When Not on the Bike...

Found on BobDob.com

OK Commuter

I work with some willing cats. Recently, I found out that yet another person in our office is making the effort to commute occassionaly by bike.

My loose theory is that people need to see it's possible. Incubation then takes place. Most will always think it's crazy, but some will keep the idea in some safe corner of their mind. "Maybe on nice days, I'll pay less for gas, it will help me get in shape... " At some point, a few will give it a go. If that happens, anything is possible.

A once is a while cyclist is better than an all the time driver.

Latest tale of the tape:

Two Indy Fabs purchased.
One Kona purchased.
Four Tour Registrations (maybe more).
Seven sometime commuters (Out of 47 people).

Spring is here. Time for number 8.

Pat the Bunny

Okay, Now I understand.

Understand what? I believe MW would call it, "9erness."

The Niner and I went out to Wilderness for just under three hours of single track solitude. The goal was to keep the pace pretty high the whole time. Mission Accomplished. Apparently, Easter and some of the locals heading to Manawa meant empty trails for me.

While there is the sense of riding slower, a few measurements seemed to prove that I am pushing pedals faster than ever before and the bike is certainly to blame for some of this. Plus, my marginal technical skills now have a nice crutch with this bike. I am looking forward to getting out to Platte.

Your team kit doesn't look this good... BareKnuckleBrigade.

"Why do you wear that Stupid Bunny Suit?"

14 days... "six hours... 42 minutes... 12 seconds. That... is when the world... will end. "

Bike maintence today, yes. In fact, as I type this Mrs. Snob is struggling to put some new Michelin Jets on her Jamis Nova. Getting the last of that bead in... almost always a pain.

All which is loose must become tight again. Such the state of the Niner.

Easter morning with the family. Easter afternoon is gravelicious. No Manawa for me, just local lines.

"Why do you wear that stupid man suit?"

Office Closed

That's a wrap!!

No, I am not pulling a Paddy. The world outside beckons a little too loudly today. 85 degrees and Sunny. A little bit of a wind, but that's what hiding in the trees is for. Wilderness for a few hours, home by the time I would normally return from work. Heaven.

Fade to black.

And Then There Were Three

Well, for a variety of reasons, the Lincoln Mafia is now down to Three riders taking on TransIowa.

The Sam-R-I Warrior.
Matt Wills.
Da Snob.

The details are all coming together nicely. Butch and Dave Story are our support crew. We have excellent hosts in Hawarden. Now there is just that little matter of riding across the State of Iowa.

I just set up AudioBlogging a few minutes ago. Will I have the color that our local man on the scene brings? No way.

Here's to 340 Miles Cominatcha.

"Lies and Betrayals...

"Fruit covered nails... Electricity and LUST..."

Photo from IFbikes. Click the Pic and See.

Michigan's North Country Trail

Nearly every year, my family and I take a week's vacation in Onekema, MI. It's a very small town along the central Lake Shore just North of Manistee. One of the great things about the vacation is that it's near a trail head for the North Country Trail. So, every year, I slip away for a few hours most days and rock out some single track.

A little research shows that the North Country Trail runs the length of the state. I know some of it isn't open to bikes, but do we have a sleeping Giant of Endurance Events? Is there some sort of record for running the length of the trail? Pipe dreams all? Maybe, but I will most likely be back in Michigan in early July with nothing better to do than explore.

Give a guy a shot if you've got the goods.

Have Headwind, Will Mash

What kind of cat finishes TransIowa? How about a guy who pulls inventory duty all night, then rocks it for a few hours of gravel on the bike, putting up with a jackass who has decided to ride into the headwind. The Sam-R-I warrior in full effect.

Actually, the wind put a damper on the conversation as I hadn't been able to catch up with one of my favorite smart asses for quite a while. Great day. Nice Ride. Lots of TI talk. Sam hasn't chosen a bike yet and is even mulling the One Gear. Yield to the darkside, I say. It is your Destiny.

Combing the prairies for Oreo Cows.



No Sleep? No Problem. Sam training sleep deprivation style.



Two quick notes on Roubaix:

Good call, KW.

Snap a steer tube? WTF?

Yard Art and Oreo Cows

Rock D and I wandered some gravel for a few hours this morning and came across this beauty sitting out by the road.

On the other side of the road were Oreo Cows. Black cows who all had a white stripe around thier torso. Genetic manipulation began long ago. We'll have to go back again for a photo of the cows.

As fate would have it, as I was passing D St on the way home, CVO was pulling up to pick up Corey for their Crowder journey. I am looking forward to hearing how things went.

Fun with MS Publisher

Naproxen Sodium

Also know as Aleve. My legs are tired, have been tired, and are slightly sore. Time to add some teeth to the back cog.

Recon for the Epic has been bagged for this weekend. The weather looks mediocre at best and the race isn't until November, so I'm pretty sure well find a better weekend.

The Niner saw this first single track in Wilderness yesterday, but only a teasing tasteful. I see good things in my riding future.

Listen... You can smell Iowa coming.

The Execution of All Things

The Not-So-Secret Machine.



A little tweak...



And we're off...



Thanks JB for the assist.

Singing in the Rain

No race for the Lincolnites this weekend thanks to Mother Nature's Revolt, but RF brought Kansas soil back to Omaha. I like the foul weather so it's a bit of a mixed bag to me. In the end, I think CVO's call was the right one.

I did however manage to ride twice today. Maybe I should have just raced. If you are going to get soaked, it might as well "mean" something.

The plus side is that I did get a lot done for the Epic. The webstore is ready to rock. Rock D and I have outlined a recon trip for this weekend, mainly to ride what will be the unsupported section of the race.

The new look may be short lived. I tried for a bit to make the background pink instead of red but can't seem to pull it off. The comment section also works in a very funky way and I have yet to be able to straight that out either. If you really want to read the comments and see who they are from, you have to click on "post a comment." Otherwise, you don't get to know who said what and sometimes not all of them show.

Webmaster, I am not.

G-Ted has some nice photos of how the gravel currently looks in parts of Iowa. Maybe I should look into fenders.

RED RUM... RED RUM

What do you mean? I don't notice anything different.

I've added a few addtional changes aside from the look. Adventure Racing has been dropped from the scene to be replace by Fear of the One Gear. AR is dead. And probably should have been dead with me a year or two ago.

Adam has been added in the Think Tank. Also something that should have been some time ago.

Plus, I just dig the little guy on the bottom left. I need a sticker of him to put on the Niner over the verbage on the Top Tube. "Pedal Damn It" is nice. But, let's face it. If I start cursing myself in a race, I will be saying things far worse than Damn It.

Any Time Now

That is, TI can get here anytime. In some ways, my last two posts are just a confirmation of plans I really made some time ago. I am ready to gather our Coalition of the Willful and go. Now.

First race of the year Sunday, which means my levels of anxiousness will begin rising shortly. It will be fun to see what happens. I think.

Maybe I'll just assume lotus position and sing Elk's Fight Song to myself. That should get me "centered."

Two Humped Camel

I have traded in my Abacus for a Ruler this evening.

The latest thoughts on TransIowa is currently how to handle Algona. As opposed to last year when we could actually have a support crew, this year you get a drop bag from our friends at Wingnut Gear. The bag is 10"x 20". I will be putting a ready to rock and roll Camelbak Hawg. Roll in, switch Camelbaks and roll out. At the start, I will be going light with an old school Rogue. Thin on the back. Makes your jersey pockets accessible. Light. Fast. Efficient.

MW and I may end up running nearly an identical gear and the same tires. JINX!!

I am completely bored with the look of the blog at the moment. Be patient if changes start occuring. We won't be under construction. We'll be under demolition.

Have Abacus, Will Travel

And so it begins...

My season of racing not to finish last takes off Sunday. Marathon in KS. 3Hrs of racing. Not much longer than a XC race really, but I am really looking forward to it regardless. Lantern Rouge, here I come.

The louder you say, "On your left," the faster I will get over.

G-Ted has Paddy on the record. Canadian Class.

Speaking of internet content and mal-content. Two new links are added. TwoWheeledLocust and Gwadzilla.

The TransIowa discussion on MTBR has turned to gear choice by the SS crew (as well and winds and gas stations.) This made me break out my less than stellar math skills and refer to the SurlyBlog for a little mental assistance in SPEW.

Having just bumped up my wheels to Niner sizing, I thought I would work out what in the hell the measurable difference was in the work my tiny legs are doing. I just stuck with Gear Inches because I wasn't about to jump into the deep end of the pool and calculate Gain Ratio.

My floaties and I are just fine in the shallow end.

What I found was that I am content to be running something slightly smaller than the folks that listed their selections on the thread. Basically, Joe and I seem to be on the same page. I am with Dallas though, in that I will bring what I need to make a last minute switch if needed. Flexible plans have always worked best for me.

Now I remember why I took Logic to get out of any math in college.

How Do I Really Feel?

Place Your Bets

Which picture best represents what conditions will be like during the TransIowa?

Muddy Mess


Christmas Remembered


The Snob will be going into seclusion over the weekend. Ride Hard. Check you Monday.

Single Speed Hell Train

How's this for a Single Speed team for 24-9?

CreepyFriendly. Eric Roman. Marko Darko. Travis Brown.

That's a lot of laps for me listening to the words, "on your left."

Tweaker Rides and Slush

The Niner is now fully functional. I spent the vast majority of Saturday morning and early afternoon in and out of the both my basement and the shop, finishing the build. Saturday afternoon and early evening was then spent riding, stopping, tweaking, riding, stopping, tweaking, etc.

Props and thanks to all the folks who helped this clueless wrench get things in working order. I think at some point nearly everyone at the shop gave me a helping hand. Zach, who really saved my ass on Saturday afternoon, also finished his Niner, which is a nice looking TwoWheeledWeapon as well.

While I was dinking around with the One, MW, CVO and Big Skinny rocked a six hour in KS Lincoln style. RF and Captain Cowbell showed strongly for Omaha as well. (I still don't know who the Captain actually is though.)

CVO, embrace the pink helmet. The best pink helmet still goes to Sam for rocking the pink flamed helmet. Whatever happened to that thing?

Wind and slushy snow yesterday and riding was less than joyful. I bailed after a short one.

What a baby.

myinherentawesomeness.blogspot.com

Recently more dust got kicked into the air in the "debate" over 29ers vs. 26ers. Cyclingnews went to print, G-Ted posted, Dave Harris commented, then our own KW killed it with this well-written wonder. It deserves more eyes I threw it up here.

"I did my own tests. You might have read about them on my blog, myinherentawesomeness.blogspot.com. In these highly personal studies I used two separate tests to see which of my bikes I could ride faster. After each lap of the course, I’d excitedly high five myself. Based on the color of my palm, I concluded that my bike with the Time pedals generated a much more enthusiastic hand slap than my bike with Shimano pedals, and thus a much more red (redder?) palm. Not scientific enough, you say? Well you should also consider that I used a color wheel that I bought on sale from the art supply store, and my observations were based on its near-perfect range of magenta.

On another day, on the same course, I strategically placed logs and medium-sized boulders so as to aggravate other trail users. I’d then hide in the trees and when one of them rode by, I’d jump out and yell, “Enough about me … what do YOU think about me?” and watch as they collided with my well-laid obstacles. As they chased me down—many times bleeding and nursing bent wrists and/or collar bones—I’d start my stopwatch and measure how long it took them to catch me on my bike that had the chain lubed with WD-40 as opposed to the one that had the chain obsessively coated with a perfectly nerdy layer of beeswax. I’m sure these findings will bring a ton of naysayer commentary down on my head, and that’s exactly the point. The point is me. In both tests, I was faster. No doubt about it. Forget wheel size, forget blogs, forget your knee centered over your pedal spindle, and the optimum power output of eggs in China.

If we all just focused a bit more on me, this world would be a much better place to live.

You’re welcome,

—kw"

Notes from Dejay

"when i look in to a depth
what beauty it brings
to set myself free
so i can study the pieces
inside a hole i can not see
when i wave good bye
it sets me
to say hello
to the crack inside
that lets me know who is me




















when i look in to a depth
what beauty it brings
to set myself free
so i can study the pieces
inside a hole i can not see
when i wave good bye
it sets me
to say hello
to the crack inside
that lets me know who is me"

"Notes from Dejay" are musings from NewBelgiumAles/Niner Bikes rider Dejay Birtch.

24 Hours of 9 Mile

You Bastards.

So, I read the Comments under my last post and go look at the 9 Mile site.

Solo for GrannyGear at Landahl is $330.

9 Mile is $78? Am I reading this correctly? WTF?

At that price, I doubt I would care if I was still recovering from Cedar Valley. The entertainment and hangout factors would be worth $78.

Damn you, people.

($78)

06 Schedule and a lot of Rancid

"With the music execution and the talk of revolution..."

March 25. Tranquility XC.

"Don't worry 'bout me gonna make it all right."

April 29. TransIowa.

"The worst of times, they don't phase me..."

May 13th. Platte Marathon

"If I fall back down, you're gonna help me back up again..."

May 20. Dirty Kanza.

"She's a punk rocker. She don't trust no one..."

May 28th. Branched Oak 12HR.

"Under the Red Hot Moon take a bus downtown to the graveyard shift tonight."

June 10th. Poncha Marathon.

"Not my time to go, not my time to die."

July 8th. 12HRS of Blue Mound.

"Black coat, black shoes, black hat, Cadillac..."

July 22nd. 12HRS of Cedar Valley.

"Yeah, the boy's a time bomb."

August 19th. State Championship at Swanson.

"I want your salvation..."

Sept. 23rd. Rave in the Cave Marathon.

"It takes disaster to learn a lesson. Your gonna make it through the darkest times..."

Keeping the schedule open for the 24HRS of Afton as well. Those cats need to set a date for 06.

You guessed it. A lot of the songs were on 'repeat.'

"... And Out Come the Wolves."

Blister in the Sun

Spent just under three hours riding Platte today with a nice bunch of cats. Lots of highlights including a nice over the bars, rodeo clown manuever on my first lap.

MW's black w/ pink highlights Soulcraft is an absolutely gorgeous bike. (I would love to have a picture up, but it wouldn't do it justice anyway.)

Jesse had Icon with him, which was the first time I had ever ridden with a dog cruising along. I am pretty sure Icon was picking better lines than I was the entire time.

Corey and I had a pretty interesting discussion about how different people ride different parts of that course. It really pointed out that a big motor is only part of the story in mountain biking. Case in point, there are a couple of points at Platte where you dip down into the little gulley and need to take a hard right as you come up on the other side. Three ways you can go. Nimrods like me will grab a huge amount of brake and turn right. Corey taps the front brake, let's the back end whip around and is now darting off in the right direction. Then there are cats like Matt Slaven (who certainly wasn't there today but Corey described it well), he will apparently summon his bmx skills and take it airborn, letting the gyroscopic effect take him up, over and right down the trail. Rank of Master, he has.

As MW pointed out today, the Fascist Killer has seen its last Platte ride for quite a while. The Niner nears completion.

CycleBetter.com is now cross-posting this snobbish material. I believe the Jackal is also suppling a feed.

Paddy killed his blog. There are only a couple of blogs I personally check more than once a day. His was one. At least I known he'll still kick my ass in Iowa.

Last but not least, in the category of "Holy Hell." The prizes for the Marathon races in the Psychopath Series are:

1st: $300
2nd: $200
3rd: $100

Damn, that was a long post.

Slanted and Enchanted

As I mentioned previously, the 29 vs 26 debate is alive and well all over the web. G-Ted had another quick installment today which prompted my usual headache from thinking.

Dave Harris tried to effectively measure the difference for him in a physical sense, but how about the psychology of the rider? In short, I am willing to bet that if you firmly believe you are faster on wheel X for whatever reason, you probably are if the true physical differences are close.

Then again, what do I know.

Shortly, I will be riding the shop on my 26 Fascist Killing SS to continue to build up my 29 SS Yet to Be Named Niner.

"Zurich is Stained and it's not my fault." Pavement

Oh, and if a single speeder is a Viking and geared is a Ninja, I don't know what you call someone rocking it fixed. But, I do know that it's sweet as hell.

On Course

There will be a few parts of the Epic where we will mark the course. Enter the Jolly Rodger.

Installed the cranks on the Niner tonight. Fork also arrived today as well.

Tools of my own destruction are now nearly complete.

"I Love This Plan...

...and I am excited to be a part of it."

The first Twenty into the Dirty Kanza contain a few familar names.

The Locals: Jeff Avey, Rock D, and myself.

The TransIowa Connection: G-Ted, Paddy, Joe Partridge and Rob Pennell.

That's a lot of Vikings jumping into both races.

Scenes from Sunday

When I left to ride this morning the Rock Island was wet so I assumed that Platte would be unrideable. I hear I couldn't have been more wrong.

This is Saltillo Road, but it was also the view for nearly the whole ride.



The "Mr. Obvious" of traffic signs. By the time you can see what's on the sign, the steeple is on top of you.



Almost home. I wonder how long that sign has been standing there.



Ending the day with some fun. Wilderness Single Track.

No Attention for Detail

Big Skinny and I were swapping out the rear cog on the Fascist Killer to discover that the 16 tooth ring I thought I was running was actually a 15. Brillant. Luckily, I was going to 14 anyway so I didn't wrench my way to redundancy.

Yet another reason why my place was on the sales floor.

Leaving the Casa at 10:30 tomorrow to hit Wilderness and then head to Platte. Need a long one. TI is not too far away.

I am a little bummed that the Fish Hunter had to pull out of TI. Now who am I going to trade pulls with?

Well Yeah, But...

If you're feeling argumentative, the internet is the place for you right now.

Single-Speeding vs. Geared. Team Dicky brings you what may turn out to be the best posts of the year. Make sure you read The Viking Theory.

26 vs. 29. Dave Harris experiment moves from MTBR to CyclingNews.

I have a theory too. The thoery is that I enjoy life more and feel better when I ride a lot. I will let you know if testing bares this out.

"Life is too important to be taken seriously." Oscar Wilde.

Getting Up to Get Down.

March is coming in screaming for me to pay attention to detail. TI looms ever larger in my already crowded mind. Not to mention the XC events kick into gear this month. The current plan is to ride to Tranquility and then race with the One Gears. That could mean flying the black flag at the back of the bunch, but I don't really care.

Is anyone interested in going for Six Hours in Kansas the weekend before? Big Skinny, I am looking at you.

For those of you who like riding in Colorado, you could further complicate your race schedule by considering the 24hrs of EROCK.

Mmmm espresso.

"Tune In, Freak Out, Get Beaten" - HST

It would seem that both Rock D and I will be in for the Dirty Kanza. There is a note on the Heartland Race site which says that there are slots still open.

Riding out to Wilderness for some more saddle time tonight with the Avey-ator.

Only two parts remaining outstanding before the new ride gets constructed (until I realize what else I have forgotten.) No Switchblade, No Pace, No carbon bling fork. Good old steel from the folks at Niner will be the option for the Snob.

Local racing begins this month. Time to stop typing and get back to riding.

Visual Note from Dejay

Mural
Originally uploaded by Endurosnob.

I don't trust that guy on the stilts.

Pimp My Shop

Stopped by the shop yesterday before pushing pedals for three hours. Gravel to intervals to Wilderness. MW, MG and Jeff Bonsall were also out enjoying the day. Riding out to Branched Oak to meet the gathering of the tribe at 1pm. If you're looking to ride out, I am leaving at 11:30 from the Casa de Snob.



Mrs. Snob likes pink. The shop looks better than I can ever remember. Nice work everyone.



"Everything is under control, Sir."



Suburban Bohemian.



Kris working that sales floor magic.



29er ready and able.



Jeff in tears as I leave to ride.

Counting Calories

EBBscale
Originally uploaded by Endurosnob.

Dejay, the weight weenie, sent along this shot. It, of course, happens to be what I will run as well.

Mr. 24 finally got his bike situation ironed out. Now he can relax and start cracking skulls.

Who's riding this weekend?

Listen... Do You Smell That?

Jesse's prognosticated winner for TI is out, but now he's in himself. Nice. (Maybe Marko would like Big Skinny's spot.)

Speaking of Big Skinny, he joined Jeff and I on a quick one gear jaunt through Wilderness last night.

The Pic is Dejay kicking it Old Pueblo style.

Need something to do on the weekend after TransIowa? You can always register for the EnduroSnob Epic. May 6th. 5pm Central Standard Time. (Gotta get the morning ride in.) 50 Riders Total.

Are You In?

Dare I Say, Genius!?!

Creepy Friendy = Genius

Rode through Wilderness this morning. Clocked Two Hours. Back at it again tonight.

If you listen closely, you can hear the race season coming up behind us.

Back in the Game

Last week I was face down in the everyday life but now we're back and ready for Action. For some reason, I got promoted at work, I didn't ride as much as I should and let myself get frustrated by the way the Olympics is covered, but it's all good and the game is back on. (But please, don't show me the beginning of the 4x10k XC relay and then switch to ice dancing for 40 minutes. I like to suffer, but not like that.)

Dirty Kanza entry is away. 50 slots. I am not a fan of the element of chance involved with mailing the entry in, but given how close I am, maybe I should relax. The anxiety does mean that the Epic will be done online. The Rogue Seven won't find there way into this one early.

Got a note from Johnny right before his Quality orientation. I would imagine he was the one orienting them.

Dejay was back in action at Old Pueblo, but from the note on the Swizzle, it sounds like he got some bad information and shut it down too early. Frustrating I am sure. Btw, Dejay is rocking it Niner style this year.

This post was brought to you by Nirvana's "Incesticide." I'm Stained.

Tricks of the Trade

Remember the local "Enduro Debates" we had a few months ago? To have or not to have endurance events? How many? Keep it simple. Make it conform, complicated. Name calling, etc? G-Ted has a nice string of posts going about endurance racing and the latest tackles the subject of XC vs. Endurance Racing. As usual, it's well done. Read it, comment on it, think about it.

Blogging Intertwined: Visit Marko and find that Paddy knows his music. I want one of those shirts!!

If you've got Gold locked up and decided to throw a Method, you better fucking stomp it. (Come on, it's a Method.)

The Palm would have stomped it.

Rise Above

Shout outs all around to the LBC crew. Those guys are all quality so they're probably all eight steps ahead of us and working a plan. I always enjoyed popping out of Wilderness and stopping in for some shit talk before heading up the Rock Island home.

Johnny will be taking off shortly. The Quality at QBP just shot up double digit percentage points and they don't even know it yet.

I've been watching Olympic Bordercross all night. Hard not to want to move back to Cali and hit Kirkwood again and again and again.

The Buzz in the Bloodstream

I visited the shop over lunch yesterday for some ordering and was treated to some good conversation with RockD, Jeff and Butch. I just ended up excited. About what? Well, basically everything.

In Epic news, RockD chatted with our Chadron contact who agreed to lay out a single-track route of whatever length we choose for the race. I'm pumped. Apparently the guy commented that some of the track is a bit rough. Rock told me this and I said, "So?" And he just smiled and I said, "Yeah, I know."

I'm also contemplating using the tech geek side of my life to my advantage. More to come there, but if you are thinking of rocking the Epic, we might be able to give your friends and family some pretty cool updates on your progress.

Btw, Paddy's got plans.

GET RAD

Cool post from Jesse today, it sounds like someone is catching the endurance racing virus.

These cats charged my card yesterday, so stopping devices should soon follow.

I am a bit nervous about the fork. The phrase "Back Ordered" probably alarms anyone whose worked at a shop and is hoping for the timely appearance of parts. Dejay suggested an alternative.

Today's post was brought to you by "Today" by Galaxy 500. Keeping it mellow.

Dead Legs and All

Spent another morning doing the back and forth through Wilderness. Today was solo though as Jeff is a bit under the weather and MW and Sam road to Platte. Saw Kevin, PC and a couple of other cats heading through the park as well at one point. All in all, not to bad of a day.

Anyone else remember that t-shirt? I kept meaning to buy it and never did.

Four Hours with the Rodeo Clown

MW, KW and I spent a nice the morning out of the worst of the wind riding Wilderness for 4 hours today. The 1/4 inch of snow proved a bit slick (at least for me) and I did my best rodeo clown impersonations for Matt and Kevin throughout the morning, including a sterling slip to baseball slide in which sent me slipping along the trail with the greatest of ease.

Great ride though. Jim W. met us about half way through and joined us until near the end. I also had my first experience in poaching a few of the other trials around Wilderness.

More fun tomorrow. Thanks for the ride fellas.

Exhaust Huffer

During the commute this morning, I was getting ready to cross O st, when some cat in a beater Chrysler K car used the right hand turn lane to pass me on my right. Aside from nearly clipping me, he then punched it and a cloud of filth came pouring out of his car just as I inhaled deeply to shout an obsenity at him. The result? A good morning hurl over my right shoulder. Luckily, I had a light breakfast.

Dirty Kanza information is released to the world. Dead Sexy!! I may need to do this and then suffer out the 12hr. Or, maybe we can get some Canadians to hang out for the week and put together 4 of the Rogue Seven for a SS team. (Actually, I think that's a great idea but probably a logistical nightmare for the Peggers.)

Who needs a great ambassador for the sport? Give this guy some love.

Bits and Pieces

That nicely summarizes the current state of things.

Niner. Parts and waiting for parts.

Epic. Planned yet details t.b.d. (including registration, eh?)

Riding for the weekend. Lots of saddle time but not sure of exactly when or where.

Race schedule. Land of Conflicts.

This post. Pathetic.

"I Am a Deeply Superficial Person" - Andy Warhol

Credit, Thanks and Much Respect to Creepy Friendly.

Quit Giving Me the Evil Eye

FascistKiller
Originally uploaded by Endurosnob.

Well, it's only a matter of time before the Fascist Killer gets let up for air and the Niner gets tagged to take a beating. Parts are ordered or decided upon, but awaiting the proper paperwork. (It would have helped if I hadn't lost my debit card.)

Don't worry though, the FK will still be seen in out and about. I plan on putting a huge gear on it, just so my mind can tell me I can while my legs tell me I'm an idiot.

The Fascist Killer, a Mohawk Industries finest. I can't imagine another bike which can prompt my daughter Seven to ask, "Daddy, what's a Fascist Killer?"

The fact that her response to my definition was, "You mean like an evil dictator?" only proves I am already outwitted.

Single Speed Powers: Activate!!

Notes from Dejay

Dejay through this up as a Comment to my last post, but considering it's a novel, mostly written by Rudi Nadler, and a good read, I thought it best to move it to a full post. Word.

yes S.I.R. is in order, after climbing 7000+ft and ripping down hill single-t, the niner is rockin. The ridged fork shocked me at first but then started fllexing a bit, maybe do to the way i slammed it into a rock when i fell during a hike-a-bike, which bent my rotor and busted my knee, here is the full report from Rudi:Where is my mind" The Pixies

Sometimes going over the top really means going over the top. The AFD Society test out a new twist. Not as many miles as last weekends 130 plus mile ride, but equally as long in time with the added twist of miles of Holy Grace Mother of What Have I Gotten Myself Into downhill singletrack. Ride like this make for lounging about on Sunday quite the reality. Mark C, Dejay B. and yours truely met at six am at local Coffee Exchange. David B. tried but had forgotten his shoes, and had to race back home to get them. He'd planned on this ride and was not going to miss out on the foolish fun factor. So three of us left heading down Grant Rd. At Country Club we added another happy member to the days pleasures Matt A. Surprizingly Matt had decided to ride today with just two water bottles and pocket of food. A bit scare, but then after last weeks ride which we covered many more miles the cool temps kept the need of H2O to a minimum. But then it was warm this morning, even for Tucson in the winter. Basically an almost balmy 45 degrees. Last week was a touch cooler 25 at start time.

Hitting Mt. Lemon we had about 30 miles of climbing. No cheating today we were going as far as the road goes. Up to the Steward Observatory. I made the mistake of riding in to tall a gear, and pretty much suffered all the way up. I was happy that Dejay was not on his best so I didn't feel like I was the anchor quite yet. Mark flew off having a great day of finding rhythm after last weeks bonk. A coupl of turns and he was out of sight. Matt was in party mode and just road bunnyrabbit style up down round and round Dejay and I. He was making the climbing look way to easy. About three miles up David showed up. His partner Denise had kindly brought him to us. He really wanted in on the fun. Now the five of us, all on singlespeed continued our way up and up and up. I'll have to admit I seem to need more food on these rides than before. I feel like every five minutes The Hunger comes knocking at my door so I was happy with a stop at Windy Point where the views of Tucson was majestic and mmmmmm mmmmm the cliff bars are tasty. It's funny how I tend to think of Windy Point as the end of the climbing but the miles after always remind me that the next 14 miles can be rather draining. We made a brief stop at the Iron Door Cafe for a regoup and watering and then finished off our last few miles of climb, some of the hardest, to the summit.

Here's when the fun really kicks in. If you have a freewheel. For me it was the land of sphinter tightening forearm busting terror. I'll start right now by apologizing to the trail and mountain for what I was doing on the way down. The earth was so dry and the traction was so minimal that I was surfing more than riding. No good for trails. The boys dropped me as they rolled down and I face steep water bars and switch backs that left me in fixed gear fear. Riding the front wheel after going over steep water bar drops can be done, but I would not call this type of riding graceful by any means. They where kind to me and often waited not far ahead, calling out to me as I struggle bounced and walked this trail which brought us back to the Iron Door where a fit of eating insued. After this was the Red Ridge trail. Last time I rode Red Ridge was at least for years ago and now I remember why. Funny, I had a freewheel last time and and the trial was not bone dry dust and rock. I even thought it was fun. Well, except for the hike-a-bike to Charleau road. If I thought is I was surfing before now it was really true as I again beg the pardon of MTB's everwhere. With my legs locked and my brake on I faced the lack of any traction by shredding trail with skid that was beyond embarassing. Then even walking would have been skidding. Between the fires and the drough the trail was full of downed trees that impeded and impaled ( Dejay) forward momentum. At one point I even found a large boulder to test my thigh muscles. I'll be nursing this bruise for at lest a week.

After the the what seemed like 15 miles of Holy Shit riding we the descending became less tretoruous. The trail offer a new gift. One David aptly named "Hate Bushes." This is the point where the blood and dust began to really mingle. The mauling that took place was unequal to anything I'd experience in the past. Our legs began to glow as the nerve endings in our skin became exposed through the tearing action of the thorns we pedaled through. And it was here that the trail would disappear and reappear with random frequency. Mostly frequency. The 1.5 miles left to Charleau Gap dirt road was a long march. It was here that Dejay, albeit not riding his bike, fell down a pile of rock and bashed his knee and brand new bike up. Well, the bike had to be tested. His pain passed and soon we arrived at Charleau Road. Charleau Gap road is a at times steep, loose, yet more ridable than I fear. Still this three mile climb left us shaking and hungery again at the top. We took a few minutes to consume as only a cyclist can. Food, more food. Water, yes please. Gummy Bears. I must admit Gummys have a sweet place in my heart. Then down Charleau toward Cherry Creek and Catalina. Matt and I found our spirit animal for the ride going down Charleau's loose and steep turns. May the spirit of the Skunk be with you. Today the skunk let us pass without a wiff, just the beauty of his black and white determine body as he too descended the Gap. After one false start, I found the correct turn off to Cherry Creek and led the boys to the singletrack. Sweetest of the ride. While they flew off, was happy to be riding not sliding on this wonderful long and fun descent. Everytime I caught up with them the glow of Nirvana was in their eyes. Nothing better than a couple of hours of singletrack that is challenging and in comparison health to make the suffering on Red Ridge seem like a thing of the past.

By this point we were pretty much all out of liquid, and instead of the heading into Catalina State park we opted to go straight out to Golder road and the convienience store. Did lemonade ever tasts so good. We were at about 5 pm at this point. And we quickly got on Oracle road for a final touch of road riding. Spun out fixie and spinning out singlespeeding down to Ina where I left the boys and headed with my tired, brusied, and bloody body to my parents house for a dinner party.

Postscript: After arriving at my parents, I showered up, and had a glass of wine while waiting for dinner. Thing were going fine till I had my glass filled again. Somewhere around the time of having half of that second glass and getting up for food the alchol and my metabolism kicked in to high gear. While standing in line wait for one of my cousins to put salad in her plate one leaf at a time the world began to spin. I turned vivid shade of green, the darkness swirled in on my eyes. I'm not really sure how I got back to my chair, but when I got there I realized the whole party was staring at me. Well after some water and a large place pasta, meat balls and eggplant, I had quickly recovered. Well except form my thigh. That'll take a few days. Well, see you all at the 24 HOP course.

MmMm, cow Rrose Selavy (Eros, C'est la vie)

Rudi

Wilderness Saves

I spent most of my ride time on Saturday somewhat bored and unmotivated. For whatever reason, the juju just wasn't kicking. Sunday started out the same way but the sunny weather and riding Wilderness seemed to put things right. Empty trails, Sun, brisk but tolerable wind. By the end there was a smile on my face.

In other news, Marko and company kicked ass at the Stuporbowl and I ordered nearly all of the remaining parts for the Niner (credit to Dicky for the call.)

Nothing new to report on the Epic. I will probably throw it up on Ride424 this week, but am not going to jump into spreading the word too hard yet. A little simmering should bring out the flavor.

Mr. 24 and G-Ted took a recon trip for TI this weekend. Should be fun to see their reports.

I wonder how Popshuvit liked the new ride?

Special Delivery

MMMMMMMMMM


AHHHHHHHHHHH


OHHHHHHHHHHH


"A certain degree of neurosis is of inestimable value as a drive.... " - Sigmund Freud.

Art for Art's Sake

Remember in school when teachers would say, "Do what you love" as instruction toward higher education and job-fulfillment? Well, I jumped into that thought process with both feet, ended up with a few Liberal Arts degrees, none of which directly apply to my job.

However, I wouldn't change it. It helps me appreciate it when I find my way via the bike related to links like the following:

Visit the IF Grassroots Racing site, then you can end up at Thom Parsons site and some sweet "SwarthyArt."

Steve Smith, aka the mayor of Drunkingham, has a site I visit frequently from CRC.

Rudi has some really nice work, to be seen via Da Swizzle. (And he clearly enjoys a nice long sufferfest.)

Jesse and Marko also have some sweet visuals in effect. For example, I really like the piece on Marko's site where the girl is holding the boy's heart in her hands.

I am sure there is more out there. Let me know if there is good stuff I am missing.

See you tomorrow. "We'll be talking about Freud and why he did enough cocaine to kill a small horse."