How about Endurance Cyclist of the Year?

You've seen its various forms on Velonews and read the MTB Omaha post with North American Male Cyclist opinions, but how about the endurance set? Somehow I doubt we will see this option in the year end issue. Endurance Cyclist of the Year.

Some folks who could merit your vote:

-Dave Weins. Crushed it in both Leadville and the Vapour Trail.
-Cameron. Do I really need to add anything here?
-Ernesto aka. Sologoat. Pushed Eatough at "Worlds" to finish 2nd and won nearly everything else he entered.
-Eatough himself. "World Champ."
-Jeff Kerkove. Got screwed out of his biggest goal, regrouped, then crushed it both locally and in Japan.
-Mike Curiak. No hamster wheels here. Set a new record in Alaska.
-Dejay Birtch. SS "Worlds" and National Champ.

You get the idea. Who have I forgotten? They all get mad props. Opinions?

I believe the proper name for this would be the "John Stamstad Award."

'Derailleurs are for Failures'

As some of you know, lately I have become a bit obsessed with single-speeds. It's pretty easy to trace things back to the source; a conversation returning from Leadville between Jeff, Mohawk and myself. By the time it was over, Johnny had offered the Fascist Killer to convert and it was game-on.

It didn't take long to see benefits. I am a mechanical nitwit, so life was easier there. But more importantly to me, it helped make me faster. It's funny how you ride better when you have to carry speed as opposed to over-braking, then cranking it up again. It was nice to longer be dropping back through the winding sections at Wilderness then having to fight back on. (If you haven't seen it yet, and I am sure you have, there is also some interesting comments on Folks from Lincoln in regard to 'why?').

It's now reached a level where I plan to race SS in any short races next year, while gearing up for anything longer. With two possible exceptions, TI and Leadville. Cameron and I discussed the prospects of racing TI on a single speed. It's also been done before by Todd Scott (4th) Patrick Humenny (5th) and others. I had also planned on racing Cross single-speed until life intervened.

To me the best scenario is two mountain bikes with identical dimensions, one single and one geared. That way, you can switch back and forth without causing your body to ask, "WTF?"

The quote used as the title of this post is lifted from Jesse Lalonde's site (see link on the side). Jesse won the Single Speed World Championship bike race, but not the carts.

I say ride it all, geared, single, fixed. It's all bikes and it's all good.

By the way, the pic's of Matt Slaven.

Low Drama Weekend... Priceless

It's hard to be snobbish when everything goes smoothly, but I will take it anytime.

Before Corey and I left for Wilderness, I got to talk with Johnny at the hotel, about bikes, life and his needle dropping neighbors who just lost their privacy curtain. We apparently share the same fall clean up gene that kicks in about this time of year. Strange but effective and neighborhood friendly, drug-addled neighbors being the exception.

It was nice to have Corey back on the bike. Without a doubt I have ridden with Big Skinny far more than anyone else this year, so it really felt that things were back to normal.

Below is an actual x-ray of Corey's leg.

Corey and I kept expecting to see the CVO and the rest of the rolling caravan but popped out in the south parking lot without a sighting. Not wanting to push Corey's leg to far, we headed to LBC to say hello to Sam. Of course, there was the usual bike chit-chat, but it's also always a bit more and that's what makes it sweet. (Even if Corey kept wanting to discuss bodily functions. )

There was also this bit of eye candy. Me likey.

Mr. Bike Shop Owner fared a bit better today, but still must not have been quite himself (scroll down to page two). I haven't bothered to do the math, but if you glance the the points standings, I would think he sealed the deal.

Remember my post about the 3 Peaks race? Of course you don't, but Keith Bontrager has a nicely written piece about it on CyclingNews.

The Assorted Saturday

Shrugging off a couple of no-shows, I rode gravel this morning at around 6:40. I tried to do a bit of photo journalism for the snob site, but ended with four very mediocre shots and one excellent one. The latter shot is being saved in an attempt to make a header for the blog. This will be a new level of geekdom for the snob, so we will see how it turns out.

The ride itself was nice, if a bit brisk. It's sad that TI jumps into my head every time I hit the farm roads. Speaking of, if you are considering it and also wondering what the bike of choice is, check out the following discussion. I haven't chimed in yet, but probably should. After about 50 miles last year, I was wishing I had ridden my cross bike. This year the plan will be a 29er with thin tires. I'd like the best combination of rolling spead plus some float. After having ridden in the grass on the edge of cornfields last year during the 'B' road section, getting some bounce per ounce seems key.

Speaking of 29ers, Intense appears mating big wheels and VPP technology. Check it here and here for your morning read over espresso.

It appears Mr. Bike Shop Owner had a rough day down South, but I couldn't find the details yet. Let's hope it's nothing that will impact tomorrow as well.

On a positive note, you have to love the people at Grateful Bread. I walked in and ordered a dozen scones, only to discover that the $10 and $5 bills I was holding were actually two 5 spots. No worries, just bring it in later today. Not to mention, when I arrived there were no scones out so the lady goes into the back and boxes them up fresh from the oven for me.

Now if they only served espresso.

Get It Done, Fellas. Get It Done.

The Mid-America Cross Cup has it's final weekend starting tomorrow and the local crew is one-two and looking to close it out.

Keep it smooth and fast fellas.

The Inspiration - Joel Gion

Joel Gion, formerly of the Brian Jonestown Massacre is primarly to blame for the current facial hair setup.

Here he is seen in the movie Dig! riding a conveyor belt saying, "Here we go top floor. Ladies underwear. Illegal Drugs and Cigarettes."

The fact that the chops tied into cycling so nicely was just icing on the cake. (And enough people have asked that it's worth its own post.)

Chops In Modern Cycling: Part V

Most of the shots I have seen of Deejay Birtch have involved a full beard and not chops, but we're giving DeeJay clearance, Clarence. This Soul Ride victory celebration picture shows great chop potential, so he's in.

In addition, Deejay took was the first SS man at both the US Nationals and "Worlds" 24hr events.

I'll take "Badass" for $100 please, Alex.

"Another Animal Entirely"

Mike Curiak just posted details of The Grand Loop race on MTBR, including photos and link were you can read accounts of previous attempts. While this could prompt another round of "pipe-dream" comments, this is exactly the kind of blend between adventure racing and mountain biking that fires me up.

Read it and weep.

THOR's Hammer

Random Notes and Observations on a solid weekend.

- When you're an espresso freak, it really hurts when your machine flakes on you before you ride to Platte. Long day, no espresso. However, that was nearly the only negative of the day.

- Okay, the wind wasn't my friend riding out to Platte, but that just reminded me of TransIowa, so it was good. Sort of.

- Cameron and Sam came up and said hello just after the start of the Sport Field looking like members of The Brian Jonestown Massacre. Apparently, they worked it like rockstars the night before. Cameron and I chatted quite a bit throughout the day and, as I believe CVO said, he's just a solid guy who I think we'd all love to have around more, even if he wasn't blazing fast. Just a great guy.

- Travis failed to rock the chops, but it was fun both watching him race and hearing him answer the various questions posed. Well spoken and articulate. No wonder he made Chops In Modern Cycling.

- Supporting Sam's "Your bikes suck" theory, as the raffle came to the point where the wheels were given out, Cameron looked at me and said, "You could use those, couldn't you?" Ummm Yeah.

- Over 2K was gathered for THOR. Props out to John and the LBC crew. While I am sure it was a labor of love. Putting on an event like that is never easy. Nice job to everyone involved.

- Finally, the realization hit that I need to go to more local races, so expect the Snob to be rocking the Single Speed Category next year. Good times.

See You at Platte

Depart Cycleworks at 7am.

Ride SS style to Platte.

Take it from there.

Sherlock Holmes

Applying strict analysis to completely circumstantial evidence, I have reached the conclusion that we will have not just one trans-state race to enjoy next year. But two.

I submit to you, that the Trans-Kansas will be coming to us in May of 2006.

Exhibit A: Mr. Kerkove's post from Friday, October 21st.

Exhibit B: Guitar Ted's post from Wednesday, October 26th.

Either that, or it's that bastard Colonel Mustard.

Now if I could just track down William Shippert.

By the way, don't we know some people, who know some people down in Kansas? People who may even work in a bike shop in fact?

Moving on to 2006

It's funny how the mind and body connect. Once Cross was out for me this year, I went from wanting to go out and try to get better everyday to having no interest in training hard. This last week has been about commuting to work, some exercise ball stuff while watching the World Series and that's about it. My get up and go has got up and went. Therefore, I will be playing the role of cheerleader this weekend at Platte. By the way, sweet Platte River Riot artwork to whomever designed it.

2006 planning now begins in earnest. Time to get the winter Y membership and lose more weight.

As long as 06 doesn't turn out to be as foul as 05. The Snob is hoping it looks a little something like this:

New Weapon from the kids at IF: Ti Deluxe of the 29er variety. Paint scheme is a well-kept secret.

Trans-Iowa is a must. (Note promo on the right side.) Sam, Tyler and Rock are verbals. Whose gonna be the first Lincoln-ite to finish it?

Leadville appeals to me if I do the Leadman (which is all of their races including the 100 mile run) or on a Single Speed. Just doing it again to do it, not so much.

The Endurance 100 is new to the radar. There is an interesting thread on it here. Primarily single track you say? Please elaborate.

Another consideration is an AR this year. The only problem is how slim the selection is anywhere nearby when you feel like at least 24hrs and maps are a must.

Note on the pic. No, I did not let that guy borrow one of my bikes. Why do you ask?

One Question Interview

Even though I couldn't make it up to Omaha over the weekend, I still wanted to bring the "One Question Interview" to the Snob so I emailed Sam to get the ball rolling.

EnduroSnob: During Sunday's race, what was one non-race thought that popped into your mind?

Sam: It kind of has to do with the race, but I remembered a quote from Paul Sherwin. I think I first heard it last year, he used it again this year. "Deck to engine room, we need more power." That was right between turn, speed up, oxygen, brake, turn, gas, oxygen, more oxygen, shit this ground is soft, pedal, turn, OXYGEN dammit, can't you people hear me?

Congrats on the two top tens, Sam. Be warned I will be going cheerleader on you during the next cross weekend.

Not one hyperlink in this post. I feel lazy.

Costumes

It's mid-morning, rainy and I'm sitting drinking espresso, listening to Broken Social Scene while my crew just chills. By all accounts I should be racing a bit of single speed cross today, but oh well. I don't know anything about Standing Bear, but maybe some mud will even make an appearance. Hope everyone goes hard, feels strong and has a blast.

I started to spend some time this morning looking at some 29er info, but came across a post from Guitar Ted, co-conspirator/creator of TransIowa that led me in a different direction. "29ers, Punk Rock and Zealots."

Wherever the loose and floating connection between Punk and Bikes is, that's where I seem to want to be and remember it first getting framed for me by Hurl on the CRC Site. My first thought wasn't that the read was cool, but that it simply made sense to me. Apparently, it makes sense to a few other too. The Ashville band "Dead Things" gave a good example in 2002.

In an interview with Singletrack Magazine, Travis Brown commented, "I think that a timeless characteristic of the cycling industry is a healthy desire to be unique and I think there will always be individualistic minds there that we can count on for something new and fun." Similiar notion in a different context.

Of course, the philosophy major in me could break all of this apart really quickly into commentary about existentialism and pigeon holes, but why bother. Right now this little costume fits really comfortably.

I'd still love to be racing my bike.

Or maybe I'm just bored.

Fame and Fortune Await.

The new and improved TransIowa site has Emily front and center. Hopefully, she won't be the only woman to take the start this year. The Rock has already been asking me questions about lights and logistics. It's nice to have friends that over think things as much as I do. Team OverAnalysis in the house.

In endurance on the other side of the world, The Crocodile Trophy is going on in Australia as we speak. Thirteen stages through the land of Oz. Only twenty people took the start and only one was a woman.

Visited the hotel last night to learn a few tips from Mohawk and watched Corey working a wheel. Looked completely like an art meets science situation. Good thing Johnny has my back.

Time to research 29ers.

The Snob Suggests

A sunset ride through Wilderness.

The comeback kid (Jeff) and I rolled through the park last night and I really wish I had taken a camera. Sure, there were the usual fall colors and brisk, cool air, but as we started back from the South end of the park we were met with a grand sunset with the sky painted with various reds and oranges, then had the cloud steaked full moon beaming down on us heading home on the Rock Island.

If we would have only had a touch of the Ludwig-Van, it would have been perfect.

Btw, if anyone has room for a Snob and his bike heading up to the cross race Saturday, I could use a ride.

One Question Interviews - Coming to a Race Near You?

In the midst of espresso enjoyment this morning, I visited CyclingNews and found my way over to Dave Zabriskie's website. Apparently he has been posting One Question Interview throughout the year. The Snob highly recommends you visit and give it a read. Here's an example:

DZ: Thor what does it feel like to have the coolest name in the peleton?
TH: I didn’t know it was a cool name.
DZ: Trust me it is.
TH: O.k. then. It feels pretty cool then.
DZ: Thanks for the interview.

Dry, subtle, what could be better? I may do this at cross races this year. Seems to fun to pass.

Great ride today. Out for an hour on the gravel solo, then met up with Jeff to flow through Wilderness and enjoy the fall. If it wasn't for the aroma of fresh horse droppings, it would have been perfect.

Saturday Sundries

Woke up at 6am and was sitting outside drinking a mocha waiting for the Jeff at 6:30. I am not a fan of early mornings. By 7am, we were cruising through Wilderness and at roughly 7:30, just went down in a 'S' curve, the victim of wet soil and matted leaves. Kneecap to top tube. We cruised it in from there. I am convinced I am a jinx for those who ride with me. I come away unscathed from the Dave and Corey head-on, then Jeff gets the rug pulled out from under him. It's like I am a riding version of Murphy's Law lately.

Cameron is sitting in the 12th spot at Moab as of about 10 minutes ago. His teammate, Nat Ross is in the lead.

The new cross rims hit the shop today. Hopefully, the hubs will be soon to follow. Time is running short.

I cannot believe how much I am enjoying riding the single speed. I am really looking forward to cross SS style. And with the way I ride...

Will There Be Chops?

In case you haven't been keeping up, Travis Brown and Cameron Chambers will be at Platte on the 29th. Two National Champions at endurance events in 2005 (Marathon and 24hr respectively.) There will apparently be a question and answer sessions with them. If Travis is clean shaven, of course then enquiring minds will want to know, "Travis, where are the chops?"

Speaking of Cameron and 24s, he'll be rocking Moab with the help of Sam this weekend. Live updates to be had on the Granny Gear site, just follow the link.

Jeff and I will be single speeding it through Wilderness in the early am. I predict espresso galore for the Snob shortly afterword.

3 Peaks Cyclo-Cross

Roughly a month ago, I posted some information about the Iron Cross race. Well, in a patch of boredom I decided to research the inspiration for the race, the Three Peaks Cyclo-Cross event.

In what I found to be a happy surprise, this race has been running for 44 years. It's an obsession with riders from all walks of life. In fact, this gent has set up a blog focused only around this race. It reminds me of a conversation Kris, Rick and I had at Leadville regarding people who do the race year after year after year. In the end, we didn't really get it. Of course, I could see myself becoming that way about TransIowa, so no stones being thrown from me.

I can't help but think about how the 3 Peaks would be a great race to schedule a race calendar around. Vacation in Europe. You already speak the language. Crush yourself for day. Grab a spot of tea and fly home.