Bike Shop Review: Angry Catfish

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.

First Ride on the Singular Swift 29er

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.

The Difference Between Trail and Road Riding

(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.

Race Report: WORS The Reforestation Ramble

At the last minute urging from a few more or less local, would be troublemakers gone mountain bikers. I showed up to WORS numero 5 Suamico Reforestation Ramble. "It's a good pre-Chequamegon ride", they said.

So, I threw the results of my daughter's pre-op tests to get her out of surgery at the last minute on Friday (read "threw" as "answered truthfully"). We had to wait out the effects of the pre-op "I care about nothing" juice. Awful fun to watch on a 5 year old. Once we got out of there, I was cleared for Sunday racin'.

I watched the weather all day Saturday with a nervous eye. I had a hunch I was going to get to drive up north just to get to watch a thunderstorm. As fate would have it, I wasn't going to get off so easy.

It was odd shoving off at 8am for a race 2 hours away. I felt like I slept in. An odd feeling for race days. To boot, I had yet to sign up. I didn't spend a week prepping for it. I didn't even spend a week knowing about it. I love that about WORS races.

I arrived a short bit after 10:00 AM and headed for registration. I got the gory details out of the way quick. Before I knew it, I was all stamped and ready for my first Sport SS race.

For the technical details on my bike. I used 2x1 gear ratio and some continental 1.95 width tires. I've got a Surley singulator on a spacer style converted Giant ATX 780 from 10+ years ago with a mag21 on the front. A.K.A. "what I own".

On to the race. I lined up about where I thought I should (read "at the back of sport men"). Early on I passed a few riders at the back. Then we headed into the singletrack section. This is where my experience (one trail ride this year) started to show. I had a blast and just tried to relax and flow with it, but I need more practice. At some point fairly early on, an invisible tree stump grabbed my right pedal and sent me down. My front broke loose at the headset a bit. I tightened it up and carried on. Unfortunately, I didn't get quite as battle scar muddy as I had hoped. Better luck next time.

I hit a few dark spots in the middle. "Why am I here?" But I was listening to the Conrad Stolz interview from SimplyStu on my way up. He talked about keeping your mental picture good and just enough rubbed off. I got in a slow groove and my spirits rose shortly.

On the second lap the elite and comp folks started coming by. Man, they are beyond fast. All were incredibly courteous. I was admittedly a bit nervous about being in they way. In short order, I was pretty good at getting out of the way and getting back going.

Well, long story short, I made it around twice. Nothing speedy, but I got to the line. I had fun and didn't break anything important. I'm slightly more confident that after the RickW prescribed North Ave. hills "until you cramp, then 4 more repeats" I should be ready for this Fat tire 40 thing.

Recovery was good. I felt great the rest of the day and today too. I had a good swim this morning, and a much better run tonight. My knee has stopped bugging me. WORS must be just what I needed! Magic elixir!

Speaking of magic elixir, I hit up the mobile Muddy Cup Cafe post race for some coffee.. After yukking it up with the regulars, the caffeine got me home.

Thanks to TmonT and crew, RickW, Liz, R. Tool man, Bubba, Coop, and those others that were all cool to me but I didn't list here. Special thanks to Gretchen for not running over me when I crashed.

See you out there.

Saturday Morning

I'm up.. No one else is.. So, I'm procrastinating banging the dishes around by watching some cartoons in the form of Strongbad Emails.

Then, a round or two of Pop-Tire with a 238 high score (it was a fluke).

Better do some dishes and brew up some espresso. Bean of the day.

Bike day. We won't talk about the raging flames in my throat. Seems what I haven't tried is ignoring them to see if they go away on their own.

Learning Curve: Fun with Espresso

Left to my own devices, I had a little fun with my espresso tasting this morning. The past couple weeks I've been beside myself as to how to review some coffee. Daily practice with the new espresso maker has left me with the assurance any review would be about my coffee related skills, and not the coffee it's self.

In the spirit of this blog. I know what I like. And I like the new 53x11 coffee. The chain breaker has been heavily tested in my kitchen. I have been doing my best to compare it to my local favorite coffee. I've got some work to get the whole grind fine tuning and such down.. But it's been fun.

Whoa!!

Winter Weather advisory 8"-15"... More snow if it's thundering. (what?) As long as it's gone by the time the antibiotics actually work, we'll call it even.

The scale showed a new low number last night. It's could be broken. It could be I am vindicated. I decided last night (for the second time) I will stick to one ice cream night per week. At this point, I'm calling the number rounding error. It is a good sign though. We party at the first 1xx number.

Oatmeal and espresso for breakfast, day 6 begins.

First blog schwag?

Maybe not.. But I got these in the mail along with a sticker.. I've either gone completely batty, or I didn't order these. Maybe we bump up the sesame street alert level one notch.

I make no agreement to postivily review free stuff sent to me..

On the other hand, I looked these up before. 53x11 seems like a good match for a guy that drinks coffee daily and happens to bike ride, even "race" on occasion. Look for an upcoming review..

If you are reading this and responsible for sending it.. Thanks.

7 Things

I've been tagged by TriTeacher.

1. I'm a computer, GPS, palm pilot, DSLR camera, tech geek kinda guy. Yet, I still own a broadcast only, non-HD, 20" tube TV as my main, living room "entertainment center".
2. I have few vices. High zoot espresso drinks from Alterra top the list. A skim bullfrog is my favorite. It's basically a mocha with some mint in it. Last week I bought a new espresso brewer. This is in effort to curtail my $4 coffee habit. I will still get the beans from them.
   
3. I played violin for 7-8 years growing up. I hated rock music. One day, I heard my brother listening to "Eruption" from VanHalen. A weekend shortly after that, I spent the entire weekend in his room, using his guitar. I played until my finger were raw. I learned a good deal of the notes. From there it was guitar city.. I have long since forgotten to play both with any proficiency. I still hold "write, play, record an album" on my "to do before" list.
   
4. I'm a slow swim, bike, runner. It's wonderful stress relief either way.
5. I am constantly suprised at how much of myself I see in my kids. I count myself beyond lucky for many reasons, my family easily at the top.
   
6. Nearly everything I write is closer to stream of conscious, than plan.... Tomorrow this list would be different.
7. I like computer security. It's interesting. I don't forward joke emails, Bill Gates will give you $1 emails, or any of the like. If you are one of these people, try Snopes first. If you say, "but JWM that ain't computer security." Then try something like this.
   

In that spirit, if you want to be tagged, you are.

As Good as it Gets

Setup: Estabrook Cyclocross Race.

I was looking forward to this one after the crash and burn last week in Washington Park. I thought I had a better chance on that one geared bike in Estabrook.

Pre-race variables:

Spent a good 12+ hours yesterday putting up a swing/play set for the wee ones. They better like it!! Climbing wall, swings, rope ladder, house... all kinds of fun! Then this morning I woke up a new kind of sore.. I couldn't put it together. Then 20-30 minutes after I woke up, I looked out and saw that set. AHHHH!! I guess that's what happens when you wait for coffee. I'm still terribly sore, hours later. Quick breakfast, plenty to drink and I head off for the race 1 mile or 2 from my house.

Onsite:

It's thinking about raining and finally decides to rain. Just enough to wet down the leaves and allow for a bit of mud on the well worn paths. I rode a couple easy warm up laps then signed up for cat4.

Maybe because it's the east side, but I got more comments on the Milwaukee than normal. I dig the bike, but I'm a bit shy on the legs it takes to race it. No worries, we're here to have fun!

Goals : Not last. And continue to improve my mount/dismount. Next year I can work on cornering...

How it went:

Well, I'm not entirely certain. But I think I accomplished "not last". I certainly passed some folks, though joked with others that they clearly had chucked their bikes and walked home in disgust after seeing me pass.. I must be the reaper (woo good costume idea for next Halloween CX).

I'll take the fact that I was "darn close" (or much closer) to not getting lapped at all as a win in my self competition world.

They added a few million (or 20) turns to the race, making it much more interesting in the rain. See also my need to work on cornering.. Apparently, one can have faster times if one brakes less often.. Go figure. (see also, why I think I have to get much better before I don't think I need a geared bike)..

Ran into the regular crew, Rick, Liz, Toolman, TCrosser, J, and a few others. It's the people that make this fun.

One last note: For those of you I suggested to go watch, I didn't see you. I hope you went after I headed for the b-day party. It's fun to watch!

Hanging It On Out There

One of my top 10 training rules has to go something like "if it's working, keep doing it. If not, try something different." ... Well, it IS working. But I also needed a break from "homework". Not a break where I work 90 hours in a week and can barely sleep, much less train (see a week ago). This past week was much better. I moved some days around, but hit all my training. My long run isn't up to "plan standard" yet (see earlier knee references), but otherwise I was there.

I busted out of the mold this weekend. Having not been on my mountain bike since February (in many feet of soft cushy snow). And before that, I hadn't been trail riding for years.. One might argue that I'd never ridden trails more than a few hours, and certainly no more than say 15, maaaabye 20 miles. Well, life is different now in Ironman training land.. We don't do things in 20 minute blocks.

Thanks to the prodding from Tmontee, I entered the 6 hour solo mountain bike race at the WEMS New Fane race. Thanks to MTB Girl, and her crew, for putting on fun time for all. Where else can you pay someone to count laps while you ride your bike as long as you wish. Trust me, 6 hours was longer than I wished for. I managed to clock 4 plus hours and 6 laps (28-ish miles) of mountain biking. Absolutely everyone was beyond courteous. I knew I was the slow guy, I did what I could to stay out of the way and get my training in. The faster guys (near everyone) all thanked me as they blew by.. I forgot how much fun trail riding was. Though, a guy used to 3.5 hours on the road finds new places to be sore after 4 hours of mountain biking. My legs had a good amount of go left in them, but my shoulders and hands screamed "DONE!".

I highly recommend these type of events to folks who can mountain bike, but might not want all the hubbub of some of the shorter races. It was low key, good clean fun. Show up with your 35 bux, 30 minutes prior to the race, and you're in.. Set your cooler off to the side of the track, and make your own pit stops. Just beware, the trails might not be as "easy" as some might say..

I recognized Coop from his wedding pics on some blog, at the start of the race. Bubba came up and introduced himself. I saw Coffee King, whom I new in a past life.. I hate to list, cause I'm probably leaving out tons of folks I met.. I even met a triathlete or two out there.

Tee up for next weekend the 100 mile ride at Trek 100 Ride for Childhood Cancer. See you all out there. Time to put my head down and hammer through the week.

346

Let's see how far I get. Or, see if you can guess when I start making up stuff...

1. Because it's there.
2. Because it's my year.
   
3. Julie Moss footage. I really don't know what year I watched an early version of the Ironman broadcast, but I do know it was early. It made some kind of impression on me.
   
4. Eat like an Ironman.
5. I like training long. Race day is just the whipped cream on the ice cream.
6. I wanted to run a marathon. This way I won't get a "It took how long" look.
7. For the T-shirt.
8. I volunteered in 2002. I wanted to take back something.
9. You've done a triathlon. Was it an Ironman?
10. Get it out of my system so I can aspire try other fun stuff like 24 hour mountain bike races.. Or maybe just regular old mountain bike races.
11. Build mad-crazy base for the CX season.
12. I'm too slow to be "just a cyclist".
13. An excuse to have (another) cool bike.
14. I can't say I'm one with nature road riding. I do think there is a spiritual aspect to longer runs and rides.
15. Playing wall tag in between following the black line is often therapeutic.
16. You can't fake it. You either do it, or not.
17. For the days that the flavor of the day is: tiramisu.
    
18. For the days that the flavor of the day is: grasshopper fudge.
19. For the days that the flavor of the day contains : chocolate
20. For the days that the flavor of the day contains : cheese cake
21. For the days that the flavor of the day contains: mint
22. For the days that the flavor of the day contains : fudge
23. For the days that the flavor of the day is : almost any flavor without nuts.
24. For the days in any month that has a flavor of the day which is : with nuts, but the sunday of the month is without nuts.
    
25. Keep at it long enough, I just might learn to swim, bike or run.
26. Gives me something to blog.
27. Procrastination... I have a separate lifetime goal that involves writing/recording an album of music on my own.
28. Because "she" said I wouldn't do a triathlon. She's long since eaten the words proudly, but why let up now?
29. Set an example. (like for the marathoners at work).
30. Never know when your car will break down. This way I'll have the skills o run or bike to work.
31. Killer abs (I can hope, right?)
32. So I can look back to the one workout per day times fondly.
33. Because I'm no longer a contender at the burrito eating competitions.
34. Billiards halls are smoke filled here. Though, a Romine's is pretty clear.
    
35. It's good to have goals.
36. Rebellion. "Ma, 2000 other people signed up." "Well if 2000 other people were going to jump in the lake would you?" ... ahem. 'Nuff said.
37. I'm just crazy enough to think that the discipline I get from doing Ironman might spill into other pieces of my life.
38. For my kids. Who's kids wouldn't want to stay up until midnight?
39. For my wife. See #31 about abs. Haha. Maybe so I can live longer and she can see my smiling face an extra few years.
40. What else am I going to do with the extra 11 - 17 hours per week?
41. It's easy to get inspired by folks like the Hoyt's.
    
42. Because unless you're at mile 90 of an Ironman on a 55 or 95 degree day, "the beast" really isn't that bad of a hill.
43. Because I already got 140.6 engraved on my ipod nano as a goal.
44. Sometimes inspiration can be "local".
45. Or even, actually local inspiration.
46. So, I can hook up with my peeps from online before the race.
47. Because there is a "Burritos as big as your head" restaurant in Madison.
48. I started triathlons in 2001... So I can get it over with and move on.
49. Four halves does not make two fulls, or even one for that matter.
50. Everyone is doing it. Shoot one guy at work has a brother that did it. Another guy at work knows a guy who's signed up. Most of the folks online seem to have done it. That's pretty near everyone.
51. Because she doesn't believe I'll only do one. (see potato chip syndrome)
52. Beats surfing websites with naked people on them.. oh wait, what are those pros wearing anyway?
53. Walking the dogs in the morning leaves me needing more workout.
54. To hear "JWM You are an Ironman!"
55. Two other people in my village are doing it.
56. Inspire some "regular folks" that think Ironman is only for elite athletes. I'll show 'em.
    
57. Because I'd rather do 6 hours on the bike than 6 hours in a golf cart.
58. It's already paid in full.
59. Release. So I don't totally crack. I wasted some hate on a trivial matter today. I don't need that. Turns out, I didn't workout today either.
    
60. It beats the mall.
61. Basement indoor training gives me time to catch up on some old movies, or "The Simpsons" dvd's.
    
62. I need more sleep. This way I'll be forced to get it.
63. Cost justification : Fixed gear bike as a training tool (OK so you don't have to be signed up for Ironman to do that)
64. Cost justification : Road bike as a training tool.
65. Cost justification : Gotta have a sweet tri-bike.
66. Because my singing is horrid.
    
67. Cost justification : Mountain bike to keep training fun.
68. Cost justification : Roof rack for car..
69. Cost justification : nutritionist.
70. Cost justification : swim coach.
71. Winter riding gear.
    
72. Cost justification : run coach.
73. Nothing like a quiet bike ride.
    
74. Cost justification : bike coach.
75. You can sign up for Ironman and train for it. In a year you are done and have that in your pocket. Or you can not sign up, and you won't have it in your pocket.
    
76. Cost justification : message therapist.
77. Cost justification : scouting week in Hawaii (I'm just seeing if any of you are still reading)
78. Cost justification : Triathlon training camp.
79. One hour in a pro triathlete's endless pool. and horrid video evidence to prove it.
    
80. Julia Childs' cinnamon rolls from Alterra Coffee Shop at the Lake.
81. Because my 6th grade teacher said I would never be more than a C student. She gave me straight B's.
82. When else am I going to get 3 nights in a hotel with peace and quiet?
83. Because I'm not taking my pager with on race day.
84. The same reason I drank tequila in my early 20's.. That "What are you nuts? But why?" look.
85. Because you can't take life too seriously.
    
86. Because at some point on the bike, I will hear "It's a beautiful day." surge through my brain. Can you hear it?
87. It's a great excuse to finally put some "real" swim yardage down.
88. Run frequency is a requirement this year.. Or it will be a walk-a-thon. In the past I didn't feel quiet so compelled.
89. That 1/2 will hopefully look more like a race next year.
90. It's now or never for making weight.
91. For the tattoo? (nah)
92. To run through Camp Randall.
93. "Verona’s festival last year alone attracted over 20,000 people and was likened to the “Tour de France”."
94. But please don't paint my name on the road. CHALK!
    
95. Because I don't have cable TV.
96. Because doing Ironman qualifies one to give online advice to folks 3 times faster than me.
97. Because we all die.
    
98. Because I have 8GB of tunes to get through on my Nano.
99. Who doesn't want mad crazy training totals?
100. So the occasional latte won't make a sizable dent in my calorie input to output ratio.
101. What else would I blog about?
102. Because Tri-teacher did it.
103. Because Bill will.
104. Because I won't catch R. Tool Shedmeister in a bike race. I'll just assume he can't run.
     
105. Because MC is done with it.
106. Because I've been telling TTN I'm gonna sign up for six years now. (no sir, I didn't sign up the missus w/o her knowledge).
     
107. Because when Dre' says you need to lift your heel more and lean forward a bit from 1000 miles away, dang it he's right! How does he do that?
108. Because my neighbors were going to sign up for turning 50.. Instead they are heading to France. Suckers!
109. Because when my four year old daughter watches Ironman on the streaming web video and the 1025th finisher crosses the line.. She says "Another winner! Yay!"
110. Because she asks to ride her bike when there is 2 feet of snow. And she still has training wheels.
111. Because when I don't train due to excuses like oncall, I find myself up at 11pm writing a list of 300 reasons to do ironman.
112. Because listing 346 reasons would be crazier than just doing it.
113. Because I'm selfish.
114. Because of you.
115. Because Rachel ended up in a recorded band. Thanks for the cookies.
116. Because keeping millions of dollars safe is stressful work.
117. Skim best friend and a see-roll to go for Roy.
118. Because once a month I have a beer, if I need it or not..
119. I believe everything in moderation. The reason I train for Ironman is my list of "everything" is quiet long.
120. Frazz would do it.
121. I've been to Moab to ride slick rock (long ago). I need a safe way to maintain base until I go back.
122. Because it just wouldn't be as challenging if my kids weren't in there first year of school, aka petrie dish.
123. Who doesn't want to spend more time at the Swim store.
124. Who doesn't want to spend more time at the LBS.
125. Who doesn't want to spend more time at the LBS.
126. Who doesn't want to spend more time at the LBS.
127. Who doesn't want to spend more time at the LBS.
128. Who doesn't want to spend more time at the LBS.
129. Who doesn't want to spend more time at the LBS.
130. Who doesn't want to spend more time at the LBS.
131. Who doesn't want to spend more time at the LBS.
132. Who doesn't want to spend more time at the LBS.
133. Who doesn't want to spend more time at the LBS.
134. Who doesn't want to spend more time at the LBS.
135. Who doesn't want to spend more time at the LBS.
136. Who doesn't want to spend more time at the Rodiez.
     
137. Who doesn't want to spend more time at the Athlete's foot.
138. Who doesn't want to spend more time at the Nike outlet store.
     
139. To start writing a list which makes me think I should do run store web design.
     
140. Because one does not need more reasons than miles.
     
141. 140.6 seems like such a good number. So much more alluring than a mere 26.2.
     
142. I should have known I would do something like this by the time I hit 4th grade. Someone brought tootsie roll pops to school, and I spent the day counting licks. 714. I've since heard many other accounts with much smaller numbers.
     
143. Because most days I get up before 7 am and don't even stay up until midnight.. Ironman or not.
     
144. Everyone looks better in the pool. Or a wetsuit for that matter.. Now getting out all soggy after 2.4 miles is a different story.
     
145. Because a double Ironman is too far.
     
146. Because of Dad.
147. One forty seven. 199 less than 346.. but that would just be silly.

I quit the list. Back to the real focus.

TSOTD 2

That's right. Day 2 of my little T-shirt thingy. I'm going to do an easy one today. A very memorable race day T-shirt.

First, I have done all four Spirit of Racine Triathlons held thus far. 2005 was number 3, and my hope for really bringing it home after such improvement in 2004. I did abundant winter training. I was out biking in 15-20 degrees temps on my fixed gear. I paid. By the time the weather hit 50s-60s I was out of tights and in just my bike shorts.

Guess what? Race day was the first really hot day of the year. It was easily 20 degrees up the scale from what I had trained in all year. I tried to enjoy the swim, knowing what was coming. On top of the heat, the bike was on the windy side. I pulled in better trained, but right on time to my 2004 bike split. And worse for wear. I saw my wife and kids there. They were heading for a swim in the lake and I was taking my own dang transition time. I knew it was not going to be fun. But I paid to have this day and I was going to have it. Local residents and spectators with hoses saved me out there. I couldn't have finished without them. I had taken for granted the blissful race day conditions of 2004. When I finally hopped into the car after the finish, the thermometer read 100. I later heard a high of 98. And about the only thing I could hang onto was that I finished, as it appeared that about 1/3 of the entrants did not. By default, I had nearly made middle of the pack !!

Here's where the T-shirt really comes in. The next day I was at my favorite local coffee shop. I spied the yellow version of the shirt. The yellow one (I was sure) was for volunteers. So, I said to the woman wearing it "You volunteered? Thanks!!". Luckily she did volunteer. At first she gave me some runaround about "didn't she look like she could do the race?" I only saw yellow == volunteer. I swear. Lesson, thank all the volunteers. But do check they are volunteers! I'm certain she could tell I did the race, as I was barely walking.

That's TSOTD 2. Expect plenty more race shirts (probably half a stack from Racine), among other kinds.

What it's all about...

Certainly, there are those weeks where one must just get out at the end. Stress builds. Committments pile up. This is why I do triathlon. This is why I swim, bike, and run. But there is nothing like a good 2-3 hour "just for the heck" of it outdoor bike ride to enjoy the outdoors. Tempuratures were in the 20's. It was bright and sunny, but plenty of wind was out there to keep me humble. Of course I rode the fixed gear bike on this wonderful winter day. I have completely forgotten what it's like to not be able to coast on my bicycle. I don't even give it a thought now.
Here is a picture of my ride near the end of the workout. Note the crashing waves in the back and a bit of snow on the ground. This is after about 30 miles and a couple hours. Nothing like the fresh air. Sure, I had to thaw for a while once I got home. But, I wasn't reduced to anything unhealthly.
Shortly after I took this picture, I succssfully avoided my favorite coffee shop (Alterra on the Lake). I new it would be hard to get back on the bike and in the 25 degree weather after a cup o' joe. Ahh well then, time for a decent nap. Until next time....