The lesser of two evils

So the choice last night was to go out solo, in the dark, OR to go down to Service Course and ride the trainer.
Knowing my hatred for The Infernal Machine, it's not hard to guess which was chosen.
Plus, being purely selfish, which is my very nature, I wanted to test the new Gore Windstopper jacket that hit the door.

Pretty slick piece of kit, I must say. The thinnest of lining, sleeves that zip off to make it a vest, and pockets on the back. Maybe overkill for the Southeast however.
I wore a baselayer, jersey, and the jacket. I was over-dressed. I had my doubts when I rolled out of Service Course, but after about 15 minutes, I felt like a 180 pound baked potato.
I unzipped in an effort to regulate some heat, but to no avail. It's a rare thing to sweat up one's glasses on a windy, 40 degree night ride.
It's flouro yellow, to the point of being obnoxious, and has reflective bits all over it. Hard to miss...
It will be a COLD weather piece of kit. Anything above say, 35 degrees, leave it at home.
Oh, and I wear a large. It's plenty big to layer underneath, but not big and blousey.
As for the ride, I sweat through 75 minutes. The plan was for 90, but the jacket was boiling me from the inside, like a giant lobster.
Hey...I'll take it, especially compared to riding the turbo. Last ride of 2014...
I ended with 190 rides...13200km...462 hours. Not bad for a married father of three...

I think I need more light though...

Links :

A motorcycle...fueled by bacon? Shut up and take my money!! Or at least let me drive behind it...

And speaking of bacon. Desserts you NEED...

A cleaner R80 you will not find...

Come to Loenhout, they said. Race CX, they said. It'll be fun, they said...


We should all aspire to be Luciano Rupolo when we grow up...
Seriously...


And with that, I'm out for 2014. Thanks for hanging out...
And don't forget,
NYD 98k from the Colonial Center 0900 sharp!

Extremes

Saturday met our little group with big blue skies, no wind, and warm temps.
Well, it warmed up once we were rolling.Of course, 45 and sun beats any weather North of the State line this time of year.
We rode short, as Statler had to get back to see a family member of to the airport. 2 hours was plenty.
My plan was to stay in the small ring all day, but that got shot in the ass once we hit Shop for the run back in. I can't spin the 39 at 120rpm.
60km fell quickly, and I was home in time to do some work on my own bikes.
And cut the White hubs out of their hoops. There is little that breaks the heart more than cutting CX-Ray spokes. It's akin to tearing up money.
I did put a nice polish on the hubs though...

They'll be going into some new hoops shortly. 3x/32hole laced into 23mm wide rims. The decision is spokes. Do I throw the $, and go CX-Rays again, or just do boring old round DB? That's (literally) the $164 question.
The alarm chirped Sunday, and the big sun from Saturday had given way to rain. Secure in the knowledge that no one would show up for The Heathen Ride, I turned it off, and rolled over.
Once awake...about 2 hours later, and free of the cobwebs of 10-1/2 hours of sleep, I jumped on the CX bike. The rain had stopped, and it was quite pleasant.

Sure, it was wet, but who cares? It wasn't raining. And the line of demarcation for the front was just a bit further up the road. Just after Amazon, the road went dry, and the temps went up a solid 5-7 degrees. The sun was fighting the good fight too.
Around the long way, and back into the Powerstation...

Here's where the ride changed. The rains came back, and were quite cold. Time to ride harder.
It rained all the way back to Service Course. I was damp.
Upside? The rain, and wet roads, washed off all of the accumulated detritus on both the Salsa, and me. Always look at the positive.
Another 2 hours in the books. I felt better for it...

STORIES AND LINKS : 

From the GFY Files : Lady enters bike race. Lady crashes. Lady sues promoter. Yeah, you read that correctly. She crashed at a DOWNHILL race. I guessed she expected the course to be groomed?

From the "If you aren't reading Dan Wuori's column, you should" Files : Cycling, Robin Williams, and how they both affect most of us. 
I know that w/o a bicycle, things would be far different around here...

From the "Cry me a River" Files : Tinkoff says Russian sanctions and the collapse of the Ruble could end his team.
I guess we could file this under GFY as well. I wonder if the team guys quietly whisper amongst themselves that Tinkoff is like the drunk Uncle at the family reunion?

From the "Who do I need to kill?" Files : It gives me a woody...
And if you like cool automobile/motocycle/lifestyle stuff, visit Silodrome often. There's always something drool-worthy over there.  Like this....SR500. Who wants to motorpace?

And the plan is for a New Years Day 98k Ride. 0900 at The Colonial Center. Everyone is welcome. Everyone will stay together. Pace will be Winter plus a little. Bring a couple of bucks for the store stop in Swansea. Show up with a smile. Ride with a smile. Go home with a good start to 2015, and a bigger smile.

And with that, I bid you adieu. I must go get cracked and stretched.

You have big happy Christmas only...

I hope everyone had a good Christmas. It was nutty around here. 3 in Junior Management makes for a LONG ass day. 16 hours if I counted correctly.
I woke up Friday with the plan to do a little effort, but little sleep, and the aforementioned 16 hour ass-whipping made for tired legs.
The plan quickly turned into just a ride...
Plus, the Powerstation was still HEAVY from all of the rain...

...not to mention the myriad branches, and not inconsequential pine tree, that had fallen. Being the good doobie I am, i cleared all of it, including the tree. It was quite rotten, and not altogether heavy.
You're welcome...
And a heads-up : the washout is BAD. The rain made it FAR worse than it's been in a long while.

The sun was out, and it was well into the 50s, so... #sunsoutgunsout  
And I saw this on the way home...

...which made the entire ride quite worth it...
We did a short loop this morning. 60km, as Statler needed to get home to see his daughter-in-Law off to the airport. It was pretty idyllic though. Started in the mid-40s, but was toasty by the time we turned for home.
A coat of Mad Alchemy was all that was needed on the legs.
Got home and took a summary beating in Wii Bowling from Junior Management AND my 66 year old mother. I need to practice...
As an aside, make sure you warm up a bit before diving into the deep end of Wii Sports. We played boxing and bowling last night for about 90 minutes. My shoulders were sore this morning. Pitiful, I know...
Now, I'm doing laundry, and trying to find places for all of the crap...I mean gifts...we all got for Christmas.

Such is the glamour of the DadLife...

Heathen Ride tomorrow at 0900 from Colonial Center. 100km. It's going to be warm, so any excuses will fall on deaf ears. We may check out some new roads...

And I rode my "new" Vittoria XN file treads on Saturday. Shoulder knobs? We don't need no shoulder knobs.
 I'm a bit flummoxed though. They felt, well...a bit "draggy"...like they didn't want to roll. I suspect my fatigue had a part to play, and possibly tire pressures. They're narrower, and have considerably less volume than the Clements, so I may not have been riding enough pressure for the road/dirt. More rides will be needed before I decide what I'mma do...
They look damn cool though...

Go outside and sit in the sun today. It's 60 degrees. Get some on you...

Spooky...

I rolled out solo to The Powerstation yesterday.
The surface was heavy. The wet sand/mud mixture just sucked the speed away.
And the drizzle and fog made for some serious Scooby Doo action out there...

A canopy of barren, creepy trees. Fog. And stillness. Nothing moving. No breeze. It was too quiet.
I rolled on anyway...

Not even a covering of leaves on the surface helped...

They were just slick...
Once back on the tarmac, the effort seemed minimal.  And the Black Forest again had it's Euro flavor...

After a loop of downtown, and up through the 'hood, I was back at SC. A bit wet, a bit cold, but glad I got on the bike.  And yes, I wore white shoe covers...

A genius, I ain't...
I thought about going out today, but it's Christmas Eve, it's raining, and people have lost their ever-loving minds. That's a recipe for getting popped by some entitled soccer mom in her Tahoe. I think I'll stay in...take a nap...
We're riding Friday morning @ 9 from the Colonial Center. A Boxing Day ride, if you will...all are welcome.

And if anyone is looking for something to get me for Christmas, this will do nicely...

Loves me some Vicky P. (photo courtesy : Esquire UK)

Everyone have a good holiday. Be safe.

These guys get it...

8bar Adventures - Berlin to Prague without a map from 8bar BIKES on Vimeo.

A full week of fun rides?

What the?

Both Urban rides last week were good, and that seems to have set a theme.
Saturday began with spitty rain. You know the kind...
Just enough to get the road wet, and be annoying. No matter...
The Graduate and I met and did a CX ride. Mud and moisture be damned.
Out and back on The Powerstation, out the Canal, up through town, and back to Service Course.
2.5 hours in 45 degrees and rain. How was the trainer?
And the boy got a flat out on The Powerstation...on a tubeless tire.
I didn't think those things flatted. Know how he fixed it?  A TUBE! Go figure...

A solid group of Heathens met Sunday for a trip out to Swansea. We all stayed together, and actually found a pretty good new road. Well...we don't claim to have FOUND it. No Columbusing from this bunch.
Across to Swansea...
Calhoun claims to have not seen the town limit sign. Mmmm Hmmm...
Once out of Swansea, Grande Juan had to cut it shorter, and get home. He'd promised his Boss a trip to Ikea in the afternoon. Three days before Christmas.
I said a quiet word for him...
Once onto the longer section, Calhoun received a phone call. The guess was his pregnant Boss was on the other ens, as he turned off at the next cut through.
The remainder of the bunch rolled home in what became a sunny end of the ride.
100km. No fuss. No muss.

The "new" road piqued my curiousity, so I mapped the loop...and found that there are roads out there that, even though we've ridden deep into LexCo quite a bit, have never seen our wheels. A new 100km loop was mapped as well...
Maybe happy NYD 100k?

It was a nice, solid week of riding in December...

Svenness 3.8
SVENNESS 3.8 from In The Crosshairs on Vimeo.

It seems lately though, the old boy has lost some of his Svenness.

I know this isn't "cycling related", but it's a good article nonetheless...

The Real Story of Apollo 17

OK...I slept for 11 hours last night, and need to get my day started...at noon...

Riding tomorrow...rain or rain...

Again?

Two fun night/urban rides in a row? Who knew? And no one poached trail...
The decision was made to out on The Powerstation again, and to keep everyone together...you know...like a group ride should be. Shocking...I know...
The dirt is in excellent condition. Smooth, pretty well packed, and pretty fast. Everyone made it through the holes, and the washout, safely. Shocking...I know...
Ricky went full Man-Beast, and moved the log out of the way. I was a little disappointed, as I was looking forward to riding out there tomorrow with my broadheaded axe in my backpack.
My excitement was more for riding with the axe than it's actual use. Imagine drivers cruising by...
"Look at this crazy dude on the bike...riding with an axe..."
We came back in, hit all of the new trails, and the decision was made to do the entirety of the river trail.
It was a good idea until Kevin lost his front tire, and low-sided on the boardwalk.
We all stopped. I stayed to help. The rest of the group went full Top Gear on us, and left.
They went on through the hood, back to Farm Bureau, and I turned around, headed up through the Vista/Campus/Shandon to get home.
Another quality, and fun, two hours in the dark.
There's something very freeing about at night. Heightened senses and all that...

And rumor has it that riding singletrack on CX bikes is coming into vogue around here...


When was it out? A few of us have been knocking it down for the better part of 10 years. No #Columbusing
for us...

Whatchu know about old school? What a pretty bike...

Scramblers are getting really popular, so why not turn a 1200 Harley into one? Hey...people call a lot of forward thinkers crazy...

DPS Skis have made a series of movies about skiing...
This one is a better movie about a dog...

The Shadow Campaign // Sun Dog from DPS SKIS on Vimeo.

We should all strive to be that dog...

The weather tomorrow looks iffy, at best. The Graduate and I are planning to go out on CX bikes. All are welcome to join.
Normal Heathen Ride on Sunday.

Only 5 shopping days left...

Well...that was fun...

The night ride was a damn good time last night. All the way out to Eastman and back on The Powerstation.
FYI for you folks who like to Columbus...
The outer section, beyond the K-Rail, is really soft and loose.
Then we hit the new section of trail that leads from the dirt all the way to the boat landing. It's pretty freaking nice. Be aware though, as we discussed last night, if you crash just right (or just wrong) on part of the trail, you may very well end up IN the river. It's that close...
A quick cruise through town, and up into the 'wood, and I was back at Service Course. 2 solid hours.
And I rode in shorts last night...on the 16th of December.
Tell me again how nice the riding is where you live...

And a little PSA :
As we discussed last night, don't trepass, and poach trail. If there's a big, custom-fabbed, brightly-painted gate across a road/driveway, it means SOMEONE doesn't want you in there. I know some folks think they have the "right" to ride wherever, but you don't. It makes us all look bad. And as someone who rides the LEGAL part of that parcel of land at least twice a week, I'm going to be pissed off if I catch a ration of shit from the landowners, or the Law. And as plumbers are wont to say, "shit runs downhill..."
Just sayin'...

Thinking it's time to change pedals too. Either some new Crank Brothers, or some SPDs. The old CBs are way too sloppy, even with old cleats...
Of course, a new pair of shoes probably wouldn't hurt either...(hint hint)

Speaking of things to buy me for Christmas...if you're out on the intarweb, I'll gladly accept THIS...

OH DEER!!!


The guy is fine. He went over the bars, and landed on his back. A concussion and some scuffs. He's lucky. And take this video to heart. It can happen around here, and has...a few times. Looking at you Tipper...

Cipo is best...(broken English)


Cool on bike, and mic'ed up, video of a Scratch Race


And speaking of track bikes...
If you're gonna be a bear...be a grizzly.

In the days before Lawyers, and health insurance deductibles, this sort of thing went on...

Seems like a monumentally poor idea...

The Boss and I are going to her company holiday party tonight. If you know me, you know that I so enjoy these sorts of things....
I've already stated that I wasn't wearing a shirt and tie, which was not met with pushback. Shocked...I know...
The Head of the LexCo Office is coming over to watch Junior Management. I guess I should maybe clean up the house a bit, so it appears Eastern European peasants DON'T live here....

Enjoy your Wednesday...

That was better...

Two good rides this weekend.
Nice easy stroll through LR on Saturday. It was cold at the start, but ended up being a pretty nice day. I wish I had worn a hat for the first 30 minutes or so though. An ice cream headache while riding really sucks.
3 hours fell easily, including the little effort made at the end.
As Junior Management went to the LexCo Branch Office, my plan was to go home, eat, and then sleep the afternoon away.
The Boss had other designs on my free time. The remainder of my afternoon was spent Christmas shopping. There is little in this World that will suck the Christmas spirit out of one more quickly. After the third stop, I made her bring me home. My legs and back were screaming...
This evening was filled with present wrapping, which is always good for a laugh. I outwrap The Boss 4 to 1. Sure, hers look better, what with the bows and jingle bells on them, but Martha Stewart isn't coming to the house on Christmas morning.
Sleep came easy...
The normal bunch met for the Heathen Ride on Sunday. And if there was a "Chamber of Commerce" day, Sunday was it. By the time we got an hour into the ride, people were stripping clothes.
And big thanks to Ricky for showing us the outer loop into Swansea so many months go. It's out-farking-standing.

And this place intrigues me to no end...

I want to walk through, and see what's in there. I REALLY want the signs...
And yes, the sky was THAT blue!
A quick run over the ridgeline, and we were home. 100km in the big blue was okay with me...

Junior Management got home, I cleaned the Ridley, the Eriksen came back for an overhaul, and I went to Whole Foods. It was a good afternoon.

Euro CX action...
Soudal Classics from Antwerp



Zilvermeer isn't up yet...here are the highlights from Vier...

And Big John...you wanted argy bargy sprint video? How's this?


Columbia becoming more bicycle/pedestrian friendly? WHAT? We'll see if the execution matches the plans. We ARE talking about Columbia after all...

Enjoy your Monday. It's going to be 70 degrees today. Yeah, I know it's the beginning of the week, but you could spending Monday somewhere in the snow...

Puny

Hey...Mother Nature...I know you're busy destroying parts of California, but if you get a chance, can you do something about the 30+ degree temperature swings here in the Southeast?
I know it's a bit akin to bitching about the weight of a brick of gold, as it's going to be well into the 60s this weekend, but huge swings are doing my head in.
No ridey last night, as my head felt like a football....


Better today. Now it's only my right eye that feels like it's going to pop out of my skull...

As mentioned, it's going to be pretty nice this weekend. I'm riding come Hell, or high water...
Ooohhhh...sorry California...too soon...

Baum nailed this color. The issue is the name of the bike...the Extensa...
Maybe it's me, but that sounds like some sort of erectile dysfunction pill...

Not much else today. Every post can't be a winner...sorry...

Whaaaaat?

 So, this is a new Pegoretti Responsium. The article that accompanied this photo was obviously written by someone who has never spent time on anything other than a plastic bike. Pegorettis were called "an acquired taste"...
What? Sure, they are an acquired taste, as much as bacon or chocolate is an acquired taste.

 She thought it was funny too...

This is Baum's 2015 TdU bike. It is nearly perfect. Change the saddle, and add some deep drop Dedas, and were gold. And if they made me...I'd even ride the SRAM stuff.

Fun ride last night. The group was small though. No idea why. It was a really pleasant evening.
The lights on the new sections of trail are now operational as well. It really messes with the vision, and the mind. I was just starting to learn the turns in the dark, now there's light on them. It's weird...
Got a decent two hours in the dark, and was told my lights were too bright by some numpty in a car.
Too bad Chief! I'm worried about me, not about you...

And I've come to the conclusion that it may be time to wash the CX bike. It's a bit of an embarrassment. It hasn't had soap and water on it since it was completed...in July.

Four wheels good...



The sound! Oh. God. The. Sound.

OK...time to go. Gotta go get cracked and stretched, then go buy some food.
14 shopping days left....

Yes, I'm ready to order...

I'll have the shit sandwich please...

That was my Friday...
The Boss took the day off, as she'd been out of town all week for work, so I decided to ride a bit.
I went to let the furry beast outside, and was met with labored breathing, and she just didn't want to get up. I carried her outside, and she went about her business.
Once back in, she laid down in her bed, and went right back to sleep.
I clicked on the laptop, and got CHKDSK three times, then the blue screen of death. It was 8am, and my day was going swimmingly.
I got on the bike, but it sucked. I couldn't quiet my mind. Dead laptop with THOUSANDS of photos on it, and my little dog was probably dying. I couldn't get my head in the game...
Back to Service Course, and Bella needed to go to the Vet. She passed quietly shortly thereafter. I was glad to be with her. I owed her that much.

She was 16-1/2. I buried her in the sunny spot she liked to lay in. The house seems a little empty...

I went out solo Saturday, head still a little cloudy, and was met with obstacles at every turn.
A stopped train at the end of 12th. Turn around. The Christmas Parade on Gervais. Turn. High School football Championships at Williams-Brice. Fight traffic.
Once clear of each issue, I got a little better on the bike. By the end, I was flying. A good ride is one that gets faster, and easier, as it goes on. It was a good ride.
The effort pushed down some of the demons. Catharsis...
Back at SC, I raked the yard...again...fucking leaves...
After I was done, I went to BestBuy. Thankfully, the Geek Squad dudes saved the pictures from my dead laptop, and transferred them to an external drive. I also did some retail therapy, and bought myself a Chromebook.
Gotta say, for 95% of human beings, a Chromebook is all one needs at home. It's light, simple, and super fast. Ease of use is off the charts. Yeah, the memory is small, but coupled with the external drive, it suddenly becomes a machine with a 500gb+ hard drive...for $250.
Sunday was sunny, yet windy. A good group showed, and rolled out together. It went sideways after that. Different turns were taken. A couple of us went one way, while others did not. I killed it to Swansea in the hopes that I'd catch the group, and we'd gather back up.
I sat in Swansea, by myself, for 15 minutes. No one showed.
The 20+ headwind was a JOY on the ride back in. Even more so, as there was nowhere to hide. I was in a fistfight for 90 minutes.
No matter. Shit happens. I got a good ride. 100km in 3:30. And considering the wind, that was killing it.
Once home, and a quick turnaround was completed, The Beast was loaded up, and Corpo went to Congaree National Park for some fresh air.
It was good. Even seeing an entire family of feral pigs was cool. It was momma pig, poppa pig, and a couple of generations of offspring. Probably 8 total. We were maybe 20 yards apart. We stood dead still and quiet. They looked and watched us too. After a few sort-of-tense moments, they moved on.
Next time, I'm taking a firearm. Park Service policy be damned. Hogs are no joke.
It was a good end to a weekend that I can take or leave.

Euro CX

Hasselt


Druivencross


The weather is looking a bit more, well...Belgian. Kind of looks that way outside here today too.
I took some good photos Saturday and Sunday, but the new machine and the camera aren't talking. Gotta get that one figured out...

Have a good Monday...

No ridey

Not until tomorrow at least...
The Boss is out of town on business...if one considers Myrtle Beach "out of town", so I'm single-parenting until Thursday.
I'll definitely be out Thursday night...with the new 6000 lumen light. Whether it's really 6000 lumens is a matter of conjecture, but I can say that it's easily brighter than the 2000-ish lumens I've been pushing.
I figure I'll run it in tandem with the 1000 lumen spot beam. 7k should be enough...

 Why do I suddenly have the urge to buy some Giordana kit?

 Cool Nibbles graphic. Too bad his team is full of Eastern European dopers...

 I normally eschew the wearing of Euro team kits, but the new Saxo kit is pretty cool. How many local teams are stealing this design RIGHT NOW?

And I know this may not be popular with some folks, but the new Campag crank is ugly. It looks unfinished. For $1000 (not a typo!), it should appear as if some care went into it. It just looks a bit cobbled together.

Svenness 3.7
SVENNESS 3.7 from In The Crosshairs on Vimeo.

Onboard with Sven


Speaking of onboard, remember this?


Gotta jet...more point and click Christmas shopping to do...

It's been a while...

...since I put 4 days on the bike together.  And 5 out of 6...
Feels good though...but I'm tired...

A few of us met Saturday morning at The 'Wood for a spin out through Lower Richland.

It was chilly when we rolled out, but warmed up pretty nicely. We did a sort of backwards loop that hit some roads we hadn't ridden in a while. Of course, being the lover of dirt roads that I am, I took one that was a cut through, just to be different.
I may have over estimated the depth of the water hole that blocked the road...

A photo posted by MM (@mminsc) on Nov 11, 2014 at 4:05pm PST

We ended up with damn close to 100km on a pretty nice morning...

Tell me again how nice it is to ride where you live...
The remainder of the afternoon was spent clearing leaves. I took my time, as to irritate my fucktard neighbors. Wake me up at 2am, and I'll run my loud-ass leafblower while you try to watch football. Dicks.

TVH and I were the only attendees for The Heathen Ride on Sunday. Pretty much everyone was out of town, save for a few...and their excuses for not attending were weaksauce...at best...
We rode a bit shorter than usual, as tired legs were the theme. And I told The Boss we'd go look for a Christmas tree when I got back to Service Course.
It was pretty freaking sublime though...

AND a tailwind home...
How'd we swing that one...?
A quick turnaround was followed by a trip to The Farmer's Market to get a tree. The Boss, once again, over-estimated the height of our ceilings, and bought a tree that was a bit too tall. I lopped off about 8 inches, and a dozen branches to make it fit.
We made a stop on the way home...
There aren't many better spots to wile away a 70 degree November afternoon than here...

Tim Johnson showed how to get up the stairs at Milton Keynes CX last weekend...


Time to go. Things to do. Money to spend.
It's going to be sunny and 70+ today. Go outside and get it on you...