Cycle to Fitness

9 Speed and 10 Speed MTB Stuff.

2011-03-26T23:32:00.001-07:00

10 Speed is here. Deal with it. Love it or hate it, in the high end bike world, 10 speed is your only choice with the top tier products from Shimano and SRAM now. Personally, I love it! I've used XX for 1 full year now, and have not had any issues. 10 speed rocks your socks. Don't have $350 for an XX cassette? Don't worry brah', SRAM is making 10 speed components down to the X7 level, and Shimano is gracing all of their MTB groups down to SLX with the 10 speed treatment.

Thinking of upgrading slowly? Go for it! Recently I actually set up some 10 speed parts and some 9 speed parts, and mixed and matched them a couple of ways, and here is what I found:

10 Speed Crankset with 9 speed chain, cassette, and derailleur
That works. In order for this set up to work, you do have to use a 10 speed compatible front derailleur with the 10 speed crankset. I did this set up with a SRAM x9 drivetrain. When I tried to use the 10 speed front double shifter with the old 9 speed triple front derailleur on the 10 speed double crankset, the shifting was pretty weak. Don't do it. Upgrade to the correct front derailleur that matches the crankset and shifter. As for the chain, a 9 or 10 speed chain worked fine with the 9 speed PG990 cassette no problem.

9 Speed Double Crankset with 10 speed chain, cassette, and derailleur
Does not work. At first it will work, you'll think that I was wrong, but then you will discover that sometimes, the 10 speed chain does not make the jump between the 9 speed rings. I tried this set up with an FSA K Force triple crankset, an FSA Afterburner double crankset, and a Truvativ Noir triple crankset with the same results every time. At first the 10 speed chain works great, but eventually it gets stuck between gears. Not stuck like the chain is jammed between gears, but stuck like the the derailleur does not move over enough, but enough to move the chain off the chainring, but not up to the next one. Trust me it sucks.

What does all this mean?
This means that if you are upgrading to 10 speed from a 9 speed drivetrain, you will have to get a new crankset, unless you are running a single ring up front, in that case, any chainring will work. This also means that if you want to slowly upgrade your 9 speed ride to 10 speed compatibility, start with the crankset because the 10 speed cranks work with 9 speed chains and 9 speed drivetrains no problem.

Why must you lie about your weight?!

2011-01-11T16:48:00.000-08:00

I'm talking to you bike component companies. Why must you always lie about your weight? This happens all the time, but nothing ever changes. Case and point. . .Crank Brothers lists the weight of their Eggbeater 11 pedals at a scant 174 grams. I got a pair, I weighed 'em, and guess what? They came in at 183 grams!

Now to you readers out there who think that me complaining about a 9 gram discrepancy is crazy, I offer you this food for thought:

The manufactures suggested retail price for these pedals is a whopping $425! For $425, you are paying for a lightweight product. When it comes to performance, Crank Bros. offers the Eggbeater 3 for $120. The Eggbeater 3 has the same 5 year warranty as the 11, the 3 has the same bearings, and internals as the 11. The 11 is made mostly of titanium, compared to the 3, which is a mix of cromoly and stainless steel, however, they both perform the same. It is safe to say that you are not paying for a superior product, but rather a lighter product. At the end of the day, both pedals have the same warranty, and essentially do the same thing.

Now, for the part that annoys me. Because functionally, the 2 pedals (The 3 and the 11) are identical, you are paying for a lighter weight product. You are paying an extra $305 for a pedal that weighs 174 grams. For that extra $305, Crank Bros. should indeed give you a pedal that lives up to it's advertised weight of 174 grams, don't you think?

Don't think this is just Crank Bros., wrong weights like this run rampant through the bike world. If you don't care about weight, that's cool, I understand. Sometimes though, I do care about weight. When I am dropping $425 on a pair of pedals in particular.

10 Speed Mountain Bikes. Deal with it.

2010-12-03T11:57:00.001-08:00

Ok, here's the deal with 10 speed. For 2011, all of the top tier groups from Shimano and Sram are going to be 10 speed. The new 10 speed groups are NOT backwards compatible with your old stuff, and the new 10 speed groups from Sram will not work with Shimano or vice versa. Also, all of the 10 speed drivetrain pieces require the other 10 speed drivetrain components to work properly. This means that your old 9 speed Sram crankset will not work with your new 10 speed rear. If you are running a 1x set-up where you are not shifting in the front, it will work. If you are running a 9 speed double or triple crankset, the 10 speed chain will get stuck between chainrings. If you are rolling with Shimano, the new Shimano crankset requires a special chain that will not work with the old 9 speed Shimano cranksets, and the new 10 speed Shimano chain won't work with the Sram stuff. Sound confusing? It's really not. Just use Sram 10 speed stuff with Sram 10, use Shimano 10 speed stuff with Shimano 10. Oh yeah, I almost forget to mention that the new Shimano 10 speed stuff is NOT cross compatible with their road stuff, so don't even try it. Also, I didn't mention FSA cranksets. That's because they don't make a mountain 10 speed compatible crankset for the aftermarket yet. So you can not use FSA for your crankset unless you are gonna rock a 1x10. Long story short, just keep the current generation of Shimano with Shimano, and Sram with Sram. Both companies will be phasing out their 9 speed parts over the next few months, except Shimano is going to keep the 9 speed XT components in production for at least 1 calendar year.

10 speed rules!

BB30-Your questions answered!

2009-11-18T18:43:00.000-08:00

BB30-What is it?
BB30 is a new bottom bracket standard for bicycles. It requires a completely different shell than a standard bottom bracket, one that can fit a press in style bearing.

What does BB30 stand for?
BB30 stands for Bottom Bracket w/ a 30mm spindle. BB30 was originally developed by Cannondale, but left as "Open Source" so anyone could develop off of it.

What is the advantage of BB30?
There are 3 advantages of a BB30 system. #1-It is a lighter weight system, because there are no cups that the bottom bracket bearings sit in. #2-It is stiffer because the spindle that goes through the bottom bracket is 30mm instead of 24mm. It remains the same weight though because they can make the metal thinner. Think about a fat aluminum frame compared to a skinny tubed aluminum frame. Both are very strong, but the fat tubed frame generally isn't heavier. #3-Lower "Q Factor." The Q factor is how far apart your legs are when they are on the pedals. Generally you want the lowest Q factor possible. Lower Q factor=MORE POWER!!!

BB30 sounds awesome, why wouldn't I want it?
The main reason why you wouldn't want BB30 is because of availability. Right now, there are only 3 mountain cranksets out (FSA K-Force, Afterburner, and SRAM XX). That is kinda limited, and with the big industry push for BB30, availability is looking a little scarce right now. In the road world, there are 5 cranksets (FSA K Force, FSA Sl-K, FSA Gossamer, SRAM Red, and Sram Force). If you dig one of those cranks, awesome! If you are a Shimano/RaceFace guy, don't fret though. Wheels Manufacturing makes an adapter to use the BB30 bearing with a Shimano or RaceFace crankset (24mm standard). SRAM and FSA also make an insert that can go into a BB30 shell to use a standard thread-in bottom bracket. If you are building a new bike from the frame up, I would totally roll with a BB30 bottom bracket shell. Even if you end up not using a BB30 crankset, you can still use any other crankset.

Does BB30 cost more money?
Yes. If your bike new bike has a BB30 shell, awesome. The frames themselves are generally higher end bikes that come with this option. The cranksets generally cost a few bucks more too. An FSA Afterburner double crankset is $250, the double BB30 is $325. So $75 extra for the crankset with the BB30 option. That cost difference is amplified the higher end you go. I'm not even gonna tell you the price of the new FSA K-Force Lite ceramic double MTB crank, because you'll probably throw up all over your keyboard. Ok, the it's $1,000. Yes, that is a grand for a freaking crankset?!

I saw you posted in an internet forum that you want to put a road crankset on your mountain bike and run it as a single, will that work?
No. FSA told me so. Q also told me it wouldn't work. I didn't believe either of them, and called SRAM, and they told me not to be a dumbass, and it won't work. Why not you ask? Because it's like that. And that's the way it is. I'm still gonna try it anyways, because I need to see it to believe it, you know?

BB30 sounds pretty awesome. What the fuck is BB86, or BB92, and BB90? Are those the same thing?
No. BB86 is a road standard developed by Shimano. Basically it is a larger shell than the standard road 68mm, it is 86mm wide. They essentially get rid of the cup that the bearing sits in, and put that bearing in a cup that gets pressed into the frame. This system sucks though. It basically eliminates threading a cup into the frame, but pressing a cup in instead. It still utilizes the same 24mm spindle though, not the 30mm. BB92 is the same thing, only for mountain bikes. BB90 is essentially the same thing as BB86, only the shell is 90mm wide, and uses a slightly different bearing (*I think*). BB90 is only on Trek bikes though. It is just Trek trying to be a douchebag and coming up with their own thing which is completely different than everything else so you will have to buy the replacement part only from them. BB90 also uses standard road cranks with a 24mm spindle, not the 30mm spindle. All BB86, 90, and 92 cranks use the same bearing that your cranks currently have not the larger BB30 bearing. There is no real advantage of this system, as the Q factor does not change, and because the bearing still has to go into a cup that goes into the frame, there is no weight savings. BB30 eliminates the cup and presses straight into the frame.

Great! Now I know everything about BB30, what are you getting on your bike Pusher?
Of course I'm getting BB30!

Interbike Dirt Demo!

2009-10-07T18:29:00.001-07:00

Finally, I have a few minutes where I can talk about some of the awesome bikes I got to ride at Dirt Demo. These are my highlights from this years demo.

Starting with the new BMC SLR01!
What a deal, right? Fly out to Vegas to ride a full Campy SuperRecord BMC. Life doesn't get better, right? This is *the* hotness of 2010. This bike is ridiculous. It is light, stiff, fast, and pretty much everything you'd dream of from a BMC. The frame is going to be $3500, not too bad when you compare that to the top-shelf offerings from Cervelo, Trek, Moots, and Pinarello.
Despite the fact that this is a carbon frame, there is very little lateral flex. This mofo is STIFF! I loved this bike. If you want a race bike, this is the bike to get. If you want a cruiser, a touring bike, or anything other than a race bike, pass on this guy. It is awesome though.

Just in case the BMC SLR01 wasn't expensive enough for you, there is the new Delta 7 road bike. If you want a crazy-ass bike, you want to show the road world you have lots of money, or you just have a need to get the latest and greatest (I know some of us do!), this is the bike for you.
It's all carbony trusses. This particular bike tipped the scales at 14.1 pounds they told me. That's light. Almost embarrassing that I put Crank Brothers Mallet pedals on it. "Almost" I said, almost. While this bike was cool, and rode pretty good. I believe the MSRP of the frame ALONE, not including fork, was a cool SIX G's!!! When I rode this bike, I REALLY REALLY REALLY wanted to love it. I truly did. I want a reason to justify in my life why I should get this bike, but I just couldn't do it. It rode well, but compared to my BMC Racemaster (My current road bike), I didn't think it rode any better. Maybe 1 day someone from Delta 7 will read this, and be saddened by it, and for that, I'm sorry. That's why you roll to Dirt Demo though. To test a Delta 7 and a BMC back to back. Hands down, I would take the BMC (SLR) any day of the week any time over the Delta 7. The BMC SLR just rode more solid than the Delta 7. It was cool looking though. A+ for looks.

Next up was the Kuota Kalibur. This bike was a ROCKET!
This is Kuota's entry level bike, and I believe they make a complete bike that sells for $2700 complete! This bike is fast, and smooth. If you are looking for a true Tri bike, I would recommend this bike to anyone. I'm sorry that I don't have a Cervelo to test this against, as Cervelo wasn't there, but to me, this gives Kuota a huge edge. If you want to sell bikes, you gotta come to these events, right?
Back to the bike though. . .
Aero just oozes out of this bike. Aero seatpost, seatpost cutouts, and the shaping along the top tube to diffuse the wind is just sweet. Will we carry Kuota? Maybe one day, who knows? They are really nice bikes, and over the next few weeks, we'll be looking into more tri brands. Kuota is sweet, so is Felt, Cervelo, Valdora, Blue, BMC, Bianchi, Scott, etc. There is a lot to choose from out there, and this particular bike offers a great value at $2700 though.

Next up, SRAM XX, and my choice ride was the Norco Team Carbon hardtail.
Norco must have missed the memo though, because they didn't seem to know that the 26" hardtail was dead. Silly Norco! The bike was nice, but the real standout was the SRAM XX parts.

SWEETNESS! SRAM XX performed how I hoped it would perform. . .perfect! If you like the feel of your SRAM X0 shifters and derailleurs, then you'll love XX. It's just like X0, only lighter with more gears! Sure, you lose the low low end, but fuck that shit, we don't need it in Michigan anyways! XX is where it's at. It's the newest in new, and the best of the best. SRAM executed this group perfectly. The only flaw? I don't own it! Sadly, I have a lot of XTR stuff right now, and as we all know Shimano and SRAM are not cross compatible. I would love to get XX stuff, but I honestly don't know if I will. Shimano also has the edge in the warranty department with the 3 year XTR warranty compared to the 1 year SRAM warranty. All in all though, SRAM XX is the bees knees right now. Get it!
Check out that last little bit of gucci-gucci madness from SRAM, the XX hydraulic lockout. It worked awesome, I am curious to know how it will work on the trails, and how durable it will prove to be. I also want to work on one to see how they work. I mean, do I have to bleed this thing? I don't really know, but it worked well at the Dirt Demo.

Last up, the bike I would like to ride in Michigan the most. . .
The BMC Speedfox! Five inches is now the standard for XC bikes. At the Dirt Demo, this bike felt awesome. The APS suspension from BMC has always been one of my favourite suspension designs, and I thought it rocked Bootleg Canyon. I would love to see how this bike handles our local trails though, see if 5" of travel is too much for Island Lake, or see if 5" of travel is just right for Highland. The new longer travel Rebas are a truly XC 5" fork, and this bike was just an awesome package. The new Speedfox01 (pictured) from BMC will be 2 large for the frame, but BMC has a solid new Speedfox03 that will be available as a complete bike for 2 G's too! The Speedfox 03 will be a little heavier frame, and will not have the custom tuned Fox rear shock. I only wish that BMC would sell FS03 framesets for $800, now THAT would be a deal, right?

So, that's it from Dirt Demo. I rode a few other bikes that didn't make this post, but I've been typing a really long time, and didn't get a chance to take pics of everthing. These were just my standouts. Keep checking back for some pics from the trade show.

A little DH action

2009-09-23T08:19:00.000-07:00

Because I'm hardcore like that. Well, maybe not hardcore, but I've always wanted to do a downhill run, and this time year at Interbike, I decided to go for it. I wanted to do it first thing in the morning, so I would be fresh, and get the bike I wanted. So, I got off the Interbike bus at dirt demo, checked out a full face helmet from Pro-Tec (awesome helmet btw), and headed over to KHS. For my inaugural DH run, I wanted a KHS DH200. Good enough for Melissa Buhl, good enough for me! Ok, really, if it's good enough for Melissa Buhl, that means it is probably way too awesome for me. Whatever though, I knew I wanted this bike to be my trusty steed for my death defying downhill run.

Aright, helmet, check. Bike, check. Now, onto the shuttle and to the top of the mountain. Or hill, or whatever you want to call it. All I'm saying is that we were driving uphill for a while. Once we got to the top, there were some more hardcore dude that went all the way to the top. Not me, my friend, oh, no sireee, not me. I just got off the shuttle, and was intimidated enough, so I just wanted to do the "standard issue" Interbike DH run.

This is the shuttle unloading, notice the hill in the background, that is where the hardcore guys go. I'm, uhhhhh, not quite there yet, so I just went on the regular run.
So, on to the run. We were pretty high up, sure it wasn't mountains, but coming from Michigan, any elevation is high up for me! From the top of the run, you could see the Vegas strip from a 30 minute car ride away.
What a view! Alright, so I'm going to attack this mutha. I hopped on my bike, got maybe 20 feet down the trail, then punked out at the first rocky, jagged decline. No problem, there were only about 10 people watching me. Nevertheless, I tucked my tail between my legs and walked back to the start.

Take a minute, pump myself up, then go for it again! This time, I knew I couldn't back out, I needed to do it, and I did it! Well, by "did it" I mean I made it out of the view of the gawkers at the top of the run. Now, I could safely walk any other point in the trail and people wouldn't see me. And walk the tough sections I did! I rode plenty, and had a lot of fun, but some of the sections were just waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay out of my league. Like, if you bite it, you die. If you don't die, you seriously get fucked up, because it is about at least a 100 foot jagged rocky drop to your death. This is the last picture I stopped and took of some dude riding, then I rode the rest of the trail.

Yes, that is some scary-ass shit. I rode that section. If you'll notice, the trail is not perfectly paved like Maybury, but rather loose, rocky, jagged, sharp bullshit. Oh, don't worry though, because there is NOTHING to the right of the rider, just a sheer rocky drop down. Hoo-rah. Also, check out that big ass rock you have to ride around. Because of that rock, the trail narrows to about 6" wide, but that's cool, because your monstorous 30" downhill handlebar probably won't catch that. You're reading this thinking, it can't be that dangerous, and, well, it was. I'm surprised that there aren't more injuries at Dirt Demo every year.

The downhill was fun, super challenging, and a little scary. I admit that I walked about 4 gnarly sections, but I was starting to figure it out a little bit as the run went on. I learned 3 important things doing this. . .

#1-The bike works a lot better when moving at speed. OMG. For real.
#2-It's ok to be a pussy. I'd rather walk than die.
#3-Downhill is tiring. Don't let the name fool you, when you are going downhill, you are constantly working your upper body. When I was done, I was dripping sweat, and my biceps are pretty sore today.

FUN TIMES! More pics of other bikes I rode at Dirt Demo to come.

Got me a haircut!

2009-09-18T20:22:00.000-07:00

I got a haircut today. I think I'm more aerodynamic. Sorry about all the filler posts. I'm just trying to keep my blog up to date. We've been crazy busy at the shop lately, and I'm trying to get everything taken care of before we go to Interbike next week. I promise I'll post up some substance next week at the show.

It's nice to get a haircut once in a while, you know?

What to do what to do. . .

2009-09-17T19:36:00.000-07:00

I really want to continue riding all week next week, but it will be tough in Vegas, you know? Does 1 hour on a suck-ass stationary bike everyday help me? I hope so.

Is beer really that bad?

2009-09-16T18:55:00.000-07:00

I heard that beer causes cancer. So today when I was done riding, I had a glass of merlot. Not quite as refreshing.

Buy my BMC!!!

2009-09-15T08:36:00.001-07:00

Please. There's nothing wrong with it, it's just time for me to move on to a newer bike. I mean, this one is a 2010. It's a great deal for the caliber of bike that it is. It has all top shelf parts, and everything on it is in great shape.

BE A BADASS AND BUY THIS BIKE!!! You can stop by the shop to check it out, or just use the "BUY IT NOW" function off Ebay if you really want it.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350253078501

JUMP ON IT!

Bejweled Blitz!

2009-09-14T19:14:00.001-07:00

I LOVE IT! That is the main reason I joined Facebook. I flippen' love Bejeweled Blitz. By the way, I'm selling my road bike. Gimme $3500 for it. More on that tomorrow.

Addison Race Recap

2009-09-13T18:07:00.000-07:00

Woke up early, ready to rock and roll. I packed up my truck last night, so all I had to do was leave this morning. Met Ted at the shop, and as it turns out, Ted wanted to drive. Ok, cool, unpack the truck, and load up his truck. Load up my cobbled together bike, and off to the races.

Registered for the race, set the trainer bike up, start rolling. I was ready to rock! The race starts, and I was out of the gate. I was feeling great, but I ran into a small little issue. You see, I put a new chain on last night, however, my cassette was totally worn out! My bike shifted perfect in the stand last night, on the trail with pressure on the pedals. . .COMPLETELY DIFFERENT STORY! Factor in that the kids I race against are really fast, and lets just say that this was a hard race.

I figured out the shifting in my second lap though. Basically, I had my highest 5 gears out of 9. This just made me manage my front derailleur a little better. So plagued with chain issues, I still managed to pull 4th out of 5. It is what it is. I need to ride more.

Addison

2009-09-12T18:49:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I decided to race tomorrow. It's kind of last minute. I didn't plan on doing any more races until the Iceman, but Jenni has to work tomorrow, so I decided, "What the hay, I'll race!"

Ready to race, I went to pick up my bike from the shop to get it ready for the race. When I got to my bike, I realized that I lent my rear wheel to J-Dub. FUCK. Not a biggie, I gots a backup wheelset, right? So I tossed my back-up wheelset on my bike, then I realized, hey, that was my backup wheelset on my bike. Wait a minute. . .I had my backup wheelset on my bike because my front rim on my race wheelset was toast from a crash about a month or so ago. No biggie, minor frustration, that's all. You see, I gave my good rear wheel away, but I still had my race rear wheel, and my race front wheel was toast, but I still have my back up front wheel. YES! I can race!

FUCK. We messed with my chain at the bike maintenance class. I forgot about that. Quickly, new chain! Ok, mismatched wheels, new chain, throw some lube on that bitch, I'm ready to roll!

See you at Addison!

Dogs

2009-09-11T20:18:00.000-07:00

Dogs, 7-11, Ice Cream.

DID IT!

2009-09-10T20:57:00.001-07:00

I almost missed posting today. But I didn't! I'm posting right now, and I still have 2 minutes to go. Phew!

Here was today. . .
Cinnamon Toast Crunch
J Dub
Burritos
Bike Maintenance Class

That pretty much sums it up.

I HATE RUNNING!

2009-09-09T18:30:00.000-07:00

I hate running. It is really boring. I thought I would like it, but it turns out that I don't. Last winter, I started running. It was okay, but I've decided that I totally hate it. This is the difference between biking and running. . .

In order to get ready for a long bike race, it is FUN training for it, and riding, and putting together your plan, and executing it. In order to get ready for a long run, it FUCKING SUCKS. I hate training for it, it is just more boring-ass running.

Don't run when you can ride.

Anyone up for a run on Friday?

P-Funk in action!

2009-09-08T17:19:00.000-07:00

Check out P-Funk in action lacing up some pimp new fixie wheels. They are Miche track hubs laced to solid black Deep V's with DT Revolution spokes. You know what that means don't you? AWESOMENESSSSSSS!!!! I'll be sure to post some pics when the wheels are done for you to peruse.

Blogging.

2009-09-07T19:16:00.000-07:00

I've been slacking at my blog. It's really hard to keep a blog, and facebook, and twitter, and a job, etc. I'm making a commitment this week though to get my blog rolling again, and I'm going to post up something new everyday this week. Seriously. JUST WATCH ME!!!

Lumberjack 100

2009-06-21T20:38:00.000-07:00

Have you heard of the Lumberjack 100? If not, well, it is a 100 mile offroad bike race up at Big M in Manistee, Michigan. Let's just say it's freaking hard.

I did the LJ100 last year, and had a blast. It was a very hard race, but after doing it in about 11:30+ minutes last year, it was my goal to do it in under 10 hours this year. I did it! Here I am with my finishing patch (Thanks C-Mo for letting me steal this pic from you):
Wow. What a freaking race. I took much shorter breaks this year, and really killed myself on the first half of the race. The second half of the race I continued to kill myself, but only because I had to, not because I wanted to.

Just remember this. . .IT SUCKS FOR EVERYONE AFTER 5 HOURS.

So, here's the report-

First off, the night before, the rain wasn't too bad while camping. I think I will definitely camp again in the future. Woke up at the ass-crack of dawn, ate some oatmeal, then on to the race. At the starting line, my goal was to hammer off the start. It was fun lining up with the pack of 'hounds, and we probably had the biggest group out there. Once the race started though, it was just a massive pack of riders. I learned in the past that I didn't want to get stuck in the pack, so this year, I was going to try to hammer close to the front of the pack. That worked out pretty well actually.

When we got to the first climb, me and Spidey were right behind the group of pro's. We saw the first group ride up the hill, but we were stuck behind a group of people that started walking, so we to got walking (or running!) up that first hill. Ok, so now I am 5 minutes into the LJ, and hammering my brains out. I was with the fast guys through the first few miles of the race course, and realized that I would probably die if I kept this pace up. My heart rate was through the roof! So, I eased off the gas, but my race strategy was to hammer as long as I could, then just try to finish the race.

Well, I learned that I have about 50 miles in me. I had a great pace going through the first 2 laps. No breaks, just a quick stop at the oasis for a half banana. This is where the race took a turn for the weird for me. . .

The third lap. Between laps 2 and 3, Snowflake caught me in the pits. I rode with Snowflake through 4 or 5 miles, then he dropped me, and that was the last I saw of him. It's okay though, I'm still on track. I completed the third mind-crushing lap, and wanted to take a break between the 3rd and 4th lap. Jenni wasn't letting this happen though. She gave me water and a Sustained, then literally kicked me out of the pits. I wanted to cry. I was hurting. I felt like shit. I couldn't believe that Jenni booted me out of the pits. Why wouldn't she just let me take a break?! WHY!!!!!!

Lap 4 is always a grind. Once you start on lap 4 though, you can't quit! Lap 4 went off without incident. I caught a few more people, and I'm pretty sure some people caught me. In the end, I smashed my 10 hour goal, and was extremely pleased with my results. This race could not have gone any better for me!

Mad props to the RACING GREYHOUND Fun Crew for getting this race together. We ended up with a pretty primo spot on pit row, and everything went super smooth.

NO JIVE!

Pout pout pout.

2009-06-14T19:22:00.001-07:00

This was me after the Ruby race. At least I got a medal, right?

The race season is well under way.

2009-06-14T17:06:00.001-07:00

For sure. So far this year I've done 5 races. . .

Pontiac Lake TT
2 Waterford training road races (I guess they're not real races)
Brighton Stage Race (TT, XC, and Short Track)
Ruby XC

All I can say is, "Holy shit! the people I race against are flippin' fast!" The Pontiac Lake TT really started the year off well, I had a solid showing, but the season seems to be in flux from there. Because of iffy weather earlier in the season, the Addison Oaks Endurance event ended up getting cancelled, and then the Bloomer Park XC got moved. Because of some personal stuff going on that weekend, I was unable to make the Bloomer XC. So, now we sit in mid June, and I've got 5 races under my belt. I feel that my endurance is great this year, and on the road I feel stronger than I've ever been. My new strengths have not been very helpful to mountain biking though. It's weird, road riding just doesn't translate to the mountain world. I can power up climbs, or take the holeshot at a race, unfortunately the holeshot and climbing equate to about 10% of a mountain bike race. Which brings me to my biggest weakness this year. . .HANDLING! Oh snap!

I did well at Pontiac because I had a good taper that week, and got in lots of Pontiac Lake riding leading up to the race. I just wasn't feeling Brighton though, and quite frankly, the kids I race against are fast! This weekend at Ruby though, I feel that all my weaknesses got exploited. . .By "all my weaknesses," I mean, handling. Ruby is all handling, and I freaking suck at handling. Fortunately there were only 5 dudes in my class, so I still got a medal (And that's what it's all about, right?). I did learn some stuff from this race though.

#1-Don't get dropped from the pack. For some reason, at the start of the race I got drawn into the middle of the pack, and hung back a little bit. Why did I do this? What the fuck was I thinking? This is a race! I need to get up and pull if I can. When the pack starts to slip away, don't let them slip away. Sounds easy, right?

#2-Don't race with a heartrate monitor. I tell this to people all the time. Why don't I obey my own rule? Don't race with one. Don't look at that stupid number during a race.

#3-Do finish the race! After the 1st lap, I was feeling like shit, in last place, and feeling bad about myself. I did pay $30, and I thought to myself, "I'm going to get my thirty bucks worth!" I was really close to dropping out of the race, but I'm glad I didn't. I really would have regretted it now.

All in all, racing is hard. No matter how you slice and dice it, racing is tough. Oh, did I mention that the hardest race of the year is next week? LJ100 or bust baby!

St. Pattys Day

2009-03-15T16:27:00.000-07:00

Today was the day of the St Patty's day run in Detroit, also referred to as the Corktown race. I didn't race, but Jenni did her first running race with her siblings, and my nephew Cameron did the quarter mile kids race. What can I say? Those little kiddies are pretty cute, you know? Check out Camster closing in on the finish line:
Now, on to the big kids race. Here's Jenni getting ready to run. She hasn't ever run a race before. She's done her share of mountain bike races, but this was a first for her.
She ran the race with her family members as well. Like I said, I didn't run the race, but rather did the 2 mile walk. It was an off day for me, and I didn't want to push it. I had a great time walking through the city though. I'm pretty sure that I was the last one to start. Look at how many people were at this thing!
This pic was taken just before the race started, once everything got underway, you ran towards the train station. The city was a bustlin'!
I ran into a couple of familier faces in the city, and all in all had a great time.

After the race me and Jenni got home, took a quick shower, then rode our bikes up to Guilios in Livonia where they were having a fundraiser to raise money for children with cancer. My buddy MV was there, and shaved his head to help with the cause.
Before:
After:
WOW! MV looks 10 years younger just like that!

Check out his hair that will be donated. . .
Make someone proud. 2 more years until your next haircut MV.

Bust it!

2009-03-11T19:11:00.000-07:00

Great news! Yesterday I finally beat Bust-a-Move Deluxe for PSP. I know what you are thinking. ?. ."So?" And. . ."Did you really beat it, or just beat Classic Mode?"

Ok, I just beat it in "Classic Mode." That shit is hard though! Classic mode has 300 levels. That took me over 2 weeks to beat. I was at about level 250 last week, however I let Miami play the game, and he didn't save it before shutting it off. This reset me back to level 150. Great. So, now I have to replay 100 of the same levels, and then I'm back in business. 50 more to go. . .then BOOM! Bust-A-Move Deluxe Classic version COMPLETE! What else can I say? Way to go me! I'm awesome.

Now for the good part. . .I unlocked a new character. . .Maggie! I don't really know what characters even do in the game, but I unlocked a new one. Bust it! Oh, I should totally start riding my bike now.

Fix yourself up Kitt!

2009-03-07T19:11:00.000-08:00

Well, on to the next bike show. . .Autorama in Detroit! This was a pretty stellar autorama, and the bicycle part of it didn't dissappoint. Here are the standouts:

Starting with the Freakabike Ratrod. Sure, this ride isn't for the ladies, but I'd love to cruise around my neighborhood or ride to work on this sweet bike.
That mofo is RATICAL! I didn't come up with that. . .READ THE SIGN FOOL!

Next up was also courtesy of the Freakabike Militia, and is this smooth ride, Goody 2 Shoes. This was just a very well done, very clean ride.
NASTY! Now, it's time for a little throwback . . .PK Ripper style! Yes, you all have heard of the classic SE PK Ripper, but this particular example was in PERFECT shape. Man, that would be fun to ride Maybury on, wouldn't it?
Enough with the vintage, on to some of the trickest stuff there. I don't know how to even explain this ride, other than, INSANE!
Ridiculous! Check out that steering mechanism on this bad ride, and also check out the awesome fit and finish. Form always follows function:
Now, I forget what this next bike was, but you gotta check out the wheels. . .
Those are lucite (sp?) wheels with red LED's in them. I dunno if I would ride them off-road, heck I do know. . .I wouldn't! But I do know that they look freak-nominal. Another great bike showing off fit and finish, and some cool creativity.
Now, you gotta check out MV's pimp ride. . .The Daisy Daisy:
Daisy rims, daisy saddles, and even a sweet custom daisy chainguard. He also integrated a piece of the original Huffy Daisy chainguard into the new custom double length guard.

Nice work MV! I'd feel bad getting such a pretty bike dirty, but bikes are buity to be ridden, right?

Last up from the bike world, was this cool vintage Schwinn Paramount track bike. If you've read my blog recently, you know I'm all about track bikes, and vintage and track. . .Oh my!

Great showing of bikes at Autorama this year. In case you were wondering, yes, they did have some cars there too. I'm into bikes, but I do like cars, so here is a little gem that stood out at this show. . .KITT!
Dude, I used to love Knight Rider. Admittedly, I havn't seen any of the new version episodes, but I used to love the old ones. Kitt was freaking sweet. I think I've actually seen Kitt somewhere else in the past, but I can't seem to remember where. Anyhoo. . .Kitt was here. . .TONIGHT! SWEET I realize Kitt is getting old, and when you see him up close, you really realize how shitty Kitt was.
I mean, come on! The red bar in the middle is all falling off and shit. There are a bunch of wires hanging out around the lights?! This is Autorama man! Fix yourself up Kitt, you look pathetic.

Fun times though. . .On another note, MV hooked me up with a free pass to get into the show, and when we got into the city, there was a spot open at a meter on the street. Can you believe that?! I got a spot on the street of Detroit 1 block from Cobo, and didn't have to pay to park! Good show, and great times in Detroit :)

NAHBS! The fun little doo-dads. . .

2009-03-03T18:33:00.000-08:00

You've seen my favourites, now here are some interesting little tidbits I came across at NAHBS.

Really, it wasn't hard at all to find this stuff. Every bike on the floor had some cool little doo-dads on it. How do I narrow it down to just a few? Well, I just picked the ones that stood out to me the most. There were probably many more cool little components that stood out, but I think these are totally drool worthy. Enjoy!

Starting with belt drive:
This is the new thing right now FYI. I am all about belt drive. I don't even know why I'm all about it, but there is plenty of belt drive all over the place in the custom world. The reason why I liked this example from Groovy bikes is because of his way to get the belt on the bike.
They used a small S & S coupler to open the chainstay to get the belt on. NEAT! My only issue with this frame is. . .If you are going to do a singlespeed belt drive, but no eccentric bottom bracket, or sliding dropouts, you are really limiting your gearing. Also, with the belt drive, why doesn't someone just make a belt that can be opened? Belt drive is very cool though, and I think we're going to see a lot more of it in the future.

Killer! Next up is blue red shifters!
Don't adjust your monitor, those are blue SRAM Red shifters! I love little details like that to totally customize a ride. This shifter was on a Parlee bike FYI. Very cool. Not a major deal, I just like little details like that.

Now, back to mountain biking yumminess. . .
Chub hubs! I don't know that much about Chub hubs other than the fact that they look awesome. Oh, I also know that one day when I build my dream track bike, I am going to lace up some of these bad boys to a 68mm Edge Composites rim. You know that would be the whip! This hub pictured is obviously their mountain bike singlespeed hub. From what I gather it is a giant carbon shell that looks sweet. I WANT! I WANT!!!

Also, check out an oldie but a goodie:
That's right, a staple of cnc machined goodness, Hope brakes. I'd hyperlink their name to their website, but their website is super shitty, so trust me, they make sweet stuff. I like the blue with the carbon lever and Union Jack accent. What else can I say? Hope brakes look sweet.

Ok, so all these little trick parts look cool, but if you want to see something totally unique, check out this cool seatpost clamp from Hunter Cycles. How does it even clamp?!
Here's how:
Cool! It has a sleeve that goes into the seatpost clamp area that wraps around the seattube. Very clean, and very trick. I only wish I took more pictures of this particular bike because it was so awesome.

Now, back to a cool little singlespeed gizmo. The SRAM Torpedo. The Torpedo is a new flip flop hub from SRAM that doesn't need to be flipped. This means that you get a track hub that is availble in 120mm or 130mm spacing that can go from fixed to free with the turn of a wrench.
Oh, also in case you didn't know it, anodizing is back! YES! I freaking loved anodized shit. I remeber in the 90's I had a blue Cannondale that had every blue imaginable part on it. Man I was cool. Back to the Torpedo though. This little gizmo is the must have for the urban bike crowd. Yes, I get it, you are hardcore enough to rock a fixie, but sometimes you just want to coast. Well, this is the answer to your prayers. Ride your bike to class all week, then hit the track on the weekends.

So what do you lace your new SRAM Torpedo hub up to? Perhaps Velocity's new crazy-ass Deep V's!
You've loved the Deep V's for years, available in a plethora of fun colours, but now they are doing some awesome paint jobs. These rims are indeed painted, and they look phenomenal in person. Velocity told me that they are using this new paint process where they wrap a film around the rim, which is a paint transfer type thing, then they peel it off, leaving a nice coating of paint that looks rad, and is durable. They will be offering painted spokes available in popular lengths in straight gauge. They also said that they will be offering some bladed spokes in the future that will be painted too.

Last, courtesy of Signal Cycles is the bicycle wine bottle holder. You know, for all those days you ride to the vineyard, and wonder, "How can I get these freaking bottles of wine home?!"
Well, your dreams have now become a reality!
Perfect for taking home those bottles of Smirnoff Vodka from the liquor store. Now drink you freaking alcoholics!

Well, there you have it, some more fun goodies from NAHBS. Check back in the next few days, and I'll try to post up some of the stuff that really irked me.

NASTY!

NAHBS! The winners. . .

2009-03-01T18:49:00.000-08:00

Today, I went to the North American Handmade Bicycle Show in Indy. AWESOME! That is all I have to say. If you ever get the chance, go there. It's worth it. Sure, it was about a 5 hour drive there, then 5 hours back in all one day, but it was sweet. I *almost* feel bad for Jenni and Ritzy for listening to me and MV babble about bike stuff for 10 hours in the car. Almost I said. . .almost.

Anyhow, there are tons of awesome bikes there. There is so much awesomeness there, you won't want to leave if you love bikes. I took gobs of pictures, but I'm going to start by showing off the winners, or what I liked the best.

Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeere we go!
These are in no particular order, they are just the bikes I liked the best. . .
Starting with Black Sheep. This bike is a 36er! Yeah, when you thought the 29 inch bikes weren't big enough. . .BOOM! 26er baby! I dig the "SpaceFork" and I would love to take this bike on the trails. They told me that if I were *really* interested in a frame, I could get one for a mere 5 g's. Not too bad, I mean this is the crem de la crem of the bike world, right?
Mammothly sweet! This bike is NASTY! Check out the sweet twin-pipes titanium chainguard. If I could really justify adding another bike to my collection, this would be my next bike, and you would be jealous of it. :)
Next up. . .

VANILLA! Sure, there is a 5 year wait to get on the waiting list to get one, but these bikes are fricking awesomenominal. This was my favourite Vanilla:
This bike was simply dead sexy. I mean, just look at it!

Ok, speaking of sexy. . .this next bike is NOT SAFE FOR WORK!!! It is awesome, and the artwork is very detailed to say the least, but if you are in your cube at work, be careful when you scroll down.

This bike is from Peacock Groove. Peacock Groove will make whatever you want, painted however you want, and their attention to detail is amazing. This bike was a track bike, and, well, check it:
Yeah, that's naked chicks on it. Remember, it's art, right? Here is a zoom in of the downtube:
Hey now! I said this shit was detailed, right? I believe I talked to Erik, and he is just one of those guys that does stuff he likes, and proudly shows off what he can do. Listening to him talk to MV is like watching worlds collide. Bike geeks who just like to do what they love.

Check out the rear wheel:
Craziness on one side. . .
Industrial peacocks on the other. Lastly, check out the front wheel:
An ode to an old GnR favourite? I THINK SO!

Next up. . .
Ok, this one is safe for work, don't worry. Ready?

Here it is:

A DON WALKER TANDEM TRACK BIKE! Weird, that at the show, I've liked all single speeds so far. I don't know why to be honest. I like gears. I ride with gears almost all the time. I think a new singlespeed is coming in the next year or two though. I don't know why, I'm just sayin'. That's all. Here's his ride though:
WHOA!!! Awesomeness! I also love Don Walker because of his generous use of plaid (you know I love plaid), but this bike really stood out to me as something you NEVER see. It's an awesome frame, and fortunately, no expense was spared to lace this sweet frame with a killer drivetrain:
I just want to ride this bike with Jenni. We would be awesome cruising Hines on a Saturday with this baby. That will probably never happen, but you can always dream, right?

Ok, here's my last show favourite:
Courtesy of Mitch Pryor of M.A.P. Bicycles, comes with smooth looking mixte. The womens frame is making a comeback, and in the high end market looks flipping awesome! Look cute, and be able to move as this bike is built up with some standard road parts. I also like the comeback of the downtube shifter, and fenders! This bike screams practicality, and to the bike nerd, provides plenty of drool worthy details.
Every single detail of this bike looks well thought out, and executed to perfection. A perfect high end commuter/town bike for the ladies.
That's just smooth. That's all.

Stay tuned, and I'll try to post up some other stuff from NAHBS in the next few days. I'll post of a day of cool components spotted at the show, fun details from the show, some more sweet bikes, and lastly, the, ummmmm, oddballs of the show. If you've been there, you know what I'm talking about ;)

Another month has gone by like that!

2009-02-12T19:46:00.000-08:00

Just like that, another month is gone. Man, I have totally gotta start updating my blog a little more often. Sooooo. . .

So, I ran outside today. It was cool. I mean, the weather has been pretty awesome lately. Last weekend it got pretty close to 60 degrees. Heck, it might have even been 60 degrees. I rode outside TWICE last weekend. Crazy shit. Anyhow, today I ran. Neat-o!

This winter I feel like I've been training pretty good. I've been keeping up with working out a solid 9 to 11 hours each week. I know what you are thinking though, "9 hours a week? That's nothing!" And to that, I beg to differ. 9 hours a week is quite a bit when you factor in everything else you do every week. . .Sleeping, working, eating, watching TV, drinking beer, etc. In order to make 9 hours a week work AND still have a little time to unwind every day, you have to make some sacrifices. I don't even know if I've been working out enough, you know? Well, I guess I'll know in a few months. . .

Wow. Happy New Years. And stuff.

2009-01-12T07:35:00.000-08:00

Fo sho'. The days fly by when you don't pay attention to your beloved blog. A lot has happened since December 28th (The last time I wrote anything). This is what you've missed out on in my life:

New Years happened
I signed up for the Lumberjack 100

I guess that's it. It seems like a lot more has happened. I guess not. Well, here's my story for today. . .

Lately I've been working out, and making this concoction of Hammer Nutrition products before I hit the gym. This concoction includeds: 1/2 scoop of Hammer Soy Protien, 3 servings of chocolate Hammer Gel, then mix that with water.

I swear, it looks JUST LIKE chocolate milk. Just like it! It tastes NOTHING AT ALL like chocolate milk though. It tastes like powdery grossness with a hint of chocolate. Absolutely terrible. Does it work? I don't even know. My goal was to gain about 10-15 pounds this off season, and so far I have been stuck at about 5 pounds. It's not even muscle mass I've gained, it's probably just water weight from taking weird ass supplements. For arguments sake though, I will admit that I *think* this concoction (along with some other unnamed, but very legal) supplements have been helping me out. I have started to see some results from the gym, and feel pretty good about it. On the flip side, I wonder if I didn't take any supplements and went to the gym the same amount of time I've been going if I would see the same results. We'll never know.

On a side note, X is very fast at running. He smoked me on the track at the Livonia Rec. Center, or the LRC as it will be referred to as in the future. I still have a loooooooooong way to go.

New no fake.

Let there be rock?

2008-12-28T19:27:00.000-08:00

I think not. Recently I got RockBand. Not to be confused with the old, dated, Rockband, this is Rockband 2. When I got Rockband 2, I was under the impression that I could download songs to my Wii, however, I was grossly misinformed. This particular feature is not available yet. I won't be able to pretend I'm Tom Gable and sing some Against Me just yet.

You could probably say that playing Rockband 2 is my winter training. I have not been riding so much this winter, but Rockband 2 is quite the workout! I am a drummer. Trust me, drumming is hard shit! When we get the band together, we jam out and wail to such classics as Shoulder to the Plow. Listen to it. You'll love it! I personally love hearing Jenni sing hardcore death metal in my family room.

So today, me and Jenni were rocking out to "Let there be rock" by AC/DC, just about to finish up the song and then. . .
The bass pedal broke! ZOMG!!! WTF?! Needless to say, I ended up failing out of the song, and I am done playing Rockband 2 for the night. Fortunately, I saw that there are replacement Rockband bass pedals available. Unfortunately, this comes out of my race bike budget.

Stay tuned for what the race bike will be btw. 29er? 26? BMX cruiser?! January 5th, it'll get ordered!

NASTY!

BMC RACEMASTER SLX01

2008-12-22T16:03:00.000-08:00

Wow! Almost 1 full week without a new post. Blogs are hard work!

Today's post is all about our sweet new demo bike at Cycle to Fitness. It's a road bike, and it is the new BMC Racemaster. What is the Racemaster you ask? Only the most awesomist road frame on the market!
Sweeet! Yes, that is "sweeet" with 3 e's. That is not a typo.

So, this is the new Racemaster, or BMC SLX01 as they call it at BMC. If you want a stiff, fast, road bike, the BMC Racemaster is what you are seeking! If you love to do long bike tours, sit pretty upright, and want a soft riding frame, look for something else. This is a straight up race bike. If you want fast, this is the ride for you!

We built up our demo bike with all the new SRAM Red goodies. I have nothing against Shimano or Campy, I just prefer SRAM. I ride with SRAM Rival on one of our CX demo bikes, and I love the feel of the SRAM "doubletap" shifter, so that is why I chose to build our demo bike with SRAM Red. If you've yet to try out "doubletap" get off your butt, and come in and take this baby for a spin!
SRAM Red is loaded with oodles of carbon bits, including the brake levers, derailleur cage, and the cranks. It's light, responsive, and just plain old good looking! I can't tell you exactly what it is, but the Red shifters just feel better than their less expensive Rival counterparts. I guess that's why you pay that little premium for them, right? Check out the cranks too:
THEY SAY "SRAM" ON GIANT LETTERS ON THEM! If anything is going to make you go faster, it's probably giant letters on stuff. BMC must have read that same report, because this bike says BMC in giant letters all over it too! Really, I feel bad getting the cranks dirty because they are so pretty looking. Fortunately for them, this bike probably won't hit the roads until March at the earliest, which is 3 months from now.

Like all of our custom builds, we tricked this baby out with Nokon cables. Not only do Nokon's look sweet, but they perform awesome too.
If that's not smooth, then I don't know what is. The cables follow the organic lines of the BMC, while still shifting smooth and looking awesome. One last shot of the seatpost, then I'm done. . .
WHAT?! No seatpost clamp? How does that shit work? It's BMC's streampost. Forget the "seatmasts," how's about some adjustability, and not cutting my $3000 frame thank you very much. Come by the shop to see how this modern engineering marvel works. This is one of the most technologically advanced frames on the market, and pictures don't do it justice. Don't just look at it, check it out, and ride it!

WINTER IS NASTY!

2008-12-16T17:33:00.001-08:00

The other night I went to a Christmas play. It was a pretty good play. I always thought that people dressed up when they went to church. Apparently not. I wore a suit. There was pretty much NO ONE else there with a suit on. Scratch that. There was one other person there with a suit on. . .Chuck Gadica. Thanks Chuck. Way to man up and dress up for Church.

Well Chuck, you let me down today though. I wanted to go ride this afternoon, so I decided to hit the road at 4. Well, after putting on my layers and layers of clothes to ride in 20 degree temps, I finally hit the road at about 5. Just as we started to ride, my buddy told me that there was a winter weather advisory. At 5pm, it was merely cold and grey out. Michigan is always cold and grey, so this didn't phase me. The snow began to fall 10 minutes into the ride. The temperature dropped with the snow.

20 miles later, the roads were for shit, and the temperature was down to 18. That is 2 below my threshold. Check me out after the ride though:
I'm just sayin' . . .IT'S COLD OUT. Fortunately, as it get this cold, my glasses freeze to my forehead so they don't slip at all. The downside though, is that I have to wait about 10 minutes to take my balaclava and glasses off so they don't pull my face off with them.

Good ride though. Doing a decent ride on the road makes me realize how much harder riding on the road is compared to trainers. You don't get dropped in trainer night. There are no hills on a trainer. Sure, you can make it harder to pedal, but nothing compares to a slight incline on the road.

Winter riding is tough. Cold weather riding hurts. Appreciate the winter. WINTER IS NASTY!

Buy my frame!

2008-12-10T20:13:00.000-08:00

I'm not going to re-cap my Ebay ad, but I am selling my mountain bike frame, and you should buy it. If you ride a 17", and you are looking to get a hardtail, bid on my frame! It's freaking sweet!
This is my bike at its lightest. It was about 17 pounds 14 ounces. That's light! You can buy the frame from this mean machine for a mere $400. That's assuming you bid on it, and no one else outbids you. Retail was $900.

I just waxed it up, so it is super shiny! Stop by Cycle to Fitness to check it out. At the heart of every fast rider is a fast frame! Here's your chance to get that sweet frame. Bid now!

NASTY!

Snow, cold, and cyclocross.

2008-12-07T19:09:00.001-08:00

Today I did my first cyclocross (CX) race. OMG. It was really fucking hard. "Really fucking hard" doesn't actually describe the race well for me. It was beyond that. I've done races in the past, and I admit that I can hold my own. I'm not slow, but I'm certainly not fast. This race today really put things in perspective though.

First perspective-Riding in the cold sucks! I woke up this morning, and the news said it as a *balmy* 14 degrees. That's cold. By the time the race started, it totally warmed up though. I believe the temperature in my car said it was 17 degrees. Good good. A little short of my temperature threshold of 20 degrees, but I already paid my money and drove all the way out there, so I was gonna race!
Thanks Marion for putting my number on! Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that in addition to be really freaking cold out, it snowed all day yesterday. YAY! Cold and snowy!

Here we are at the starting line. 5 Greyhounds in total raced in the C group. Jeffro isn't in this picture, but he's there. Somewhere. So, the race starts. I could have taken the holeshot, but I don't think that would have done me any good. I mean, sure it would have been nice to be in first for 2 seconds, but once we hit the twisty, turny part, everyone would have just been mad at me. So, I got to the twisty part, and because of the snow, I just sucked.

Second perspective-Riding in the snow sucks!
Here I am cruising through the, ummmmm, singletrack (?) section. There were lots of trails through the snow, but nothing smooth. Cross bikes are weird. You really have to trust those little skinny tires, but they do actually hook up pretty good.

Third perspective-Barries suck!
Oh yeah, there are "barriers" in CX. The barriers are a great way to make up some time at the races. If you are good at mounting and dismounting your ride, you can easily put some time on your competition at the barriers. I, unfortunately, am NOT very good at mounting and dismounting your bike, and the barriers proved to be a great opportunity for my competition to put some time on me. Ah well.
I like this pic because you can get an idea of the snow we were riding through. My bike also looks pretty cool too. I would say about half of the people at the race have Redlines. Seriously, they are everywhere!
More snow! More squiggly tracks of death to follow! NEAT! During the race, I wiped out at least twice, but I *almost* bit it a lot more. This race was hard. All in all, it was a fun time. A little too cold for me, and a little too snowy, but it's good to get a cross race under my belt. I chalk this one up as a good experience. I ended up in 20th out of 23 people. My gosh that was a hard race! Was it harder than the Boyne Marathon or Lumberjack 100? HELL NO! It was the hardest thing I've done today though.
Final perspective-At the end of the day. . .ALL SMILES!!! Thanks Danielle for taking all the pics btw. For more pictures from this race, check out HERE.

NASTY!

Weddings are fun!

2008-12-06T19:22:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to Adam and Taryn Sulkes. Way to get married today!

It was a great time, and a blustery winter day today. Great conditions for a winter wedding. Sure, it was cold out, and the roads were a mess, but the reception and wedding were top notch. Me and Jenni had a great time, and a great lunch today. I *think* Adam even looks like he's smiling in this picture. Yes, that's right, there is a slight curvature to his lips, and if you look really closely, I'm pretty sure he's smiling.
We wish you a happy and wonderful life together. Thanks for inviting us to be a part of your wedding. :)

Don't bank on it.

2008-12-04T18:42:00.000-08:00

Sheesh. Yes, that's sheesh with just a period, not an exclamation point. That's all you can say about the Spartans yesterday. What an embarrassment. Seriously, that was freaking sad. I have nothing positive to say about that game, so I will say what is on my mind. . .

TYPICAL SPARTANS
Totally overrated going into the season
Lose to Maryland, and you expect to beat UNC?!
MSU is SAD.
WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAK.

Now, I got to go to the game, and I have to admit, I had some awesome-ass seats. I was 8 rows behind the Spartans bench. I got a free seatpad too! Not bad.
Check out this pic I stole of the Freep website. You can't see me, but I'm almost in this picture. Almost. That is how the Spartans are this year. Almost good. Almost.

Now, don't kid yourself. The Spartans will still make the tourney, they will just have the same 8 or 9 seed that they get every year, make it to the sweet 16, then fizzle out. I love State, and I would love to see the Spartans win it all this year (Heck, Jenni wins $800 if that happens), but I wouldn't bank on it. I guess that phrase doesn't apply here, as Jenni is indeed banking on that.

Enough with the negativity. I'll be back on the Spartan bandwagon next week.

GO STATE!!!

I won!

2008-12-01T20:31:00.000-08:00

I won the MMBA MetroSouth election for "At Large Member." In the MMBA, there are 5 board positions, the president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, and member at large. My goal was to win the member at large position, and I did! The at large members responsibilities include voting on the chapter board for important descisions, and helping the other board members with their positions. Kind of like the "Jack of all trades" of the MMBA board.

I have to admit, I was really nervous about winning it, I was running against Dave Cox, and he has been the current member at large, or MAL for the past 2 years. Dave is very involved in riding, does a lot of trail work, and is very involved in a local group of riders called the Treefarmers. I knew this would be a tough challenge for me because Dave is so involved in riding and the local cycling community, however, I felt I could bring more to the position next year. I gave my speech, and, well, I won! Sweet!

I'm pretty excited about it because I wanted to get involved in the MMBA, and the MAL is the perfect opportunity to get involved on the board level with my local mountain biking cycling advocacy group while helping grow my chapter. My big goal this year is to increase membership in our chapter, and raise awareness about the benefits of getting involved in riding and racing in Michigan. It should be a great year in Michigan mountain biking!

RACING GREYHOUNDS.

2008-11-30T12:20:00.000-08:00

In all caps. That is the proper way to write "RACING GREYHOUNDS." In case you don't know what RACING GREYHOUNDS is, it is our shop sponsored race team. We currently sponsor a team of 54 people, who participate in mountain bike races, road races, and triathlons. People always ask me where we got the team name from, and here's where.

I named the team the RACING GREYHOUNDS because greyhounds are fast! We like to ride bikes fast, so I put 2 and 2 together. The greyhound is actually the fastest breed of dog, and has been known to top speeds of 45 miles an hour! That's fast.

I also named the team RACING GREYHOUNDS because I happen to have 2 retired greyhounds myself. Here are some pictures of them at home:
This is Toni and Candy napping on the couch. They sure are cute! Toni is the older of the 2, and is black. Candy is younger, and is fawn coloured.

This is Toni posing for the camera. She's very friendly, although doesn't like to be bothered at times. She almost bit my face off once. GOOD TIMES!!!!
This is Candy smiling for the camera. Candy's nickname is "Little Buddy." I don't know why I call her that, but I do all the time. I call Toni "Little Toni" all the time too. They are not little though. They weigh about 70 pounds and are really tall. They always just walk up to the dinner table and try to eat my food.

This is Toni with a case of "CTS" as me and Jenni call it. CTS stands for Crazy Tongue Syndrome. Very elusive, and very difficult to photograph, but here are some great CTS shots in action.
Both 'hounds like to lie on our couch and squish their heads under the arm cushion where it meets the seat cushion. They also like to try to dig holes in our couch too. You can't tell from this picture, but they've done a pretty good job digging holes in our nice leather couch.
Well, that's the origins of our team name. Now you know.

Let's shred gnarly dude.

2008-11-28T19:45:00.000-08:00

Step 1 for getting into snowboarding. . .GET A SNOWBOARD!

Step 1. Check.

Through trade and barter, I have aquired my dream snowboard. Yes, that's correct, the Burton Idiom. Ever since I saw this board, I've always wanted it. Now, it is mine!
AWESOME!!! Candy thinks it's pretty awesome too. Now, the sad part. I've never snowboarded in my life. Ever. But, I've got a pretty awesome board, eh? Can't wait 'till it snows so I can shred Boyne Mountain.

I may not know jack about snowboarding, but I can assure you that I will look awesome when I get to the slopes. Can you say poseur? Whatever, I'll pick it up. Then I will be a snowboard superstar.

I need a new winter jacket.

2008-11-26T07:36:00.000-08:00

Lesson learned. Don't commit to shit when you are drunk. Last Friday, Jenni told me she wanted to see Tom Gabel (of Against Me! fame) in Grand Rapids. Me, being drunk at the time, agreed!

2 hours out, 2 hours back. Ah well. On the plus side, gas is cheap, and we are going to see a cool show. The show was at a place called Skellatones in Grand Rapids. Skellatones is really small, dimly lit, and doesn't serve beer! Sadly, I don't think this was a huge issue for Skellatones, as myself, Jenni, and MIKEWOODS!! were probably the only people old enough to drink there.

So, the show starts.
I don't remember what this bands name was, but they sucked. They were a bunch of high school kids spread out all over the stage. They were not into the show at all, and acknowledged multiple times that they sucked. I don't want to sound mean, because I am all about new bands, and like to watch talented kids doing what they love, but these kids weren't into it at all. The lead singer was pretty good, but the rest of the band was not. Come on! Look at the chick in the green shirt with the sweater over it. I don't think she ever smiled, and she had her hands in her pockets the whole time. Dork on the right playing the accordion, well, accordions are not cool. There was a cellist (is that a word?), banjo player, and drummer too, but they were all just not into it at all.

Whatever, at least their set was kinda short. My advice to the band. . .Lead singer dude, find a band that gives a shit. Next band, well singer, was Emilyn Brodsky.
Please enjoy this picture of Emily looking satanistic. I'll have to figure out how to take better pictures in dark areas. I know. Let it go. Emily is interesting. Her music is solid, but her stage presance annoys me. I don't want to sound down on the whole show, because her music was alright, but she answered her cell phone during her first song, messed up playing the first song, then pointed out to us how she enjoyed smoking pot. Sure, we are at a concert, you are into music, you fit the stereotype of a chick that plays music, but maybe you should ease up on the weed, and try to focus a little more on the show.

Well, enough with amateur hour, on to Tom Gabel. I admit, I am not a huge Tom Gabel fan, nor a big Against Me! fan, but I enjoy watching live music, and Tom can really belt it out.

Check out these sweet, blurry, distant pictures from the show! Tom really cranked it out, and worked it hard the whole show. At one point in the show though, he asked why the crowd was so quiet, and to be honest, the crowd was quiet for 3 reasons:

It was all dudes, weird.
The first band really sucked and dragged the vibe down
The second chick sang sad songs

Well, it was still a great show though. I'm glad I went, and still ended up having a fun time there. Following the show, we went to Founders Brewery in Grand Rapids. I never realized that Grand Rapids was such a cool city. In case you didn't know that, now you know. Grand Rapids is like a bigger Royal Oak, only with more ghetto. That is meant as a compliment.

So, anyhow, we went to Founders. Founders is awesome. If you like beer, and you are in Grand Rapids, go there. I went with Jenni and MIKEWOODS!!.

MIKEWOODS!!
You know, I said when you go to Grand Rapids, go to Founders Brewery. That's true. You should go there. But also when you are in GR, go to MIKEWOODS!!'s house. This trip to Skellatones was very spur of the moment, and we stopped by MIKEWOODS!!'s house before the show. He surprised us with dinner. Vegetarian of course. I need to start hanging out with people that eat meat. Whatever though, it was really good, albeit ridiculously spicy. Good surprise though, and definitely unexpected. Thanks for dinner! After the show, we hit up Founders where I had an IPA (yummy!) and an Oatmeal Stout (Smooth!). Just as we were leaving though, we ran into Tom Gabel. Weird, huh?
First off, pretty cool. Jenni was happy to meet him. Tom was very friendly, and didn't seem to mind taking a picture with us at all. Next off, what's up with my jacket?! I hate this jacket. I need a new winter jacket.

BUY MY BIKES!

2008-11-24T20:16:00.000-08:00

Ok, not necessarily my bikes. Well, buy my bikes too. I mean, I own a bike shop, so I always want people to buy my bikes, but todays post is actually about buying some bikes I have on Ebay.

The first bike belongs to Miami, and is a sweet ride. It is a 2008 KHS Alite Team in a 19". If you are looking for a lightweight, race-ready hardtail, for not that much money, BUY THIS BIKE!

Without getting too in depth about the bike, I'm just gonna say that this is a great bike, in awesome shape, and will instantly make you faster. It's on Ebay right now, so check this out to learn more about it HERE.

The next bike at auction right now is TommyO's trick ride. It is a 2007 KHS XC-Team. It has full XTR, and is another sweet ride. If you want a top of the line full suspension bike, check this BAMF out.

That ride is NASTY! If you ride a medium, get this bike. Get it quick though, because you've only got 7 days left on the auction. Check out the auction HERE.

Go buy some bikes!

So sad for Michigan teams this weekend.

2008-11-23T17:20:00.000-08:00

Like I'm the only one blogging about this, but seriously, what is up with the Michigan teams this weekend? Spartans, Wolverines, Lions (to be expected), and now the Pistons are bombing in the 4th quarter against suck-ass Milwaukee. Ah well. Shit happens.

Enough about the Michigan teams, lets talk about me! I missed working out yesterday. That sucked. I made up for it today though by working out. Well, I don't know if it was really making up for it. It was a nasty night of drinking Friday night, so that should equate to a negative workout. So I guess I am 2 in the hole.

I need to be really fast next year. On the flip side, I was out drinking on Friday with J-Dub, and it is my goal to beat him next year. Not every race, just once. The point is that he was drinking with me, so the negative workout counts for both of us. Good.

Todays workout was pretty good though. I learned something important a few weeks ago when I went to the gym with Pimpin. This is a very important rule for working out, so I am going to put it in bold. . .

Take a max of about 90 seconds between reps. When doing sets, you should take about 60-90 seconds between reps to keep your heartrate up. If it seems too quick, that's ok, you should be working hard!

This is a great rule for working out. It really has upped the intensity of my weight lifting. Unfortunately I'm still really weak. What did I expect though. I've only been lifting for about a month now. I just need to kick ass next year. Perhaps its time for a crazy winter ride.

That's it for my random ramblings for today.

Nasty!

I didn't work out today.

2008-11-22T16:43:00.001-08:00

I'm a loser. I didn't work out today. I was doing so good, not missing any days, then I totally didn't do shit today. I wanted to. I thought about it, I was ready to go to the gym, or spin on my bike inside, but I didn't.

Here's the problem. . .I came home today to watch the Michigan/Ohio State game. I'm an MSU fan btw, but I was still rooting for Michigan. I sat down to watch the game, then my dogs jumped on the couch with me, next thing you know, I'm falling asleep. I didn't want to fight it. I napped. I woke up as the next game was starting, but it was too late. I napped through the time I planned on working out.

Ah well. I needed a break. It was nice to have a day off. I just have to wonder though, did EVERYONE take the day off today? Probably.

1st trainer night.

2008-11-20T18:16:00.000-08:00

Do you hate riding your trainer? I do to. Well, I don't hate riding your trainer. I probably would, but I haven't ridden your trainer. Why is riding a trainer so boring? I have to admit, I have a pretty sweet trainer, and it is still pretty boring. Thanks to Miami for riding with me tonight and watching Jeopardy though. We do trainer nights at the shop, and we try to mix up what we watch to keep training on trainers fresh.

So tonight, we do trainer nights, and during commercials we sprint! All out for one commercial, take the next one off. Think of it as interval training only with long breaks where you get to watch TV. It makes riding a trainer bearable.

I can't wait for Saturday! We'll do a trainer video. Boo-ya!

Dress the part-The gym

2008-11-19T19:50:00.001-08:00

I am no fashion guru. I do know how to dress for certain situations. For example, cycling. I know what to wear and how to look good wearing it. Ok, maybe not look good, but at least look like you know what you are doing. All of my fashion tips will be geared towards men FYI.

Today's "Dress the part" is going to cover what to wear to the gym. Recently, I started going to the gym again, and a friend of mine explained how to dress. Boy, was I wrong! But knowing what I know now, I will do my best to make sure that you don't do the same gym fashion faux paus that I did.

#1-How NOT to dress at the gym:
Don't wear shorts. Don't wear a wifebeater (You know that tight tank-top t shirt thing). Don't wear tight clothes. Last but not least, don't wear short sleeves.

While I realize that all of these things sound like stuff you should wear at the gym, it was pointed out to me, unless you are ripped, you can't pull this stuff off. Sure, you can tell me that you don't care who is looking, or what you look like at the gym, and that's fine. If you don't care, go ahead and work out in purple spandex and a wifebeater. If you want to look like you know what you are doing, keep reading.

Don't wear shorts because you don't want to show off your chicken legs. Don't wear a tank top, because you are not ripped. If you are ripped, don't bother reading any of this. If you are ripped, you aren't reading this. Trust me. Don't wear a tight shirt for the same reason of not wearing a tank top.

#2-What to wear:
Sweatpants, sweatshirt, and a "beanie" style cap. Sweatpants are meant for working out. Adidas "snap pants" are great sweatpants, but the basic sweatpants that you think of when you think of sweatpants work just as good. If you don't have the legs, don't show them off. Even as cyclists, few of us have the legs to show off. Guys, I'm just being honest with you. The sweatshirt is also great for hiding your "lack of a body." I'm not telling you to hide yourself, but I am telling you how to fit in, and look good doing it. Let the weights do the talking! Lastly, a "beanie" style cap works best at absorbing sweat. The other advantage of a hat like this is when you decide to do an exercise where you have to put something in front of or behind your head, the brim of a baseball cap won't get in the way. When you lie down to do crunches, the visor of your hat won't interfere then either.

Now, I know what you are thinking. . . All that stuff sounds hot, right? Yeah, well, you are working out. Deal with it. You are going to work up a sweat. When it is 85 degrees in the summer, do you stop hanging out outside? No. You sweat.

In the end, you can dress how you want. If you want to look like you've been there before and you know what you are doing, heed my advice. Nasty!

Cycle to Fitness

2008-11-19T19:25:00.000-08:00

Yay. The first post of my new blog. This is going to become the awesomist blog ever. I had a blog before and I have to admit that it was pretty good. I don't remember what it was called though. You'll just have to trust me on that.

Oh, if you don't know me, shop at Cycle to Fitness. You'll meet me.