Holiday Word Jumble and Quiz

First, let's do the jumble (as inspired by JK).

Fill in the blanks. "- - - - - Claus." Here are the letters: A, A, S, T, N. Your clue: Some kids, and even some adults, freak out when asked to sit on his lap. Answer appears at the bottom.

Now, let's do the Quiz.

If St. Nick was going to come down the chimney with a great gift for your inner bike geek, what would he bring?

I will reserve my answer for later, but because, as Sam points out, my bikes suck. How hard could it be to figure out?

Word Jumble Answer is, of course, "SATAN."

Maybe I should dress as Satan Claus for x-max.

This is Radio Clash

The Clash have been helping me get through my work-a-day morning with the less often play (by me anyway) Sandinista.

Btw, our office closes down for two weeks at the end of the month. Expect to be heckled to ride and expect it to occur often.

Two signs you listen to good music: One, you name your dog Lars and the musical reference isn't Metallica. Two, you reference the song "Let's Go Crazy" and it has nothing to do with "formerly know as."

Decisions Decisions

Despite the cold temps, I had a great ride today. A mix of city trails, some gravel and some snow-covered Wilderness single track. It was the kind of ride that will make you consider a race like the ArrowheadUltra. Of course, you'd really need something like a Pugsley for that kind of snow and I can't see buying a bike like that for one race. I know that Corey and Jeff went out today as well. How was the ride fellas?

I also believe I have decided upon the bike setup I will run for TransIowa. After several conversations with Johnny and Corey, along with reference to an archived DirtRag, I am taking a page out of the book of Eric Roman and going to with the following:

29" single speed mountain bike with cross bars, ~42mm Cross Tires. Gearing is a touch up in the air, but 36/16 doesn't sound unreasonable. However, it will not be "really fucking pink."

Saturday in the Snow

Enjoyed a snow ride today, with a brief stop at Cycleworks to chat with Johnny. Good times and warm toes. Now if I could take care of my hands, I would be set.

RockD sent my a link to the Ouachita Challenge, which I think I will simply call the I-Chi-Wah-Wah Challenge. Good price, reasonably close and Mr. 24hr Jeff Kerkove appears to plan on attending. (In fact, his site may be what tipped the Rock off to the race.)

If you're feeling fast, you can always go after the $500 Time Record Reward. Who's got the current mark, you ask? One half of the two-headed hydra of "Sameron", adopted homeboy Cameron Chambers.

Also, our Lincoln "Man on the Scene," again brought huge smiles to my face with his coverage of the UCI Cross Race in KC. If you haven't heard them yet, check them out.

"Okay so Tony is sitting on this guy's wheel... Hold on ... COME ON, TONY... GO GO GO GO ... Tony's just jumped around this guy and came flying to the line..."

Nothing but love. Thanks CVO.

I have your Swizzle right here!!

Your SingleSwizzle that is.

More from Dejay on the SS ride in AZ in January. See the "Link of Interest?" Glide your mouse over and 'click.'

From Dejay: "Some folks (industry style) have come out to support the ride. So far this is them...Respect... WTB, Genuine Innovations, Specialized, Crome, Surly, DT Swiss.

Now that the course is posted you know what your in for. The first 10 miles is on pavement(most of the climbing) going up the Catalina Hwy. Very senic!!! One of the reasons you ride a singlespeed is because you don't like to shift...HERE IS YOUR CHANCE.

After the little climb you will be treated to some of the best singletrack out there. That is if you like single-singletrack that weaves it's way down mtn sides, through grassy valleys and ridge lines. There is a part of the ride that come back on it's self about 3 miles, this is in the grassy valley. So if there is still traffic going both directions it should not be a problem to get out of each others way, or hi five as you ride by. This will round out at about 40 miles and it looks like we will have 2 aide stations. One at Prision Camp and one on top of the climb at Redington Rd. So dollar for dollar this is the best supported ride you can do...OH YEAH IT'S FREEEEEE!!!

If you have never done this ride you are in for one hell of a treat, I hope you like to smile alot. The desert is an amazing place, and all will be fine as long as you resect one another. "

Couldn't some of us meet up with Butch and do this? Hmmmm.

Bring It Hippie!!

Get your credit cards and internet connections ready. Dec. 17th at 1pm Central the TransIowa opens for Registration. I know what your thinking, "I'll be in the middle of a cross race." Don't worry, get with me off-line. Brotha's Gonna Work It Out.

The Voting is also not over for Endurance Cyclist of the Year. The Single Speed love train is rolling in strong for Dejay. Lots of love coming from OneSpeeder and OneGear.

As a lover of board sports, I give anyone props who signs off an email as "PopShuvIt."

Fresh from the NewsWire

A. Holy Hell is it cold.

B. This guy may write for Outside, but he's a nancy boy. Bicycle Diaries my ass.

C. Shots fired at D Street? Tell me something I don't know.

Tattoos in Modern Cycling: Part One

Eric Roman. One of the key men in promoting Single Speed World's this year and a man not afraid to suffer in endurance events (not to mention at the hands of the needle).

When Indy Fab names a color after you, you better be able to back it, particularly if it's, as Johnny said, "really fucking pink." Iron Cross. Wilderness 101. Strong results and all done SS style.

Speaking of Johnny, he had mentioned seeing an article Eric Roman wrote for Dirt Rag outlining a bike setup he ran for Iron Cross that sounded ideal for TransIowa. If anyone happens to hold on to those, I would love to find that issue.

Just Chillin'

After an incredible day yesterday, today was just going to be mellow and it was mellow in spades with the way the weather has been.

Corey and I rode for three hours yesterday, virtually all of it in Wilderness. We were certainly not alone. We saw Don, Sean Craig, Matt Wills, Kevin Wilkins and a train of folks. My office was also well-represented as JK, Regina and I assume her hubby, were seen enjoying the day as well. (Apparently, they also finished their ride along the trail by Haymarket park and managed to flat each and every tire they had.)

Penciled in Races for 05 (Pending approval of the home office in Traverse City, MI.)

TransIowa. (Thank you, Mr. Obvious)
The 12hr. (You know which one.)
24hrs of Afton. (Scheduling your racing around your friends. Priceless.)

Fear the One Gear

TransIowa for the low low cost of $30 bucks. If you're looking at best value per mile, it can't be beat. A moment of silence is in order though. Rock D will be unable to join us in the suffering.

Excellent ride today with Big Skinny today in Wilderness. Nice tempo, nice weather, no head-ons. Priceless.

Ride tomorrow starting at D Street at 2pm.

A very cool video of the Minnesota State Cross Champion can be seen on Dan Swanson's site. No surprise that my favorite moment is Jesse Lalonde's quick comment before the start of the race. He also took 3rd riding a Rig.

The Fascist Killer has thoughts about rocking X-Maxx, then racing the last cross weekend of the year. Stranger things have happened.

Thanks for the emails, Pilgrims.

Dejay Birtch emailed to spread the word about the Experience the SingleSpeed ride happening in Tucson. What else are you going to be doing on Jan. 21?

RockD says I am a wuss if I don't do the Arrowhead Ultra. I wonder if Sam will want to kick me in the junk for considering this one.

You will also want to mark your calendar for the 24hrs of 9 Mile this year. Why? Because Sameron will be defending the National Title there. Maybe I will enter and block Eatough for folks every time he comes by (which would be pretty damn often.)

Off Season Questions

Here are some questions milling about my mind. If you have answers, I would love to hear them.

Is there a good reference out there for someone trying to remove simple sugars from their diet? I am trying to visualize what my fridge and cabinets will be filled with. The concern: Watts.

Is a CTS program worth the money for someone like the Snob?

Should I go with the Black Band of Anger for my birthday?

Are basemiles better on a geared bike, since no matter what the road does, you can still spin?

And finally, Jesse Lalonde asks, What would Danzig Do?

Pure Sweet Sunday

Great Day. Base miles in the morning with Jeff and Corey. Grateful Bread. Ride to the races with Johnny and watch everyone play hammer and anvil.

Here are a few of my favorite moments, Kodak style.

Sam and Matt playing engine and caboose. So that's how their team works.



Tony with the Folks From Lincoln banner making the run-up a bit easier. If you didn't see it, the key moment of the A race was at the base of the run-up. With Brad Cole coming up in front of Tony, Cole took a digger and went down hard, Tony gave him a quick look and, without getting over excited, powered up the hill. To Cole's credit, the next time he came to the hill, he tried to ride it to make up time. He wasn't going down without a fight.




My little man, Mohawk and I enjoying the show.

Press Row.

Matt working it fixed gear style. Note the socks. Those may need to become a mandatory part of the CW Team Kit.

Matt was also a part of the Banter Moment of the Day. Through the first couple of laps, some cat. on a Slingshot was stuck on Matt's wheel and not pulling through. Johnny and I wanted that to end. As Matt and Slingshot boy came through the barriers, Johnny yelled, "Get that Coaster off of your wheel." Then, after the two weaved their way to the start/finish line, Matt looked at John and said, "You need to say your sorry." Classic.

The Snob Recommends

"A Million Little Pieces" by James Frey. This has nothing and everything to do with endurance. It is my current read and my read of the year and will be no matter what else I pick up in the next month and a half.

Here's a taste:

"I don't want safety or support. I want there to be me and whatever I have to face, be it alcohol or drugs or something else. I want there to be a fight because I know how to fight. There will be a Winner of that fight. If it's me, I walk away and I have beat the shit that I didn't think I could ever beat and move on with my life. If it's not me, at least I get it over with."

Grab your library cards or borrow it from me.

Back to the light and fluffy. Dejay Birtch, who apparently can't deal with cramped German automobiles, has an interview in cyclingnews today.

Of interest, Dejay says, "what I'm trying to work out with Gary Fisher (Birtch's primary racing sponsor), is to do some multi-stage endurance racing with Cameron Chambers; Trans Alps, Trans Rockies, Cape Epic, that kind of thing. That's where the sport is going. "

On a related topic, I have decided to refer to Sam and Cameron as simply, "Sameron."

Mark Your Calendars

Game ON!! Trans-Iowa V.2 will take place on April 29-30, 2006.

What bike to ride? Hmmmm.

What's the course look like? Double Hmmmm.

My question is, can I take this guy along? He certainly helped Frischy.

Needless to say, I'm pumped.

After

Before

Where are my LobsterClaws?

In case you haven't gotten the good word, our pedalling commute may be a bit brisk in the morning.

As if you could forget, CROSS is in town this weekend at Pioneers. Warning, I am bringing pom-poms.

Those of you who are considering TransIowa, might want to do a bit of browsing. Guitar Ted finished a recon of the course this weekend. The pictures of the 'B' roads don't do them justice. Look at the pics, the imagine riding through the ditch and up on to the high edge of the field; that was TI05. You'll also notice I have added Jeff's blog on to my links.

Anyone heard further rumors about a TransKansas?

Weekend Randomness

Thomas Frischknecht won the Ruta today and is the first non-Costa Rican to do so. Apparently he had a motorbike riding with him for support to negate the homefield advantage of the locals. Smart.

In terms of riding, it feels almost like the weekend never got started. There starting and stopping in the group ride on Saturday eroded the time I had so the ride felt really short. No one's fault, just one of those wierd mornings were things don't flow, including a chain-throw which somehow shot my bike out from under me, but left me standing. Strange.

Later in the day, I went for a short jog and somehow managed to tweak my back about 15 minutes into it. Good gravy. I took that as a signal to rest and plan out my off-season training, which made Sunday a coffee and family day.

Wasn't the barista in this pic at the pub crawl with the rest of the nuns?

Wasting Time with Frame Colors

Apparently, visuals have been my theme lately.

I've spent too much time lately wondering what looks our friends at IF can come up with. It's too easy to start looking through their gallery, then turn around and see what other riders have done with their frames. I most likely won't even ride an IF next year, but it's still fun. I would imagine you can do the same with Serotta and others. (Too bad my favorite paint scheme falls under the "might as well get Ti" category.)

Let me know how you like the new blog look. There are also uncomfirmed rumors of double-images, which I am not getting from my machine. Critical eyes are welcome.

Rides this weekend people? Sam, Corey, Rick, who's with me?