boring day

working on final papers+rain=not a great chance of riding today. However, i did some bored bike research and found a cool site about wheels- an area id always like to learn more about.http://miketechinfo.com/new-tech-wheels-tires.htm

PAUL-WORD Up!

errrbody knows i like paul's stuff.im a big fan of his cool products and im a big fan of paul's, as he seems like a real cool guy from my various phone conversations with him. i ride his hubs on 2 bikes, and his fixed gear/track hubs on my around town bike have been ballin for a few years now- they spin forever. ive been a fan of his expensive v brakes for a while now (i was gonna order some over the summer but nobody was there to take my order for 2 weeks, so i gave up for the time being) and i intend on putting some on my single speed when i can get some more extra moneys. anyway, he just came out with some hats (ok, maybe a few months ago) and now a sweet wool jersey. maybe i can use some hannukah money to buy one.
maybe i should beat this guy up, as i think i may be stronger than him, and simply acquire a jersey that way.

tunz o ridez

i rode for 4 hours today in the frigid and windy pittsburgh environment. 2 road hours of freezing my toes (my very bundled up toes) off, and then 2 mtb hours right after. i was ht during my mtb ride and cold during my road ride, this leads me to a grand conclusion. mtb riding is better than road riding.

beer me-- BEER Wisecrackers

BEER Wisecrackers back in stock

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i came across this on a search for bike teams, hopefully cool mtb teams, which are sponsored by beer companies. i know victory brewing has a team, but i told some friends on my collegiate team that i wanted our team to be sponsored by beer. they said no-can-do because the university gives us money and they wont approve, so i proposed we just get a beer company to give us more money/perks. in my search i found this blog(post) and i think , if i can swing it, ill get one of these openers for one one my bikes. not a carbon one, because im imagining a horrible crash were the spacer twists around and somehow damages a sexy carbon frame. i dint think it can logically happen, but im afraid of the unknown so ill stay away from it until im proven wrong (or right). anyway, my search (i just kinda clicked on the first google link to my search about "beer bike teams") did not yield any bike teams sponsored by beer which wanted me to join. road ride at 11 am for 2-4 hrs, depending on weather. im starting to get excited for training to be in better shape for the summer for mtb season... and for like 2011 when i plan on doing the sea otter race(s).

beer me!

mother nature is a bitch

yesterday i went out, planning to do a 2 hr, 14 mile mtb ride, and i thought it would be fun. I used my proprietary lube on my chain, and i was excited to try it out in wet/muddy conditions. I have to say that the lube was the best part of my ride, just because it worked. Wet, decomposing leaves and steep hills is more conducive to walking that riding, and thats what i did. I a, by no means, a master of mtb skills, but some of those hills were just brutal. there are wooden bridges in the park, but when there wet not even 2.5 nevegal tires will grip. the bike fell out from under me and i thought i broke my kneecap. even worse than that was the fact that the only other person in the entire park (from what i saw)was a pretty late 20's girl walking a bunch of dogs, and i fell right as she was walking past. i broke nothing, but i shattered my self esteem. today me knee feels like it is broken though. I only got about 8 miles of mtb riding in, because mother nature decided to poop on me. lightning, 50 mph wind, and rain was on the menu. on the ride home from the park i had to ride in the small ring up front because the wind was so powerful- i almost wasnt moving. regardless, my chain lube passed the first test, now i just need to see if there is still some lube left on/inside the chain for the next time i ride. if i can get 2-3 dirty mtb rides or about 200 road miles out of my lube i think itll be deemed great.

Also, my bike now has a name. i thought about the short bus, but i then decided on sped sled. just like those buses those "special" kids in elementary school, my bike is called a sped sled. it is slightly yellow, slightly small, and im the "special" kid riding on it. also, it rhymes, what could be wrong with that.

homebrew

ok, so ive been dabbling in the home-brew realm of chain lubes for a while. the idea of making my own things (for both financial reasons and curiosity) has always struck my fancy. well, i have been using my secret recipe of chain lube i now call HalLeLuByA- because its like a godsend- and its been great. i have ridden about 100 road miles on one lubing and my chain has been sorta clean and very very quiet. i really like the quiet factor. However, more than anything, its super cheap. i can probably make about 32 oz of it for the price of a 6oz bottle of pedros/progold etc. ok, so maybe it doesnt have a sexy name and supposed science behind it (someone needs to do independent lube testing for the betterment of the bike community) but it works for me. I do like chain L, im still a big supporter of it, but why would i spend 12 bucks on that when i can spend 8 for something that I CREATED. something that works. if you want to/can afford to buy name brand lube, i wouldnt say its a bad idea. However, id like to save money to spend on bike upgrades which i will be needing soon on a few bikes. i will not give out my secret formula yet, but once i perfect it i will a) be awesome to people and put my exact recipe online or b) be a dickhole and pretend like i can sell it and never tell anyone my "proprietary secret". i hope a works out for me because i hate proprietary things in the bike industry- they just piss me off!

lack of riding

i got some rollers so i could train more as the weather gets worse. im all about being manly and riding a bike where it is meant to be ridden, but sometimes i cant. the last few days have been 28 degrees and windy and rainy- you cant really ride in this weather. however, my rollers are at home for 2 weeks while im at school. its a bummer that i cant really ride because im really trying to follow my training plan well. i want to be real good at racing in the 2010 season and training is the only way to get better.

i am excited that scott from NUUN finally emailed me back with my order form for my 2010 sponsorship. im real excited... maybe even motivated to race this next year. my lack of training rides is getting me down in the dumps. rain rain go away...

i did do some sweet REI black friday shopping and i bought myself a new knife to put in my bike bag. his name is the Undercompensator.