EYELOVEBIKES

reviving this thing

2011-03-08T20:22:00.000-08:00

life has gotten in the way of my blogging recently. working 45 hours a week plus a daily commute really takes up a good time of your day. then add on an awesome girlfriend, lsat studying, and training everyday, and time for the fun things in life (obviously not this blog) really take a hit.

i got in 2 races over the past weekend and took 2 top 15ish finishes- in the crit and points race at Rutgers University. I think i did pretty good in the points race as it was pouring rain and i had a 14 second warm up (time it took from my car to the start line). the races were brutal but worth it. next weekend i hope to do even better- it should happen.

anyway, enough about me... uh, i just got a job as a mechanic at REI which is great news (not simply because there will be good discounts on a great many things) because A) it is fun work. B) i will work closer to 30 hours a week which leaves much more time for fun- like training and internet reporting about such things. oh, and last, which, for all intents and purposes, should be considered example C) i wont have to deal with an asshole boss who is awful to both customers and employees.

hopefully more good news to come (in both quality and quantity)...

sup

2010-12-15T22:42:00.000-08:00

k. uh. i havent been on the bike in about a week. its cold and rollers suckkk. i may be landing a super rad new wind resistance unit for my rollers... lol. did i just say unit. anyway, in my time off i have decided 3 things: a) twenty niners are not as bad as i once thought- 26 is still better though. b) punk bike was the best day of my life. c) i promise to re-start my blogging. its very important to sooo many people, i feel obligated to resume it- i have so many opinions to share. heres my promise: I PROMISE TO BLOG MORE

kewl new find

2010-11-01T21:01:00.000-07:00

not much happens in life when you get old, but sometimes you learn ways to learn new things- hopefully i can learn something.

back to school

2010-09-10T06:57:00.000-07:00

back at skewl means time to ride hard in preparation for racing, and maybe some time to make it official via the internet....

And maybe not.

right now lsat studying is dominating my free time, and my riding has suffered. i probably only get like 6-8 hours in a week...at best. for the time being (which may no longer be being in 3 days) i am an official mechanic at performance bikes- pricewhores if ever there were such a thing. though i ammaking more there than i ever have before, i need WAAAY less hours- i am confronting the big boss man today- or to quit/get fired/ pissoff the big boss so i get my ass beaten and have a lawsuit and wont have to work for the next decade. the work is easy peasy, as their standards of quality are lower than im used to by a considerable amount, and there are hardly any repairs to do. you didnt hear it from me, but we now do on the spot tune ups. but this work is cutting into riding time and lsat time... and right now things look like this: lsat>school>bikes>beer> sustenance >money>sanity ... my job is getting in the way.

However, i should make it "home", as in eastern PA, in 2 weeks for the lehigh university mtb race. i thought i could try and go to all of them, but driving to syracuse, and nh, and vt might just be to much. Anyway I did well at Lehigh last year (real well, actually) in a lower category. Seeing as im more out of shape now than i was at this time 365 days ago, ill just stay in the lower class and try and do well.

lastly, i stumbled upon this. read it and know it... its the law (literally)

NUUN

2010-04-27T18:20:00.000-07:00

THIS POST WAS MEANT FOR TEEM HEEB BUT IT ALL GOT MESSED UP. I HATE MY LIFE. THIS POST HAS NO RELEVANCE TO MY MTB-ing

I emailed scott, the main man over at NUUN- my 2010 sponsor, of sorts- around 3 pm today; i was inquiring about a heeb sponsorship- and a few hours later he gets back to me with this:

Hey Adam,

Here at nuun we sponsor lots of teams out there! A majority of our sponsorships are in the form of pro-deals through our website with a discount code specific for the team. We also can do special deals on bottles. We are rearranging our sponsorships for 2011 and there should be much more opportunity out there for teams and for nuun.

Thanks for keeping us in mind. Once you have the team together, just touch base with us again and we would be glad to support the team the best we can.

glad you love the nuun and are spreading the love! much appreciated.

cheers for now!

- make your water count -

scott forrestall

... pretty badass. i will get team heebs shit together (aka my shit together) and get back to him asap. I really like NUUN, and i can be found drinking it for recreational purposes- its better than water and i have a pretty hefty supply so i drink it a lot. I dont think it is a revolutionary product and i dont think it will make you/me stronger, but its better than drinking just water or my "homemade gatorade". Its got some electrolytes and some flavor and i enjoy it. id love to have NUUN on board for 2011, and you should too.

THANKS SCOTT, your run an awesome business (i doubt he'll ever read this)

it it taint broke dont fix it

2010-04-27T10:59:00.000-07:00

i have been devoting a lot of time to school work and my team heeb blog (as i guess it will officially be a for-real team), thus i have been away from here. anyway, after my training ride i was searching for why my taint hurt an unusual amount today and stumbled upon this article. it has nothing to do with taints (from my reading) but it helped me understanding training and how the body works a bit better. school is over tomorrow= drive 5 hours and afternoon intervals.

finals week

2010-04-22T15:55:00.000-07:00

no time, finals week. but i think one of these sexy new stems in going to be ordered soon for my GT. back to finals...

newz

2010-04-15T18:59:00.000-07:00

i got 25/35 at my race in fair hill, it was a killer race and if i spent less time in the big ring (as i thought i was in the middle one) i may have had more energy to go faster. thats the boring news...

this new stuff from shimano REALLY piqued my interest today, as i am ALWAYS looking for new things to buy. would 10 speeds make me faster-probably not. would i pretend like i was faster if i had 10 speeds- defiantly yes. i have been thinking about going 2x9 as all the cool pro-style pros ride that (or so it seems), but 2x10 would be even cooler cause i could buy new stuff. id probably do it cheaply and just get the cassette and shifter. the pricing isnt too bad either:

2011 Shimano Deore XT Specifications:
RD-M773 – XT Shimano Shadow Rear Derailleur

Low Profile Shimano Shadow rear derailleur design reduces the component profile by 15mm less than a traditional design in high gear.
Top normal spring design to mesh with the more common choice of RapidFire shifters for trail / all-mountain riding
Sealed bearing guide and tension pulleys
Available in medium and long cage (GS and SGS)
Total capacity: 43T (SGS), 35T (GS)
MSRP: $129.99
FD-M770/771-10 Front Derailleur Specific 10s cage design

Available in Top Swing, conventional, or E-type configurations to mount on most any frame
Adaptable clamp means one size fits all for 28.6, 31.8, 34.9 and multi-pull allows top or bottom cable pull
Set screws are angle outward for easier adjustment on some full suspension designs
Clamp band positions the same for 9 and 10s versions
Cage profiled for more tire clearance
MSRP: $59.99
SL-M770-10-R RapidFire Plus Shift Lever (rear)

Additional rear shifter option with 10s vs. 9s
Alloy main lever 2-way release trigger allows thumb or finger actuation
Two position clamp band for tune-able ergonomics
Multi-bearing construction for greater durability and reduced effort
Removeable optical gear display
MSRP: $99.99 (set, front lever same as 9s)
FC-M770-10 Front Chainwheel

Hollowtech II design maximizes stiffness while keeping weight to a minimum
Precision two-piece construction for perfect chainline and chainwheel alignment.
42T-32T-24T
Carbon / Steel composite middle ring adds rigidity for better shifting, increases service life, and smoothly delivers powers to the cassette.
Outboard bearings maximize stability and stiffness
MSRP: $359.99
CS-M771-10 Cassette

Largest 6 cogs on two spiders for light and rigid construction
11-13-15-17-19-21-24-28-32-36 and 11-13-15-17-19-21-23-26-30-34
Alloy lock ring
MSRP: $114.99
CN-HG94 Chain HG-X direction chain

Inner and outer plates feature asymmetrical design to optimize front and rear shifting
Zinc-alloy plated for maximum durability
Uses standard connecting pin
MSRP: $49.99

8am?

2010-04-12T05:11:00.001-07:00

uhh, it 8 am, and i only have 1 cup of coffee in me so no fair hill race report. but i pre-class-internet-search stumbled upon these - pretty cool id say. i only wish they had em in "my tire".

stuff and stuff

2010-04-09T18:04:00.001-07:00

rode my gt today for the first time in a while- it felt great. i got my new heart rate monitor and maxed out at 187, i guess thats good? but the coolest thing of the day is this...- i think my bikes are dealing with #97. tomorrow is bike tune up day and cleaning day, my brakes need one of these.

Sucknell

2010-04-06T06:00:00.000-07:00

Dear blog, sorry for being away. i only have time to for schoolwork and bikes. i havent even been to the co op 3 week; im afraid its dark smelly hipster infested walls have forgotten me. anyway...

racing at Bucknell university this weekend was very good. i finally moved up to C and got new number-386- i think its a very sexy number combination. i had a 38 mile road race and i felt great until, oh, maybe, the last 200 yards, when some assholes from RIT thought they could sprint, but they couldnt. they both collided with each other and caused an epic field crash. i crashed, my sorta friend Adam from UCONN crashed and broke his face/nose (he and i used to race D together and he beat me in the Lehigh xc race), a newly made pal Jordan from Penn State crashed and broke both wheels, and my good friend and teammate Jeff crashed and broke part of his skull and his nice front wheel.

Jeff is ok, but he gets to miss school for a week and wear a dopey neck brace, and he will probably not race again for a while. it kinda sucks because he was one of/the main reason(s) i moved up to C- Pitt needed another C rider. However, after that epic crash, i got on my bike (first i made sure everything was there) and said, "fuck all of you guys..." and sprinted the 200 yards to the finish. i ended up in 16th which was better than i thought i could do, but Jeff and I (and UCONN Adam and PSU Jordan) were all pretty much up front - i was in the 3rd row back- and we all were going to take a better finish. Whatever.

now its on to mtb racing next weekend (i hope), as Yale is too far away and i hate long car rides, and Jeff will no longer race the road race at Mt. Joy so i have no reason to do that. im probably driving home and doing the Fair Hill xc race sunday and then driving back to the 'burgh. im feeling real good about it too, as i think im in much better shape this year and i recently got some more skillz- - kinda like that but bigger logs and on my rigid SS. i hope i do better than last year where i broke my chain more than halfway through and had to walk 5 miles in the brutal heat and then got a dnf.

massan

2010-03-25T07:21:00.001-07:00

if one can have a favorite fixie ride, one mine would be massan fluker ( i hope i spelled it right). since i started riding i though he was pretty damn cool- probably cause he wore cut-off jeans. anyway, just saw this "ad" for him and his bike on urbanvelo and i remembered how much i liked him. this year my fixieness is down a little bit- as i spend more time training and less time fucking around- but i still wish i could ride with reckless abandon through the city.

Massan for Leader Bike from Dan Arel on Vimeo.

life is boring

2010-03-23T19:24:00.001-07:00

im getting bored of life, so ive been doing nothing but riding my bike and riding my bike some more. i just got upgraded for collegiate road cycling so i need to train my ass off in order to have the severity of my beating reduced for my upcoming race at bucknell. a ~40 mile road race is going to be hell, considering that 40 miles is usually a decent ride for me at non race pace. anyway, i got 20th in the Philly Phlyer crit and 10th in the circuit race. i felt good, but probably not good enough to move up to the next level, but who cares.

with all this riding ive been wanting to gain more power, as i will need every advantage i can get at the next level. to do this i have been thinking about a bike fit from upmc. i think i need shorter cranks, but who knows.

i think riding so much has made me lose part of my sense of humor. im becoming a machine who only writes papers and study s the law and rides bikes. maybe getting back to freeride and working on shitty bikes will restore my personality.

anyway, saw this today and though i didnt plan on racing in the race i enjoyed the video. i also agreed that charging a shit ton of money for not world class races and expecting amateurs (such as myself, though i wish it werent so) to participate is not the way to promote races. ive been wanting to do some epic races with a days drive or so but i simply cant afford to dish out hundreds of dollars knowing i will see no returns, and in fact, will probably end up spending 25% more than i bargained to when all is said and dunn.

oh, and i forgot to mention this, something i found when trying to determine the max tire pressure of my rims. i just thought it was cool as it debunks myths about tyre pressure and tubulars being supreme.

goings on

2010-03-10T09:57:00.001-08:00

ive been riding so much recently that bloggery is the last thing on my mind. its all found by using a simple math equation x hours biking= x/(x^2) hours blogging. x represents hours on a bike in a week and that little "^2" means squared. so if i ride 2 hours in a week i can blog 1/2 an hour. if i ride 10 hours a week i have 1/10 hour to blog a week. its all very simple.

anyway, to explain my lack of presence i have ridden i have averaged 90 minutes of riding a day EVERY DAY for the last two weeks, that figure includes my one day of rest in that time period. yesterday i did a century-102.1 miles to be exact. it was my first ride of that length ever, and though i went slowish, it felt great.NUUN was in full effect till it wore out, but ill attribute my great riding experience to it- until someone can prove otherwise.

over the weekend i had two collegiate road races- saturday was a crit (i placed 16th out of 55+) and sunday was a circuit race (i placed 15th out of the same number of folks). that fat kid in the pitt kit is me. i was with the main pack though in the crit, and had i known how many laps were left in the damn race i could have probably willed myself to a podiumesque finish. i felt great in both races and could have done better if the conditions were right. hopefully i can move up in the classifications in the next few weeks. road racing is kinda shitty but id still like to do well. and its great training for mtb season (i cant wait). and if i can find a pal and a shitty bike to do the muddy buddy race in ny with, i think that may be on my agenda.

thanks dirtrag

2010-02-22T12:51:00.000-08:00

need i say more...

hey, i was wondering if i could ride out to you guys and pickup my order, as i live in pittsburgh and think it would be wasteful to use a parcel service when my legs work just fine. thanks.

No problem, when is good for you? Just let me know so we can make sure someone is here when you arrive. We are open 9-5 m-f.

Thanks,

-Andrew

tomorrow will be a scorching 37 and cloudy, to dirtrag we shall go. unless, however, they have changed their address and it is now where it says it is.

also, trek a pgh-a good store that offered me a job (but id have to give up road racing to work)- is having a HUGE (i cant really spell it any bigger) sale this sunday which i should be attending. apparently they have tons of stuff for cheap, and though im running low(er) on money, i can never pass up a good deal on bike parts and woolen clothing. hopefully i dont see you there, as that means more shit for me.

Durt Rag

2010-02-19T18:08:00.000-08:00

I have been a fan of Dirt Rag for a few years now (even though they wont reply to my requests for an internship- which they have listed as available on their website) and i think its cool that they are in my backyard-as i now partially live most of the year in pittsburgh. anyway, on a whim i went on their closeout merchandise store and saw sweet sock..so i bought 5 pairs 'cause theyre wool. anyway, i asked them if i could ride out to them and pickup my order because they are around 12 miles from my home in pgh. here is what i requested, hopefully they oblige:

hey, i was wondering if i could ride out to you guys and pickup my order, as i live in pittsburgh and think it would be wasteful to use a parcel service when my legs work just fine. thanks.

Hopefully. Anyway, 5 bucks a pair of socks. GET SOME!

Blue Star

2010-02-15T18:34:00.001-08:00

I just got a sweet ebay message saying im a blue star:

Congratulations! You've achieved a feedback rating of 50 and that means you've earned a Blue Star next to your user name. This tells other eBay users that you know the ropes, and you're an established member of the eBay community.

If you've earned your Blue Star feedback mostly through making purchases on eBay, perhaps you would like to try being an eBay Seller. What should you sell? Just about anything! Chances are, you have something right around the house that doesn't quite fit or you simply don't use. Why not try selling it on eBay? It's a great way to get your feet wet. Visit the Seller Information Center to learn everything you need to get started.

Finally, we want you to know how much we value you as a member of the eBay community. You are our foundation. Your success is our success.

I guess im the man. Maybe ebay is the man. from my first real mountain bike (i was strapped for cash after my other fist real mtb was stolen on march 23 2005/2006, i forget) to my first road grouppo (i was short on cash and needed to build up my road bike with 105 or better) to some recent brakes and tires (i was strapped for cash but needed more bike parts to make me happier that my bikes cost more money) ebay has always been there for me. and i guess its always been there to gladly take my money as well. i guess a common theme here is that i always like a bargain and ebay is my go to guy.

ebay, you are the rock in my life

FOXXX

2010-02-04T18:35:00.000-08:00

ok, so i totally forgot about what things and or companies i applied for sponsorship with about a few months ago... but today i get an email from fox shox. I know i didint get it, because why would a grade A company want to sponsor me. GT is, in my mind, a great company, but they are not fox shox- fox shox transcends bike brands. anyway, heres the sorta nice but all too unfortunate letter

Dear Athlete:

Thank you for expressing interest in FOX Racing Shox sponsorship for the 2010 racing season.

Each year we receive more requests than we can provide sponsorship for. We appreciate your
interest in FOX Racing Shox, but at this time we are unable to fulfill your request for sponsorship for
the 2010 season. FOX Racing Shox believes in and supports racing. We understand the importance of
sponsorship to athletes and teams in order to ease the high cost of racing. We hope you will continue
to express interest in our program in the years to come.

We wish you a safe and successful 2010 season and we will see you at the races.

Sincerely,

FOX Racing Shox Race Management

Hey, at least they were nice. some companies, like triflow and odwalla have never even responded to me. besides, i knew fox wouldn't sponsor me, i just had to try though.

cya next year, maybe (probably not).

WINTERMUD

2010-02-01T16:39:00.000-08:00

ok, so i thought i invented the word "wintermud", but apparently it already exists... this makes me somewhat angry. However, since i dont buy UK mags, and because i have never ridden in the UK, I, for all intents and purposes, will assume American wintermud (yes, my version is only one word) is of a different breed-especially when mixed with snow and ice.

What is wintermud? well, its the mud that is on singletrack trails in the winter. This is not any ol' summer mud though... no way Jose. this stuff is thick and slippery. it feels just at home freezing into your pedals (maybe you have crank bros like i do) as it does freezing onto the bottom of your shoes, and thus covering your cleats. it loves to get stuck in between every knobbie on your tire, effectively turning your mountain bike into a ski bike. on many occasions it has accumulated between the tire and chainstays/seatstays, making my carbon racing steed climb hills like a three-legged elephant . i dont really know how else to describe this stuff. its more dangerous than snow because you never know if its still soft and slick or if its simply frozen old tire tracks which grab your wheel and throw you off course. this stuff sucks! ive walked up many hills due to its ability to seize all my power and momentum, but today wintermud went too far.

its latest victim is the left knee of my trust leg warmers, along with a cramping left asscheek as of right now. that is a quarter in the hole, just to show how large the tear is. normally i wouldnt care about leg warmers, but these are FLEECE LINED!!! i dont have a job and bikes are taking all my money- i still need to renew my usa cycling license and pay for races.

im glad i could get this issue off my chest. i feel much better, even though my riding will probably cause the rip to grow bigger each day. now i just have to wait for the mud to thaw off my indy fab and shoes so i can clean it.

PUT THE FUCK!NG LOTION IN THE BASKET !!!!!

2010-01-30T14:58:00.000-08:00

everybody knows how to dress for a few hours out in 0 degree weather, its a no brainer. but one of the most important items you can use is not a warming gel (though i do get a sick discount for being on my bike team), or windstopping device, or foot-warmers ( because they cost more than gold by weight...though they do work well), its... face lotion. the only part of my body exposed is my face and i gotta keep it from getting dried out. my secret to (relatively) great feeling winter rides is lotion.

off day

2010-01-27T21:15:00.000-08:00

today is an off day, and though i want to ride my coach says no. though i usually defy him (often by not riding long enough or doing the intervals as long as i should) it was just too friggin cold out. i guess im glad its an off day and my weekend starts tomorrow at 5 pm. anyway, saw this today.... i hate how they torture the animal (though im sure its living a better life than everyone in haiti) but its amazing that the chimp can wrench and ride better than some folks i know.

ok

2010-01-26T13:23:00.000-08:00

ok, its been a while. thats because ive been training big time. ive been following my training plan pretty well thus far (hell, i just rode in 17 degree weather with snow and 20 mph winds), a plan which was made by brodie at big bang bikes . im doing a lot of foundation miles/endurance stuff and soon ill be doing more high intensity intervals and very hilly rides. ive been using nuun, and besides for its ability to prevent hangovers, it does a damn good job of keeping my pathetic body feeling a little less pathetic during very hard and long (no real sexual referenced meant there, seriously) workouts. in fact, i love nuun and their sweet lookin water bottles. However, i wish it stayed a lil' fizzier a lil' longer. anyway, racing starts in a few weeks- it better not be below freezing then, but thats another story- and itll get its true test then.

nothing

2010-01-17T16:53:00.000-08:00

nothing is happening cept for the fact that i just rode my bike on my rollers harder than i have ever ridden before (or so it felt). anyway, i found a bunch of random photos both new and old- none really need explanation.

this one was taken on a day when it was so muddy that the wheel would not turn. i have a theory that the colder the mud the more likely it is to do this to your bike.

the new topcap which facilitates my fancy ass headset working properly is from interbike 2007- i got it for free today, thats why i like it so much.

todae

2010-01-16T15:49:00.000-08:00

today was the day when the stars aligned- i finally had a rim to match my old skool red paul hub. it was not easy finding a decent rim brake rim for under 50 bucks, but i managed with a mavic 519. i wanted a red one but beggars cant be choosers, especially if ebay, the megastore for cheap-o's like myself, doesnt even offer such a rim. anyway, i calculated the spoke length with an app. called spocalc-it can be found on sheldon brown's site and it is very useful. the stars aligned because i couldnt really afford to buy spokes and i was praying that the bike co-op-freeride- would have what i needed. they have a huge selection of boxes of decent donated spokes, and i needed them to have either 263 or 263 mm spokes. they did. i got 32 dt revolution silver spokes and built my wheel in around an hour without instructions. i guess im almost a decent wheelbuilder...prbably not though. anyway, the wheel came out great except my king headset is having troubles staying adjusted properly and the new rim needs to be broken in; the brakes sequel like a pig-eeeeeeeeeeeeee
i also got some sweet new tires- they are like 2000-2003 model tires but theyre light and folding bead and have more traction than my worn out crossmarks. i got all this for 5 bucks which i donated to the co-op. dont think i exploit them too much cause i donate about 8-12 hours of work a week helping them (for the last 3 years, too), but sometimes i take advantage of the phrase "donate what you see fit". hopefully i get to ride my mtb tomorrow in the nice weather (yeah, 40 degrees and overcast is nice), but if the trails are still slushy like they were today i guess itll be more road biking.

next season?

2010-01-11T19:40:00.000-08:00

im looking at the 2010 MASS calendar and im thinking about which races i want to do vs which races i can do. my schooling, and collegiate road season, and distances i must travel to get to races (as well as a job and trying to get off work etc. etc.) are all playing into my very tentative pencil-me-in-for-now plans. but dont use a pencil, its too permanent. im thinking about doing the opener at patapsco MD, the fairhill MD race, escape from granogue (3rd place last year, through all the shit colored mud) and hopefully the french creek race the week after (where i had my epic pedal failure riding to my tent from the registration booth). there are other ones id like to do in the MASS, as well as some other non MASS ones which i have not yet found, but know exist. i was thinking about a stage race, but i dont think it is in my budget, as i am just a pathetic college kid who gets even deeper into dept every day (a 50 minute class session costs me roughly 36 bucks, not including books/living etc.), and im about to blow some cash moneys on some new brake pads for my gt and a rim form my IF. bikes suck because they take all my money and life sucks cause i cant buy more time. im going to go drown in the "enduro proteen cheesecake" i cooked up earlier.

happy nuun year!

2010-01-10T13:41:00.000-08:00

this nice brown box showed up on my doorstep the other day, and though i hoped it was new bearings for my crappy front coda hub, it was something even better-nuun. i got a few 3 backs and some sweet water bottles (they are specialized water bottles-i think they are the best kind). i havent had nuun in a while, but i used it on a long rollers training ride (it was about 1.5 hours long- i started in a low gear and tried to keep the same cadence while switching to a higher gear every time the songs blasting out of my speakers changed). the kona kola tasted good, as ive never tried that flavor before, and i noticed that i did not feel as depleted after the ride. i cant say for certain yet if it was totally nuun, because i havent done extensive testing or riding in the heat, but it seems pretty good. im happy.

dublin chase

2010-01-02T14:04:00.001-08:00

the name sounds hoity toity, and it is... sorta. its the woods down the block from my house, and i have started working on a short technical loop around the township owned woods. its probably illegal, but ill take my chances. driving 20 mins to get to good mtb'ing is kinda crazy. today i cleared out many thorns (the kind with the painfully large barbs). i was bleeding all over my coat/ax/sexy ergon grips. the trail starts with a narrow flat section and then turns to a short but very steep and narrow downhill. you ride along a flat section with some small bumps and twigs for about 200 yards and then hit my pride and joy of todays work. you must ride over about 8 8in diameter logs all piled next to each other- it sounds lame but its kinda technical. then about 12 feet ahead is a nice large log you must hop. i spent a while trimming the log etc so that it wont break too many chainrings. its about 1.5 feet off the ground and about a foot long. i also have a small jump rebuild plan (last year some neighborhood kids messed up my sweet jump i made) and maybe some burms. there will also be a short steep uphill which will lead back to the starting position. thats all i have planned thus far. i want to make it about a mile long so i can practice my mtb skills without getting in a car. the course is hardly started, as frigid temperatures and early sun sets make it hard to work for more than a few hours. by spring i plan on having a sweet local (illegal) place to ride.

boring day

2009-12-14T09:29:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-12-13T08:08:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-12T17:01:00.001-08:00

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

2009-12-11T21:17:00.001-08:00

BEER Wisecrackers back in stock

Posted using ShareThis

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

2009-12-10T05:30:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-05T18:38:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-02T13:45:00.000-08:00

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.

training n such

2009-11-23T13:36:00.001-08:00

so i rode for 3 hrs on my road bike today, which equaled about 40-50 miles. i think im going to devote more time to road bike training, as ill probably get more mtb endurance if i get more road endurance (duh, right?). anyway, no compy, so i cant say for sure how far it was but it was decent. hills and more hills were on the menu. there were 4 very long (over 1 mile) and steep climbs. im excited for 6 months away when real racing begins again. time to go eat some hamburgers.

and i also decided i need a name for my mtb. ive given other bikes names, but they are now a)stoled or b)scrapped aka dead. i need an edgier name (cause im super badass) than just "the GT".

training ride

2009-11-22T10:24:00.001-08:00

so my mucus has subsided enough so i decided to ride with a few Pitt riders. it was a bad idea for many reasons. i guess im still to sick to really push it. also, i had my big ol bag, and i never realized how big n heavy it was.
i have like every kind of body part warmer in there plus a tire and tubes and tubes and tubes and 2 pumps (3 after my friend returned a co2 pump to me today) and a bunch of food ( i had an entire box of mrs freshleys oatmeal pies) and i have like lotions and maps and all sortsa tool n wrenches and like 2 sets of extra platform pedals in case my eggbeaters explode on my fixed gear and i need a way to get home. heavy. it slowed me down big time. riding alone all the time i just dont realize how relatively slow i am going with my bag. my only legit excuse for going slow was that i did not know the trails really. i still like the bag because a) i spent a ton of money on it and i love to get use out of it and b) i am ocd only when i ride a bike and i tell myself i need all the shit in there. dumb, i know. anyway, i think it makes me stronger. ive realized that if i alway ride with 20 extra pounds on my back it makes me way way faster (or at least i think im faster because i dont use a compy) when i ride sans big ol baggy. lets hope it does. either that or im just real slow. its probably the latter.

sick again

2009-11-16T16:53:00.001-08:00

over the last 3 days ive gotten a bunch of riding in- 24 mtb miles and 70 road miles- and my legs have been killing me. im officially starting my training plan and my coach says he will make my peak around late spring= mtb season= success. the problem is im sick again and probably cant ride for a few days. i found this bloggery and its how i feel now

i havent ridden in over a week!

2009-11-13T14:30:00.000-08:00

today i think im finally unsick enough to go on a bike ride... so i did. i rode my mtb maybe 14 miles in the woods and my legs are feeling it. i totally forgot how much i hated leaves too. not even wet leaves, just leaves. they cover all the obstacles on the train and make sharp uphill switchback style turns not happen. some trails obviously hadnt been ridden since the leaves fell because there were no paths worn out on the lesser used singletrack trails. i dont think its my responsibility to clear the trails, other mtb riders in pittsburgh need to get their act together and ride more to clear trails for me.

anyway, my chain-l has worn off my chain, i was running a dry chain today i guess. i think it lasted maybe 14-20 rides, and probably no more than 300 harsh miles. its still going strong on my road bike- i think the wet/dirty conditions of mountain biking wore off the chain-l a bit early. i think im going to try 10w40 or some other high viscosity oil for a short while. lube is like 7 bucks. chain l is like 12 bucks. 10w40 is like 4 bucks for like 8 times the liquid in a 4 oz lube bottle. everything has been breaking on my bikes, mostly my road bikes, but my GT could use some work too. ugh. i gotta see if i cant cheap it out on the lube and see what happens.
-motor oil chain lube review soon.

there was something else but i totally forget.

perfect weather

2009-11-08T16:28:00.000-08:00

just as the standard pittsburgh winter is setting in, we got a 3 day break of crappy weather via sunny skies and near 70 degree temps. i however, could not enjoy this weather because im stricken with the flu/whooping cough/unknown coughing illness. no bike rides=shitty. no bike rides+flu= i might kill myself. the one redeeming quality is that all my coughing will surely help me get some babes via big ab muscles acquired while hacking up a lung or two.

guud stuuf

2009-11-05T09:05:00.000-08:00

amidst a flurry of flat tires and losing the world series i found out that i have been sponsored by nuun hydration tabs for 2010. im real excited to not cramp up and be tired during the home stretch of races. more to come shortly...

moraine = morepaine

2009-10-31T12:35:00.000-07:00

last weekend (yeah, it took me a week to review my race last weekend) i raced in pittsburgh's MONTH of MUD series race at Moraine state park . the course was wet with lotsa leaves- this created problems. wet east coast courses are tough because your tires get no tractability and you cant take turns and steep downhills too fast. moraine was also really tough because there were TONS of big boulder you had to ride over- these rocks were the size of mini coopers and you had to be technically perfect to make it up and over them- i was not perfect. besides the big rocks there were a bunch of small basketball-sized rocks which made a rock garden that was, in my estimation, about 1 mile long- doing this for a few laps was tough, and it didnt help that i did not know the course.

the riding was like these pictures for many miles

needless to say, i crashed a few times on the rocks, and they weren't even the worst part. the wet logs/ piles of logs you had to ride over were tough because, well, they were wet (and im not super amazing at them regularly). i tried them all the first lap around and that was a bad idea because ididnt know how they let out. on the real big one i went over with some real gusto but didnt realize how far the drop was on the other side and i went right over the bars and was on the ground. a few no-no werds were said, as the master rider behind me left me in his proverbial dust (it was more like wet decomposing leave debris).i got some pretty gnarly cuts via chainrings/logs/other things

ok, so they werent even that bad, but i got blood on my bedsheets at home and it is cool for that reason. anyway, i finished the race, taking more precautions the second lap, and this helped me gain more ground back. i think if your careful when you ride you go faster because everything is more fluid and you mess up/ fall less. i ended up finishing the race somewhere in the upper middle half of the group of 50 people... and i didnt get passed by any women either. i didnt win anything besides the new dirt rag magazine which was kinda a disappointing issue in my opinion.

well, i got some new bike parts and i attribute them and my beefy 2.35 kenda nevegal tires and dh tubes for my decent finish. lotsa people with lightweight stuff got pinch flats but i didnt because i ran those beefy tires and tubes. and the thomson seatpost totally increased my speed because of the way it held my seat in the appropriate place.

the ergon grips have proven real comfy too and i may get some for my fixie because my oury's just arent as nice. my gt is working great. it took a thrashing at the race but held its own. my wheels took tons of abuse and they are still kinda true- i havent trued them since i got the bike- but they still ride good. ive recently become a handbuilt wheel snob, but mavic makes some awesome intermediate level wheels.

tubes v. no tubes

2009-10-29T20:03:00.000-07:00

so i just read an article by Tony Ellsowrth (Ellsworth bikes- i always dreamed of owning one) about tubes and tubeless systems and it echoed my opinions. i ran tubeless for 2 years 2007 thru 2008 (until i got my gt i guess) and i liked how i didint get pinch flats- however, i never got pinch flats to begin with. but mr. Ellsworth explains that tubeless tires are super heavy, and i noticed that with my tubeless nevegals. also, in a race (or even a long ride), you need to hope that the stans/slime (hate both)in your wheel stops the air leak. i ran a tubeless maxxxxxxis crossmark when i first got my zaskar and my tire would go flat ever 2 days. it normally wouldn't be a problem, but it made me mad on a carbon race bike. after a while of messin around i noticed that there was a tiny pinhole in my tire and it just didnt really hold air overnight, and i didnt want to risk it on a 2+ hour ride. that being said, i came to the conclusion around july of this summer that tubes are the way to go. tires are lighter, which is a plus because they are the farthest part from the hub that is rotating (multiply grams x 4 to get true rotational weight). also, tubes arent that heavy, and they are easy to replace (i am the flat tire czar etc). they make ultralight tubes- i had them on all my mtbs, but the ones in my gt gave way during the last 3 weeks- and they are really light. i ride them in my IF ss and when i first installed them in the wheels i was blown away by how light they were (again, remember rotational weight). i do, however, run DH tubes in my tires now on my gt because they were free and i know they wont pop on rocky race courses. i go back to a previous point, if your running a sealant during a race you better hope it works, if not you need a new $60 tire (who carries them during a race?). a tube takes 2 minutes to change at most (thats with the presta cap and valve retention ring jawn)- and the co2 pumps work great (i just had a 8 dollar flat tire fixup cause i dont carry a handpump now- thans beto). all in all, i liked my tubeless nevegals when they worked, but they were a beefy non race tire- they still went flat every few days too. but, for racing i think tubes and tires are the way to go until someone creates a better system.

oh, i raced the other day and it was awesome, but im too lazy/bizzy to write about it. school work sucks... and riding bikes in the last of the pittsburgh mediocre weather is important.

raced today

2009-10-25T20:22:00.000-07:00

i had a good race today, but i left pre-results ( i think i did ok) and they are not posted yet, but i had fun. more soon...

tire levers

2009-10-18T12:44:00.001-07:00

changing tires/tubes is the one repair job EVERY bike should know how to do. i dont know why people pay someone else $5+ to do it, but hell, it pays my bills in the summer. ive changed a lot of tires and tubes, and im pretty good at it (in some parts, im know as the tsar of flat tires). there are three tools you need to take a tire off, and two you need to put them back on- two hands and a lever for removal, and two hands for installation. ok, so you might need a lever to get the last part of the bead of a tight road tire on, but thats a rarity. im in no position to explain how to put a tire on, but i did just use 2 different lever to change some flats (i had 2 different ones lying around my room) and ive decided which one is better. its between the sexy blue park tool levers...

and the pedros levers ( i like the pink ones best)...

i find the park tools one to be inferior. the lip on the lever is narrower and doesnt grab as much of the beat when you need to remove the tire. the pedro's lever is slightly larger (wider) and you can get a better grip on it. these things sound trivial, but it makes a big difference. i have some super shitty performance brand levers and they make it tough to get a tire on/off- they suck. anyway, i also find that the pedros lever dont crack as easy. though they do inevitably break, they arent made from as hard a plastic, making them less prone to simply snapping in half. lastly, both levers have those hooky things to fit onto the spokes. though i never use them (in fact, just having them is dumb because if you know what your doing you dont need them), the pedros ones stay on the spokes way way way better. i usually like park tools- my hex set, ts2, dishing gauge etc. , but pedros tire levers (among other things, like lube) are far superior to parks.

when im old

2009-10-17T18:23:00.000-07:00

... when im thrity i wanna be a good mtb racer, even though i feel like racing isnt my true calling, i wanna be the funny guy who shows up to every race but looses but always has beeer and a grill and a few dirty jokes

bad weather

2009-10-17T14:47:00.001-07:00

chain-l is still awesome, after more riding (8 miles today) in the harsh rain and mud. ive put about 100 miles on my fixed gear with it in all conditions and its so quiet and awesome.

... anyway, im just really loving my zaskar recently. i just acquired (aka free) 2 older gt frames from the co-op where i work, ones a zaskar and one is a no namer (i think an outpost or timberline). im going to build the zaskar up into a trials-esque bike with a sweet machinetech x mavic 217 wheel i got for free. the other no name one was a complete bike and i rode it on some trails for a few miles (after i rode my carbon zaskar) and it was way way way worse than my carbon gt... obviously. it made me realize that my new zaskar is super awesome- the best geared mtb ive ever ridden- and way better than nostalgic old mtbs.

today, as the looming pittsburgh winter arrived, i realized that my time on a bike will be limited. i realized that i dont want the mtb season to end (technically it never ends cause i ride in all weather, but its hard to get motivated when its windy and wet and snowy and 10 degrees) and in order to keep myself motivated through the harsh next few months ive planned on doing 3 races. a M.O.M race at moraine park, and Heather Rizzi's races during thanxgiving and christmas. road season is practically around the corner (ughghch, i dont knwo why i do it), but soon thereafter, its mtb season again.

stuff...

2009-10-15T21:23:00.000-07:00

ive been riding a lot recently, but its getting cold so i want to get in as much riding and racing as i can- im not afraid of the cold, but the pittsburgh winter is brutal. Ive created a nice 14 mile loop i ride a few days a week and ive gotten a bit faster (ironically, as the season begins to wind down). it supposed to snow tomorrow but i want to try and get in a 40 mile ride- its a lot to ask for a park where the longest loop you can make without crossing paths is like 7 miles, but without a car, its all ive got.

anyway, ive had this sample of chain-l lube that i got from a rep last year and i recently applied it to my mtb and road bike and its amazing. it did not wash off in the rain (three wet mtb rides of 10 miles or more and two wet thirty mile road rides) and i havent re-lubed my zaskar in over 100 miles- about 2 weeks of riding i guess. i usually use pedros or tri-flow, and i like their stuff, but this chain-l is real quiet and only needs to be applied every 500-1000 miles. it is more expensive ($12 bucks for a bottle) but i go through like 4 pedros a year (plus the lube i use when i work on my bike at work) and those are like 8 bucks each. the stuff stinks and many shops dont have it - hopefully people will start to demand the product- but i really have been surprised by the lube and i think its going to be my only lube from now on. this stuff would also be awesome for commuters/ bike messengers who ride their bikes every day in all conditions. i was skeptical at first because i thought pedros, progold, tri-flow, finish line etc. were the standard for chain lubes, but i found out i was wrong. as chris king, indy fab, thomson etc. are the standards in their respective areas, i believe chain-l is the tops when it comes to lube.

new parts

2009-10-02T12:22:00.000-07:00

so i got my ergon gx1's in green today and they seem to be real good. my friend in pittsburgh uses them and philly's own Harlan Price (rides for indy fab and ergon)uses them so I had to get some. theyre good, except on the right part of my handlebar there is something missing. i broke my remote lockout- the little button where your finger pushes snapped off- but fox was nice enough to send me one for free. thanks fox.

besides that the weather here has been awful and i dont feel like riding on wet leaves and over wet logs ( its a bad combination and i learn from my mistakes).

yesterday=more lehigh

2009-09-28T15:36:00.000-07:00

i raced a short track xc race yesterday at lehigh and i got 3rd. i was happy with that finish considering i showed up after the start of the race (registration was sooooooo slooooowwww). i passed about 2 people per lap, mostly because i had a light bike with lockout. this one segment was a narrow paved sidewalk in the woods (it was weird, but super helpful) and i just got out of the saddle and powered past my competitors. all in all i had a great weekend getting 4th in the xc race and 3rd at short track.

lehigh

2009-09-26T17:09:00.000-07:00

i raced today at Lehigh University in PA. it was a really tough 5 mile loop and EVERYONE had to walk to last 2 miles of rock gardens and fallen logs. my friend beat me on a singlespeed, but i have asthma (i like to use that as an excuse). overall i had a good race and i came in 4th place. no pinch flats in the rock gardens. no busted chains or pedals. everything went well, and though i took a few nice spills (i fell off a bridge that was 2-3 feet over a rocky creek bed), i ended up having a great time. more racing tomorrow- its shorttrack time!

where has all the time gone?

2009-09-23T19:27:00.000-07:00

... ive been riding my bike six days a week in preparation for my first A category race near Lehigh University this weekend, as well as pittsburghs infamous month of mud. i plan to do mtb and cyclocross (never done one before but i race road and mtb's so i should fare ok) races on my GT. i hope to find some more races closer to thanksgiving as well.

my bike has been great except for the seat/post creak, but it just makes my bike unique. my grips are worn out now and i need some new ones and im thinking oury lock on or ergons (inspired by harlan price) but i question the control with them because that extra lobe makes your hands not be directly on/over the bars. also, my pads are worn out and i might just buy some new marta sl's.

ugh, bike troubles

2009-08-28T11:18:00.000-07:00

im back at school and i rode some real nice trails in pittsburgh's Frick park but i noticed that my derailleur (i dont think i spell that word the same way twice) hanger was bent and that my bike was not shifting great- its actually really bent. im ordering some extras from derailleurhanger.com just in case i bend them. ive never bent a hanger on any bike until this one, its somewhat humbling to know that im not a god at bike maintenance (even though i claim i am). i did however put on some new nevegal tires and theyre awesome! ive been using them for 3 years now but i did not put them on my GT because i wanted to wear out the stock tires and some spares i had in my basement. the nevegals are slightly heavier but my bike (stock) weighs under 24 lbs with pedals so i figure a few grams wont hurt. i cant wait to take part in western PA's month of mud (MOM) races. the races are the best (and possibly only) in the western (and more crappy) part of the state. i may even do some MOM cyclocross races on my bike because it is so light. then after that ill be ready for the ECCC races in late october, i hope i can get to nationals this year and finally get to ride somewhere super cool like colorado and utah.

ive seen some bent hangers and people claim they were just riding along (JRA) but i honestly was just riding along and after a few months this happened. its pretty bent and i wont be riding my bike until i get a new hanger. its a sad sight to see such a nice bike out of commission for 5-7 business days.

more bike failures

2009-08-17T13:48:00.000-07:00

pre-race- I felt AWESOME. everyone wanted to know how i was lucky enough to get #50

post-race- I felt like a big idiot and my bike wasnt too happy either. i wanted to know why number #50 was so unlucky

i had real high hopes for my race at french creek, but my dreams were shattered by a broken pedal. the night before the race i got some new shoes and fixed my bike up and it was PERFECT. when i got my bike off my car my friend and i rode to the table to check in and get our numbers. as im riding up the hill in my crocks i notice that there is nothing under my foot- the pedal had come off the spindle and it was on the ground. i found my pedal and picked it up and continued to the registration tent. i frantically went through my shops team's tool box and found a 8mm socket and i fixed my pedal (or so i thought). the race began and i immediately made my way to the front of the group. everything was going good, the course was the hardest course id ever ridden but i was doing ok. as i neared the home stretch (last few miles or so) my pedal once again fell off and i was stuck with the pedal on the bottom of my shoe and the spindle in the crankarm. i did not have time (or the tools) to do an on-the-trail repair so i stuck the pedal, which was clipped onto my shoe, back into the spindle. i rode but couldnt push myself or the pedal would fall off again. i got passed first by singlespeeers... and then by the women (i dont dislike either group, i just should be able to ride faster than them). i came across the finish line in almost double the time it took the winning pack, but at least i finished.

my failure in this race happened because when my pedal initially fell out the bearing races spilled out. i was riding with plastic on metal and after a few miles of riding it was too much for my makeshift setup. i love my crankbrothers pedals, but i probably should have serviced them once over the last 4 or 5 years.

race day

2009-08-15T17:37:00.000-07:00

in about 25 hours ill be racing my bike. i just got it somewhat clean (not super clean, because itll be re-dirtied in the first 1/2 mile) and its working pretty good. i got my new specialized carbon pro shoes which dont feel nearly as comfy as my 3 year old pair. i got some hammer gel and some new socks (wool=awesome)which should hopefully be enough to propel me to victory... or at least finishing the race.

training

2009-08-09T16:43:00.000-07:00

ive been doing a LOT of riding after work in preparation for lengthy fall schedule of collegiate and M.O.M. mtb races. its been super wet in philly and the trails are all washed out, but bad conditions wont stop me.

today i realized that i should have bought a Chris King hub because my Mavic wheels are awesome, but Chris King is just awesomer. ive been riding my king wheels on my road bike for about 3 weeks and theyre amazing... and speaking up bike parts, my Xt brakes already need to be bled, after 4 months of use. good think im a bike mechanic, i guess.

updatez

2009-08-01T23:24:00.001-07:00

i finally got a sweet new chain (sram 991- the toughest one they make) and i rebuilt my crank bro pedals. hopefully my bike will be working well. i havent got much time to train in recent weeks due to work/heat/rain but i have a few days ff and i think tomorrow (like 7 hours from now) im going to do my own 50 mile epic philly mtb ride... rain or shine.

fair hill

2009-07-20T18:20:00.000-07:00

racing in fair hill, md was kinda unfair to me. the race started out well and i was in the upper third of my group. about 14 miles into my race i broke my chain and ended up walking out of the woods (a crazy 5 mile walk). i was real upset and i did not even feel like crossing the finish line. i did get some ok pre-race and pre-bad-mood photos of me.

bike upgrades

2009-07-06T18:19:00.000-07:00

i just got my chris king bb in and i promptly installed it on my bike, i dont notice any difference from the xt one but it looks sexy and maybe itll last forever. it also has serviceable bearings so on race days i can throw in some thin grease so i roll faster- i think ill be doing that this thursday at my hopefully-not-rained-out race.

though i havent had much time to ride recently due to real bad weather (3 races were canceled in the last month) and work, i did do a cool wheelie

such bad times

2009-06-15T21:18:00.000-07:00

i just got my wisdom teeth out and this, just like my burn is limiting my riding. im real excited for my big race sunday and i know ill do ok (even though im stepping up to the next classification). it just sucks to not be able to ride my bike, especially cause its beautiful out and im off work for the next few days. id so insert a sad face here, but i need to keep some dignity.

oh, and im buying a thomson seatpost and some king hubs and bb's (employee pricing is the greatest thing ever invented, its better than money itself)- maybe ill become a faster rider. that, however, would most likely be the results of me weighing less due to the lack of money in my wallet.

not riding anytime soon...

2009-06-09T08:45:00.000-07:00

the other day at work i got some nasty chemical burns on my ankle from safety kleen (its some real nasty stuff, it breaks down 30 year old grease in half a second). my riding for the last 2 days didint help and yesterday at work i got blisters on my ankle and many of them were the size of presta valve adapters. my doctor suggested i go to the hospital to make sure it isnt infected-which it isnt. the moral of the story is no bike riding for a week, but i better be ready to go for my race on the 21st at neshaminy. i get so many injuries, this sucks.

today

2009-06-07T20:18:00.000-07:00

i went with my shop to the bike race in philly today and watched a bunch of top notch road racers ride. i got really burnt and my face is red like a ripe jersey tomato. the guys on the gt/ jelly belly team were doing pretty well. i also happened to find out that the manager of my shops best pal is a mechanic for that team- its such a small world. im getting sick but im trying to get better for some thursday night races and my races over the next few weeks.

evan sucks cause he lead the ride...

2009-05-31T14:39:00.001-07:00

today was an epic mtb day before work. the ride was fast and SUPER technical. the bad part is i am not the most skilled rider (log rides, log hops, 2 ft cement walls...) and the 2nd half of the ride (at belmont) kicked my ass so bad. thats not a big deal, i left with my pride (and bike) intact. however, there was so much poison ivy, and i got so scratched and fell so much that i know im gonna have poison ivy soon. im real itchy and i know ill get it, its just a matter of time- im afraid to pet my doggy. anyway, this tough ride is getting me in shape for my next race on june 21st (im gonna step it up to the next category for this one).

training

2009-05-13T17:46:00.000-07:00

ive been riding my zaskar almost every day of the week thus far and im getting in even better shape and my skill (and or confidence) has greatly increased recently. the bike is amazing and it is so effortless to ride up big technical hills.

bummer man...

2009-05-09T19:58:00.000-07:00

i was going to be able to take off part of today to be in the bike race at french creek state park, the problem is it was canceled. there has been so much rain (my basement flooded because the ground is so wet and the pump just wont work) that they dont want a repeat of last weeks muddy trail-destroying fiasco. so many more races though, i cant wait.

oh yeah...

2009-05-03T21:44:00.000-07:00

i got fined last weekend for riding my bike in philly's fairmount park system without being registered (22 dollar registration fee). ive been riding this park (valley green) since i was a lil' boy and ive never seen any rangers before. nobody at my shop and nobody ive ever ridden with has been registered. i sent in my letter and im fighting this in a hearing- i love meeting all the philly judges because thats gonna be me some day. anyway, a 25 dollar fine for riding a bike just pisses me off. and to make matters worse, my family and i belong to the organization which maintains the trails (because the city doesnt do it) and we volunteer a few times a year. uh, i knew something was makin me mad and keeping me from sleep. well, ive been up since 5 am and i had a great muddy day and i need some sleep.

escape from granogue

2009-05-03T21:29:00.000-07:00

i just got back from a mid atlantic super series race in deleware (i was surprised at how big some of these deleware hills were)... it was called escape from granogue and i barely made it out. by the afternoon the mud was more like gorilla glue. i probably walked about 6 miles total today, during the bike race. the mud in some areas got so stuck onto the tires that when i tried to carry my bike i couldnt because it just weighed too much; i had problems shifting, braking, steering, seeing etc etc. i finished on the podium and got some really cool cuts and bruises. my bike kinda squeals a bit now, but its nothing i (or a day of dry riding) cant fix. all in all it was a good day and i did much better than i did in my last race. i should be getting my photos up soon, but my memory card is stuck under a seat in my dads car, i kinda need to search for it tomorrow.

oh, i saw this sweet old 90's Ti zaskar frame in my size which i really wanna buy, its the bike which made me first love GT's. its either that or some road wheels...

not enough time

2009-05-01T20:57:00.001-07:00

now that schools over i have become a slave to the bike shop again- i kinda like it though. when im not working 11 hour shifts ive been out riding my zaskar. ive done maybe 60 miles this week and i have another race on sunday (i totally forgot to write about my last one, but it was just this short-track thing and i was the only guy in spandex). im nervous for sunday because i think the race is pretty tough, and i havent done much since becoming an adult (aka non junior)- i hate being the youngest guy in my category, its like being a freshman in high school all over again.

pictures and stuff

2009-03-30T08:46:00.000-07:00

new bikes are fun fun fun! so is racing. im getting better and stronger which means i should be in great shape for some mtb races this summer- ill probably do most of these

back again

2009-03-23T19:23:00.000-07:00

i got all my stuff and its all AMAZING. im super excited to race this season.

anyway, i moved up a category in road racing this week and i didnt do as well as id like, but i had fun, so i guess its all good. ive been doing a lot of interval training because its what i need to do to become a better crit rider, and probably mtb rider as well. but during my time off from writing lots of papers for classes ive been watching these kids...

they are better than ill ever be :(

stuff

2009-03-15T20:06:00.000-07:00

i got a mysterious looking tent at my house yesterday but ive been so busy working and riding that i didint have time to open it before i left to go back for school. hopefully ill have a bunch of cool new things when i get home for the summer in about 5 weeks.

race 2

2009-03-15T20:02:00.000-07:00

tody i did another crit for PITT at stevens institute of technology and got 6th; my teammate and myself finished together but they gave him 5th. he got the points and i didnt, but my legs burn and im getting stronger.

fun stuff

2009-03-12T22:16:00.000-07:00

so, this is not really about racing or training (i wish someone could train me to do this though), but this is one of my favorite internet bike videos and i found myself watching it tonight.

first post

2009-03-09T16:22:00.000-07:00

i intend to do a good deal of mountain bike races over the next year or so, and i figured i need to train. i think the best way to train is by biking lots- this is what i do for road racing and i guess it works. i will also be road racing every weekend until my summer break to keep me motivated and fit.

in my races last weekend at rutgers and princeton i came in the middle of my group in the TT and Crit. i told myself i was going to win, and i just didint have the right stuff to pull it off this week. ive been riding my bike to work every day and after work i do some real hard sprinting for about an hour to help me get in better shape.

before work tomorrow i plan to go to Valley Green and mtb a bit...