goal.

Sunday I had a smaller window of opportunity. I guess not everyone was in VT because I ran into these geezers:

Nate could have been showing Lance his super Dad strength in Utah at the XTERRA championships (he is one up on the most tested athlete in the world), but instead showed me his new 29'er.

He's been wanting to taste the sweet nectar of the koolaid for years, and finally Ol' Yeller broke down enough to give him an excuse.
They soon tired of my obsession with climbing each and every hill I could possible find and we parted ways. Even so I had to skip the Grand Finale of the ride due to time constraints.
In the end I got in 21.5 miles, just enough to achieve my goal.
It would have been more fun to do it all in one day, but pizza at the beach and soccer are pretty alright too.
I had a superfuntime riding my bike, which has got me rethinking CX (again).

2011-09-22T08:15:00.000-04:00

If you've been looking at the dollars saved on gas tally over there---------->
you might have noticed it hasn't moved this week.
Why?
Well if you must pry...
Until today the weather's been okay, the lights are charged, but I haven't been able to drag my assos out of the warm comforts to face the darkness. Maybe it's the lingering cold? Maybe it's a physiological adaptation to the changing seasons? That might explain why I'm eating like a bear before hibernation.
Any way you look at it my September tally will be rather pitiful.
I also hope I don't fall into the obsessive cyclocross trap I did last year. I missed a lot of good Autumn riding "practicing" for cross.

Just for fun, remember?

And on that note (I hate when people start a sentence with a conjunction!), I hope next week's CX practice race doesn't get rained out. I want to try my tubeless setup at a lower pressure, as the tread selection there seems far superior for all but smooth hard pack than my tubulars. I like my tubeless wheels better too, as they are stiffer (I don't like that the are heavier but c'est la vie). I also want to buy some surveyor flags and set up some tight corners to practice on.
Hopefully I can move up to a solid "middle third" finish!

Did you see how I cleverly made roundabout excuses for Tuesday's lack luster performance, without blatantly saying theses are the excuses for why I sucked so bad?

Tuesday Night Ass Kickin'

2011-09-21T06:43:00.002-04:00

Last night was the 3rd of 4 training races at the Rocky Hill dog park. 1st one was rained out, last week I had something going on, but this and possibly next week were open.
Get there plenty early and the course is set up and people have been riding it for awhile. See some familiar faces, register and do some laps.
Based on internet snooping, and my results last year, I'm figuring on a mid-pack finish, and am very tranquillo.
The starter is talking to us, telling us how she's going to keep us out on the course as long as possible, which I assume is being determined by nightfall. Then all of a sudden she says "go" with little enthusiasm.
In the beginning I'm doing okay. I pass Bill T and I'm holding my own fairly well. But I guess I was just blocking the flow, because soon after Bill and a bunch of friends pass me en mass.
Rider by rider I'm falling back until I settle into the battle at the back. Unfortunately it wasn't a party at the back.
The order in my group is largely being determined by who crashes when as the damp grass is getting greasier and greasier every lap.
The Art Roti is riding in the group in front of me, or in no man's land for most of the race. He is my carrot, because what is more fun than beating your friends?
Through the start / finish they yell 3 more. 3 more? Are you kidding me? I was hoping for the bell.
But it gives me more time to catch Art.
Each lap I'm getting a little closer. A guy from Berlin Bike in my group who is bunny hopping the barrier on the dirt run-up, which was awesome, passes me. I don't care, as long as I get up to The Art Roti.
Finally, on the last lap I get up to him. I'm planning my pass, how I'm going to power around him on the next climb...when I wrap my bars in the tape.
I finished way at the back in 20th place of the A race. I have some excuses I could throw out but that's kind of lame; my major observation was there were much better bike drivers out there. I was the slow one in the corners.
I'll need to work on that if I want to do better...or I could just ride my mountain bike (in races or not).

2011-09-19T10:23:00.000-04:00

I'm posting this video only because it wouldn't play for me on cyclingdirt.org

Watch more video of Highlighted Video on cyclingdirt.org

Want it...

2011-09-14T09:06:00.001-04:00

Jez has a segment on his blog called "want it Wednesday"

Every other Wednesday he'd like to see something you lust for.

Here's mine.

Well actually that's Brado's.

But I've been missing the caress of steel so I've contacted Waltworks
and I'm on the list.

The waiting is the hardest part...

One of those days...

2011-09-14T08:16:00.000-04:00

All dressed up...

2011-09-13T08:04:00.001-04:00

and nowhere to go...

Well, I could go to Rocky Hill, but I'm still a little banged up from Sunday (I am feeling much better though, thanks for asking).

Landmine: Ouch!

2011-09-12T06:14:00.003-04:00

We will get to the report but first how about a food report?
After the race the winner of the Pro / Open class treated me to a tomato / mozzarella panini.

When I got home I had lasagna

then a salad

washed down with Italian soda

followed by a strawberry juice bar

Neal rode up to the race with me, which made something of an ass-grinder drive quite bearable. I'm sure the fact that it was a beautiful day played into that as well.

After downing large coffees and water bottles on the drive we wished we had cut off that Union Velo rider who made it to the bathroom at Dunkin Donuts before us.

Turn out was good for the end of the season in the singlespeed class. The usual suspects, Dave, Scooter, and now Gerry were there, as well as about a half dozen other guys. One was Chris Borrello who had beat me by a couple of minutes at Winding Trails this year.

I had just set a World Inter-Continental record on my commute Friday with my fixed gear so I was feeling pretty good. I had forgone my usual OCD pre-race day rituals, and instead chose to go riding with LB and cut the grass.

The whistle blows and we are off. Chris, Scooter, Dave and I are leading in a tight pace line. The trail turns slightly up, and I decide to nail it and go to the front. For six glorious minutes I lead!

Then we turn on to a paved road, and the triple tandem of Dave, Scooter, and Chris go by.
They get a gap, but I'm able to pull Dave back, and move back up to third.

I get a little gap on him, and think I'm okay, but after another road section he is right on me again.
He's clever too. Being stronger than me on the road sections he'll let me take the front there, only to politely take the front when we get back to the singletrack, where I'd like to believe I can go faster.

Every time I get a gap on Dave, that tenacious Mofo claws his way back to my wheel.
This goes on for the first hour of racing.

Then when I think I've finally broken the elastic, he uses the 40-49 leaders to pace him back.
Cheeky plan until one of the same bobbles in front of him allowing me to get a gap.

When I finally have the nerve to look back to confirm this, about 1:15 in, I look down and see I only have one bottle.

The empty one.

FOOK!

I catch up to Scott Hood from the Cat1 30-39 group and begin to ride with him for awhile.
After he takes the lead I notice he has not 1, but 3 bottles on him. That's a lot to carry, so I ask him if he'd like me to carry one of them to the finish for him. Seeing the logic in not carrying extra weight, he relinquishes a half full one with some chocolate milk flavored stuff in it.
(Thanks Scott!)

Earlier in the race, I thought to myself "in the dry this course is sort of like Winding Trails", after an hour and a half, my wrist were telling me "This course is nothing like Winding Trails!"

At the final aid station I'm psyched to get some water. The young man doing hand ups is trying to be all crafty and spills the water on me. I know I only have a few miles left, but after how Dave has been reeling me in all day there is no way I'm going to stop.

I start running into Cat 3 or First Timer traffic so know I'm close. Try and pass as politely as possible as to not sully their experience, but try and stay on it to prevent the patented Skrocki Sneak Attack®.

Finally, the clearing and the sweeper to the finish.
Boy do I need a drink (of water)!

Third behind Scooter and Chris.
Great job guys!
Congratulations to Scott for going 8 for 8 winning the Cat1 SS overall!
It's been great trying to chase you this year Scooter.
(I'd use another exclamation point but I don't want anyone to think I use too many).

Congratulations to my buddy Neal Burton of Central Wheel for his first Pro victory!
(I couldn't help myself)

I'm second guessing my gear choice a bit; I used a smaller gear last year and had a faster avg speed, but the course was a little different. Although there wasn't much elevation gain, I felt slow and bogged down on some of the rocky sections. A smaller gear wouldn't have changed the outcome at all, just made me a little more comfortable.

Now for one last food item:

frozen strawberries on the wrists

2011-09-06T15:28:00.000-04:00

As lame as it might seem to cancel a CX race due to rain I'm sort of relieved for the following reasons:

I won't have to clean my bike for a practice race (I get to do that enough for not practice races, thank you very much)
I won't have to wash my team jersey an extra time before Landmine.

After the phenomenal tubeless success on Saturday, Monday's results were less than stellar. I guess even tubeless they are still only 31s and a modicum of caution should be taken on rocky descents (side wall puncture running 30 PSI)

I like the tubeless wheelset better than my tubulars wheels for CX

I still don't know if I want to race singlespeed or geared regardless of the size of Alby's penis.

Tubeless Cross.

2011-09-04T02:10:00.000-04:00

For my trek to RI back in July I built up a set of clinchers. My reasoning was two-fold.
First since I would be riding solo for a long distance on unfamiliar roads I wanted to be easily repair multiple flats, with minimal additional gear (i.e. not having to carry more than one extra tubular, being able to patch a tube if I got numerous punctures), and secondly the idea of having a wheelset to try tubeless for cross was appealing.

I had tried tubeless in the past with the same rims without success. This time around I used Velox rim tape and smaller tires to give me a tighter fit.

The front tire aired up and locked into to the bead in text book fashion; Stan should have been taping my successful attempt.
The rear was trickier. It would air up, lock in, and then quickly bleed off pressure until flat. No matter how much shaking and spinning I tried, it wouldn't seal. Finally I found the problem was the tight tire bead had folded over the Stan's rim strip for about 3" preventing a perfect seal. After digging it out I added more sealant than I'd typically use in a 29'er tire just to be sure.
Results = Victory!

Going tubeless over tubular was going to cost me a solid half pound of rotational weight. But with that half pound I gained a stiffer wheelset (my tubulars are Mavic Gel280s and Mavic GL330 rims), and the ability to more easily and quickly change my tires. I have never been able to air up tubeless tires with a floor pump and still can't, so I won't be changing any tires trackside, but I can easily do so the night before.

Initially I was thinking maybe I'd train on the tubeless and race on the tubulars, but after today's ride I think the tubeless wheelset wins. Being a smaller guy, wheel stiffness has never been top priority, but once I hit the trails the advantage truly became apparent. I never realized how much stability I was giving up with my vintage rims.

I have had good results with not flatting tubulars. I run sealant in them and have yet to puncture (knock wood!). Considering where I train, and how with clinchers and tubes I would typically get at least a flat a ride, I was pretty happy with that. With tubeless I get the same level of flat prevention, but also the ability of just throwing a tube in in case the unmentionable does happen. The tubeless setup proved it's mettle today as I bombed a rocky fireroad and at the bottom came upon a group of about 8 riders from one of the local clubs who had just had multiple flats on the same descent.
On another descent I kicked up a huge rock launching myself skyward, landing with enough force to dislodge my securely strapped pump. The results? Absolutely nothing. Not a squirt of air or sealant escaped.
I was running my pressure on the higher side (45 psi), because I spent about 1/3 to half of my ride on tarmac, but I'm excited to test lower race pressure on Tuesday.

Now the question still remains, with an SS class in all the races currently listed for Connecticut, do I leave it a 1x9, or go back to what I know best?

2011-08-30T19:29:00.001-04:00

Irene gave me the opportunity to set up BlüSteel as a 1x8.
Irene also knocked down a lot of branches.

Damn you Irene!!!

Guess I should stick to what I know.

It was fun while it lasted (it always is for a month or so, and then I get bored).

Race Report: Norcross Scurry!

2011-08-29T07:49:00.000-04:00

As expected much ado about nothing.

I totally understand the decision; racer and volunteer safety in a worse case senario, liability, not having a crystal ball, and all.
But having raced through Tropical Depression Danny at Norcross two years ago, I was ready. I knew what gear and tires to run.

I wanted that maple syrup!
Dammit!

At least I won't be replacing brake pads this week.

*Monday Morning Quarterback*
700,000 CT residents are still without power, and there were a lot of downed branches on the road on the ride in. There was considerable flooding, most of the smaller tributaries have receded but there was water over the roads. The Connecticut River is still rising, flights are grounded at Bradley International Airport, and Metro North trains are not running (NYC MTA isn't running trains either).

Single or 1x9?

2011-08-27T19:05:00.000-04:00

I will be doing limited CX racing this year. Last year all but one of the CX races I did was SS. In fact my best result came riding my SS MTB.
So...
on this hurricane cursed weekend, when I finally get up the gumption to clean up my workshop, do I set the CX bike up single:

or 1x9?

Either way, I've got some bitchin' pink bar tape!

I need to decided before I wrap the bars.

What's wrong with this picture?

2011-08-24T13:23:00.001-04:00

3 mountain bike races on the same weekend!?
Not to mention the CX and road races this weekend.

Promoters, are there really that many riders to go around?
Can't we all just get along? Or maybe just communicate and be a little flexible?

2011-08-23T07:50:00.000-04:00

The morning started with a left hook in Farmington. Expletives were thrown, birds were flipped. At least I wasn't in Team Colors. The most infuriating thing, other than almost being hit by some lady in a Saab, was there wasn't anyone behind me. It wasn't a matter of go quick or have to wait a long time, she just couldn't wait a second for me to clear the intersection. Oh, and she saw me, and made that choice.

Then waiting for the light at 177 in Plainville near GE, the crosswalk lights up and all 4 lanes of traffic in all 4 directions come to a halt. I look around, where's the walker? There isn't one. It's an adult in his twenties riding his bike on the sidewalk crossing the street tying up traffic. At least he didn't press the button and just go without waiting for it.

So when I hear a guy start to shout out his window at me the first thing that comes to my mind is "Now what!"
What did he yell?

"Nice track-stand!"

Why thank you.
Have a nice day.

Rogue Blogger spotted!

2011-08-22T06:03:00.000-04:00

Spotted:

In the wilds of Burlington:

On closer inspection it seems he has gone back to his roots:

Last time we saw this enigma wrapped in a gluten free riddle he was "rockin" a geared HT.

Is a return to rigid in his future?

Stay tuned...

It's Not A Race! Racing is Never the Answer!...

2011-08-14T12:07:00.000-04:00

...was Quinny's proclamation as Lillian drifted "off the front"

his tune quickly changed once he caught her and dropped the hammer.

Lillian has been reveling in the splendor which is the "Star Spangler".

People used to knock Huffy all the time, but any company that can come up with the awesomeness that is the 'Spangler is alright by me.

2011-08-11T20:18:00.000-04:00

Went out to Nassahegan today.
Thought I had found a forgotten gem.

I rode through this:

over this:

around this:

up this:

and ended up in some dude's backyard!

Oh Brother!

2011-08-10T17:33:00.000-04:00

...and another thing about riding in the rain, it's therapeutic.
Here's my thinking on that. The rain cools your muscles so unless you are really going apeshit will keep you from over asserting yourself.
I have a problem with riding too hard all the time; fast is fun. I know I should take it easy sometimes, but I just can't. Riding in the rain makes that happen.
Not being able to see my computer helps too; if I can't see the metrics, I won't try and break any route records or have any expectations of how far or fast I should be.
Chicks pay top dollar for this kind of 411 in NY.

Does using "411" horribly date me? Should I change the name of this blog to Chester rides a Velocipede?

2011-08-10T12:41:00.001-04:00

I took this crappy, blurry picture on the ride home from work last night. I thought it looked kinda badass having my computer obscured by rain drops.
But then I got to thinking.

Badass?
Riding in light to moderate rain when it's in the upper 70's on my commuter bike with fenders and lights wearing Sweden's finest technical rain gear.

What about the immigrant who has to ride his crappy department store bike, dressed in whatever he can afford no matter what the weather to one of his jobs.
He's badass.

Race Report: Hodges Village Dam / Mass State Championships

2011-08-08T05:18:00.001-04:00

Ahh, mountain bike racing in New England...it just wouldn't be right if weather didn't factor in some how.

I left the house feeling surprisingly tranquillo despite the rain and the promise of strong competition. This was going to be one of the first weekends of the season where there wasn't a competing mountain bike race dividing talent based on series allegiance or location.

Get to the venue, park next to Gerry, Michelle and their awesomely dry EZ-up. I saw Gerry was registered in the Singlespeed class, and was wondering if it was a mistake, but no, he had in fact tasted the Koolaid and was joining the fun.

I ride up and down the course just enough to get filthy, and it's time to go.
In my head the two men to watch were Scooter (Scott Levreault) who was dominating the Cat1 SS until he decided to try the Pro/Open for a while, and Dan Barry, King Of Burlingame record holder and EFTA strong man.

The whistle blows and its Holeshot Baby!...for about 100 meters until Dan and Scooter smoothly glide past me. Scooter gets to the single track first, and Dan has about a 25 meter gap on me.
As things twist and turn I'm slowly loosing sight of him. I can't see the pack behind me, or the two in front.

Great. I'm riding alone.
Again.

But as I get near the back of the course I'm beginning to catch back up to Dan. The technical nature of this part of the course is playing to my strengths (I guess?). Right before we get out to the fireroad I get in front of him.

But just as on the opening fireroad Dan easily spins past me once we're out of the woods.

Harrumph.

He gets a gap and stretches it to the start / finish.
As he turns into the singletrack he has about 200 meters on me.

Again near the back of the course I catch him, and again when we get back to the fireroad he gets me back.
Hmmm, lets use some strategy... think, think, think...if I can get in front of him earlier in the third or forth lap, maybe I can get out of sight before he can pass me on the fireroad...

The third lap there is a lot of 30-39 y/o traffic. I'm pushing pretty hard through the rough stuff to try and reel Dan in earlier. Hodges doesn't really have any significant climbs but lots of little power climbs. On one of these I hear a crack and this happened:

My bar breaks at the grip / brake lever. My brake lever is just hanging by the housing.

I pull off the trail and put the lever back on the broken side, sliding it over enough that I have something to grab onto, yet still have a little leverage.

The leaders of the 40-49 y/o pass me.

Now I've switched to damage control. As long as I can keep on riding I'm going to. Riding with a short, sharp bar is somewhat uncomfortable, and quite awkward. I clumsily make my way past some more 30-39s and try and stay focused on laying down power whenever I can.
Climbing is a joke. With what the rain and traffic has done to the course, even the slightest rise is a running affair with my plastic shard of death.

But no one is catching me?

On my last lap I pass the women's field. Other than running hills, there are no unplanned dismounts. As I'm making my way up the last stretch to the finish I see a rider coming up fast. After a lap and a half of riding with a broken handlebar I'm not taking any chances and I sprint for it with everything I've got beating him to the line.

He had gears.

I held on for third.

Which was especially important because it was my buddy Cam's birthday and I told him I'd try and win him a medal.

I also won a t-shirt and a stick of stuff to rub on my junk to prevent chaffing. Since I'm Charlie the "Taint of Steel", I have no use for such nonsense.
So I got myself a different reward:

Sugar, caffine and salt yum! umm, kingsized...

Looking at my lap times, I was about 3 minutes slower on lap 3 and 4 than 2 (2 was 2.5 minutes slower than 1, but the conditions deteriorated considerably between the first two laps; there were puddles well above your axles on lap 2). In light of this...I'm not going to get all woulda, shoulda, coulda; That's racing!

I've heard chicks dig scars, does this count?

A Family Affair

2011-08-02T20:08:00.000-04:00

I have 3 kids and I've ridden bikes with all of them. One thing they all have in common is they don't shift gears (at least not before it's too late).
Since Quinny isn't going to use 'em why have 'em?

We're both running a 20s in the back right now

So close to a "magic gear"! Yeah, yeah, yeah, push up mode is better, yadda, yadda, yadda...F/U! I ain't gots no push up spring.

When we first rolled down the road I had to actually work to catch up to him! SS suits the boy well.

Traditions

2011-07-28T15:58:00.000-04:00

If I bring a road bike to Martha's Vineyard, I like to ride as close to the circumference of the island as I can.

In breaking with tradition I took the time to take some pictures.

It's good to get an early start because there's a lot of bike paths

A whole lot of bike paths...

I usually avoid them and just ride up island

Wasting away again in Lobsterville

I'm a sucker for a Farmall

No trip to MV would be complete w/o a ride on the Bike Ferry

Next time I'll have take the ferry to Chappaquiddick to more completely cover the island. But it takes cars too.

Dear Google

2011-07-24T07:25:00.003-04:00

I was going to go on an angry tirade about how poor Google Map's bike directions are, but maybe we can make lemonade out of lemons with this.
Google maps directions are wrong and incomplete, They need closer inspection to be ready for prime time.
Google, friend, here is my suggestion:
Hire ME to be your official bicycle route tester.

I'll ride around the country following your routes, critiquing them and reporting back discrepancies.
It would be a win-win-win!

Other than the guy peeing on the promenade in front of the Science Center the first wrong turn happened in Manchester. The bike path didn't go where google said it would. After looping around and around, I headed in an Easterly direction and hoped for the best.
As things were getting more and more residential, I thought it best to recalculate my route.
After a few more google vaguities (I just made that word up, you can use it), I was on the right track again.

The next misstep was my fault. A 45 year old man reading an iphone screen while riding without his glasses is going to make a mistake. That and the fact that google regurgitates an endless stream of minutia in their directions. But after a foray into South Glastonbury I was back on track and making good time.

When google kept my route to roads with route numbers every thing went fine. When they sent me on short cuts that turned out to be rocky dirt roads that end in people's backyards; not so much.

Sometimes google made assumptions when it said "continue on". Like that I should know in certain cases "continue on" means to take a left then a quick right, and another left.

After such an instance I recalculated my route, looked at the clock and realized, I was going to have to haul ass and make no more wrong turns if I had a chance at making my boat.

I was low on water, but if I kept the pace I was on, it would only be a couple of hours to N. Kingstown. Unfortunately I hit another googlaugity (hey look another new word!) in Sterling. Hope wasn't lost yet, but I really needed to stay on the rivet and on track if I had any hope. On a side note Sterling never gave up on the metric system and has it's road signs in kilometers.

I entered Rhode Island. One last recalculation. As I looped around the area google claimed the East Coast Greenway was I saw two things: singletrack with a sign reading "Dangerous Trail, horses use caution", and a man unloading his car from a trip to a local warehouse club. I asked the gentleman if he knew of any bike path in the area. He pointed to the aforementioned trail and said "they haven't finished it yet".
I did take the opportunity to speak to an actual resident of the area and he was kind enough to point me in the right direction.
At this point I'm screwed. I gave myself almost 7 hours to make a 90 mile journey, and the only boat I'm catching is the failboat. Before my phone's battery is completely dead, I call my family and let them know I'm not going to make my boat

As I pass a farm stand I see the glare of a glass cooler door. Glass door = cold drinks (or dairy products)!
1 coke, 1 gatorade, a water, plus the reassurance that if I continue on my current track I will indeed get to N. Kingstown.
Following human directions is a lot easier.
When I hit Rt1, I use the last drops of juice my phone has to find out where I am in relation to the dock. I pass a Subway, but really want to get to my final destination, and if this ferry is anything like the Steamship Authority there will be plenty of food options at the dock.
As I make one of the final turns to the boat there's a sign "No Pedestrians or Bicycles". I'm within 2 miles of the boat...

I get to the ferry dock. It consists of a rusted barge and a trailer in a gravel lot. I have 3 1/2 hours to kill with no phone or food. They do have a vending machine with cold drinks and I really don't want to figure out how to get back to town without riding on the highway, so I whack back 5 beverages over the course of my wait. The trailer is air conditioned, but I stay outside; I realize I must truly be offensive (to smell) at this point.

The boat arrives late and leaves late, which ironically if my original boat had done the same I might not have missed it. But they have a snake bar, and in less than 2 hours I'll finally be with my family on the Vineyard.

Ahh...

Wrath of the Boneyard and the Curse

2011-07-18T05:46:00.006-04:00

My day was not going well. Actually it wasn't going bad but I was in a foul mood. I was looking a gift horse in the mouth so to speak. There was a race only 20 minutes from my house, but I was thinking I'd rather be tearing down my fence. 2:00 PM just seemed like an inconvenient time of day for me to race (either that or a convenient excuse for not getting anything done all morning). If my parents were not coming up for the race I'd probably have bailed.

Which leads us to the curse.

I love my parents, but my racing track record has not been stellar on the occasions they've come out to show me support.
First race they came to I crashed about a quarter of a mile into it and broke my frame. Next race I got the mother of all flats where the Stan's had done such a good job sealing the tire to the rim, that it took me over 20 minutes to break the bead and fix it (ironically the Stan's couldn't seal the puncture the nail made). The next was a CX race in Simsbury, which although no mechanical catastrophes, was only a mediocre performance. Finally this year I got 5th at Winding Trails behind some pretty tough competition (I was pretty happy with that).

I get out to the venue, pick up my number, pull my bike out of the truck and...no computer.
Great.
How can I be all anal-retentive with metrics without my computer?!

my computer, on my road bike, and yes it's in my kitchen...wife's away, Charlie will play or at least not bring his bike downstairs

I've got the strava app on my phone, so I guess I'll give that a shot to feed my sickness.

There are only 3 Cat1 singlespeeders, but they start us by ourselves. They send us on a little neutral parade loop. Jake's not waving and smiling like Miss America, so I don't think he truly understood the idea of "parade" and leads thru the Start / Finish and up to the climb of the feed zone. Because it is up hill and my parents are standing there at the ready I feel a certain obligation to pass him.

Jake doesn't take this lightly and begins to draft me. There wasn't any aero advantage to this being as The Boneyard is quite possibly the most rocky technical course on the Root 66 series. He's not giving me an inch, just waiting for me to make a mistake.

About 3/4th of the way thru the first lap he sees one of his friends broken down on the side of the trail. I think this snapped his concentration, because as I got to one of the more significant climbs on the course a gap was growing.

From there I tried to go hard wherever I could to grow the gap.
Entering the second lap I was already getting racing chills, so I made an effort to drink as often as possible.

The first half of the course is the rockiest. It's all rocky, but up to the "Boneyard" it is brutal. For me riding rigid, there was a descent before the race's namesake that was the worst. At least picking your way through the Boneyard you weren't being sucked faster by gravity.
Speaking of brutality about 1/3 of the riders in Cat1 DNF'd. Mostly due to flats.

One the third lap I caught TJ. I commented that there couldn't be too many more 30-39s in front of him. "Just Alex" was his reply (Alex "I should really be racing Cat2" Combes would hold on for an impressive first Cat1 victory).

This gave me a new goal; catch all the 30-39s and not get caught by any 40-49's. Well I failed because shortly before the "Boneyard" Alby caught me.
This was good fun as I got to heckle him in the rock gardens.
Then I got caught by the second place 40-49. I gave him an easy pass, but when we started climbing again, I had to take the lead as his spinny gear and my standing gear were not playing nice.
When I passed him I reassured him I'd let him by again. At the bottom of the next descent the tape was torn down, I didn't see the arrow, and went straight. Number 2 didn't say anything. If you were aware that I rode off the course and just let me go, not cool Brochacho (very possibly he was concentrating on his own thing and was not).
Anyhoo...
I got back on course and held on for the win (4th fastest Cat1 overall)...breaking the curse. Good thing too, because having my parent there was really a godsend; with the heat I needed 3 bottles.
End of the lap I was hearing a grindy brake kind of sound. Since I was almost done I just ignored it. At the finish line I was alerted I was missing a caliper bolt.
Oops!

Guess I forgot to snug that down when I took my bike out of the stand to help TJ with his.

I'm glad I sucked it up and went. The Boneyard is a unique racing experience, and I do love the spoils...

Race Nightmare

2011-07-17T06:53:00.001-04:00

Friday night I had a dream.

I went to a friend's house before the race to visit for a bit, but when I got there his wife threw herself to the ground and started wailing.
Their house seemed strange. Most of their furniture was missing and they had a downstairs roommate. He had the stairwell lined with empty Harpoon IPA 12 packs. Their floors were newly refinished, but had deep scars.
When I got to the race it turned out it had already started. My parents had come to help. I rushed to get ready to make up some of the 14 minutes I was already behind. I asked my Dad for a water bottle and he just stood there smiling and nodding his head. I asked again and still the same. It was as if he just didn't understand what I was saying and was just nodding out of habit.
I gave up on getting the bottle from him and looked for my jersey. It was at the bottom of my cooler, wet and dirty from my last race.

Fortunately I woke up.

2011-07-10T21:06:00.000-04:00

My family is going to Martha's Vineyard for 2 weeks and I'm going to join them for a week. For me to drive my truck to the ferry in Woods Hole, park for 8 or 9 calender days, and take the ferry would cost about $175.
BUT if I rode my bike to the fast ferry in RI my travel expenses would be reduced to $53!

Schwing!

If I rode to the fast ferry in New Bedford I could save another $5, but I'd have to ride through Providence.

Only problem is my road bike has tubulars, which are fine around here, but who knows in the wilds of Eastern CT, and RI? I carry a spare tubular when riding, and rarely flat, but what if I got a double? I couldn't call my wife, because she on an island.

So I've been meaning on building a new set of wheels for cross season. I had bought some Miche hubs over the Winter for that purpose, and was going to lace them to some Alex tubular rims I had (I raced on GL330s and GEL 280s last season; great climbing wheels, not really up to the rigors of CX).
But I also had some Sun EQ21s I was racing on the mtb before I swapped out to Stan's Crest rims. I'd have to spend stoopid money, to get anything much lighter. For that fact, money period for any other rim. This would give me a wheelset I could go tubeless with for CX and have a set of clinchers for the road bike.

Anyhoo...
I built them up, put tires and a cassette on them and weighed them. 100 grams heavier than the tubulars I was riding.
But now I no longer need to carry a whole tubular in a big tubular sized bag, so my static weight for all but racing has dropped by 140 gram (I haven't done a road race in a decade and then I'd whip out the GEL 280s).
Can I notice the difference of 100g rotating mass or 140g static? Of course not!

Central Wheel felt I couldn't go bigger than a "23" on my vintage CAAD4. On the 21mm wide rims, the Conti Gatorskins measured 24mm (the Tufos on the tubular set measure 22mm), and it looks like I could probably fit a 24 or 25 in there if I wanted; good to know.

How do they ride you ask?
Pretty good.
The Gatorskins were chosen for durability and reliability. They mounted up easily and for a tire with protection are pretty fookin' light at 220g. They roll fast, but aren't as supple as the Tufos or for that matter the Pasela 28s on the Fun Machine. But comparing a durable 23 with a tubular or a 28 is like comparing apples to oranges and avocados.
The wheels didn't seem as stable descending as my tubular set, but it was pretty windy today so I don't know if it really is a fair comparison. I would think a 460g box section rim would roll downhill pretty well though. Maybe due to the suppleness of the tires?
...or the wind.

You've got to really torque down those Cheezmaster 3000 skewers; first climb over 5% I pull the wheel out of the dropout.

Clearance Clarence

Boneyard Preview

2011-07-06T19:44:00.000-04:00

<br>O
Wrath of the Boneyard or whatever it was called back in 1996 was the first race I did as a "Sport" rider. It is where I coined the term "middle third" as to not say I finished in the bottom half (even if I finished in the bottom half of the middle third). That year it was in April and it was raining. I remember laying face down in a puddle at some point...
Flash forward 15 years and Fabian was kind enough to give a preview of the new "Wrath of the Boneyard" race course last week, and here are some of my impressions.
It is a challenging course. Has more climbing per mile than Domnarski Farm, and is probably the rockiest course in the Root 66 series.
The rocks look intimidating, but are very rideable. People have been asking me if I'll run a suspension fork for it and the answer is "probably not". With a little speed and careful line choice, you can ride the crests of the rocks pretty well. The descents are actually some of the smoothest, rock free sections of the course, which may or may not be saying something because the course as a whole has a lot of rocks. There are some sections of singletrack through pine needles too.
Eastwood, is doing the Boneyard as his first Cat3 race gives his impressions here.
Fabian is going all out for this race and I'm sure he and his compatriots at the Meriden Motorcycle Club are going to make it a stellar event. This guy here goes so far as to say they put on a kickass event.
Should be fun, and it's only $23.

Here's a little footage of it's name sake.

Friday Funny

2011-07-01T09:45:00.001-04:00

I make a little trials bike look like a chopper!

After doing a lap at a human pace with Craig, Fabian, and Eastwood of the Wrath of the Boneyard, Fabian thought it would be prudent to whip out the trials bike to lead Neal and I on another. Bad enough trying to keep up with Neal, let alone Neal keeping up with a MOTORCYCLE!
I'll have more info on the race next week.

In the mean time enjoy some 4th of July flag cake!

2011-06-30T09:10:00.001-04:00

I was procrastinating at work this morning and click on the stats tab on my blogger dashboard.

Interesting....

It seems the majority of traffic get here from Doug's blog,

or searches for Ozzy Osbourne.

I can understand getting here from another blog about riding bikes (most of the time), but you've got to be really into Ozzy to end up here. I went to page 20 of the results and saw no mention of Charlie rides a bike.
Imagine the disappointment when the dedicated fan of the Prince of Darkness ends up here?

Anal Much?

2011-06-28T05:45:00.000-04:00

Putney / West Hill Race Report: I Heart VT

2011-06-27T06:26:00.001-04:00

Mookie to the rescue!
I was really looking forward to this race last year, and was bummed I had to miss it. I didn't think I was going to do it this year being outside the radius and all, until Mookie offered to give a lift.
Hmm...
The family got to got to MV for 4 days and 3 nights so maybe Charlie can go to VT for the day...
(much like Pantani or Riccò, Charlie is speaking of himself in the third person).

Due to heavy rain all week, we had to park about a mile from the race course. Not too much of a problem, we just loaded my backpack with what we needed and used it as a pre-ride. Before we headed out Alex asked if I had my license. I replied "I never get carded, and they're making us park a mile away from the venue, they won't need our licenses". Sure enough, first thing they asked at registration "Can we see your license"?
A little Charlie sweet talk (very little needed because we are in VT and people in VT are really nice), and she turned a blind eye to my negligence.

There were only a half dozen singlespeeders, so they sent us off with the juniors.
Adam gets the holeshot, and I'm making my way up the right side, where I am suddenly chopped by one of the juniors.
Argh! You little whippersnapper!
First muddy section of the first descent Choppy crashes, and I'm in forth behind two juniors and Adam.
I out maneuver the second place junior in the singletrack and have Adam in my sights.
On Heartbreak Hill (HH) he's off the bike. I somehow manage to grind it out and catch and pass him. But he's a stronger descender so he's on me like white on rice. As I try and skirt around a trail engulfing puddle I crash, opening the door for Adam to take the lead.
We finish the lap together, but as we descend from the start finish line Adam starts to open it up. On the switchbacks we can get glimpses of one another, but he's gradually pulling away from me.
On the third lap, glimpses are getting few and far between, until we get to HH. When I get there, he's about 2/3rds of the way up it and about to dismount for the miserable mud slog. I know I can't catch him here, but if I try and stay on the bike longer on everything maybe I might have a chance to pull him back.
Lap 4 I'm really trying to hang it out on the descents. I need to minimize any time Adam is gaining here. It's working as I'm getting closer to him on the switchbacks. I know I need to get to the top of HH before him for any chance at the win. I round the corner (to HH), and he's about half way up it. I pedal up to the mud, hoping I can pull him back, but he's back on the bike and over the top.
As I get to the last hill on the course, Cemetery Hill, Adam is hiking it. I'm riding it, but he's out of reach and crosses the line 25 seconds in front of me.
I cross the line and fall on the ground. I always think when I see XC ski racers do this they are just being over dramatic. I meant it (I'm sure they do too).

Every time I go to Vermont, I always come away with how much I like it. Beautiful country, great hills, and the people are so nice. A woman overheard me asking if there was a place to get cleaned up after the race and 5 minutes later came up to me with a hand drawn map and directions. How nice is that?

the map

I wish Vermont was in Connecticut.

We never made it to the the destinations on the map because we found a close by stream. I love how bike races can make people abandon all modesty.

And speaking of mud (don't you hate when a sentence begins with a conjunction?), the conditions caused carnage. Snapped chain, broken cables, and chain suck galore. The course was very rideable, but where the mud was thick it was greasy peanut butter goo.
It was rough out there, but then again, that's part of what makes mountain bike racing so great (says the guy riding the singlespeed).

Solstice

2011-06-22T18:31:00.002-04:00

TJ organized a Summer Solstice kickoff ride. His e.mail to me was enticing:
"Hope to get 3hrs ride time in."

I met Mookie and Tyson at TJ's, and the 4 of us headed North.
Everything was going pretty much how I expected; the trails out there are pretty sweet and we were enjoying the challenges

With a water fountain (but no imaginary grocery store) in the cross of the figure 8 of a loop we were riding, 3 hours should work out just fine.

But I guess TJ didn't let the other guys know about the whole 3 hour thing.
Our route discussion probably didn't really clue them in on things either; throwing around ambiguous trail names we might as well have been speaking Greek.

When we got to the Wintonbury overlook, about an hour in, Alex asked if we were at the turn around. Having just consumed another hour's worth of calories, I explained we still had a lot of good stuff to go, and shoved off.
When we had got to Wintonbury, Mookie told us Tyson bailed; after hurting his back crashing he wasn't feeling "it" anymore.

Heading into Penwood, we had a lot of the really good climbing ahead of us. I had my Putney gear on so I might have been a little "rambunctious".

With Mookie was under the impression it was going to be a typical mid-week, after work affair of an hour and a half or two he fueled as such. Consequently, when the glycogen stores became depleted, he blew up in a spectacular fashion.
Fortunately we were close to the road and were able to cruise back most of the way home on tarmac.
The smooth spin on pavement seemed to have a somewhat regenerative effect, as Mookie finished strong on the last bit of singletrack.

A bottle of Heed away from a great start to the Summer.

The Father's Day Ride

2011-06-20T05:47:00.002-04:00

I wasn't sure who was actually going to show up for the Father's Day ride. A lot of big things had happened this week.
The Harmonizer became a dad, so I wasn't sure of his availability.
Mookie had taken his girlfriend away to breakdown down her defenses enough to accept his proposal.

I just never did get a definitive head count.
For all I knew, I'd be riding solo.

Then I got an e.mail from Neal confirming departure times.

All week long the weather forecast was at best iffy.
When Neal arrived though, the sun was out and looked like it was going to stay out.
Right before Neal rolled up Alex called looking for the potty...and then there were 3.

Things were still a little slimy from Friday's rain, and it was a tad muggy, but I can't actually remember a Father's Day ride that was dry. James can attest to this who was waiting for us at the Res.
4.
When we rode over to Alex's car, we realized he was not parked next to a migrant farm worker's truck, but none other than BC's indestructible SR5.
5.
Perfect size group.

There were some slick spots, as in slime like ice, but with the right momentum and body English most trouble was avoided.
We were on a good pace, not record breaking by any means, but we were shooting for all the good stuff. With the humidity we were thankful for all the opportunities to refill our bottles. As we swung around to head back home BC wanted to stop at one of the stores I mentioned in the hamlet of Tariffville.
Ah...what I thought was a convenience store was a closed down liquor store.

Oops.

Sorry Brian.
Fortunately I had an extra Cliff Bar, and we stumbled upon a kid selling lemonade on a virtually deserted street. It seemed just enough calories to keep BC going.

On the way back time constraints were brought up.
I was on a mission to get the ride I wanted in so I shut my stinkin trap, put my head down and kept regrouping stops to a minimum.
In the end we hit everything planned, only had to skip one "bonus section" and made it back to the lot by 1:15 PM.
Mileage was a little less than I thought it would be, but elevation gain was spot on. We never had an actual flat but there was some topping off en route.
Not all were able to indulge in Moe's, but I believe everyone enjoyed the ride.

BC gets it done
(I replaced my incoherent babbling with a techno beat)

Maybe

2011-06-16T07:49:00.001-04:00

On my creaky ride home Monday I began to think.
What is different today than yesterday? How is it that you rode 67 miles without a peep, and today it's max creak?

Think, think, think.

Well, I'm wearing different shoes; could different cleats really make that much of a difference?

When I got home I stood on the cranks to see if I could get a creak out them.
Nothing.
I'm seeing the crank arms and chain stays flex, but silence.
The creak is most prevalent when I'm out of the saddle climbing.
As I'm leaning over the bike trying to replicate my climbing position I feel a little play in the front wheel; the bearings (cartridge bearings) need to be adjusted.
My old front mtb wheel went through bearings with the lunar cycle and consequently would have loose bearings, yet it never creaked.

I adjusted the bearings, and wore the same shoes as Sunday today..

No creak.
I'll have to try my other shoes to see if can completely isolate it.

2011-06-13T17:47:00.001-04:00

*This post has been edited to better serve the more gentile reader*

The most frustrating creak is back!
Fresno!!!!!
I'm going to go flipping ballistic!
Fudgefudgefudginfudgefudger!

2011-06-13T05:30:00.000-04:00

Whatever they were feeding that boy at school, it's working.

Our firstest child graduated high school on Friday. The ensuing Festival of all things "the Dude" left me in something of a cycling deficit.

I had big plans, I fell short.

Between making up for lost time at work, and recovering from 2 days of buffets, cookouts, and the most beautiful spread of sweets you could possibly imagine (sorry no photos so you'll have to use your imagination), I surrendered to a certain slothfulness.
Since I wasn't riding I did take it upon myself to replace the bottom bracket in the Fun Machine. The old one felt great. Freely spinning with a buttery smoothness and no detectable play, but standing on the pedals it sounded crunchy. Because it felt so good, I went hunting for the noise elsewhere. New cog, chain, overhauled the pedals. After each of these repairs, the noise would subsist for a bit, usually the 15.4 miles to work, but then on the return trip would be back with a vengeance.

Vexing.

So Saturday I replaced the beautiful, seemingly functional
Camp-ee-know-low unit with a pedestrian Origin 8.
I wanted to give it an "epic" test. Due to work and family commitments, I had to give it an utilitarian one.
Rode to work the reverse way.
Worked briefly (Strava calls this "resting") and headed North into a headwind.
Once I crossed Rt6 in Bristol, the scenery began to improve; not quite the bucolic byways I had originally envisioned for the weekend, but traffic was light, and it wasn't raining.
I was feeling great, but when I got to Simsbury I knew it was time to head for home and the Q's baseball game. But I wanted to at least get a metric in, so I figured a loop out towards Tariffville before I head over the mountain would get me to that mark. Halfway through I realized the loop would just be gravy.
The cherry on top of that gravy was the silence. No clicks, creaks or crunches. J&B's house brand saves my sanity...and isn't that what bikes are for?

Happiness is a quiet bike

Thank you Simsbury Parks and Rec

CT Roubaix

2011-06-09T05:43:00.003-04:00

Since the Dollar Pass debacle the momentum is building...

After the awesome awesomeness of yesterday, I thought I'd parlay things into a Kitchen Sink Training Loop today. I could really use the intensity.
Things didn't start too good as I crashed 7 minutes into the ride. Impressive scratch across my knee, and some how I must have caught the buckle on my shoe when I went down because all of a sudden the arch of my foot was being crushed. I stood there stunned, almost in a state of shock as I tried to collect myself. Should I quit?
After a couple of minutes I continued on slowly, and gradually began to feel somewhat normal again.
Compared to the lushness of Nassahegan, the Res was feeling quite bony. Just couldn't get any kind of flow going.
Maybe it was the 9*F difference in temperature as I drank two large water bottles in less than 1:20.

Tuesday

Wednesday

That was the deal breaker. When the water ran out I pulled the plug, but at least I got something in.

Rats!

2011-06-08T19:09:00.000-04:00

I thought I was the man, but after James questioned my Duderiety, further investigation was called for.

It seems what I thought was the Ten Dollar Pass is merely a hill.
My bubble has been burst.
I hang my head.
At least I joined the not so exclusive anymore sub-hour club.

Sessions with The Harmonizer

2011-06-08T05:25:00.001-04:00

James and I hooked up a pretty sweet loop in Nassahegan this evening. I don't think the conditions could have been any better. Too bad the earth had to rotate away from the sun. I don't think even moving pictures do Nassa justice.

Here's some videos of James showing how a pro gets it done:

I promised James I wouldn't publish all the tries it took to get this (11), but that is sort of what separates a riders like the Harmonizer from the rest of us. That perseverance to keep trying.

How a mere mortal does it:

In the end I didn't get home until way late; too late to do laundry. The only clean shorts I have are baggies. Guess I'll just have to do another mtb ride.

2011-06-07T05:44:00.000-04:00

After the silly Revere debacle I got a chuckle out of this on the ride home from Ware.

We now return to our regularly scheduled program...

Legit: Domnarski Farm

2011-06-06T05:52:00.003-04:00

Domnarski Farm has continually notched itself up in my book of favorite races. Great "true" mountain bike course with rocks, roots, and climbs; all the good stuff. Matt's a racer too; he gets it. He knows what a mountain bike racer wants in a course, and in a prize list (Matt pays good!). Domnarski Farm is legit.

Then there's the pond, zip-line and the horses for the families. The racers are hardly missed while off playing in Matt's woods. The pond is great for bike racers who don't want to wait in line for the hose while others detail their bikes ( looking at you Neal...j/k). The water was delightfully warm. I wonder if my proximity to the toddlers had anything to do with the bathtub like temps?

Speaking of legit, let's talk singlespeed. 4 of the top 13 Cat1 racers were on singlespeeds (I went to 13 so I could include ME). Not exactly the slacker burnouts just trying to be different we are sometimes made out to be. Scott Levreault, winner of the SS, was the fastest Cat1 racer overall. I met two milestones out there today by running sub-hour laps and cleaning the 10 Dollar Pass, yet I still only managed 3rd in the SS class. I was actually only the 4th fastest singlespeeder, but Steve Witkus decided to beat up on the Cat1 40-49 group nabbing 3rd in that group (2nd fastest SS, 7th fastest overall). Adam St. Germain confirmed my stalker-vision search results getting 2nd in SS and 9th fastest overall with a stoopid big gear...slightly bigger than the ridiculous gear Steve was pushing. Scott was running the smallest gear of the 4 of us. Sometimes internet wiseguys question the legitimacy of a singlespeed class, well okay, but I say give it a shot tough guy.

Funny story: BC, the winner of the Cat1 40-49 caught me before the Ten Dollar Pass. He was the perfect carrot to get me up it cleanly. Maybe it was oxygen debt, but a little further up the course I caught him, and thought to myself, "gee Brian's going pretty slow". Knowing he already took 2 minutes out of me I asked him if he was feeling alright. He said yes and I passed him. Well turns out it wasn't Brian, but one of his teammates as he finished 8 minutes ahead of me.

Mad props to Fabian for driving my ass to the race. Dude refused to take gas money and was great conversation. Thank Fab!

An Invitation: The Father's Day Ride

2011-06-02T05:32:00.000-04:00

You are cordially invited to the Father's Day ride.

At 8:00 AM on Saturday, June 18th, there will be a bicycle ride along the Metacomet ridge from West Hartford to East Granby and back. We will hit ALL the best trails the Res, Penwood, and TJ's Backyard have to offer.

The Father's Day ride is a tradition I started solo (because none of you shrinking violets wanted to join me). Within a couple of years the Harmonizer had become a regular on this annual jaunt.
Last year's Father's Day ride was a miserable failure of a road ride due to extenuating circumstances.

The above gps track is similar to what the Father's Day ride will be. Unfortunately on that day we bailed before we got to Hatchet Hill, and skipped some really good stuff.
On the 18th, we are on a mission.
ALL THE GOOD STUFF.

The ride will be approximately 40 miles with well over 4000' of climbing.
There are 3 water fountains along the route (there's one right in the center of T'ville!), and since we are crossing the river there are also these things in Tariffville called "stores" that sell "food" and "drinks". They also have another thing called a "Bar" there, but I think that kind of tomfoolery can wait until we get back to town.

Now for the not so fine or subtle print.

I know Father's Day is on Sunday the 19th. The Q has a baseball game at noon. I'm not riding at 5 in the morning to make sure I'm home in time for it.

You can meet me either at my house at 7:45 AM, or the Res at 8:00 AM.

After ride binging at Moe's.

There also is an important road race on Sunday. Be honest; were you really going to podium? The Father's Day ride is an excellent excuse for a less than stellar result. Sorry to anyone who has to work Saturday.

The pace of the ride will be a Cat1 pace. We usually average over 9 mph on these rides and try and keep breaks to a minimum. We want to make it back to WeHa and burritos by about 2:00 PM, at least I do, but I won't let that interfere with hitting ALL THE GOOD STUFF.

Come prepared. Flats are not uncommon.

It's worth the trip from out of town/state.

Hope to see you.

2011-06-01T05:58:00.000-04:00

Beautiful morning to commute in today. Mid sixties, clear, and the humidity hadn't kicked in. As I roll up to the shop, I hear my work neighbors A/C whirring away.

You need the air conditioner above 60*F?

They are fire sprinkler contractors so their employees need to drive trucks. They pretty much uses their trucks as single passenger cars (the other owner usually drives a Lincoln pickup truck thing but today was in his wife's Ford Expedition).

They are nice guys.

How much does energy need to cost before the average American thinks about their consumption?
When does the sense of entitlement end?

Details on the Father's Day ride tomorrow.

Anniversary of Sorts

2011-05-31T05:45:00.000-04:00

Last year Memorial Day Weekend was going great, when on my third ride of the weekend, on the last "feature" of the ride, I fell off a log and hurt right thumb. At first I thought I could just "walk it off" but when I still couldn't pick up glass of water the next day I realized I should get it check out. That sucked.

As I pulled into Sessions Woods on Friday afternoon, I was reminded that this is where things started last year. A sense of deja vu came over me.
Hopefully the pattern would be broken.

Things started off great; Nassahegan has some of my favorite singletrack in the state.

cool

cool

When I got to one of my favoritest twistiest tightest sections of singletrack in the world, this is what I found:

NOT COOL!

Every 30 meters or so the trail was disrupted by random "tree work". To my untrained eye it almost seemed like a vindictive act of retribution by the MDC over the Parking Wars.

Fortunately only about a mile of trail was destroyed...but it was the best mile.

I was soon pacified:

The mile of hike a bike sort of took the wind out of my sails so I skipped the Trout Hatchery loop and called it a day.

Saturday I got in a Kitchen Sink loop from home. About an hour in I realized I wasn't riding at the intensity I wanted to. I dropped the hammer...then dropped my chain. Rather unusual for me.
On closer inspection I noticed this:

3 Quick links? How'd that happen? Time for a new chain you cheap fook.

Sunday I wanted to ramp things up a bit. I don't know if I did or not, but I sure had a lot of fun. Rode the ol' Sidewinder. Hot and humid; love it.

Maybe it was the fun factor, but I still didn't feel like I got the intensity I was craving. As I was getting ready to ride before the parade, the clouds burst, and the sky was filled with thunder and lightning. When things cleared would I be too concerned with not getting hurt to ride the res hard?

Hmm...perfect day for a bike with fenders (hey! I've got one of those!).

Took the Fun Machine out for a quick Hatchet Hill loop. The mild rollers of the loop and the fixed gear made keeping the level right where I wanted it. Got home and my legs had that pleasant buzz of exertion. Perfect.

The cherry on top of a great long weekend...
100% intact and uninjured.

2011-05-27T08:20:00.001-04:00

Two words:

Knee beards

Here's a few more:
Sometime on Monday before you loose count of how many beers and (or) hotdogs you've had remember why you have the day off.

Pee green soup

2011-05-26T07:55:00.002-04:00

I was Promised this:

What I got was this:

I rode the Sunday Princess this morning for a number of reasons:

Top secret training plan Ha! you thought that I linked you to said plan but I can't; it's secret.
Two water bottles make extendy treats easier in the afternoon.
The Fun Machine is still creaking (I thought it was fixed, but looks like I've got to go deeper)

Had I known (or actually took the initiative to look out the window), I would have gladly dealt with the creak. The Fun Machine has the full zoot suit Mod complement of blinkies. At least I could hear out of both ears, but damn! that ride was sketch!