Finally Friday...

Am I the only one who's had a long fucking week?  Sheesh...

From about noon Wednesday on, this week has just dragged ass. 

 So, why did the rest of the peloton not get worried when this happened?

 Someone please 'splain to me how this is better than a seat bag.  Some of the shit from Interbike just boggles the mind...
"Hmmm...let's take a saddle bag, and remove ALL of it's protective properties...people will buy it b/c it's 75g lighter!!!..."

 In that same vein, how does a bike with a visibly poor tape wrapping job get put in the Campagnolo booth?  A gap...really?  I guess Daniela (yes, that is her name) was there to distract...

Pro-Tip : It's okay when Boonen sits up to take off his jacket.  Anyone who isn't a pro...not so much...


Pretty decent rides this week, even considering the waning light. 
Tuesday was fun, and pretty quick.  Seemed even quicker as I rode the Salsa.  That 48 chainring can deliver plenty of speed, but it forces my non-spinner legs to go around a bit more quickly than I care to admit.  60kmh on 302 was an exercise in 120rpm. 
Last night was, for all intents and purposes, the last group road ride of the "season" (I hate that word).  The group was pretty large, but it seemed no one really wanted to push terribly hard, which was a-ok by me.  If legs were flat last night, I was Kansas.  And this allergy thing is really beginning to piss me off.  Runny nose, can't breath, crusty eyes...I'm a sight to behold.  Funny part?  Even though no one felt like going hard, the work was still shared by the same 6 people...
Both nights forced the use of the lights, and riding home in the DARK.  Which brings me to the next point...

The Urban Ride is firing up next Tuesday.  MTBs or CX bikes.  Lights are pretty much required, both for vision, and for safety.  It's big fun.  Meeting place remains the same.  Forget to ask what time we're meeting for the first few...I'll update when I find out.

Saturday ride : Most folks are going to do The Assault of Little Mountain.   If you choose to go, have a good time.  The roads are great up in that neck of the nape.
Bristol and I are meeting @ 0900 at the Colonial Center fountain for a CX ride.  Figure on a couple of hours.  I have to come home and do yardwork...oh joy!

Sunday : 0900 from Greene and Laurens.  Lex and Calhoun loop of some sort.  55-60 miles.

And something to mess with your brain on a Friday...

Enjoy your weekend.  Go outside and play!

See if you can spot it...

Jauregui from Jacky Durand on Vimeo.

French rider needed a bike change @ U23 Worlds.  Did you see it? 

This is why you have a CX bike, and practice dismount/remount once in a while!

Diadora ProRacer 3 review...

So I finally bit the bullet and got the new PR3 shoes figured out. 
First up was the seat height issue.  It's not a big, fat, hairy deal to figure out what your seat height should be when you get new shoes. 
If you get the exact same pair of shoes, nothing changes. 
If you get the new version of your previous shoes, take the time to make sure your fit stays the same. 
These PR3s have a full carbon sole that is VERY thin, thus, my seat height needed to be lower. 
Seeing as the Ridley is a seatmast bike, and changes to the saddle height do not come quickly, nor easily, I opted to dial the new kicks in while riding the Salsa.  Not an issue, as the cockpit measurements are exactly the same between the two bikes.  Once the correct height was ascertained, the numbers just got transferred over. 
Fortunately, I only need to lower the saddle 5mm...a nice, round number, which also happened to be one of the thicknesses of spacers available to go under the seatcap on the Helium.  The 10mm spacer got pulled, and a 5mm went in...voila!
I then dropped the stem 5mm to keep everything hunky dory. 
As I said, the soles are full carbon, and dead-ass flat.  None of the tilted sole Specialized crap.  This is nice when you have particular fit issues, as I do.  Just a few rides of experimenting with some wedges under my cleats, and under my insoles, and they were dialed.
Speaking of cleats, the soles are drilled in the standard three hole configuration, which means pretty much every cleat/pedal system will work out of the box.  Well, except Speedplay, and all you need there is the three hole to four hole adapter plate.  Remember though, this ADDS stack height, so you'll need to RAISE your saddle, and likely scootch it forward a bit, b/c when you go up, you go back too!
Now, onto the shoe itself...
The PR3 is light, even considering the buckle.  The weight difference between this shoe, and my first generation PR is appreciable.  I attribute this to the full carbon sole, which the original PRs did not have.
The straps haven't changed much, if at all, from the first gen shoe.  The buckle is simple, easy to use, and highly adjustable.  The velcro...well, it's velcro for Pete's sake. 
The shoes are somewhere in the medium fit area.  If you have narrow feet, they'll likely work.  Wide feet...maybe not so much.  They are built on the same last as the ProTrail Carbon mountain shoes, which I also ride, so I pretty much knew what I was getting.
The sizing is true.  I wear a 46 Diadora across the board, and a 11.5 Nike sport shoe.
As for volume, there's plenty for whatever insole you may need.  Diadoras seems to stretch and mold themselves to your foot as well, which makes for a comfy shoe. 
That thin carbon sole I mentioned?  Yeah, it's farging stiff!  Waaay stiffer than my old first gen shoes.  
The also have a really nice, and replaceable, heel pad, so you don't sound like a large draft horse walking to the drink cooler at your store stop!  The buckle and strap are also replaceable, should the need arise.
I've strayed from the herd a few times, and tried other shoes, but always come back to Diadora because they fit, and they look the part.  And to be honest, I think the quality of the materials is higher than most other manufacturers, adding to the lifespan of the shoe. 
My old PRs are 5 or 6 years old, and still look, and fit, just fine.  Well, they're looking pretty beat these days, but they're still operational.
Now for the big question...the cost.  Well, they ain't inexpensive!  Full metal retail is $439.  Fortunately, I got the super-bro deal from my boys @ RealCyclist, and paid considerably less.  Even at retail though, it's not a bad deal.  If they last 4 seasons, they only cost you $110 a year, and let's be honest, that's pretty minimal considering the cash we all drop on other bike stuff.
The new, 2013 shoes are coming down the pipeline, so if you know where to look, you can get them for less. 

Okay...time for some errands...

The WeCola ride leaves at 6 now...

Enjoy your Tuesday!

I called it...

 "Eh, I'm ahead of you beeshes...."

Yes, yes I did...
Last week on this very blog, and again Saturday on the group ride.  Don't believe me?  Ask Cal...
Gilbert ripped the group on the last ascent of the Cauberg, and rode away to the solo win. 
The fact that there were 5 Belgians in the final selection should have been worrisome to the rest.  I saw it and knew what was gonna happen, and I'm a dummy!
I guess if you're only gonna win one race during the season, this is the one to win...or Roubaix, but I'm not going to split hairs.
And I'm sure that some pseudo-Belge fanboys are trotting out their Lion of Flanders flags this morning, but know this...
Gilbert is a Walloon.

White guys...
Even Belgian white guys get the white man's overbite!

The video...so good...so, so good....

And on the other end of the white guy spectrum, I give you Taylor Phinney.  Finishes second in the TT, and instead of being elated, he puts on the Levi Leipheimer poo-face.  Sure, there's a bit of disappointment in not winning, but damn man...

Good ride again on Saturday...and another good group.  Another 80km rolled under the wheels with no trouble, drama, whinging, or real effort.  It was quite nice to just roll along at tempo for 2.5 hours.  I will say though, I did get dropped once.
Upon turning into the "Double Homey" section, I sat up took a drink, and pulled out the camera to take a few pictures.  No more than 20 seconds passed, and I was gapped off the back by MW.  See, he made the turn on the front, and nailed it.  Thanks man!
Pro-Tip :
Pay attention, even on a group ride, because chasing @ 45kmh doesn't catch the group that's 100m ahead and rolling at 45kmh.
We're going to make a concerted effort to keep this ride going thoughout the Winter.  A nice, flattish, tempo-ish affair.  Feel free to come on out.  The more the merrier.  Who knows, you may just enjoy it, and realize that it will help your fitness, and your mental well being!

Sunday, strange things were afoot at the Circle K.
Let's back up 12 hours first...
Saturday night, I put a new chain on the Ridley.  Of course, being blessed with highly selective OCD, this meant that the had to be disassembled, and cleaned.  Why put a clean, new chain on a grungy cassette and rings?  Come on...
Everything came off, got cleaned, and went back on.  Did I test ride it?  NOOOOOOO!  Why the hell do that?  I've put hundreds of chains on hundreds of bikes.  I know WTF I'm doing!!
I rolled out of the driveway Sunday morning, and pedaled up the street.  No issues!
Crossing Rosewood was a bird of a different feather.
I stood up, applied some pressure, and the chain slipped.  Only my freakish upper body strength, as well as my testicles, kept me from going over the bars, into the four lane road.  I chalked it up, and went on my way, only now, the chain was skipping even with the slightest pressure. 
I made to Dr. LP's house, and threw in the towel.  No sense fighting a losing battle.  I also was forced to recall the last time my chain slipped in such a manner.
I ended up in the CT tube @ Providence.  No thanks!  Don't need that again!  The cost of hitting the ground is usually higher than just the co-pay....

I rolled home, showered, and headed to Service Course to right the wrong.
Turns out, a new KMC chain and a worn out HELL out Shimano cassette do NOT speak the same language.  I ran thru my book, and figured out that the cassette in question was the one that went into service 3 years 4 months ago.  It probably had 18-19 thousand kms on it.
Time to be made into a windchime....
I threw on a new cassette, did a R/D cable adjustment, and test rode the whip.
Perfetto!

The rest of the day was spent lazing around, and playing with Junior Management.  Not a bad Sunday!

Time to do some shopping!  I need some "stuff"....

Oh, and big congrats to my boy Junk, who finished 10th in 40+ at Three Peaks.  That's strong my brother!

Enjoy your week peeps!

Namaste!

 And again, this is why Paolo Bettini is one of the greats! 

 Gilbert : "You see Tom, up around this corner is where I attack...!"
Boonen : "The right turn...up there...?"

 Some things on this Colnago are just wrong, while others are so, so right!

 Neil deGrasse Tyson is not impressed.  And by the looks of the picture, he's been hitting the gym!  Ever had an ass-kicking by the World's smartest Astrophysicist?

Ah Cipo...when turning on the style really meant something..

No ridey today.  I'm on day two of single management duties.  And of course, it's fucking perfect outside! 

Plan on Saturday morning @ 0900.  Location TBD
Sunday 0900 from Laurens and Greene.

Namaste...

Nothing beats a quickie...

 I'm no expert, but I've learned a few things in my time around bicycles.  A drilled out Campag seatpost is a really bad idea.  I hope the owner of the above bike has his deductible paid up, and tetanus up to date, 'cause that thing is gonna auger into his upper/inner thigh at some point.  Yeeeouch!

And speaking of Campagnolo, how cool is this VW van?  All hand-painted.  Sort of defines Old School, eh?

And I know something very few folks know...
It's gonna shake up things in the bike bidness around these here parts.  Some feathers will get ruffled, and some feelings will be bruised.  Remember one thing though, it's like the Mafia says (you know, if there was a Mafia, which there isn't.  Those guys are just Italian businessmen who like to hang out together!), "It's not personal, it's business....!"

Funny...

Sam Johnson's Jens Voigt Story from manualforspeed on Vimeo.

Don't think they're going fast in the Arenberg Forest?



OK...I'm out...

What a stellar weekend...

Seriously...
Saturday, we had a nice little group, and did something completely old school for a ride.  The Swamp!  It's been, literally, a couple of years since we did the loop out through Congaree National Park, and back in.  Nothing quite like a nice, flat tempo ride.  We just rolled along, chatted, and finished the 80km in 2:30.  No one went hard, no one suffered, all got something out of it!
As an aside, if you live at all close to central South Carolina, make the effort to plan a daytrip to Congaree National Park.  It's really quite wonderful, and provides a great look back in time, as it is the largest expanse of old growth hardwoods remaining in the US.  There's plenty to do and see.  Take the time to hike the big loop.  You'll see myriad bugs, critters, and more than likely some BIG alligators.  Oh, and plan your trip for the cooler months, as Summer in the Swamp is a bit like Southeast Asia, and the mosquitoes will make every effort to drain you.

 The morning sun just filters through the trees.  It almost makes the Massage Envy kits look nice...almost...

Only the shadow knows...

Sunday was another great ride, and another good group.  100+ km out through LexCo and Calhoun, including a couple, or 8, nice climbs.  The weather was perfect.  Lights clouds, no wind, perfect temps.  And no reflective vests needed, although we did get rolled up on by some...well...let's say hillbilly, just to be polite.  He warned us we should be wearing orange because it's deer season.  he even went so far as to remind us that it's also doe season, and people out the in the country will, "...shoot at anything that moves..."!  To be honest, we weren't too worried about getting shot.  The fact that he admitted that they will shoot at anything that moves was more disconcerting, but on a social level.  Reminded me a little of South Park.  And I don't mean the big mall in Charlotte!
The thought of getting shot did, however, make me feel a bit like LeMond, only less fat, and less delusional.

 Mooooooo!

Smooth roads, big ups and big downs...

I guess there was some convoluted Trade Team Time Trial World Championship this weekend.  It's an answer to a question no one asked, especially considering the fact that Omega Pharma-Quick Step p/b Joe's House of Haberdashery took the title.  If one takes the time to go back and look at other TTT results from  Grand Tours past, it becomes quite clear that pretty much every team that participated did not send their "A" teams to this race.  OPQS hasn't won a TTT, well, EVER.  Sure, they finished 2nd in the opening TTT at the Vuelta, but let's be honest, it was 16km, and they were time trialing against the Spanish.

Another Monday is looming large.  Time to get rolling. 

I'm more than likely riding Tuesday night, even if it's raining, as I will be single parenting from Wednesday on.  Sweeeet! Can't wait....

Peace!

Another week in the books

Now that that Junior Management is back in school, days and weeks are just flying by.  Thankfully, as Summer seemed to drag ass.  Of course, the other side to that coin is the fact that I'm getting older by the day...

Oh, and here's some CX action...



Here's some bar-cam footage...

Koksijde World Championships Bar Cam Footage from Behind THE Barriers on Vimeo.


Good ride again last night.  It was faster than Tuesday.  Of course, MW and JayC rode away from us on Glenn.  and by rode away, I mean went fucking horizon.  Gone!  See ya!
I'd planned on sitting in and not doing any work.  Yeah, well...about that...
The popular refrain from last night was "Boo Hoo...Pull Thru...!" 
Once again, we were racing the darkness.  I hit Service Course @ 7:55, and it was pretty freaking dark.  Looks like the Tuesday/Thursday rides might be coming to a close pretty shortly.  No worries.  I found my light...now where's that charger?  Betting The Boss probably has a good idea of it's location, as my things seem to vanish when she gets the urge to "clean up".
 

Saturday ride 0900 from Rosewood School (S. Ravenel side)  50-ish out thru the Swamp...no reflective vest required.
Sunday - 0900 from Greene and Laurens.  Lex and Calhoun. 

Enjoy your weekend!  Go outside and play!

(Gotta go hook the Burley up to the CX bike now...)

95 Worlds

Olano attacks...Indurain has the chase group covered like a tarp on the roof of a single-wide.  And Olano has a rear puncture.  Did he get off, throw the bike down, have a whinge, and wait for the team car?  Nope!  He went on about the business of winning Worlds.  45kmh on a flat rear tub is not for the timid...


Good ride last night.   As Il Prof said upon returning to the parking lot after the ride, it may have been one of the overall fastest rides of the Summer.  Racing darkness will do that for you.  I hit the lot @ 7:45, and the sun was down.  It was that lingering twilight just before things go black.  When I rolled into Service Course just 17 short minutes later, it was DARK. 
I was DONE when I got home too.  The tank was dry.  Gap closures and big pulls will do that.  Not going to recount the ride blow by blow, but I will say that the workload wasn't equitable. 

I also forgot to mention that Columbia has a Drug Suppression Unit.  How do I know?  They brought their special brand of Monopoly to my quiet little street on Monday morning.  Monopoly you say?  Yeah...do not pass go, do not collect $200...go directly to jail.
7 vehicles, 8 officers, and 2 big ass K-9s hit my neighbor's house at 0930 Monday morning.  About 90 minutes later, they were loading my crankhead/crank dealer neighbor into the back of a transport van for the short trip to RCDC. 
Nothing like having someone get cuffed and stuffed for Possession with intent 50 feet from your front door.  A little surreal.  Kinda like "COPS : The Live Tour"!! 
In all honesty, fuck that stupid bitch (pardon my salty language)!  Bringing that crap into a quiet neighborhood, 3 blocks from a school.  I have NO sympathy.  It's not a mistake, or an accident.  Using, and selling, that shit is a conscious decision.  Then yesterday, SCE&G came by and shut off her power, and the City was out to shut off her water.  Money for meth, but not for utilities?  Yeah...nice priorities.  Maybe DSS will be by soon to remove her kid...

Ok...enough ranting...

Time to get dressed and go to Target...

Namaste

And.....GO! (Monday)

In the hospital bed, I tried to recount the crash. Images ran like a film through my head, but then suddenly cut, as if moments key to putting the sequence together had been edited out. I replayed it countless times, unable to recreate the lost moment. Frustrated, I reached for some more stale cake, trying to satiate my sadness with gluttony. As I devoured the pile of cakes and croissants, then slugged down water to wash it all down, my mind shifted away from the challenge. The pain throughout my body faded with the sugar and medicine. Crumbs tumbled to the floor, landing on the pile of torn, salt crusted, blood stained race clothes. At the top of the dirty pile were crumpled race numbers. I had been wearing number 13. 

-Michael Barry

 Say what you want about Bertie, but dude served his time, came back, and made La Vuelta interesting.  No sitting back, waiting for things to happen.  No following wheels.  No looking around for his brother.  Bert rode like a demon was chasing him.  Rode like his very life depended on the outcome of a bicycle race.  He took the fight to his opponents.  Gotta respect that!!

 Yes, I will have the custom Vanilla townie bike. 

 And while we're at it, hook up my kid with a matching trike!

And finally today, the new CyclePassion calendar is out.  Sonya Looney reminds us that September is usually a good month.  Mmmmm....legs....

Ok...get to work...


 

Hmmm...a good weekend? Who knew?

First, the older two members of Junior Management went to the Lexington County branch for the weekend, which just left the Management Trainee at home.  HQ was quiet...NICE!

Friday night, I went down to Service Course to clean the bikes.  Both had been sadly neglected for the last couple of weeks, and my OCD was getting the better of me.  Big exciting Friday night around here, eh?

Woke up Saturday and met JBristol and Charlie for a modified version of the WeCola loop.  We sort of just meandered until we hit 302, and got the the kicker tailwind.  Don't know how fast the wind was blowing, but I pulled them all the way to South Congaree in the 48/13 and 12.  A 48/12, spinning at approximately 120-ish RPM will yield 62kmh.  Plenty of speed.  Odds are, the gear you're riding, is too big...
Charlie turned for home, and JB and I continued up thru campus, just in time to catch the straggler sorority girls, in their little dresses and cowboy boots, headed for the game.  A proper way to end a good ride.
Unfortunately, I'd left my camera at Service Course...dammit!!!

This morning, 5 of us left for LexCo.  The 5 turned into 4, as Marc (former P-1-2 State Crit Champ) Williams took a hero pull down 12th St., and dumped poor Charlie out the back like so much English Tea.  In Charlie's defense, he did give blood yesterday, and said he felt 'empty and cold'.  I told him they might have taken too much...
Anywho...we rolled on...

 Yeah Marc, we're coming...  Quit pulling so fucking hard...

 You guys can have Fort Jackson, and it's pretty colored safety vests...

 Yesterday ended with sundresses, today...a really long freight train...

We had time to kill, so I got artsy.

In total, we knocked down 90km in right at 3 hours, including the last hour into a BLOCK headwind, AND fiddling around in the WeCola and Shandon.  I'll take it...
Best part of the ride?  We rolled up on some random guy on a road bike, way out in LexCo.  He tagged onto the back, and stayed with us for a solid 15 minutes.  Oh, did I mention he was wearing khaki PANTS, a t-shirt, and sneakers?  We weren't killing it, but we also weren't spinning the 39/17.  Impressed?  We were...

The ride was followed by a nice lunch, the washing of the Beast, and a pretty solid nap.

Junior Management is home, the Boss is making dinner, and I need to go put my bike away.   Hope everyone's weekends went swimmingly...

Namaste...

Breaking news...

Like riding in Fort Jackson?  Well, you'd better like the way you look in a Hi-Vis reflective safety vest!! 
It has come down from on high that cyclists are now 100% required to wear one of these inane articles of "protective" clothing if they want entry onto Fort Jackson.
Several folks got turned away this morning...

For me...
Who cares?  After nearly twenty years of riding on the Fort, I have avoided like the plague for the past few months.  There are only so many loops of that place that one can do.  Wanna know the location of every bump and pothole?  I can draw you a map!
And before people take umbrage with what I've said, or the decision itself, know this...

Fort Jackson is one of the very few military bases in the good ol' US of A that allows non-military personnel to enter it's borders, and explore freely, with little more than a photo ID.  It is, ostensibly, a foreign country to all of us.  They don't have to let us on AT ALL!!!!  Try riding out to Shaw or McEntire, and see if they let you on post.  Not gonna happen!  Cruise on down to the beach and see if you can get onto MCAS Beaufort.  Unless the airshow is going on, you ain't getting in!

In all honesty, Ft. Jackson is the ONLY military base I've ever been on that didn't require :
A) A member of the military to be in your group
B) Special permission from the base brass

Sure, it's a nice place to ride, and if you feel that other places around here are just too dangerous, then by all means, jet on over to Lowe's and pick up a vest.  Or give it until the middle of next week, because I feel confident that the shops in town will be stocking their shelves with every hi-vis vest, jacket, shirt, etc., that they can get their grubby little hands on.
If not, there are places around, that are CLOSE by that have better roads, similar (or less) amounts of traffic, similar (or better) terrain, and are just as easy to get to as Fort Jackson.  Google Maps is your friend! 

And if you go, and get turned away, don't bitch at the guards.  Those guys are just doing their jobs, and have enough crap to worry about without someone in lycra complaining...

K?

That being said, we're riding tomorrow @ 0900 from the corner of Greene and Laurens.  Come on out and see some of the very roads I was talking about!

Namaste

Another week done...thankfully...

So, as we all know, Tyler Hamilton's book came out this week.  It details, in his words, the doping practices that he was a part of, and claims that Lance was the criminal mastermind of the entire operation.  Somehow, the picture of Lance in a bald cap, and a grey Nehru jacket is amusing.

I haven't read the book yet, but I'm sure it has SOME truth within it's pages.  And as Forrest Gump once said, "That's all I'm going to say about that..."!

The really interesting part of the doping conversation this week was the fact that Jonathan Vaughters seems to have lost his fucking mind.  He took to an internet cycling forum, under an alias, and basically outed some really big players on Garmin for being dopers in the past.
VandeVelde, Zabriskie, Danielson...under the bus...
Now, if you've followed cycling for more than 5 years, which seems to be the cutoff these days, it's no surprise that all of these guys doped in the past.
VdV and DZ were on USPS after all...
DZ's 161km solo break in the 04 Vuelta?  Do we need to mention that he rode the 165km stage in 4:05?  Yeah, he averaged 40kmh for 4 hours.  Drugs?  What drugs?
And Danielson went from finishing 3rd at Collegiate MTB nationals (our buddy Jed Schneider was 2nd that day), to racing in Europe 18 months later.  Sure, that happens...
We all know that TommyD is a bit fragile, but Vaughters called him out for being mentally weak.  Sort of a roundabout way of calling him a pussy...
If I were these three guys, there would be a serious, mafia-style sit-down with the ascot wearing one.  That''s just bad form on the part of a team director, especially when one takes into consideration that...
A) It's all in the past...
B) It makes the black eye that cycling has right now seem like the eye itself is placed squarely in the middle of the face.
I'm betting prospective sponsors are just chomping at the bit to spend money on cycling right now...

Have you noticed that only crickets can be heard coming from the big, Europe-based teams?  

As an aside, Vaughters really shouldn't be calling anyone out for not being mentally hard.  IIRC, he quit the Tour because his eye was swollen from a bee sting.  Sure, the Docs refused him a cortisone shot, but two Benadryl and a few hours would have knocked it down.  He would have been fine before the next stage.  He quit in a huff b/c Legeay and the Tour Doc wouldn't give him a TUE.  Call the waaaah-m-bulance...

Yes, she is holding the bottle with the proper technique.  Suddenly, the feedzone became more interesting...

Good ride last night, albeit a bit thick in the air department.  A bit like riding through soup.  Not a cream-based soup, but maybe something like Italian Wedding.  The group was big, and jovial.  The ride seemed pretty quick, but as I have done away with any sort of computer on my road bike, I have no idea.  I do know that I took some hard pulls, chased a few gaps, and pulled the group the entire way up (and down) Glenn, so I'm satisfied.  And to be honest, that's all I need in a bike ride at this point.
Nearly 400km in the last week...
Fatigued, but actually feeling okay on the bike.  I changed my fit a bit (about 2.5mm worth), and it seems to have taken. 

Saturday : 0900  at the fountain in front of the Colonial Center
Sunday : 0900  Corner of Laurens and Greene (not as long as last week!)

Everyone enjoy your weekend.  Come on out and ride!  You may enjoy it...

Peace and Anti-seize grease!

Middle o' the week

 Shimano suddenly gives new meaning to the term "Bottom Bracket Adjustment" ...

 So hot!  Do want!  Just clean and simple...

Are you sure you still want to go to Italy and ride the Stelvio?  Looks like a barrel of monkeys, eh?  Remind me to fit a compact crank, AND a 12-28....

I forgot to post this pic from Monday's trip to Charlotte.  Every LEO on the planet is there working the DNC.  Couldn't tell where these guys were from, but they were all riding Scott 29ers.  Pretty cool.  Beats the hell out of riding around in a beat-up Crown Vic all day!

Some Danny Mac love...

 

Good ride last night.  Even the rain was nice.  It was SE Asia humid when we rolled out.  Little drops started to fall once we crossed I-26.  They got  bigger, and colder, on the climb up Glenn.  The rain started and stopped somewhere around a dozen times over the course of the ride.  No matter...it was cooling, and felt good.
I was forced onto the Salsa last night.  I'd really forgotten how well that thing does on road rides.  The position is dead on, and the 7800 Dura-Ace works every time.  7800 is STILL the gold standard, and I have 7900 on the Ridley.
Anyway, the Salsa acquitted itself well, even with a 48 big ring.  The 48 is actually a pretty nice choice for around here, as one can muscle it UP the climbs, yet it's still big enough to build some serious speed when the 12 cog is called upon.  Yes, Virginia, you CAN take a 34mph pull in a 48/12!!

That's about it for today...nothing more to see here...move along...

Namaste!

Labor Day Weekend

Was that really three days....?

 Nice way to start a Saturday ride...

JBristol and I went out Saturday morning for a little CX spin/exploration ride.  The sights were many, and quite random.  A gaggle (is this the correct term?) of hot/fit college girls running, a nice box turtle, a really scary single-wide in the woods that likely doubles as a meth production facility...it was a full 2.5 hours on the bike.

Sunday, we actually had a nice group.  7 of us rolled out into LexCo.  The seven got whittled down throughout the ride.  Il Prof had the wheels come off in Swansea.  Poor guy got a bit sick, and told us to leave him.  6 rolled on.  Shortly thereafter, Charlie sat up.  Hangovers on 100km rides are a bad thing!  Then there were 5.  Coming into Saxe Gotha, I started feeling bad, and automatically clicked into 'self-preservation' mode.  It was hot, I was out of fluid, AND the bolt (or as Rotor calls it, "the spindle retention bolt") ejected itself out of my left crankarm.  I heard it bounce across the road, so I stopped to look.  Nothing....
Dammit!  I limped home, worried that if I stood up, or pressed on the pedals at all, the crank would shear off, followed shortly thereafter by my tender flesh.
The Ridley is now sitting, slightly disabled, waiting for a $10 bolt to arrive from Colorado.  Super.  This one's getting lock-tite!

 The roads out there are just horrible...

 And the land?  So, so ugly...

I really did not want to ride Monday, but I dragged my tired and sore ass out of bed, and got on the Salsa.  It was a "two birds" sort of affair.  I needed to spin my legs around, and I could use the time to sort out a proper seat height for the new kicks.  The stack is much lower than the old Diadoras, so I'm forced to lower my saddle, which isn't exactly simple on the Ridley...damn seatmast!  The Salsa gave me the freedom to move the saddle around willy-nilly though, so road wheels went on, and the HoP commenced.

 Mmmm...new ProRacer 3s.  So fresh...so light...so stiff...

Oh, and it seemed there may have been a small fire at Williams Brice.  Fire trucks everywhere, and water just gushing out of the building.  Carolina's sporting facilities have a bad habit of burning right before the completion of construction.  Anyone remember the field house burning 20+ years ago? 
Anywho, it was a nice little spin in the sunshine...fatigue or not...

Upon my return to Service Course, we loaded up and headed to Charlotte.  No, NOT for the DNC!!  The plan was to take Junior Mgmt. to the NASCAR Hall of Fame.  Traffic in Charlotte was nightmarish, at best.  We found a place to park (gotta love having a large truck with ground clearance), and walked a few blocks to the HoF.  Gotta say, it's a pretty cool place. 
A few hours were spent, and we rolled home, just beating the massive, toad-strangling deluge that hit Charlotte @ 5:30. 

#1 was the picture of concentration on the tire-changing rig.  Two grown-ass men went before him.  They got a 17 second time, and we slapping high-fives like they'd just won their fantasy football pool.  #1 followed...
First time?  22 seconds.  Second? 20.  Third? 17.85!!  He's SEVEN! The two dudes walked away, dejected.  Gotta say, he actually killed it.  He missed ONE lug, went back, and got it, and still finished quickly. 

It was evidently a rough day for #2!  He's got a future as a fly catcher...

Hope your weekend was as good as mine.  Remember, short week! 

Time to head out for a good Renicking...