The Only View I Have

Bike Shop Review: Angry Catfish

2011-12-14T05:30:00.000-08:00

See upcoming post about the Surly Moonlander if you want to read more about the reason I was at the Angry Catfish.

Setup

Let me start by saying how lucky I am to live in a city where there are plenty of bicycle shops. I pass at least 3 on the way to work. I go to different shops for different items, and I have some clear favorites locally.

There is an interesting dynamic with bike shops. You must learn who you trust at the shop. There are few shops that I haven't been in when I was younger only to think "I'm never going in there again". Now I understand the LBS must be attended with a discerning eye. Know what you want and talk to the person you click with. There are some great shop workers, don't let 1-2 bad ones (that probably don't last) color your overall experience.

Given all that, it was difficult for me to pass up all the local shops when I heard the guys at Angry Catfish post about pre-ordering Moonlanders.

I put a few feelers out locally, but no one had the same certainty those guys had. In hindsight, I may have received my Moonlander a day or 2 early (or not). But it is all about the crazy desire to own new cool toys first. And of course, about the stories you can tell. (We won't segway here to "why the Moonlander is my midlife crisis vehicle")

Also, I want to say that I enjoy buying from a local bike shop. Occasionally, there are some ridiculously cheap things available on the Inter-webs and I just can not justify buying local at 2x the price. But such deals are not the norm for me.

Bikes at Angry Catfish

I would be remiss if I suggested this was some sort of in-depth store review. I went for one thing. My anticipation level for the product was high. I took a quick, dazed look around, an headed home.

That said, these guys did many things right. If you're upset I didn't buy from you, take a few tips.

First, how did I hear about them? The sell bikes and coffee, what's not to like? If I recall right, they managed to get my attention via twitter or similar social media. Most likely via some retweet from Twinsix (more cool bike folks).

Second, they really responded to their on-line requests, and promptly. Look, how many bike shops have you emailed and gotten in depth, prompt help? Many, many shops are on-line, but I have been doing this whole "Internet thing" since the mid-90's. I have developed extremely high expectations of on-line presences. These expectations may be overblown for bike shops. It is easy to see how/why a bike shop owner would focus on running the bike shop vs. responding to emails. I'm here to say though, that for me, the "responding to emails" thing worked.

They had me at, "we'll get you the bike in December." But they won me over with the consistent, prompt responses.

Alright, I've overcooked the word "prompt". Let's just say I'm impressed. In a world of great bike shops, these guys were the right thing at the right time for me.

But wait, there's more.

Coffee

A little history. I don't consider myself a coffee snob. I know what I like.

I started really enjoying espresso drinks around the time that Alterra Lakefront hit the map. Prior to that, I had enjoyed a Starbucks here and there, but didn't really "get" what the big deal was.

At some point, I was noticing a clear distinction in coffee from the local Alterra. I chalked it up to personal preference. One day a friend had sent me some coffee competition links, and I recognized the barista from the local Alterra on the podium. A-ha! No wonder. These guys take it seriously. Side note, all the folks on the podium were either from Alterra or Intelligentsia.

Back to Angry Catfish coffee. It turns out they serve Intelligentsia coffee. Cool bikes + the possibility of coffee I will truly enjoy.

Here's how it went down. I asked if there was something special they made. AC suggested a "sea salt mocha". I went for it. Rule #1 in dining is "order what's in the name of the restaurant". I wasn't in the mood for catfish, but the corollary is "order the specialty" (but maybe not the special).

Here's where I pull out the "not a coffee snob" bit. I can't really tell you the nuances of flavor or robustness ratings. It fit my description for "really good coffee drink". The sea salt mocha was an interesting change of pace.

Overall

If you like bicycles or coffee, and find yourself in the neighborhood, I highly recommend a venture past Angry Catfish. If you like both, it's time for a road trip!

Disclaimer

I wasn't promised anything special for this review. I just hope it helps a good shop's business.

Dusting Off The Old Blog

2011-12-13T17:20:00.000-08:00

Intro

It has been a while since I have had the time or inclination to write something out here. I want to say that I have either been too busy to do a writeup of the great things going on, or it has been much of the same. ( in a way, both )

On with it then, I have hit a worthy cause for peeling open the blog again (translation, I'm pumped). Kick back, this might take a minute.

How Did I get here?

It all started a ~~couple of months~~ years back. I was going out and reading a bit of icebike.org. Somehow I ended up looking at pictures of double rimmed Surly bikes at Arrowhead 135. A seed was planted.

Back when I was doing Ironman training, I vividly recall the weekend snow rides I would do in the winter. A couple days in the basement on the trainer and I would be raring to get outside even if it was just to slide around in the snow for an hour. It was good for my demeanor. My mountain bike at the time was only loosely equipped for the job.

Cut to about a year ago. A whole pile of my buddies who previously had not seen use for a fat bike, went in on a bushel (or some seemingly large quantity) of Pugsley frames and secretly built them up, hidden in their workshops/basements. Then one day, "look what we found! They are so fun!"

Here's where the timing gets better for me. At some point this year, Surly announced a Moonlander. I was immediately hooked by the name, paint, fatness and really just the whole package. A couple months back I notice Angry Catfish bicycles + coffee says "we can put you on the list" or some such. I put a few feelers out to the local guys, but no one seemed as certain as those guys. Maybe they know Surly, and maybe they are just good marketers ( apologies in advance if I just offended the Angry Catfish guys by possibly attributing marketing skills to them ). Anyway, the release date was close enough to a birthday of mine, that I started calling in favors.

... Skip the part about shaking nervously / excitedly for a couple months while waiting ...

Through the magic of the Internet and a really patient shop owner at Angry Catfish, we worked out the painstaking details. I plan to write a separate post about what a great job they did. ( We'll skip the pickup / awesome shop experience for now in the interest of - ahem - shortening this post ).

Cut to Sunday. The extra large Moonlander has pedals, and is ready for it's maiden voyage. But wait a minute. Let me just take time out to say that the XL Moonlander is on the order of one of the biggest bicycles I have seen. I am at least 6'3" and time has long passed since I have gotten on a bike and even considered there was such a thing as "stand over height". Any pictures you have seen do not do the Moonlander justice.

What did I think? (a.k.a. The Ride - a.k.a. Pics or It Didn't Happen)

We'll skip right over the flat I got (and walk home because I hadn't chosen a bike pump yet).

Do not ask me to compare it to the other fat bikes, I haven't ridden them enough to say. All I can tell you is it is an incredible joy to ride. I loved biking already, but this bike puts a smile on your face from the moment you look at it. Once you are riding, it's difficult not to just laugh out loud.

In my opinion, this bike (or perhaps fat bikes in general) are game changers toward the vein of "just biking". There was no triathlon to train for, no group ride where I was just trying to hang on. It was me on a bike riding down the beach in 40 F temperatures in the wee hours of the morning. I was listening to the waves crash on the beach and just soaking it all in.

Very relaxing. I am now waiting anxiously for snow.

OK then, one more shot without the flat.

I will try to cajole someone into riding with me so I can get a shot of me on the bike.

What Day Is It?

2011-05-31T18:07:00.000-07:00

I happily made it past the new year without some sort of resolutions post to not follow. Unfortunately, that trend held on a bit too long. This post isn't going to be anything ground breaking, but I thought I'd catch us all back up.

Thing one:

I have a healthy rivalry with my bro-in-law. We have a showdown at Racine 70.3. It's his first 1/2 Iron thing-a-ma-jig. We'll have fun with it. He'll likely accidentally get top 10% in age group or some such.

Thing two:

Happy to be back in Chequamegon Fat Tire 40. The "incident" one week prior to last year's race left me a bit rattled. I've got my 29'n'SNGL crash replacement duds! I am full on ready to use some of that karma to claw my way off the back end of the pack.

Thing three:

We will skip over thing three, as it relates to swimming. I think I have a secret, evil (not really) plan to do at least so-so this year in the triathlon swim.

Thing four:

Seeing as I can count that high, I'll throw in that UWM was courageous enough to allow me into their Masters in Computer Science program. I would guess this means increased workouts to deal with all the studying effects. Plus, I believe it comes with pool privileges (incentive to keep passing grades).

Thing five:

Don't talk about fight club. Or whatever. I love putting things out on the blog in a way to say "hey, I was there." and "If I can do it, you sure as heck can." Yet with a few items/goals/whatnot it seems that putting them on the blog breaks some code of silence and causes havoc on my "plans". Therefore, we won't be discussing my success and/or failure with respect to weight (secretly, it has been going well lately -- SSHHH ).

The real thing:

I have wanted workout consistency for a long time, and this year I have pushed for it. Sometimes that blows up in my face. When it's good, it's really good. When it's bad, well we just won't mention those days. Just glad to be here trying.

OK, I guess the mic still works. Let me see if I can find some flow to this thing called blogging. Wish me luck. Say "Hi" if you see me out there.

New Shoes

2010-12-30T05:32:00.000-08:00

Tap. Tap. Is this on?

I started to write a post today about all the progress I've been having in my workouts, and weight loss. It just wasn't setting down like I imagined it. In lieu of another non-post, you get this.

My new shoes feel nice.

I like to run in them. Yay!

Fastest run this year!

That's it.

Sleep Advice. Or is it "Advice, Sleep"?

2010-10-21T05:08:00.000-07:00

Lately I've been keying in on the theme "take your own advice". It has come up in multiple conversations, at least one blog post I read, and who's knows what else. None of which has been directed at me. Yet, I can't help but have been swayed into listening for something.

Mostly, my own advice is pretty uneventful. I try to stay on the Zen-ish side. Do what you do. It is what it is. Focus. That kinda thing.

But today, I woke up after decent sleep. And it came to me. "You need to get more sleep." Nearly a voice from my head, my subconscious spoke to me. Wow, that must be the real deal.

I feel good.

First Ride

2010-10-16T15:13:00.000-07:00

Today, I hopped on my bike. I went out looking for that old demon that knocked my on my butt about a month ago.

I didn't see any demons. I'm not sure I would have recognized them. Being the first ride since the crash, it felt like the first ride in a very long time. Leaves were on the ground. There is no race to prep for. Everything seemed completely different. It was just "a ride". It was good to get out.

It was an easy ride, in that I didn't have anything but easy in me. It was hard, because easy still took plenty out of me.

As I look to future goals, I must admit it's hard because I'm oh so far from them. Yet if I'm not careful, I will attain the goals before i know it.

For today, I am just enjoying pedlin' squares on a beautiful fall day.

What happened?

2010-09-12T12:27:00.001-07:00

(feel free to skip to the end for the big finish)

It looks like I may not have posted in a good long while. What's been going on? I got into Chequamegon Fat Tire 40. Training has been up and down. Let's go back a month or 2 before I get to the kick.

Riding good, often. Not insane miles/hours. But I was getting out there.

Then we packed up the family and did an amazing vacation to Dinosaur Provincial Park in Alberta, Glacier National Park, and Yellowstone National Park. No biking, but the altitude and hiking felt like it was doing my lungs good.

Some of you may have been through the pile of work that hits you in the face when you come back from 2+ weeks of vacation. Well, let's just say mine was that pile and then some. It was basically 2 weeks of a pretty heavy oncall "fun" and sleep deprivation. I got through it, but any altitude gains were gone. I felt as if I was starting over, and only about 1 month out from Chequamegon.

New plan, just ride. I had zero for lungs and legs. I felt the opposite of snap. But I was riding again.

Fast forward to the point where my riding didn't totally feel like a lost cause. I was doing hill work and getting real miles in.

I cleaned up my Singular swift to "like new" quality. I put the badmamajama small block 8's on (thanks Rick). All ready for one last long trail ride before Fat tire 40.

(Here's the END part you skipped to.)

RAIN. Trails closed.

So, grab a road machine. Milwaukee Orange one is a favorite bike of mine.

Gatorade bottle full. Fixed gear bike geared for some leg muscle work. Day clearing up enough a road ride will feel good. Let's head out for 40+ miles and see how it all feels.

I will later find on my bike odometer 7.5 miles total. Some of these events are pieced together based on what I have been told.

A driver saw me on the side of the road, and called.

I recall talking to some EMT guy, but not really being in the ambulance.

I have some notion I was at the ER asking questions over and over.

Cat scan and some X-rays show I was normal enough to send home.

My helmet is busted.

My best bike kit, 29'n'sngl came back to me cut off. I'm highly appreciative of the medical help received. Obviously they didn't have time to appreciate the sweet full zipper action of TwinSix built kit.

I picked up my bike from the police station. It is fine. There is minimal evidence of some left side touch/rub of something (brand new new bar tape makes it obvious). All my injuries are right side. Does this mean someone nudged me over? I don't know. I could believe that or rider error either way.

I can feel my shoulder and my hip where I hit the ground. It hurts, but I"ll be fine.

Here's to healing quick and feeling like doing Fat Tire 40.

I'm very thankful for all that got me from the side of the road to "safe". I wish I had more story.

Still Here Spinning

2010-04-06T19:16:00.000-07:00

Ebb and flow. Yin and Yang. Sometimes I can be in the groove and not post, missing all sorts of grand items. Other times, it's sore throats, allergies, oncall schedules and whatnot. These are the challenges that separate the regular folks from the superhuman cyborgs. All I hope for is to push through and grab back on at the upswing.

Post-ebb, I'm on a few week roll of some flow. I installed some wrist saving technology on my Singular Swift. I've been able to get out on some local dirt, for a few minutes here and there. I'm still crashing here and there while getting used to it. I'm super anxious to get out to the Kettles.

My internal clock is rolling back. I find myself waking up for some fairly early morning workouts in an "almost ready to fly" state.

Running is still here and there. It's in the background, hanging around, ready to pounce anytime I don't quite have enough time to bike. Today I had a great 70 minute run. It's been a while since I've done favorite timed run of 70-100 minutes. I need to keep those around.

I was able to participate in the L-B-L spring classic, pulling down a scientifically guesstimated 67 hard fought miles for the day. I got a few miles in with the boys. And a few more in with the girls. In between, there was wind, rain, gravel, long john donuts, imagined hot tubs, and cow dung. Hanging with the fast guys on 2-3 straightaways was a blast and a half. It was totally worth getting dropped like a rock (twice) on the corners / uphills / gravel. I'll have to work on that. Then getting the best of both worlds, I got to chat with the women while we took the long way back to Luxemburg. I was awarded with frozen toes, a Belgian flag, and some ravioli upon finish. Hard to argue with that day. Made it home in time to hobble around with the kids.

OH yeah, my Chequamegon Fat Tire 40 check cashed. Woot!

Much more going on, I'm sure. This is what I'm sharing for now.

Coughing Fits

2010-03-07T10:16:00.000-08:00

Anxiously heading into 2010 with a similar list of improvements I'd like to see. Hoping to get even closer to that fit picture I have of myself. I have spent a few weeks of regular, consistent riding and or running here and there. Alternating weeks of some horrid uber cough have left me taking some time out.

Yesterday I hit up the local doc, knowing I had waited the essential "how long has this been going on" period of 7 months (or 2 weeks).

As I sit typing this, the antibiotics are taking hold. Ready to rid my body of that horrid cough so I can put it back to work. Time to grab the hammer and start molding it into shape.

I foisted myself out of the stone ages and picked up a front shock for that there new 29er I got last year. I'm calling it an opportunity for extra downhill courage with the added benefit of saving my "not getting any younger" wrists. We'll see what happens.

Pay No Attention

2010-01-18T06:53:00.000-08:00

Do not look at that guy riding his bike. Instead look at his surroundings. I can speak for the slow guys (or yesterday slow guy), it was a great day to be out there. And if I can do it, you can too.

Thanks to Russell for the photo.

I needed that

2010-01-16T13:39:00.000-08:00

A couple hours of toe freezing action on trails and the road with some CX tires was just what I needed. I will give a nod to the fact that mentally it took a bit of heavy lifting to convince myself to go. Always remember that it's better once you get out there.

My toes are thawing out. A hot shower and cup of hot chocolate is in order.

All This Talk of CX

2009-10-14T18:47:00.001-07:00

Chequamegon is in the books.

Cyclocross is the thing to do, for sure. I will vow to spectate at a few races or more. But here is the current situation.

Work is changing. Oncall is happening. I've got the trainer setup. Temps are diving. Mind you, I'll be using the oncall excuse to ride inside. I love to ride outside when it's cold, but somehow don't dig it when the temps are falling. What can I say?

Running seems to be creeping into my schedule. I don't know what that means, but I'm all for it. Especially if it gets me through winter lighter vs any other weight.

There. That's the quick and dirty.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-chequamegon Fat Tire 40

2009-09-21T14:56:00.000-07:00

I went into my sophomore Fat Tire 40 effort with a few guidelines:

Stay off the brakes.
Take the roll out easy. Last year I had the cold, hard evidence of popping on the first hill in the grass. There I was immediately wondering if I had stupidly forsaken my race. I didn't want to be there again.
Stay off the brakes.
Carry as much momentum into the hills as possible. Spin! Push! Pull! Drag! Then if that fails do some CX practice.
Stay off the brakes.
Did I mention stay off the brakes?

I rolled it out nice and slow, way in the back. Bro-in-law was hanging with me and yukking it up. Bubba and crew went by in no time. I said "hey" and settled in to ride my race.

When I hit the grass, I started working my own version of what felt like magic. Finding my rhythm. I thought bro-in-law was shortly behind me, but in truth he said I pretty much left him right there. At the first big down hill I donated one of two brand new Gatorade filled bottles to the ditch and kept going. It was a sign I didn't need the weight.

My memory of the race course wasn't so good. I decided to do CX practice for a few of the steeper hills in effort to save my legs for later. It was for this reason I took turns passing and being passed by another single speeder on a rigid bike. Me taking a bit more pounding on the downhills, her getting up the hills a bit better.

Somewhere fairly early on, I heard a clicking coming from the drive train. I was certain I had tightened it all down. The EBB had loosened and I needed to fix it. After figuring the problem and tightening I was off and going again. I was a bit miffed to see all the folks I had just passed with my uber-uphill-momentum thing going by. Chain tightened, I attempted a sweet CX mount of which there is luckily no evidence. Off again I went.

I couple times I was caught barreling down a gravel road in the wrong spot (deeper gravel section). No harm, no foul. Mental note for next time, look for the good part of the road if possible.

Most of the time I was working slightly harder than I thought I could for this race. I wondered if it was going to come back and bite me. I wondered what those around me though of the huffing and puffing. I was just hanging on and hoping to surprise myself.

On the upshot, I had really forgotten how much downhill there was. I was laughing with excitement down more than a few of them. Happy to have the recovery. Yet there were certainly times of "relax, you can do this". Even a few bumpy downhills, I went a bit too fast and joggled my brain more than it should have. I was fine, but secretly wishing for a bit of front suspension.

Cutting to the chase. I kept checking my watch, racing my race and keeping an eye on my four hour goal. Mind you, there is little you can do about time goals mid race except check on their status. I was keeping a decent 10 mph average, perfect for the goal. What I didn't know was how the dooming fire tower hill or it's successors would treat my beloved average.

Fire tower hill. I walked/pushed most of it. (Note for Russell, this is where I passed Randy. Not quite realizing it was him until later). One final check of the watch and I was still on my 10 mph average. It could go either way here folks.

Somewhere out there, I ran into a fellow blogger and chatted a bit. We bantered about who was ahead. I'm sure we traded spots a few times due to elevation changes and our various ways of dealing with it. No matter who got the shorter time, she wins. Her team was holding the beer for her at the finish line.

I did my best to stay off the brakes while the miles counted down. I'll admit to tapping the brakes once or twice in a "I made it this far I AM NOT crashing now" kinda move.

Somewhere in here I started realizing that not only sub-4 could happen, but I could also beat last year's 4:52 by an hour. Push, push, push.. Don't give up. Don't stop. Stay off the brakes.

I wasn't in the running for "most donut holes ingested", but I had 1-2 at each of 3-4 aid stations. No gels where harmed in the riding of my race.

Once seeing "5 to go", "3 to go", and even "2 to go" the miles were absolutely flying by. My fun was nearly to an end. Though I want a remeasure as that last mile did seem about 3 miles long.

That last little cruel uphill on a single speed where I have to will myself not to get off and walk, then I was over the finish line in 3:49!!

I stood there for a good bit soaking in all my glory. Holding my bike up. Then a shower and a bus ride to pickup the car in Hayward. All the while thinking "I'd still be riding last year". Today is Monday and I'm still smiling. I know 3:49 is pretty far back, but competing with myself, I've just had a pretty good race.

I ran into Rick who was soaking in an outstanding result. Then hung out at the Jay and Marty party for a bit yukking it up with those guys. Thanks !!!!

I said "Hey" to Evan at 53x11 coffee on Sunday, bought some finely flavored caffeine from him. Then we caught a few minutes of the CX race. Shortly thereafter, we loaded up and headed back.

What a perfect weekend!

WORS Suamico

2009-08-31T05:14:00.000-07:00

Here's a fun one. What a great day it was. Just enough rain in the prior days to harden up the trails. Then "bam!" race day it was nice and sunny.

I had to pack in a full day of 2x2hr driving, a race, and yukking it up with the boys. All of this while "watching the dogs".. Meaning I left home at 8:30, just in time to squeak into the last parking spot before the hwy (yeah that was me on the corner). I got geared up and registered, low stress pace but "just in time" all the same.

Sans watch, I was hanging out by the start, then heard "hey the singlespeeders are going".. This allowed me to roll up the back all covert style before anyone knows they even have to deal with me.

Having geared up one, it took everyone a bit longer to get away from me on the flat. I hadn't ridden trails for a few weeks, and so my brain needed some time to get used to single track mode. The second half of the course seem to go smoother on single track. Mostly, I focused on staying out of the way, and trying to "give it the beans" the Chequamegon like sections.

I must say, getting passed by the two elite trains is super impressive. They are about the easiest folks to get passed by and call out way ahead. Their speed is unfathomable.

I thought I held off the comp riders, but looking at the results, perhaps a few of them got a lap on me before I finished.

When all was said and done, I busted out a "top 10 finish" in Sport SS. You'll have to look at the results if you want to know how many of us there were. I'm good with this. My numbers are improving.

A quick cup of smoothie at the "Muddy Cup", and I was headed home to let the dogs out. Missed out on post race food, I'll catch you all at Chequamegon.

P.S. Still digging that new Singular Swift 29er hard.

Again.

2009-08-17T20:49:00.000-07:00

Again.

I hear it in my head. It is not the "again" of a child not wanting to do another chore.
I hear it in my mind. It is not the "again" with a hint of do I have to?
I hear it over and over. It is not the "again" of a question.
Those uncertain meanings to again do not exist in my head.

I feel it with my heart, the again of determination.
I see it with my mind, the again of consistency.
I hold it in my hand, the again of persistence.

This is the again you may hear from your martial arts instructor.

Here I am again.
Losing weight.
Riding consistently.
Getting where I'm going.
There have been setbacks before, there may yet be more.

Like riding on the trail, I take that same old obstacle with an new determination and confidence. I will take it this time.

Last time at the Muir blue trail, I cleared the last hill. Then, I did it again.

This week, I pulled through some pretty ugly number of hours in front of a computer screen. Figuring and fixing, again and again. Somehow I broke my old mold of giving up workouts while on-call. I managed 5.5 hours of basement, mile-less riding.

I have a long way to go, but I'm clearing new obstacles.

I do not share this to gloat of what I can do. I share with the humble wish that you can too.

You may not mountain bike. You may not work on-call in front of a PC. Whatever your obstacle, stand up and do it again.

True Story

2009-08-08T16:39:00.000-07:00

So, I had a broken spoke. I replaced it on my own. Then there was a slight wiggle/wobble in the rear wheel. Just to be safe, I drug over to Ben's and spent a 5er for a few minutes of insurance. And yes, there were no wiggles after that. Well worth the trip.

I got the thing all back together and in hope of tomorrow being open trails. One last check. I spun the front wheel to make sure it was in straight. Then I wondered, had I crashed unknowingly? front looks so untrue it's ridiculous.

Thinking the way to fix it was to tighten up the spokes that had unseated/settled ( as that was the likely cause ). I now know the error of that logic.

In any case, later after the beach party I'm going to sit w/ my bike upside down in the living room and see if I can't fix it. Otherwise, tomorrow's ride will be fixed gear and as far as I feel like going. (guessing far)..

I was cranky tonight.. Good ride, but I yelled at a lady to get off the phone and drive.. not really like me. Breathe. Just ride.

Not sure if it was the Milwaukee Orange One, or the fatty jersey. I got mucho waves from the other biker peeps today. Perhaps everyone was just happy the sun came out maybe.

See you out there.

Yet Another Decent Weekend

2009-07-26T16:06:00.000-07:00

Just mashing around the Muir trails again. There were some wet spots out there, so I didn't take any more time off. In fact, I was feeling pretty slow. Though in the end, my time wasn't really that slow.

After one lap, I ran into Coop and Anne. Anne let me lead out my second lap and never had to climb over me. It was cool to have some like-speeded company. Coop went blowing by at some point.

The win for the day. I cleared the hill just after mile 9. Now I just have a few spots to get right/regular and I'm on the the blue loop clean. Sounds easier than it might be for a bit.

Catch you out there.

Alienating Half My Base

2009-07-22T05:12:00.000-07:00

Over the past weekend, I was signed up for the Spirit of Racine Half. I had Friday off to get all my race gear ready. I have done the race every year it has been there, starting back in 2002.

I bagged it. The official reason was my heel had me not running for the last few months. I went trail riding Friday, and again Sunday. I had an absolute blast. I'm getting (oh so slightly) faster. It was totally worth bagging the race. I'm off the hook and never have to go back unless I want to.

On the other side, I saw some folks in the results that I would have liked to have seen, and encouraged.

On to Chequamegon!!

Biting Off More Than You Can Chew

2009-07-11T20:09:00.001-07:00

This last weekend was the Levis Trow WEMS race. It included the Wisconsin Single Speed State Championship race. Here are some random thoughts with respect to my experience there. No excuses, just observations.

It was only the third trail bound excursion I've had on my new 29er Singular Swift. Yep, love the bike.

Two grueling 12+ mile loops. It was a beautiful, if not increasingly warm day. I rode up with a good group and met a few other regulars responsible for me even attempting the race. I recall last year TmonT saying "you need to check this place out, but might want to get your chops up first". Yet this year there was no mention of chops. So, I went. (probably should have had more chops).

The lead out and the beginning single track was delightful. I was even equipped to handle this part with my beginner riding.

Ascending the bluffs was something else. I had a gear that could do it in some spots, and legs that couldn't in others.

Occasionally, my brain talked me out of a few semi difficult spots. I've assured myself that any one of these spots on it's own would be very doable, but stacked up into this 25 miles of "what did I get myself into?" went slightly beyond my reach.

I rode planks, bridges, rocks, roots, switchbacks, ascents, descents and any number of other fun little obstacles. I had some minor hiccups, to be expected. Thankfully, nothing left me laying there for the ticks to devour me.

Somewhere past 1.5 laps, I went full-on-toast mode. Upon reflection, I was perhaps dehydrated in addition to being cooked. I pushed in spots, cursing my inability to pedal no more. I stopped at the last aid station, grabbing a few orange slices for the coast into the finish.

Not far from the end, I heard "here comes the elusive one". Then an announcer that I know not where his all-day-enthusiasm comes from called me in as the last SS champs racer of the day. I'm sure they were all really happy they didn't have to come out and save me somewhere on the trail!

I'm looking forward to taking my new experience back to the Muir trails.

Last, and most important.. It's good to finish with a smile.

Big thanks to Velogrrl for the photo.

Pictures

2009-07-09T06:03:00.001-07:00

Or it didn't happen.

First Ride on the Singular Swift 29er

2009-07-05T11:19:00.000-07:00

While it's fresh. This morning I hit the South Kettles on my new rigid, steel framed, Hayes Stroker, Sun Ringle disc-o-flea, Sugino crank, Phil ebb, 19T endless kickass cog, Singular Swift via the Peddler of Prairie himself. Here, in no particular order, are my thoughts.

It was a beautiful day. I abstained from any brewed beverages last night for the full, early rise effect of getting more riding in. I was going to go for a 5am alarm, but once we were home and crashed it was later than I thought. So, 5:30am would have to do. Jump in the rain-box, grabbed my stuff, made some espresso, and one trip back in for my forgotten ipod, and I was out the door minutes past 6am.

At Muir and ready to ride about 7:30, I tweaked things and just made sure it was all ready to go. Tightened up the pedals. Realigned the front brake, fixing the UFO sound. And one red loop just for warm-up and grins.

The momentum of the ride is incredible. The bike wants to go much faster than me. It doesn't lose speed, save when I am braking or heading up a hill. When I'm "just peddling along" I feel like I'm going faster and much easier than I was on my old bike. (insert tidbit about 15 years of improvements in bike geometry advances).

It took me a bit just to get used to how it felt over bumps. I'm accustomed to a squishy old front suspension. I'm much more upright on the swift and could lean in and bend my elbows. Though, I felt I had to duck quite a bit more.

The good and bad of uphills. The momentum factor had me speeding up some hills and struggling on others. It seemed much more difficult for me to buckle down and hurk the rest of the way up the hill once it was too steep. This could just be a matter of finding the right spot to be in when I am climbing. Also, I'll guess the wider bars on my list will help the up hills.

Dare I say, everywhere else was a win/win. I won't talk times because mine are pretty slow. But, my first loop was a medium effort with a few short stops for a sip of water (not long enough to let the mosquitoes gather). It was at least 5 minutes faster than my last loop on my old bike, where I was really pushing it. I went for loop 2 and wore out at the end. I did well the front half, but wore out on the back half.

The big win, I was grinning most of the time. Which is what counts.

If I didn't mention it before, a big thanks / shout out go to the folks that helped me put this together (and listened to my whining waiting for it).

Rick
Russell
Tim
Marty

And of course my wife.

Now I just gotta get this thing out to a ride/race or two before the big Fat Tire. I'll have to chat with my council about Levis.

Riding in the Rain

2009-07-01T18:21:00.001-07:00

This morning I took off for my regular 20 miler on the fixed gear. I've been doing this the last couple days and most of last week. It was just below 60 degrees and there was a slight drizzle. This was somewhat cooler than it has been for a few weeks on my rides.

I had all sorts of wonderful ideas of how to make a great post about this. My rush to get home and off to work peels those from me never to be heard again. Here's what's left.

There is such a cleansing effect to riding in the rain. I won't say it was tough to go. It wasn't. Rain jacket or not, I knew I would be soaked by ride's end.

I started easy, with my turnaround point in mind.

Heading north past Silver Spring, the runners I see remind me to wish Robin a "Happy Birthday". Still the rain comes down.

As my Fat Cyclist arm warmers soak to the core, I am reminded "Win Susan". Still the rain comes down.

Once I headed back, I picked it up to medium pace with a few pushes up hills to keep the momentum going. I have to make faster cadence easy on one gear this year. The rain cools me and I am steady.

Returning home, I had time to ditch the soaked clothes and hit the shower before the rest of the family was up.

No, this was nowhere near the post I had in mind this morning.

In spite of a poor night's sleep, it was a good ride today. I highly recommend a regular rain ride.

Evidence

2009-06-24T21:02:00.000-07:00

A.K.A. What I've been doing in the dungeon today.

The frame is pretty. After all the painstaking advice giving to me about how to photo a bike, I got to the 11th hour and just had to take an evidence shot. Yep, it's here. I have the parts I have on it. Shortly hoards of folks will come teaming out of the woodwork and help me with the last bits (or are those termites?).

While I have the photo up, yep recently they've been doing some gas upgrades around here and that pipe sticking out of the wall used to be a meter. Isn't it nice how that ugly old meter isn't there anymore, just that beautiful pipe.

Time for bed, been up since 2 AM.

Parts

2009-06-09T15:51:00.000-07:00

Oh blog, how I have neglected you lately.

props to Endless for being there and recommended.
My LBS always gets a nod. But the chain was recommended, then the recommendation was refined. Then maybe I got it wrong over the cell phone connection. We'll see.

I gotta say, accumulating the parts is nice. And I'm almost there. But the backbone of the entire new 29er bike project is slated to be in sometime this week. No word yet.

No worries. I will wait out this without concern. It turns out last time I went to the woods to ride, I checked a tree. Thus, this week I'm nursing a hockey injury without ever playing hockey (apparently checking boards can cause such). I hope to have this diversion and on-call all taken care of about the same time the build for the new bike is d-o-n-e. With a little luck, this could turn out well.

I won't tell you I plan to take a bunch of photos of the build process. We know that once I have the stuff, I won't be stopping the grease gun to take pictures. I do hope to have a nice looking end photo I can put up once we're all complete. Bonus if I can take a few pics in between.

See you on the other side.

Cue B****n' Rock Music

2009-06-04T16:50:00.000-07:00

Today, I obtained some sweet 29er wheels. Upon getting them home, I recalled my days in the restaurant biz at various cooking jobs. I was making a hot dog for the boy, and mac and cheese for the girl, and oh yeah mounting some 29er tires to my new 29er wheels, with new 29er tubes. Color me excited. All pumped up and there is news of a frame just over the horizon.

If the anticipation stage is any indication, I'm going to have a blast on this new ride.

Anyone Get the License Plate?

2009-05-21T18:50:00.000-07:00

I suppose that's a bad title in a somewhat bike centric blog. No specific run-ins with autos here. But man did my momentum get messed up hard. I've been doing the weekend warrior schedule, and it's time to man up and really put some daily miles in.

I've got me a 100 miles to nowhere kit from Twin6 and Fat Cyclist. I'm pretty happy about the goodness it's chocked full of.

I'm bummed I get to go to a wedding instead of fight childhood cancer with my 100km ride this year. So I'm taking my aggressions out on the 100 miles to nowhere ride. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy there are family marriages going on and all. I just like to do a little cash raising and ride in the name of something higher than "it's Saturday" once per year.

Spirit of Racine is looking to be about 2 months away. My heel is not going away, and I haven't been swimming. This ought to be interesting. On the other hand, my mountain biking has been on the upswing.

See you out on the road / dirt.

Wisconsin Weather

2009-05-09T21:43:00.000-07:00

It is said here, "if you don't like the weather, wait 20 minutes."

In that vein, I went to bed last night with a radar full of green, yellow, and red indicating all kinds of rain and doom for mountain bike racing. Mind you, I'm not much the type of guy to drive a few hours in order to not ride his bike. I could not ride my bike right here.

In any case, I had explicitly asked for an update in the morning. I got a favorable one (or maybe it was an admonishing one). So, I meandered around getting the kids started, dogs fed and walked. I slowly but surely got my stuff in the car. I stopped for gas. And maybe by 9:30 or 10:00am I was headed North just past Green Bay. (the bay didn't look very green today).

At the StumpFarm race, I ran into most of the usual suspects. Coop, Anne, Rick, Liz, Tmont, and MK were all present and accounted for. I must say though, the parking lot did seem a bit light (minus the old city bus).

The course could not have been laid out better. Minus a few mud holes, even I was able to navigate it successfully. In later laps, I walked a few up hills in the interest of making it home.

A good time was had by all. The course seemed fast and packed. Impossible sections were at a minimum if not non-existent. If you showed up, you didn't regret it. For the rest of y'allz, what can I say?

Good pizza after.. Me without my camera.

Impromptu Gary Fisher Superfly Product Review

2009-05-02T20:22:00.000-07:00

I rode a Gary Fisher Superfly today. The Trek factorydemo folks showed up at the trail while I was out riding my old steed. They were graciously sharing bikes with folks who wanted to try them out. I thought this was a great opportunity to get up on one of those 29ers and give it the beans.

Now, a bit of background. My current ride has been called "so utterly vile that your eyes instinctively look the other direction when he is on it, allowing him that ultra-kwik window to slip away behind you". It is an easily a 15+ year old Giant ATX 780, converted to single speed. Thanks to Rick, it got a sweet upgrade of V-brakes. Otherwise, it's your basic double butted steel frame with a high zoot RockShox Mag21 on the front.

Enter the Superfly. Which, in all honesty, we can't call this a fair review. There are too many variables. I've never ridden 29er wheels on a mountain bike. I've never ridden a carbon fiber bike. I've never ridden disc brakes. For that matter, it's been a good while (it seems) since I actually shifted gears on a trail.

The helpful staff handed me a size XL. It was quite a bit more roomy than my current setup. Making me think the bike I'm on might be on the small side. Initially I felt like I was driving a bus, but I quickly got over that.. or this was the lightest bus I've ever been near. The last time I rode a bike this size, it was chromoly and 40 lbs (or might as well have been).

It wasn't long before I was ripping over rocks and tree roots. Other than having to get used to shifting again, it was nearly ridiculous how easy it was to just tear over terrain that just one lap earlier I had to negotiate.

The shifting was very responsive. A few times I accidentally bumped it (recall I'm not used to having shifters) and ended up in a way wrong gearing. This thing is all pro. I could not find a problem.

Dare I suggest I could lay down MSRP and lop a good hour off my Fat Tire 40 time by just payin' the man for the new bike. That's not really me though.

While this is a review of the Superfly, it isn't. It's more of a reminder that the latest and greatest equipment can actually be significantly advanced from your older bike. I love to be the guy on the bike "so utterly vile your eye instinctively look the other direction" while bringing up the rear.

Then again, the 29er revolution is upon us. My comfort level at the local trails are increasing. And I anxiously await my new frame.

See you on the trails.

That's Why They Call Them Squirrels

2009-04-30T14:12:00.001-07:00

A couple mornings ago, I was testing various pedal cadences at 23-24 mph and a squirrel ran straight into my front wheel. Then proceeded between the two wheels and to the other side of the road. Nuts!

Unfortunately I was without my camera.

Listen up!

2009-04-29T04:19:00.000-07:00

It's the last day to sign up for Fat Cyclist's 100 Miles of Nowhere. Now do it.

I'll be "there" riding "with you".

The Difference Between Trail and Road Riding

2009-04-26T09:50:00.000-07:00

(at least this weekend)

Road riding you can start when it's already 40F and raining. Whereas with mountain biking you can leave while rain, hail, thunder, lightning is merely looming. It might be waiting to drop like a rock on you at mile 5 of the 10 mile trail.

Saturday it was good to ride with some good folks at Kettles South. I was allowed to take off at "race pace" leading out the group for a few miles (they know this as slightly slower than "easy ride", a.k.a. warm-up). When the rain started coming down, TmonT took the lead while I managed to convert to run-ups on some of the tougher inclines, thus saving the uphill trails from my rear wheel. (note to self, let's try one gear easier). Russel noted something like my bike would be lighter without the pedals if I didn't need them. Maybe I need some trail run shoes for next time. Rick, Liz and MK pretty much left me alone, figurin' R. Tools had the smack talk covered. I thought I was pretty soaked yesterday.

Then comes Sunday. Knowing I've been on vacation and bikeless, I have to get out for regular miles. So I hopped up this morning and did another nearly 2 hours in 40F and rain. This isn't so bad for the first 1/2 hour, maybe even hour. The way home gets a bit tougher. For the uninitiated, it goes something like this:

About 20 or 30 minutes into the ride, your cycling tights are water logged with cold rain, and your legs begin to waffle between cold and stinging. You modify your effort to somewhere between "stay warm" and "able to maintain for the entire ride". The inclines help you stay warm. Speeding up effort is great for warming up the muscles. Keep in mind, as your speed goes up you get exponentially more wet.

Around 45-60 minutes into the ride, your double layer thick gloves are completely soaked. Your hands don't feel too cold, except when you hit a bump and all the water in the gloves moves around. Somewhere around 70-80 minutes, the cold has sapped your energy and you just want to eat / get home. In a past ride, the decision to eat at this point left me shaking on the floor in the fetal position when I got home. It's not the time to have all the blood run to your stomach. Get home, shower then eat.

Speaking of showers, yeah I was in there a good bit just waiting for the itchy red tingling from the cold go away. This is about the least fun of the entire thing. Even when the shower is done, you're bones are still cold. Following up with a hot bowl of oatmeal and an espresso put me back on track.

Ride done. I want to believe these are the days that make racing easy.

I share this not to show how much of a hardened individual I am. Quite the contrary. We can all do a good deal more than we think. I could have easily talked myself out of going today and didn't. I'm glad I didn't.

The Last Day of Vacation

2009-04-22T14:37:00.000-07:00

I had hoped to head out to Muir on my final day of vacation. But the powers that be (this week's rain) got in my way. So I decided to collect some mud samples at the local trail recently revealed to me by some biker dudes. There were only a few wet spots. Still I managed to get some good dirt.

While I'm at it, today is the last day of vacation. I had a great time off. It's time to get serious though. Time to keep balance. Time to sleep and eat well. Time to focus. I'm ready.

With that, I weighed myself, logged back into fitday.com for the first time in years, and gave myself a Mach 4 haircut to start with a clean slate. Don't mind the helmet mark, it's just evidence I actually rode. And yeah, the sun was bright.

Happy Earth day.

What I Did on Vacation Part One

2009-04-21T20:07:00.000-07:00

With respect to vacation, this is in no particular order. I got plenty crossed off my list while I was "out". Here's one thing:

(photo credits to my brother)

What you see here is out and out evidence I have used a new-fangled style two-wheeled vehicle. Now, regular readers will note I use two-wheeled vehicles all the time. Here we see me sitting on something with a clutch and a motor. You will have to take my word that I actually operated said vehicle, motor, clutch, at least one brake, 2 gears, and neutral. My brother turned the key, so I'll have to learn that later. It was odd as all getout not having any fatigue anywhere (minus my clutch wrist). Oh yeah, and I didn't dump it (knock on wood).

This all seems like small stuff to those who have ridden. One might ask how I made it all the way to 2009 before trying this. Shoot, I don't know.

You can't see my smile in the pictures, but rest assured it was fun.

I like to think like Ferris, "If you have the means, I highly recommend it." Or at least, I didn't wait until 2010.

Glad to be back. I can't wait to start turning cranks. More later.

Better Write Something and Quick

2009-04-08T20:21:00.000-07:00

Hey, the ~~loco~~ local folks took me out for a spin on some trails. I was going to go it on my own, but it was nice to have some company. I didn't have time to whip out the camera, cause I was too busy being last. Rest assured, after a few weeks of R&R, I'll be even slower!

I'm going to have to do some running, if I'm expected to show progress at Stump Farm in early May.

I may put my head down here for a bit. Buckle down, if you will. Once we're in swing, I'll try to get some posts out here.

Watch for an up and coming review of some tires I used all winter..

Other news, work has been gettin' their money's worth lately. I'm happy to provide, but likewise hoping this will be fully recognized as the weather gets nicer.

See you all out there.

Coming Together

2009-03-25T21:35:00.001-07:00

I said before, this year's goal is a picture of myself at the Chequamegon Fat Tire 40, thinner, faster, and fitter. I'm not sure if I said that picture included a new bike or not.

Well, a cheq cashed to the Fat tire folks.

My weight has had a slight, steady, even, negative slope.

I sent my prepay check to Prairie Peddler for one of those Swift frames.

And aside from this on-call week, I've been pounding the pavement pretty good. Last week marked about 8.5 hours of running or riding. It felt very reasonable.

I'm working hard at work. Sleeping good at sleep. And it's coming together. I hate to post success so early in the year. It's a journey. I'm happy just to be heading in the right direction. Feet, balance and focus don't fail me now!

I'm Not Going to Podcast

2009-03-23T18:49:00.000-07:00

I was out for a slowish, longish, short run (10km) on Sunday. Out there on the trail, I had quite a few brilliant ideas for blog postings. This may come as a big shock to regular readers, but it is true. Waves of in bound subscriptions to my FREE bl0g might have caused who knows what kind of massive flapping in the route tables of the Internet.

Alas, we will not be subjected to such writing. My brilliance only endures the run. Once I return home, there is other work to be done.

It occurs to me I could start a podcast where I run and say my ideas. But that is being and has been done. No one needs a windy, heavy breathing, eleven minute mile "podcast" added to the already good selection.

There you have it. I'm not going to do it. Now what the heck were those ideas?

I Got Brand New Shoes, Now I Run Like Someone Else

2009-03-18T19:00:00.000-07:00

OK, I don't run that much different than I did two days ago. I just felt a need to play on a semi obscure Van Halen lyric.

It's worth noting that two days ago, I was having trouble running four miles without needing to hire a masseuse afterward (or at least wanting one). Yet today I cranked up Operation Mindcrime and ran a few miles (7.12 according to gmap-pedometer) in my brand new shoes.

Now here's the thing. I blame the new shoes. I started out slightly to very tight. A few miles in, I was relaxing slightly, but I figured the whole run would be a bit of a chore. Yet the last two or a bit more miles, I felt very strong. Maybe those last couple tunes really had me going. Maybe it was seeing two Cafe Hollander team riders out braving the night on their bikes. Those last couple miles of my first longer run, I usually just want to be home. But not today. Today I felt strong. I wanted more.

Here is where I recall back to the last time I ran early season, wanted more, and took it. I spent much time recouping the injury after that. This time, I headed home and replenished the carbs. I'll be out there next time getting more.

Just in case you're a running newbie or happened to forget (again, like me), new shoes rule.

Recovery (v2)

2009-03-15T06:43:00.000-07:00

Balance

Work but a little extra
and the run starts late.

Run but a little too far
and the shins go tight.

Stretch the shins but a little too long
and the beer does not get drunk.

Drink but a little extra beer
and the bike does not get ridden.

Push but a little to far on the bike
and the dishes don't get done.

Recovery from one thing needs the next thing
When to jump is the key.

Take Sunday to reflect on a week well filled with work, play and fitness
But not too long, it all starts again tomorrow.

Penance

Oh that hill.
Oh that last hill.
Oh that last hill of the ride.
Oh that last hill of the ride on which I hadn't had breakfast.

I stood up.
I stood up my legs drained.
I stood up my legs drained of the calories which sat in them from the night before.
I stood up my legs drained of the calories which sat in them from the night before, yet I crawled.

I still felt the night before.
I still felt the night before where good conversation.
I still felt the night before where good conversation and a beer.
I still felt the night before where good conversation and a beer and some more.

Up at the top.
Up at the top the sun shined on me.
Up at the top the sun shined on me spent of old.
Up at the top the sun shined on me spent of old, now new.

I will do.
I will do what I say.
I will do what I say when I plan ahead.
I will do what I say when I plan ahead and succeed.

I did it.

PS

It's going to be a good year.

Recovery?

2009-03-15T06:05:00.000-07:00

(warning self indulgent "status" post)

The last few days have been well needed, devil may care, jwm style.

Friday night I went "out" to sample various beers. More, in fact, than I had sampled in quiet a number of years (normally that number approaches zero). I stayed up a few extra hours past bedtime enjoying my hard earned, pain free state.

Oh but wait, there is a Saturday morning ride that I told myself I would do. At some point, I was certain I would not go. Yet, I awoke with enough time to be there. I racked my bike and grabbed my stuff. I left the kids with breakfast, Qubo, and their Mom. (and before this becomes anti-TV, they did shut it off on their own. She wrote/drew a book, and he played with cars).

Fast forward to actually riding. This was supposed to be an easy ride. Fear not, I will not let anyone get behind me. Uphills were pronounced (read difficult for my 1st day out butt). I more or less hung on, minus a hill or two.

I might have pulled something. On an uphill I came unclipped, and probably did some goofy looking save. Today, I've got my ankle talking to me.

Bagels and coffee with the boys after. I have a new goal for Chequamegon (if I get in). Something about passing someone and staying in front of them without the aid of air pump in the spokes and such.

Long story short, beautiful day with good company.

Today, I think I'll practice the Yoga position, "relaxing Dad".

An Apology to the Reader

2009-03-12T04:19:00.000-07:00

I'll make this quick, as I have some riding to do.

At the time of the last post, I was stuck inside for an overabundant amount of time.
Deprived of regular workouts for two (2) entire days.
I was starting to hallucinate of summer and open trails.
I can see this future me oh so clearly.

In such a scenario, my normal 15+ year old 26er bike would suffice. Alas, I was stuck in a dreamy state of lust for material thing. I am sorry, this demonstration is not what people need right now.

(OK. I still want the bike, but I have grounded back to a much more patient state.)

Time to go for one more round of "make myself look like I want to look while I ride this summer". (i.e. ride the rollers and get fit)

Chronicling My Descent into Madness

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

Sometimes I get over focused on the wrong thing. Nevermind last Sunday's "This American Life" on our world situation. Or our Treasury Secretary on Planet Money. I'm listening intently to what indicators I can.

Yet, the air has warmed ever so slightly. Sure it is raining cats and dogs. The trails may not be ride-able for months. I'm already dreaming of a future. And even hoping for a new chance at this future.

I have never bought a frame online. I know many folks are perfectly happy to say "I need a 56", not even knowing the units for 56.

I'm certain I can list a number of ways I have been fitted, and purchased a bike successfully. Many of which would be scoffed at, but turned out fine.

"yeah I can stand over it, what else is there?"
Take a 5-10 minute ride. Do not to get anywhere near anything resembling a bump or dirt. Was I going to trail ride that later successfully?
"this one's 1/2 price". That's a good fit!
I've very confidently listened to a trusted LBS employees who said, "no, you need a 60" (and they were right). (and they later fit me on the frame after I put all the parts on it)
The tri bike "trainer ride fit included with bike".

After all this, I'm contemplating getting something on-line based on 10-30 different quoted measurements. It has become an interesting exercise to see if I can psych myself out or not. After a week of "which tool should I use to draw this" (you'd think a computer guy could find a blueprint tool easily). I nearly resorted to pencil and paper. Luckily, some of the locals went to NAHBS and let me know about Bike Forest's tool to punch in frame geometry and see what ya get.

So, using the following:

Frame specs from the Singular Swift L and XL sizes.
A more or less straight side shot of my current mountain bike.
Gimp
An unhealthy amount of, I'm going to get this done and I don't care if an LBS in my state is going to start stocking them.

I more or less used this procedure:

Take a photo of my bike.. and tons of measurements.
Throw out 99% of the measurements and realize that if I just make the seat height right, I can try to line up the seat and BB in different layers and see the diff.
Plug the L frame specs into the online BikeCAD tool. Turn that into a layer in GIMP.
Plug the XL frame specs into the online BikeCAD tool. Turn that into a layer in GIMP.
Save your work!

** Disclaimer - I did my best to use the right specs for the frames. I don't represent the manufacturer. It could all be so wrong that it's not funny.

What I might have learned:

I'm not sure I trust this picture. But if it's right. It surprises me how little the difference between L, and XL is.
I could probably use the extra 50mm in the seat tube.
Are (current) my bars too low?
Hrmph. Does it line up if I draw a midge on the Singular?

Enough of this. Time to turn on the brain clearing device and do some core.

Vacation Day

2009-03-02T20:46:00.000-08:00

Woke up to snow I had no idea was coming.
Fed the boy and walked him to school.
Dropped past the neighbor's house for a quick chat.
Did the dishes.

Took my daughter to meet Grandma for lunch.
Got to get the full workup at the dentist's office.
Grabbed a pizza for the boy on the way home.
Leftovers for me (soup, pasta).

Sliver of ice cream.
Watched "Medium" with my wife.
Played a computer game.
Wrote a blog entry.

Then crashed hard in bed.
Will be up early for a run.

The Danger of Balaclavas

2009-03-01T09:39:00.000-08:00

I didn't think it was that cold out. That is until I got home and couldn't pull my balaclava off. 20 miles of "road riding". I can't wait until it warms up a bit.

It can be done.

A Ride

2009-02-28T16:14:00.000-08:00

I went out for "a ride" today. It wasn't training. It was riding. I believe one should get out even in the throws of winter (not that now is then). Ride you trainer or rollers as much as you want/need to. But get a bike outside once per week if you can. Your effort level may not be that of "training". Chalk it up to sanity and bike familiarity.

First I rode over to the local trail, only to find boot prints in the ice with a thin layer of snow to reduce the coefficient of friction.

Going solo, I decided to try the creepyfriendly style of photo takin'. This proves I was either on the ride or staged an elaborate studio setup taking much more work than an actual ride. Note, I'm still wearing that same Perl Izumi stuff I reviewed a while back. It's holding up well.

For the triathlete crowd. Normally I might stop at the site of the former Xterra swim for a dip. Here we see it would be unsafe, as there is no lifeguard. Never mind the snow bank protecting the water. Do you think my wet feet would freeze to the snow on the way back out?

Flag flying high.

I thought this was a good view of the sun coming out over Milwaukee. I had a tune in my head at the time, but who knows what it was now? (not the Beatles)

There you have it. "A ride". Soft tires ready for a trail that wasn't ready for me. Maybe tomorrow would be a good road ride day.

Multithreaded "What are you thinking?" Process diagram

2009-02-28T07:37:00.000-08:00

I was reading Fatty's blog (like I always do). And I found myself answering similar to "I don't need a thing to think of, there is lots I'm s'posed to be concentrating on."

So I made a little diagram.

I just tossed it together. As such, I wouldn't recommend using it in an actual race. Also, there are clear things I missed. What if you have a flat or endo? I left out power meters and HRMs. Of course there's the "if camera, then smile" function.

In case it's not clear. The point is that you could be focused on racing. You do not have to try to remember the Chinese remainder theorem to stay mentally busy. I realize that this righteous babble means very little from a slow dude. Just sayin'.

Win Susan.

Diagram made with Open Office.

No Shortage of Droolin'

2009-02-26T17:56:00.000-08:00

Some bike guy got me droolin' over a bike some months ago.

Originally they weren't shipping to the good old USA. I thought I was going to have to drum up a fictitious cousin in Europe to get one. As of late though, they started shipping to the good old USA.

All good news. But low and behold, some dude living in a land of French prairie dogs has a bike shop and decided to stock some of these bikes.

Sheet fire, who thinks I need to suggest a "camping trip to Wyalusing" with a quick stop to the LBS? Too thinly veiled, I suppose.

Anyway, I'll keep you posted. I should really start up that "product review Tuesday" idea..

Is anyone stayin' back for a weekend of riding in the rain while the cool kids go to NAHBS? I'll be here, savin' my pennies (and catching up on training).

Trust Your Feelings

2009-02-22T06:53:00.000-08:00

Come (go?) to the dark side.

Any of you trail riders who are starting to think your biking needs a swim and a run added might take a look here.

Look, I know WORS has their stuff together for a reasonable price. And, it's tough to want to out of state. I'm just sayin' here it is. If you click, you click.

Re-Nay-Sance

2009-02-20T20:21:00.000-08:00

Catchin' all my loyal readers up. Sorry you had to resort to reading the back logs, or worse (gasp) someone else's good blog. Ahem!

In no particular order.

I passed a test today. It means I'm certified to tell you all why you should turn off your mail server unless you really need it (and know what you're doing), encrypt all your traffic, and develop your programs right so some bad guy doesn't smash the stack on it.

To celebrate, I purchased a long held off "to do". I picked up a Boss Micro BR fer cheap. This is a re-learn guitar stimulus package. It's the one item that will kickstart said guitaring. It records really nice. Only problem now is that I don't play better.

I took my last antibiotic today. I can't say I feel totally normal. I hope that not taking the meds will improve how I feel.

I've been in a mood to eat less.. once I feel like exercising I am hopeful of the results.

Oncall ends Monday morning.. So, my prayers are for trail riding next weekend. A beer to relax at some point. Mayhap I can wrangle a buddy to go play 9 ball.

There you have it. This post pretty much gets in 1/100th the stuff I enjoy and or been thinkin' the last while or so.

Recovery Drink

2009-02-08T19:47:00.000-08:00

NyQuil. Not that fennel-effervescent stuff, the good stuff with whatever the pharmacist doesn't want you to have direct access to.

One more day, I hope. The outdoors and even my rollers miss me. Nightie night.

Having Trouble Keeping Up

2009-02-07T19:12:00.001-08:00

Rest assured I'm confident the season will get rolling as planned. But currently I can't speak. My throat has decided I should shut down for a bit. I'm going to lay low until I get it fixed.

I'm anxious to be doing something. Today would have been a wonderful opportunity to be road riding. Here I am. I'll be back.

This Is Not a Week in Review

2009-02-01T21:15:00.000-08:00

Looking back my training logs say I put in over 6 hours. Not bad considering I don't feel like I'm in the swing of things yet.

And I managed to evade the paparazzi on the weekend ride. Awful nice of R. Tools to call "waiting on JWM" "taking a break for smart talk". Thanks guys.

Shortly following the ride, I made an appearance at the multisport expo to pick up my schwag bag for Tri Wisconsin. I think I threw a few tri-heads for a loop in my sweats/parka/brown hat combo. I don't want to tip anyone off that I'm already down 1/2 a stone for the season. I'm finally posting a loss in the weight column again.

10km is going to be my long run for a bit yet. It's plenty for now.

Other than that, when I'm not studying, I'm studying. Time for bed. Rollers don't roll themselves on Monday mornings.

Situational Conditioning

2009-01-27T20:42:00.000-08:00

I've got a test coming up. I want to get re-certified.

I don't fully appreciate many of the certifications in my line of work, but this one was a challenge. The list of certified professionals is relatively short. I was an early adopter. And I felt it was worth keeping.

It's been some time since I've had to study in any capacity. There is the hitch. Now, I have seen some commercials about "the new learning" and all. New learning, indeed.

I have received mp3's of my material. It's Unix security related. So, my headphones are spitting out about 40 hours of Unix threats from the past 25 years. All the while I'm gasping and choking on 15F degree air. I've done some wacky things, but listening to "how to hack and protect computers" while running is most definitely different.

So, will I need to get a treadmill for the test?

I like it. Maybe I should swap this for the TV while doing rollers.

What It Is

2009-01-26T17:44:00.001-08:00

How many times can a guy post a "getting back at it" or "now I'm really hitting it" resolutions style post?

Here I am again. Viruses ran amok in the family again. Things are clearing up for me. And now I ran. I biked. I'm curtailing my eating properly.

Where I am is the good ol' US of A. As such, I was hoping for some more immediate results. Yet, perhaps this is the year of knuckling down. This is the year to watch every move and get them all right. Now is the time to act like we deserve that big ol' "I'm an American" stamped on your forehead. Instead of telling everyone else what's good for them. Take some stock in yourself. It's time to shine.

(self pep talk over. I have to go study for a test)

Moab

2009-01-16T20:19:00.000-08:00

I could not help but be inspired to go through 1-2 old photos this week.

Back story:

It was the early 90's. Love was in the air. And my girl planned us a trip out West. I had me a brand new, over sized, could not be heavier if I brazed on some lead tires Giant Iguana. I took my new tank and a trusty pair of jeans shorts out to Slickrock with my girl, and we had ourselves a ball. (also, I really dug the beef, Cheddar and peppers on toast in town).

Also "en route" over that spring break would have been Sedona, and a few other fun stops.

Fun times indeed. Minus doing the math wrong on coming back. Some how "still in AZ on Saturday" doesn't match up with "class on Monday" too well. Indeed, it was a thirty some hour drive straight back, save the pancake house stop and a few naps.

It wasn't until I got back wherein I noticed a few of the places we had been in some of my magazines. Heck, she took me out to some signed and sealed mountain biking Mecca's. Take note kids, if you find a girl like that.. hang on.

Not Blogging...

2009-01-16T05:40:00.001-08:00

On the off chance you read this and haven't been here yet. Now you've been told.

Snap Out of It

2009-01-15T20:48:00.000-08:00

So, I've been riding. Posting, not so much. Bear with me until things get better.

In the mean time, check out the commuter's next must have!

Bike lines for every road.

I for one, am rather anti bike lane. This version though, I love. Maybe it's just bright enough to wake a few of those motorists up. Or more likely, accidentally flash in their eye. Hopefully taking their attention off the cell conversation long enough to keep them from buzzing you.

Cheers!

Feed a Cold

2009-01-08T04:50:00.000-08:00

All that New Year's resolution stuff is out the window. Some virus thinks I need to follow the "feed a cold". I'm trying to do so in moderation, but food does seem to help my overall health-o-meter.

Luckily I know better than to sweat a few days lost at the start of a year.

Keeping up with the core workouts.. The rest have been replaced by sleep. The worst part is when I stop riding, I spend more time lusting.

The Obligatory Resolutions Post

2009-01-03T06:33:00.001-08:00

I spent New Year's Day biking down to watch some crazy polar bear swimmers at the lake. My best estimation was there were way more spectators vs participants this year. It gets more crowded every year. The '09 swim brought wall to wall (or shoreline to beach house) onlookers. The street was all boogered up with traffic. It was quite a sight.

We took the kids to see Bolt. That was fun.

On the way home we caught some Kopps. I manned up by NOT ordering fries, but in true JWM fashion had to reward myself (for not getting fries?) with a sundae of the month. The January sundae has truly delicious flavoring. It also has quite a story dating way back to when JWM had just met Mrs. JWM. More on that some other time.

As flavorfulishiously rewarding as the sundae was, I couldn't shake the felling that I ate too much of it. And the result was I didn't feel tip top. I went for a 4 mile run. Said "good night" to the kids. and hit some core workouts.

All this leaves me to reassess why I eat such things (again). It's a new year and time yet again to hit the button and reflect on self improvement.

Additionally, I've got an "new mountain bike" incentive for myself. It's hanging as a carrot (or an ice cream sundae). I have a mental image/goal of me whopping it up at Chequamegon on a new 29er single speed bike. This picture is my resolution and goal.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T06:22:00.001-08:00

Go do your polar bear swim or whatever it is you are going to do this year.

Reset your counters and such. Don't forget the lessons you learned last year.

Good luck.

Hard Days

2008-12-22T08:15:00.000-08:00

As hard as the hard days are, it's so much easier than regular days.

It's easy to go when no one is out. When temps are -1F. When wind chill is -20 or less. It's easy to suit up.

It's easy to go on days when you can claim to be the crazy one. Even if it's only to yourself.

If I can go today, I can go any day. This is more or less true. But it can be much harder to go every mundane, non-extreme, "get your workout in" day. That is where my challenges lie this year.

First Fixed Roller Ride

2008-12-22T06:08:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I was a bit tentative about hooking up the ol' Milwaukee fixed gear to my rollers and seeing what happens. I even considered the likelihood that video could make me famous on youtube.

Alas, such was not to be. It was a smooth, comfortable, uneventful ride.

One thing for future first time subscribers to the fixed roller rides. Note the difference on the rollers. When you stop pedaling, everything stops. This is wildly different than the road, where you are reminded immediately you may not stop pedaling.

It's -1 F, I'm considering a run outside. Better go.

-5 ? Really?

2008-12-21T10:34:00.000-08:00

Or that made up wind chill number of -24.

It's looking an awful lot like a roller ride kind of day.

Snow Day

2008-12-20T06:06:00.000-08:00

She didn't have to shovel.

Moles and Trolls

2008-12-15T18:43:00.001-08:00

"Nobody has any fun around here anymore. Last week there were no entrants to the M. Curie lookalike contest. Well, there was one. But he was later disqualified." -- a movie ( I probably paraphrased it )

Anyway, last week my job was like the IT equivalent of ER. We'll maybe half ER and half cosmetic surgery. I came out slightly better than I have in the past. I didn't quite make the whole "rollers everyday" thing. I'm doing core and I'm itching to run. Sure last night before I hit the hay, it was 45 degrees out. This morning when I awoke, it was 4 degrees. But it's a dry 4 degrees.

Somehow, when it was 17 degrees coming home, it seemed not so bad.

I'm looking forward to a couple of (hopefully) non-70 hour weeks. I'm ready to roll. I'm ready to run.

So, anyone recall the movie? "Ice is nice!"

Speaking of a Roller Derby

2008-12-09T04:30:00.000-08:00

I ran into a few headed to last week's roller derby. I read of even more who were there.

Then I read about an entirely different kind of roller derby on the other side of the world.

The first type roller derby I've seen on TV or heard about all my life. The second one, not so much.

I have been trying to hook up my old, semi unreliable cyclo-computer to my road bike. I want the cadence function only. I now know I've been going about my cadence-o-meter all wrong. I will be needing the plans for that huge pie plate on their wall. (though I don't need one that says 400 on it).

Time to hit the basement and see if I can get to 122 RPMs on my rollers.

It's All True

2008-12-04T04:24:00.001-08:00

One day I wrote this.

The next day I read this.

Internet advice is funny, most of it is true for someone at some point. It's up to the reader to figure out which advice is applies now.

Limiters from the Back of Pack

2008-11-28T08:41:00.000-08:00

I often have my own internal conversations about what easy, low hanging fruit I can pick off with regards to my endurance performance. I am writing this list for myself to read in the future. If anyone else can gain perspective off it, great!

Consistency. How many times do you have 2-5 great weeks followed by the flu, work, family, or other commitments? And do those other commitments (never, sometimes, often) build into multi-(day, week, month) lapses in your workouts? Fix: get in a workout. Figure out your minimum levels. For me, a 3 mile run is still a run. Or more recently 20-30 minutes on the rollers is very doable daily.
Repeatable. Yep, this is the corollary to rule #1. But if you're doing stuff that will leave you sleeping in the next day and missing your workout. You blew it. Once is OK. But if you don't write it down and learn from it you will be here again and again.
Weight. I should put this much farther down the list. Not because it's not important, but it's the known factor. Everyone knows the less you have to haul, the faster you will go given the same amount of power. If you spend $5000 for a 1lb lighter bike, great. But look at that 10, 15, or 20 pounds of cushion covering your six pack and ask what it's costing you first.
Genetics. I'm only listing this to mention you can't do anything about it. Cross it off your list and stop using it as an excuse you're not better. Have you fixed everything else?
Diet. Never mind your weight. Do you notice how you feel after drinking tons of soda and burgers/fries vs. fruits/vegetables/lean protein?
Core. How much difference does this make? After two weeks of fit-ball exercises, I perceive a fairly significant difference in my running stability. One might argue there are much faster folks who don't do these exercises, but we haven't sat down and tested their base against your base core strength.
Flexibility. Much like core. One will hear "I don't stretch." Or even read articles on why stretching is bad. Touch your toes (or try).. How do you think your range of motion compares to mid-pack or faster folks?
Leg turnover / cadence. While it's clear one can look at different cyclist and runners and find that there is no one cadence that works. How much time have you spent pushing your envelopes to see what works? (do you even know what you run/ride at?) If you plod around at 60 cycles per second normally, 110 is going to blow you up but quick. If you toss a few accelerations here and there, you can gradually bring up your cadence. After giving yourself a bit of a range, you can then better determine which is more efficient for you.
Form. Here we're getting to level 2 stuff. Doesn't form come from core, flexibility, and practice? If you think you have all the level one stuff and you're still slow, how's your form?
Focus. How many 1, 3, or 6 hour trainer rides have you done watching Lord of the Rings movies or what not? Are you anywhere near riding a bike, or just turning pedals and keeping your heart rate in a particular zone? I'm combating this on rollers where I have to at least focus enough to stay on them. Ditto with running and i-Pods. I dig the the music too. There is a time for it. Spend time focusing on form, pedal stroke, and just plain being in the moment. On race day (especially endurance ones), you will do much better by staying focused. This doesn't happen by trying it for the first time while racing.
Don't spread it too thin. If you've spent years not improving at skiing, swimming, biking, running and underwater chess, knock it back a bit. I pared back to just cycling recently, only to add in running finally. I'm going to stay away from the pool for a while and focus on improving what I'm doing now.
Sleep. It's shocking how much I perceive sleep/diet/training all hinge on each other. Is your case of the "training Mondays" because you stayed up later Friday and Saturday than the rest of the week?
Work harder. Caveat, this can't be in conflict with rule #1 or #11.
Water? Do you drink enough? OK, I'm out on a limb here. Yes, you need water.

The bigger point is, there are a large number of variables for general health. Many seem to effect endurance performance. Which one could really be keeping you down? Is it obvious? Grab the easiest one or five and knock them out. See what happens. My personal experience is it's hard to keep all the balls in the air at once. Then again, when I work on consistency and core, my diet likes to fall in line.

Feedback welcome.

Disclaimer, I'm not a coach and I just peel this stuff off once in a while to see if it sticks.

See you out there!

Stuffed

2008-11-27T20:14:00.000-08:00

I started the morning giving myself hope for my cadence. I did rollers workout #1 again. I may do it yet one more time in the name of "one hour on rollers". Then I'll see what happens when I build into the plan.

Turkey, potatoes, several cran-* dishes and rolls. That was some good eats. Then pie. Tomorrow, I may have to crank up the iPod extra loud to drown out the blubbering on my run.

I hope everyone else had as good of Thanksgiving as I did.

Pre-Turkey Day Burn

2008-11-25T20:31:00.000-08:00

I don't really want to be a "workout blogger". Having not posted in some time, I should update from the "Life" post. I did have a fortnight totally off of workouts due to fatigue and illness. I hopped back on when I was sure I was ready. The first roller workout was pretty steady compared to starting up last month. And here I am this week...

Sunday, two hours on the single speed outside in 40 degrees. Someone remind me to put it back to fixed so I can work the cadence. I felt I could push the low end but topped out quick.

Monday, gasp! I ran. I had to crank up the nano something fierce to drowned out the sound of my pleas and wailing.

Today, I'm really happy with today's workout. Sixty minutes on rollers doing Ron Rogers interval workout #1. First time I ever attempted these on rollers. I have some feed back for how to improve getting it done next time.. but basically I'm on my way.

The current go forward plan will be: Run M/W/F. Interval program T/R. And a nice outdoor ride on the weekend. As for swimming, I have to remember to cancel my membership before I'm stuck swimming another year.

While I'm at it, IT security stuff has been buggin' me more lately.. Tip of the day, "Turn off autorun". Especially if you take your thumb drive and/or memory stick to photo kiosks.

See you out there.

Life...

2008-11-08T09:53:00.000-08:00

Here is where the rubber hits the road.

I've got 3 flat tires in the basement.
Some kind of virus is going through the family.
Two birthday parties canceled today.
Wifi users now have to worry that not only is WEP a flimsy substitute for encryption, but WPA is on it's way to the "do not use" list.
SP3 is out, when to install these "fixes"?
Boxes in the basement need to go to the attic.
Whitefish Bay schools looks caught up on the wrong side of financial leverage.
Update your Adobe Acrobat.
Winter is coming.

Reboot

I hope there is some tail kicking going on at ICEMAN.

Kettles South

2008-11-04T18:14:00.000-08:00

Man was my ride ever sweet on Sunday. I got up at the crack of re-un-adjusted CST 6AM and headed off to Kettles Southern Unit. I pounded out two smoother than ever before laps. I "cleared" many of those previously mental block, put my foot down, obstacles.

I've still got a bone to pick with the incline at mile 9.1-ish. I feel there is hope for me.

I do not yet know if I can learn to ride fast over this terrain (or any!). Every ride is and will be a learning experience.

I forgot to hit the lap button on lap 2, but it seemed like I negative split it. I was pretty beat, but much less worse for wear than my last excursion. I cleared 20 miles steady/smooth vs. bonking at 15 of 17.

See you out there!

In other news, I had to wait behind one person to vote today after work. All I have to say about the morning voters is ~~"Suckers!"~~ I mean, "Great job for getting out and voting!"

Help Fat Cyclist (and get new gear)

2008-11-03T18:53:00.000-08:00

I've been waiting for the Fat Cyclist jersey to come back out ever since I realized it's availability was "pre-order only", a bit too late. Luckily, November rolled around. And Twin Six was true to it's word and re-released it.

Not only did they re-release it, but they juiced it up by sending half the cash to the Fat Cyclist family (if you're big like me). See twinsix.com for details (this week).

Win Susan!

Game Day Decision

2008-11-02T04:41:00.000-08:00

I'm taking my extra hour to Kettle South. Set your clocks back. See ya!

Blip.

2008-11-01T08:58:00.000-07:00

October is done. I took the day off to celebrate Halloween, last day of October, and our anniversary. It worked out beautifully for me.

News of flames at the Milwaukee CX scene made it all the way out to New York City.

Yesterday was beautiful. I put in some recon at Estabrook. Afterward I ran into Tosa Crosser. His used his keen senses to point out that all my "recon" was for the local cross country race, and probably not the CX course. Then he showed me around today's Kletch Park CX course. A great course, and today would be a great day for it. But I wimped on it for the prospects of a slightly flatter Estabrook.

Get in your last "nice" rides of the season, because I'll bet old man winter is a knockin' on our doors (at least in Wisconsin).

Last night, we headed out on the town for our anniversary. We caught a showing of "The Pool" at Downer Ave Theater. Director Chris Smith was there for Q&A afterward. It was a marvelous movie and overall a great experience.

Just a perfect fall day.

As for "the numbers", October is the most consistent I've been in some time. The LFM marathon was head clearing. It made me remember what I want. I took 4 days off post marathon, then it was cycling every day but two for the rest of the month. Rollers have me sturdy if not strong. It's a base/steady feel. I will be out gunned yet again at CX tomorrow. But it's fun to go "all threshold" for 4-7 minutes of a 30 minute race !

See you out there!!

Small Victories

2008-10-28T05:10:00.000-07:00

I took the day off yesterday. I was cashed. I slept in unintentionally. I tossed the wee ones into their classroom and headed off to work.

Today was another thirty minutes on the rollers. It was "nice". I need to hook up that crusty old cadence-o-meter if I'm going to do Ron's Interval Workouts on it.

Today, once I got going, I was feeling pretty sturdy. Sure I had the errant 2-4" waggle on my rollers. So, I watched some TV. Turns out TV kinda sucks, and I'm not good enough to watch movies yet. So onto other "wins". I went for the water bottle. I got it to my mouth and had to grab the bar. Undeterred. I did it again and got a decent drink while riding.

Yes, it's a tiny victory. But it's also a new personal best.

Will it help me while I'm seeing stars at Estabrook?? Doubtful.

Bring On The Pain!!!

2008-10-27T18:52:00.000-07:00

OH! No! Wait! Did I ask for the pain???

Yep. In the form of Halloween CX race.

How hard could a little ole 30 minute, cat4 race be after a season with a 70.3 mile triathlon, 40 mile mountain bike race and a marathon? These questions can only be answered about ten minutes into said race when you're just trying to hang on to the wheel of "Mr. Third to last". Maybe I wasn't fit enough going in, but I never felt like tossing my cookies.

As per usual, I saw a guy behind me early on. He must have dropped from the race when he noticed he couldn't even stay ahead of "that guy" (me).

I held off 2nd place (a.k.a. getting lapped) until I crossed into lap 3. After that it was all over. I'm sure I felt like I was running and look like I was walking any of the hills/obstacles/tall grass.

As for the coffin jump.. It went down like this. I swore to myself I'd give it a go. I was seeing spots on lap one and just wimped on it. Lap 2, they gave me a by, due to construction. By lap three, it was on fire.. My words were something like "Oh NO Way!". I'll have to practice for next year.

I stand by the fact that it's good, clean (more or less), laugh out loud, bike racin' fun! If you haven't tried it, at least go watch the craziness.

Kick the Tires and Light the Fires

2008-10-23T20:10:00.001-07:00

I got my 38 tooth, rocket chain ring back on the Milwaukee Orange One.. (rockets are fast)

I reinstalled the Cross Blaster tires.

I put the wheel singlespeed cog on the drivetrain side.

The chain is lubed.

Who's up for Halloween CX? Sunday! Sunday! Sunday!

Consistent and Repeatable

2008-10-22T05:29:00.000-07:00

Day 14. Short in the context of a month, year or lifetime. But this is day 14 of consistent workouts. Of them, 13 involve bike riding. There is one run, and core workouts to fill it in.

I'm so lucky.

What's Right? (and other random updates)

2008-10-20T19:33:00.000-07:00

There is knowing what's right. Then there is doing what's right.

What's right? Consistent, repeatable training stresses. Once I have that we can talk about building.

What I do every year? Add in random acts of on-call, sick, vacation, and various other excuses. I know it is by far my largest limiter. So I'm starting early and easy.

This year I'm starting early. I've got the rollers already setup and I'm doing 30 minutes per day without excuse (unless I ride outside).

I'm looking forward to Ron's Winter Interval program. I've been recklessly eyeballing it for some time now. I have never attempted it on rollers. I'll need to hook up a large view timer, and a big cue sheet. And I'll have to put a cadence-o-meter on my road/roller bike.

Tonight I threw in my first run post LF Marathon. It went fine. I took it easy. My knee is still there, but no real pain.

I'm four workouts into my favorite core workouts.

Also, Zentri has been talking about focusing on one sport and how great that is. I'm all in (at least that's the plan). Minus the fact that he's running and I'm biking. Maybe once we hit the "who cares what the ***** windchill is! it's cold" weather, we can talk about a run focus.

And I'm sending my good vibes to the fat cyclist and his family this week. I missed my chance to pre-order, but I'm watching out for one of these.

And finally, I'm coming out of hiding for the annual Halloween CX race. Riding or hiding? I can nearly guarantee that if you race cat4, you won't be last. (at Estabrook, I'll have my sights on 2-5th to last).

Happy Halloween

2008-10-19T14:58:00.000-07:00

A.K.A. Fun with GIMP.

Just Ride

2008-10-13T16:00:00.000-07:00

I did some exploring (trail riding) out at Muir today.

Looks like they're doing some logging out there.

A quick stop. Here is where I came from.

Here is where I'm going.

Get out there while you still can. It was a beautiful day!

All in all, I hit a blue loop and a green loop.. I took the blue loop like I had two kids and not enough insurance. I started the green loop like I had some insurance and did pretty well. About 15 miles in, I ran out of gas. Mucho fun the whole way!

If I can shake that "getting feet wet" first 6-10 miles, and not run out of gas at mile 15, I'll be rockin'!

Rollin' Again

2008-10-10T04:39:00.000-07:00

I went back and read my prayers from before LFM. Last night, I got my bike and rollers all ready to go. This morning I managed a mere 25 minutes. My knee is still ginger. Clipping my left foot out is quite painful.

On the plus side, this is my first roller ride of the post season. I managed to do a one-handed sweat wipe several times. I've got my forearm lean on the treadmill down already. In a week or so, maybe I will be able to drink while riding. I don't dare put a time on being able to watch TV while riding.

As of today, I don't see CX or WORS shevegas happening this weekend. But as always, my favorite things about these races are the ability to make a game day call. (now that I look CX is next weekend). No excuses.

Salvation

2008-10-06T04:44:00.000-07:00

I did what I said I would. Now I will think twice on signing up and not training for a marathon.

Notes about my "if you only get me through this I will shape up really" thoughts before the race. (before I forget):

I want to run 2-3 times per week. One 90 minute run, to keep me honest. Later build to a tempo run too.
I want to bike 3-7 times per week. As much as I enjoy riding outdoors, I will setup the rollers and ride them tons this winter. You can't argue with the time it takes to dress for indoor riding.
Swimming is for suckers. (not really, but I want to back off so I can really focus on biking).

With that out of the way, here's how it went yesterday.

Got up at 5:30. Made my self a double espresso with a bit of milk, oatmeal with some organic brown sugar (it's what we had, I'm not claiming the high road). I did some dishes so the dogs wouldn't do them while we were gone. Hit the rain box, and got dressed.

I chose to over dress. I wore some Pearl Izumi tights that seem to hold my legs together a bit more than normal (I had contemplated the CX compression tights at the expo, but the CFO gave me the "eye of disapproval". Never mind that she was right.) Then I used my crucible tri shirt under another Mizuno long sleeve, half-zip, super wicking top. Between the two, I had two pockets. Livestrong socks and Saucony Hurricane 10 shoes, if you must know.

We (T, Pete and I), headed down to the lake around 6:20 am. We caught a bus up to the start in Grafton. Our bus driver was a lead-foot, so we passed a good three buses on the way up. I noted it would be the only time that day I'd pass 100 people so easily.

At the start, I ran into many others that I knew. The neighbors, my coworker, TriWisconsin peeps and many others were everywhere I went. It was nice to see familiar faces.

...

The singing of the anthem is always a great reminder of how lucky we are to be running/walking/limping/participating.

...

Gun goes off. There we go.

Aside from the usual race start stuff.. I had to convince my wife and bro-in-law not to wait for me. I would have gone too fast if they stuck around.

I started a bit tight. Otherwise the run went really well. I planned a 9:30/:30 run/walk. The first two miles I couldn't convince myself to walk. By three miles I figured if I didn't start now it would get tougher later. I felt great. I ended up running near Linda from Oconomowoc for a while. Her husband had a video camera, and we passed her supporters a shocking number of times.

I stayed slow and steady. At the half way point, I was pretty much dead on 2:30. With no training, a 5:00 marathon would be superb. One minor problem, around mile 11 my knee started a small twinge. I stayed upright. I kept my form even. I held off the inevitable as long as I could. Then about mile 15.5, I stopped to stretch it out. After that I couldn't forcibly bend my knee. I was stuck walking the rest. I couldn't complain on no training, but I was frustrated that I felt so good and just couldn't bend my knee.

I sent Linda on to her finish. Before I knew it I was walking with Joe. He had been pushing for a 4:45 BQ and had some severe leg cramping very early in his race. He was a great pacer and I'll wish him luck in the softball tourneys in Phoenix in two weeks. He had superb support also, but they didn't show until mile 24.5.

That last mile in LFM is killer. There is tons of winding around. I had no idea that I couldn't manage a curb until I hit Bradford Beach. The grass was also suprisingly tough. T and Pete were waiting at the end. They were in about 4:30 and did great. Good thing they had a change of clothes with them, because I had the car keys. I grabbed some quick food, then we all hobbled back to the car.

Yep. I'm going to be sore for a few days. I'll spend the time greasing my rollers. I heard winter was coming.

Dinner was at Hector's. I didn't short on the taquitos, BBQ chicken burritos, or the tequila.

Some Days

2008-10-03T18:43:00.000-07:00

Some days you rush out the door and end up with a Newfie on your table.

Killing Time

2008-09-30T20:59:00.000-07:00

Here are a few things I listened to in the car this week. (maybe it will keep you off your cell phone)

The Moth
The Age Grouper Podcast
Of course Zentri
Who doesn't put on This American Life once per week? (according to iTunes, most of you)
A real live Fred.
Even though I am back from Japan, I can't help but shout my answers out loud to Sachiko Nakagome in survivalphrases.com's Japanese podcasts.
Wait! Wait! I might as well include this last one.

See you out there.

All In?

2008-09-27T14:47:00.000-07:00

I'm not one to go around quoting Hemingway, but I like this particular quote.

"Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut." -Ernest Hemingway

In that vein, I'm going to do a marathon that I didn't train for. No, I wasn't drinking when I signed up. Here is some of what I've gone through.

Pros:

My wife, brother-in-law, neighbors across the street are all doing it. (see also, If your friends jumped in the lake....) (note, I haven't done the polar plunge, yet).
I did Ironman for land sakes. This won't be easy, but I know how to suck it up and get through something.
Last time I signed up for Lakefront marathon, I got mono. This would be the second "no show" for me, with much less of an excuse.
Today, I ran 90 minutes just to see how it's gonna feel. I won't be breaking any land speed records. I feel there is a good chance I'll lumber through it just fine.
I signed up. Period.

Cons:

I do not want to appear to disrespect the distance or those who really trained for it.
There is a possibility this is stupid and I could hurt something (me).
I didn't want to just "do" a marathon and walk it in. This is also a very possible outcome.
WEMS Muir is Saturday. What can I say, that race is calling me. I even have a wild hair temptation to try to do both. And, yeah, I know how that sounds.

What happened? I was all starry-eyed for Chequamegon. I didn't run much. Sure, normal life got in the way too. I'm starting to think October is a bad month for me and marathons. August - October is when I most feel like biking. If I want to run it's when the weather goes south.

See you out there Sunday!!

Welcome..

2008-09-27T07:58:00.000-07:00

This guy is responsible for getting me to do more "fun" stuff on a bike than I can list. Stuff I would done, but maybe not talked myself into. Stuff that had I known, I wouldn't have done, but then later he said "when I say 'easy', you knew to double it and add 30, right?". But now I look back (alive) and smile about all of it.

Need I say more.

Welcome to the blog-o-sphere TmonT.

Random Bike Links

2008-09-26T04:40:00.000-07:00

How many of these did you click on today?

Yehuda Moon

Fat Cyclist

Interbike Blog

Milwaukee 29er Bike Builds

Some people even post pictures of bike riders

Riding the Vuelta with Astana - I'm afraid to read most of this. If I do, I might end up riding around Europe some time over the next few years.

Catching Back up Since Fat Tire

2008-09-20T00:25:00.000-07:00

I'm signed up for this marathon. I talked my wife and brother-in-law into it. My neighbors are doing it. It's a party. Hard to argue with that kind of fun.

Now, recall for a minute that I have been doing last minute cramming for some mountain bike race that was last Saturday.

When I singed up for all this, "everything looked so easy after the Ironman" (in the tone of Smitty talking about the K2 in Better Off Dead). Yet, here I am having not run a lick in what seems like weeks (OK, is weeks and seems like months). I guess a marathon three weeks after fat tire 40 is harder than it looks. Or it'd be more fair to say, more than I could commit to in this carefree post-ironman training year.

I'm hearing a good bit of, "but JWM you can muster up and do this." Which, of course, I can. The question is, at what price? Never mind that I'm just digging biking right now.

Add to this, I'm sure I have some kind of virus since fat tire. No not the psychosomatic kind. The sinus infection, sore muscle kind. I've also been dropping weight like no tomorrow this week. My guess is not from the virus, but a decompression from my week of "free, good food in Chicago" otherwise known as "how much weight can JWM gain in five days?"

(insert JWM weight tip of the week.. oatmeal for breakfast. oatmeal for lunch (not cause you like oatmeal, but it's laying around work and you're out of pocket cash), then a "reasonable" dinner) By Wednesday you're pretty ready for some Oakland Gyros or other protein infused meal.

I told my loyal fans and now you, if I drop silly weight without getting sick by the marathon then I'm in. If I have to kill 200+ lbs on my knees then I'm thinking "see you at the cyclocross races." One "loyal fan" has already promised me a list of runner's maladies which can only be cured by cycling.

Pretty well caught up.. I didn't mention oncall at work, because it's been pretty good so far. Minus the page I was working on a few minutes ago.

Two of My Favorite Things

2008-09-18T19:34:00.000-07:00

Mix up Linux and cycling and what do you get?

Qranium

Did I mention my 305 frizted after recording my 77mph downhill at Chequamegon?

No new toys for a while now. And data certainly not first on my list.

Empirical Analysis of Fun

2008-09-14T21:15:00.000-07:00

Graphs are just numbers on a chart. This one is elevation (in green) and speed (in blue) vs distance in my race (x-axis). Here we see my elevation and speed between mile 5 and 6 of the Chequamegon Fat Tire 40.

Notes :

At point A, my elevation is at an all time low while my speed is about 33 mph on a grassy trail.
At point B, my recorded speed is 77 mph. I do not know how my Garmin could have known that I felt like I was going 77 mph. I certainly wasn't traveling 77 mph.
The elevation around C should not be represented by a flat line. There was clearly a 27" hole in the ground here. I know the hole was 27" because if I'd had a 29er, I'm certain my fear of front wheel magnet syndrome would have been unfounded. Also, I'm not sure, but did I see the Gary Fisher marketing department out there digging that 27" hole so I'd be more encouraged to get a 29er? Probably not. It's more likely I just imagined that.
I did clear the hole and probably rubbed the rear wheel on my shorts in the process. I managed to keep the shorts clean, miraculously. Perhaps it was all in my imagination.

But still 77 mph??

Cheers.

Chequamegon - From a Beginner's View

2008-09-14T06:43:00.000-07:00

The overall was, "Wow!" I had a great time.

Yesterday morning was race day. I woke up a bit before 8 a.m. Wasn't much feeling like breakfast. Also, I felt like my week of "not enough sleep" was catching up with me. I'm sure I was getting a cold. I had half a free organic bar and some Advil / Sudafed (this would be incredibly abnormal for me). I drank a bunch of water and just sat there for a while. Not long after I grabbed my bike and headed down to the start line. I tossed my "post race" bag in the pile and lined up in the back. I was next to Rick, Bubba and a couple of other dudes that wanted to stay out of the press for security reasons. Also, there was some guy that clearly had escaped from somewhere. He was riding what appeared to be the next wave in mountain biking, a 36er. That thing looked like it would kill on the downhills!

Before I knew it, the canon went of and we were rollin'. I got a few unsolicited pushes from the geared dudes. I was cold at the start line so I spun out something serious gettin' warmed up. Turns out that we hit the grass with 38 miles to go and I was gonna need some of that energy if I was to make the rest of the way. Blown up, I wavered back and forth between "uphill mode" and "recovery mode". It all evened sometime later.

Here are the (low)/highlights (in no particular order):

Yeah there were some bad mamajama downhills. One of which I gave in and just rolled at max velocity. The bad news is I notice that crater at the bottom kinda late-ish. I did my best beginner's butt-scrapes back tire impersonation. Miraculously, I lived.
Another proud moment was when I cleared a downhill that many were walking down. I followed some obviously capable women down a rocky, eroded decent. Picture said same newbie butt scrapes tire move. If you really want to be in the moment, my back brakes were squealing like no tomorrow. I made it all the way to the sand at the bottom. (the lost the battle to the sand).
I cleared some uphills that I didn't think I would on my single speed.
I walked some I thought I would make. Note, I was gaining on / keeping up with the bikes on these uphills.
I made it through all but one mud puddle.
My downhill mud slide really had a chance to improve significantly.
All the "really scary" stuff is well marked. And "really scary" isn't that bad. But the first time you go through, you don't really know what you're in for.
My back ached, but I had my 50 oz of water and a bunch of clothing in case my drugs didn't work and I ended up on the side of the trail shivering in the fetal position.
With 5 miles to go, it DUMPED rain. The road opened up and the rain didn't effect me too much at this point.
With 2 miles to go, it was back on the grass. This was ugly in the rain. Even on the non-existent flats, I couldn't move well. Lots of hopping off and running/walking.
At some point, I could smell the brats and I knew I was there.
Woohoo!
My unoffiical donut hole number is 10.. +/- 2%. For those not there, I'd hate to see the donuts these came from.. They were rather large.

Post race it was still dumping rain. I had a hard time finding my family and my core temp was going south quick. I ran into the monTs and stayed warm in the lodge for a bit. Then I knew I had to make an effort to look for the car/kids/wife. I found 'em. They got me a piece of pie from the Norske Nook. MMMMMMMM!! Good!

Later it was pizza at Coop's. Though I didn't see Coop. We hit the pool back at the hotel. I think hot tub/cold pool variations on the legs did some good. But I'm still sore today.

See y'all out there!

One Last Night

2008-09-11T21:10:00.000-07:00

One last night in the windy city. I don't think I can call Cheesecake Factory carbo-loading. But I had a nice walk up there and back.

See you all at the Fat Tire Fest. Anyone want to take a stab at the over/under on LA showing up, fresh out of retirement? Oops. I guess I'll take the under.

Chequamegon Checklist

2008-09-10T15:56:00.000-07:00

When I get home, I'll need to grab my stuff and head north. I thought I might take today to pre-think this up. I like to hit the ground running or I will forget my shoes.

Bike - Pre-lubed and set to go.
Helmet - ANSI/DOT/whatnot certified.
Shoes - the pedals are on the bike, no shoes would be bad.
All the bike clothes I own. Why not? Who knows what the weather could be? See: arm warmers, gloves, jacket, shorts, jersey, etc.
Eye wear - especially important when 1699 others might kick up some dirt on you.
C-back.. OK, I'm going to severely modify how I load it up. But I'm thinking I will still bring the m.u.l.e.
Tools - one must have a tremendous set of tools when they are 7 hours from home ~~racing~~ participating in a mountain bike festival.
Other clothes.. Freeing myself from the shackles of work clothes and taking some comfy after race attire will be the highlight of my packing experience. (maybe not, but comfortable attire sounds great right now)
I could not pick up any brown bike shorts for hiding my decent fear output.. Black will have to suffice.

Maybe I will bring a spotted cow. After this weekend, work sounds like it's going to get a bit ugly. I might as well relax to the fullest with a beer.

See you all out there. Good luck, and if you see Mr Brown shorts.. Go easy on him.

More Fat Tire Prep

2008-09-09T21:41:00.001-07:00

No. No prep really. Just a walk up around Navy Pier, and stopped off for some pizza at Giordano's.

I'd have some neat-o pics of some sails, but my camera/laptop interface seems to be back home.

As for prep, I should spend some time meditating on what's going to go down when it all goes down. It will be a quick, late ride up. One day working in the windy city, the next barreling down some big hill I've never seen with 1699 other crazy folks.

Perhaps Thursday I will setup for some reflection here.

Gearing up for Chequamegon

2008-09-08T20:55:00.000-07:00

With few resources pre-fat tire 40, I set off for a run up to Navy Pier and back, last night. Today, I had a great Guinness and a shepherd's pie.

I miss having not brought my bike with me. It will be crazy enough getting back north by race time.

Given a few minutes, I may seek a local bike shop and peruse.

I'm doing my best to stay hydrated and get good sleep.

I nearly ran into McCain today, but beaucoup security prevented me from doing so. I did hear the cheering though.

Greased, Lubed, Doped. Ready.

2008-09-06T20:30:00.001-07:00

I adjusted the bike. I cleaned and lubed the chain. I re-adjusted the brakes. I took apart the bottom bracket and copper dope lubed it. It's gonna hang wet and ready to leave for Chequamegon this week while I work my fingers to the bones. When I grab her Friday and head North, she'll be ready.

I did my best to find some brown bike shorts for the harrowing descents, black will have to suffice.

See you out there!

Side note: Ironman Wisconsin is tomorrow. Good luck to all you pa rt ic ip an ts. I hope you have a great day out there!

Post WEMS, Pre-Chequamegon

2008-09-01T20:38:00.000-07:00

Getting the kids ready for school. The boy got his first bee sting today. He was a trooper.

Since WEMS Stump farm, I haven't given in. On the road every day since, and hard down at night sleeping. I'll ease up significantly next week. But I'm going to make it hurt this week. (It already does).

WEMS Stump Farm

2008-08-31T11:48:00.000-07:00

I missed out on a good number of decent posts here recently.. The secret mountain bike trail I found on vacation.. My train ride home where I had to climb over an engine to make the train (this was authorized in case you're with the rail system). All the newbie rail riders whining about a late train.. Anyway, the stump farm deserves a few minutes to hammer out.

After an abnormally rough night's sleep, I woke up late (about 8:00 am). I brewed an espresso drink, and made some oatmeal. Around 9, I headed north to Suamico. I'm used to 7am starts and getting up at some ungodly hour.. This is nice. Oh wait, the morning temps were good, but by 1pm (race start time) it was sunny and somewhat warmish. Thanks to the trees, it wasn't too bad out there.

For those not in the know, WEMS is a race series where you are given an allotted time and you complete as many laps as you can. I chose the six hour race. I just wanted an excuse to ride as long as I could (which would certainly not be more than 6 hours on a mountain bike). I wanted to try out my nutrition plan for Chequamegon. I wanted to see how I felt.

There were some great riders out there. I'm such a newbie. I think I did a good job of staying out of the fast guys/gals way and they were all appreciative and nice about it.

Here are some of the questions I wanted to answered before that fabulous September day:

I have some new Camelback Elixer, which seems a grand idea. Scant on calories and it's got the electrolytes. Camelback may not be able to say it, but seems similar to Nuun. I'm in the very beginning phase of trying these two products out. I tossed 100 oz of water in my c-back M.U.L.E. and 3 (24oz water per tab) tablets of Elixer and left it in the fridge. OK, in hindsight this may have been a heavy decision, but I was trying it out. The Camelback itself was a trial run for Chequamegon.

How far can JWM go on a mountain bike without extreme soreness of back, shoulders, or whatnot parts? While Stump Farm ain't Chequamegon, it's a question I have.

And I wanted to say, "Hey" to my peeps. This is not a question. But I thought I'd toss it here.

Lap by lap analysis:

Lap 1: Just getting a feel for "will I die on this course". The answer was a definitive "you could, but it's not the course's fault".. I felt I was always on manageable ground, minus the steep sand downhill. Aside from this, I had all kinds of new problems like my back hurt VERY early on. I was even getting leg cramps. I won't say I never get them, but I'd imagine they are so infrequent I could say never and it would be close enough to the truth.

Lap 2: I tied the gut strap on my c-back to help alleviate my back pain and carried on. Wow, "I can do this". I wasn't fast, but I was the slow version of "Woohoo I'm the king of the world! I'm gonna make it!" from Simpsons just before Homer doesn't make it. I didn't crash my skateboard though.

Lap 3: A slightly slower version of lap two. Things hurt but I was still there.

T1.. I decided to eat my post race sandwich.

Lap 4: I'm not going to use the sandwich as an excuse, but I'm certain my metabolic efficiencies all went to my gut. I dragged through and this was it for me.. I was happy to have cleared 32+ miles for the day. And I was at least 2-3 out of lantern rouge.

Analysis:

Were the cramps due to the Elixer? Maybe I need to back off the mix, or go with the Gatorade that I know works. I had Gu too. So there were calories (maybe not enough).

Back pain definitely could have been all the extra weight of the c-back + 100 oz water. I will be thinking hard on this one before the big day.

Last word:

Training for Chequamegon or not, WEMS is a great, super relaxed, low volume, event series. Everyone there is super cool. Not to mention there are some monster bikers out there. Thanks to Bill for putting on a fun event.

I will aspire to one day do this race and keep up with the slow guys.

Special thanks to Toolshed for the T-shirt and coke, Rick for granting me the power to stop, TmonT for telling me not to (and the cookies), and a few other monTs for general support, and Liz for just being nice to me in spite of losing sleep so I could watch my first Madison race. Also, the seemingly 1000's of racers that asked "Are you OK?" on my 4th lap. I'm happy to report, I'm OK (until someone proves otherwise).

Extra special thanks to my family for finding all their last minute school supplies on their own. They took one for the team and saw Kung Fu Panda (again) at the budget cinema.

No Phone

2008-08-20T19:46:00.000-07:00

No Internet
No phone
No cell coverage

A trip to town got this message out.

Ahhhhhhhh, vacation.