Jane's Addiction, Steak & Egg Burrito, And A Little Bit Of Skiing

Enjoy a short video of the dawn patrol session this morning put to some Jane's Addiction.

Rob, Dug, Jon, Mark and I hit Scotties in the White Pine, Little Cottonwood Canyon area. Upper stuff was amazing. Mid to lower stuff not so much.

Post ride meal in the video (cuz I know you are curious) is from Sonic. It's the #16 (Steak & egg breakfast burrito). Rob turned me on to it. I highly recommend you try one today.

Backcountry 2009 from Rick Sunderlage on Vimeo.

Unfinished Business

There are three events I'd like to go back and do again in 2010 but with better results.

• Leadville 100 on a singlespeed
• 24 hours of Moab
• The Utah Cyclocross series

Getting the big buckle without gears would make all my attempts at Leadville worth it. I missed it by 12 minutes this year. That's only 4 songs on my ipod. Totally doable to make that time up.

Team Fatty needs to go back and claim the top step on the podium for the rigid SS div. No reason we can't fix that.

With my first CX season under my belt, there is plenty of room to move up. I have a lot to learn in this area but racing CX was the most fun I had all year.

For now, I'll replay these events over and over in my head as I ride indoors.

The HR Game

I got bored on the spin bike today and tried a new game (patent pending). It's called keep your HR above your weight for an hour.

It's not as fun as it sounds but it does motivate one to lose those winter lbs.

Jan 1 is just around the corner. I need to buckle down and get back on a training schedule or I'm going to be in trouble. Normally this time of the year, I'm in full backcountry mode a few days a week. But with the lack of snow, it's been hard to want to get out of bed at 4:30AM.

We got the green light from the Executive Team at work to keep moving forward with the cycling team. The 2010 team kits are in the final stages. I'll be riding in Omniture gear again but this time we'll have some red sprinkled in. It's going to look good.

Cycling Camp

Anyone know where I can get my hands on that Leadville movie?

$1.99 Lunch

My favorite lunch is just a $1.99. And it isn't half bad served chilled.



This could be the best riding year I've ever had. December 18th and the lunch rides are still going strong.

Dawn Patrol Pictures

Just a few pictures to show you why we get up at 4:50am. Thanks Rob for packing the camera and shooting.

Trick of the day- Removing skins with skis still on.


Coming down the mountain- Flagstaff (Little Cottonwood)


Snowbird/Alta in the background- Jon skiing whatever he wants. It was all untouched.


Black Diamond makes really good stuff. This is the BD Covert pack in action.

Play and Work

Up at 4:50am
At Chevron (for a fritter and Diet Coke) by 5:05am
Base of Little Cottonwood Canyon to meet Rob and Jon by 5:30am
At trail head with skis and skins on by 6:00am
At the summit of Flagstaff (10,000 + feet) by 7:15am (we had to break trail in 50" of new snow...brutal)
Home (for a shower and change of clothes) at 8:30am
At work by 9:15am

Only in Utah can you pull that off. The boss doesn't need to know how I spent my morning. As long as I'm at work at a decent time to make some money for the company (and enough to pay the bills) it's all good. That is why I will never move.

Lunch Ride Video

Atomicmiles has mad video skills. I hijacked a video he put together of some of the last Utah County lunch rides of the season. I'm not ready to stop riding. At least not until the breakfast backcountry sessions start up.

BST Lunch Meeting Part 1 from atomicmiles on Vimeo.

Get Some

Is it possible to have two favorite jerseys?

It's good to have very important friends. They keep me looking good even when I suck.

Get some here and here.

Life Is Good In The UC

Sixty minutes of single track can make everything all good again.

It's Dec 1 and the trails in Utah County are in prime shape. We are actually starting to see some dust in spots.

If you are north of point of the mountain and not ready to hang up the MTB yet, come on down and meet "Betty" or "Frank".

UTCX #10

Saturday the UTCX series made a stop in Draper. It's my backyard. I wouldn't have missed it.

Pre-race breakfast: Diet Coke with pancakes

I don't usually smile during a race. I think I'm just happy to still be riding my bike in late November.

Riding in the sand pit


I lost contact with the lead group but was able to put some distance between the rest of the pack. I ended up in 6th place for the day.

Last lap and a rare shot of what the pain cave feels like.

Lucky 13

With only three races left in the season, I'm sitting at 13th place overall in the UTCX singlespeed class. Plently of room for improvement. I thought riding a SS mountain bike all year long would leave me in great shape for cross racing. Turns out, almost all the races are totally flat and reward those with some power in their legs. Not so great for sparrow boned climbers.



But the series makes another stop in Draper on Saturday. The Draper course was where I had my best result earlier in the season. It has at least one climb and more of a mountain bike feel to it. I'm not sure I can make up much ground in the overall points standings but racing on the home court course could better my chances.

If you're local and haven't tried cyclocross yet, now is your chance.

• 
  

Ride The Divide

Crazy....

Ride The Divide Teaser from Ride The Divide on Vimeo.

Ridin Dirty

...."They see me rollin, they hatin, patrolling and tryin to catch me ridin dirty"

Check out the video that Miles posted. He does a good job capturing the UT work/lunch ride scene.

Does Facial Hair Make You Faster?

I don't know but it's worth a try. I have been working on my beard for about a week now. It's almost in full bloom. Maybe it will give me a little extra attitude at the CX State Championship race on Sat.

I've noticed a lot of the fast guys are flying the beard. Like this guy:


Or this guy:


Worst case, It will help keep me warm. The forecast looks cold and wet.

Sources

Always make sure you have good sources when it comes to trail reports. Yesterday, my sources told me the local trails were mostly dry with "very little mud. What mud there is, is clean mud".

"Clean Mud"? That doesn't even make sense?

So we called a meeting and gathered the top executives from the local UC companies for another lunch meeting (Maddox, Mike, Dave, Nick, Keith, Adam, Miles, and me)

I need new sources. Someone is getting the pink slip tomorrow.

It was a dirty ride.

Check out the paint job on my Superfly SS....Yes, I said Superfly SS. I love this bike.

I was too dirty to change in my car, so I got naked in the parking lot at work. I almost got caught as a co-worker pulled up 2 spots away from me. I was standing there in my underwear and we made eye contact.

As he got out of his car, the only thing I could think of to say was "Don't worry, this is a PG-13 show". He smiled and mumbled something and then sprinted as fast as he could to the office.

Once I was changed and back at work, I could feel the dried mud on my legs as I sat through the last meeting of the day. I felt like "PigPen".

Racing The Storm

By the time I hit Wasatch Blvd, the sky had turned dark and ugly. I pressed on until I saw the first flakes and then turned around and raced the storm back to my truck.

The storm won.

By the time I got back to the base of Suncrest it was dumping snow. Instead of turning left to where my truck was parked, I turned right down Bangerter. I wasn't ready to stop.

Riding in the snow was fun. I like variable conditions. It makes a standard road ride much more interesting.

Saturday Cyclocross

UPDATE: 11/13/09 - CYCLOCROSS RACE #2 - CANCELLED.

I know, I know, cyclocross is supposed to be muddy. But, unfortunately our course has a lot of dirt sections that turn to amazingly sticky clay and it does not work well with the weather we have had and are expecting tomorrow. We will try to find another time to hold a race when the ground is more frozen than muddy. Sorry.

The forecast on Saturday calls for a high of 38 with snow. Perfect conditions for a cyclocross race.

$10 entry
10:30 am start
@ Euclid Outdoors Course in Heber
Course map here
Other important info here

Racing on a SS might actually pay off for this one.

I'm thinking about it. Anyone else?

Maybe they will have a money pit like this:

Group Ride Pain

I've noticed something lately. Our group rides are never mellow. And I'll tell you why.

No matter who is in front, that rider will always feel pressure to set a good pace. The rider in 2nd position will do everything possible to keep the wheel of the rider in front. The rider in front will sense the rider in back of him and feel the need to pick up the pace. The rider in 2nd position will again try to match that pace and keep the wheel. This cycle continues well into the ride until everyone is riding at their limit and bleeding out of their ears.

It's what makes a group ride a group ride. Even though it hurts. I look forward to it.

"These are my 24 hours of Moab shoes"

I was sitting in church next to Rachelle and I noticed she had on a pair of shoes I had never seen before. I asked her "Are those your alligator skin shoes?" (They had an animal skin texture to them. Pretty cool shoes actually) and she replied "These are my 24 hours of Moab shoes".

It seems my biking trips are costing me more than just the entry fee and travel expenses.

You should see the fancy new "Leadville pillows" that showed up last month in our living room.

Speaking of bike trips. I found this cool video clip of the 24 hours of Moab. It's something I wish I would have seen before I did the race. The course is much more technical than I thought it would be.

Check out the cameo at the 3:30 mark.

http://www.superhumanmag.com/content/view/1635/1/

Business Lunch

I met a few of Utah's most successful business men for a networking lunch today at the EQ in Draper. Many of Utah's hottest companies were represented. Including one of the fastest growing start up companies- CarboRocket and the prominent FatCyclist Corp.

Over the 1.5 hour meeting, we discussed topics such as:

• Clarks
• Ghost
• Canyon Hollow
• Jacobs
  
• Ghost (again)

Overall the meeting was a great success and we accomplished our objectives.

Just as the meeting had started, Whitney (Jamie's wife) rolled up and said something like "Don't you guys have jobs?" She has no idea. We work very hard.

The Bunny Hop

I learned that my body does not respond well to a fast paced night ride, getting home at 2am and then waking up to race CX the next day. I got worked on Saturday's cross race at Wheeler farm. I sucked but at least my family was there to watch me suck it up.

During the A flight, I got to witness Ali bunny hop two barriers placed on a very steep run up. Insane. I found some video of it on Team Rico's blog. The video doesn't do it justice but you get the idea.

Check it out.

Helloween Video

About 25-30 of us showed up this year for the Helloween ride. The temps were actually really nice. Most of us were sweating on the climbs. The trails were in perfect shape. No mud or slop.

Once again, I didn't get much on film. I was having too much fun contesting the hill climb and riding. But I was able to get a little bit on film.

Enjoy.

Aaron Smith had a MP3 player with speakers strapped to his top tube and was pumping out some 80's heavy metal the entire ride. One of the Iron Maiden songs was stuck in my head all night. I had to use it as the soundtrack.

Post ride breakfast was at Denny's. Must have been 20 of us. Breakfast always hits the spot at 1am.

I hijacked some pictures from Keith

Next time you see Rob, ask him what the cops said when they saw the doll in his car. Or maybe the better question would be "where did he get such a doll in the first place?" Disturbing.

I got dressed up for the occasion

Something tells me Aaron didn't need to buy anything to make his costume

Dan was on standby in case anyone got hurt and Kenny was rocking one of his countless sub 9 buckles.

Grizzy Adam in his dress and gorilla mask and Maddox was taking everyones money

UPDATE (Again) - Hell-o-Ween will be in Orem

It snowed again in Draper (still snowing) so we are moving the Hell-O-Ween Night Ride to Orem where the trails are bone dry.

We will be meeting at the shooting range above the Orem Cemetery ready to ride at 10pm.

Map here (thanks Kris for putting this together!)

If you take 1600 North in Orem all the way to the base of the mountain. The road will start to curve south and turn into 800 East. Just before the Orem Cemetery, there is a steep paved road on the left with a sign that says Bonneville Shoreline Trail (I'll have a Hell-O-Ween sign there too). Take that road up to the shooting range parking lot at the base of the "water tank road".

$1 entry fee.

The first one to the top of the jeep road climb (where it tops out above the race course) get's the money. We will then regroup and hit the single track section (probably do Kenny's trail to Frank up to the altar and then head over to Dry).

Bring your costume and come ride. See you there.

Hell-O-Ween Update

**UPDATE- Ride will be in Draper. Leave the EQ by 10pm**

I'm sure you've noticed that the trails in Draper are covered in snow as of this morning. And there is potential for more snow tonight.

The Hell-O-Ween ride in Draper is at risk. My thoughts are to move it further south to Orem (Frank, Crank, Dry area). The trails in Orem are dry and very fun.

What are your thoughts?

At what point is it too cold to night ride? I'm still in but don't want to be the only one.

Leave a comment with your thoughts and by tomorrow we will have a final decision on where to have it.

Draper CX Race

I lined up with the singlespeed group still unsure of how this CX racing works. It's intimidating not having much experience. This race had a section of paved climbing that the first race didn't have. I knew this would be the spot I could try to make up some time. The legs felt good. I didn't go out too hard and blow up. I have no idea how many laps we did. It's still a blur but I was able to take advantage of a last lap burst to pull out a 3rd place finish. (If Brad didn't have his mechanical, I would have dropped a spot).

I ran a 39x16 which seemed to be a good choice for the paved climb but it was a little too steep in the single track sections.

(photo credit- Joe Sepulveda)

It felt great to race so close to home. I heard some friendly cheers from the crowds and both Brad and Seth saved my bacon with a hand up of some water mid race. I was really thirsty from the effort and it didn't help that I had decided to take my water bottle cage off just before the race. Turns out, 50 min at race pace makes your mouth really dry.

I'm officially addicted to the CX races. Something about it. I can't put my finger on it. Maybe it's the new sensation of riding skinny tires on dirt. Or the challenge of the barriers and run ups. Maybe it's the casual setting that makes me want to hang out, watch the other racers and chat. I'm not sure but I really like it.

I hung around to watch the first few laps of the Men's A flight. Here is a quick 2 min video.

A week Away...

We are one week away from the Hell-O-Ween ride. Are your costumes ready?



If any of you have cool stuff to donate for prizes, please jump in. Otherwise, start saving your money and come with the $1 entry fee. Someone is going to come away with some cash.

Coolness

I found this logo here. Reminds me of the Clash - London Calling Album. Very cool.

Saturday is the Draper CX race. Ironically, I'll be in Brigham City during the morning and will need to speed back down to Draper to make it in time for the 1pm call up. I'll be the guy already at top speed rolling up to the start line. If I time it right, I'll be able to keep my speed just as the gun goes off and get the hole shot.

I can't wait to suffer and be humbled.

One Of These Things Is Not Like The Other

Here's the thing.....Whatever bike you bring to the ride, is your choice. You can't make excuses. If you are the only SS in a group of geared bikes, so be it. It was your choice to ride without gears. Nobody wants to hear about how hard it is. Yet sometimes it's hard not to follow this rule.

Take this morning for example. I was already in the car half way to work when I got the text from the co-workers about a lunch MTB ride. Because it's cross season and because there is a cross race in my backyard on Sat (Draper), I decided to throw in the cross bike as I left the house. This, of course, meant I didn't have the right bike for the proposed ride.



I replied to the text confirming that I had "a" bike and would met up with them at lunch for the ride. I showed up with my skinny tires, 36x16 gearing, and fully rigid bike and did my best to hang with the group. I won't lie. I had to hike a bike in a few spots but managed to keep the group in sight.

The rides in Orem are steep. Designed for gears not so much for SS. And especially not for SS cross bikes. I'm not sure what was harder. The climbs or the descents. At the end of ride, I had a much greater appreciation for my disc brakes on my MTB.

I don't think anyone in the group noticed my bike looked a little different than theirs. Or at least, they pretended not to acknowledge it.

Evolution

At some point in time, I'll invest in the tools needed to swap out my cog. But until then, I'll keep relying on friends. Which means, I tend to run whatever gear I have for all my rides. Every 6-12 months, I'll make a change but I've noticed a disturbing trend.

The evolution of the gearing on my SS during the past 2 years looks like this:

• 32x20
• 34x20
• 32x19
• 32x18

At this rate, by March of 2010, I'll be running a 16t. I've heard the 16t cog comes with a discount on titanium knee joint replacement.

24 Hours of Moab

For those interested in seeing Kenny run, you can watch the video of the start of the race here:

I didn't get any of the race on video except the start. I guess I was too occupied with riding my bike and tinkering between laps.

A few quick thoughts....

• Maybe I'm still on an endorphin high or maybe its the lack of sleep but the 24 Hours of Moab was one of the best races I've done. I loved it.

• Kenny offered his "Daisy Dukes" to anyone on the team who posted the fast time. It was no surprise that Kenny kept his Dukes and maintained the alpha male status. It's also worth mentioning that Kenny decided to wear his daisy dukes for the run/1st lap. The rest of us placed bets on weather or not the shorts would make it around the 15 mile lap without falling apart.

• Elden was able to work his blogging celebrity status and outfit the team with Princeton Tec Switchback 3 lights. The lights worked great. I ran mine on my bar and after 3 night laps, with a rigid fork, over some very technical rocky sections, I never had to adjust the light or charge it. I give it an A. I'd buy one as my next light.

• Nick stepped up and filled a last minute vacancy on the team. He got the call Thur night and scrambled to get his gear ready and join us. There were some unknowns about how Nick would do. He has never owned or ridden a rigid fork and has been riding a SS for less than a year . He crushed it and posted some very fast laps and kept us on track for a strong finish.

I hope Team Fatty decides to be there again in 2010.

Superfly SS

Last week, I got a call from Fatty telling me my new Superfly SS frame had arrived. It turns out, Elden has some pull with guys over at Gary Fisher. Maybe those pics of Elden and Gary hanging out were real afterall.

Not only did he put in a good word but he managed to get me a frameset. And get it a full 3 months sooner than I thought.

With the frameset at Racer's shop, I had just enough time to swap over the parts from my Niner to the Superfly and still have a few days to ride it before the 24 hours of Moab race this weekend.

Taking a new bike down to a 24 hour race probably isn't the smartest thing to do. Not to mention I'll be running a borrowed rigid fork (Thanks Racer). I haven't run a rigid fork in more than three years.

But leaving a frame like this at home just seems wrong. So I'm doing it. I'm going to break it in in Moab.

I finally got it dirty today during a lunch ride so I can now post a pic.

Thanks to Fatty for pulling some strings with the guys at Gary Fisher. I owe you one. But I'm still going to try and post a faster lap than you this weekend. Count on it.

Niner One 9

For Sale:

2008 Niner One 9 frame (size large) with Rock Shox Reba Race fork (only used for half of a season). Also included is a brand new, still in the box, Niner Bio-Centric BB (blue).

Thomson seat post and Thomson stem included.

I could be talked into adding the Chris King headset (orange).

It's on KSL for $900 but I'd let it go for slightly less.

CX Race #1

I know what you're going to ask......Did I grab the dollar bill?

Hells yeah I did.

Getting paid to ride. I've finally arrived.

Video here:

Voicemail

6:15pm
"Hi you've reached Rick and Rachelle Sunderlage......please leave a message"

Jamie "Hey Rick, just calling to talk about your new bike......."

6:16pm

(Jamie calls my cell) "Dude, I think I may have messed up. I left a vm on your home phone about your new bike. Does Rachelle know about it?"

If you are a cyclist who has tried to upgrade your bike(s) and had to get creative about it, you might relate to this scenario.

I've tried to do a good job of planting the seed with Rachelle before I make a purchase. Although I don't have a perfect record. There was the time I somehow ended up as the high bidder on ebay for a frame. Or the time I used my RC Willey account to buy my first nice mountain bike (back when we were fresh out of college). For those of you not from Utah, RC Willey is a large furniture store that offers a generous line of credit. How a bike shop would accept an RC Willey card, I have no idea. I didn't ask questions. And I'm sure you would have done the same.

I know people who have purchased very expensive bikes without getting the proper approvals from their wife and were terrified to let them know about. In some cases, the hiding game went on for several weeks before it was finally discovered.

I'm fortunate that Rachelle has always been super cool about supporting my biking addiction. I guess there are worse things I could be involved in (like golf- the worst sport ever invented).

And in exchange, I try not to make a stink about the hundreds of pillows and baskets we've managed to accumulate over the course of our marriage.

I can deal with the pillows if she can deal with the bikes.

For me, bikes are like investments. You buy one, ride it for a year or two, sell it, take whatever you can get and apply that to a slightly nicer set up. After several years, you can end up with your dream bike and not need to pay out the nose for it.

My dream bike (at the least the frame) has finally arrived. Hopefully I'll have a week to dial it in before the big race next weekend.

CX

I'm finally set up with a cross bike and am getting ready for my first cyclocross race next weekend. You can bet I'll be the guy who nose dives over the barriers and racks myself trying to remount my bike while running.

But it looks way too fun to pass up. This video captures some of what I'm talking about.

US Gran Prix of Cyclocross - Portland, Oregon from Jesse Rosten on Vimeo.

My bike is a SS with a 36x16 gearing. I'm not sure if that is too easy or too hard of a gear but I'm sure I'll find out within 3 min of the first race.

I got my bike dirty today during lunch. What a trip riding a road bike on dirt. It was a cool feeling and has given me a needed shot of renewed excitement for cycling.

Same Time, Same Place

.

The Assumptive Close

I rushed home from work in time to take the 7 year old to football practice. I packed along the 3 year old to earn extra points with my wife.

Got back home and put both kids in the shower and then got them ready for bed. Picked out 2 books and read to them.

Rachelle was with our oldest daughter at tumbling. I hadn't really talked to her all day. Mostly just a few text messages. So how do I approach the topic of meeting up with the guys for a night ride?

I tried to better my odds by getting to work around the house. I emptied the dishwasher, finished doing the dishes from dinner, cleaned up the random items around the house.

By that time it was 8:30pm. Rachelle still wasn't home and the group was meeting at the EQ at 9pm. What to do......

I hurried and got my bike ready and then threw on my bib shorts and jersey. I had just zipped up my jersey as I heard the garage door open.

Rachelle walked in, saw me standing there in the kitchen in my mountain bike gear, and knew what I wanted. No need for words.

The assumptive close is sometimes the best option.

Knee warmer weather is finally here. The best time of the year to ride.

Costume Ideas

Need some good costume ideas for the upcoming Hell-O-Ween ride? Check this out.

Night Vision

Remember when you were a kid and saw those ads in the back of magazines for "x-ray glasses"?


I never did order a pair and still regret that today.

But I found almost the next best thing to x-ray glasses. Night vision glasses.

And they can be yours for only $7. Click here


They come in clear or yellow lenses.

I was amazed how well they worked and at $7 a pop, you can crash all you want and not worry about losing or crushing them.

I let Dug borrow my yellow lens pair last night. After we got separated, Dug dropped down to the parking lot and kindly hung my glasses on the side mirror of my truck.

30 min later, I arrived at the truck, loaded up the bike and drove off as I checked my phone for any messages. By the time I saw Dug's text that read "the yellow glasses are hanging from your mirror. Thanks, they worked great". I had already hit 40 MPH and the glasses were no longer there.

No problem. It would have cost me more money in fuel to turn around and try and find them. I'll just order a replacement.

It's Thursday. Do You Know Where Your Lights Are?

Draper EQ at 9pm. Bring some cash for breakfast.

Bar Codes And Such

I had two goals for Lotoja this year:

1) Finish in under 10 hours
2) Do the entire race on foods with bar codes.

I knew from past experience that I wouldn't be able to stomach real food. So I loaded up with EFS gel & GU packs, Carborocket and water.

I missed both goals.

My time was 10:04
I ate a banana at the last feed zone

In short, the weekend was a total failure.

I Think I'll Wear Pants

I stood in line for over an hour last night waiting to pick up my Lotoja packet. I had heard rumors that they are making all entrants get an ink mark on their leg as part of the race requirements.

My fear was realized last night as I stood there while an old man branded my left calf with this:



I think I'll wear pants for the next couple of days. I'm very embarrassed to walk around with this thing.

The Cat 5 issue

Forgive me if I don't have a good grasp of the road racing scene. I'm too lazy to research it and frankly, would rather spend that time riding by bike. But I do find it odd that in mountain bike races, a racer can usually select the category that he/she feels they belong in. For example, I'll usually race in the SS or Expert category. At the time of registration, I can select the category that I feel applies to me, pay my money, and nobody gives me any crap about it.

Why is road racing different? I will always be a Cat 5 road racer because I do not do more that 10 road races per year to quality for the upgrade.

It seems silly.

And if a mountain biker enters a road race as a Cat 5 racer, and does well, that person usually gets a lot of crap from the other racers for "sandbagging".

What is the work around for that?

It's Better At Night

Climbing seems easier, music sounds better, and pancakes taste better in the dark.
It's that time of the year. The night ride scene is in full swing.

Get some before the snow flies.

Sweat It Out

My 3 yr old just got over strep throat.  My 9 yr old got hit hard with the stomach flu last night.  And as I sit here typing my post, I've received 3 emails and 1 phone call from other family members saying they have all been hit with flu.  Which is great since I spent 2 of the last 3 days hanging out with all of these family members.  

I'm trying to avoid getting sick.  What is my strategy?  Sweat it out.  Ride hard and flush any virus bugs out of my system.  Will it work?  I have no idea but if it does, I'm writing a book.

If it doesn't work and you see me on the side of the road or trail hunched over my top tube throwing up, just give me the thumbs up and keep away.  

More Suffering?

It's on my mind.  Rigid SS sounds like a good time.  

Let It Linger

I've talked about this before so it's no secret that I don't always shower after a night ride. I'm usually way too tired but more importantly, I don't want to risk waking up the 3 yr old at 1am. That would be bad. I think that's why I enjoy the nite ride so much. I can relax and not watch the clock. The wife and kids are all asleep. There is no reason to get back at any specific time. You can just enjoy riding with the guys.

So after last night's nite ride, I did a quick assessment of my dirtiness and decided that on a scale of 1-10, I was probably around a 6. (Anything above a 7 requires a shower)

I gave myself a 6 based on:

• No crashes
• Mellow pace
• Temps were mild so not too much sweat
• Only a mild smell of bacon on my body from the Village Inn post ride chill

I got home, took out my contacts, brushed my teeth and slipped into some pajama bottoms (just in case my legs still had some dirt on them).

I thought I had pulled it off and that Rachelle wouldn't notice my dirtiness this morning. But the first thing out of her mouth when she woke up was "oh gross....you didn't shower after your ride?"

Crap. I got busted. Looks like I'll be doing the laundry today and washing the sheets.

Mr. Wolf

You know how in the movie Pulp Fiction there is that scene when Vincent and Jules mess up and kill a guy in the back of the car? And how they call Mr. Wolf the clean up guy to help?

Well, Jamie is my Mr. Wolf. He is a master mechanic and has is own private operation in his garage. He doesn't make house calls like Mr. Wolf but he is every bit as good.

The EBB on my Niner is now fixed and ready to ride.

Thanks Mr. Wolf!

Step 11

Step 11 of the Niner Biocentric EBB manual clearly states:

11. Loosen the 6mm EBB bolt and
adjust chain tension by rotating the
Bio-Centric EBB. The EBB can be rotated
and set in either direction, giving you the
ability to run a ‘higher’ effective bottom
bracket height when rotating the EBB
upwards, or a ‘lower’ effective bottom
bracket height when rotating the EBB
downwards. Using a T-handle 6mm hex
wrench is helpful, as you can pedal the
cranks to come in contact with the hex
wrench, and then keep pedaling to rotate
the EBB into position (while holding the
hex wrench firmly).

Yet I managed to completely messed it up and stripped the EBB threads.

Can someone PLEASE come by my house and remove all tools and/or sharp objects? I'm an idiot.

Thank you

P.S. Rachelle, there is now a small hole in the garage door. It took me a while to remove my allen tool from the door after I threw it across the room.

Niner Fork

I've been thinking of trying the rigid thing again. The new Niner carbon forks come in a lot of cool colors (A&W Rootbeer or white are my favorite).

Check out this video. (I first saw this on Dicky's site)

Hell Night (Yes, I know it's only August....)

Growing up in Michigan as a young kid, I remember being scared to death about Oct 30th. Otherwise known as "Devils Night" or "Hell Night". I have no idea why Michigan adopted this tradition but it was real and it meant that we couldn't go out that night.

Now that I'm older and find myself in need of adventure to feel young again, I'm proposing our own Utah tradition of "Hell Night". I'm calling it "Hell-0-ween". Instead of acts of arson and vandalism, I'm proposing we bust out the mountain bikes, dress up in costume, slap on the lights, and ride.

Details on the poster (click to enlarge).

Two months advance notice should give you plenty of time to work on your costumes and arrange your schedules.

$1 entry fee. The winner of the "Clarks" climb gets the cash (the rest of the ride will be a casual group pace). Spread the word. The more people that show up, the bigger the cash pot.

There will also be prizes for the best costume.

The Calm Before The Storm

.....and bless the Gu that we are about to eat that it may make us fast.....

Pic taken by Mark's wife. Prayer offered by Tony P.

Leadville Result

Update* Cool video here:
http://www.superhumanmag.com/content/view/1565/48/

Just got back from Leadville. I finished in 9:12 which was good enough for 6th in the singlespeed division (out of 50) and 146th overall. I didn't bring home the big buckle but that's okay. I now know it's possible to get a sub 9 without gears.

Leadville is just too epic of a race to summarize so I won't even try.

A few things I learned:

1. When you ride Leadville on a SS, you get A LOT of attention from the other racers and the spectators.
2. 32x19 is the perfect gearing
3. I can ride 100 + miles on nothing but Gels, Honey Stinger chews, CarboRocket and water
4. If you need to, you can pee on your chain as a backup to traditional chain lube (just ask Jamie)
5. Powerline has at least 5 false summits. It really is ridiculous.
6. It rains a lot at Leadville. Get used to it.
7. Apparently, at one of the feed zones, I promised Rachelle I would take her to Hawaii for crewing for me. When you are completely cooked, funny things come out of your mouth.

A few pics....

Just before crossing the finish line

Rachelle (the hottest crew member ever).

It's crazy how much of an energy boost I got from just seeing my wife a few times during the race.

Sam, Tony, Jamie, me at the finsih

What I like most about Leadville is the hang out factor. The race is just one day. The other 3 days are spent sitting around with good friends, laughing, telling stories, and eating. It's a great way to escape.

I didn't reserve a room for next year so I probably won't be back unless Elden, Dug or Sam talk me into it.